Master's professionalism

"Xiaoyan."

"Xiaoyan."

It was that dream again, and that gentle voice again, like a sweet poison. People were immersed in it and couldn't escape—or didn't want to escape at all.

The pair of white hands strangled his throat again, his breathing and consciousness began to blur, fear completely submerged him like sea water, a hand stretched out in a trance, and pulled the drowning man out.

The hand pinched the woman's neck, and the woman's gentle mask gradually cracked, revealing the ghostly face underneath, with a ruthless expression and intermittent "cluck" sounds from her mouth, but her eyes showed endless... sadness and regret.

Xue Xiaoyan woke up from the dream, touched his chest subconsciously, but missed the ring that had been hanging all the time, and wanted to get out of bed in a panic, and stretched out his hands from behind to encircle him.

"Flame."

Hearing the familiar voice, Xue Xiaoyan's grievance burst out immediately, he turned around and hugged the person beside him, and softly called "Li Ting".

Seeing the red eyes of the man in his arms, Hu Liting's heart became a ball. He kissed the corner of Xue Xiaoyan's eyes, and asked softly, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Xue Xiaoyan hummed softly: "I dreamed about my childhood again."

Hu Liting sighed: "Why do you still remember it after so long?"

Xue Xiaoyan buried her face in Hu Liting's chest, and said with a sigh of relief: "This time is different from the previous ones."

"Can there be any difference." Hu Liting said, "Maybe it's just that your mood has changed."

Xue Xiaoyan shook her head gently: "I really like that teacher."

Sensing the wetness on his chest, Hu Liting hugged her tighter and said, "Do you want to see her?"

Xue Xiaoyan raised her head when she heard the words, her voice was a little blocked: "Can I see her?"

Hu Liting lowered his eyes and said slowly: "I was young back then, and I didn't have that much ability. I couldn't kill her. I didn't chase after her after she ran away."

Seeing Xue Xiaoyan's hesitation, Hu Liting gently stroked his back, and said softly: "Since what happened back then has been bothering you, why don't you go and have a look, with me here, nothing will happen."

Xue Xiaoyan's heart ached when he thought of the look in his dream. He took a deep breath, forced all the tears back into his eyes, and said firmly, "Let's go together."

Since his father passed away, there was no one else in Xue Xiaoyan's family. Even on Ching Ming Festival, he would leave directly after sweeping the tomb and never go home.When the neighbor saw Xue Xiaoyan came back, it took him a long time to recognize him, and he exchanged warm greetings with him before letting him go.

Stepping into the old house after many years, there are spider webs everywhere. As soon as the door is opened, thick dust falls down and rises into a cloud of dust, which makes the two of them cough.

It is definitely not possible to live, but fortunately Hu Liting said that he only wanted to see Xue Xiaoyan's home where he grew up, and he didn't plan to live in it, so he went to the hotel in the town to book a room after walking around.

Hu Liting carried a bunch of his old things from Xue Xiaoyan's house, and was covered in ashes. Xue Xiaoyan drove him to the corner of the hotel. As a result, the whole room was covered in dust, and he was almost kicked out. It was dark, the proprietress made a few simple home-cooked dishes, and after eating, the two of them got into bed and watched dramas.

"Li Pavilion."

"Ok?"

Xue Xiaoyan paused the video, put the phone aside, turned over and sat on Hu Liting's body, reached out and pinched his face, and said, "How much do you know about the past?"

Hu Liting stretched out his hand to hold Xue Xiaoyan's waist, and scratched it lightly twice. Xue Xiaoyan let go of his hand, held his hand and twisted his body, laughing uncontrollably. Hu Liting didn't stop, saying: "Back then I I just happened to pass by with Master, so what can I know?"

Xue Xiaoyan was tired from the trouble, laying on Hu Liting's body, and said lazily: "I still believed you when you said it before, but now, hum."

