From a county-level lecture hall to a nationally renowned teacher

一

On New Year's Day 2008, Lin Zhiyuan sat in his study all day.

He read through last year's diary from beginning to end, then dug out the ones from the year before and the year before that, stacking them one by one on the table. Five years. Five years since he was transferred to the city in 2003. In those five years, he had seen two graduating classes of high school seniors graduate, produced a provincial first-prize winner and a national silver medalist, and grown from an ordinary teacher into a key member of the grade. In those five years, he got married, bought a house, had a daughter, brought his parents from the county to the city for a few months, and then sent them back. In those five years, he saw Chen Mingyuan go, and he saw his own youth go.

He picked up his pen and wrote a line on the first page of his new diary: "2008, the Olympic year. I hope everything goes well."

Xiao Siqi ran in, holding a teddy bear in her hand, and tugged at his trouser leg: "Daddy, the bear is hungry."

"What does Bear want to eat?"

"I want to eat cookies."

Lin Zhiyuan picked her up and went to the kitchen to get some cookies. Su Wanqing was cooking; a pot of pork rib soup was simmering and steaming. She was wearing an apron, her hair was clipped up, and a few stray strands fell beside her ears.

"Mom, Xiongxiong is hungry." Xiao Siqi held up the teddy bear for Su Wanqing to see.

"Didn't the bear just eat?"

I'm hungry again.

Su Wanqing smiled and shook her head, took a bag of cookies from the cupboard, and handed it to Xiao Siqi. Xiao Siqi hugged the cookies, slid off Lin Zhiyuan, and ran to the living room.

"Lin Zhiyuan, you're starting school tomorrow, right?" Su Wanqing asked.

"Yeah. It's the second semester of senior year."

"It's the last few months. After you finish teaching this cohort, you can take a good rest."

"There's no time to rest. After teaching the seniors, the freshmen are already waiting."

Su Wanqing looked at him, her eyes filled with heartache and helplessness. She knew she couldn't persuade him, just as he couldn't persuade her to work less overtime. Both of them were the kind of people who were stubbornly dedicated to their work; neither had it easy.

two

In the second semester of his senior year, Su Hang still hadn't recovered.

His grades hovered between 30th and 50th in the grade, no longer consistently among the top. Lin Zhiyuan talked to him several times, and each time he said, "I'm fine," but Lin Zhiyuan could tell something was wrong. His eyes were off; the focused, sharp light of before was gone, replaced by a scattered, confused gray.

One day in late February, Su Hang did not come to class.

Lin Zhiyuan called him, but his phone was off. He called his parents, and his mother said, "He left early this morning, saying he was going to school." Lin Zhiyuan's heart sank. He asked the grade leader for leave, got on his electric scooter, and searched all over the city.

He first went to several internet cafes near the school, but found nothing. He then went to bookstores, libraries, and parks, but still found nothing. Finally, he went to the riverbank. In the distance, he saw a person sitting on the river embankment, facing the water, motionless. It was Suzhou or Hangzhou.

Lin Zhiyuan parked his electric scooter by the roadside, walked over, and sat down next to him. The river wind was strong, stinging their faces. The river water was a hazy gray, and they couldn't see the bottom.

Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Su Hang turned around, saw him, and without surprise or panic, simply said, "Teacher Lin, what brings you here?"

"You didn't come to class, so I came to find you."

"I don't want to go to class."

"I know. You don't want to go to class, what do you want to do?"

Su Hang gazed at the river, remaining silent for a long time. The river lapped against the banks, making a dull thud.

"Teacher Lin, I want to go to XZ."

Lin Zhiyuan was taken aback: "XZ?"

"Hmm. I want to see the sky there, and see the people there. I want to know if everyone in this world lives such a meaningless life as I do."

Lin Zhiyuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Su Hang, I won't stop you from going to XZ. But could you wait until after the college entrance exam?"

Why?

"Because the college entrance exam is the only thing you need to do right now. Finish it, and then you can do what you want to do. If you leave now, this year will be wasted. You'll regret it later."

"I won't regret it."

"You will," Lin Zhiyuan said. "I've seen too many people who regret things. They regret not taking the college entrance exam, regret not going to university, regret not studying hard when they were young. You may not think these things are important now, but when you get to my age, you'll know they are."

Su Hang fell silent. He looked down at his shoes. The shoes were covered in dust, and one of the shoelaces was loose.

"Su Hang, I have a task for you."

Su Hang raised his head.

"Finish your college entrance exam. After that, you can do whatever you want. Go to XZ, go to XJ, go anywhere you want. I won't stop you. But you must finish your college entrance exam first. That's my only requirement for you."

Su Hang remained silent for a long time. The river breeze blew, making his hair a mess. He squinted, looking at the distant river.

