Chapter 95
Shen Jiangfu leisurely enjoyed the last two weeks of her vacation. School would start the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow she would need to go to school to collect tuition. Some parents paid online, while others preferred to pay in cash in person.
Shen Jiangfu got the class schedule a week ago. This year, Shen Jiangfu will be teaching two classes, Chinese to first and second grade students. She will also teach art classes for all grades, from preschool to fourth grade.
Previously, art classes were taught by the head teachers of each class. Because an English teacher suddenly resigned, a Chinese teacher was needed to teach English. This teacher was Yu Huo.
There were six teachers in this school including the principal. One of them left, so there are only five now. The teachers need to reallocate the courses.
In addition, Shen Jiangfu also needs to teach Chinese to her preschool students, which is a headache for her. There is no kindergarten in the village, and children who are just starting to learn Chinese are the most difficult to teach, requiring hands-on instruction.
Originally, Shen Jiangfu taught Chinese to second and third graders. Because he had to teach an additional kindergarten class, the principal lowered the grade level he taught to one, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. He felt that it would be more convenient for Shen Jiangfu to prepare lessons if she taught all the grades consecutively.
Preparing Chinese lessons is not difficult. The original teacher has been teaching Chinese for three or four years and is very experienced. The knowledge is all in his head, and she has inherited it.
It was mainly art classes. Shen Jiangfu was not a professional, and the original owner had not dabbled much in this area. Students were usually asked to draw or study on their own, and sometimes it was used for Chinese classes.
But she didn't want to do that. Since there was a ready-made artist in the village, why not use him? She could have him paint on the blackboard in the classroom, or just give him some painting lessons. Both were better than her amateur teaching, and she could let the children experience the art world.
With an idea in mind, Shen Jiangfu immediately went to find Xie Jing.
Arriving at Xie Jing's door, Shen Jiangfu rang the doorbell several times as if she was familiar with the place. After a while, Xie Jing opened the door and she saw that he looked like he was still half asleep.
"Did you stay up late last night?"
Shen Jiangfu stared at Xie Jing's messy hair for a moment, then her gaze wandered to his eyes. They were squinting slightly from the sunlight, making it difficult to open them. His eyes were dark and blue, and his face was exhausted, like a vampire who hadn't eaten and was running out of life.
Thinking of this, Shen Jiangfu said directly, "You look like a vampire."
Xie Jing didn't say anything. He adjusted himself to the glaring sunlight and tried to wake up.
Shen Jiangfu didn't tell him in advance, but when Xie Jing heard the doorbell, he immediately knew it was her.
The way she pressed the doorbell was different from Li Qingsheng's. Li Qingsheng would press it five or six times in a row, but she usually only pressed it three times, with an interval of about five seconds between each press.
Xie Jing was instantly awakened by the doorbell and went downstairs without even changing his clothes. At this moment, he pressed his head with his hands and combed his hair with his hands, trying to tidy it up.
Xie Jing felt a little regretful that he didn't set the alarm clock and overslept.
Shen Jiangfu waited for Xie Jing to wake up, after all, it was her sudden visit that woke him up.
"Sorry, I thought you were awake."
According to Shen Jiangfu's previous observations, Xie Jing's sleep and rest schedule was the same as hers, waking up at six or seven in the morning. She came down to see him at around nine thirty today.
Xie Jing pulled out a chair and motioned for Shen Jiangfu to sit down.
Shen Jiangfu didn't refuse and sat down directly.
Xie Jing also sat down in the chair next to her and answered her: "I slept late last night and got up late today. What's the matter with you coming here?"
Usually when Shen Jiangfu came over, she would bring him something, most of which were snacks and cakes she made herself.
I didn't bring anything today, so I guess he has something to ask him.
Xie Jing's gaze lingered on Shen Jiangfu's face, his eyes flickering. Occasionally he glanced at her, occasionally glanced at the table or something else, his gaze switching back and forth.
Shen Jiangfu was thinking about how to ask Xie Jing to agree to her request. She smiled embarrassedly and said, "Well... it's like this. I have a request. I don't think you will agree to it, but I hope you can agree to it."
Facing Shen Jiangfu's expectant eyes, and now that school was about to start, Xie Jing probably guessed what Shen Jiangfu wanted to do with him.
Chen Jiangfu looked conflicted. She looked into Xie Jing's eyes, and after a moment's hesitation, she decided that it would be best to speak frankly. Then her gaze became frank, and she bent her elbows in an outward gesture, an invitation, and said solemnly, "I'd like to invite you to come to my school and teach an art class for me."
Xie Jing did not give an answer immediately.