Hu Liting was overwhelmed by the humming, hugged her tightly and kissed her twice, and said, "It's really nothing, it's a fact that she is a ghost, and it's also a fact that she will harm you." Seeing that Xue Xiaoyan was already full of suspicion, he had no choice but to add Said, "Even if there is, I can't really see anything just by seeing each other like that."

Xue Xiaoyan hummed sullenly, he still felt that Hu Liting was hiding something

Hu Liting sighed: "Some things you have to see for yourself, Yan'er, remember, those ghosts with deep resentment, even if they can be the same as when they were alive at the beginning, but as time goes by, they have been eroded by resentment It will turn into an irrational ghost."

Xue Xiaoyan stopped pressing after hearing the words, and lay back on the bed and took out her mobile phone to continue watching the drama.

The next day.

Relying on Xue Xiaoyan's memory, the two came to the kindergarten where he met the female teacher. The padlock on the gate was completely rusted and lost its original color, and the brick walls were covered with green plants, which could be seen to have been abandoned for a long time.

Xue Xiaoyan pointed to the lock and asked Hu Liting to open it, and Hu Liting spread his hands: "It's so rusty that even if you have the original key, you may not be able to open it. It's better to smash it directly—or we can climb over the wall and get in."

There are still many private houses around the kindergarten. If the locks are smashed, the two of them will be turned away by thieves and sent to the police station in a short while.Xue Xiaoyan gestured to the wall, thinking that there should be no problem, exchanged glances with Hu Liting, and decided to climb over the wall.

Fortunately, the walls of the kindergarten are not high, and there is not much moss growing on them, so the two of them flipped inside in twos and twos.

The amusement facilities in the kindergarten are still there, and the bright colors of the past have disappeared after being exposed to the wind and sun for a long time. Xue Xiaoyan turned around a few times with some nostalgia, and when he came back, he saw Hu Liting playing on the slide very happily. He walked over with a bit of a smile Asked: "How old are you, don't you think it's dirty?"

Hu Liting curled his lips: "I'm called not forgetting childlike innocence, have you finished shopping?"

"It's not grocery shopping." Xue Xiaoyan said, "When I was a child, I always saw those dirty things. Some children could see them, some couldn't see them, and those who couldn't see them would tell the teacher who couldn't see them, and the teacher said it was me. Lead other children badly, let them not learn from me, and as time goes by, everyone will stop playing with me and say that I am lying."

Seeing Xue Xiaoyan's self-deprecating smile, Hu Liting held him in his arms distressedly, and comforted him in a warm voice: "Although children have clean eyes, not everyone is like that, you just know it yourself."

"Get out." Xue Xiaoyan pushed the person away, "Whoever is dirty is allowed to hug me!"

"whee--"

Xue Xiaoyan pinched Hu Liting's waist: "You're still laughing!"

Hu Liting felt wronged: "I didn't."

"whee--"

Laughter sounded again, but Xue Xiaoyan froze, it was clearly the voice of a child.He looked around vigilantly, but did not see any children.

Hu Liting pointed in the direction of the classroom, there was a door half-opened, there seemed to be a figure walking inside, but there was nothing when he looked in through the window.

Xue Xiaoyan dragged Hu Liting to the classroom, the laughter became clearer as it got closer, and more than one person could be heard, accompanied by the sound of children playing inside, as well as the smoldering air radiating out.

Xue Xiaoyan glanced at Hu Liting, Hu Liting nodded at him, he stretched out his hand, and slowly opened the door.

The old wooden door was pushed open with a "squeak", but unexpected dust fell down.

There were about a dozen children in the classroom, and when they saw the two "uninvited guests", they stopped playing and looked at them in unison, with curious eyes shining on their pale faces.

Being stared at by so many children, Xue Xiaoyan felt a little uncomfortable, shrank behind Hu Liting, and a familiar female voice made him poke his head out again.

"Xiaoyan?"

Standing by the wall was a woman in white, she smiled shyly, and looked a little embarrassed while holding her skirt.

Xue Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment, and called out, "Teacher."

When the woman heard these two words, her eyes were full of surprise, and she was about to approach when she saw Hu Liting's raised hand and retracted it.

