Chapter Sixty: Reunion in the Capital

  At this time, Kong Jiajin's secretary walked over from the side, holding a document and handed it to Kong Jiajin.

  He took it over with ease, and during this time, Kong glanced at Su Mo with the corner of his eye. Although this girl didn't say a word from start to finish, he still wanted to take a look at her expression. After all, this money wasn't paid back by the government, because the town government didn't have that ability; years ago, Su Mo's adoptive father Su Youjin indeed lent some money, but only 10,000 yuan, and at that time, the town government did give him an IOU, but Su Youjin left without taking the IOU. It wasn't until a few days ago when someone was sent to gather all information about the Su family that this matter came to light again, otherwise, who would have known about it? This matter had already passed for over ten years.

  He handed the passbook to Liu Qin, his eyes filled with sincerity. "Ms. Liu Qin, I brought a large team from the government today, and we are all very grateful for your husband's kindness back then. In such difficult times, he donated 100,000 yuan in his personal name, while the town government said it was a loan... But... Your husband was so selfless, and after all these years, the government has finally recovered. We reported to our superiors about the money your husband lent us, and they think his actions should be greatly rewarded. So, we don't consider the 100,000 yuan he lent us as much, but after more than a decade, even if it were just deposited in a bank, the interest would not be small. We have now deposited 100,000 yuan into this passbook, and I hope you can accept it without hesitation..."

  Liu Qin couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at the check in Kong Jiajin's hand, which was handed to her. She never thought that there would be a full 100,000 yuan inside. Was she dreaming?

  Watching Liu Qin's daze, Kong Jiajin became somewhat anxious, and made a gesture to the crowd behind him who were eager to take action, and they all rushed towards Liu Qin.

  The few people in the town, Kong Jiajin would definitely not hide from them, but he said it out because these people are trustworthy.

  So, one by one, when talking to Liu Qin and persuading her to invest this sum of money, they all actively racked their brains. Such a large sum of money, Kong Jiajing didn't think of embezzling it privately, but instead told them about it, letting them participate as well. Although in the end Kong Jiajing's contribution was still the greatest, they could still get a share of the profit, and since their relationship with Kong Jiajing was good, one by one they all used their utmost efforts to persuade Liu Qin to invest this sum of money.

  Su Mo sat in the Tang house, took out her own tea cup and poured herself a glass of water. She slowly sat in the Tang house drinking it up, although it was just plain water, but she drank with great relish. In this world, she always thought that plain water was the best thing, no added color, no harmful substances, more importantly, women should drink plenty of water, which is good for themselves.

  In the end, Liu Qin didn't know how to persuade Kong Jiajin and others to accept this money.

  Kong Jiajian and others, without heeding Liu Qin's persuasion, bid farewell and left in a hurry, running faster than rabbits, for fear that she would suddenly change her mind and ask for the money back.

  She held the 100,000 yuan deposit slip in her hand. Although she couldn't read or write and didn't know many numbers, the numerous zeros on the deposit slip still dazzled her eyes. She probably also knew that the more zeros on a deposit slip, the more money it represented.

  Her hands trembled as she held the money, in fact, more than that, she was unwilling to accept it, but since her daughter's biological father came to the door a few days ago, she suddenly realized that her daughter had such a good family background. However, on that day, her daughter resolutely rejected her biological father's plan to take her back, saying she would follow her instead. At that time, she thought to herself that it was impossible to move, but she also felt useless and poor, unable to provide her daughter with better education and living conditions, let alone buy a house or car in the capital city. Even the basic living expenses of her daughter now had to be earned by her daughter herself. Thinking of this, she finally accepted the money, her husband was kind-hearted all his life, but unexpectedly left such a great kindness for her until the end.

  Holding the deposit book, he walked into the Tang's house and sat down next to Su Mo Ruo.

  Su Mo took the water cup from beside her and also poured a cup of water for her foster mother, placing it in front of her.

