"Why didn't you knock on the door just now?" Lin Chaoxi asked while walking on the stairs and chewing on bread.

She shifted her gaze to the side and saw a little boy who was slightly taller than her turn his head slightly, raised his other hand, and pointed at her eyes from a distance.

His eyelashes are long and thin, covering his eyes which are as peaceful as still water. Although you rarely see such a look in a child's eyes, you also feel that it is completely normal for this child to have such a look.

Because that was Pei Zhi.

Lin Chaoxi looked at him, stunned for a moment, wiped her eyes, and the back of her hand was wet. She was immediately ashamed.

Pei Zhi was saying, you must be crying, so I can't go in.

"No..." She sobbed just after she said these two words, which was like the best evidence.

She really wanted to ask how I knew I was crying, but she couldn't bring herself to ask that. After thinking for a long time, she could only say, "We are water signs, so our inner drama is so rich."

Pei Zhi: “…”

Lin Zhaoxi: "What's your zodiac sign?"

Pei Zhi did not answer.

Lin Chaoxi felt that her chatting level was close to that of Old Lin, but when she opened the door and saw her classmate Pei Zhi sitting cross-legged on the ground, it would be a lie to say she was not shocked.

But the shock was soon replaced by a warm feeling of companionship.

She didn't know what Pei Zhi was thinking about all that time when he was sitting behind the door, but it didn't matter what he was thinking about. Being with her was the best comfort.

She looked at the stainless steel plate in Pei Zhi's hand and asked, "You've been to the cafeteria... Did you get up early?" Lin Zhaoxi asked tentatively, "Are you still awake?"

"No."

"Huh?"

After a while, Pei Zhicai said, "I heard what Vice Principal Zhang said last night."

Lin Zhaoxi rubbed her eyes again. Pei Zhi's words were obviously an answer to her first question.

——Why don’t you knock?

"I was wondering why you didn't refute him, when what you said to Lu Zhihao was a perfect rebuttal."

"Because, what he said is right." Lin Chaoxi sobbed again. This physiological reaction after crying was completely out of control. "Like now, I don't like him, I'm very sad, I really want to leave, and I even want to leave with everyone. But if I leave, am I also looking for an excuse to give up, just like he said?"

As they talked, they had already walked out of the dormitory building. The entire base was bathed in the bright morning sun, and every leaf seemed to be glowing.

"It's too difficult." Lin Chaoxi sniffed, "It's easy to talk about Lu Zhihao, but it's so difficult to do it yourself. The excuse is too perfect, more attractive than Ultraman, sweet and fragrant, so I think what Vice President Zhang said is really right, why is this person so annoying." Lin Chaoxi took a bite of the bread and said, "But I hate myself more, I always fall into the trap easily. I'm so scared, maybe I will continue to fall into the trap in the future."

"Well, what next?" Pei Zhi asked.

"Brother Tiancai, isn't it time for you to feed me chicken soup?" Lin Zhaoxi turned his head and said, "Tell me not to dwell on this, tell me not to think too much, just leave, it's no big deal..."

"If you want to listen, I can tell you." Pei Zhi has already started to repeat, "Lin Zhaoxi, don't think too much..."

"No, no." She quickly interrupted him and made a begging gesture.

Pei Zhi stopped talking at the right time and asked, "So what are you going to do next?"

"I don't know either." Lin Zhaoxi said, "The hardest thing is to always make the right choice, but this time I decided to do whatever is difficult!"

After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Pei Zhi with expectant eyes, hoping that he would give her some encouragement and support.

But no.

"I'm a Capricorn." Pei Zhi said something that was almost completely unrelated.

Facing the rising sun, Lin Zhaoxi was stunned for a moment, and then laughed.

Capricorns never give up until they achieve their goals.

So, don't ask.

——

Xie Ran rushed to the gate of the base.

A man and a woman were standing in front of the guard room. They should be the welfare home staff who came to pick up Lin Chaoxi as mentioned in the phone call.

He looked at them, and his legs suddenly stopped running. When he really faced the students' parents, he couldn't remember what to do for a moment.

But since he was already there, he could only bite the bullet and walk up to say hello: "Hello, I'm Lin Chaoxi's homeroom teacher in the summer camp," he said.

"From the Mathematics Department of Sanwei University?" The man who was smoking in front of the guardhouse raised his eyelids slightly and looked at him.

"yes……"

"Oh, you were the one who sent someone to chase me away yesterday?"

"You left last night?"

Jie Ran immediately understood that this person was not a staff member of the welfare home. He was a teacher hired by Lin Chaoxi to teach the summer camp students. Last night, he notified the security guards to send the person away. It was impossible that...

"You asked me to get out of the Oasis in the middle of the night. Don't you want the credits anymore?" the man said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

Xie Ran: ???

"You...are you a teacher at our school?"

"Oh, no." The other party paused and said naturally, "I was just expelled from your school."

