Chapter 9: Transfer

After a week of recuperation in the hospital, Zhou Shuo was finally discharged.

What he didn't expect was that during his hospital stay, Li Zhi had visited him several times.

Since he had resolved his inner conflicts and no longer blamed himself for He Youyou's death, Zhou Shuo no longer closed off his emotions. His heart seemed to come alive again, and he began to yearn for love, preparing himself for a romantic relationship, and getting used to giving and receiving affection.

This feeling was very peculiar. He increasingly felt that his mindset and psychological age were merging with his body, full of vitality and a readiness to start a new life. He was no longer trapped in the role of a 40-year-old man who had never married, a ghost watching from afar; instead, he was a confident 24-year-old, a living, breathing young man experiencing his own life.

After being discharged, Zhou Shuo first went home to clean himself. The knife wound wasn't fully healed, and the arm wound couldn't get wet. Fortunately, it hadn't damaged any tendons or bones, so there wouldn't be any lasting effects.

He rested at home for a day, took care of his personal hygiene, and the next day, he rode his old bicycle to school early.

"Good morning, Teacher Zhao, Teacher Jin, Teacher Liu!" Zhou Shuo greeted his colleagues in the office with a smile.

"Heh, heh, good morning, Teacher Zhou!"

A few teachers greeted him with odd expressions, and the previously lively office suddenly fell silent, an awkward atmosphere spreading throughout the room.

"Teacher Zhou, have you heard any rumors?" Jin Duoduo, sitting next to him, whispered to Zhou Shuo.

Zhou Shuo was puzzled, wondering if he had done something wrong, as everyone seemed strange. He quickly asked, "Rumors? What rumors?"

"It's... it's..." Jin Duoduo hesitated for a while but couldn't resist her gossipy nature and finally said, "Oh, it's about the rumor that you didn't pass the evaluation for your public class. I heard that the Education Bureau has issued a transfer order to send you to a vocational high school to teach!"

"Oh! That matter—" Zhou Shuo thought that what was bound to happen couldn't be avoided, and he had finally reached this point. He shook his head and said, "I haven't heard about it."

If it had been a week ago, he would have tried to fight for it. His grand plans hadn't even begun, and being a teacher was still helpful. But now, Zhou Shuo didn't really care. If he had to start over, so be it. Why block someone else's path?

Instead of acting out of momentary anger, it was better to go with the flow. He had no regrets, and those empty titles were not worth holding onto.

There were only two weeks left until the final exams. He had taken a week off, and the time for computer classes had already been taken over by the cultural subject teachers, so he was quite relaxed for the moment.

When class time came, Zhou Shuo, as usual, went to the computer lab alone, and seeing the students, his mood immediately improved.

Time flew by, and at lunchtime, Zhou Shuo came out of the lab and walked out of the teaching building. He saw a Santana driving into the school from outside.

Gao Wendu was already standing at the school gate, personally opening the car door. Director Wang from the Education Bureau got out of the car and shook hands firmly with Gao Wendu. After a brief exchange, Gao Wendu welcomed Director Wang with a beaming face.

Zhou Shuo stood to the side, watching for a while, and shook his head with a bitter smile before turning back to the teacher's office.

Before he could enter the office, over a dozen students caught up to him from behind.

"Teacher Zhou!"

"Come on, Brother Zhou is here!"

Zhou Shuo turned around and saw that it was the students from the computer interest group, their faces filled with anxiety.

Not having seen them for a week, Zhou Shuo missed these students and asked happily, "Why are you all here? Have you eaten lunch?"

"Teacher, it's not the time to think about eating!" the student at the front shouted. "Gao Wendu is about to announce your transfer order. Why aren't you worried at all?"

He shrugged and said helplessly, "If they really want to transfer me, it's the decision of the leadership. What can I do..."

"Do you want to leave, Teacher? Can you bear to part with us?" a student pushed forward and asked.

Hearing this, Zhou Shuo was taken aback. Honestly, his relationship with these students had lasted for twenty years, and it was hard to say how much remained. Since his rebirth, he hadn't spent much time with them, and at most, he felt a sense of familiarity seeing their familiar faces.

He wasn't unaware of the feelings these dozen students had for him, but for them, their teacher, Zhou Shuo, had been absent for twenty years. It was hard to say how much motivation Zhou Shuo had to stay for them.

"Can I bear to part with them?" Zhou Shuo asked himself. Seeing the eager looks in the children's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say he would abandon them.

