Qingteng's Mind - Middle School Era

Chapter 1414 Questions
Yan Xu stared at the calendar on the table and suddenly sighed.

"Twenty-three days left," he murmured.

In twenty-three days, this group of student teachers will be leaving Yunling Middle School. Time flies so fast, it's almost too fast to react.

"What's wrong?" Ding Kailing leaned back in her chair, put down the book in her hand, and looked at Yan Xu. "You can't bear to part with it? If you can't bear to part with it, then stay."

A glint flashed in Yan Xu's eyes.

Stay?
He had never thought about this question before.

Su Qingyi and I made a promise to take the postgraduate entrance exam together and study for the postgraduate degree together. The word "employment" was not in any of our plans.

But now, in just over two months, he has fallen deeply in love with this school:

I love the plane trees here, I love the school buildings here, I love the laughter of the students in the corridors, and I love the bright eyes that look at me when I stand on the podium.

Staying in Yunling might not be a bad career choice.

He decided to discuss it with Su Qingyi—after finishing their postgraduate studies, they would return to Yunling Middle School together to become teachers.

Thinking of this, he laughed first.

This idea seems really good. If Xiao Yan and Xiao Su could both stay, it might not be a bad thing.

The students really like them. Besides, Xiao Yan is always serious and quite humorous.

But she didn't know what the school's plans were. Ding Kailing glanced at the book in front of her, got up, and since she was just idling around anyway, she might as well go find her senior and ask the school about the retention policy for intern teachers.

Yan Xu was taken aback when he saw Ding Kailing suddenly get up and walk towards the office door.

Why did Teacher Ding suddenly leave? Where is she going? He didn't seem to have said anything that made her unhappy, did he?

Yan Xu stared blankly at the figure that disappeared through the office door.

Ding Kailing was stunned when she reached the window of Zhao Yun's office on the third floor.

In the office, Zhao Yun, Zhu Yan, and Li Shiping were sitting together, talking in hushed tones.

what's the situation?
Ding Kailing stopped outside the window.

The three of them are having a meeting? Why didn't they invite her?
They had a private meeting to review the midterm exams before May Day, and they also reported back to Principal Cao.

Are they having another secret meeting now?

Since it's a small meeting, why not invite her?
She glanced into the office through the glass window, gently lifted the hem of her wool coat that was about to drag on the floor, and walked towards the front door.

Rather than guessing without knowing the reason, it's better to just go and ask.

Ding Kailing pushed open the door and went in, asking with a smile, "What method?"

The three people in the office looked up at her at the same time.

A thought flashed through Ding Kailing's mind—could it be about the English group that Zhu Yan mentioned?
We discussed it in a private meeting last time, and we wanted to introduce an English interest group in Class 16. If that's the case, then she really should avoid it.

“You’ve come at the right time.” Zhao Yun looked at Ding Kailing upon hearing the voice. “We were discussing the interest groups that Yan Yan mentioned, and then we came up with your Chinese writing group.”

We were planning to set up an English reading and writing group and were thinking of discussing it with you later. Since you're here, I thought I'd share my experience in establishing a Chinese writing group with everyone.

Uh?
Ding Kailing stood at the door, her expression somewhat subtle.

So that's what it was about.

Her gaze swept over the three people in front of her, finally landing on Zhao Yun's face. She smiled, pulled up a chair nearby, and sat down gracefully.

"Sure, no problem." She rested her chin on her hand. "Ask me anything you want, I'll answer everything I know."

The three people exchanged a glance.

Zhao Yun began, "Tell me about your initial thoughts and reasons for establishing this writing interest group—your initial intentions, purpose, how you selected the participants, what you did after the selection, and what role they played in the later stages."

In addition, please also explain the comprehensive considerations you made in selecting Yan Yan for the English interest group.

Ding Kailing's almond-shaped eyes widened slightly as she looked at Zhao Yun: "So many questions?"

Zhao Yun smiled.

Li Shiping laughed, then unbuckled his watch strap and tapped it rhythmically. "Of course, I had to ask you. You're the one who's taught Class 5 the longest among us." "Okay," Ding Kailing replied without hesitation, resting her hand on the armrest of her chair and propping her chin up as she spoke slowly.

Her thoughts drifted back to the spring of a year ago when she first came to Yunling Middle School.

Back then, Class 5 was still a wasteland that needed to be cultivated. The children had a weak foundation, didn't like writing compositions, and assigning them weekly journals felt like torture.

She thought about it for a long time and finally decided to start a writing interest group. It wasn't for outstanding writers, but for mentoring—for those who write well to mentor those who write averagely, and for those who are interested to mentor those who aren't.

The selection process is simple: participants can sign up voluntarily and submit one piece of work.

She remembers the first batch of submissions she received, which included all sorts of works—essays, poems, and even a martial arts novel.

She read and annotated each article until her eyes were tired, but she was happy.

later……

Ding Kailing began to speak slowly and deliberately, and the three people in the office listened quietly.

Time passed slowly amidst the conversation.

Outside the window, Cao Xiao's figure flashed by. He nodded slightly, then walked away with his hands behind his back.

With Xiao Zhaoyun around, he doesn't need to worry about anything.

Night was falling.

Ke Mengnan stood by the window, gazing at the dazzling starry sky outside.

The letter was quietly mailed out this afternoon.

He stood in front of the mailbox for a long time, then finally gritted his teeth and stuffed the letter in.

The moment the envelope fell into the mailbox, his heart pounded, as if a part of himself had been thrown in with it.

Will she see the letter when it arrives at Yunling Middle School?
She—it is "she," not "them."

The girl sitting by the bus window, the girl whose eyes were only on Song Dynasty poetry, the girl he had been thinking about all spring.

What will she think?
Will you understand the meaning of the last sentence?

Will it be treated like the last one, just a high-sounding reply?

Looking at the starry sky, Ke Mengnan suddenly felt a pang of regret.

Why wasn't it written more clearly back then? Why use the foolproof yet distant word "you all"? Why not just write "you" directly?
But what if... what if someone else sees this letter?
What if Ling Mengchu didn't show the letter to "her"?
He sighed.

Oh well, it's already been sent.

All we can do now is wait.

Waiting for the letter to arrive, waiting for her to see it, waiting for her—

Will I reply to him?
The stars outside the window twinkled like countless eyes.

Ke Mengnan suddenly remembered the thread-bound Song Dynasty poetry book that had fallen into the lake, how anxious she was to retrieve it, and her serious yet surprised expression when he forcibly took the three new books she had bought as compensation.

Those three books are still on his bedside table.

He flips through it every night.

It wasn't to read Song Dynasty poetry, but to remember her.

The May night breeze blew in through the window, carrying the unique, slightly intoxicating temperature of early summer.

Ke Mengnan stood by the window for a very long time.

He didn't snap out of his thoughts until the bell rang for evening self-study, and turned to walk towards the classroom.

Behind me, the starry sky shone brightly.

There are only thirty-odd days left until the college entrance examination.

Some answers are still on their way.