Hu Liting protected Xue Xiaoyan behind him and said, "I brought Yan'er here this time because I want him to hear about the past."

The woman nodded when she heard the words, glanced at the child beside her, and said, "Let's go out and talk."

The woman led them to a tree outside, looked at the classroom, and confirmed that the children hadn't followed before she was relieved and said, "You know everything about that year, right?"

Seeing Xue Xiaoyan's bewildered face, the woman became a little helpless, grabbed her skirt and looked around randomly, and finally her eyes fell on Hu Liting, looking at him as if asking for help.

Hu Liting sighed, took out his phone, swiped it twice, and handed it to Xue Xiaoyan: "She doesn't want to tell you to watch it yourself."

Xue Xiaoyan took the phone and looked, it was full of pictures from old newspapers, basically missing persons notices and missing children reports, there were [-] or [-] pictures, and the time was different, arranged in order, spanning more than ten years , only the last one is different from the others. It is a social news, saying that a kindergarten teacher was killed on the way home from work. The murderer has not been found so far, and that teacher is the woman in front of him.

Xue Xiaoyan stared blankly at the woman, who lowered her head and said "I'm sorry" softly.

Xue Xiaoyan held Hu Liting's hand, and Hu Liting reached out and patted the back of his hand, and said to the woman, "What happened back then has always been a knot in Yan'er's heart, and it's time to settle it. You can explain it to him yourself."

The woman nodded, and slowly talked about the past: "I am indeed a teacher here, but I died before you came, it may have been several years, I don't remember." She looked towards the classroom building, There was sadness in his eyes, "I have worked here for several years, and I like children very much. I remember the appearance and name of every child I have taken care of, so I also know how many of them are gone."

A bad premonition rose in Xue Xiaoyan's heart: "What does it mean to be gone?"

"I just can't find it." The woman said, "Most of them are children from poor families, or some children who are relatively lonely. I always thought it was because of this, so many lost without parents." She said in a voice Some choked up, "Once I happened to meet the principal of one of the children's parents who came to ask for an explanation. The principal said that he could give them a sum of money, and the parents agreed. I felt a little unreasonable, so I was going to wait for them. After leaving, I went to argue with the principal, but I saw the child in the principal's office."

"I was scared and wanted to run, but I was found."

"That's what the news said?"

The woman nodded, and Xue Xiaoyan asked again: "What does this have to do with my business?"

"I'm so unwilling to die." The woman said, "I...I killed someone."

"So you turned into a ghost?"

The woman nodded: "I killed the principal, and these children stayed here. They didn't know they were dead, and I took care of them here. Humans and ghosts don't offend each other until I meet you."

"I misunderstood you, you are too dark, I don't know you are human." The woman said, "I have been here for a while, and I am plagued by resentment every day, but I can barely maintain my wit when facing those children... ...I thought...I thought your mother wanted to take you away, and I...I wanted to protect you."

"But you killed my mother and almost killed me."

The woman burst into tears when she heard the words, and kept apologizing.

Xue Xiaoyan buried her face in Hu Liting's arms, feeling unstoppably sad. This matter stuck in his heart like a thorn, and after so many years, it started to bleed again when it was pulled out.He always thought that the teacher back then had vanished into thin air, and he hadn't complained about it for so many years. Now that he suddenly knew the truth, he felt panicked, but he still couldn't complain.

"I wouldn't have brought you here if I knew about it." Hu Liting said softly, "I just think you should know the truth. As for what to do, it should be up to you to decide."

Xue Xiaoyan shook her head: "I want to go home."

"Okay, go home." Hu Liting gently stroked Xue Xiaoyan's back, turned to the woman and said, "You are already dead, you shouldn't stay in the world anymore, it's time, go reincarnate."

The woman was stunned for a moment, then raised a gentle smile: "Okay, I hope you can always be with Xiaoyan."

"I will."

The author has something to say: _(:зゝ∠)_I don’t want to write in too much detail, so I’ll simply explain what happened back then~