  She glanced at the passbook and handed it to her daughter, "Mom can't give you too much, but this money is also your father's accumulated blessings before he passed away. We are lucky... In the future, keep this savings for yourself, you have many expenses in university, and there will be tuition fees and living expenses later on. Mom knows it won't be enough, so mom will work hard to earn more."

  Listening to this, Su Mo'er took a deep look at her foster mother, then put the money beside her, with a gentle smile and a firm tone, "Mom, this isn't just 10 or 100 or 1,000 yuan, it's 100,000 yuan. Since you said it was for my tuition fees, why don't you keep it? I can come to you when I need it in the next few years. If I put it here and lose it, what would happen?"

  This remark was effective, and Liu Qin directly listened to it and nodded cautiously. She picked up the folded paper and walked into her room, still looking worried.

  Listening to the sound of moving things coming from her adoptive mother's room, a smile would appear on her face. It seemed that her adoptive mother was worried about not being able to keep things safe and was afraid of losing them, so she spent the whole day rearranging things inside. Su Mo didn't go to call her, but in her heart, she thought it wasn't right to give her adoptive mother money like this. She had always been thinking about her, and it seemed that later on, she would let her adoptive mother know that she could earn money outside, even if not much, enough to support herself and pay for school fees.

  ……

  At home with her foster mother until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, they didn't go out to visit relatives and friends. Su Mo Ruo, although having a bad reputation in this town, had many people coming over to play with her every day. After dealing with these people for five days, she was alone, told her foster mother Liu Qin that she was going out to see a friend, and then took the bus to Er Gu Village early in the morning.

  Er Gu Village, in this poor and barren place, is particularly prominent. The people here think that even eating a meal of coarse rice is an absolutely good thing. Every day, someone dies of hunger here, but recently, within the past half year, there has been only one piece of news that can be called shocking.

  It's hard to believe, but a top student from Jinghua University gave up the hustle and bustle of Beijing, a metropolis that dazzles people with its grandeur, as well as a prestigious job with a high salary that makes people tremble. He came to this desolate place and insisted on educating people here. Many students have come to experience rural life in this village before, but they were all high school or middle school students, and even some elementary school students. However, never has there been a university student, let alone a top student from Jinghua University, the country's top institution of higher learning.

  Su Mo wore a light blue denim shirt that had been washed to a faded white, with a denim bag slung over her shoulder. Her lower half was clad in a pair of similarly faded light blue jeans, and on her feet were a pair of canvas shoes. Her hair was tied up high, and around her neck was wrapped a Milan-colored scarf. Although she was dressed simply, there was an air of elegance about her that made people can't help but take a second glance at her.

  Today's outfit was something Su Mo had considered for a night, after going to the capital, she only had two sets of clothes left from her previous ones, and two sets were indeed too small, so she didn't want them anymore. In the capital, she bought two new sets, but the quality of the clothes wasn't good, they were street stall goods, and in total, they cost less than 100 yuan. The place where Er Gu Village is located is very poor, if she came dressed too well, people would look down on her instead. But with this outfit, although it looks pretty good, the fabric and the washed-out material will absolutely not give anyone a bad impression.

  Tan Yuning has lived here for half a year and has been a teacher here for half a year, so she must be very popular among everyone. At least when she comes back, people often mention that a young and talented student from Jinghua University came to Er Gu Village. The first time she came over, she didn't sneak around to see him secretly. At least, she had to save face and make it clear, so as not to let everyone think that Tan Yuning is a hypocrite.

  He thinks that with hard work, he wants to do a good job on something, and she doesn't want his efforts to go to waste.

  As soon as she entered the village entrance, Sumojo had already attracted many people's attention.

  Among them, a girl who looked frail and weak, with a yellow complexion and sparse skin, and with the mark of smoke and coal on her face, walked up to Su Mo Ruo, plucked up the courage to lift her head and look at the beautiful older sister in front of her, and asked: "What did you come here for?"

  Listening to the girl's questioning voice, Su Mo stopped in his tracks and looked at the girl. Apart from her face and figure, the girl's sparkling eyes could tell that she was an extremely innocent little girl. He smiled slightly, "I'm here to find someone."