"Teacher Lin, I promise you."

three

Suzhou and Hangzhou are back.

He sat in the classroom, listening to lectures, doing exercises, and answering questions as before. But his eyes still looked off. Lin Zhiyuan knew that his body had returned, but his mind hadn't. But at least he was in the classroom, doing exercises, trying to maintain his skills. Lin Zhiyuan could only hope that time would allow him to regain his focus before the college entrance exam.

In early March, the school organized its first mock exam. Su Hang ranked 25th in the grade. This was an improvement from before, but there was still a significant gap between his actual ability and his current level.

Lin Zhiyuan didn't speak to him. He knew that saying anything now would be useless; what Suzhou and Hangzhou needed was time, not reason.

Chen Hao is doing better and better. His Chinese score has stabilized at around 95 points, which, although not high, is a huge improvement for him. His total score has also risen, squeezing out of the bottom of the grade and into the top 200. His mother called Lin Zhiyuan, crying and saying, "Thank you, Teacher Lin." Lin Zhiyuan said, "It's all because of his own hard work."

In April, Lin Zhiyuan took his students for a physical examination. In the hospital corridor, he encountered Su Wanqing. Su Wanqing, wearing a white coat, was taking a patient's blood pressure. She saw Lin Zhiyuan, smiled slightly, but didn't approach. Lin Zhiyuan didn't go over either, but simply nodded to her from a distance.

When Su Wanqing got home that evening, she said, "Your student, Su Hang, came for a physical exam today."

"I know."

"He's lost a lot of weight. Didn't you notice?"

Lin Zhiyuan was taken aback. He saw Su Hang every day, but he hadn't noticed that he had lost weight. Subtle changes are easily missed when you see someone every day.

"He's really lost weight. You should take better care of him," Su Wanqing said.

Lin Zhiyuan nodded. He recalled Su Hang sitting on the riverbank, and the calm yet resolute tone in his voice when he said, "I want to go to XZ." He thought Su Hang was alright, but now it seemed he had only suppressed those feelings. The deeper the suppression, the stronger the rebound.

four

On May 12th, the Wenchuan earthquake struck.

That afternoon, Lin Zhiyuan was teaching in the classroom. Suddenly, he felt a slight shaking—the chalk box on the desk tipped over, and the chandelier swayed. He froze for a moment, then heard a teacher shouting in the hallway, "Earthquake! Get downstairs quickly!"

He led the students down the stairs to the playground. The playground was already full of people; some students had run out in slippers, and others were holding pens. They stood on the playground for a long time, making sure there were no more aftershocks, before gradually returning to the classrooms.

That evening, news reports showed footage of Wenchuan. A scene of utter devastation, ruins everywhere. Rescue workers searched through the rubble, while survivors wept before the ruins. Lin Zhiyuan sat in front of the television, watching the images, his hands trembling. Xiao Siqi was already asleep; Su Wanqing leaned on his shoulder, saying nothing.

The next day, the school organized a donation drive. Lin Zhiyuan donated five hundred yuan, which was half a month's salary. The students also donated; some donated ten yuan, some fifty, and some one hundred. Su Hang donated five hundred yuan, which was his own living expenses. When Lin Zhiyuan saw him putting money into the donation box, his hands didn't hesitate, but his eyes were very complicated.

"Su Hang, you've donated so much, what will you eat?"

"I have a way."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at him but didn't ask any more questions. He knew that Su Hang was searching for meaning in his own way. This disaster had made many people start to think—what is the purpose of living? What is the purpose of learning? Things that used to seem important suddenly became less important in the face of death.

At the end of May, the school organized a moment of silence. All teachers and students stood on the playground, heads bowed, for three minutes to mourn the victims. Lin Zhiyuan stood at the front of his class's formation, head bowed, eyes closed. He thought of Chen Mingyuan, and of all those lives lost in the earthquake. Life is so fragile, yet so resilient.

After the moment of silence, Su Hang came to find him.

"Teacher Lin, I've figured it out."

"What have you figured out?"

"Why do I want to study?" Su Hang said, "I want to study architecture. I want to build sturdy houses so that people have a place to hide when disaster strikes."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at him. The grayness in the boy's eyes was gone, replaced by a clear light.

"Okay," Lin Zhiyuan said. "Then you should study architecture. Go to the best architecture department."

"I will."

五

June, the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao).

Lin Zhiyuan, wearing that red T-shirt, stood at the entrance of Yucai Middle School, watching his students enter the examination hall. Su Hang walked steadily, his steps neither hurried nor slow, carrying a transparent document bag containing his admission ticket, ID card, and several pens. When he reached the school gate, he stopped, turned around, and waved to Lin Zhiyuan. Lin Zhiyuan nodded to him, then turned and went inside.

