The girl’s skin was delicate and fair, her eyelashes long and fluttering like butterfly wings, her eyes clear and bottomless, and she appeared quite young. However, beneath her gaze lay a desolation and vicissitudes unbecoming of her age.
The boy was slightly surprised, not understanding why the girl as beautiful as a flower in front of him would be so sad. He couldn’t help speaking out and asked, "You, you seem unhappy?"
After asking, the boy felt he had perhaps been too forward, so he scratched his head and then added, "The song you just sang was really nice, just like the original singer!"
"Oh... no, no, no, even better than the original singer!"
The boy didn’t seem to be very good at flattery, speaking somewhat hesitantly. Ling Momo couldn’t help but smile and interrupted the boy, "Tell me about yourself, why do you perform on the street for a living?"
"Me? My sister and I have been orphans since we were young, and we relied on each other for survival. Though life was hard, we weren’t without food or clothing. My sister was very sensible, always working to earn money so I could study. She knew I loved music, so she said that when I grew up and became a big star, she would have good days ahead," the boy said softly. "Unfortunately, my sister collapsed while working as a waitress in a hotel this summer. The doctor diagnosed her with leukemia. It was a bolt from the blue. First off, we had no money, not to mention trying to find a matching bone marrow donor. So, we could only give up treatment. Now, the money I earn from performing is to rent a warm place to spend the Spring Festival with my sister."
The boy paused and after a long moment, he added, "Maybe this is her last Spring Festival."
"Why don’t you try to save her?" Ling Momo asked.
"I really want to, but I am powerless. In this world, many things are disappointing," the boy said bitterly.
"No money?" Ling Momo lowered her head and asked, then added, "But giving up on her life , doesn’t it make you sad?"
"Sad," the boy replied. "But what can sadness do? It can’t change anything, can it? At first, I too lamented our fate, I resented why I couldn’t have wealthy parents, I hated being born less than others, I even thought about ending it all with my sister, to retaliate against society! But later, my sister said something to me in tears that helped me let go."
"What did she say?" Ling Momo tilted her head, looking at the boy under the streetlight.
The boy bent his lips into a sincere smile and repeated, "She said, ’Brother, we must learn to be broad-minded, and live a life content with what comes with the most willing heart.’"
Ling Momo sat there, listening to the boy talk on and off about past occurrences with his sister — so simple, yet so moving — until her buttocks went numb. Now the night was deeper, the wind colder, and the boy gradually fell silent, tears falling down his face.
The only phrase that kept recurring in Ling Momo’s mind was, "We must learn to be broad-minded, and live a life content with what comes with the most willing heart."
Indeed, in this world, most people live less-than-perfect lives. Wealthy people have their own troubles, and the poor have their own helplessness. The rightful source is novel⟡fire.net