  "Who are you looking for? I know everyone in our village. Who is it that you're looking for, tell me." The girl opened her mouth, revealing a set of yellowish teeth, with two yellowish vegetable leaves still stuck on them. Her smile was sweet, but Su Mo looked at her and felt inexplicably heartbroken.

  Looking at such a girl, Su Mo suddenly couldn't help but ask, "Have you just had dinner?"

  "Yes, just finished eating." The girl listened to Su Mo's words and suddenly raised a satisfied smile, as if this meal was a great delicacy.

  "You scoundrel, how dare you steal food, don't you know that was left for your brother to eat when he comes back from school?" At this moment, a loud roar suddenly exploded in the ears of the two people, and then a woman with a ferocious gaze rushed out, looking at the girl next to Su Mo Ruo, as if she could stab her with a knife.

  That girl was also clearly afraid of the middle-aged woman. Hearing this angry roar, she couldn't help but shrink her body, but she didn't turn around and hide behind her back like Su Mo thought. Instead, she turned around, her body stiff, and said: "Mom, I'm so hungry, I just ate a little bit, I saw that my brother can still eat when he comes home, you can't tell if I've eaten or not."

  "You stupid girl, what do you know? Can your brother compare to this pig-headed you? Your brother is a scholar, he will follow in the footsteps of Teacher Tan and get into Jinghua University, and then he will be one of those superior people that Teacher Tan talks about..."

  "She's a genius." The girl added in a low voice.

  The middle-aged woman suddenly became furious and shouted again, "You damned girl, since you're so greedy, now you'll be punished to eat nothing for the next two days..."

  The girl listened to the middle-aged woman's words, but did not refute them. She just lowered her head and remained silent.

  The woman immediately continued scolding, "Do you know how long it took me to prepare these two dishes? You're just taking advantage of me, you little cheap girl."

  Su Mo raised an eyebrow and took a glance at the woman. Upon hearing these words, she could confirm that the girl was indeed her daughter. However, as a mother, she couldn't compare to Liu Qin. Although their family conditions were much better than theirs, she knew that during the most difficult times at home, Liu Qin would rather eat less herself but make sure Su Mo had enough to eat. But this daughter of hers was being extremely biased.

  Nowadays in this society, the preference for sons over daughters is at its worst. Just as I couldn't bear to look anymore and was about to say a few words, footsteps were heard approaching from not far away.

  Immediately, every household's originally closed doors all swung open one after another, welcoming home the young children who had gone out to school.

  "Mom, are you scolding my sister again?" A tall and slender boy with a clear brow and delicate features, looking around ten years old, ran towards the middle-aged woman, glanced at Su Mo Ruo with a flash of surprise in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He stood beside Su Mo Ruo's seemingly pitiful older sister, who looked like she had been scolded by their mother again, and immediately asked his mother a question.

  Listening to her son's words, the middle-aged woman's face flashed with a hint of discomfort, but she quickly grumbled, "Who let her steal my lunch that I prepared for you? She stole it all, and you still have to go to class this afternoon. If you don't eat well, where will you get the energy to listen in class?" She had heard Teacher Tan say that although they didn't collect tuition fees, at home, they must try their best to let these children eat their fill. Otherwise, if they went hungry during class, it was easy to lose focus. Even if he was a top university graduate and a high-achieving student, he couldn't produce students who were always listless and distracted in class. She had prepared well for this. Her son would follow in Teacher Tan's footsteps and get into Beijing University one day. He couldn't be like that girl, who was so mediocre and would spend her whole life stuck in this broken place, not knowing when she'd starve to death.

  So since Tan Yunning's words came out, the villagers of Er Gu Village, who were originally mixed and waiting for death, began to work hard to move forward. Even if not for themselves, but for their children at home, they started working hard to find food in the barren mountains or go outside to do some temporary work, striving to earn a meal.

  "I've told you many times, don't be so afraid of mom. If you want to eat, wait for me to come back and we can eat together... Did you get beaten again?" As he said this, he gave the girl a glance, but the boy still reached out to pull his own sister into the house.

