Lin Xiaoyu 🔥 124
@linxiaoyu
One little story a day, HSK 1 to 3. I write most of them on the subway home. If you finished something in Chinese today and smiled, that was the plan 📖
83 Articles
1 Followers
On a cold October morning, Xiaoda is one yuan short for a hot drink from the school vending machine — an older student's small act of kindness quietly turns into a new friendship.
Read
一块钱的温暖
The Warmth of One Yuan
HSK 3 · 3 min read
Xiaoyu's scooter gets stuck on a stone on his way to the park, but a kind neighbor helps him fix it before dark.
Read
坏了的滑板车
The Broken Scooter
HSK 2 · 2 min read
When the secondhand bookshop where she grew up reading is about to close, Zhou An has to find a way not to leave behind the one thing she can't bear to lose: the shop's long-time cat.
Read
旧书店的猫
The Cat in the Old Bookshop
HSK 5 · 4 min read
On a rainy Saturday, Xiaole's grandmother's old radio goes silent just before her favorite story program — and the two of them race the clock to fix it.
Read
外婆的收音机
Grandma's Radio
HSK 2 · 2 min read
Every autumn, elderly Granny Wang stocks up on cabbage for winter, and her young neighbor cannot understand why. An HSK4 story about an old Beijing tradition, a quiet memory of a husband, and a friendship built one flight of stairs at a time.
Read
冬储白菜
The Winter Cabbage
HSK 4 · 5 min read
Xiaoming doesn't have enough money for the rabbit-shaped sugar painting he wants outside the school gate, until his friend Xiaohong steps in to help.
Read
糖画小兔子
The Little Sugar-Painting Rabbit
HSK 1 · 1 min read
A boy goes to the park to play table tennis but has no partner, until an old man asks to play — and the two become friends.
Read
公园里的乒乓球
Table Tennis in the Park
HSK 1 · 2 min read
As Frost's Descent approaches, ten-year-old Xiaoyu refuses to wear the itchy wool sweater his grandmother knitted — until a bitterly cold day, and her surprise visit, change his mind.
Read
霜降的毛衣
The Sweater for Frost's Descent
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A cobbler in an old Beijing alley quietly realizes a young girl has been bringing him her mother's worn shoes, paid for with coins she saved herself. When his stall faces demolition, he leaves her with more than just one last repair.
Read
胡同里的修鞋摊
The Shoe-Repair Stall in the Hutong
HSK 4 · 3 min read
On the first cold evening of autumn, a boy wants to buy a roasted sweet potato for his tired father -- and learns that kindness can cost less than he feared.
Read
烤红薯
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
HSK 3 · 2 min read
On a windy autumn Sunday, Xiaolan searches the park for one perfect red leaf for her notebook — until a boy with a book points her toward an even better tree.
Read
小兰的树叶本
Xiaolan's Leaf Notebook
HSK 2 · 2 min read
For twenty years, a retired accountant has kept an empty seat at his park chess table, waiting to finish a game interrupted by his old rival's sudden move. One autumn morning, a stranger sits down and sets up the exact same unfinished position.
Read
公园棋摊
The Chess Stall in the Park
HSK 5 · 4 min read
On a cold autumn evening, a boy braves a long line at the chestnut stall to bring his grandmother something warm to hold — and comes home with more than just chestnuts.
Read
糖炒栗子
Sugar-Roasted Chestnuts
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A busy Shanghai product manager is torn between a product launch and her aging father's letter asking her to climb the mountain with him once more for the Double Ninth Festival.
Read
重阳的信
The Letter for Double Ninth
Native · 4 min read
A short HSK1 story: on a cool autumn day, Xiao Le wants to buy candied hawthorns but forgot her money — and learns a small lesson in kindness and honesty.
Read
糖葫芦
A Skewer of Candied Hawthorns
HSK 1 · 2 min read
It's cold and raining, and Xiaoyuan wants just one thing: a hot bowl of noodle soup from the shop by his school. But today the shop looks closed, and the rain won't stop.
Read
一碗热汤面
A Bowl of Hot Noodle Soup
HSK 1 · 1 min read
In a Beijing hutong, a repairman tries to bring a dead woman's late husband's fountain pen back to life -- one broken nib, and a search through thirty years of spare parts.
Read
旧钢笔
The Old Fountain Pen
HSK 4 · 3 min read
It's getting cold, and Tangtang has a new pair of red gloves. One day she takes them off to play with fallen leaves — and loses one. A kind stranger helps her find it again.
Read
丢了的手套
The Lost Glove
HSK 1 · 2 min read
For the Double Ninth Festival, a boy and his grandfather set out to climb a mountain — and learn that walking slowly together can be better than racing to the top.
