The next day, Mo Jingchun kicked off his crazed New Year visiting mode. Basically, Mo Jingchun would just drop off the gifts and rush off.

Even so, Mo Jingchun still spent the entire morning running around, and he didn't even know when the little one in his arms fell asleep.

It wasn't until he hurried back home that Mo Jingchun realized the little one had fallen into a sound sleep against his chest.

Seeing the little one asleep, Mo Jingchun simply didn't put him down, not even onto the bed.

The thumping heartbeat gave the little one a greater sense of security and comfort for sleeping.

It wasn't until a bit past 1 PM that the little one woke up, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he looked up at Mo Jingchun and cooed.

Mo Jingchun knew the little one was telling him, "I want milk."

That's one of the few phrases in baby talk that Mo Jingchun understood.

In the late afternoon, Candy, feeling a bit hungry again, hesitated as she looked at the red strawberry in Mo Jingchun's hand.

Mo Jingchun couldn't help but feel amused as he looked at Candy, already drooling before she even ate.

The strawberries bought last time were indeed a bit sour, but not to such an extent.

Besides, Mo Jingchun had tasted them; the tips of the strawberries were sweet, only the bottom half was sour.

Eventually, the little one did eat, but as soon as she tasted the sour parts, she immediately spit out the strawberry and turned her head away, refusing to take another bite no matter how much Mo Jingchun coaxed her.

That look in her eyes seemed to say, "I may be young, but I'm not stupid," written plainly on her face.

Early the next morning, Mo Jingchun took his sister to catch the first bus to the county. Before leaving, he greeted the grandpa, telling him they were visiting their alma mater today.

There weren't many people on the bus, even fewer than usual.

Logically speaking, today all the senior students from various schools would be returning to campus, so there should have been a lot of them on the bus.

But in fact, private cars had reached an alarming number in recent years.

Some private car owners even turned it into a business, specifically ferrying passengers to and from the county.

If it weren't for the fact that the bus drivers' salaries were paid by the state, Mo Jingchun might have doubted whether this bus route could continue operating.

Over an hour's journey covering several dozen kilometers, the fare was only five yuan, not even enough for the fuel cost.

Shaking and swaying, Mo Jingchun nearly got bus-sick by the time the bus finally reached the stop.

At the school gate, the flow of students increased, with them coming and going in small groups.

Mo Jingchun knew that once the motivational meeting ended today, it wouldn't be easy for students to leave campus again.

Unless you got a hall pass from the homeroom teacher, you could barely think about walking out of the school gate.

The senior students' motivational meeting for the college entrance exam was set to start at nine thirty in the morning, and there was still plenty of time. Mo Jingchun sent a message to his homeroom teacher Old Yu, saying that he had arrived and was wandering around the school.

As he walked to the lakeside, seeing the schools of fish in the dark lake water made Mo Jingchun's skin crawl.

Why were there so many fish in the school's lake, and why were all of them so fat, with no students aiming to catch them? Why? Why?

That's because each student in the school had made a contribution.

Even though it's called the school lake, the students all knew it was essentially the school's septic tank.

The fish were there to speed up decomposition.

According to the biology teacher, it was to build a more complex, complete biological chain and accelerate nature's cycle.

For this lake, students steered clear, and only outsiders would be interested in the fish within.

Remembering those dried fish hanging in the windows of houses behind the school gate during the winter of sophomore year, Mo Jingchun felt disgusted.

Any student from the school would recognize those fish as coming from the school lake.

That unique yellow color was simply too conspicuous.

"Mo Jingchun."

Hearing someone call out to him, Mo Jingchun, holding his sister Candy, turned towards the voice.

Old Yu came over pushing a Phoenix bicycle, smiling broadly as he approached.

"Old Yu, why have you gotten even thinner?"

Old Yu, who was already thin to begin with, now appeared gaunt, his frame no more than skin and bones.

Old Yu waved it off, sighing without explaining the reason.

Yet Mo Jingchun could see desolation in Old Yu's eyes.

Like withered leaves.

"No need to talk about it, come on, let's head to the auditorium. The principal and the others are over there."

Since Old Yu didn't want to talk about it, Mo Jingchun didn't probe further.

Over a year later, Mo Jingchun learned from a class notification posted by the class monitor that Old Yu, who had dedicated half his life to education, was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2021.

Old Yu hid his illness from his family until he collapsed in class and couldn't get back up, revealing to everyone that his condition was already in the late stages.

......

"Today, we are honored to have senior Mo Jingchun from the class of '21 to cheer on and share his learning experiences with the juniors. Let's now welcome senior Mo Jingchun to the stage for his speech."

Sitting near the middle of the auditorium, Zhou Yaling was suddenly dumbfounded.

Big brother?

I didn't hear him say he was coming to the school.

Realizing what was happening, Zhou Yaling suddenly had a bad feeling. Oh no, Mo Jingchun is up to something!

Under the gaze of nearly a thousand senior students and teachers, Mo Jingchun went up on stage holding his sister.

The entire auditorium fell silent as Mo Jingchun stepped up holding his sister Candy.

"Respected teachers, dear junior students, good day to you all."

"See this little one in my arms? This is Candy, Mo Jingchun's little sister. I brought her up here to let her experience the atmosphere before the college entrance exams in advance."

"Hahaha"

The auditorium that was silent a moment ago erupted with applause and laughter from the classmates.

Only Zhou Yaling and the school leaders sitting in the front row knew that the small child was Mo Jingchun's life—the life they leaned on for survival.

"I believe many of you students know who I am."

"Actually, I wouldn't say I have any particular study tips, and my study methods may not be suitable for all of you juniors."

"Today, what I wish to tell everyone is that in this world, only youth and dreams should not be missed."

"Blossoms are perfect, the breeze is gentle, let's set sail."

"What is youth?"

"Youth is one exam after another, it's an endless pile of test papers, it's a track with no end in sight; it's a sports field drenched in sweat."

"Youth is also the sound of reading aloud in the morning, it's the oversized, ill-fitting school uniforms, it's the prose not yet memorized, it's the unsolved math problems."

"The underlying color of youth is always struggle!"

"Only when we have struggled during our youth, pursued and dedicated ourselves, crafted a beautiful life story, and climbed the peaks of our existence, can we, when reunited with classmates years later, confidently declare, 'Youth! No regrets!'"

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