  "Son, slow down a bit, don't trip and fall, or how can you attend class this afternoon?" The middle-aged woman's voice was as loud and shrill as a pig being slaughtered, and she stumbled into the house immediately after.

  This is the life of Er Gu Village, and this man chose this place, originally a poor and backward place.

  Many people said that Tan Yunning would not last more than a month here, but who would have thought that he has broken the record and stayed for over six months now. Even during Chinese New Year, he still stays here to teach the local children.

  The people here didn't have a single complaint about not giving the kids holidays, but instead were full of gratitude towards Tan Yuning. Many even felt that if it weren't for Tan Yuning's arrival, they would probably all be waiting to starve to death generation after generation, and no one would think of striving to make progress. Because here, there wouldn't be a single educated person who would come to teach and educate, those are just big words that others like to say, but when it comes to actual implementation, it's all just nonsense.

  But Tan Yunning, young and promising, chose to come to this place instead.

  Step by step, treading on the uneven ground, moving forward all the way.

  Many families here don't even have a table to eat at, and they sit on stools or squat at the gate to eat. When they saw Su Mo's unfamiliar figure, who had never been seen before, some people began to pay attention to her.

  "Girl, who are you looking for?" An old man who looked at least seventy years old gazed at Su Mo Ruo in front of him, who was very pleasing to the eye, dressed hastily but simply, giving him a good impression, and couldn't help but ask if Su Mo Ruo had come here to find someone. If so, he would also help guide the way; otherwise, he said that although Er Gu Village was poor, it was a rare big village, and walking like this, people who didn't know the place might have to wander around for half a day without finishing.

  Su Mo heard someone ask him, hastily lifted his head and smiled, replied: "I'm looking for Tan Yunning."

  Tan Yunning, at this moment, everyone who heard this name exploded.

  "This girl is looking for Teacher Tan, who is she to Teacher Tan?"

  "Yes, this girl looks pretty and fair-skinned, very comfortable to look at, and also matches well with Teacher Tan."

  "It's just that Teacher Tan is a bit cold in personality, but he's also very good-looking. The two of them together are really well-matched."

  “……”

  One sound after another kept ringing out, but Su Mo seemed to be comforting herself.

  The old man looked at Su Mo and couldn't help but reveal a thick smile, walking shakily to her side, pointing forward with his finger. "Go straight ahead, when you're almost at the end, turn left, then right at the second fork in the road, then right again at the first intersection..." The old man rattled off a string of directions, looking at Su Mo with an increasingly thick smile.

  Listening to the old man's words, looking at the thick smile on his face, he sighed in his heart, but Su Mo still smiled and said thank you, stepping forward.

  As soon as Su Mo walked away, the people who had heard the old man's directions rushed up and asked him one after another. Finally, someone said bluntly: "Mr. Ni, aren't you misleading the young girl? You led her in a big circle, and she ended up back where she started!"

  The old man, who was called Nida Ye, or the one who gave Su Mo a direction, had a face full of wrinkles left by the years. On his dark and tanned skin, he showed a somewhat strange smile, "This little girl came to find Teacher Tan, she must have some level, if she doesn't even have this bit of brain, how can she be worthy of our Teacher Tan?"

  As soon as this was said, many people nodded in agreement, their heads bobbing up and down like garlic being pounded.

  Sumo Jo, however, didn't take any detours along the way and walked straight forward. Under everyone's expectant gaze, he directly entered a house on the left, leaving the distant onlookers stunned.

  "Look at Ni Dage's, that little girl isn't a fool, she understood what you said and knew you were trying to trick her." Someone nearby saw Su Mo walking directly into the special residence prepared for Tan Yun Ning in their village, and immediately started scolding Ni Dage.

  Ni Da Ye listened, but didn't get angry, with a smiling face, making many people wonder how this strange old man could talk and act so topsy-turvy every day, now his behavior has turned upside down.

