To be honest, there is nothing that attracts me to these films and television dramas.

　　The absurdity of the story and the characters' thoughts make me feel like I'm watching children play house.

　　The content is full of greed, fear, manipulation, desire, anger, and sadness.

　　They will stop at nothing for success and will sacrifice everything for love.

　　They like to possess but not lose.

　　They like to receive but not to give.

　　They believe that ideals can be achieved through hard work and that difficulties can be overcome for success.

　　Justice always triumphs over evil, and handsome men always get beautiful women.

　　Of course, they are not wrong, but they have not looked at reality.

　　They end when the male and female leads are at their sweetest and never show what happens after they fall out of love and break their vows.

　　They hurt themselves and each other, and in the end, one dies while the other suffers to prove their love's greatness.

　　These contradictions and conflicts never seem to bore them.

　　They will say to the audience, "Look, this is a success, this is love, and only through these can you live a life of true value."

　　These concepts amuse me.

　　But I like to pretend to be interested because my mother's eyes are always on me.

　　She will notice my state.

　　If I look sleepy, she will frown slightly and become impatient.

　　If I am attentive, she will smile with satisfaction.

　　There is no reason for me to displease her, and there is nothing else to do.

　　So I sit here and entertain my mother.

　　Whenever I get up to do something, my mother pauses the disc and waits for me to come back and watch with her.

　　I completely understand her behavior because what she is doing now is what I wanted to do when I was a child.

　　We're both children, and I like being a child.

　　I walked contentedly on the cobblestone road.

　　There were no traffic lights, zebra crossings, or guardrails.

　　Pedestrians, bicycles, and electric scooters freely shuttle on the narrow road, seemingly chaotic but actually in order.

　　I like the tranquility of my hometown.

　　The pace here is slow, and the breeze carries a refreshing fragrance.

　　Everything is pleasing to the eye.

　　At the market, I bought pineapple, pork loin, eggs, and tomato sauce.

　　As I was leaving, I heard someone call out from behind me, "Wei Zhou."

　　I turned around and saw a middle-aged man in his thirties.

　　He was slightly fat, square-faced, and had fair skin.

　　When he saw me turn back, he exclaimed with delight, "It's really you! I thought I had the wrong person."

　　I looked at him curiously and asked, "Who are you?"

　　He walked up to me, slapped his chest, and said, "My big thighs are here for you to hug, and my shoulders are here for you to lean on."

　　I was taken aback and hesitated before asking, "Are you... Xiaoshuai Feng?"

　　"Yeah, I was!" He said a little sheepishly, "I've gained some weight over the years, but I haven't changed that much, have I?"

　　I couldn't help but laugh.

　　Xiaoshuai Feng was my elementary school classmate.

　　In my memory, he was always slim and tall.

　　I didn't expect that after so many years, he would look like this.

　　I patted his shoulder and said, "Okay, your life must be very well I guess. I almost didn't recognize you."

　　He raised his eyebrow and said, "Hey, are you trying to make fun of me? I even made it onto the sports team in high school! I used to have a male model's figure. I don't know how many girls were infatuated with me."

　　"How did you change so much?"

　　He sighed and said, "It's all because of my dad. He forced me to get married. After I got married, I became lazy. My wife is diligent, and I am greedy. It's not strange that I got fat! Now I can't lose weight even if I want to. I don't have the willpower."

　　"I think it's great. Being plump is cute," I said.

　　"What's so cute about it?" He asked, "The girls don't find me attractive anymore. Wei Zhou, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I heard you went to the big city. How are you doing now?"

　　"It's all okay. Just going home to visit my mother this time," I said.

　　He frowned and said, "I look down upon the people in your family. Your brother is known in town for being greedy and stingy. He even goes to great lengths to cheat his employees' wages. His wife is even more bizarre. She joined the church and constantly talks about love, but her actions are the opposite. She can't stand it when others are wealthier or doing better than her and enjoys causing trouble. I told my wife to keep her distance from your sister-in-law!

　　"As for your mother... she favors sons over daughters, but that's how people in town are. In order to inherit your father's assets, she practically kicked you out and spread lies about you. The people in town aren't stupid. You can fool them once, but you can't fool them forever. Your brother's mistreatment of her is also her karma."

　　I shook my head and said, "I was young and foolish at the time. It's not my mother's fault. She had her difficulties."

　　Xiaoshuai Feng nodded and said, "Okay, you are generous. But it's true, 'A son never despises his mother for ugliness.' No matter how bad she is, she's still your mother. Wei Zhou, to be honest, I've always admired you."

　　I laughed and said, "Really? I remember you used to bully me and made me call you brother."

　　He blushed and lowered his head. "Actually, I did that on purpose. I just wanted you to notice me. You barely talked to me all day even though we were desk mates! But you are who you are. No one can make you submit. No matter how much I pressured or even flirted with you, you always acted as if nothing happened.

　　"Do you remember the incident in fifth grade where someone got hit? It was on the playground during break time. Principal Li's grandson, Bin Li, and seven or eight classmates were bullying two girls from our class. The teacher wasn't around, and we were all far away, too scared to stop them. Except for you. You picked up a brick and hit Bin Li on the head, knocking him out.

　　"The scene was chaotic. Many people were screaming, and some students ran away in fear. But you were different. You didn't look the slightest bit panicked. You put the brick down and stood calmly in place, waiting for the teachers to come. I will never forget that composed expression." He paused, his demeanor becoming slightly excited, and continued, "Later, the disciplinary committee criticized you and made you write a reflection. Oh my god! You took the paper the headmaster gave you and tore it to pieces in front of him.

　　"I remember you saying, 'I admit I hit someone, but I won't regret what I did. If the school thinks I did something wrong, you can punish me. I'll accept any punishment. But why do you make me write a reflection? Why make me feel so guilty? Or regretful? This is my life, not yours, and I will never feel guilty for what I have done.'"

　　I fell silent for a moment, remembering that childhood experience.

　　I couldn't help but sigh, "Violence can't solve any problems. If it weren't for my grandfather's visits to Principal Li, I wouldn't have handled it so easily. Who knows, maybe I would have transferred to another school."

　　"Do you regret it now?" he asked.

　　I smiled and shook my head, "Whatever I went through, I was meant to experience it. I won't regret it - I'll just feel complete."