Over the past year or two, I’ve received at least one anonymous call almost every other day. At first, I would answer, thinking it might be something work-related or maybe someone who had forgotten to save their number. But after countless moments of irritation—hanging up on obvious scams or robotic voices—I gradually stopped picking up…

Not long ago, I went back to my grandmother’s house to celebrate her 87th birthday. After lunch, my mother and I set off toward the old home where she had grown up. A thin winter rain was falling, Chongqing rain, slow and endless, soaking into the skin. The cold there is not sharp but seeping,…