He needs to think clearly, which is not an easy task for him.
Shen Jiangfu noticed his hesitation and stated her request, "You don't need to teach them anything. You can paint in class and let them watch you paint, or you can teach them some basic brush strokes." Shen Jiangfu stretched out a finger and waved it in front of Xie Jing, tempting him, "Just one lesson will be enough."
"One class is enough?"
Don't they have art classes anymore? When he was in school, he had at least one a week.
Seeing hope, Shen Jiangfu pressed on and said, "No, no, no, you can teach as many as you want! I just want you to teach one class in each class for me, that's all."
"Is it okay?" Shen Jiangfu looked into Xie Jing's eyes and controlled her voice to be three points lower than usual.
Looking at Shen Jiangfu's pleading eyes, Xie Jing was still hesitant and still didn't speak.
Li Qingsheng told him that there was an exhibition hall that he had to attend in January next year, during which he would need to explain the background of the paintings. Perhaps he could try to train himself in class.
But this has nothing to do with the art exhibition, which only requires you to express your creative ideas. In class, you need to explain a lot of theories and knowledge, and there will be a lot of questions.
However, he still owed her a lot of food, so maybe he needed to agree to her request. Thinking of this, he looked at Shen Jiangfu. When Shen Jiangfu saw Xie Jing looking at her, she did not avoid him and met his gaze directly.
Their eyes met, and Xie Jing looked into Shen Jiangfu's crystal clear eyes. He saw her slightly curled eyelashes flickering, her eyes moist and filled with sincere pleading. He was a little flustered by her gaze, and opened his mouth and said, "Okay."
"Really?" Shen Jiangfu smiled happily when Xie Jing agreed to her request and said excitedly, "That's great!"
However, when Shen Jiangfu thought about the fact that she taught five classes and Xie Jing needed to teach five classes, she suddenly felt a little guilty. Should she tell him now?
Forget it, let’s make it clear.
"Hey, there's something I need to say. I'm the one teaching art for the entire grade, so..."
"so……"
Xie Jing understood immediately and gave Shen Jiangfu a fake smile. "So, I want to teach art to the entire grade? Five classes?"
Shen Jiangfu looked at Xie Jing with helplessness on his face, which showed an expression of being fooled.
However, after looking around, she didn't see him getting angry. Maybe Xie Jing didn't mind.
Shen Jiangfu quickly gave Xie Jing a big smile, hoping that Xie Jing could see how embarrassed she was at the moment, and also hoping that he could see her little plea.
Xie Jing sighed silently when he saw Shen Jiangfu's mouth almost split open with laughter. He had always thought Shen Jiangfu only taught two classes at most, but seeing Shen Jiangfu's expression of being at a loss for words, he felt that it was not easy for her either.
"Can."
After completing this task, Shen Jiangfu put aside her worries and showed him her most sincere smile.
The way he smiled was completely different. Now his smile was more genuine than before, and his facial expressions changed very quickly, Xie Jing thought.
Xie Jing: "Does each class have one art class per week?"
Shen Jiangfu: "Yes, every Monday, it has never changed."
"It hasn't changed. When I was in school, I also had one art class a week." Xie Jing remembered an incident when Zuo Xiaolin helped a teacher teach a fourth-grade art class.
At that time, their art teachers were from the county, three in total, all volunteer teachers. One of them, surnamed Ma, was an acquaintance of Zuo Xiaolin. He was a traditional Chinese painter who liked to paint plum blossoms. I remember he had his own exhibition in the county.
"When the time comes, go to whichever class you're free in. Take an art lesson in each class and paint a picture right in front of the class. Let them see the strength of our great painters. They'll definitely be amazed at your prowess!"
Having missed five classes, Shen Jiangfu was in a good mood and started talking more.
It was the first time that Xie Jing heard such straightforward praise. He felt relieved and his reluctance to attend the art exhibition was reduced a little. Perhaps these activities would be interesting?
"Aren't I supposed to teach them how to paint? I'm painting on it myself, so it wouldn't be appropriate if I didn't teach them how to paint, right?"
"What do you think we were doing in art class when we were in school?" Shen Jiangfu asked back, "Huh?"
Xie Jing thought about his school days. In art class, he usually drew by himself, and there were teachers who taught him paper cutting. At most, he studied on his own and did his homework.
"Some students like to paint. If they have professional guidance, some may benefit a lot. Even if it's just one class, it can let them see what the profession of painter is like."
This was Shen Jiangfu's original intention of wanting Xie Jing to come to class. The children here have a limited view of the world and are not exposed to many things and people.
