[File photo]

A 7-year-old girl, whose diary expressed the sweetly naive wish that her father would stay sick for longer so she could spend more time with him, has moved many social media users.

In the diary, Ma Xiyuan, who comes from Shiyan, Hubei province, describes her complex feelings for her father, a police officer.

“I miss my father, but he always breaks his promises to stay with me,” one line of the diary reads.

“My father didn't come home this weekend. I can't even remember how many weeks it's been since I've seen him. Every time I call him, he says he needs to work. I have no idea why he is so busy. Mom told me he was sold to the police station,” the girl later wrote. Then she describes the event that brought her father back home.

“Last summer my father broke his ankles and had to stay in the hospital. Mom and I visited him every day. We got to eat our meals together, which really made me happy ... My father has a fever of 39 degree right now. I wish his fever were even more severe so he would stay at the hospital and I could see him every day.”

The diary has been trending on Chinese social media, with some media outlets suggesting that more parental love be given to the girl.

“I feel very guilty after reading daughter’s diary, since I owe her so much. But as a police officer, I have no choice but to work hard. I hope I can find some time in the future to make it up to her,” said Ma Haibin, Ma Xiyuan's father,

Some netizens commented that they emphathized with little Xiyuan, as they had gone through similar things.

“I had the same experience, as my father was also a police officer. When I was young, I hardly got to see him due to his busy job. Though I felt very upset, I was still proud of his profession. Now I have also become a police officer, though I wish all kids could enjoy their parents’ companionship,” one netizen wrote.