3:42
又甜又疼的那个夏天，他终于知道想画谁
The Summer He Finally Knew Who He Wanted to Paint
HSK 4-5 Chinese listening practice. In Never-Ending Summer, a quiet summer of noodles, an old camera and an easel: Lu Xixiao realizes Zhou Wan is what he wants to paint, as her mother's money and hidden identity press beneath the happiness.
This is an HSK 5-6 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 母亲、承认、教授 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.
前两段夏天，是一整个天空的气球，和一声当众叫出口的“妈妈”。
The last two stretches of summer were a whole sky of balloons, and a "Mom" called out loud in public.
这一段，安静了下来——是一碗热面，一台旧相机，和一块支在小卖部里的画板。
This stretch quiets down — a bowl of hot noodles, an old camera, and an easel set up inside a little shop.
上次说到，为了给奶奶凑齐那三十万手术费，周挽当着满堂宾客，硬着头皮认下了那个抛弃她的女人，随后搬进陆家，和陆西骁住到了同一个屋檐下。
Last time, to gather that three hundred thousand for grandma's surgery, Zhou Wan steeled herself before a room of guests and claimed the woman who'd abandoned her, then moved into the Lu home, under the same roof as Lu Xixiao.
今天，接着往下说。
Today, let's keep going.
真正朝夕相处之后，两个人之间那点谁都不肯承认的东西，一天浓过一天。
Once they lived side by side day and night, that thing between them neither would admit grew thicker by the day.
有一回，陆西骁病倒了。
One time, Lu Xixiao collapsed with illness.
周挽二话不说，给他煮了一碗热气腾腾的三鲜面，一勺一勺，事无巨细地守在旁边。
Without a word, Zhou Wan cooked him a bowl of steaming three-fresh noodles and kept watch beside him, spoonful by spoonful, sparing no detail.
陆西骁靠在床头，看着那个为自己忙前忙后的身影，心里某处坚硬的东西，正在悄无声息地融化。
Leaning against the headboard, watching that figure bustling about for him, something hard in his heart was silently melting.
可这点甜，从来都裹着一层苦。
But this bit of sweetness was always wrapped in a layer of bitterness.
周挽的母亲又一次找上门，随手塞给她一张十五万的支票，话说得滴水不漏。
Zhou Wan's mother came to the door once more and casually pushed a check for a hundred and fifty thousand into her hand, every word airtight.
这，只是奶奶手术费的一半；剩下的一半，全看周挽识不识相——她要女儿去劝陆西骁，趁着这个暑假，独自出国，永远离开这个家。
This, she said, was only half of grandma's surgery money; the other half hinged on whether Zhou Wan knew her place — she wanted her daughter to talk Lu Xixiao into going abroad alone this summer, leaving this home for good.
只要陆西骁点头动身，那另外十五万，立刻分文不差地打进周挽的账户。
The moment Lu Xixiao nodded and set off, the other hundred and fifty thousand would land, to the cent, in Zhou Wan's account.
周挽攥着那张薄薄的支票，只觉得比什么都沉。
Clutching that thin check, Zhou Wan felt it heavier than anything.
而陆西骁这边，也横着一道他一直迈不过去的坎。
And on Lu Xixiao's side, a wall lay across his path he'd never been able to cross.
他自小痴迷画画，可秦教授一句话，精准地戳进了他的软肋：你这些画，通篇都是在描摹你母亲，没有一笔，真正属于你自己。
He'd been obsessed with painting since childhood, but one line from Professor Qin drove straight into his soft spot: these paintings all merely trace your mother; not a single stroke is truly your own.
陆西骁的母亲早已过世，那些画，是他和她之间仅剩的一点牵连，也是他不敢触碰的伤口。
Lu Xixiao's mother had long passed, and those paintings were the last thread left between them, and a wound he didn't dare touch.
周挽看穿了他的心结，反倒劝他：别再把自己锁在画室里，出去走走，去撞一撞真实的生活。
Seeing through his knot, Zhou Wan urged him the other way: stop locking yourself in the studio, go out, go crash into real life.
她索性拉着他去了福利院，两个人同台给孩子们演手偶戏，他临时改词，她竟一路顺着他接了下去，配合得天衣无缝。
She simply dragged him to a children's home, where they put on a puppet show for the kids together; he changed the lines on the spot, and she followed his lead all the way, in seamless sync.
