On the show, Yu Shuying remained as quiet as ever. No matter who appeared before her, she faced them with the same calm expression, except for that man. Ever since her rise to fame, she had never contacted her so-called father again.
Now, with her mother about to appear on screen, she was still calm. A person whose convictions were rooted deep within her heart possessed a sincerity that feared nothing.
As the footage was about to begin, she already knew what would happen.
Back when she was five years old, after her performance of Under the Sea became an overnight sensation, that man had once again rejected countless talent scouts and opportunities. Then, using the calmest tone imaginable, he began expressing his disapproval of her path.
The video started.
Little Shuying was five years and twelve months old.
It was winter once again, and at the time, she was working on an assignment from school. It was a rather unusual piece of homework. Supposedly designed to develop moral character, the assignment required students to capture a photograph that represented "romance."
Rumor had it that the task originated from the Administration of Education, and the assignment was optional and did not affect grades. Most children simply photographed flowers, trees, pets, or beautiful scenery.
But Little Shuying was different; she took the assignment seriously. Again and again, she pondered the meaning of romance.
Then the door creaked open, and the man returned home. He removed his coat, and snow still clung to the fabric. He looked thinner than before, and his face had become paler. The oversized clothes hanging from his frame looked strangely out of proportion.
The familiar smell of alcohol filled the room.
Mud stained his leather pants. It was obvious he had fallen somewhere outside. Even through the thick cotton gloves he wore, the cracks on his frozen hands were visible. Dry wounds covered his skin.
He sighed, then he glanced at the homework on the table. A look of disdain appeared on his face.
"Romance?" He scoffed. "Drinking is romance."
As he spoke, Ye proudly pulled out a bottle of cheap liquor from his pocket and shook it.
Little Shuying frowned. "What's romantic about drinking?"
Yu Ye immediately replied, "Then what about Huo Qubing? He became a general at such a young age. Surely someone like him drank too. You don't understand. Didn't Li Bai drink? How many poets and scholars throughout history have written while drinking? We're not far from Li Bai's monument. One day I'll go have a drink with him."
(Note: Huo Qubing was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.)
(Note: Li Bai, also known by his courtesy name of Taibai, was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the best and most important poets of the Tang dynasty, and even in the whole of Chinese poetry.)
His words were slurred, and he seemed half-drunk already.
Little Shuying frowned again, and she shut the bedroom door. But then she suddenly froze; a new interpretation of romance quietly emerged in her mind. When the man talked about drinking with Li Bai... She suddenly remembered that her city was not far from Huo Qubing's tomb.
A legendary general.
A young man who died from illness before reaching old age.
At his age... Wouldn't he have liked sweets?
At that moment, Little Shuying couldn't stop thinking. What exactly was romance? That was her understanding.
In this humble and ordinary life, everyone watching the show found themselves stunned. The comments flared.
"Wow..."
"This kid is incredible."
"A toast for the young general..."
Yet the footage wasn't over.
Because Little Shuying had already made a decision, she would prepare her own version of romance.
Meanwhile, in the living room, the drunken father continued mumbling nonsense. Back then, Little Shuying couldn't understand most of it; she only caught fragments.
"Fenglang Juxu..."
"The greatest general in human history..."
"A star that will never fall..."
"A legend roaming beneath the heavens..."
"Drunk in the arms of beauty, awake with a sword of slaughter..."
"I don't want the Jade of Liancheng..."
"I only want a sword to kill the enemy..."
"The Xiongnu are not yet destroyed. How can I think of home?"
"The Hu people wept..."
"They took my Qilian Mountains..."
"They stole my Yanzhi Mountains..."
"They made my people suffer..."
Then came a burst of wild laughter.
To Little Shuying's ears, however, it was merely the rambling of a drunk man. She was not even six years old. How could she possibly understand such things?
Until suddenly, the man fell silent. Then, in a confused voice, he muttered. "I think he's still just a kid in his twenties... He probably likes sweets... Why don't you give him a piece of candy?"
Though drunk, his words sounded strangely sober. As if, for a fleeting moment, he had seen through the vast river of history itself.
At that moment, when Ye finished speaking, the entire audience watching the program froze. Everyone was stunned.
Was this really the man they considered worthless? From speaking of sealing wolves at Mount Langju to suggesting a piece of candy for a young general... From wild arrogance to astonishing insight... How could such a contradictory person exist?
And at that moment, his drunken words became like a ray of light. Inside the small bedroom, little Shuying suddenly sat upright. "I'm going to give you a candy."
In an instant, inspiration struck. She finally understood. She understood what a vast and magnificent romance could be. As snowstorms howled outside and winter winds swept across the city, a little girl less than six years old arrived at her own answer.
And at that moment, countless viewers were stunned. Many suddenly remembered a piece of news that had once shaken the literary world.
Years ago, a little girl had traveled alone through the snow. Step by trembling step, she walked to Huo Qubing's tomb, then she placed a single candy on the grave. Standing amid the falling snow, someone had asked her why.
The little girl answered softly, "He's still so young... He must really like sweets."
After that footage was released, the literary and artistic circles erupted, and a uniquely styled romanticism swept across the nation. Countless young women burst into tears after seeing it.
They were moved. Inspired. Overwhelmed.
And now, as the footage replayed on the show, the backstage staff were completely stunned, including the Principal.
"Impossible... Back then, during the school's competition, everyone believed that Little Shuying came up with that idea herself. But this... This father was subtly teaching her what romance was all along. This is a romance rooted in history... a romance belonging to our civilization..." Guochang's voice trembled.
A bitter smile appeared on his face. How could this be possible?
Yet the screen showed everything clearly. The thin, silent, alcoholic father. The man everyone looked down upon. He was the one who had casually spoken of Qilian Mountain, of Huo Qubing, and of a romance that transcended thousands of years. It was engraved in his bones.
Others were equally shocked, and many wanted to speak. But before anyone could react, the footage continued.
Little Shuying was six years old.
After school, she insisted on visiting Huo Qubing's mausoleum. At the time, Ye was still doing all kinds of hard labor jobs, so his work clothes were stained with grease and dirt. Engine oil permanently covered his hands and face. No matter how much he washed, some stains remained. Yet he kept talking the entire way.
"What are you doing at the general's tomb? I already saw your homework. What's so romantic about that? It's romantic to give flowers to a beggar. It's romantic to plant flowers at home." Ye rambled endlessly.
Meanwhile, sitting behind him, Little Shuying completely forgot the drunken philosopher who had spoken about Qilian Mountain that night; instead, she couldn't help despising him. This isn't romance at all! What a boring way of thinking. Father never understands romance.
She felt angry. Disappointed. Frustrated. For the first time, she felt she could never truly communicate with him.
After arriving at General Huo Qubing's Mausoleum, she refused to let Ye accompany her. Alone, she carried a piece of candy. Step by step. Slowly and solemnly. As though participating in a sacred ceremony.
Coincidentally, reporters happened to be interviewing visitors nearby. Some tourists carried flip phones; others recognized her immediately. After all, six-year-old Little Shuying had become famous nationwide because of "Under the Sea." Today she happened to be wearing that iconic blue cotton coat.
Excited spectators quickly began taking photos, then they watched. Little Shuying walked all the way to General Huo Qubing's tomb, and she carefully placed a single candy before it.
Someone asked her why, and the little girl's voice was warm, innocent, and radiant. "He must like sweets very much."
At that moment, she possessed a beauty untouched by calculation. A beauty born entirely from sincerity. The purest kind of beauty imaginable.