“My family won’t let me go to a TF Boys concert. I’ve liked them for years, and they’re about to break up soon. I really, really want to go watch. Should I”
OP attaches screenshots of their texts with their mom.
OP: “Mommy, do you want to sponsor a dream? I want to go watch the TF Boys 10th Anniversary concert T_T You know I’ve loved them for years. They’re going to break up this time. I don’t want to leave any regrets.”
Mom: “Where?”
OP: “Xi’an. I’m going with [censored] name and some other friends. But I can’t afford the tickets T_T”
Mom: “Oh, so you want money from me :) I think you shouldn’t go—it’s exhausting, and you dad and I are gonna be worried about you travelling so far on your own. I know all those friends, and they’re all goobers. If something happened, who would take responsibility? I’ve seen videos of a girl going out on her own, and getting abducted into a village, and getting raped and getting her kidneys stolen. Just don’t go out.”
OP: “But we’ve already agreed on it and everything T_T A lot of people are taking out loans in order to go. I just need a little help.”
Mom: “I don’t have any money. You know things are harder this year. Why don’t you know how to think on behalf of us?”
OP: “Fine. I know that you can still squeeze out 3000. When I go, I’ll bring you back tasty snacks. I haven’t went anywhere this whole summer break. Everyone else is travelling.”
Mom: “Your dad’s been having issues with his leg. We’ve been talking about taking him to the hospital to run some tests. Why don’t you think on behalf of us adults? 3000 RMB could pay for your dad’s exams. Everyone else going has work. Are you working? What’s even the point of watching them anyways.”
OP: “[Reaction image saying “I’ll try to cry quietly”] But I’ve loved them for years and years and they’re going to break up soon. This is my dream T_T I know about my dad’s tests. [Reaction image saying, “It’s fine if you’re happy” Anyway, I don’t care. If you don’t give me money, I’ll figure something out myself.”
Comments say, “Then figure something out yourself. Can’t believe you’re so rude when you’re demanding money. What the hell do you mean, “I know you can squeeze out 3000.” It’s not like you’re making money. You don’t know how much it takes to run a household. Why don’t you care about your dad’s leg? You talk about dreams all the time, but what have you actually done for your dreams? Don’t just focus on making trouble for your family.”
“Dude, no one is taking out loans to go. That’s literally just a meme among fans. And you don’t need to pick a time to see them, just wait until you can afford to go on your own. The promise of ten years was just a promotional trick when they first formed the boy band. It’s not that important.”
“If you’re underage and you’re not local, then don’t go. It’s not just a matter of expense. Parents really will worry about the safety of interstate travel.”
“Most of my hate of stretch marks come from the feeling of losing control. Before I got pregnant, the information I learned was that you can prevent stretch marks. So as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started doing really careful skin care on my stomach. Every meal, I only ate about a fist-sized ball of wild rice, 80 grams of meat, 60 grams of other proteins, 200 grams of vegetables. Even on my cheat days, I’d eat a single bite of unhealthy food and stop. In the first five months, I only gained 4.5kg. I did yoga with a private coach 2-3 times a week, and walked 4-6000 steps every day.
From the third month on, I stopped eating all my favourite durian or Japanese food. If I was hungry, I’d just drink some water. At most, I’d eat half of a little snack under 100 calories.
Even with this much hard work, I still grew stretch marks. And I was told that once they appeared, they never go away. Even plastic surgery can only make them less noticeable. I felt like it was the end of the world. To this day, I can’t accept my stretch marks.
If I hadn’t tried at all. If I’d ate whatever I want, never exercised, never done skincare, then at least I could say it was because I didn’t work hard. There’s nobody to blame but myself. But after I put myself through all that, people tell me it’s just a matter of body type? It made me really upset and disappointed. I will keep away from unhealthy food, I still exercise, but I know now that none of it matters.”
Comments say, “You can’t do that. Your nutrition isn’t gonna keep up as your pregnancy goes along. You’ll get anaemia and your lower body is gonna get bloated. Eat a little more. Don’t screw up your own body.”
“In my memory, doing some abdominal exercises before pregnancy can prevent it. If you keep up with vaseline every day, you can still slowdown the growth. Every time I went to the bathroom, I’d bring a little thing of vaseline with me, and apply it while I’m going.”
“You can tell yourself that if you hadn’t tried that hard, you could have a whole lot more stretch marks?”
“I got a private message about a kiddo who was born deaf yesterday, consulting me about whether to get a free hearing device from the government or pay six figure for their own hearing device. Since it was full of technical details, I didn’t bother making my reply public, but something OP said in their DMs is:
“We both had normal hearing, so we didn’t think to test for deafness genes during our pregnancy check ups. Then he couldn’t pass the hearing test at three months, the doctor asked about family history, and that’s when I found out that my husband’s cousin talks with a lisp because he can’t hear well. Both of us are carrying recessive deafness genes. It was a 25% chance, and our kid got unlucky. So I’m reminding everyone out there, if there’s anyone with bad hearing in either of your families, you need to test for deafness genes before you get pregnant!”