再后来，陆西骁干脆借着“找灵感”的由头，带周挽去了游乐园。
Later still, under the pretext of "finding inspiration," Lu Xixiao took Zhou Wan to an amusement park.
一路上，他举着那台老式相机，一下一下，偷偷把她拍进镜头里。
The whole way, he held up that old camera and secretly caught her in the frame, shot by shot.
他一边拍，一边问了一句：你到底图什么，非要这样帮我？
As he filmed, he asked: what are you really after, helping me like this?
回到家，他对着相机里周挽的侧脸看了很久，忽然之间，什么都通了。
Back home, he studied Zhou Wan's profile on the camera for a long time, and all at once, everything came clear.
原来这么长时间，他笔下真正想留住的，一直是眼前这个一次次撞进他生活的女孩。
All this long time, what his brush had truly wanted to hold onto was, all along, the girl who kept crashing into his life.
从那一天起，周挽成了他画布正中央，那个再也绕不开的人。
From that day, Zhou Wan became the person at the very center of his canvas, the one he could never paint around.
他还破天荒地带她去了一家很旧的时光小卖部。
For the first time ever, he even took her to a very old "time" convenience store.
守店的李叔说，陆西骁小时候常跟着母亲来这儿，这么多年，这还是头一回，他领着一个朋友进门。
The Uncle Li who kept it said Lu Xixiao used to come here with his mother as a boy; in all these years, this was the very first time he'd led a friend inside.
陆西骁支起画板，一笔一笔安静地画，周挽就坐在他身旁，什么也不说地陪着。
Lu Xixiao set up his easel and painted, stroke by quiet stroke, while Zhou Wan sat at his side, keeping him company without a word.
那一刻，两个人都尝到了一种久违的、近乎奢侈的幸福。
In that moment, the two of them tasted a long-lost, almost extravagant happiness.
可周挽比谁都明白，这份幸福，是稳稳踩在一个秘密之上的。
But Zhou Wan understood better than anyone that this happiness stood squarely on top of a secret.
她一边越陷越深，一边还揣着母亲那笔钱，死死瞒着自己真正的身份。
She was sinking deeper and deeper, while still carrying her mother's money and desperately hiding her true identity.
这个夏天，甜得让人心慌，也疼得让人清醒。
This summer was sweet enough to unsettle her, and painful enough to keep her clear-eyed.
如果换成是你，分明已经动了真心，怀里却揣着一个见不得光的秘密，你还敢往前再走一步吗？
If it were you — clearly moved for real, yet holding a secret that can't see the light — would you still dare to take one step forward?
HSK 4. 周挽的母亲又一次找上门 = her mother came to the door once more.
HSK 4. 谁都不肯承认的东西 = the thing neither would admit.
HSK 4. 秦教授一句话精准地戳进软肋 = Professor Qin's words hit his soft spot.
HSK 4. 死死瞒着自己真正的身份 = desperately hiding her true identity.
HSK 4-5. 分明已经动了真心 = clearly she'd already fallen for real.
Beyond HSK 4. 那三十万手术费 = that 300k surgery fee.
Beyond HSK 4. 一张十五万的支票 = a 150,000 check.
Beyond HSK 4. 拉着他去了福利院 = dragged him to a children's welfare home.
Beyond HSK 4. 借着找灵感的由头 = under the pretext of finding inspiration.
Beyond HSK 4. 画布正中央那个绕不开的人 = the figure at the center of his canvas.
Beyond HSK 4. 陆西骁支起画板 = Lu Xixiao sets up his easel.
Beyond HSK 4. 举着那台老式相机 = holding up that old camera.
Beyond HSK 4. 稳稳踩在一个秘密之上 = standing squarely on a secret.
* beyond level超纲词
事无巨细
事无巨细 = attending to everything, big and small — sparing no detail.
一勺一勺，事无巨细地照顾他。
全看 + 从句
全看 + (whether-clause) = it all hinges on whether … (blunter than 得看).
剩下的一半，全看周挽识不识相。
反倒 (contrary to expectation)
反倒 / 反而 = on the contrary; instead (of what you'd expect).
周挽看穿了他的心结，反倒劝他…
越 A 越 B
越 A 越 B = the more A, the more B; 越陷越深 = sinking deeper and deeper.
她一边越陷越深…
甜得让人心慌。
Free account
You just read the story — hear it next. A free account saves your level, the words you keep from this episode, and the line you stop at, so you can pick the story back up on any device.