CoP 17

Sui Cannong’s expression was complex. He looked extremely anxious, but also seemed to be holding back, a look that made Ji Ling pause.

“Ji Ling,” Sui Cannong said, “I can’t accept it.”

This was the first time Ji Ling had heard Sui Cannong call him by his full name at school, rather than “Teacher Ji,” and it was done with a serious and formal tone.

Ji Ling’s heart sank, and he felt a sense of loss.

But he knew that if he had the right to give the flower, Sui Cannong had the right to refuse it.

Sui Cannong’s classroom already had many plants, and perhaps he didn’t want to add more to his responsibilities. Although he didn’t understand, Ji Ling didn’t want to put Sui Cannong in an awkward position.

Ji Ling blinked lightly, trying to keep his expression calm.

He lifted his face and nodded as if nothing was wrong. “It’s fine. I know your classroom already has a lot of flowers.”

Sui Cannong’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

Ji Ling’s act of giving the flower and his words seemed to suggest some special reason, as if he was eager to entrust this pot of flowers to him.

If Sui Cannong wanted to take care of the flower, he certainly could.

What Sui Cannong didn’t know was whether Ji Ling was simply tired of taking care of it or if there was another reason why he couldn’t continue to do so in the future.

“I can’t accept it,” Sui Cannong paused, then continued, “because you’ve taken such good care of it for so long. My classroom already has many plants, and I can’t guarantee that I can give it the attention it deserves.”

Ji Ling looked at Sui Cannong but didn’t say anything.

“Plants have lives too. I think you must be attached to it after taking care of it for so long,” Sui Cannong said in a rush. “If that’s the case, don’t give it away. Keep it and take care of it until the next spring.”

Sui Cannong’s words were deeply meaningful. Taking care of the plant was one thing, but he was also hinting that Ji Ling should take care of himself. However, he wasn’t sure if Ji Ling understood.

Ji Ling’s expression was one of confusion.

But he didn’t say more. He simply nodded lightly and said, “I understand.”

However, Sui Cannong felt that Ji Ling didn’t really understand.

Although he had persuaded Ji Ling to take the flower back, Sui Cannong’s heart didn’t feel any lighter as he walked back to his classroom.

One reason was that when he left, Ji Ling’s expression had been one of disappointment.

Sui Cannong couldn’t describe Ji Ling’s look. He had stood quietly next to the pot of roses, his eyes downcast, his face a mix of blankness and sadness.

Sui Cannong’s chest felt heavy. He knew that if he looked at Ji Ling’s face for a moment longer, he might have been tempted to take the pot of roses.

The second reason was that Sui Cannong realized Ji Ling was planning something. He was starting to entrust important, irreplaceable things to others.

This gave Sui Cannong a very bad feeling, as he knew exactly what Ji Ling’s plan was.

So, Ji Ling’s current actions felt like he was settling his affairs. Sui Cannong knew he couldn’t accept the flower, and he was afraid to.

But what good would it do? After refusing, Ji Ling could entrust the flower to someone else, and his resolve wouldn’t change.

Sui Cannong’s head was pounding.

He took a deep breath, stood up, and decided to clear his mind by watering the plants in his classroom.

The small tomato plant that Cindy and Sherry had grown was doing well. They had recently used chopsticks to create a support, and in about two weeks, it would start to produce flower buds and small fruits.

Every day after school, the two girls would spend a long time drawing and observing the tomato plant. Cindy had told Sui Cannong that during exam week, the tomato plant was what kept them coming to school, their only source of comfort.

Support… comfort…

Sui Cannong stared at the fine hairs on the tomato plant’s stem for a while.

He suddenly had an idea.

“Maybe we can introduce the classification of dampers and add some explanation about natural frequencies,” Ji Ling said. “That would make the reading more fluid.”

Cindy stared at the computer for a while, then pointed at the screen. “But there’s still a big empty space here. Can we make the font size bigger?”

Sherry said, “If we make it any bigger, the printed words will be almost as big as your head!”

Cindy’s face fell, and she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“First, let’s add the two points I mentioned. That might fill up most of the empty space. Then you can add some pictures,” Ji Ling said. “You’ve done a great job. Don’t worry, go home now.”

Sherry and Cindy’s science fair project was about “bridge resonance,” but the textbook didn’t cover much on the topic, so their progress was initially slow.

However, the two girls were very serious, so Ji Ling was willing to give them extra help.

Either during lunch breaks or after school, Ji Ling would provide additional guidance to help them catch up.

The two girls, with their backpacks, said their goodbyes to Ji Ling, who waved back at them.

After a busy afternoon, Ji Ling felt a bit tired. Suddenly having nothing to do, he didn’t know what to do next.

His gaze fell on the pot of roses on the windowsill. After a moment, he looked away, stood up, and started erasing the whiteboard behind him.

Just as Ji Ling was about to turn off the lights and leave the classroom, he heard some commotion from the other end of the corridor.