Comments say, “My daughter was born deaf. At 26 months old, we went though the government program to get her a free Austrian hearing aid. Supposedly, it was like over 200K RMB. The doctor said that there are over 2000 genes which can cause deafness, and they can only test a couple of them. It’s a little bit like allergy tests that way. Anyway, I’m really thankful for the government’s help in all this. Technology changes lives. But there’s still a lot of work to be done even after the hearing aid. Even now that my daughter’s going to school, there’s quite a gap between her and her classmates. You can tell how much we’ve put into her just looking at her.”
“You can at least get the kid certified disabled and get government money every month. Sorry. [hug] [hug] [hug]”
Lately, in Sichuan, Luzhou, a police intern Kang Anyou saved a trapped little girl in a flood and got a First Rank Honour out of it. While internet commenters upvoted this behaviour, they all asked if he can be made into a proper cop now. On the 30th of July, Luzhou City Police Department explained that getting a First Rank Honour does not mean you’ve finished your internship. It’s just a reward. To finish your internship and become a full civil servant, you still need to pass the exam.
Comments say, “Yeah, I’ve got no problem with that. He did a good thing, so he should be rewarded. But being rewarded doesn’t mean breaking the regulations.”
“Yeah, as soon as they allow one case, there’s gonna be a lot more “brave and heroic” nepotists waiting to get in.”
“Being a government contractor sucks. They don’t get paid the same for the same work, they do all the overtime, they have to be the scapegoat when somebody else fucks up, and whenever they’re danger, they’re the ones who have to run in first.”
“I’m writing code for a tech company, and sometimes, we work super late into the night. All my coworkers work overtime until 9pm or 10pm. And we have to work through every weekend. The condition of my body and my emotions have been worsening every day. I’m starting to feel like it’s not worth it. I was stubborn and insisted I was fine before, but I finally told my parents about the truth for the first time. I love my mom and dad.”
OP attaches pictures of their texts with their parents:
OP: “I worked until 1am last night. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Dad: “If you don’t want to do it anymore, then just quit. That’s way too late.”
OP: “If I get fired, they have to pay me three month’s wages. But they keep not laying me off.”
Dad: “Talk with your [SO’s name] and see if you can get the pay out. Worst case scenario, just quit anyways.”
OP: “He doesn’t want me to walk away with nothing.”
Mom: “You have to make your own decisions. You can’t keep up with that kind of work schedule. If you’re not happy, then quit. Work is supposed to be fun, not suffering. Can he suffer in your place? It’s not like you can’t find work again if you quit.”
OP: “I don’t know. I hear it’s really hard to find a job these days. I might be out of work for months.”
Mom: “If you can’t find anything, then just rest a bit. Maybe learn about other careers.”
OP: “I’m worried that if I rest for too long, I won’t ever find the energy to work again.”
Mom: “If you can, you can. If you can’t, you can’t.”
OP: “Yeah, yeah.”
Mom: “Don’t worry about it. Your health is the most important. Just come home and live off of us XD”
Comments say, “My parents would never say things like this. If I tell them about how hard my work is, they would only ever say that all work is hard. [Sigh]”
“I told my mom I was quitting my job, and my mom was like, “Do what you want. But if you quit, I’m not your mom anymore.””
“My family owns an orchard. I told my parents I don’t want to work anymore, I want to quit, and my dad said, “If you don’t want to work, then come home. I can keep you fed with our orchard.””
A blogger shows screenshots of some comments, under the hashtag #man and woman commit suicide by hanging in a park in Jilin, Baishan, “Oh my god. The son hung himself facing in the direction of his mom, in a kneeling position. Oh god, that’s so tragic. I feel like he was drowning in guilt when he died, feeling like he couldn’t take care of his. I hope they can be happy and healthy in their next life.”
The comments say, “I hear it’s a mother and son. The mom had cancer, and the son justl ost his job. They brought a meal with them to the park in the middle of the night, ate together, and then died together. The son was facing the mom, and hung himself in a kneeling position. God, that detail made me tear up, and now I can’t stop crying. There’s been a lot of news like that lately. Just recently, I read about another mother and son who jumped into a river together. It’s so hard to be alive.”
Comments say, “At what point can you actually get medical insurance to cover all costs?”
“Hang yourself? On your knees? How???”
“I mean, even if I had the money, if I’m over 60-years-old, I wouldn’t bother treating it. It’s too painful. And a lot of doctors have no morality at all. But if I’m under 60, then I still gotta try to live.”