Xie Ran was extremely shocked when he looked at the man in the torn sweatshirt in front of him. He wondered how a shameless person could say such words. He had no idea what to say.

"Stop talking." Fortunately, the lady next to them interrupted them at the right time. She stretched out her hand and said humbly, "Hello, I am the director of the Red Star Welfare Home, Dang Aiping."

"Hello, Party President." Jie Ran shook hands with the other party as if he was saved.

The party dean poked his head out and pretended to ask, "Where is our Lin Chaoxi? The school tried to persuade her to quit, but they didn't even send her to the gate?"

This sentence is obviously angry.

Xie Ran felt very regretful. This man and woman didn't look easy to mess with.

He suddenly wanted to change sides and continue to be Vice Principal Zhang's lackey...

——

William Chang had no idea what Jie Ran was thinking, and he had no idea about the little things that were happening all over the Oasis base.

After getting up today, he jogged for half an hour as usual.

In terms of time, when Pei Zhi finished saying "morning", Lin Chaoxi opened the concierge door with red eyes, he had just sat down in the cafeteria to start having breakfast.

Today, he came down from the teachers' dining area on the second floor of the cafeteria and looked around. There were gaps between the tables and chairs, and there was a lot of noise.

It was hard to imagine how the little girl, who was punished by him to work in the cafeteria, could have caused such a big mess in just a few days.

It was only later that he found out that the teacher hired by Lin Chaoxi had been working in the cafeteria in the past few days and used his spare time to teach the children.

He had never met the other party, so he couldn't comment on the teaching level, but here...

He looked up and took in the noisy environment. This was obviously not a suitable place for teaching.

Maybe it was too noisy, for a moment he seemed to see Lin Chaoxi moving between tables, clearing the plates with a smile on her face.

Of course not, she has been expelled from school.

Zhang Shuping's thoughts stop here. People like him will not be moved by any extraordinary efforts and perseverance.

If you have seen countless children falling down crying, and students who try to crawl for a long time but can only reach the starting line of others, you will also try to maintain this clear cognition.

Otherwise I would have gone crazy long ago, William Chang thought self-deprecatingly.

He wiped his mouth, drank the last mouthful of porridge, and stood up from his seat.

——

"Are you sure it's here?"

At the door of the office on the 7th floor of the teaching building, Lin Chaoxi asked Pei Zhi in a low voice.

The wooden door in front of me was tightly closed. There was no window on it, so I couldn't see what was inside at all.

"Yes, I took the exam in this office." Pei Zhi added, "The time I got 0 points."

Lin Chaoxi put his hands behind the door, but when he heard the next words, he pulled his hands back.

Pei Zhi turned his head slightly and stood beside him, looking very relaxed, as if he didn't understand why she was so hesitant.

Pei Zhi: "Then how about going back?"

Lin Zhaoxi shook his head.

She took a deep breath and looked at the ochre-red wooden door in front of her. Her brain felt blank as if she was lacking oxygen. But even at this moment, she knew that since she had come here, how could she go back?

She summoned up her courage, raised her hand, and knocked three times.

Ding, ding, ding.

What followed was an unbearable silence. In order to hear clearly what was happening inside the door, she pressed her face very close to the door panel. Her heartbeat even reached its peak within one second. She was so nervous that she couldn't be more nervous.

However, there was no sound coming from the office, no sound of tables and chairs, no sound of footsteps, no sound at all. The wooden door was pressing against her nose, closed tightly.

There was a very light wood scent in his breath. Lin Chaoxi felt a little disappointed. After all, he was not there, right?

She took a half step back and put her hand down, but at that moment——

"What do you want?"

Zhang Shuping's low and serious voice suddenly rang out, and Lin Zhaoxi turned around abruptly.

A dozen meters away, the stairs were dark and shadowy. A man whose color was darker than the shadow stood there silently, holding a thermos cup and looking at them.

Like all movies and TV dramas, the final battle must happen at an unexpected moment.

I don't know why, but Lin Chaoxi felt that she was really shocked. When she saw William Chang, she felt that she should say something, but suddenly she forgot the words.

The long wind blows across the corridor, and the lake breeze is damp and cold.

Zhang Shuping walked towards her step by step.

He was so determined and unshakable that no matter what she said, he would not change his mind.

After a brief hesitation, William Chang walked up to them.

Lin Zhaoxi looked at him, took a step forward, and called him: "Vice Principal Zhang."

The middle-aged man stood by the door and interrupted her casually: "What are you doing here? No matter what you want to say, I can only tell you that the decision has been made and will not be changed."

He took out the key from his pocket and prepared to open the door. Lin Chaoxi knew he was serious, so she opened her mouth and wanted to say something.

"Didn't you understand?" Zhang Shuping turned around, "You've been fired."

"You are really disgusting." At that moment, Lin Zhaoxi's mind suddenly exploded, and she said bluntly.

Zhang Shuping paused, lowered his eyes, and looked at her silently.

