It was important to be humble when necessary, and this was also what I truly believed in. No matter how excellent a teacher was, if they encountered unmotivated students, there wouldn't be any good results.That child who got into the middle school in the city must have had both talent and diligence. Colin just played a role in encouraging and teaching him according to his abilities."Oh, no. Mr. White is very attentive when he's teaching the children. There's not a single child in the village who doesn't like him," Mr. Miller said as he sat down on a stool. Then, he lit a cigarette and took a puff, squinting his eyes contentedly.Mrs. Miller came into the house carrying a large basket. As she put it on the table, I saw that it was filled with bright red apples. They were freshly washed and still glistening with water droplets. These apples looked fresher than the ones I had seen in supermarkets and smelled wonderfully fragrant."Go ahead and take one. These are from our own apple
"The landslide affected these two mountains. Experts said it was because the stones and old trees were almost entirely gone, leaving nothing to hold the soil in place during the rain. It's a man-made disaster. Even though there were attempts to manage it, it was too late."The northern mountains, however, were planted with apple trees, and stones were never extracted. So, the soil is stable and the harvest improves each year."Most natural disasters occurred because of human beings destroying nature. Ultimately, it was humans who bore the consequences.Mr. Miller and Mrs. Miller were very straightforward, and I surprisingly enjoyed chatting with them. It was nearly 10:00 am before I realized how much time had passed.Just as I was about to ask about last year's landslide, a chubby boy walked in with a white plate."Grandma, my mom made some fresh pancakes. They smell great. I brought them for you and Grandpa to have for lunch."Mr. Miller's house had an old-fashioned layout. It h
After the landslide, the school became inaccessible. So, only those who were there knew what had happened. Up until now, I had only heard Colin's side of the story. Perhaps there were things even he didn't know."It was raining heavily that day. Mr. White was done with his lessons and was standing by the window as we worked on our assignments."He noticed the mountain slope becoming unstable and wanted to ask us to run away. But we were quite far from home. The landslide would catch us before we could reach home safely. So, he immediately told us to move our desks to the corners of the room and stand on them. "Then, he lifted the teacher's desk to block the window closest to the corner."I'm fat and slow. So, when I tried to climb up the desk, I fell. By then, mud had started pouring in through other windows, and I was about to get buried. Mr. White picked me up onto the desk, but he got hit on the head by a falling desk and fainted."Miss, I was saved by Mr. White. I wanted to
I would eagerly wait for such a moment.Previously, even if I had brief doubts about Jasmine saving Colin, there was no reason to question something he personally confirmed. I couldn't let my suspicions put him in a difficult position, so I had to silently swallow all my doubts.But now, after hearing Tom's words, I couldn't help but question again whether Jasmine really did save Colin and if there were any unknown details. After all, apart from her, only those few children would know what happened while Colin was unconscious.This was the consequence of not seeking to understand something thoroughly. Dad taught me from a young age that no matter what the issue was, one had to look beyond the surface to understand the essence.As a child, I would think deeply about this. I would read a book repeatedly to grasp its main ideas or appreciate a painting many times to fully understand the mood it conveyed.Somehow, as I grew up, I had forgotten about this habit."Wasn't there another
Any decent person with a conscience wouldn't have done such a thing."What happened next? How did Mr. White regain consciousness? Was she the one who saved him?""Of course not! After she got buried, she started crying and screaming like she was dying, asking us to save her. None of us were crying, but she cried so hard that I think Mr. White woke up because of her. Her voice was so loud that it was terrifying." Tom shivered and hugged himself. He was clearly traumatized by the memory.It seemed Jasmine had left a deep negative impression on him.I couldn't help but find it a little amusing that Colin, who fainted, was awakened by her cries."After Mr. White woke up for a while, the landslide stopped. Adam and Jim were badly injured. After treating their wounds, Mr. White went to dig her out. I helped too, and my fingers bled from all the digging."But she kept crying and saying things like, 'As long as you're okay, I don't care about myself.' She kept saying not to worry about
Why should we show mercy to someone who was determined to harm us?Jasmine Taylor, just you wait. This time, I would use the method you used to hurt us to turn the tables on you!You've committed so many wrongdoings, so it was time for you to pay the price. Justice would be served in due time.Mr. Miller noticed my unpleasantness and hurriedly asked if I had a fever again. He quickly called out to his wife to take my temperature."I'm fine, Mr. Miller. I'm not having a fever. I just remembered something unpleasant and felt a little upset.""Miss, is something wrong? Is it related to Mr. White?" Tom was such a pure-hearted teenager. He could read people's expressions although he couldn't fully grasp the depth of situations.Jasmine's malicious posts had already caused significant damage to Colin and me. Given the influence of these prestigious institutions in society, the issue was bound to escalate and spread widely.If we didn't act quickly and clarify things, our future could
Tom, being very sensible, patted my hand and spoke like an adult, "Miss, is that woman doing something bad to Mr. White? Whatever you need me to do, just tell me. I'll do it well."I was surprised at his sharpness and intelligence. He saw through things more clearly than most adults. He got to the crux of the matter in one sentence."How did you know?" I asked, puzzled.A teenager like him correctly guessing Jasmine's actions was truly impressive.Tom gave me a proud smile. Then, he said mischievously, "Of course, I know. That woman is a terrible person, and we hate her. She always complained about us being dirty. Once, I asked her what a bar in the city was like, but she pinched her nose and told me to stay away from her. It made me cry."She told Grandpa she wanted to help develop our village, but she didn't do anything. She just followed Mr. White around all day, bringing him water and even cooking for him, but he never accepted anything he gave her. "There was even one time
Was becoming a mistress really that great? So much so that she didn't even care about her reputation? Jasmine was such a morally corrupt person."Mr. Miller, I hope Tom could become our witness. As long as he can prove that Jasmine wasn't the one who saved Colin, we could expose her disguise and clear his name. Otherwise, he might lose his qualifications as a lecturer." I added the last sentence deliberately, a little strategy to elicit some sympathy.Mr. and Mrs. Miller were supportive of this idea. When Tom heard that his testimony could help Colin, he was so excited that he almost jumped up. He patted his chest proudly and agreed to become our witness, even saying that he would bring along the others who were trapped with him to repay Colin's kindness.Of course, I couldn't be happier than that.Before I knew it, it was already noon. Mr. Miller invited me to stay for lunch, but I was eager to get back and discuss things with Colin, so I politely declined.On the way back, I