You stay in my heart

chapter four

There are not many people in the teaching building at noon, but a girl walked out of the classroom. She held a mechanical pencil in her left hand, and a stack of lists in her right hand - this time, Xu Bai finally heard her and Xie Pingchuan's chat.

The female student asked, "Xie Pingchuan, did you promise?"

"If no one wants to go, I can teach for a semester," Xie said truthfully.

The girl frowned, as if she didn't agree.

She stood in the position of the draught, her hair was slightly disordered by the wind. While she ran her hands through her hair, she continued their topic: "Thank you for your hard work, Xie Pingchuan, originally, we just did those volunteer teaching and community service in order to apply for American universities, and now..."

Her voice a meal, for him to complain: "I didn't expect you have done a semester, the teachers of the volunteer team also trouble you, this help of teachers is very useless, they are all free food?"

Xu Bai stood behind Xie Pingchuan, because she had strawberry candy in her mouth, so she did not say a word. But she knows very well that Xie Pingchuan began to teach in a migrant children's primary school in the suburbs from the last semester, so he always has three days a week, will be particularly dusty.

The organizer of this activity is the teacher of the international Department of the high school. Originally, according to their regulations, the participation time was only one semester, but because the number of applicants was very small this semester, Xie Pingchuan acted as a substitute.

The female student also said: "Xie Pingchuan, your number is not enough? You know what? I'll go to the suburbs with you."

Xie Pingchuan said: "There are flying cockroaches."

He slowly raised a hand and measured it over Xu Bai's head: "It can fly so high." Then touched Xu Bai's head: "Stop on the hair."

Xu Bai with strawberry candy, should have been very happy... But for some unknown reason, she suddenly felt an itch on the top of her head.

The sunlight on the top floor is especially abundant, the blue sky and white clouds are everything, the tiles beside the wall are bright and reflective, and the female students on the opposite side are stiff.

There is no girl in this world who likes cockroaches, and that classmate is not an exception. Her smile became very awkward, her hands clenched the skirt and put it down: "Ah, Xie Pingchuan, you are not kidding me?" Forget the joke, it's not funny."

Xie Pingchuan said: "You can see mice in the corner, there is no heating in winter, the classroom burns briquettes, and the teacher needs to pick up briquettes." I never thought of such a school before I joined the event." He paused for a moment and then asked, "Does it look like I'm joking?"

He got no response, so more gentle: "You are right, there is a shortage of English teachers, I thank you for your help on their behalf, when are you free?"

Xie Pingchuan's temper is unpredictable, and he rarely shows such gentleness.

But the opposite girl's mind is clear, she is not only no color to faint, but more calm and calm: "Oh, sorry, I just forgot to say, recently began to apply for school, I am very busy."

Xie Pingchuan chuckled.

"May you apply for a good university," he said.

The girl skimmed her lips and turned back to the classroom.

Ji Heng heard their conversation, came over and patted Xie Pingchuan on the shoulder: "I am free, I have a lot of time recently, help me ask your captain, can I sit in on a few classes?"

Xu Bai said, "Do you also want to be a volunteer teacher?"

Ji Heng fastened his watch chain and propped his hands on the windowsill. With a slight effort, he sat down on the windowsill.

Although he is eighteen years old, he has no sitting posture, always loose and lazy, from a certain point of view, he and Xie Pingchuan are just the opposite - but they have one thing in common, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false occasionally.

Ji Heng raised his head slightly, knocked on the tile and said, "Yes, I want to be a volunteer teacher, and it is easy to apply for university because of abundant extracurricular activities." But we have the results of the competition, why do we have to work so hard, Xie Pingchuan, don't you want to have an easy life?"

Xie Pingchuan replied: "What do you think is easy, have nothing to do?"

Ji Heng smiled and joked, "Mr. Xie, when you grow up, you must be a workaholic."

