Sitting and Forgetting (For Ally Compassionate Hyacinth)

The instant Li Qingmeng saw that character clearly, her mind trembled, as though she had entered a wondrous realm beyond time and space.

She saw half a child's life: the bitter studies of childhood, the high spirits of youth, the dreams of nation and world in his early adulthood. She saw him travel and study across the land, his chance encounter with a young girl—youthful vigor, a maiden fair as a painting, what a grand dream it had been.

Later, they married and had children. The young man gradually grew busier; some things could never be made whole on both sides. The girl and her daughter waited every day for him to come home, yet he did not return every time.

But how could the young man not want to be with his family? Some things, however, could not be achieved merely by wishing for them. That anguish, that torment, every tangled emotion—it all seemed vividly palpable.

Until a serious illness took the girl's life, leaving behind nothing but pain. Yet even through that pain, he had to keep moving forward...

In the end, he could neither betray the Buddha nor betray her...

On the other side, the middle-aged man now saw half of a child's life as well.

His father was always absent. Though he had his mother, he still longed for his father's love. But his father was always busy, and little by little, he stopped longing for it so much.

Until one day, his mother suddenly fell ill. It seemed grave, yet even then, his father still never came home.

Confusion, bewilderment, fear, resentment...

When the dream ended, Li Qingmeng rose and hurried outside, with no desire to linger in the slightest. The middle-aged man's expression changed several times. He set the calligraphy down on the table,