In 1979, a Taiwanese writer holding his newborn son recalls a childhood memory with his father. That year, he was severely beaten by his teacher for being late in paying tuition fees, and then reprimanded by his father when he got home, filling him with resentment. It wasn't until later that he gradually understood that the figure humming Japanese songs by the stove was actually full of endless care and the unspeakable sorrow of being a father.