Even Xu Bai does not know, Xie Pingchuan will become a workaholic in the future. But at noon that day, after she and Jian Yun returned to the classroom, Xie Pingchuan sent her a text message, let her not wait for him to go home at night.

The reason was simple: Xie Pingchuan and Ji Heng took a temporary trip to the suburbs.

They were on a school bus, and Ji Heng was still a little excited on the road. He pulled his sleeve up high to reveal a big arm, and then he challenged Xie Pingchuan: "Come on, Xie Pingchuan, arm wrestle with me."

Xie Pingchuan looked out the window scenery: "I give up."

"Don't be a coward," Ji Heng tugged at his sleeve. "The loser will make the students laugh three times in class today."

Ji Heng spoke too loudly, and the teacher in the front row heard him and turned his head to look at him.

The buses have left the city and the tall buildings are gone. Xie Pingchuan looked out of the window, and took out the lesson plan from the bag and put it in Jiheng's hand.

"We're here for a lesson, you know." Xie Pingchuan point to stop.

Ji Heng Xin understood that Xie Pingchuan's next sentence should be: "We are not here to be funny."

He couldn't help but sigh: "The first day I came, I didn't do anything to prepare, can only liven up the atmosphere, to make the children happy."

Ji Heng's reason moved Xie Pingchuan.

Xie Pingchuan reluctantly reached out his hand, his elbow rested on the armrest, and he did not even lift his sleeve, a look of giving up the struggle and letting people cut him.

To tell the truth, although Ji Heng and Xie Pingchuan cooperation for many years, but he still a little dislike him. He always wanted to break Xie Pingchuan's spirit, pull him from the height of the clouds to the ground, and give him a little human fireworks.

Now is a good opportunity.

Ji Heng's heart a little caper.

He held Xie Pingchuan's hand, two people in the car secretly competing. The process of the contest was not long, because before long, Xie Pingchuan had an overwhelming advantage and pressed Ji Heng's hand to the handrail.

Ji Heng "ow", shouted: "Where do you get so much strength?"

"You lost," Xie Pingchuan seemed to comfort him, "don't blame yourself, you can lighten the atmosphere without any psychological burden."

Xie Pingchuan is a complicated man, sometimes he seems like a good guy, sometimes he is very bad - like now.

The small joy in Ji Heng's heart turned into a small depression. He could not help but blame a sentence: "Xie Pingchuan, you are not like a brother who can raise a good sister, you see you, do not know how to let others, are you often bully Xie Xiaobai?"

Because Xie Pingchuan had shouted "Xiaobai" several times in front of Ji Heng, and then Xu Bai ran over, plus she a "brother", so Ji Heng took it for granted that Xu Bai's name should be "Xie Xiaobai".

However, Xie Pingchuan truthfully said, "Her full name is Xu Bai, and I have no blood relationship with her."

Ji Heng stopped for a few seconds before asking, "Is she a child bride in your family?"

"That's not going to happen," Xie Pingchuan said without hesitation.

When this question and answer was over, they both fell into silent reflection.

Xie rarely talks about his personal affairs. His family situation, parents' workplace, family income and savings, has always been an unsolved mystery.

Ji Heng swallowed a mouthful and changed the subject: "I heard from the teacher that you teach English. I can sit in on your class because I haven't made up my mind yet."

Xie Pingchuan closed the window curtain, first said: "We are almost there." Then he said, "I have two classes this afternoon, do you want to sit in on them?"

Ji Heng nodded.

By the time they reached their destination, it was just after two o 'clock in the afternoon. After taking the bus for more than two hours, Ji Heng was eager to release himself. As soon as he got off the bus, he ran wildly with his schoolbag on his back.

Then he stopped in front of the elementary school, if you can call it that.

Xie Pingchuan walked straight past him, still holding two teaching plans.

There are no tiles on the ground, only yellow sand land, the teaching building is about two storeys high, and I do not know how many classes there are. It is not so much a school as a fenced wasteland, situated in a slum area on the outskirts of town, with limited convenience for those around it.

