Chapter 193: The Peak of the Super Ordinary

That day, I finished packing up the classroom late.

I stood at the door, watching the students one by one disappear into the night.

The lights in the classrooms were still on.

I turned around, walked back to the rostrum, and looked at the whiteboard.

On it were the words from the class meeting earlier that evening: “Dreams, Youth, Struggle.”

I stared at them for a long time.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind me.

“Teacher.”

I turned around.

It was Xia Zhi Yuan. He was sitting in the last row, under the faint streetlight. He looked quite dejected.

“Why haven’t you left yet?” I asked.

He shook his head and didn’t answer.

I walked towards him, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

“Having trouble?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Tell me,” I said.

“Teacher,” he said, looking up at me, his eyes filled with confusion, “I… I don’t know what my dream is.”

I was silent for a moment.

“Dreams aren’t things you can find just by looking,” I said finally. “Sometimes, they’re things you have to create.”

He looked at me blankly.

“Think about what makes you happy,” I said. “What makes you feel alive. What makes you want to keep going, even when things are tough.”

He lowered his head again, lost in thought.

We sat there in silence for a long time, just the two of us in the empty classroom.

The night outside grew deeper.

Finally, he spoke again.

“Teacher,” he said, his voice soft, “Thank you.”

I smiled.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

The next day, Xia Zhi Yuan’s performance in class was noticeably better. He was more engaged, more enthusiastic.

He still hadn’t found his dream, but he was looking.

And that was a start.

As a teacher, seeing that was the most rewarding feeling in the world.