Shengliver Studio: Recent Episodes
Shengliver
Parents’ duties go way beyond meeting their child’s physical needs. They should interact with it, inspire it, and play with it. A healthy child is mentally active as well as physically fit.
The commotion cast under the spotlight the guy in dark spectacles and a mask. A lot of passengers turned to him and stared. The pickpocket froze then and there, as if nothing had happened.
I used to believe that most urbanites, especially the rich and the beautiful, look down upon country folk, because of their attire and their accent. This lady, however, corrected my bias.
Every time my parents come to my mind, I realise it was true love that brought the two strangers together, making them friends, then sweethearts and ultimately a couple.
I was having a hard time down there on the pavement when a mature male voice came from overhead, “Girl, give me your hand so that I could pull you up, OK?”
Showered with our care and love, Alan became a bit stronger and started to respond to us with his eyes and tail. The little tail wagged merrily whenever we turned up.
As long as Mum is car-sick, however, it will be a different story. She will end up as weak as an ant. In extreme cases, she will have to recuperate in hospital for a couple of days before she comes back on her feet.
The indicator panel displayed a message, which read, “Overweight. Cannot move.” The elevator door wouldn’t close because of it.
When he was going aloud through the how-to, all the shoppers around had their eyes riveted on my naïve friend.
Gran came to visit me yesterday. As usual, she brought over bags of snacks and goodies. In a sense, Gran is my pantry.
We even did two-role PC games on the same computer, which most kids around us could not afford to, simply because they did not have a sibling.
The ache persisted. It was on throughout the exam, most times slight, occasionally severe. As a result, I found myself distracted from the questions. I simply could not help it.
Looking back on my discovery on the road, I admire the young mother for her way with the daughter.
Thanks to Caroline’s outstanding performance, all the betters lost their deposits to Donald. None of them had predicted there would be such a huge difference. Donald the Class Clown got rich overnight.
Since the light kept burning beyond midnight, she reckoned that it must be the boy who was studying into the wee small hours of the early morning.
According to her, they take advantage of our sympathy by feigning poverty and misery, but I did not believe it.
We were more than satisfied with his attitude to his customers. Very few food vendors we had met before paid attention to such details.
This accident, which suddenly shook me awake, brought home to me the feasibility of walking the sports path.
Working on the first day of the Chinese New Year is taboo traditionally, yet this elderly gentleman did not mind it.
Almost every evening after dinner, all the families would come out with chairs and hand-held fans. There was relaxed chitchat in the cooler air at the hangout at the bamboo grove.
His wearing so little became a laughing stock among his mates, who said Ming wanted to show off his figure to the girls. Their jokes pissed Ming off.
Stuck in the rut, I am sometimes cast under the illusion that life is meaningless, for every day is a replica of every other day.
Carpentry was backbreaking labour. The most gruelling part was to saw a log into planks.
One of their players, a boy wearing the No 2 jersey, never failed to pre-empt our players when the ball came along. I could not help but curse him a lot when that was happening. I was so loud that I thought he even heard my obscenities.
Seated by the crackling fire, stoking it with twigs and grass, I was basking both in the warmth of the blaze and in the glory of queenhood.
As I was chalking on the board, the whole class burst into roars of laughter. Mr Wang was laughing so hard that he was holding his sides. In plain sight, my monstrous finger made an exhibition of itself.
If you want to achieve, buddy, do not let a precious fleeting opportunity slip by because of your hesitancy. Seize it.
I tried to open my eyes, but it did not work. I wanted to stir, but my legs rebelled. Then I blacked out.
Her little umbrella seemed to have dispelled the bad weather and the doom and gloom from my heart.
Quarrels eventually erupted between man and wife. Their squabbles became more and more frequent. The relationship got to a point where they would not tolerate each other under the same roof.
With each fresh gust of wind, the fallen leaves which I had managed to round up into a pile were dispersed here and there.