At this time, there are no adults on the playground, and a dozen children chase and play, bringing up a piece of dust under their feet.

They are playing a game of "hawk and chicken". The Eagle is played by a little boy of eight or nine years old, who wears an ill-fitting shirt, his cuffs stained with yellow snot.

Perhaps because he was too involved in the play, the little boy kept circling, trying to catch a classmate. But when turning, he was unsteady under his feet and fell down with a snap.

Xie Pingchuan walked close by and squatted down.

He took the boy's hand and saw that his wrist had been skinned by a stone. Next to other children called "Teacher Xie", but Teacher Xie replied solemnly: "When you play games, first of all pay attention to safety."

Xie Pingchuan's unsmiling appearance does not make people frightened.

There are two main reasons for this, one is because he is young and the other is because he is handsome.

Ji Heng came to the moment, only to see Xie Pingchuan from the bag to find a Band-aid. Xie Pingchuan tore the wrapping paper and put the band-aid on the boy's hand. After he put it well, he asked more: "Does it hurt?"

It was just a scratch, but the little boy didn't care: "It doesn't hurt."

Xie Pingchuan touched the boy's head: "Class is coming, go back to the classroom."

When the words fell behind, the group of children scattered.

Ji Heng stood aside, feeling: "I seem to predict many years later, you raise a son like."

Xie Pingchuan stood up and joked with him: "Then you really have the eye to the sky."

The afternoon weather is still sunny, but there are few people on the playground. The corner of the class bell rang a few times, the sound is intermittent, Xie Pingchuan looked at the watch, stepping on a loess, walked on the road to the classroom.

In the classroom sat a group of pupils, they are tall and short, the age is also different. It was late summer and early fall, and several children were still wearing slippers, their soles on the concrete floor, swaying along with the legs of their plastic chairs.

Ji Heng first stunned for a moment, then picked up a plastic chair and sat in the last row.

Xie Pingchuan is different from him, he stood on the platform of three feet.

This is an English class, and for someone like Xie who is fluent in English, teaching the primary school curriculum is not a difficult task. In addition to the classroom content, he also prepared an interactive - prize competition, which seemed to be very popular with the children.

A few minutes before class was over, he took the students over the vocabulary. Even Ji Heng did not expect that Xie Pingchuan, such a proud and stubborn person, would have the patience to read some childish texts over and over again with the pupils.

The school has no radio or tape recorder, and the only person responsible for correct pronunciation in this class is Xie Pingchuan standing on the platform.

When one lesson was over, he walked to the back of the room. Ji Heng was still shaking his legs when Xie Pingchuan asked, "How are you thinking, are you sure you want to participate in activities this semester?"

He wanted to woo Ji, so he added, "It makes your resume look better when applying to colleges."

Ji Heng picked up his bag and went out: "Come on, you just want to cheat me into a stolen ship."

A little girl with a pigtail on her side studiously asked, "Teacher Xie, what are you talking about?"

Teacher Xie deliberately raised his voice and said, I am discussing the importance of teacher Ji.

Ji Heng laughed and said, "Don't cheat little girl."

"Isn't it?" Standing at the classroom door, Mr. Xie said bluntly, "Or you think that participating in these activities is meaningless, a drop in the bucket."

With his bag on one shoulder, he threw a question: "You tell me, what is the purpose of education?"

What is the purpose of education? Perhaps it is to give back to society and serve the public, like a positive feedback circuit. Or it can make students think for themselves, so that they can become positive people, so that they can live in peace and work, and do not belittle themselves, and have a positive impact on those around them.

Unfortunately, the world's resources are not equal, and it often favors one over the other. The poles of wealth and poverty are not to be underestimated.

Then, Ji Heng thought, Xie Pingchuan's actions, even if the force is small, is still meaningful.

Ji Heng waved his hand and said, "Yes, yes, I will join you." He and Xie Pingchuan shoulder to shoulder: "How did I not find that you, this person, actually quite honest."