The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

The children held their bowls, eating with their mouths full of oil.

For most of them, this was a delicacy they had never tasted in their lives.

They ate meticulously, even sucking the bones until they were completely tasteless before reluctantly spitting them out.

After dividing the mutton, Qi Yu walked to the tree, sat down, and picked up his own bowl.

There was only a small piece of fatty meat inside, which he had deliberately saved for himself.

Suddenly, a little boy stood up, walked up to him, and put the biggest piece of mutton from his bowl into his bowl.

Qi Yu was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the little boy.

The little boy smiled innocently and ran back to the children.

Immediately afterwards, the other children also stood up, lined up and walked to Qi Yu, each of them taking a piece of mutton from their bowls and giving it to him.

In no time, Qi Yu's bowl was piled high like a small mountain.

"Stop it! Stop it! Don't let the teacher grab your things!"

Qi Yu stood up and walked over to the children, intending to put the mutton back on their plates.

But the children all covered their bowls, shaking their heads vigorously, refusing to take the bowls.

The village chief walked over, patted Qi Yu on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Please accept this from the children."

"This..." Qi Yu looked at the children's clean faces, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

"Teacher Qi, thank you for your hard work!"

The children shouted in unison, their tender voices carrying far and wide, even causing the treetops around them to sway gently.

Qi Yu smiled, turned around, took off his glasses, and quietly wiped the corner of his eye.

......

After finishing the mutton, Qi Yu sat by the campfire with his guitar in hand. The children, who had never seen such a thing before, all gathered around curiously.

"Teacher Qi, what is this?" a little girl asked, tilting her head up.

"This is a guitar."

Qi Yu plucked the strings a few times, and the melodious sound spread through the night.

"Class, how about I give you a music lesson tonight?"

"Okay!" the children responded in unison, sitting down beside him and surrounding him.

Qi Yu took a deep breath, his fingers slowly brushing across the strings, and began to sing softly.

"Outside the long pavilion, along the ancient road, the fragrant grass stretches to the horizon."

"The evening breeze caresses the willows, the flute's melody fades, the setting sun shines beyond the mountains."

......

Give me a candle flame to warm this cold.

"Give me the courage to walk through this darkness."

"Give me the strength to get through this."

"Give me a dream to break free from this reality."

"A single fallen leaf can ruin the whole summer."

"The falling of a snowflake heralds the cold of winter."

"The sun rises in the east every day, shining infinitely on the earth with its light."

"Where there is a dream, there is hope."

......

The children clapped along and swayed gently to the rhythm.

For some reason, these lyrics, which symbolize hope and light, sound somewhat bittersweet.

When the music ended, enthusiastic applause rang out on the playground.

"Teacher Qi, what's the name of this song?"

"This song..." Qi Yu sniffed, fighting back tears welling up in his eyes, "is called 'Hope Tree'."

......

After the song, the children gathered around the campfire, playing and chasing each other, their laughter ringing out.

Meanwhile, in the classroom next door, the atmosphere had sunk to rock bottom.

"Are you really leaving, Teacher Qi?"

The village chief's eyes reddened, and he held Qi Yu's hand with trembling hands.

Qi Yu glanced longingly at the children outside the window and nodded gently.

"Yes. Things have improved quite a bit here now, but there are still many places like Plum Tree Village that need teachers."

The village chief lowered his head, sat down in his chair, and sighed heavily: "When do you plan to leave?"

"Tomorrow," Qi Yu paused, then continued, "I'd like to trouble the village chief to keep this a secret from the children."

The village chief remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

Just then, a dark figure flashed past outside the classroom door.

A single, scalding tear fell silently onto the cement floor by the door, leaving a small, damp patch.

......

The next day, the rooster crowed at dawn.

"Ayu, are you all ready? Brother Xu and Xu Xi are already waiting for us in the car."

Qi Yu packed his bags and zipped up his backpack.

"Alright, let's go."

The two held hands and opened the room door together.

The sight outside the room stunned them.

The village chief and the children gathered outside the house, standing in two neat rows.

The children lowered their heads and sobbed, their eyes glistening with tears.

Upon seeing this, Qi Yu's eyes immediately reddened.

"Village chief, I didn't mean for you to..."

"I didn't tell the kids."

The village chief sighed and ruffled the hair of a little boy beside him.

Qi Yu looked closely and saw that it was Li Mingxuan, the child for whom he had paid tuition with a potato, allowing him to go to school.

He suddenly remembered that when he went to say goodbye to the village chief last night, he seemed to have seen this child following behind him.

It seems he overheard their conversation.

Li Mingxuan wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, then suddenly threw himself into Qi Yu's arms, choking back sobs as he spoke.

"Teacher Qi...please don't go, okay?"

The other children also gathered around, surrounding Qi Yu and Zhao Lin, and their crying gradually grew louder.

"Teacher, don't go..." "Teacher Qi, Teacher Zhao, I won't be naughty anymore, I won't make you angry anymore, please don't go, okay?"

The children's tears pierced Qi Yu and Zhao Lin's hearts like needles.

Despite having experienced many separations, they still find it hard to bear parting with the children who have been with them for many years when their teaching stint ends.

They knelt down, hugged each child goodbye, and gently comforted them.

"Mingxuan, you must take good care of Grandpa from now on. Grandpa is not in good health, so please help him out as much as possible."

"Hanxuan, listen to your old man, don't let him be angry with you anymore."

......

Amid the children's cries, Qi Yu and Zhao Lin wiped away their tears and stepped into the off-road vehicle.

Xu Nian, in the driver's seat, sighed, started the car, and slowly drove onto the winding mountain road.

The children stumbled and fell behind the car, bidding them a reluctant farewell.

Qi Yu took off his glasses, lowered his head, and didn't dare to look at the children for even a second.

His heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, and he felt so uncomfortable that it was about to bleed.

Finally, the children stood at the intersection, facing the backs of the cars, and raised their hands in unison, saluting the direction they had gone.

"Goodbye, Teacher Qi!"

......

Many years later, a statue was erected in the center of the ancestral hall in Meishu Village.

On the statue, Teacher Qi, wearing glasses, sits in a chair, holding a book in his hands, surrounded by children eager for knowledge.

It is said that from then on, every child in the village who was about to start school would be taken to the statue by adults and bow deeply before they could enter the school.

......