Those two-and-a-half years in the States were the worst time for Hsiao Wen. Her father was busy learning English and training himself in new job skills, and had no time to look after anyone else. Her stepmother had to earn money to support the family. Her step-siblings, who were after all not blood relatives, were unkind to her, and Hsiao Wen had virtually no one she could talk to at all.
在美國那 2 年半是小玟最辛苦的歲月，爸爸忙著學英文、培養工作能力，無暇他顧；繼母忙著上班賺錢養家；沒有血緣關係的姊姊、弟弟又會欺負她，小玟幾乎沒有說話的對象，寂寞到 2 年多連一通找她的電話都沒有。