Where there is something pleasing to your eye or to your ear, there might lie a hidden danger.
To my surprise, she declined it. With a smile, she explained in a tender voice that her home was just a couple of stops away.
Sometimes, following the herd is the default option. Other times, we should listen to our own heart and go off the beaten track.
Eavesdropping on the tête-à-tête between mother and daughter, I stayed put and waited with bated breath in the dark.
Now, on the threshold of adulthood, I have come to see that life is not always what you want it to be.
Miss Tee was a woman, yet there was not a single vestige of shame on her face throughout.
The poor creature, trapped in the constant traffic flow, seemed to be shocked and shaking.
Arriving at the doorstep, I saw someone right there filling my glass. It was Miss Song Xuemei. What a kind girl! She has not only good looks but also a beautiful heart.
Psychologists believe that many people spend their entire lives trying to recover from their childhood trauma.
It is popularly believed that once a man gets rich, his heart will rot. This stereotype does not fit Cousin John.
It was so awkward to say bad words about others. Every second seemed to be dragging forever. The process of condemning each other was the longest ten minutes I had ever had.
I thought Grandad would never find out about our crime, well, until Mid-Autumn Day last year.
Life feels boringly slow when it is nice and peaceful. It can, however, change in a flash, when the peace is gone.
I have mercy on my sis. As far as I am concerned, she is no more than a child. Happiness is the most important thing to a child.
Mr Zhang stood up and started for the exit. He slammed the poor door as he was going out. It was thunderous, man. Bang!
Many people admire the successful, the famous and the rich, but few are aware how much sweat was behind their glamour.
The embarrassment I experienced on the bus and at the canteen has made me change my tactics with the cards.
I won’t go about and look for a new toy any more. I will cherish what I have, although it is no longer as good as before.
It made me confused. Grandma is not a kid. Instead, she has her own thoughts and habits. Why did my mother talk to Grandma like that?
Turning to Gran, he whispered, “Look, that’s Mother walking there. Oh, how could it be?”
Life here is boring and interesting. The monotonous rut I have been stuck in could have killed my curiosity, but thanks to the special teachers, as well as my kind handsome classmates, life here is well worth living.
I don’t know what he has gone through in the real world, but I realise that there is something out there that teachers and parents cannot teach but life can.
When I have my own child in the future, I will have different ideas about his childhood.
Their manners, a disgrace to our great nation China, would tarnish our reputation if known by our rival America.
Jingxin planned to stay with Fei for the afternoon. Were she to leave, there would be only Fei in the dorm.
You could waste your entire life exploring hypotheses and end up with nothing achieved on your death bed.
“Just a little, just a little,” Father tried to play it down. “Calm down, darling. Stop fussing.”
Killing the family animal for the Spring Festival has been a time-honoured tradition in rural China.
Why do other parents remember their children’s birthdays? Why are my parents always forgetting about mine? The more I thought about it, the sadder I felt. Eating the delectable treat, I found tears welling up in my eyes, trickling down my cheeks, and eventually running all over my face in a torrent.
Full of appreciation to Miss Meng, I practised my English pronunciation on the repeater before bed almost every evening. The day before the exam, Miss Meng gave me her best wishes.
The girl wept as if a river bank had been burst. Hearing the loud free sobs, Mengqing smiled to herself. She exited the toilet, fully convinced that the weeper would feel all right after the vent.
Every day before my parents made it home, I prepared rice and dishes for them. Thanks to my new role in the kitchen, Mother did not need to bother about cooking any more after work. Thus, she was able to take the time to put her feet up and relax. I felt proud.
What gave him away was that he was reading the book upside down. It dawned on me that he was not a straight guy. The very thought sent chills down my spine, but I told myself to stay calm.
Looking back on the experience, I realise that I was not as firm as I had thought. It is no use crying over spilt milk. It is a blessing that the aborted run has taught me to think twice before I give up in future lest I rue it. If I have trouble carrying on with what I have set my mind upon, I will stay the course and go the extra mile.
