The Mid-Autumn Festival gala was a great success, and the class also secured the honor of first place. Teacher Xu sent Wang Mujin the video he recorded of Wang Muman, showing him her wonderful performance. He also inquired about when Wang Muman's father would be home, emphasizing the importance of parental involvement in a child's growth. Looking at Wang Muman in the video, Wang Mujin saw a reflection of his mother. His mother had also danced this dance. With a similar appearance, Wang Mujin took out a cigarette, walked out of the house, and looked at the spot where he had once planted hibiscus flowers, slowly exhaling smoke and sighing again.
"Manman, tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. I really miss Mom and Dad," He Lele said to Wang Muman as they watched the moon on the sports field after the gala. "I miss them too," Wang Muman replied bitterly. The rounder the moon became, the more it stung her eyes. The excessive fullness, the glaring light, disturbed her heart with a dense pain. When would she see her mother? Like her father, there was always a deadline to wait for. Today, she danced ballet. Her mother had also learned ballet; perhaps she had learned this too. Once, while flipping through photo albums, Wang Muman saw her mother wearing a certain outfit and asked her brother what it was. Her brother said their mother was dancing ballet. At that moment, Wang Muman wanted to learn, and she learned with great seriousness, almost being taken on as a student by the ballet teacher for lifelong study. However, later, when her father saw her dancing ballet, his eyes reddened, and he refused to watch again. Little Wang Muman felt her father disliked it and stopped learning.
"Let's go back and sleep. We can go home tomorrow morning," Wang Muman patted He Lele's head. With He Lele around, she didn't feel alone.
"Manman, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!" Wang Mujin greeted Wang Muman as he brought her home. "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Dad, will you be back for National Day?" Wang Muman wanted to confirm. "Yes, he will be back. Shall we go to the amusement park today?" Wang Mujin began to plan the day. "Okay, let's go eat KFC." Wang Muman liked KFC, and even more, she liked watching the people inside. "Let's go, we're heading out."
Wang Muman had a happy day playing with her brother at the amusement park. Many thrilling rides lifted her spirits. Wang Muman pushed open the door of KFC. It was crowded, mostly with people accompanied by their children. "Would you like a family bucket? Or something else?" Wang Mujin asked Wang Muman. Wang Muman heard a child nearby asking his mother for an ice cream cone, so she said, "The family bucket, and an ice cream cone too." Wang Mujin saw the look in Wang Muman's eyes, and a slight sting touched his heart. After a long wait, Wang Muman observed many families laughing and children crying in a childish manner. Was she envious? It seemed not; she felt she was no longer a child. Or was she?
Back home, Wang Muman said to her brother, "I'm going to take a bath, I'm so tired!" Wang Muman walked upstairs, closed the door, and opened her diary: Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I went to the amusement park with my brother and had a lot of fun. Today I went to KFC again; I really like KFC. There were only two sentences, but that was enough. Flipping through previous Mid-Autumn Festivals, they had always gone to KFC, and it was always her brother who accompanied her. Several times, her brother had secretly taken money and taken her on the bus. Wang Muman looked at the moon outside the window. It was still so round, its moonlight soft, illuminating her heart. Wang Muman wrote again: I hope someone will always be with me to celebrate every festival, not like the hibiscus flower that blooms in the morning and fades in the evening.