An askreddit question, “As a parent, what kind of person do you want your child to become?”
The top voted reply is, “As soon as my son was born, I knew that he was an ordinary person. He’s five years old right now, and has a childhood filled with snacks and cartoons. He’s going to a primary school in an ordinary school district. When he’s in middle school, he’s going to crush on an ordinary girl. When he’s in high school, he might rebel for half a year or so. He might go to an ordinary state university, or a community college. He might fail a couple of courses because he got addicted to gaming.
Once he graduated, he might become an elite, or he might stay home for a couple of years. He might come out of the closet one day and tell me he’s gay. There are so many possibilities in one person’s life. It’s so amazing, so dramatic. I can accept all of it.
As he drank his first mouthful of milk in my embrace, I knew, that I’m not the steerer of his life’s journey. I’m just here to accompany him for a short distance. His ship might be different from mine in the future. It might be gilded and lavish, or falling apart. But he’ll steer his own boat, sing his own songs, and sail ever further away.”
Comments say, “Don’t take things for granted. He might not go to high school at all. Public high schools in Guangzhou are only accepting the top 37% this year.”
“Who even has kids these days.”
“You either involute, or you lie flat.”
An important youtube video of a little girl furiously defending herself against the outrageous accusation that she ate the dragonfruits.
“I’m telling you, mommy just hit me! Her dragonfruit went missing. What’s that got to do with me? It’s not like I ate it! There are so many people at our house, why would she suspect me!? Is it just because I’m easy to bully!? Right? Not to mention, I don’t even like eating dragonfruits! Mommy! I’m telling you, mommy! If you want to beat me up, then just say so! You’re always accusing me of things I haven’t done!”
The video goes on to feature the uploader reading out the comments people left in her defense.
“Baby, don’t worry, I’ve hired you the best lawyer. So long as you keep your mouth shut, we’ll win this case hands down.”
“Yeah, I didn’t eat the dragonfruit. I just washed my face with a dragonfruit.”
“Keep going, baby. I’ll help you prove that the dragonfruit started it. You were only acting in self defense.”
“Yes, that’s right. Teeth and the inside of her teeth aren’t red. Only her face is red.”
“Where did she learn her Japanese-style Chinese from?”
“She said she didn’t eat it! Look at how bloody you’ve beaten her face.”
“Baby, stay away from domestic violence. I can tell from your sincere expression that you definitely didn’t eat mommy’s dragonfruit.”
“I actually honestly don’t think she ate it. Her teeth aren’t red at all. She was framed. I’ve got proof.”
“The whole internet can testify on your behalf that you didn’t eat the dragonfruits.”
Comments say, “If she keeps going like this, she’ll turn out to be a bitch in no time. Don’t say that you’re just playing along. Kids have no sense of morality. She just knows that she got away with it, so she thinks she can keep doing this in the future.”
“She’s not cute at all. Eating other people’s food and lying about it.”
“She’s got potential to be a news reporter when she grows up.”
A blogger reposts some Chinese Instagram posts about Fukushima peaches in Japan, saying, “Looks like the Japs’ funding finally came through. Sure, go on and eat it. Eat all of it. So long as none of it gets imported to China, I’m happy.”
The posts say, “They looked so tasty, I couldn’t resist buying some Fukushima peaches. They’re the size of my whole face! I went back and forth for a long time on whether I was gonna buy it. I mean, if you eat it occasionally, it’s not gonna kill you, right? It’s not like I’m pregnant or anything, and I’m not giving it to kids or anything. An old man took a pack next to me. He’s not worried about cancer, so I guess I shouldn’t be either. I feel bad for the farmers in Fukushima. All the fruits and vegetables from there are super cheap, and still nobody’s buying any.”
“If you see Fukushima on the label, then go ahead and buy it. I used to think that peaches were the only thing that came from Fukushima, but all their other fruits are really good too.”
Comments say, “I can’t believe a Chinese person would feel bad for Japanese farmers. What kind of Saint Mary are you? If you feel so bad, then eat more!”
“Why hasn’t instagram been banned yet? It’s practically a birthing pool for Japanese spies.”
“There’s an even easier way to process it for the Japs—deliberately dump it in the ocean, and let all their neighbours enjoy radiation too. Once everyone’s been irradiated, they’re not gonna all hound Japan. They’re fucking animals.”
justl ost -> just lost
Also, several instances of "hung" should be "hanged"; inanimate objects are hung, human beings are hanged.
I wonder if commentators in China know that China’s Yangjiang nuclear plant releases more tritium into the sea than is proposed at Fukushima. Or that at around 1,500 becquerels per liter, the concentration of tritium in Fukushima wastewater is about seven times less than the who’s guidelines for drinking water. You could eat a lifetime's worth of fish caught off Fukushima and it'd be less radioactivity than one banana.