Sun Year After Year
I. Xiaotang's New Life
In a university classroom for psychology majors, Xiaotang was carefully taking notes while holding a thick textbook. On the corner of her desk sat a potted sunflower—Lin Xiao had specially given it to her when she enrolled.
During the break, a younger student approached her with red eyes. "Senior, I always feel like I can't fit in with the group. I'm so lonely every day…"
Xiaotang took her to the sunflower path on campus—a "Light Gap Garden" she had led the effort to create, which bloomed with golden flowers every autumn. Smiling, she said, "You know what? I used to feel just like you did, thinking I was the one being left behind. Then someone told me it's not that we're not good enough—we just haven't found the right soil to grow in yet."
She handed the younger student her notebook, emblazoned with the words "Traces of Light" on the cover. "If you feel down, write in this. Oh, and we're holding a mental health support event this weekend—Lin Xiao will be there too. Would you like to come?"
Now, Xiaotang heads the university's psychology club. During holidays, she joins the Light Gap team on trips to remote mountain areas. She often says, "Someone gave me a beam of light once. Now I want to pass that light on."
II. A Hua's Wish
At Hope Middle School in the mountains, A Hua was now a tenth-grader. She excelled academically and served as the manager of the "Light Gap Mailbox." Every day after school, she would rush to the mailbox to organize letters from her classmates and send them to counselors via an online platform.
That summer, Lin Xiao returned to the mountains with her team, bringing new books and mental health resources. A Hua took Lin Xiao's hand and pointed to the vast sunflower field that now spread across the campus. "Sister Lin Xiao, look! We planted more after you left—now you can see flowers everywhere in school!"
She pulled out a cloth bundle from her schoolbag, revealing a pair of hand-embroidered insoles decorated with bright sunflowers. "I don't have much to give you, but please take these. I want to study education in college and come back to be a teacher here—just like our volunteer teachers and you, staying with the mountain kids as they grow up!"
As she spoke, a group of children ran over holding their drawings. Each picture showed a sunflower field, with smiling people standing on the ridges, bathed in warm sunlight.
III. The Light Gap's New Journey
That winter, the Light Gap team received a special invitation—to provide mental health support for communities recovering from a natural disaster. Lin Xiao and Su Yang packed their bags at once, with Xia Xia and Xiaotang volunteering to join them.
In the temporary prefab houses, they met Xiaoyu, a boy who had lost his home and family in the earthquake and had since grown quiet and withdrawn. Instead of rushing to comfort him, Lin Xiao planted sunflower seeds with him in an empty lot beside the houses. "These seeds will grow up with you. When they bloom, we'll be living in our new homes."
Later, they set up the first "Mobile Sunshine Station" in the area and trained a group of local volunteers. On the day they left, Xiaoyu ran over holding a sprouting sunflower seedling. "Teacher, it's sprouting! I'll take good care of it!"
Lin Xiao stroked his head and smiled. "Yes, it has sprouted—and you'll get better too. If you ever want to talk, write to us anytime."
IV. Facing the Sun Year After Year
Another autumn arrived, and updates poured in from Light Gap sites across the country: at urban schools' "Sunshine Stations," students were holding mental health comic exhibitions; the mountain schools' sunflower fields were in full harvest; and the mobile stations in disaster-hit areas had helped hundreds of people…
Lin Xiao and her friends gathered again at Grandma's farm—the original place where hope was planted, now the Light Gap charity base. Though Grandma was getting on in years, she still wove straw hats, each embroidered with a sunflower. "These are for anyone who needs them. Let them know that no matter where they go, sunshine will follow."
As everyone sat together watching the endless sunflower fields, Su Yang pulled out his camera to capture the moment. "Why don't we make a documentary about these stories? Let more people know that sunshine is always there."
Lin Xiao nodded, her gaze drifting to the distance. As the sun set, golden light spread over the flowers, each sunflower turning toward the sun—as if telling a story of persistence, connection, and hope.
Year after year, growing toward the sun; the light gap may be small, but together, its rays form an ocean.