A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
3:12
妈妈的半张支票，和他画布上的周挽
Her Mother's Half-Check, and the Girl on His Canvas
HSK 1-3 Chinese listening practice. In Never-Ending Summer, cohabitation, a bowl of noodles, and a camera: Lu Xixiao discovers Zhou Wan is his muse, while her mother's half-check and Zhou Wan's secret weigh on it all.
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 13 key vocabulary words such as 钱、妈妈、母亲 and walks through 4 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Last time, to gather grandma's surgery money, Zhou Wan — before a whole room of guests — called that woman "Mom" for the first time, then simply moved into the Lu home, living under the same roof as Lu Xixiao.
Today, let's keep going.
Once they were really living together, that indescribable something between them grew thicker by the day.
One time, Lu Xixiao collapsed with illness.
Without a word, Zhou Wan cooked him a bowl of hot three-fresh noodles and looked after him, spoonful by spoonful, sparing no detail.
Leaning on the bed, watching Zhou Wan bustle around for him, something somewhere in his heart quietly softened.
But inside the sweetness, a blade was always hidden.
Zhou Wan's mother showed up again and shoved a check for a hundred and fifty thousand into her hand.
She said it plainly: this is only half of grandma's surgery money.
The other hundred and fifty thousand depended on whether Zhou Wan obeyed — she wanted her to talk Lu Xixiao into going abroad alone this summer.
The moment Lu Xixiao agreed to go, the rest of the money would land in Zhou Wan's account at once.
Clutching that check, Zhou Wan felt as if a stone were pressing on her heart.
As for Lu Xixiao, he had a wall of his own he couldn't cross.
He'd loved painting since he was small, but one line from Professor Qin struck the nerve: everything you paint only imitates your mother; not a single stroke is your own.
Lu Xixiao's mother had already passed, and those paintings were the last link between him and her.
Seeing his knot, Zhou Wan urged him: stop shutting yourself in the studio, go out, go see real life.
She even dragged him to a children's home, where they put on a puppet show for the kids together, in surprisingly perfect sync.
Later, using "finding inspiration" as an excuse, Lu Xixiao took Zhou Wan to an amusement park.
The whole way, he held up a camera and secretly filmed her.
As he filmed, he asked: what exactly is this for — why do you have to help me like this?
Back home, looking at Zhou Wan's profile on the camera, he suddenly understood it all.
All this time, what his heart had truly wanted to paint was, all along, the girl right in front of him.
From that day, Zhou Wan became the most important person on his canvas.
He even took Zhou Wan to a very old convenience store.
The Uncle Li who ran it said Lu Xixiao often came here with his mother as a child; in all these years, this was the first time he'd brought a friend.
Lu Xixiao set up his easel and painted quietly, while Zhou Wan sat beside him keeping him company.
In that moment, the two of them tasted a happiness they hadn't felt in a very long time.
But Zhou Wan knew better than anyone: this happiness was standing on top of a secret.
She was sinking deeper and deeper, while still carrying her mother's money and hiding her true identity from him.
This summer was both sweet and painful.
If it were you — clearly moved, yet carrying a secret you can't speak — would you still dare to keep drawing closer?
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
HSK 1. 剩下的钱立刻打进周挽的账户 = the rest of the money lands in her account.
HSK 1. 周挽的妈妈又找上门来 = her mother came to the door again.
HSK 4 (母亲); via 妈妈 HSK 1. 模仿你母亲 = imitating your mother.
HSK 3. 事无巨细地照顾他 = caring for him in every detail.
HSK 4, taught here. 秦教授一句话戳中了要害 = Professor Qin's words hit the nerve.
HSK 4, taught here. 都只是在模仿你母亲 = only imitating your mother.
Beyond HSK 3. 奶奶手术费的一半 = half of grandma's surgery fee.
Beyond HSK 3. 一张十五万的支票 = a 150,000 check.
Beyond HSK 3. 拉着他去了福利院 = dragged him to a children's welfare home.
Beyond HSK 3. 借着找灵感 = using 'finding inspiration' as an excuse.
Beyond HSK 3. 周挽成了他画布上最重要的那个人 = she became the key figure on his canvas.
Beyond HSK 3. 瞒着他自己的真实身份 = hiding her true identity from him.
Beyond HSK 3. 这份幸福是踩在秘密上面的 = this happiness stands on a secret.
* beyond level超纲词
二话不说
二话不说 = without a second word / without hesitation, acting at once.
周挽二话不说，给他煮了一碗面。
得看 + 从句
得看 + (whether-clause) = it depends on whether …
剩下的十五万，得看周挽听不听话。
借着 + 名词 + 动词
借着 X = using X as a pretext / on the excuse of X.
借着找灵感，带周挽去了游乐园。
比谁都 + 形容词
比谁都 + adjective = more … than anyone; clearer than anyone.
周挽心里比谁都清楚。
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