I set you up on a blind date, and you've managed to overcome all the weirdness?

I went in like that.

At first, I didn't understand anything.

A child saw me, pointed at me, and said:

"Mom, look, a frog."

Then he slapped the water, splashing water all over my face.

I shrank back a little.

The child laughed, and when he laughed, several other children around him laughed too.

They all surrounded me. Some grabbed my hands, some patted my stomach, and one of the bolder ones even climbed onto my back, wanting me to carry him while swimming.

Honestly, that job was anything but easy.

I wore that outfit and soaked in the water all day; my skin got all sore and irritated.

When I got ashore, the soles of my feet were wrinkled like beans that had been soaking overnight.

Later, I talked to the manager of the water park about whether I could bring Xiaoming to work every day.

"He doesn't cause trouble or run around; he just sits on the shore."

"I'll keep an eye on him, really."

The manager, being soft-hearted, glanced at Xiaoming, didn't ask any further questions, and agreed.

I brought Xiaoming over the next day.

My mom was worried at first; she thought it was dangerous near the water.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm right here. He won't go into the water."

My mom didn't say anything else.

She knew I couldn't live without him, and he couldn't live without me either.

Those days seemed to be getting better.

Xiao Ming reached out his hand again.

One day I came out of the water and sat next to him, inflating a balloon.

He was sitting on the bench when he suddenly reached out and touched me.

Later he started to acknowledge me.

Although he recognized the frog, not Chen Shu.

I ate on the shore, and I took off my headgear and put it aside.

Xiao Ming sat in the distance, glanced at me, and then turned away.

I put on the hood and walked up to him.

He glanced at me again, then leaned forward slightly.

He'll be there as long as the frog is there.

I really felt it was worth it at that time.

It was all worth it.

Soaking in water for eight or nine hours every day, getting leg cramps that wake me up in the middle of the night, and having my fingers and toes turn white and wrinkled from being in the water—it was all worth it.

That autumn, on November 7th, was my birthday.

The sun was shining brightly that afternoon.

I stood by the wave pool, not yet in the water, but already wearing the frog suit with the headgear tucked under my armpits.

Xiaoming was sitting on the bench, clutching a frog balloon in his hand, which I gave him before I left this morning.

I walked over and squatted down in front of him.

"Xiao Ming."

He didn't look up.

"Call me Dad."

He didn't call out.

I'm used to it. I stood up, ready to put on the hood and go into the water.

Just as I was putting on the hood, I heard a voice.

"Lol."

I turned my head.

Xiaoming is looking at me.

His mouth was crooked, pulled to both sides, as if something was about to burst out of the ground on his face.

He made another sound.

"Giggle."

He smiled.

For the first time in his life, he smiled.

The next day I took him to the provincial hospital for a follow-up examination.

It's the same doctor.

He placed the new report on the table, glanced at me, and said something.

"This is a medical miracle."

He asked me a lot of questions, and finally he said that as long as he kept going, he could live like a normal child.

I folded the report and put it into the inner pocket of my breast pocket.

I took Xiaoming to eat KFC.

While we were eating fries, he took one and handed it to me.

Two fries, one for each person.

At that moment, I really thought it was dawn.

I've almost paid off my debts, and I've also found out about the nearby primary schools. My manager said I've performed well and will give me a raise next summer.

I'm thinking that once Xiaoming is able to go to school on his own, I'll find a less strenuous job.

I don't need to go to the night market anymore; I can cook him a meal at home.

that's it.

That's all I need.

Don't be greedy.

I'm really not greedy.

At that time, I didn't know that there was something in this world that didn't reason with you.

It doesn't ask if you're ready or if you can handle it.

It comes whenever it wants, and when it comes, it doesn't even knock.

That afternoon was the same as usual.

I played a passing game with some kids in the pool.

Xiao Ming sat on a bench by the shore, holding a frog balloon in his hands.

He looked down at the frog drawn on the balloon.

I've been in the water for almost four hours today. My legs are a little sore, but I don't feel tired.

A child passed the ball off course, so I fished it out of the water and threw it back. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two more people on the shore.

They didn't look like tourists at all.

A man holding a cell phone, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

He had a fill light hanging around his neck, and a young man carrying a tripod was following beside him.

I thought they were there to film a promotional video for the water park, so I didn't pay much attention.

The thin man walked around the shore holding his phone.

The camera pans across the water, over the children playing in it, over the slides, and over the barbecue stalls in the rest area.

Then his camera stopped.

It stopped on Xiaoming.

He took two steps forward and pointed the camera at Xiaoming.

I'm still in the water.

I was about ten meters away from the shore, with a few children playing in the water between me and them.

I saw his camera pointed at Xiaoming, and I saw him push his phone closer.

I called out, "Hey!"

He ignored me.

I yelled again, "Dude, don't film my son!"

He finally heard me, turned his head, glanced at me, and smiled.

But he didn't stop; he turned his phone back and continued filming.

I started walking towards the shore.

The water created resistance, making it difficult to move quickly, so I pedaled forward step by step.

When I got to the shore, I saw that the man had already squatted down in front of Xiaoming.

The fill light was turned on, and white light shone on Xiaoming's face.

Xiao Ming shrank back a little.

He looked up from the balloon and at the person in front of him.

He doesn't know him.

He didn't know why this person was squatting in front of him, or why he was pointing a glowing object at his face.

His shoulders began to hunch inwards.

"Don't take pictures of him."

I came up from the water, and water was gushing down my frog suit.

I walked in front of Xiaoming and blocked the camera.

The man moved aside, walked around me, and continued taking pictures.

I blocked it again.

"He's afraid of this, can you turn off the light?"

The man lowered his phone slightly and glanced at me.

"Are you his father?"

"Um."

"That's perfect." He held his phone up, took two steps back, and framed me and Xiaoming together in the viewfinder.

"Family members, look at this!"

His voice suddenly grew louder, like the sentimental tone of a clown in a play trying to attract attention.

"He's a single dad! He's dressed as a frog in the water park! He brings his child to work! Look at his clothes, look at his hands..."

Holding up the phone in one hand, she reached out with the other to grab my wrist, wanting me to show my hand to the camera.

I pulled my hand back.

"Don't do that, really, the child is shy." I lowered my voice.

The man ignored me and turned back to his phone to continue typing:

"Family members, this father wears this heavy mascot costume, weighing dozens of kilograms, and soaks in the water for seven or eight hours every day, just to earn money for his child's medical expenses! His child..."

"No, look at the state of this child."

The camera turned back to us.

Xiao Ming had shrunk all the way to the back of the chair, hugging his knees with both hands, burying his chin between his knees, and the balloon had fallen to the ground.

The fill light was still shining on him.