FreeDn

 　　Part 1: The Fragrance of Tea 　　My first experience of drinking tea was both bittersweet and novel. 　　I was probably ten years old that year. One day, my father invited us to drink tea. He brought out very ordinary jasmine tea, a 1.2 yuan packet, 100 grams in a paper bag. My brother, sister, and I each took a cup. My father told us to add tea leaves as much as we wanted. I think I was too excited and poured more than the combined amount for both of us. Then my brother said, "You can't waste it, you have to drink it properly." 　　I think I was just trying to prove him wrong. We started drinking, cup after cup. At first it was a little bitter, but it was a bitterness I didn't dislike. Then came a strong fragrance, then a light fragrance, a subtle fragrance, and finally, no taste at all. In the end, I was disappointed that the tea fragrance had completely disappeared. But the whole process was so wonderful! 　　From that moment on, I think I fell in love with the taste of...

 　　Part 1: A Morning in Early Summer A 　　morning in early summer is quiet and clear. The azure sky still reflects the shadow of the full moon. The small tree, about the size of a bowl, in the center of the neighborhood is still asleep, and the little bird perched on its branch is also asleep. The bird is very close to me; if I listen carefully, I can almost hear its soft snoring. 　　I stand quietly, afraid of making the slightest sound to disturb the little bird's sweet dream. I tiptoe and cautiously observe it; the little creature's pale green feathers seem to still have a thin layer of dust on them. I guess it must have just flown a long way and hasn't had time to clean itself before falling asleep. I wonder where its companions are; why is it all alone? Gazing at the little bird's soundly sleeping appearance, a feeling of admiration suddenly rises in my heart. 　　I don't know if this is the little bird's destination, or if it's here to find companions or ju...

 　　Part 1: Our Humble Lives 　　That day, I went out with a colleague. He was driving, and I was sitting in the passenger seat, happily talking on the phone with a friend. Suddenly, two cars that had collided whizzed past us. I could only see that the front of both cars was completely mangled; I couldn't see anything else clearly. I silently prayed that no one was injured; my family was still waiting for me to return home safely. 　　Every day, we hear about how many people die in traffic accidents, how many die in mining disasters, and how many are injured in accidents. How many people around us quietly leave this bustling world every day? 　　When I was little, I always thought death was a huge deal; when someone died, the sky collapsed. Until fourth grade, our homeroom teacher scolded a naughty boy in our class: "Even if you died today, it wouldn't be a big deal. The earth will still turn tomorrow!" I don't remember why the teacher said that to that boy; I only remem...

 　　When I was learning makeup at a beauty school, my teacher told us that makeup is about highlighting your strengths and minimizing your weaknesses. We use cosmetics like highlighter, contour, eyebrow powder, eyeshadow, blush, eyeliner, lip liner, and lipstick to modify our face shape and features. A single makeup look usually takes two hours to complete. Once, a German makeup artist came to teach, and I had the opportunity to have him do my makeup. He finished in just five minutes, and I was very satisfied with my look. He said my eyes were beautiful, so focusing on making them look pretty was enough. For my downturned mouth, he only applied a little clear lip gloss. His view was: highlight your strengths, not your weaknesses. No one's features are perfect. Makeup isn't plastic surgery; sometimes, trying to conceal flaws only makes them worse. It's better to let your best features shine and attract attention, diverting attention from the flaws. 　　My classmate, Da Liu, liv...

 　　From any perspective, my colleague Xiaoyu seemed far from happiness. 　　Her husband, a factory worker, was laid off at a young age and has been making ends meet for over ten years by doing odd jobs. It's hard work, and the income is meager. The cost of their child's formula and school fees rests entirely on Xiaoyu's shoulders, as a teacher. And that's not all; Xiaoyu's mother-in-law is notoriously difficult and shrewish, bossing her around at home. Instead of showing gratitude or pity to Xiaoyu, the breadwinner, she treats her like a servant. 　　Everyone thinks Xiaoyu lives in misery, her heart must be filled with bitterness and desolation, utterly devoid of happiness. Yet, Xiaoyu doesn't shed a tear; on the contrary, she sings loudly and smiles brightly every day. Everyone is puzzled—how can she be so happy with so many worries? Xiaoyu smiles gently and replies, "It's because I keep my troubles out of my heart and consciously activate happiness mode....

 　　That day, my best friend and I were watching a popular TV series. The female lead in the show was trying to please her narrow-minded boss for work. After watching, my friend shook her head and said, "The most tiring thing in the world is trying to please others." I nodded in agreement. In our work and life, we always rack our brains to take care of this person and please that person, but we forget to please ourselves. 　　One of my friends, A-Luo, majored in Chinese Language and Literature in college, but she used her spare time to teach herself English. While other classmates were scrambling to find jobs after graduation, she had already found a well-paying translation job. 　　Her classmates were all amazed when they talked about it, saying, "Who can compare to A-Luo? She studied English so hard in college, how could she not find a good job?" After hearing this, A'luo laughed so hard she bent over, saying, "I wasn't looking for a job; I was just heartb...

 　　One evening at sunset, I was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Looking out the window, I saw the setting sun hanging high above the tall cedar trees in the nearby park, casting an orange glow on the lake below. The beauty was alluring, and I remembered my promise to a friend to photograph the park's paths. So I took off my apron, quickly changed, slipped on my shoes, and rushed downstairs, hoping to capture this beautiful scene before the sun dipped below the horizon. However, as I ran out the door, crossed the street, and reached the park entrance, the large, beautiful sunset had already mercilessly disappeared into the branches of the trees. I hurried towards the path, trying to press the shutter before it set, but I was defeated. By the time I raised my camera, it had already mercilessly sunk into the lake, leaving only a glimmer of light. After a brief pause, that light also vanished, and darkness quickly swallowed everything around me. Frustrated, I was once again deeply str...

 　　Suddenly, a sentence someone once said came to mind: "Really, not many people care about you." 　　But I have indeed been cared for by others. My 　　mother was illiterate and didn't know the date on the Gregorian calendar, but when she was alive, she remembered Saturdays and Sundays very accurately. Because I, her son who worked in the county town, came home most often on Sundays. Whenever I went out or was sick, I would see my mother kneeling before the ancestral tablet to burn incense, praying to heaven for a safe journey and a speedy recovery. My father was the first to notice the white hair on my head. He lived in the village and loved hearing stories about me from the villagers. One night, after drinking too much 　　, my wife boiled a kettle of water and left a cup. When I woke up in the middle of the night, she woke up too, afraid I would feel dizzy and fall, so she helped me to the toilet. The next morning, she told me she hadn't slept well all night, constantly...

 　　More and more, I feel that, slowly, without realizing it, you've entered my life, and now, I feel like someone lives in my heart. I don't know when I started noticing you, I don't know you, we haven't even said a word to each other, so how can I say I love you? I'm afraid of the consequences of telling you I like you; it's such a difficult choice. Life is about choices, choosing while giving up, like a cat that loves to eat fish but can't swim, or a fish that loves to eat earthworms but can't go ashore. Some people advise me to confess to the person I like, regardless of success or failure, but I'm afraid of the awkwardness of meeting them after a failure. Sometimes I think I'm so stupid. In high school, someone liked me, she confessed to me, but I ran away. I admit I liked her before, but only then. That day, I told her I seemed to like someone, she said she guessed, told her to be quiet, and then she didn't reply to my messages. Maybe I ...