Classical love

Author: Cai Ling / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The charm of love lies in its intoxicating power that makes one forget oneself. Every surrender is as carefree and enchanting as a first love. Who would have thought that after such meticulous arrangements and pursuits, the winners would end up being the two of them? The love stories in the author's works all take place in the United States among Chinese people in the last century, yet they still captivate readers today with the same intensity and excitement. It's like Beethoven's works, which have become timeless classics, cherished by generations. Similarly, the pure and classic-style love of the last century can also become an eternal classic for us modern people. Therefore, I believe Linda's romantic novels, with their aesthetic beauty, can move both the seasoned middle-aged and young adults.
If there was one thing that truly brought pride and satisfaction to Yunmei in her 27-year life, it would be her return to China a year ago. When she held the plane ticket she had saved up for by cutting back on expenses, she felt an overwhelming sense of excitement. Thinking of her mother's joy upon seeing her, she believed her hard work was worth it. To win her mother's favor and the praise of her relatives, she had carefully selected appropriate gifts, spending almost all her savings from two years of work in just two weeks. Just like her mother had spent her entire life's savings to send her abroad. Her mother had only her as a daughter, born eight years after her marriage. Although this late-born daughter had once won her father's affection for many years, it did not stop him from gradually developing extramarital affairs.
From the time Yunmei could remember, she often saw a steady stream of guests at home. Her father was tall and thin, with a straight nose and piercing eyes. He always drank two glasses of wine before dinner, and his laughter after drinking was particularly hearty, often lifting Yunmei, who was four years old, on his head. However, this memory did not last long. Her mother began to clash with her father countless times—perhaps every three or five years. Then one day, after a fierce argument, her father grabbed a small suitcase and left in a hurry, leaving behind only his life savings and a few cheap plots of land. According to his own words, he had no choice; he was already a father to someone else's child! The year her father left, she was just twelve. Her mother was thirty years older than her but looked like she was fifty. She wore a messy bun, her face devoid of expression, sighing endlessly as if it had all been said too many times. In summer, she wore light blue long robes; in winter, dark blue ones. Her flat shoes were her companions whether it was sunny or rainy. The cheerful and lively mother she remembered had vanished, replaced by a mother who quietly busied herself with endless chores, always managing for only Yunmei.
Yunmei was becoming more like a girl. Her mother grew even older. When people saw them, they first admired her mother's beauty, then sighed over Yunmei's frailness. Yunmei's only goal was to raise an outstanding daughter who could one day erase all her grievances. For this purpose, her mother worked tirelessly without ever giving up. With the family's poor financial situation, she took on a large amount of sewing work. From morning till night, she was either holding a needle or operating a sewing machine, exchanging her earnings for Yunmei's comfort. Despite their lack of wealth, Yunmei had everything others had—wool sweaters, leather shoes, bicycles—and her lunch boxes were often richer than those of her classmates! However, as a child in her teens, she became unusually stubborn and selfish in her excessive focus and indulgence. She took her mother's hard work and sacrifices for granted and would throw things and complain if anything displeased her. When studying, she only chose subjects she liked; when making friends, she only played with those who shared her interests; when dressing, she always chose the best clothes, ignoring everything else. She even failed her science exams that year and was held back a grade, yet her mother never scolded her harshly. She continued to work hard for life in silence until one winter, in the biting cold outside her door, Yunmei first noticed her mother's hair had turned white at the temples and her eyes were filled with wrinkles, filled with hardship. She then secretly resolved to be a good daughter, to bring honor to her mother, and to make up for her mother's lifelong suffering.
It was with this ambition and belief that, after growing up, Yunmei, through half luck and half effort, secured an opportunity to study abroad. She left her mother without hesitation, heading to a foreign land where she was a stranger, enduring seven years of pain and suffering with no one to care or respond. During those seven years, whether in studies, work, or life, she learned a great deal. But the most valuable lesson came from the four cold walls of her room. The walls always watched her with indifference: her smiles, her tears, her successes, and her failures. It all depended on herself. After years of hard work, struggle, and competition, Yunmei finally found a stable place for herself in her foreign land. She not only earned two degrees but also secured a superior job and a permanent resident green card. For a young single woman, it was no small achievement.
Her next desire was to return to China to see her long-lost mother.
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