Extra #2: You Are the Candy Bestowed by Heaven

Dear Dà Lín,

In the late spring, the trees are lush with greenery, and the roses are about to bloom; the earth already carries the breath of early summer.

Many years ago, you were born during this beautiful transition between spring and summer.

Is it because of this that your smile is as bright as a sunny spring day?

Yesterday, I went to the radio station to record a book program. The host asked me, “Everyone’s youth is both similar and different. How would you define your youth?”

This is how I responded—my youth had a watershed moment, which was meeting my husband. Before meeting him, my world was often dreary with rain and snow, as I grew up in the perpetually rainy south, burdened by a forced melancholy of making new words for old sorrows. After meeting him, my world began to show colors of the rainbow. Even when it rained occasionally, it felt like candy rain.

Yes, you are the candy bestowed by heaven, allowing me to remain a carefree child all my life. Life inevitably has its bitterness, but your sweet presence dissolves all the hardships.

If someone were to ask me what the luckiest thing in life is, I would definitely say—the luckiest thing in life is encountering literature and love, especially meeting you at the most beautiful time of my life!

And how honored I am that both literature and love are connected to you! Because of literature, I had the chance to meet you; because you love me deeply, I have found love.

Yesterday morning, I silently watched you sitting at your desk, finding it hard to believe that we’ve been in love for nineteen years! And yet, it feels as if we just met yesterday, and you are still that naive young man.

These seemingly long nineteen years have passed without me feeling the passage of time because you have been by my side.

In these nineteen years, we have transformed from being lovers to becoming a loving couple, built our little home, added an adorable little girl to our family, and now even have a cute cat.

This is the life I’ve always dreamed of, and because of your companionship and support, my dreams have come true one by one.

My new book is titled You Are My Ideal World . Someone asked me what the “you” in the title represents. I think this “you” includes the ideal version of myself, the life I yearn for, and the person I love.

Loving you, you have supported almost all of my decisions. You are my pillar of strength, and as long as you are by my side, I feel at ease.

After so many years of love, what I am most grateful for is your willingness to change yourself for me. Despite your lazy and homebody tendencies, you fought against laziness and the urge to stay indoors, reading with me, traveling with me, and raising cats with me...

You made me realize: doing the things I love with the person I love brings such happiness and fulfillment!

On your birthday today, I want to thank your mother for bringing you into this world, thank you for accompanying and taking care of me for so many years, and thank you for tolerating my little tantrums. I know, you spoil me too much; I can’t drive you away even if I wanted to!

After all, we are meant to stick together for a lifetime!

If life has four seasons, we have already entered the summer of life. But because of you, I always feel as if it’s spring all year round.

Just as I wrote in You Are My Ideal World —the four seasons are like books,

You are the page belonging to spring,

Accidentally embedded in my winter,

From then on, my world has been in eternal spring.

Yours, Dà Níng April 29, 2021