I made a very foolish blunder at the sports meeting. My folly cost a girl a chance to win. I owe her an apology.
The invisible bond between Mum and me helped me sense intuitively that she was in danger the very day she was in an accident.
Good is a nice word; better is a thing everyone is supposed to strive to be. It still baffles me why those friends of mine stop trying to be better and are heading into nowhere. Who can tell me why?
The magic of home gives you a strong sense of belonging and security. Anywhere you go and anything you do, the magic will bless you. Under its spell, you can always start afresh after you have tried but failed.
No one is perfect. Father is just a human. He has weaknesses and has made unjustifiable mistakes, but despite everything he is not fake. He is still my hero.
The meeting with Tom helped me to reflect upon my own life. In some ways he has done much better than me, even though I do not have to worry about money problems and I live in a loving family.
This weekend I made a phone call to my grandpa, in which I told him that I will not go back home this year. Though he sounded a bit down at first, he encouraged me and promised to pray for me at the village temple. I was moved and grateful.
Looking back on my emotional rollercoaster ride after I found the banknote in the classroom, I could not help laughing at my folly. It was my money anyway.
When everything was lying on the new dorm floor, I was virtually exhausted, dripping wet. But a sense of accomplishment came over me.
Seeing the candies still in my hand, he seized them and flung them out. I was so paralysed by the vehemence that I shut my eyes. I dared not see his countenance. Meanwhile tears gushed out as I started to howl.
Sam was incredulous. He had thought that the old man and his noble deeds are found only in news reports or on television shows, but this very night he was with such a character in the flesh in the real world.
The slip of paper indicated that I could use it to get some jewellery at a discount at the store. The coupon itself could help me save 2,000 yuan. Was it my lucky day? I could not contain excitement within.
One evening last summer holidays Zhiqiang was taking a stroll in the street when he happened to see Miss Yuan doing the washing-up at a small restaurant. It was high summer. It was so sultry that the girl’s face was red while she was doing the dishes. Curious, he asked his friends about it.
Thanks to my chats with guys from different backgrounds over the years, my horizons are broader and life more colourful.
Everyone in the world has the right to make their own choices. Different choices land them in different circumstances. If Lisa likes the path she has chosen to walk on, she still has my blessing. As teenagers, we have no way to tell where our destiny eventually lies. Whatever the future might hold in store for us, may Lisa and I have our own happy lives and shine.
My mother holds the purse strings in our family. Without her permission, shopping for such an expensive item would be impossible.
It was not until Jack threw his only cards down on the desk and whispered, “Double Queens, mates!” that the teacher’s presence was detected.
When I was born I knew I would be leading a different life from the other subjects in my kingdom. Yes, I was a fly and I could fly. However, my ambition went far beyond that. It was a bit crazy.
In retrospect, the entire dining experience was so surreal. It was like a dream but the grandma waitress was a real person we met.
There are no shortcuts to mastering a skill. Crash courses are to fool laymen. The essence of a new skill cannot be grasped instantly. It just takes time to sink in. Be patient.
Tom’s behaviour saddened and maddened me in the beginning. It was beyond me why he out of the blue had turned into a totally different person.
The two creatures’ fates enlightened Miss Zheng. Being well fed in the aquarium did not help the bigger tortoise survive. Independence saw the smaller one exploring the world on its own.
Years ago when Mother told me that a baby sister was on the way, I felt terrible. I thought having a sister meant that I would no longer be the sun of the family. She would steal my place. It was hard for me to accept.
At the get-together, when I was chatting with him, it dawned on me that what matters to a person is his content rather than his surface.
After getting out of the supermarket and leaving the hordes of shoppers behind, I did not feel my time wasted. Instead, I ended up with a heart brimful of gratitude to the cashier for his invaluable lesson on patience.
Given attention and warmth, Peter stopped being a soulless body. Life started to refill his existence.
