Su She squatted down, looking at the innocent faces of the children, and felt a warmth in his heart: "All good things must come to an end, and I also have my own path to walk. You must study hard so that you can leave the mountains and see the world in the future."
That afternoon, the sound of reading aloud filled the school, so loud that even the drafty windows seemed to be filled with it.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, men, women, and children of Luoxia Village gathered at the village entrance.
The children clutched their handmade trinkets—little figures sculpted from mud, dried wildflowers, and pieces of paper with crooked drawings—their eyes red-rimmed, yet they bravely held back their tears. Granny Wang from the village, carrying a cloth bag, shoved it into Su She's hands: "Mr. Su, here are some vegetable dumplings for you to eat on the road. And these shoes, I made them overnight, they're sturdy."
Uncle Li patted Su She on the shoulder, his voice hoarse: "Sir, if you can't make it outside, come back to the village. Our village will always have food to eat."
Looking at the simple, honest faces before him, Su She's eyes welled up with tears. He had fled here three months ago, merely a passerby, but this sincerity had kept him here. He bowed deeply: "Thank you all for your care over the past three months, Su She will remember it."
He knelt down and patted each child's head: "Be good, study hard, okay?"
"We know!" the children shouted in unison, their voices trembling with tears.
Su She stood up, took one last look at the lively little village, and waved: "I'm leaving, everyone go back."
He turned around, picked up his cloth bag, and slowly walked away along the winding dirt road. Behind him, he heard children crying "Goodbye, sir!" and villagers urging him "Be careful on the road."
The rising sun cast a long shadow over him; at the end of the road lay an unknown journey ahead.
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