My father played an immensely influential role in my childhood. Shortly after I was born, he founded the Taipei Institute of Jurisprudence, published a legal newspaper, and gathered a group of law students who both admired and feared him. Before I even started school, I often accompanied him to his office: first riding a bike from our home, then taking the bus into the city, and finally walking through a long underground passage. The dim corridor was always lined with toys and dolls that drew children’s eyes. With their big round eyes, the dolls seemed to be speaking to me. Each time we passed, I would beg my father to buy me one. Although he loved me dearly and had already given me dolls, the then-popular Knight Rider toy car, and even a fire truck, he eventually realized his wallet was “bleeding” too quickly. He began to resist my pleas, sometimes having no choice but to drag me out of the passageway as I wailed and sobbed.

我的童年里，爸爸是一个极具影响力的角色。他在我出生不久后创办了台北法学研究社，出版法学报纸，并拥有一群敬畏他的法学生。还没开始上学时，我常常跟着他去办公室：先从家里骑脚踏车，再搭公车转车，经过一条长长的地下道。那里昏黄的走廊上总摆满了吸引小孩的玩具和洋娃娃。洋娃娃大大的眼睛仿佛在对我说话，每次经过，我都忍不住撒娇要爸爸买给我。爸爸虽然疼我，在那之前已经给我买了洋娃娃、当时最火红的李麦克的跑车还有消防车，当他发现钱包“失血”过快后，开始学会忍住不买，有几次甚至只能硬拖着哭得撕心裂肺的我走出地下道。

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In the office, my father was strict and stern. If students whispered during class, he might throw an eraser at them, often accompanied by a harsh curse. His students both respected and feared him, but I was the only one who dared to talk back. To curry favor with me, they would slip me pudding and Yakult, making me feel like a little princess with special privileges every day.

在办公室里，爸爸严格又严肃。学生们稍有不慎在课堂中说话，就可能被他一个板擦丢过去，还伴随着一句粗话。学生们对他又敬又怕，但我却是唯一敢顶嘴的人。学生们为了讨好我，常塞给我布丁和养乐多，我每天都像个小公主一样，享受着特权。

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One day, while playing with a lighter in the office, I accidentally burned a corner of the wall. My father scolded me harshly in front of his students. Tears streamed down my face, but I defiantly retorted, “If you’re so cruel to your favorite daughter, how can you call yourself the president of the Institute of Jurisprudence?” He froze on the spot. Later, he often retold the story to friends as a joke, saying that while the law emphasized both logic and emotion, his four-year-old daughter had managed to silence him with “emotion.”

有一次，我在办公室里玩打火机，不小心烧黑了墙角。爸爸当着学生的面狠狠斥责我，我委屈得眼泪直流，却不甘示弱地回嘴：“你对你最爱的女儿都这么凶，还算什么法学研究社的社长？”这句话让他当场愣住。事后，他常把这个故事当成笑话对朋友讲，法律讲求情理，他当年竟被四岁的女儿用“情”反驳得哑口无言。

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Looking back, these interactions with my father not only nurtured my debating skills but also taught me the power of having a voice—it could challenge authority and even make the sternest figures pause. More importantly, I came to realize that his strictness was not devoid of love. On the contrary, it was because of his deep love that he dared to show me his truest self and guide me with both firmness and care. My father’s love and sternness, interwoven like two forces, pushed me forward while protecting me, shaping the person I have become today.

回头看，那些与爸爸的互动，不仅让我从小培养了辩论能力，也让我明白“声音”的力量——它可以挑战权威，甚至让严肃的人停下脚步。更重要的是，我逐渐体会到，爸爸的严厉并不是没有爱，相反地，正是因为他深爱我，才愿意用最真实的样子陪我成长。父亲的爱与严厉，就像两股交织的力量，一方面鞭策着我，一方面也守护着我，塑造了我今天的模样。

My website: flywithlily.com