On a typical weekend night, each of us on a digital device, we never get to talk very much.
I used to have two hamsters as pets. They were adorable creatures. Their little bodies and lovely expressions were incarnations of cuteness.
While I was struggling for a choice, the exit opened and the old man got off. Looking at his back, I rued my indecision.
If you had lived in our neighbourhood then, you would have witnessed an amazing scene where a little girl was shuffling about in a baby walker with a black dog around her.
My best memory of them was them watching TV over dinner, with me seated between them. At table they were helping me to this dish and that.
Grandpa had trouble hearing me clearly so he asked me to re-call him the next day. I said goodbye and hung up.
The next day my condition deteriorated rapidly. The rash went up to my chest and neck. I was very much afraid that it would next crawl up to my face. Should that happen, how could I face my love day in day out? In the end I decided to be hospitalised.
“Oh no! You are so cruel, Mother. I do not allow you to do it that way,” my sister protested.
Man is not born perfect. You do not have to win first place all the time. As long as you’ve tried your best, you are a champion.
One evening my brother and I were admiring the snowman through the window again. “Woof! Woof!” the snowman barked. OMG! I was so scared that I almost fainted on the spot. My brother started to shriek. Right away the adults came over and asked us what the matter was. We said the snowman had just barked. They were incredulous.
In the test room, when it was my turn to perform, I cleared my throat and went off. I sang confidently. I did Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself. After my performance, the judges applauded my excellent skills and gave me an A.
The racket had accompanied me for almost 12 years. Anytime I held it in my hand, those sweet childhood scenes came flooding back to mind. These days whenever I think of my pet racket, it seems as if a knife were stabbing my heart. I could not miss my favourite racket more.
In Mother’s eyes, her parents are as incompatible as fire and water. Grandpa used to be a farmer who had just finished primary school. In contrast, Gran was college educated. Their marriage is simply unthinkable. Because of their different education backgrounds, Grandpa and Gran cannot get on well.
He sells not only good pens and paper, but also enjoys a good reputation among YYHS borders.
The two stray cats I met in the lane are just like my best friend, Michael, who has been absent from school for weeks.
Instead of the cold gate handle, I found myself grasping the girl’s warm soft hand in my hand. I blushed instantly, as did the girl. A thrill ran through my body.
Now, the kitchen, which used to loom large like a monster in my mind, has stopped being a daunting place.
Eyeing my uncle up and down, the man said nonchalantly, “Officer, your head is my friend. He will let me go.”
The scar in Dad’s left hand is his pride. The scar story never fails to inspire awe in me at Dad’s bravery. It convinces me that to achieve a goal there are efforts and sacrifices to make.
I am very much afraid that Grandpa might not be able to recognise me one day. He is slipping away from us, yet there is nothing in my power to help him in any way.
Hopefully, when you grow to my age and become a senior, you will still keep a brave heart and stay as aggressive as ever.
When I was back at the flat from school later in the evening, Grandpa shared with me his discovery on the street. I could not help but feel proud of my grandfather. He was so kind and so helpful to a complete stranger. He is my idol.
There were still some flaws in his performance, but looking back on the progress he had made, I could not help but feel great admiration for the elderly gentleman. His perseverance could not have impressed me more.
Is there any chance that Grandad might stop drinking and save himself one day? I doubt it.
My father is a frugal man. He tries to save at every opportunity. I respect him for his good intentions but I would like to see him change a bit. Money matters but it is not everything. There are things and people worth spending on.
Thanks to the kind man and his family, I got back to school on time, safe and sound, in the face of the treacherous weather conditions.
All right. I have known the reason for Roy’s family’s perseverance. No matter what you might be, your loved ones believe you deserve the best treatment under the sun.
A lot of guys nowadays base their relationships with others on money or power, but I see real care and warmth in my cousin’s story. Hence I am hopeful about my own future romance.