Chen Hao was wearing a white T-shirt, his hair was cut very short, and he looked very energetic. He walked up to Lin Zhiyuan, grinned, and said, "Teacher Lin, if I get accepted, I'll treat you to dinner."

You said you'd treat me to dinner last year.

"I'll definitely invite you this year."

Wang Yutong walked over, holding the copy of "Ordinary World" that Lin Zhiyuan had given her. The pages were worn out, and the edges were curled up.

"Teacher Lin, I'm bringing this book to the exam."

Why?

"Because it taught me that no matter how difficult things get, I have to keep living."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at her, his eyes reddening. He patted her shoulder without saying a word.

When the last exam ended, students poured out of the exam hall like a tide. Su Hang was the first to come out, his expression calm, making it impossible to tell whether he had done well or not.

"How is it?" Lin Zhiyuan asked.

"Not bad. Performed as expected."

Chen Hao ran out and hugged Lin Zhiyuan tightly: "Teacher Lin, I got all the multiple-choice questions in Chinese right!"

How did you know?

"I checked the answers!"

"You checked the answers before you even left the exam room?"

"No, it was right after I got out."

Lin Zhiyuan smiled. He knew Chen Hao wouldn't do badly on the exam because there was a light in his eyes—the light of relief that comes after accomplishing something significant.

六

In late June, the results of the college entrance examination were released.

Lin Zhiyuan sat in his study, refreshing the score-checking website again and again. The website was lagging and kept spinning. His heart was pounding, and his palms were sweaty.

The first call was from Su Hang.

"Teacher Lin, 638 points."

Lin Zhiyuan was stunned. 638 points, ranking among the top 200 in the province for science. This score was enough to get into any university he wanted.

"Suzhou and Hangzhou, you did it."

"Teacher Lin, thank you. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"You came out on your own. I was just watching from the sidelines."

The second call was from Chen Hao. He scored 512 points, more than 20 points higher than his target.

"Teacher Lin, I can go to university!" His voice screamed into the phone, almost deafening Lin Zhiyuan.

"You can! Not only can you go to university, you can go to a good university!"

"Teacher Lin, I'd like to treat you to dinner! This time it's really on me!"

The third call was from Wang Yutong. She scored 568 points, nearly 40 points higher than her mock exam.

"Teacher Lin, I brought 'Ordinary World' into the exam room, and it really helped."

"It's good that it's useful. You can have the book; you don't need to return it."

"Teacher Lin, I will keep it forever."

A sobbing sound came from the other end of the phone. Lin Zhiyuan's eyes welled up with tears as he listened to the sobbing.

Seven

In July, the admission results were released.

Su Hang was admitted to the architecture department of Tsinghua University. Chen Hao was admitted to the provincial sports college to study basketball. Wang Yutong was admitted to the Chinese literature department of the provincial university; she said she wants to be a writer.

Lin Zhiyuan wrote down each of these messages in his notebook and called each of the parents to congratulate them. Su Hang's father cried on the phone, saying, "This child has always been a worry, but thanks to Teacher Lin." Chen Hao's mother said, "Teacher Lin, you are like a second parent to Chen Hao." Wang Yutong's father said, "Teacher Lin, thank you for making my child fall in love with reading."

Lin Zhiyuan said, "It's the result of their own hard work. I was just there to offer encouragement."

In August, Su Hang treated Lin Zhiyuan to dinner. It was at a small restaurant near the school gate; they ordered four dishes and two bottles of beer. Su Hang poured Lin Zhiyuan a glass of beer and poured one for himself.

"Teacher Lin, I'd like to toast you." He raised his glass.

Lin Zhiyuan raised his glass and clinked it against his.

"Suzhou and Hangzhou, study hard at Tsinghua University. Build sturdy houses in the future."

"I will. Teacher Lin, I will make you proud."

"You've made me proud."

Su Hang lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Teacher Lin, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I made you worry during that time."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at him. This boy, who used to be taciturn and didn't know how to interact with people, could now say "I'm sorry." He had grown up and matured; he was no longer the child who sat under the shade of a tree reading a book.

"It's nothing," Lin Zhiyuan said. "Teachers are meant to be worried about."

Su Hang smiled. His smile was still the same faint, polite smile, but Lin Zhiyuan could tell that it was a genuine smile.

Eight

In late August, Lin Zhiyuan saw off Su Hang and welcomed a new class of first-year high school students.

He stood on the podium, looking at the unfamiliar, young, and curious faces below, and took a deep breath.

"Hello students, my surname is Lin, and I am your Chinese teacher."

This time, he didn't mispronounce a word.