Why it never ends

Chapter 1203 Request
As the children sang, someone quietly entered the auditorium through a side door and whispered a few words in Hesta's ear. Hesta looked up in surprise, then whispered, "Find one of our people to go and bring them over—oh, don't ask anyone else, have Officer Siley make the trip."

Upon hearing this answer, Simoya looked at Hershta with some curiosity: "Who wants to come over?"

“Boheng,” Hersta whispered, “is said to have entered the farm and been arrested by Clara’s side as a suspicious person.”

What is he doing here at this time?

"I don't know," Hersta replied. "I'll ask you when we meet."

Simoya frowned slightly, then told Hersta about her and Zoe's chance encounter with Boheng on the streets of Emmanuela—his attitude was stiff and cold, completely unlike his friendly demeanor in the mountains.

“Zoe said he was definitely following someone,” Simona said, “but I don’t think that’s the point.”

“Okay, I understand,” Hersta replied in a low voice.

There was nothing inherently wrong with Boheng visiting the farm, but coming at night was still somewhat strange. Hersta guessed that his attitude towards Simona and Zoe might be related to the request he had made when they parted last time, but the fact that he came again meant that he still wanted to discuss the bargaining chips.

A short while later, Si Lei returned with his men. However, Bo Heng was not alone; the young policewoman, Ms. Clara, also followed behind Bo Heng with a wary expression.

Packart was standing under the skylight in the middle of the auditorium, leading the children in an imagination exercise. Everyone closed their eyes and imagined themselves as some kind of fish, shellfish, leaf, or pebble, being swept forward in a warm ocean current.

Most children are not yet able to fully understand the third district language, so there are several local teachers from the twelfth district present. They sit among the children and each has a specific task. At this moment, one of them is translating each sentence for Pakkar, while the others close their eyes and follow the guiding words to let their imaginations run wild.

Clara stayed close to Boheng and sat down near Hester. She looked around the auditorium and stared at Hester with a serious expression: "...What are you doing here? District Twelve prohibits religion from entering schools, do you know that?"

“It’s just a game to calm the kids down, officer.” Hershel shifted her gaze from Packart to Klar, her tone so polite it was hard to tell if it was genuine or sarcastic. “What brings you here?”

“Don’t think I’ll release him just because you sent someone over.” Klar lowered his voice. “Sire said you have an event here tonight, so I came to check it out. After I’m done, this guy will have to come back with me to give a statement. I have plenty of questions for him…”

At this point, Clara asked with a hint of doubt, "But I remember your event is tomorrow night, Wednesday night, near the old house. Am I mistaken?"

“You’re really taking our activities too seriously,” Hester said, looking at Packart in the distance. “Tomorrow night is tomorrow night; tonight is for the children.”

Krall let out a soft murmur of sudden realization.

Not far away, Packart glanced at them with slight displeasure. Xia Yixue quietly approached and leaned down to say, "Could you adults over here please be quiet?"

Clara returned a polite smile and gave an OK sign.

As Packart's guiding words ended in a peaceful atmosphere, another teacher quietly turned on the ceiling light, and bright light once again filled the entire room, as gentle as breathing.

Packart finally began to introduce the Heart-to-Heart Talk Salon—a salon that would be held every two weeks, on Tuesday evenings barring any unforeseen circumstances. Attendance wasn't mandatory, but anyone wishing to participate needed to arrive before 7:20 PM. Each salon would follow a set procedure, just like today: first, the teacher would lead everyone in an imaginative game, and then the discussion would unfold. There were no special rules for the salon, only two things that everyone needed to follow.

First, everyone is free to sit, stand, or sit, but out of respect for others, one should not lie down or slouch while someone is talking.

Secondly, there are tissues, cups and hot water on the coffee table in the middle of the auditorium, which anyone can use at any time. However, you must get up and get the tissues or water yourself when you need them.

Each heart-to-heart talk session has a fixed topic. If children have topics they are interested in or things that are troubling them, they can share them with the teacher, and then these topics may become the subject of a discussion for the whole group.

Since tonight is the first time, the theme will be decided by the students through a lottery. Packart clapped his hands lightly: "So, who wants to draw the theme for tonight?"

A little girl immediately raised her hand.

“Okay, Nadi,” Packart said gently. “Come here.”

The girl was led to a wooden box decorated with cards. She reached into the box with some anticipation, fiddling with the contents while glancing back at her friends.

A moment later, she pulled a ball out of the box. There was something written on the ball. She stared at the surface of the ball with some confusion. After turning it upside down to examine it repeatedly, she quickly ran to her translation teacher.

The teacher gestured for the child to stand closer, and then whispered many things in her ear.

When their conversation ended, Packart looked at the girl: "Nadi, can you tell us now what theme you drew?"

The girl struggled to pronounce the word in the third language.

"betray."

The translator whispered the message to the children, who were clearly surprised. Their expressions showed a moment of astonishment before they fell silent.

On the outer edge of the crowd, Boheng, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly let out a low chuckle. Clara gave him a somewhat disdainful look: "What are you laughing at?"

“A pointless educational charade,” Boheng said softly. “What do children know about betrayal? It’s just that this kind of topic sounds sophisticated. What’s the point of organizing this kind of activity other than to help teachers package themselves and show that they are ‘thoughtful’?”

“What’s wrong with that? Having children think about profound ethical issues based on their daily lives is just part of basic philosophy education; it’s very common.” Ximoya glanced at Boheng: “You seem to dislike this kind of thing?”

“It’s not a matter of liking or disliking,” Boheng said, arms crossed. “It’s too early.”

“OK,” Simona nodded. “If talking about betrayal with children too early is a boring educational gimmick, then in your opinion, is talking about death and love with children equally unnecessary?”