So Gu Ningzi hadn’t come to talk about the job. He Zhen had already known she wasn’t suitable before those few questions. So this was out of classmate sympathy, giving her a ride home?
Du Min: “Back then, you and Gu Ningzi were the closest. We figured she wouldn’t refuse to help with this, right?”
Chi Nuan typed word by word: “Thank you. Gu Ningzi’s assistant talked to me tonight. I might not be suitable.”
Du Min sent a wailing cry emoji.
That night, Chi Nuan couldn’t fall asleep at all. She tossed and turned in bed until three or four in the morning, then turned on her computer and curled up in the chair to watch that movie from six years ago.
The Amnesiac Lover.
What had Gu Ningzi said back then?
“Two separated people reuniting is already hard enough, let alone with amnesia?”
It had come true.
Chi Nuan’s world was very small. These years, intentionally or not, she had been stuck in place, bearing that “see you tomorrow” that might never come true. Gu Ningzi, however, was no longer the Gu Ningzi of the past. Without Doctor Zhou, they wouldn’t have had any further intersection.
Chi Nuan stared at the dim end credits of the movie, her mind replaying Yao En’s face twisted in ultimate pain yet unable to shed a single tear. She felt so uncomfortable that she covered her eyes.
…
The next morning was overcast. Chi Nuan took an umbrella and hung it on Little Wutong’s backpack. Little Wutong had kicked off the covers in his sleep and caught a bit of a cold. He coughed all the way downstairs. Chi Nuan asked him: “Did you bring the medicine for noon?”
Little Wutong said nasally: “I did.”
Chi Nuan: “Don’t forget to take it on time. Drink plenty of warm water at school too. If you feel unwell, you must tell Mommy.”
Little Wutong: “Got it!”
The red paint in the stairwell had been cleared by the affected residents who pooled money together a few days ago after contacting the community proved fruitless. At that moment, someone downstairs in the open space was talking about Old Zhu being chased by debt collectors, cursing as they spoke: harming others and himself, turning into a turtle hiding in its shell when things went wrong. If he had the guts, he should use the house to pay off the debt! Running away like that—what kind of behavior was that? Making everyone else live in fear and suffer losses—what kind of thing was he!
Chi Nuan held Little Wutong’s hand as they walked over. A resident from the third floor said to her: “Little Chi, you live on the sixth floor too. Lock your door tight at night. Old Zhu’s wife is still there. Who knows if the debt collectors will come back. I hear their methods are all sorts—nothing you can think of that they won’t do!”
Little Wutong puffed out his chest: “I’ll protect my mommy.”
“Hey, this kid—your aunt didn’t raise you in vain. So filial!” Everyone chimed in praising Little Wutong, and he shyly hugged Chi Nuan’s arm.
It was early December. Soon after Chi Nuan arrived at school, Director Huang brought over the student evaluation results for the first three months.
Wang Lili saw her own grade and immediately yelled at Director Huang: “Does the school not consider actual circumstances? Do you think I wanted to switch classes? I always got ‘excellent’ before. What’s this ‘good’ this time, Director Huang!”
Director Huang laughed it off and walked away.
Chi Nuan silently looked at the three words “not qualified” after her name on the A4 paper. She hadn’t known her students thought so poorly of her teaching.
She propped her forehead and spaced out for a good while. When it was time for class, she packed her teaching materials with a heart full of despair and left the office. Before she could step out, Wang Lili slammed her books on the table from her seat: “That smoky, chaotic class—I dare say whoever takes it will be out of luck! Pouring your heart into teaching them, and who appreciates it!? At such a young age, the class atmosphere is rotten through!”
Chi Nuan knew Wang Lili was saying it deliberately for her to hear, to vent her dissatisfaction.
She could tolerate friction with colleagues, but the bad reviews from the children, those three words “not qualified,” were the real resounding slap in the face.
No teacher didn’t want respect from their students, but Chi Nuan only realized today that the meaning of her teaching had been completely denied by the children.
The class bell hadn’t rung yet. As soon as Chi Nuan entered through the back door of the classroom, she sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere.
The desks in the back row were messily pushed together. Wu Keke cried and shouted: “You’re all bad eggs! Teacher Chi is so nice, and you still bully her! All of you go change it—change the scores back! You’re too mean, waaah…”
“What’s so good about her!” A little boy had his back to Chi Nuan and hysterically yelled back at Wu Keke: “She just spoke up for you and lectured us once! Who doesn’t know? She’s that kind of slut! Slut!… You idiot, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you!”
Wu Keke let out a scream, swung her skinny arms, and rushed up to fight. Chi Nuan hurriedly dropped her teaching materials, stepped forward, and grabbed her shoulders: “Wu Keke, no fighting!”
Wu Keke had already fought several rounds beforehand and was completely at a disadvantage. Her hair was disheveled, and half her cheek was red and swollen.
Chi Nuan saw it and nearly cried herself. She took Wu Keke to the school infirmary and asked the school doctor for an ice pack to apply to her face.
Wu Keke pressed the ice pack. Chi Nuan combed through her hair, re-braiding it.
Wu Keke looked up at her. Chi Nuan said: “Wu Keke, Teacher Chi knows you’re defending the teacher, but the teacher isn’t happy about it.”
Wu Keke asked pitifully: “Why?”
Chi Nuan: “Because you got hurt. …Promise Teacher Chi that no matter what happens in the future, the first thing is to ensure your own safety, okay?”
Wu Keke huffed angrily: “But they’re bad! They all said bad things about you! And they deliberately gave you low scores!”
Chi Nuan finished the ponytail, went around to face Wu Keke, squatted down, and looked her in the eye: “Wu Keke, people who are willing to believe you won’t spread rumors behind your back even if you don’t explain; people who don’t believe you will think you’re guilty no matter how much you explain. In this world, some people reason, but some people don’t.”
Wu Keke nodded as if she half-understood: “Oh.”
Chi Nuan: “Wu Keke, like the teacher, work hard to be yourself and become one of those who reason, okay?”
The sky didn’t clear all day; it remained overcast. Chi Nuan sat in the office, staring blankly at a blank WPS document until just before the end of the workday. Then, she solemnly typed the three words “resignation letter.”
