Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The film’s name was “Caring Love”, and it reflected on four kinds of love.
Qi Xiaoran’s parents’ love and care that hoped their child to become successful.
Yang Qi’s parents love that had inadvertently taken away her innocent childhood.
Xu Chen’s parents love for him that allowed him to squander endlessly – a materialistic care that was bereft of any warmth.
Wei You’s parents’ shallow attitude that only paid attention to results. They thought that if his results were excellent, everything else would be fine.
Which kind of love and care did a child need?
It involved more than just education. The problem regarding youths’ physical and mental protection reflected many details of society. It was enough to instigate discourse among children, their parents, teachers, schools, educational institutions, and even the government.
It sufficed to say that as long as the other three actors didn’t hold her back in terms of acting and express the suffocation, oppression and contradiction among the early stage high schooler, this movie would receive good results.
Yun Xiangxiang brought the script home. Su Xiuling was very happy to know that Yun Xiangxiang was going to film a movie.
Su Xiuling learned dancing. Even though she didn’t have much fame, it was still considered art. She didn’t play table mahjong in groups like other young mothers after she resigned, but instead, she paid close attention to the influence she had on her children. Aside from teaching her children to dance, she also learned about different cultures.
She was an artist. She also viewed films as a form of art. She excitedly went over to her daughter to read the script with her. After reading the script, Su Xiuling was very quiet for a long time before deciding to have a chat with her daughter.
That night while she was laying in bed with Yun Xiangxiang, she asked, “Xiangxiang, do you think Yang Qi is pitiful?”
Under the blankets, Yun Xiangxiang held her mother’s hands, “Mom, Yang Qi is pitiful because she is Yang Qi, but I am not Yang Qi.”
“En?” Su Xiuling thought that her daughter would use this opportunity to vent about her inner thoughts and her dissatisfactions. She didn’t expect her daughter to answer like this.
“Mom, everyone has different interests. Yang Qi studied to maintain her reputation and grades. She wanted to cement her place in the hearts of her classmates, teachers, and parents while deep down in her heart, she wanted to play like her other classmates. I can’t deny that I like going out with my classmates in the weekends, but I prefer when you arrange tuition classes fully for me.”
Yun Xiangxiang talked very sincerely, “It is fun to go out and play, but I feel flustered and empty when I come back. Only these studies can satisfy my soul. Although studying day and night would make me feel pressured, and sometimes I feel like retreating from it, after I overcome it, I feel spiritually fulfilled.”
The real Yun Xiangxiang was only a teenager whose heart and soul hadn’t matured yet, thus she would walk into a dead end. However, she wasn’t wrong.
But thinking back after thirty years of living, she really hoped to absorb different knowledge just like a sponge.
In fact, those children who lived free and easy would also regret not taking hold of every moment when they reached a certain age. That was because they became more mature and rational.
Yun Xiangxiang could not tell Su Xiuling all this. She didn’t lie to Su Xiuling. There were indeed children who found joy in studying and children who didn’t possess any childish innocence.
“Mom, why don’t we go out to have fun as a family every Saturday?” No matter how much she liked to study, Yun Xiangxiang’s schedule was too full.
She had an advantage because of her family to start learning at a young age. When she was in first grade, she already could recite the law. She had always been at the top of her class.
Therefore, Su Xiuling paid more attention to arts like piano, guzheng, painting, calligraphy and dance ever since she was young. In middle school, she added French, a language other than English.
Su Xiuling expected her children to be a jack of all trades, but a master of none in the arts as she didn’t expect her children to rely on them for a living. It was only to cultivate their temperament and broaden their horizons.
Yun Xiangxiang was a perfectionist. She would put in all her might, giving her all just so she could be praised by her teachers and applauded by her parents.
Although Su Xiuling was a competent mother, there was still Yun Lin at home. The siblings were six years apart from each other. This was the reason Su Xiuling couldn’t place her attention fully on her daughter, and so her neglect was excusable.
Yun Xiangxiang was a mature soul. When she first entered the industry, she worked very hard, and the things she had to learn were three times more than now. Naturally, she could bear the burden, but Yun Lin was still a child. Yun Xiangxiang still hoped to break this family education method.
Su Xiuling understood what Yun Xiangxiang was saying. While she didn’t find her current lifestyle difficult, she still felt bored sometimes. Although she liked to learn, she needed some time to relax and breath in the fresh air.
She couldn’t help but reflect on how they had neglected their daughter because of how their daughter never complained about being tired or too burdened.
Never mind children, even adults would be exhausted, having to work day after day.
The difference in this was that adults had to clench their teeth to proceed in life. The parents would compare their children with themselves. They assumed that since they had to bear such hardships now, that their children would suffer in the future if they couldn’t even handle a little hardship at their young age.
But they had forgotten that different ages had different levels of tolerance toward stress. If it was too overwhleming too early, it could be fatal.
“Alright, I will tell your father.” While Yun Zhibin was old fashioned, he feared his wife. Thus, Su Xiuling was full of confidence. “Your pay after deducting taxes is twenty thousand. The first third is paid first and the rest will be transferred to your credit card after you finish filming. This is your own money. Your father and I have discussed to have it saved in your credit card. We will keep the credit card for you and give it to you after you turn twenty years old. Of course, if you need it urgently, and you can give us a reasonable reason, we won’t stop you.”
With the amount of scenes Yang Qi had, even if Yun Xiangxiang was a newcomer that hadn’t entered the circle, she knew that two hundred thousand was too low.
However, Yun Xiangxiang knew that Zhou Wei’s previous films had all failed, and the investments he received must have been very little. It might not have even exceeded five million. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to film at their school.
Presumably, the principal didn’t collect venue fees. After all, it was still the new campus, and it was still empty there. If the movie gained good responses after lending the venue out to film the movie, it would be great publicity for the school.
This was also the reason why the principal tried his hardest to convince Yun Zhibin to let Yun Xiangxiang participate in the filming. The school needed to be promoted as well. The promotion of the school was not only limited to the annual examination reputation. It needed other forms of promotions.
“I will save it up to buy a house in the future,” said Yun Xiangxiang casually.
She decidedly to enroll in a university in Beijing. Yun Lin being a copycat siscon would undoubtedly follow her footsteps. By then, their parents could retire and travel to Beijing together. That meant that she would need to purchase the house in Beijing.
She actually wanted Yun Lin to enroll into a high school in Beijing city four years later. She would enroll into university a year and a half later so she would have two years to work and save up to buy a house in Beijing.