  Pushing the door open, all that met her eyes were broken stone tables and stools. The ground was uneven, but it had been swept clean with great care. Although the environment was poor, the owner who lived here could make do with what they had, so Su Mo's first impression was that this place wasn't too bad after all.

  Just two steps away, I heard the sound of a cleaver hitting a chopping board coming from a small room next to me. I hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked towards the small room.

  The chopping sound grew louder in her ears, and Su Mo slowly pushed open the small door crack to see inside.

  This is a simple small kitchen, next to the wall are nailed two wooden boards, on which several bowls are placed, followed by a wooden chopstick holder with several pairs of chopsticks inside. He stands with his back to her, skillfully chopping vegetables there, one after another, very seriously, as if he doesn't know anything around him.

  But as Sumo slowly pushed open the door and took a step into the small kitchen, the man who was originally very engaged and exuding a gentle atmosphere suddenly changed. His warm body instantly retracted, and his violent aura rushed in. He turned his head to look at the unexpected guest who had suddenly entered his domain. The gaze of the hook soul messenger, which was originally as cold as hell, suddenly changed. Those eyes changed from being very spiritual to initially fierce, then shocked, then gentle, and finally stunned.

  Looking at Tan Yunning's constantly changing eyes, Su Moruo's smile became even thicker. "What's wrong? Seeing me come, you seem to be very unwelcome?"

  It was unexpected that Su Mo would suddenly come over today, when he had told her half a month ago that he had already returned home. He had waited for this girl for a full half month, and not seeing her come over, it was impossible for him to not feel disappointed in his heart. But now, blinking his eyes, looking at the girl in front of him, his heart felt an indescribable flavor.

  She didn't despise this place and came, but why did she suddenly come today when he was already thoroughly disappointed, giving him hope, only to let him down completely again?

  Slowly turning his head, without greeting Su Mo Ruo, he directly picked up the knife and continued to chop the red radish on the cutting board with a steady rhythm.

  "Are you going to eat this for lunch today?" Su Mo looked at the man in front of her, and then at his absent-minded chopping posture, and couldn't help but worry that he would cut his hand the next second.

  "Hiss——"

  Suddenly, Sumo realized that although she hadn't said it out loud, in her heart, she had still committed the taboo of "crow's mouth".

  Her face flashed with a trace of unease, but she quickly walked to Tan Yunning's side, pulled up his hand, took out a piece of paper from her bag, and gently wiped his wound. Then she furrowed her brow, "What to do, your wound is quite deep."

  At this moment, Tan Yunning's originally somewhat stiff heart and tense mood also relaxed for a moment. At least, at this moment, he didn't misread it - Su Mo was still concerned about her.

  Shook his head, "It's okay, I can clean it up myself." He said, taking a knife from behind the door and opening a small side door in front of the kitchen, he walked out.

  Su Mo followed him out, behind was a bamboo forest, Tan Yun Ning directly walked to a bamboo and scraped two knives on it, applied the scraped things on the slightly deep wound, and quickly turned back.

  "What is this thing?" She had seen other medicines or various poisonous insects, plants and animals in the mountains, but she had never seen anything that could treat wounds. She was afraid that Tan Yunning was deceiving her, and had just casually applied something.

  Noticing Su Mo Ruo's confusion and tension, Tan Yun Ning suddenly didn't feel the pain in his hand anymore. A faint arc appeared at the corner of his mouth, "It's nothing serious, people here usually use this stuff to dress wounds, I've seen them try it many times, it works pretty well."

  Although still uneasy, Sumo also didn't say anything else, nodded and followed Tan Yunning into the kitchen.

  Looking at the radish that had just been cut, with only one root left, and another one placed beside it, then looking at the rice in the pot beside it, "I'm afraid you'll be eating rice alone here."

  Listening to this, Tan Yunning was very calm, "I came here to teach, obviously I have the ability to make a living, why should I pretend to be a saint?" He wasn't that kind of person, so he couldn't follow others every day to go up the mountain to find food or go out to do hard labor for money. Although no one paid him a salary here, all the students' school books and pencil expenses were borne by him alone, but didn't he have this ability?

