Growing towards the sun

Chen Xu's world began with a bowl of steaming tomato and egg noodles.

His home wasn't in some ritzy area; it was in one of the city's most ordinary, even somewhat run-down, residential areas. It wasn't big, and always a bit messy. His mother's balls of yarn lay haphazardly on the sofa, his father's newspapers were scattered on the coffee table, and the clothes drying on the balcony smelled of the sun's laundry detergent.

His father was a bus driver, his mother an elementary school teacher. Both held ordinary jobs, earning a modest but stable salary. They would nag about the utility bills, fret over Chen Xu's subpar report cards, and even buy him a roast duck on weekends as a reward for a hard week.

Chen Xu grew up surrounded by love. Not the kind of love that provides luxurious living and unwavering obedience, but rather the down-to-earth, trivial, down-to-earth kind of love. It's the candied haws his father brings home from work, the slightly tangy sweater his mother knits him late into the night, the warm milk always on his desk before exams, and the stern yet never hurtful reprimand after he makes a mistake.

He wasn't the brightest or most accomplished child. He was a bit naughty, often distracted in class, and his grades were above average. But he seemed to have a natural radiance of sunshine. He loved sharing, even breaking a piece of candy in half to share with a friend. He was easily happy; a win could elevate him for days, and an exceptional performance on a test could make him feel like a genius. He also suffered from sadness, hiding and crying when misunderstood by friends or when he lost a game. But a meal of his mother's signature dishes and his father's clumsy comfort would quickly cheer him up.

Perhaps his biggest setback was missing out on his dream university by a few points on the college entrance exam. He was depressed for nearly two weeks, but his parents didn't blame him too much. They simply said, "It's okay, son. You can shine anywhere." He cheered up again and continued his lively and friendly life at another good university.

After graduating from university, he joined an ordinary company and took on an ordinary clerk job. He encountered demanding bosses, difficult clients, struggled with KPIs and overtime, and complained to his colleagues. But he always found ways to have fun: discovering a delicious roadside stall, organizing a weekend game session, and treating everyone to milk tea on payday. His troubles were concrete and temporary, like a summer thunderstorm, coming and going quickly, never accumulating into a gloomy cloud.

He loves everything lively, warm, and down-to-earth in this world. The cries of vendors at the vegetable market, the smoky aroma of barbecues at the night market, the bustle of friends' gatherings, even the hurried footsteps of colleagues in the office corridor... these may sound like "noise" to Ye Shu, but to him, they are the vibrant pulse of life.

His initial attraction to Ye Shu might have been simply out of instinctive curiosity and a natural tendency to spread warmth. He couldn't understand how someone could live so quietly, so detached, as if needing no warmth from others. Growing up in a world saturated with love, he naturally wanted to draw close, to share, to illuminate.

His past contained no earth-shattering stories, no unforgettable losses, but only a soil nourished by the warmth of daily life. This soil allowed him to trust without reservation, to quickly recover from setbacks, and to always have passion and anticipation for life.

Chen Xu's "little sun" is not ignorant of the sufferings of the world, but his roots are deeply rooted in the warm and solid soil, which enables him to always grow towards the light, and instinctively, he wants to spread the sunshine to those corners that he feels are cold and lonely.

His past is a microcosm of the most beautiful and warmest part of the world that Ye Shu chose to leave behind. He is the most devout believer in the mundane world, and he loves and embraces this imperfect yet worthwhile world in the simplest way.