"Ah!" Xu An was stunned. How could the girl in front of her be mistaken for a teacher? This wasn't about judging her by her appearance.
In her memory, teachers were mostly gentle and demure, or perhaps the stern and steady demeanor of an old teacher, which was quite intimidating.
But the "rat" in front of her, at first glance... looked so roguish. Xu An remained silent, quietly waiting for "rat" to recount her past.
"Qin Chuan and I grew up in that compound. We were a little better off than Qin Chuan, not forced to take over the family business like our elders. But our options were also very limited."
"My father always wanted me to go into politics, and my mother wanted me to go into business. They argued for a whole month about my university major. It's really laughable, neither of them ever asked me what I wanted to do."
"Did you compromise?"
"Rat" wore a cunning smile. "How could I? I secretly changed my major to teaching. My parents' faces turned green, hahahaha..."
"And then?"
"Then, after graduating, they couldn't convince me. They tried to send me abroad for further studies, but I turned around and signed up for teaching in a mountain village. I stayed there for a year."
Xu An was dumbfounded, she couldn't help but admire "rat's" determination to go against her entire family for her ideals.
According to "rat," her family cut off all financial support when she was in college, and she got through it entirely on her own.
"Then what? How did you end up in the alley?" Xu An pressed.
"We first contacted each other during the extreme heat early on. The children at school were suffering from heatstroke. The rural children had little access to medical care. I persuaded the parents to take their children to a major hospital, but they said it was fine, they just needed to rest at home. Who knew it would get hotter and hotter."
"Just as I was about to collapse, my father called. He sent a car to pick me up, saying he wanted to bring me home."
"At first, I didn't think much of it. I hadn't seen them in a long time, so I thought it would be fine to go back and visit."
"When they arrived, I realized something was wrong. Not just my father, but my mother and my brother and sister-in-law, the whole family came. At first, I was immersed in the joy of seeing my family."
"It wasn't until the car drove out of the village where I was teaching that I realized the route they were taking was nowhere near the direction of my city."
"I asked them, and my mother hesitated, refusing to say anything."
"It was then that I realized something was wrong."
At this moment, Xu An also guessed that "rat's" father had likely received news of the apocalypse early on. They were probably among the first, the earliest to be evacuated.
"You didn't go with them?" Xu An asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Rat" nodded. "My mother has always doted on me. When I pressed her and she saw she couldn't hide it, my father told me the truth in the car."
"Rat" would never forget that day.
With red eyes, she questioned the people closest to her, "What about my students? What about the people in the villages?"
Li Shaogang: "Rescue operations will be carried out later, Xiao Shu, stop messing around! Come with us!"
"You're lying to me! If there were rescue operations, why would you be in such a hurry to leave!"
Li Shu, also known as "rat," understood her father. While he wasn't a chivalrous hero with great compassion, he was undoubtedly an excellent politician.
If there had been any room for maneuver, he wouldn't have brought his wife and child away in such a disheveled state.
The situation must have deteriorated to an irreparable extent.
"How long are you going to make a scene! Do you know that for every minute you delay, countless people are suffering and dying? Do you know what risks our entire family is taking to pick you up?!"
Li Shaogang roared at his daughter. Although his daughter had been rebellious and disobedient since childhood,
He hadn't felt proud of his daughter when he learned that she had gone to teach in a village and was doing so well.
Their family was already very successful; there was no need for his daughter to prove anything. He had drifted through the currents of officialdom his entire life, losing his original intentions, his mind filled only with schemes and deception.
Although he had reservations about Li Shu's choice, it was not without its merits as a form of tempering.
Until this moment, he had decided against everyone's wishes to come and persuade his daughter to leave with them, risking exposure.
And now she was questioning him! She was questioning her own father!
What about those children? Nothing!
In times of peace, he could naturally let his daughter pursue her ideals, but now was a time of crisis, and survival was the most important thing!
"I'm not making a scene. They are my students, I can't abandon them."
Faced with Li Shu's stubbornness, Li Shaogang hardened his heart.
"Family or your students! Which one do you choose!"
Hearing her father's question, Li Shu shook her head in pain, tears already streaming down her face.
"Dad... I'm sorry..."
This question was invalid for her. Family and responsibility had never been choices.
"Dad, those children, those children are so young, many are orphans, and some are left-behind children. Those with parents have already been taken back. The ones left without parents are staying with me. I really can't leave them!"
"Fine... fine... you are truly a good daughter I've raised! You want to fulfill your responsibilities, but can you abandon your parents!"
"No, Dad, I just want to take them with me. Dad, they are really pitiful..."
Before she could finish, Li Shaogang interrupted her, "You save these few children now, but what about later? You will see more displaced children in the future, they will all become orphans, do you want to save every one you see? Can you save them all?"