  "How can you say that, it's not about the money, why didn't you think of helping the villagers here?" Su Mo suddenly couldn't help but want to hear this man's thoughts on the people here. After all, many people, when they see a place like this and have the ability to help, will take out some money to help them out.

  "I came to teach, occasionally I also invite the kids to eat, and sometimes even treat the villagers to a meal. All the expenses for the children's education here are covered by me, but everyone has hands and feet, so why is this place poor? In fact, many people should know that although geography is one reason, more importantly, it's because many people give up due to the circumstances here, no one goes out to work and earn money, naturally leading to more and more impoverished people, and starving to death." This was his deepest feeling after being here for half a year. But when he said these words, they sounded somewhat stiff and emotionless.

  He nodded, and didn't say anything else, but he also knew that although Tan Yunning wouldn't directly help these people's lives, he would do his best to improve their way of thinking, raise the cultural quality of the people here, and let all the children have questions, so they can leave the mountains in the future and go to big cities to study and live.

  "There's still a carrot that hasn't been cut." In a very calm tone, Tan Yunning glanced at the solitary carrot on the side, and Su Mo suddenly twitched the corner of her mouth, suddenly feeling that this icy man also had many people's bad habits, and actually thought about letting her help him cut the carrots.

  The two of them stared at each other for a long time, and Su Mo finally came to a conclusion: the iceberg man was not going to give in.

  Picked up the carrot, clumsy when cutting it, but still persisted in finishing one carrot. After cutting, looked at the chopping board and then at the dish beside it, suddenly felt a sense of despair. Turned around to see the man standing by the stove, smiling at himself, a moment of silence.

  "Can you cook?" The voice was neither cold nor gentle, a pair of eyes looked at Su Mo Ruo, his words seemed to be very affirmative rather than inquiring.

  She nodded and watched as Tan Yunning started to cook the fire, the pot heated up in no time, added a little oil, after the oil was hot, she poured the carrots into it.

  Stir-frying while looking at Tan Yunning and asking: "On New Year's Day, you're just eating this."

  As soon as he asked this question, Tan Yunning suddenly fell silent and stopped speaking.

  Suddenly, Tan Yun Ning fell silent, "What's wrong with you? Why aren't you speaking?"

  "No." A low, muffled voice with a hint of detachment.

  Listening to her tone, he suddenly realized that she had informed him earlier that she had returned to her hometown, but it had been half a month and she hadn't come to see him or given him any news. This naturally made him unhappy, so he couldn't help but explain: "Sorry, I didn't mean to come see you only now. The night I went back, my mom was hospitalized due to family matters and only returned home on the third day of the new year. Her health is not good, and I didn't dare rush over to see you right away. Moreover, other things happened at home..." He stopped speaking after that.

  Tan Yunning listened, the action of burning fire was a bit stagnant, but soon woke up and continued to burn the fire, without raising his head, but his voice had become much softer than before. "I'm not blaming you." Yes, she explained the reason to him, he understood it too, so where would he blame her? On the contrary, because she came to see him on the fifth day of the new year, he felt a little moved in his heart. This girl, from their first meeting, he thought there was a peculiar aura about her that attracted him and kept drawing closer to him.

  "She's been here." Suddenly, Tan Yun Ning's low voice sounded again.

  The stir-fry motion stopped for a moment, but soon continued. What was the relationship between her and Tan Yun Ning? A boyfriend-girlfriend relationship? It didn't seem like it. Yet, when someone else's girlfriend came to find him, it seemed quite normal.

  Not hearing Su Mo speaking, Tan Yun Ning subconsciously raised his head to look at him, as if he hadn't heard what he had just said, and continued to stir the dishes before starting to serve them. Su Mo furrowed his brow but ultimately didn't say anything else, seemingly aware of their relationship now. Between them, what exactly was it? He didn't know either.