Read
爷爷的拐杖
Grandpa's Cane
HSK 3 · 3 min read
When Tiantian is caught at school without an umbrella in a sudden downpour, a classmate's small kindness turns a rainy walk home into the start of a daily habit of sharing.
Read
两把伞
Two Umbrellas
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A young man's shared bike dies mid-ride to a job interview — a stranger's shortcut tip gets him there just in time, and he learns to pay the kindness forward.
Read
没电的共享单车
The Bike With No Battery
HSK 4 · 3 min read
As Cold Dew approaches and the weather turns sharply cooler, a boy who refuses to trade his sandals for socks learns the hard way why the old saying "don't bare your feet after Cold Dew" still holds true.
Read
寒露的袜子
Socks for Cold Dew
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A seven-year-old boy wants to buy his mother a painted cup for her birthday, but he's a little short on money -- until a kind shopkeeper makes it work.
Read
妈妈的生日礼物
Mom's Birthday Gift
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A short story: on a rainy autumn night in Chengdu, a laundromat night-shift worker mends a stranger's torn work uniform — and discovers her forgotten dream is worth more than she thought.
Read
雨夜洗衣店
The Laundromat on a Rainy Night
HSK 5 · 4 min read
Xiaolan wants red chrysanthemums on her autumn park visit, but there are only yellow ones -- until Grandpa shows her why yellow fits the season too.
Read
公园里的菊花
The Chrysanthemums in the Park
HSK 1 · 2 min read
On National Day, courier Xiao Long races to deliver his last package before catching the train home — and finds an unexpected kindness that makes the holiday feel complete.
Read
最后一份快递
The Last Delivery
HSK 4 · 3 min read
The night before National Day, Dongdong sets an alarm so he won't miss the flag-raising on TV. When it rings, the sky is still dark and cold and he wants to sleep more — but Grandpa gets him up just in time.
Read
东东看升旗
Dongdong Watches the Flag
HSK 1 · 2 min read
A girl races to return a library book before closing time — until her bike chain breaks along the way.
Read
还书的路
The Road to Return the Book
HSK 3 · 3 min read
In autumn, Xiaolan wants to help her grandmother hang persimmons under the eaves to dry — but being too short leads to a mistake before she learns to do it with care.
Read
奶奶的柿子
Grandma's Persimmons
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A young woman in Shanghai races to book a sold-out train ticket home for the National Day holiday — only to find her grandmother had the same idea, in reverse.
Read
十一的车票
The National Day Ticket
HSK 4 · 4 min read
Xiaodong's tooth is loose and he's a little scared. Mom teaches him an old family custom for making the new tooth grow in straight.
Read
掉牙
Losing a Tooth
HSK 1 · 2 min read
On his first day walking home alone, ten-year-old Xiaojie realizes he's forgotten his key — and a kind neighbor helps him wait it out.
Read
小杰的钥匙
Xiaojie's Key
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A boy searches the hutong for a fierce cricket to beat his neighbor in a friendly autumn match — and learns patience matters more than winning.
Read
老墙根的蟋蟀
The Cricket by the Old Wall
HSK 3 · 3 min read
Stuck in the city for Mid-Autumn Festival, a boy learns to carve a traditional hollow pomelo-peel lantern with his grandmother over video call.
Read
柚子灯
The Pomelo Lantern
HSK 3 · 3 min read
In a small seal-carving shop on Beijing's old Liulichang street, a craftsman and his design-student granddaughter clash over whether an ancient hand skill can survive without going online -- until a video changes everything.
Read
琉璃厂的刻刀
The Carving Knife of Liulichang
HSK 5 · 4 min read
A little girl named Taotao wants to pick osmanthus flowers from the tree by her house to make tea for her grandmother, but the blossoms grow too high to reach -- until her father finds a gentle way to bring them down.
Read
桃桃的桂花茶
Taotao's Osmanthus Tea
HSK 1 · 2 min read
On Mid-Autumn Festival night, a young convenience-store clerk has to work instead of going home for the family reunion, until a regular customer's small kindness and her mother's surprise visit turn her lonely shift into something warm.
Read
便利店的月亮
The Moon at the Convenience Store
HSK 4 · 4 min read
A short HSK2 story about a girl whose backpack strap breaks the night before school starts, and the grandmother who teaches her to sew with an old silver thimble.
Read
奶奶的顶针
Grandma's Thimble
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A city boy visiting his grandmother's village for the first time learns to harvest rice by hand, racing the rain before the country's Farmers' Harvest Festival.
Read
秋分的稻田
The Rice Field at the Autumn Equinox
HSK 4 · 3 min read
After the rain, Xiaole sails a paper boat down the street — and the wind almost carries it away for good.
