I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

The living room fell silent.

The vastness of the universe and the lingering effects of galaxy destruction seem to still linger in the light and shadow outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Brother, what happened to those kids afterwards?"

Yu Yin's concern has always been for the people in the story.

Did they continue their education? Did they ever leave the mountains?

She asked several questions in a row.

"With Teacher Li gone, who will teach them now? Do those adults in the village who beat Teacher Li regret it?"

Yu Wen looked into his sister's expectant eyes.

"Some people may leave, while others may stay there their whole lives."

"After Teacher Li leaves, the school may bring in a new teacher, but for a long time, no one may be willing to go."

Yu Yin pursed her lips.

"What about those who hit Teacher Li?"

Yu Wen shook his head and said:

"Perhaps some people regret it, and perhaps until the very end, they won't think they did anything wrong."

This was clearly not the answer Yu Yin wanted to hear.

In her mind, the story shouldn't end here.

Teacher Li has given so much; all those children should be able to leave the mountains and live a better life than before.

Those in the village who bullied Teacher Li and demolished the school should know they were wrong and deserve the punishment they deserve.

But her brother didn't give her that kind of ending.

"Won't they have to live a very hard life?"

"It will be very tough."

Yu Wen said:

"But they are not the same as before."

Why?

"Because they have read books and know that there is a bigger world beyond those mountains."

"Teacher Li can't walk the rest of their lives for them, nor can he guarantee that everyone will be able to leave that place."

Yu Wen met his sister's still expectant eyes and softened his voice.

"He just wanted to let those kids know that they have other options."

Yu Yin lowered her head, her lips slightly pursed.

She still didn't like the answer.

She didn't spout any grand principles; she simply leaned back on the sofa, silently contemplating the future, which had no clear ending.

Chen Jianjia withdrew her gaze from Yu Yin and looked back at Yu Wen.

The death of Teacher Li and the survival of civilization did indeed strike her hard at that very first moment.

But as the initial shock subsided, Chen Jianjia began to re-examine the story.

"Are you telling this story to tell me that as long as teachers persevere, everything they do will definitely be meaningful?"

Chen Jianjia asked.

"no."

Yu Wen picked up his teacup and took a sip of the lukewarm tea.

"I just want to tell you that the meaning of some things can't necessarily be seen at the time."

Chen Jianjia gazed at the light and shadow reflected in the teacup.

"Teacher Li is certainly great."

The emotion in her eyes had not yet faded, but her gaze had already calmed down.

"But I don't like this kind of greatness."

She said gently:

"A teacher had to pay the tuition fees out of his own pocket and fight against the entire village so that the children could go to school. In the end, he didn't even have money for medical treatment."

"This is not just one person's sacrifice."

Chen Jianjia paused for a moment.

"This is because everyone who should have taken responsibility pushed the blame onto him."

Yu Wen listened quietly without uttering a word of rebuttal.

"Villagers are unwilling to send their children to school, the school's maintenance funds are not protected, and even the most basic educational conditions have to be fought for by a teacher with his life."

In the end, people only remember praising his sacrifice and how great he was.

Chen Jianjia said softly:

"But if a teacher has to give up their own life, health, or even life just to have children sitting in a classroom, that is not something to be praised."

"Teacher Li deserves our respect."

"But his experience should not be a model for all teachers to follow."

Chen Jianjia leaned back on the sofa, recalling the question she had just asked.

How much can a teacher change a child?

"Actually, I asked the wrong question at first."

Chen Jianjia looked out the window at the smooth streets of the central district.

Whether a child can ultimately change their destiny does not depend solely on the teacher.

"Family, school, living environment, and whether society is willing to give him a chance are all factors involved."

"It's inherently unfair to place all the hopes and responsibilities on the shoulders of a single teacher."

After saying those words, Chen Jianjia herself was momentarily dazed.

She couldn't tell whether she was speaking out for Teacher Li, who died in the mountain village, or acknowledging her own helplessness in the face of countless hardships she had faced in front of her students.

She had seen too many children in the schools in the downtown area.

Some children are clearly intelligent and willing to learn, but they leave the classroom because of family reasons.

Even if some people finish their studies, they may not be able to get a truly fair opportunity.

These are issues that cannot be resolved simply by a teacher giving more lessons or putting in more effort.

After a moment of silence, Chen Jianjia spoke:

"One teacher can't change everything."

"But at the very least, we shouldn't assume that this is all there is to their lives before they give up on their own."

Of course, she couldn't guarantee that every child she taught would eventually leave the city; nor could she tell them that as long as they studied hard, they would definitely get the life they wanted.

The world has never been that fair.

Family, background, opportunity, or even a completely unexpected accident can push a child toward drastically different lives.

But as long as they are still sitting in the classroom, she will always be their teacher.

All she could do was teach them what she knew, so that when they looked up, they could at least see the world beyond that gloomy city.

As for where that knowledge will ultimately lead them... that's not something she can decide right now.

Yu Wen listened quietly.

Speaking of students, he suddenly recalled that magnificent period of history.

People seem to always look down on students.

I thought they were young, naive, and easy to fool.

He has read a lot of books, but he doesn't understand human relationships and can't even support himself. He still has to ask his family for money. How much trouble can he cause?

The Beiyang government at that time probably thought the same way.

It's just three thousand unarmed students; they shout a few slogans, shed a little blood, arrest a few, and disperse them.

But they forgot that precisely because they are young, students have not yet learned to bow down to the world.

They don't understand worldly wisdom or know what it means to protect oneself; they only know that the country's land cannot be ceded to others, and the dignity of the nation cannot be traded.

Some people say they are naive, that they are ignorant of their own limitations.

If death is possible, then so be it.

Students went on strike and took to the streets, and workers finally broke their silence and looked up.

Because those young people who were beaten, bled, and arrested were their own children.

As a result, the machines stopped running, factories went on strike, and merchants went on strike.

For the first time, the working class stepped onto the historical stage as an independent force, and the students' initial cries eventually converged into a wave that swept across the entire era.

Students are always present in the tides of every era.

They may not be mature enough, they may not know how to compromise, or they may not even know what price they will have to pay.

But it is precisely because they still hold ideals for this world that they stand up and ask a question when everyone else has become accustomed to silence…

Why can't this world become a better place?

They never intended to destroy this society.

It is precisely those who want things to go wrong, those who want the country to lose its land and dignity, that dare to stand before them empty-handed and with only passion.

Thinking about this, Yu Wen suddenly understood what Chen Jianjia had just said.

Teachers cannot necessarily decide a student's future.

But at least it lets them know that the dark, high wall in front of them is not the end of the world.

Chen Jianjia seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden that had been weighing on her heart.

She no longer needed Yu Wen to give her a positive answer about the significance of education.

Because after peeling back the cruel surface of the story, she had already found her own footing.

Yu Wen put down his teacup, looked at Chen Jianjia, and smiled gently.

"Look."

He didn't give a long speech, nor did he try to summarize any main points.

"You are more qualified than I am to answer this question."

Chen Jianjia did not respond immediately.

A moment later, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"But you know what kind of story to tell me."