At present, most of the people they come into contact with are farmers, workers, and teachers. They can more or less tell what these professions are and what knowledge is required to do them.
Through textbooks and television, they know that there are professions such as scientists, actors, painters, musicians, pilots, dancers, etc., but they don’t understand what it takes to become one of these professions.
They may know that they need to study hard, go to high school and college, get high scores and get first place.
However, the path to obtaining some professions requires not only good grades but also skills.
"Children of this age have very rich imaginations, and you might find their drawings quite interesting."
"Really? I don't find it interesting."
Hearing this, Shen Jiangfu thought he was unhappy. She tried to see the reluctance in Xie Jing's eyes, but his eyes were clear, without any entanglement or embarrassment. When he saw her looking at him, he asked her, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I thought you didn't want to substitute for me." Shen Jiangfu honestly expressed her current thoughts.
Xie Jing realized she had misunderstood and immediately opened his mouth to explain, saying, "I'm willing to substitute for you, but I'm really not interested in other people's paintings."
He preferred to focus on the mountain scenery and his feelings.
For example, his current feelings, he felt that he felt natural, but also felt very unnatural. The natural part was that he would not reject communicating and interacting with Shen Jiangfu, and he did not want Shen Jiangfu to leave his house quickly.
The part that felt unnatural was that he would become concerned about his clothes when he saw Shen Jiangfu, and would think about her reaction when answering her.
When Shen Jiangfu heard Xie Jing's explanation, she repeated this sentence in her heart. At first glance, she thought this person was very arrogant.
Xie Jing's expression was serious, but when Shen Jiangfu met his gaze, her eyes flickered a little. With this serious expression, it made people think he had a bit of a temper, but he was very genuine.
It was the same feeling Shen Jiangfu had when she first saw him.
"Okay, you can take the class however you want. If you have any questions, just come to me. I'm always available."
Shen Jiangfu stood up, and Xie Jing followed suit. When they pushed the chair, their movements were a bit rough, making a noise.
He had already finished the painting last night and was struggling over whether to give it to Shen Jiangfu now.
Seeing Xie Jing stand up, Shen Jiangfu stopped him from moving forward. She stretched out her arm and stopped him. "It's just a few steps away. You don't have to see me to the door. Go back and have breakfast quickly."
Xie Jing stopped, he looked at Shen Jiangfu, thought about it, but still didn't say it, "Okay."
"I don't know how to teach others to draw, and I probably won't be able to teach them well."
"It's okay. You can teach them some painting knowledge or how to appreciate a painting. Just go for it. I'll be watching from the side."
"good."
"You don't need to worry about not speaking well. I think your drawings are amazing. Your brushstrokes are so vivid, the scenery and characters are so colorful and vivid that people remember them immediately. I think you're amazing."
Shen Jiangfu was afraid that Xie Jing would be anxious and his mood would be affected. This was not what she wanted to happen. She also hoped that Xie Jing could find new motivation in these classes and move on from the past.
Zuo Xiaolin had a huge influence on him. Perhaps it wasn't Zuo Xiaolin's influence on him, but that he had to have something that could trap him, something that could trap his pain.
Xie Jing needed pain. Perhaps too many people had told him that pain was the source of his creativity. Zuo Xiaolin's example taught him that, as did the outside world's praise of his paintings and the mention of his life story. Perhaps Xie Jing himself didn't realize it, thinking it was normal, but pain can easily become a demon, leading to self-destruction.
Shen Jiangfu didn't want Xie Jing to remain in a depressed state, and thought that perhaps exposing him to new things would change him. Similarly, Shen Jiangfu worried that doing so would weaken his creative side.
But I can't just help her with five classes, right?
When Shen Jiangfu didn't speak, Xie Jing looked at the caution, worry and doubt that flashed in her eyes.
What was she feeling so cautious, worried, and doubtful about? Was it because of him? Xie Jing always felt that Shen Jiangfu would show a different expression in moments of silence. When she looked at him, it was as if she was seeing scenes through him, as if she knew everything about him, knew what he was thinking.
But how is this possible? No one has clairvoyance.
The two people stood still, each thinking about their own things.
Shen Jiangfu put aside these messy thoughts. Before leaving, she waved goodbye to Xie Jing as usual and said jokingly, "Let's go, Teacher Xie."
The sudden address made Xie Jing fail to realize that she was calling him. When he realized what was happening, Shen Jiangfu had already walked out the door and disappeared around the corner, leaving him with only a piece of gray clothing.
He looked at the door and whispered something that Shen Jiangfu couldn't hear, "Bye, Afu."
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