To be honest, I find it impossible to push the exam out of my mind. It looms so large at the back of my mind that I am haunted awake or asleep. Nightmares often rouse me at night where I am trying desperately to finish a paper with the last few minutes ticking away.
Then we burst out laughing. We had a good look at the dishes in front of us and found only carrot and some other vegetables in them. That was too funny.
As you can see, whatever I might do, I will be treated to a scolding by one of my dear teachers. On the surface all the teachers act like ladies and gentlemen, but behind the scenes there is a silent tug of war going on between them.
“Don’t drink cold water!” “Don’t eat too fast!” “Don’t kick off the quilt!” “Don’t, Don’t, Don’t …” It seems that Mother will never run short of the negative word “Don’t”.
Lu was an outgoing girl when she was younger. With a sunny character, she could bring joy to everyone around. In contrast, she is very quiet now. It occurs to me that Lu is not the Lu any more.
In my class a boy can sit between two girls, and a girl between two boys. We can’t figure out why on earth the class director should have such seating arrangements in place. In most Chinese teachers’ eyes, a boy seated between two girls or a girl between two boys normally cannot get good grades, because his or her attention is often on the two classmates of the opposite sex.
“To be your father,” Dad often says, “I have to be a chef, a doctor, a nurse and many other things. Had I known it, I would have studied medicine when I was younger.”
To be honest, calling Gran was the last thing I would do. Reluctantly I picked up the phone and slowly dialled her number. Meanwhile I racked my brains, trying to come up with a topic I could share with Gran. Nothing came up to my mind, though. What could I possibly talk about with an old lady who is 55 years older than me?
Thanks to Black, I not only got my phone back but also became kind of a celebrity in our new school. More and more schoolmates got to know me through Black. Therefore, I made lots of new friends. Loneliness became a thing of the past. The credit, of course, belonged to my pet dog Black.
Last term I got injured in the leg in a soccer game. As a result, I was disabled for several weeks. Wearing a cumbersome plaster cast on the leg, I found life all of a sudden had become different. The hardest time was when it snowed twice, one storm right after the other.
After that I became more and more outgoing and confident. I am no longer an insecure girl. Instead, I am aggressive now. Maybe I should say thanks to my former maths teacher. I owe the positive change in my personality to her.
The Chinese language has an expression which says, Don’t look at people through coloured glasses. In English, the proverb, Don’t judge a book by its cover, is well circulated. Yet, it is so hard for us to practise the principle in real life.
I don’t know whether I have the power to wake up Gran. I wish she would come out of her coma as soon as possible.
Eyeballs popping out, all around were astonished, Grandad included. I am only a student. Grandad’s buddies eyed him, green with envy.
While eating my meal, I could not help but feel pity for the poor man. Just 2 yuan short, he could not take away the two meals. What had got him in such dire straits?
As a child I was curious. One thing I enjoyed doing to satisfy my curiosity was to rummage through our house for hidden treasures. I was sure that there were secrets my parents kept hidden from me.
I could not imagine why my mother should have done such a stupid thing. She often tells me that it’s much safer to take the overpass and that jaywalking is bad. I hope this experience has taught Mother a valuable lesson. She will remember it forever, I bet.
This experience has helped me to realise that we should not judge someone by their looks. Yeah, it is a cliché, but don’t judge a book merely by its cover.
It was time for class. Our teacher, a country girl, who had just finished high school, came in. When she saw the inflated “balloons”, she blushed and went ballistic.
Even though my cousin gets good grades in most exams, she has no dream and feels bored with the world. How I wish I could do something to help Kathleen out of it!
He was progressing ahead slow but steady, yelling, “Sweet potatoes, hot and warm sweet potatoes.” His clothes were in tatters, his face black and wrinkled. He was a picture of penury but his smile was genuine.
About three hours into the hike, I realised something had gone terribly wrong. My energy had almost run out, and my feet hurt. I ended up with blisters on the feet. There was still at least 8 kilometres to go before we reached the destination. How could I possibly manage it?