He turned around and saw Sherry and Cindy running towards him, breathless.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Ling was taken aback. “Did you forget something?”

Sherry shook her head. “Teacher Ji, Teacher Sui asked us to tell you to come to his classroom.”

“And he asked us to help you,” Cindy added. “He wants us to move the roses from your classroom to his.”

When Ji Ling arrived at the biology classroom, he saw Sui Cannong facing away from him, fiddling with something inside.

The two girls placed the pot of roses on a desk, and Cindy pointed to a small green plant. “Teacher Ji, look, this is our tomato plant.”

“It’s doing well,” Ji Ling said.

Ji Ling also noticed that Sui Cannong’s classroom had many plants, and most of the pots had a student’s name on them.

For example, the pot with Sherry and Cindy’s tomato plant had a sticky note with “Sherry & Cindy” written on it.

Sherry and Cindy said their goodbyes to Ji Ling again. When Ji Ling turned around, he saw Sui Cannong turning to face him with a smile.

Ji Ling looked at Sui Cannong, feeling his face stiffen, unsure of what to say.

Sui Cannong spoke directly. “Teacher Ji, I thought about it. Looking at the same flower all the time can get boring, so I can take care of your roses.”

“But in exchange, can you do me a favor?” Sui Cannong asked.

Ji Ling was taken aback by the sudden change in Sui Cannong’s attitude. After a moment, he said, “Sure.”

Sui Cannong nodded, then turned around and brought out a large plastic pot.

The contents of the pot… Ji Ling couldn’t describe the texture. It looked like a white cylindrical plaster, but the surface was rougher and covered with a transparent membrane.

“These are mushroom planters,” Sui Cannong said. “They’re actually mushroom spawn. They look like solid mud now, but if you remove the membrane and water them regularly, they will start to grow.”

“They can produce mushrooms multiple times,” Sui Cannong looked at Ji Ling. “And the mushrooms are edible.”

Ji Ling was taken aback.

“I recently started teaching the biodiversity chapter to the eleventh graders, and it’s a bit boring. So I thought about growing real mushrooms to coincide with the fungi section in two weeks,” Sui Cannong explained. “But as you can see, I have a lot of plants, and I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

“So I thought you could help me,” he said. “Teacher Ji, can you come to my classroom more often and help me grow these mushrooms?”

Sui Cannong emphasized the words “help me” slightly.

Sui Cannong had bought a couple of these mushroom planters before and grown them at home for fun. They produced a lot of mushrooms, which was quite fresh, but he preferred leafy green plants.

However, Sui Cannong had gone to the market during his free period and bought a large pot of mushroom spawn, with five different types of mushrooms.

He wanted to give Ji Ling something to focus on, a task, something to keep him going and support him for a while longer.

Although the mushroom growth cycle was relatively short, Ji Ling had mentioned that he liked mushrooms, so Sui Cannong thought this would pique his interest.

Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling lower his head and stare at the mushroom spawn for a long time, and he knew he had made the right move.

A few seconds later, Sui Cannong heard Ji Ling say, “No problem.”

“But Teacher Sui, I’ve never grown mushrooms before,” Ji Ling added hesitantly. “I’m afraid I might mess it up…”

Sui Cannong quickly interrupted him. “Don’t worry, they’re easy to grow.”

Sui Cannong took out a stack of sticky notes. He wrote “Mr. Sui” on one and stuck it on the pot of roses.

Then he wrote “Mr. Ji” on another and stuck it on the plastic pot with the mushroom spawn.

“Each spawn can produce mushrooms twice. If they grow well, the first batch can be used by the students,” Sui Cannong smiled at Ji Ling. “The second batch, we can eat together.”

“Mushrooms like moisture, so they need to be watered daily. So you’ll need to come here every day,” he said.

If Ji Ling had thought about it carefully, he would have noticed that Sui Cannong’s logic was a bit strange.

Watering didn’t take much time, and Sui Cannong could easily water the mushrooms while taking care of the other plants.

But Ji Ling didn’t notice this because Sui Cannong looked very sincere and genuinely needed help.

Moreover, Sui Cannong had said “every day,” which meant Ji Ling could come to his classroom every day. Ji Ling felt he had no reason to say no.

Ji Ling lifted his face and said seriously, “Okay.”

Sui Cannong stared into Ji Ling’s eyes for a while, then said, “If you agree, you must follow through.”

Ji Ling was a bit confused. It was just watering mushrooms, but Sui Cannong’s expression was serious, as if they were discussing something very important.

But perhaps Sui Cannong really cared about his students. Ji Ling thought he wanted the mushrooms to grow well to make the class more interesting.

So Ji Ling nodded and said, “I’m a man of my word. I will do it.”

Sui Cannong finally let out a breath.

The mushroom growth cycle was about two weeks, and if they produced two rounds of mushrooms, it would be about a month.

He thought that at least for this month, everything would be safe.