He raised his hand and touched each child's head, and beautiful memories flooded back.

Han Ziqiang, who had started learning assembly language and showed great insight into data structures.

Li Xiulin, who could create pixel art with BASIC, and although the 386's poor image processing capabilities limited her talent, her artistic skills were not buried.

Liu Shenyi, who was very familiar with the DOS system; Liu Baohai, who was skilled in computer hardware; Fei Changrong, the chubby boy whose programs were full of creativity.

...

Each of them was very talented, and they trusted him, relied on him, and admired him.

Standing among them, Zhou Shuo asked himself: Should I hand over these promising students to an incompetent teacher? Should I let their lives perhaps fall into mediocrity?

He clenched his fists and firmly said no. He could give them a better future, and he could lead them to give more people a better future. If he could change He Youyou's fate, he could certainly change theirs.

When a person can free themselves from the basic needs of survival, they will pursue spiritual transcendence and strive to achieve their social value. This is the famous Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Some people achieve their life's value through accumulating wealth, some through grasping power to fulfill their ambitions, and some through fame to satisfy their vanity.

But there are certainly people who choose to help and contribute to find their place in society.

Are these people foolish? Yes, they are. But they truly exist.

Zhou Shuo didn't dare to call himself a good person. He was selfish, greedy, and lazy, but he had one virtue: he still had a heart that hadn't become numb. He could be moved, inspired, and respond to others' care.

Just like these children who loved him.

"Teacher also can't bear to part with you," Zhou Shuo smiled and replied.

"Then let's go to the principal, and if that doesn't work, we'll go to the Education Bureau to keep Teacher Zhou here!"

"Right! Right! We can't let Teacher Zhou leave!"

"If Teacher Zhou is transferred, we'll go on strike!"

"Let's block the door of the Education Bureau!"

Zhou Shuo quickly raised his hands to calm them down, pretending to be angry, "You're getting more and more out of line. Studying hard is the best support for the teacher. As for whether I stay or leave, that's between the teacher and the school. Don't get involved, okay?"

"Okay, then Teacher, you must try your best!" Seeing Zhou Shuo's anger, the students reluctantly agreed.

"Don't worry, I won't abandon you."

After finally persuading the children to leave, Zhou Shuo returned to the office and hadn't eaten much when someone came to find him.

"Teacher Zhou, the academic affairs director wants to see you in his office."

Zhou Shuo agreed and quickly finished his meal, then got up and walked out.

At the door of the academic affairs director's office, he took a deep breath. He thought: It seems I have to fight for it, for myself and for the children.

The academic affairs director's office was about ten square meters, with a desk placed under the window. Two sofas were placed against the walls in front of the desk, and a metal file cabinet stood opposite the door. On the wall hung a calligraphy piece with the four characters "Virtue Bears All."

Zhou Shuo knocked on the door and pushed it open. Gao Wendu and Director Wang from the Education Bureau were sitting side by side on the sofa on the left. Two teacups on the coffee table were emitting steam.

"Xiao Zhou, you're here. Come, sit down," Gao Wendu stood up to greet him.

Zhou Shuo thanked him and quietly sat down on the single sofa on the right.

Director Wang didn't even look at him, holding a teacup in one hand and using the lid to push aside the floating tea leaves, slowly sipping the tea. He asked, as if speaking to the air, "Do you know why you were called here?"

Zhou Shuo smiled indifferently and said, "No, I don't."

Director Wang glanced at him, then put the teacup back on the table, as if looking at him would pollute his eyes.

"After consideration by the higher authorities, your teaching quality is not suitable for teaching at the second high school. It has been decided to transfer you to the first vocational high school. Clear?"

Zhou Shuo spread his hands and said, puzzled, "Not very clear. How did the higher authorities judge my teaching quality?"

"Well—" Director Wang clicked his tongue and stammered, "There are standards. In short, your evaluation scores were not good."

Zhou Shuo, seeing Director Wang's bureaucratic attitude, knew that today's meeting would not be harmonious. No one would give anyone face, so it was better to be direct.

So he pressed, "Then can I at least see my evaluation comments? I believe I have diligently completed my teaching tasks at the second high school. If there are any unreasonable aspects in the evaluation, I reserve the right to request an administrative review."

Director Wang squinted and glared at him, unkindly snorting, "The evaluation and transfer are the organization's decision. What right do you have to question it? As for the administrative review, go ahead if you want. Don't forget, you don't even have a teaching qualification. Letting you teach for a semester at the second high school was already a favor!"