"Before I came here, I had been wanting to have a good talk with you, but now I really hate you. Although our starting points may be different, as long as we try our best, even if we only try our best once, it is a very, very remarkable thing for people like us. But you don't recognize this kind of effort from the bottom of your heart!"

For some reason, Lin Chaoxi's decision to have a good discussion turned into a quarrel, and her eyes became red.

"Oh, and then?"

Vice Principal Zhang remained very calm, making Lin Chaoxi feel that he was the evil dragon lurking in the cave in darkness, with a huge body and a firm will that could not be shaken.

She raised her head, abandoned all her pre-planned remarks, and said seriously, "No matter what I say, it's useless. You won't agree with me! In that case, please give me a chance and let me prove it to you with my actions."

Zhang Shuping finally turned his body completely around and faced her: "What makes you think that if you use all your courage to rush up to me and swear at me, I will agree with what you say?"

There was a note of disbelief in his tone: "I am not a parent who dotes on you. I am not going to be soft-hearted when I see a little girl crying and trying her best. Why should I give you a chance to prove yourself?"

"I'll hold your legs." Lin Chao finally calmed down.

"I will cling to you in a way that you will never be able to bear. I will keep crying and yelling in front of you. Even if you throw me out, I will come back." She took a breath and made up her mind. Her tears stopped in an instant. "Teacher, I know I am useless and I don't know any adults who can shake your mind. This is the only thing I can do! But I will not give up, because I can't let you teach my classmates in your way that I don't think is right."

Zhang Shuping narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth coldly, as if he found what she said very interesting.

"I don't agree." He said only four words without hesitation.

The air in the corridor seemed to be sucked out in an instant, and just as Vice President Zhang finished saying those four words, a bell rang.

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, paused, and then pulled out his cell phone from his pocket.

It was an old-fashioned Nokia. He glanced at the yellowed screen, his expression tensed, and immediately picked up the phone. He walked a few steps to the window and said respectfully, "Professor Zeng?"

The battle was suddenly interrupted, and Vice President Zhang leaned over the window and retreated unilaterally.

The wind brought out another quality of his voice, humble and polite, no longer aggressive.

I wonder what kind of coincidence it is that Professor Zeng would call me out of the blue? While hesitating, Lin Zhaoxi suddenly remembered something.

At night, she and Pei Zhi stood in front of the small white building, talking to the computer in the living room.

——Send an email? There is a computer over there.

——I will send it.

The sound disappeared, her scalp tingled, and she immediately turned to look for Pei Zhi.

"Why did Professor Zeng call?" she asked. "Did you send him an email?"

Before Pei Zhi could answer, Chang Shuping hung up the phone and walked over with great momentum.

"Did you email Professor Zeng?" he asked the exact same question.

"Yeah." The little boy still kept a calm expression.

But Lin Chaoxi felt that it was not just that. He also hadn't slept all night?

Chang Shuping: "Professor Zeng said, you sent him two answers, please ask him to call me and give your student a chance."

"Two?" Lin Chaoxi didn't care about the second half at all. She only knew that before last night, Pei Zhi had tried his best to solve one.

"As you said, if there are two solutions, he should take a look." Pei Zhi said.

"One night?"

"Have more hope." Pei Zhi said, "This seems to be the only thing I can do."

Even though there were dark clouds in the sky, they have now dispersed and the sky is clear and the air is fresh.

Pei Zhi is still the little boy who dresses simply and casually, and he will still become an outstanding young man in a few years.

Lin Chaoxi was completely relieved. She turned around again and saw William Chang still standing behind her.

The man whom she had never been able to defeat suddenly took off his dragon disguise and turned into an ordinary middle-aged man. Yes, what was there to be afraid of?

"Very good." Zhang Shuping looked at Pei Zhi sincerely.

"So what are you going to prove to me?"

His gaze shifted instantly, and Lin Chaoxi was being stared at closely.

"I want to prove that you are wrong," she replied. "The elimination system is to select better students, so I think it has nothing to do with giving up or not. It mainly depends on grades. If the method is right and ordinary students become better students, then you are wrong," she said.

Zhang Shuping frowned and thought for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Zhang Liang."

Lin Chaoxi widened his eyes, not knowing what was going on.

"Not better, but the best." Chang Shuping shook his phone and said straightforwardly, "Professor Zeng said he would give you a chance. Now, the chance is this - the same group elimination system. In the midterm exam, use the method you want to make the average score of the 12 of you higher than that of Zhang Liang's group. If you can do it, you can stay, otherwise all 12 will leave."

He paused and added, "You can go back and ask your classmates for their opinions first."

Hearing this, Lin Chaoxi hesitated. Why was Zhang Shuping so difficult to deal with? She couldn't answer this question immediately.

At this time, footsteps were heard again at the staircase entrance. There should be three people coming.

She was still thinking, but someone had already answered her in a long tone.

"Okay~"