Read
纸船
The Paper Boat
HSK 1 · 2 min read
A red balloon flies into a tree in an autumn park — and the boy who climbs up to save it becomes a new friend.
Read
红气球
The Red Balloon
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A boy saves his allowance for a week to buy a red spinning top, only to find it sold out — until the shopkeeper makes an unexpected choice. A gentle HSK2 story about wanting, working, and kindness.
Read
小周的陀螺
Xiaozhou's Spinning Top
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A boy who forgets his wallet one morning learns that keeping a promise matters more than money, thanks to a kind breakfast-stall auntie in his neighborhood alley.
Read
巷口的萝卜糕
The Turnip Cake at the Alley Corner
HSK 3 · 3 min read
With Mid-Autumn Festival five days away, a girl in Suzhou races to mail her father — working far off on a bridge site — a box of mooncakes and a letter before the holiday.
Read
月饼盒里的信
The Letter in the Mooncake Box
HSK 3 · 3 min read
On a rainy autumn day, a girl named Duoduo finds a shivering stray kitten and wants to keep it, but her family's home is too small. A lonely neighbor offers a happy solution for them both.
Read
下雨天的小猫
The Cat on a Rainy Day
HSK 1 · 1 min read
On the last day before his forty-year-old barbershop is torn down, Master Chen has already packed away his scissors and mirror — until a nervous young man rushes in needing one final haircut before a job interview.
Read
理发店的最后一天
The Last Day of the Barbershop
HSK 5 · 5 min read
On the eve of Teachers' Day, a boy with no money for a shop-bought bouquet picks wildflowers from a hillside instead — and gives his teacher something money can't buy.
Read
一束野花
A Bouquet of Wildflowers
HSK 4 · 4 min read
A short HSK2 story about a girl who earns her own money for a box of colored pencils — and ends up sharing them with a friend.
Read
小方的彩色铅笔
Xiaofang's Colored Pencils
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A little girl smells bread every morning on her way to school but has no money to buy it — until her grandmother and a kind shopkeeper help her taste it at last.
Read
面包的香味
The Smell of Bread
HSK 1 · 1 min read
An old photographer is about to lose his fading film studio on a street slated for demolition, until a young woman's grandmother's lost roll of film gives him one more reason to keep the lights on.
Read
老照相馆
The Old Photo Studio
HSK 4 · 4 min read
Xiao Jie finally gets a seat on the bus after a tiring PE class — until an elderly woman gets on with heavy groceries. A gentle HSK2 story about giving up your seat.
Read
公交车上的座位
The Seat on the Bus
HSK 2 · 1 min read
As the solar term White Dew approaches, eight-year-old Atao refuses to believe the river has already turned cold — until a fever teaches her otherwise. A gentle HSK3 story about the change of seasons, a grandmother's care, and dew on the grass.
Read
白露快到了
White Dew Is Almost Here
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A Shenzhen night-shift nurse waits anxiously as her mother's Mid-Autumn care package is delayed in the mail — and learns that love, like moonlight, is never really too late.
Read
月光里的包裹
The Package in the Moonlight
Native · 7 min read
A boy borrows his grandfather's old fishing rod to catch a big fish for his birthday, and learns that the size of the catch matters far less than the afternoon they spend together.
Read
爷爷的鱼竿
Grandpa's Fishing Rod
HSK 3 · 3 min read
Xiaohu brings his red fish kite to Shenzhen's Lotus Hill Park — but there's no wind at all.
Read
小虎的风筝
Xiaohu's Kite
HSK 1 · 2 min read
A long-haul trucker races through morning traffic to reach his son's first day of middle school on time. An HSK5 story about work, distance, and showing up.
Read
爸爸的长途车
Dad's Long-Haul Truck
HSK 5 · 3 min read
A boy finds a lost, rain-soaked puppy on his way home and works to reunite it with its owner — while quietly falling for it himself.
Read
迷路的小狗
The Lost Puppy
HSK 2 · 2 min read
As the new school term nears, six-year-old Xiaomei wants a big red backpack -- but the store only has a small one. A little cat helps her change her mind. An HSK1 story about wanting, compromise, and getting ready for school.
Read
小美的新书包
Xiaomei's New Backpack
HSK 1 · 2 min read
Eighteen-year-old Xiaoxue leaves Changsha for university in Beijing, trying to look brave in front of her mother. On the train, a hidden note shows her how much home will always be waiting.
Read
妈妈的纸条
Mom's Note
HSK 4 · 4 min read
Xiaoyun wants a new schoolbag for third grade, but her family can't afford one — so during Turpan's August grape harvest, she and her grandmother sell grapes together at the market.
Read
小云的葡萄
Xiaoyun's Grapes
HSK 2 · 2 min read
