They All Say I've Met a Ghost

12

I’d gotten off the bus early to see Xia Jin to his door, so I biked the rest of the way as usual. The distance wasn't far. It only took about ten minutes to get home.

When I got home, I saw Liu Sishun pacing back and forth in the living room. When he saw me, he immediately approached me and said, "Because of you, Li Yuanyuan has transc — decided to go home."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ah, it's a sad story," said Liu Sishun. “When Yuanyuan was ali-… When she was little, she had a bad time. She was timid and got bullied by her classmates all the time. When she grew up and went to work, she met a classmate had who bullied her when she was at school. Her classmate pushed her head into the toilet and she was drowned. She couldn't leave the toilet after that."

I said angrily, "That isn't schoolyard bullying anymore. We can report that student for intentionally harming Yuanyuan and leaving her with serious psychological trauma. She should be held responsible by the law, and she should have to pay for the treatment Yuanyuan will need in the future."

"Oh, don't worry about it, she's already been taught a lesson. It's just that Yuanyuan is so pitiful. Tied to the toilet, her obsession too strong. Even if she wanted to she couldn't leave. She had to keep appearing by the toilet at night."

"At home you rely on your parents, outside you rely on your friends. I think that as her roommates, we should advise her to go to seek treatment and get out from under this psychological shadow as soon as possible."

"There's no need. When she was ali-… before, her classmates used to say that she smelled like a toilet and always rejected her. But you never despised her. Wherever you met her you always reached out. Now she has gone home and will live a good life in the future. " Liu Shishun said, "Just now she came back and left with her luggage. She also asked me to take good care of you in the future."

I looked at Li Yuanyuan's bedroom, which was as clean and tidy as before. The toilet was still there, but the wig was gone.

As Liu Sishun said, Li Yuanyuan always smelled of toilet cleaning solution, which didn't go away even when she showered. In fact, I didn't like that smell, but I knew that I had to be careful with Li Yuanyuan's emotional state. Even though I didn't like the smell, I still had to persist in extending the hand of friendship to her.

If she had really been able to make progress, that was great, but it was too bad she had left in such a hurry that we hadn't gotten to see each other.

But it didn't matter. As long as there was a connection between them, two living people would always have the chance to meet.

"Thank you, Teacher Liu. I know you were waiting especially to tell me about it."

"It's nothing. I don't sleep very much at night. By the way, this notebook is for you. You can take it with you when you teach your class. You can use it to write lesson plans or record the names of students. " Teacher Liu handed over a very old notebook. The paper was thin and yellow. It seemed to have been preserved for many years. Inside it was blank, with nothing written in it.

This must have been his favorite notebook, which he had kept safe for many years. I put it next to my heart and said, "Thank you. I’ll carry it with me in the future."

"Ah, no, no, you don't need to carry it on you, definitely don't put it next to your heart. Your blood is too strong and hot." Liu Sishun waved his hand and said, "You should put it in your book bag. If you run into any disobedient students in class, just take it out."

What was the connection between a lesson plan and disobedient students? It probably had to do with Teacher Liu's teaching experience. We would discuss it later.