Mother’s explanation took the load off my mind right away. After that the noises outside my home stopped troubling me. They have become part of my normal night. Now I sleep very well with them, as if they did not exit.
Everyone around looked down on me except Mary. When I found myself teetering on the very edge of an abyss, it was Mary who pulled me back onto the right track by offering encouraging words.
Whenever the picture of Grandpa trying to get it right on the phone pops into my mind’s eye, I cannot but feel great admiration for this elderly farmer. I should have the same attitude when I am confronted with a new challenge.
It suddenly dawned on us that we are not fighting alone. While we are working hard for our future, our parents, our teachers, and even the whole world are behind us, cheering us on. On our down days, all the support and care will buoy us up hopefully. With the blessing we will stick it out to the end.
My father’s running experience convinces me that we should not underestimate our ability to achieve. Also it shows the importance of working with a buddy. As an African saying goes, if you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.
A fast-paced lifestyle forces us to rush through everything. In the process we miss a lot of small yet important details. To taste life better, we have to slow down and smell the flowers from time to time.
It seems as if I were a bird in a cage which is controlled by its keeper. Even my eating time and shitting time are fixed. I feel tired and hopeless.
At the early hour there were few cars and souls out there. It was very quiet. Therefore I was able to have the whole street to myself, enjoying my running. That was heaven.
Looking back, I realise the entire thing was a mystery. How did it come about that the Barbie’s hair grew back after it was cut? Did the doll have a life of her own?
Now, because of the initiative I have taken, I have more time at my disposal to improve myself. My daily life is becoming more colourful and fruitful thanks to the change. Challenging as high school is, I can still find fun and meaning in the work I do. Only if we are lively and ready to embrace the challenges will we have a fantastic feeling and end well.
I have got several fantastic boy friends. Strain your eyes, reader. It is boy friends, two words with a space in between. I am going to introduce one of them to you. We used to be classmates.
My childhood experience shows that we should not be indifferent to a problem just because we have not experienced it for ourselves. My parents had not suffered from a toothache, so they never took my pain seriously. For me, however, it was worse than Covid-19.
Every time a cup of milk tea is in my hand these days, I cannot help thinking about the girl. She is a true friend, although I haven’t got her name and nobody seems to know her whereabouts.
He bent over and picked the note up before he said to the class in a chirpy voice, “Boys and girls, what should I do with this note?”
My aunt’s love towards her two daughters left us all in awe. Even today whenever I think of it, I cannot help but admire my aunt enormously for her heroic selfless deed.
Looking back, I could not appreciate more Mother’s pushing me to take up the piano in the first place. Over those years I did shed many a tear for the difficult pieces and the idea of giving up surfaced many a time. Yet, thanks to Mother’s push and my own eventual perseverance, today I end up with more beautiful views on my life journey, and my drive for a better self gets stronger and stronger as time goes by.
My uncle’s plight confuses me. What matters the most to love and romance? Is education level that important?
I hope my trick has helped my close friend Peter to realise how foolish it would be to date on the Internet if he did not know the other party’s real identity.
The only influence that has lingered of my childhood pronunciation trauma is that whenever I come upon the three sounds, G, K, H, these days, I have an odd feeling in the guts.
I have kept the little secret deep in my heart over the years. I will never let Mother know about it. Even though I have stopped writing on the app, the very thought of the anonymous reader commenting on my writing page never fails to make me smile.
These days, Tom’s sweet smiles and the candy he gave me the day before his death often pop up into my mind’s eye.
Bitten by a dog at 7, I was on my guard against Grandpa’s animal in the beginning. Unexpectedly Barry did not bark fiercely at me the way other canines did. Instead he greeted me by wagging his tail merrily. We clicked right away and thus our friendship was born.
Shivering in the biting wind, I was desperate. The snowstorm had been raging on for over a week.