Xiaoniu and her godfather Liu Yingjie were good partners of flying trapeze
in the most popular circus in town. As Xiaoniu grew up, she became
increasingly discontent with Liu's harshness.
At Liu's birthday party, the circus owner praised Xiaoniu for her good performance. Liu said there was still a lot more for Xiaoniu to learn and she should not be proud of herself. Xiaoniu was so angry at Liu's remarks and left the party. Days later, Liu told her the sad story of her mother and hoped she would learn a lesson. Xiaoniu's mother had been Liu's partner of flying trapeze for years. One day she met a rich young man and ran away with him. Soon she gave birth to Xiaoniu and was abandoned. She then returned to the circus, heart-broken. One day during the performance Xiaoniu's mother fell off deliberately and on her dying bed she asked Liu to take good care of her daughter. Since then Liu had treated Xiaoniu as his own daughter and hoped she would become a good performer. |
A prodigal Pan Sian had looked upon Xiaoniu for long. He invited Xiaoniu
to dinner and Xiaoniu, tired of staying night and day with the circus, was
more than happy to go. They went from place to place and missed the
performance. Liu and others in the circus tried to look for Xiaoniu but
failed.
At night, Xiaoniu was drunk and was brought to a hotel. In the following morning Xiaoniu was shocked and angry to learn what Pan had done to her. As she returned to the circus Liu scolded her angrily for having missed last night's performance. Xiaoniu contradicted him and went away. As she saw Pan in the street Pan pretended not to know her and drove off. Having nowhere to go, Xiaoniu was wandering around the streets and soon arrested for loitering. Zhu Yan, a performer of stunt motorcycling, went to bail for her and persuaded her to return. Xiaoniu finally agreed. |
Since Xiaoniu's departure the audience had been draining. To attract them
back, Liu decided to perform without the safety net. On the first night
of his dangerous performance, Xiaoniu returned with Zhu. Liu was so delighted
and relieved that he fell off from the swing and died. Xiaoniu sat at his
bed, speechless and overwhelmed by grief and regret.
Starring: |