  To say that he has a good feeling about Sumo, but after all, the previous emotional experience made him very uncomfortable. Now, it's still a bit difficult for him to prepare himself to accept a new emotion again.

  Because Sumo had arrived, Tang Chenyi took out a few more potatoes and also took out a piece of meat from the side and placed it on the plate, cutting it up with swift movements.

  Although he had injuries on his hands, they didn't hinder his skilled movements at all. Sumo could only watch from the side, and it seemed that she had never cooked in either her past or present life. Now she was slowly learning a bit, but chopping vegetables was still a bit of a headache, so she let Tan Yunning do it instead, and she would just stir-fry later.

  The atmosphere was somewhat subdued due to Tan Yunning's single sentence "She has been here" during dinner, and Su Moruo didn't say a word while eating, upholding the good Chinese tradition of not speaking while eating or sleeping.

  "In fact, we've already broken up." Tang Zhenyi stood beside him while washing the dishes, because he was injured, Su Moruo didn't let him move, and he didn't force it either. He just stood there, not knowing how long he had been hesitating, until finally making up his mind to say something when Su Moruo finished washing the dishes.

  She nodded slightly, she wasn't a petty person, she was just always thinking, what kind of relationship were they now.

  "Tan Yun Ning led Su Mo Rou to a side door next to the small kitchen, which was filled with greasy fumes after just cooking. They entered his bedroom, where the lighting was somewhat dim. Next to it stood a wooden bookshelf, packed with various books. But what caught Su Mo Rou's attention was that most of them were finance and classical literature texts. Glancing at the taciturn man beside her, she felt a jolt in her heart - after all, these books weren't something a teacher should be reading."

  "I said, I came here to teach, just to fulfill my mother's wish." Tan Yunning clearly felt the change in Su Mo's eyes when he looked at him, but he didn't mind at all and gave a clear explanation.

  "Don't you have even half of your own opinion?" She absolutely didn't believe it.

  The corners of his mouth moved slightly, but in the end he remained silent. Because coming here also had his own intentions, however, there was resentment and hatred in his heart, so how could he just live a mediocre life here? Although for his mother, this result was the best.

  "Have you decided to take this path?" He took a deep look at the man, with a profound and cold expression, like a big block of ice. Walking on such a bloody road, how far can he go?

  "I have confidence in myself." At this moment, there was no humility or pretentiousness on his body. Tan Yunning's eyes sparkled, and compared to his usual calmness, he showed absolute self-confidence in front of Su Mo Ruo.

  She nodded, "Since it's your decision, I'll support you too." Just as she had supported her back then, she would also support him.

  "Uh, don't worry, I'll take care of you later." The sentence behind was spoken very softly, but it also meant that if there were no achievements in the future, there would be no more women by his side. He wouldn't go on to guard another emotional relationship. Having been hurt once, he didn't want to keep falling down again and again. That way, perhaps even he himself would despise himself."

  Su Mo handed over the things that Tan Yunning had brought for him, and then there was a knock at the door.

  Tan Yunning walked to the door, opened it and looked at several heads poking in from outside. Suddenly, she reached out and gave a few of the kids on the head a few slaps, "What are you looking at? Go to class."

  "Teacher, it's time, everyone is waiting for your lesson." The boy who spoke was seen by Su Mo Ruo through Tan Yun Ning, and to her surprise, he was the younger brother of the little girl she had met at the village entrance. He was thin and dark-skinned, but his eyes were as black as ink, making people look at him and can't help but imagine what he would achieve when he grew up. This was an involuntary feeling, even Su Mo Ruo herself couldn't explain why.

  "You look very tired today, what's the lecture about? Since I'm here, I can help with the class." Half a year had passed in this way, every day was spent preparing and teaching classes, he couldn't not be tired. She could see the faint dark circles under Tan Yun Ning's eyes.

  Tan Yunning, who had originally taken the book and was ready to go out, hesitated slightly upon hearing this, and the students in front also stopped in confusion.

  Su Mo took the textbook from Tan Yunning's hand, glanced at it and said, "Oh, I see. It's Gorky's 'The Storm Petrel'."

