On Monday at four in the morning, Jiang Ci took a two-hour bullet train ride, followed by three bus transfers on winding mountain roads, finally reaching her destination at ten o''clock.
Upon arriving at the Love Primary School where Shao Zheng taught, Jiang Ci began to vomit.
Principal Li was a very kind and amiable person. He said that Shao Zheng was the only one in recent years who genuinely came to teach here with sincerity, while others were just looking to embellish their resumes. Shao Zheng truly cared for the students here.
Principal Li handed Shao Zheng''s diary to Jiang Ci, with photos of Shao Zheng and the children tucked inside. Wearing a red scarf, Shao Zheng looked even more handsome against the backdrop of the children.
Jiang Ci cried.
Seeing this photo, tears fell uncontrollably.
She felt heartache for Shao Zheng...
After touring the campus with Principal Li, Jiang Ci checked her watch. It was almost noon, and she still needed to visit Grandpa''s house at three in the afternoon.
Unexpectedly, while waiting for the bus on the mountain road, Jiang Ci saw a private car parked by the roadside. The driver, a young man with a quick temper, was kicking the tire in frustration.
"Do you need any help?" Jiang Ci approached and asked.
The man was overjoyed to see Jiang Ci. "The car''s completely out of gas, and there''s not a village or shop in sight. The area is vast, and there''s no phone signal."
Jiang Ci remembered that there was a storage room at the school with a few barrels of gasoline, which Principal Li said were reserved for lighting stoves for the children in winter.
"Keep going straight from here, turn left, and there''s a big locust tree. There''s a Love Primary School there, and they have gasoline," Jiang Ci pointed ahead and said.
Seeing the man''s bewildered expression, Jiang Ci sighed and said, "Come on, I''ll take you there."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The man locked his car and followed Jiang Ci to the Love Primary School.
As they chatted along the way, Jiang Ci learned that the young man was also from Jiangzhou. He said he worked for a small company and was on a business trip here. He had thought the gas station wasn''t far, but he ran out of gas before finding it. If it weren''t for Jiang Ci, he would have had to spend the night on the mountain.
Both being from Jiangzhou, meeting in a remote place felt like encountering an old friend in a foreign land. He and Jiang Ci exchanged WeChat contacts.
The man''s name was Deng Yue.
With Principal Li''s help, Deng Yue''s car was refueled.
Grateful to Jiang Ci, Deng Yue drove her directly to Ningxiang County train station.
Jiang Ci hurriedly boarded the bullet train. Once settled, she took out her phone to find that Lu Yudong had called her more than a dozen times. Probably due to the lack of signal, she hadn''t heard any of them. There was also a WeChat message with just two words: "Where are you?"
Jiang Ci quickly replied: "I just saw it, my phone had no signal."
Without replying, Lu Yudong called directly, his voice cold, "You took a day off in my name. Where did you go?"
Even through the phone, Jiang Ci could sense his icy demeanor and the anger he was suppressing.
"Weren''t you supposed to pick up Grandpa at three? Why are you calling me in the morning?" Jiang Ci quickly shifted the topic, her mind clear.
"Where did you go?" Lu Yudong remained unfazed by Jiang Ci''s diversion, continuing in a cold tone.
Jiang Ci thought: A few days ago, she had just sternly told Lu Yudong not to two-time her. Now, going to retrieve her ex-boyfriend''s diary might seem like she was asking for trouble. So she said, "I went shopping. I didn''t get selected for the New East Star, and I was upset with Xing Baohua, so I went shopping all morning."
Lu Yudong knew Jiang Ci was unhappy about this matter.
He was partly responsible, as he was angry at the time.
So, Lu Yudong didn''t ask further.
"I planned to visit Grandpa''s house this afternoon and return to Jiangzhou tomorrow morning. But I have a sudden meeting tomorrow, so I''ve decided to go this morning and return in the afternoon. I''m already on the way. Don''t go back to Qingcheng. I''ll send you the address, and you go to the villa first and wait for Grandpa to come back," Lu Yudong''s tone softened slightly as he spoke to Jiang Ci.
"Okay," Jiang Ci replied.
She thought: Grandpa is sick and living alone in Qingcheng, which is indeed worrisome. Bringing Grandpa over is understandable. Does this mean Grandpa will live with Lu Yudong? Does it mean she will have to move in and live with Lu Yudong too?
The thought made Jiang Ci''s scalp tingle. Everything would have to be according to Lu Yudong''s arrangements.
Jiang Ci didn''t let herself dwell on it for too long and started reading Shao Zheng''s diary. From when he and Jiang Ci met, to falling in love, to volunteering to teach, it seemed as if every day from before flashed before Jiang Ci''s eyes.
Jiang Ci''s tears fell "plop, plop" onto his diary.
In the diary, Shao Zheng mentioned several times the gap between the children of Ningxiang County and the outside world. His greatest wish was to buy a computer for each child at the Love Primary School, but it would cost hundreds of thousands, and he didn''t have that much money.
Jiang Ci clenched her fists: She must help Shao Zheng fulfill this wish.
But after calculating her finances, she realized that after signing the agreement, Lu Yudong gave her two hundred thousand, and after several visits to Grandpa''s house, she had taken less than a hundred thousand. Altogether, it was less than three hundred thousand, and most of this money had been used to pay for her mother''s medical bills. Dr. Fu was looking for a caregiver, and she needed to save the remaining money to hire one.
Jiang Ci thought: How can I earn more money?
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