  As he watched Su Mo let his students coax him into the classroom, his originally calm face suddenly broke out in a gentle smile that lasted for a while. His already elegant face was even more radiant because of this smile, but unfortunately, no one saw it.

  Sumo walked up to the same stone-made podium, looked around and found that only the blackboard behind him was good. He scanned the dozens of students below with a faint smile, "First, let's do self-introductions. My surname is Su, my name is Mo Ruo, you can call me Teacher Su directly." As he spoke, he picked up the chalk from the podium and wrote his three-character name on the blackboard behind him in bold, elegant strokes that caught everyone's attention.

  Similarly, outside the classroom, some villagers who came to watch had already packed the entire area outside the classroom, but no one dared to make a sound, fearing that they would disturb Tan Laoshi's girlfriend.

  After explaining some doubts to the curious children below, Su Mo didn't immediately open the textbook to teach the kids to read. Instead, she started telling a story that gradually drew everyone in, and soon there were children constantly raising their hands to express their own doubts and feelings.

  Outside, some parents couldn't help but applaud, slowly infecting others. In an instant, the applause was like thunder.

  "Is Teacher Tan's girlfriend also a top student from Jinghua University?" The parents of the children outside began to ask loudly.

  "It's really unexpected that Teacher Tan is so capable, and his girlfriend isn't bad either." The tone of surprise revealed his admiration for Luo Qingcheng.

  "Teacher Su, why don't you just stay and accompany Teacher Tan as well? You can also teach us poor kids a lesson or two. We all yearn to read books, but we don't have the conditions that many other kids have. We cherish this opportunity to learn..." Some parents started trying to persuade Su Mo to stay.

  Su Mo listened, his face as usual, but didn't think that at this time, Tan Yun Ning walked out of his own room and went straight to the podium, facing the children below and the parents outside, "My friend, come see me, not yet graduated." When communicating with people, what he said today was more than usual, unless it was a lecture, his usual impression on others was that he was frugal with words.

  Despite this, many people still have a good impression of him.

  "Look, Teacher Xiao Tan is starting to get anxious. Let's not scare his girlfriend off." The villagers outside started making kindly teasing laughter.

  "Alright, don't mention that anymore, I still have a bit more to say before I finish. You go back and rest." After saying this, she ignored Tang Yuning's attempts to stop her and continued with her lesson.

  Looking at Su Mo's serious face, Tan Yun Ning had the intention to stop her from continuing the lesson, but he put down this idea. He still understood and respected the villagers here, but when he first came here, he also slowly felt some people's arrogance and unreasonableness. If they really thought Su Mo was capable, they might use extreme measures to keep her, but judging from the expressions and words of these villagers, it should be fine.

  "On the vast sea, wind gathered dark clouds. Between the dark clouds and the ocean, seagulls flew proudly like black lightning. One moment their wings touched the waves, the next they shot straight up into the clouds, crying out... The story ended, Su Mo began to have the children recite the text."

  The sound of reading, crisp and clear, like the morning bird's chirping, echoes far away. In this desolate and cold village, this sound is the only comfort for their restless and lonely hearts in the past six months.

  Come over and see Tan Yunning, the whole day, until the time can no longer wait for her, she turned around and left, refusing Tan Yunning's send-off. The things in her heart were never spoken to Tan Yunning, but she was thinking, this man is so smart, when that old lady came to see him, did he know or not?

  Back home, after spending the last day with his foster mother, Su Mo Ruo had a private conversation with Yao Feng, and on the seventh day, he set off on the road back to the capital.

  School hasn't started yet, but she has already found an excuse with her foster mother Liu Qin, saying that she has found a job outside with a relatively good salary and now needs to rush back to work.

  As soon as she heard that the salary could offset her tuition and also cover her daily living expenses, and after listening to many good things about this job from her daughter, Liu Qin was worried but also knew her daughter's determination. In the end, she nodded in agreement and reluctantly sent her daughter off at the county train station, watching as her daughter boarded the train and left Wuqing County.