Xiao Ze stopped where he was, hesitating to move forward.
Alfred flew forward and tapped him: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Ze shook his head.
The young man sitting on the bench seemed to sense something, turned his head, saw Xiao Ze and Alfred, immediately stood up, and strode towards the man and the dragon.
The young man had an identical face to Xiao Ze, but his expression was completely different.
There was a faint smile on his gentle face, and his eyes were bright and energetic. He didn't stop when he saw Xiao Ze. He walked over and hugged the little fat dragon. His voice was full of joy: "Teacher Alfred."
Alfred let go of his paws and let the young man rub his face.
As a result, he was reluctant to let go for a long time, so Alfred pushed him away and pointed at Xiao Ze who was standing stiffly beside him, "He is the one."
Xiao Ze's hands hanging at his sides suddenly clenched, and he tried hard to control the trembling.
Although he had guessed it in his mind, he still had a glimmer of hope because of his trust in the store owner and Alfred.
Hearing Alfred's straightforward declaration was like a dream shattered.
Xiao Ze felt like he was stuck in the quagmire of his childhood again. His feet felt heavy and he didn't dare to look up at the expression of the young man opposite him.
He must be very disappointed.
The young man looked at Xiao Ze without the slightest bit of surprise, and slowly extended his hand to him: "Hello, I am 22 years old."
Xiao Ze subconsciously raised his eyes, and his pupils shrank rapidly, "You know it's me?"
The young man held Xiao Ze's hand, his smile still as gentle as ever: "I guessed it."
The young man took Xiao Ze and Alfred back to the bench and sat down. He hugged Alfred into his arms and said in a gentle and nostalgic tone: "Until I was eighteen, your letters gave me the motivation to keep moving forward. They were more effective than prophecies. You accurately predicted all the problems I would encounter and patiently wrote down various solutions. When I was eighteen, I began to think - besides myself, who else would be so dedicated and responsible to consider me? And one day when I was prescribing a prescription for a patient, I suddenly found that my handwriting was exactly the same as the handwriting in the letter. It is self-evident who the person teacher Alfred was talking about is."
Xiao Ze looked at the young man and felt that he was a completely different person.
His habits of speech, behavior, character, profession, and thoughts are not like him.
Xiao Ze's emotions were so complicated that he couldn't sort them out. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad. "Aren't you disappointed?"
The young man handed over a handkerchief, smiled and shook his head: "I am very happy. At the age of 22, I have not forgotten the me who was left behind when I was five years old, and I specially asked Teacher Alfred to come back to help me. The treasure that I searched for all over the world but could not find anywhere was finally delivered to me by Teacher Alfred. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for loving me so deeply."
Xiao Ze bent down, rested his elbows on his knees, and covered his eyes with his left hand.
If he hadn't been lucky enough to meet Lu Yao that night, he would have actually given up.
Xiao Ze felt sad and ashamed, but couldn't tell the young man.
He is so nice.
Gentle, steady, considerate and cheerful, he grew up to be more powerful than he dared to imagine.
The young man and Alfred did not say anything. They looked at the river not far away and smiled at the same time.
After a long time, Xiao Ze's emotions gradually stabilized, and his ears and eyes were red.
He felt embarrassed, but he also knew that this was a rare opportunity, so he took the initiative to ask: "Are you a doctor now?"
The young man looked over, nodded slightly, stretched out his right hand, activated his superpowers, and the light source that originally only existed in his fingers gradually seeped out of his flesh and flesh, and materialized into a sharp golden blade tip: "My ability has awakened a second time. At first, only my fingers could emit light, and after training, I gradually became able to manipulate light to become a physical entity. When I took the final professional assessment, I was already able to manipulate the light blade to perform some delicate surgeries, so now I am a doctor."
Xiao Ze was deeply shocked. He stared at the young man's fingertips in disbelief and obsession, and murmured, "I thought my ability was the lowest level, not even qualified for the ability value test, but I actually awakened a second time."
The young man nodded in understanding. "I understand your thoughts. After all, I am you. More than ten years ago, Teacher Alfred sent me your letter and left a book. There was a passage written on the title page of the book. It inspired me to break through the recognized rules and usher in the second awakening of my abilities at the age of fifteen. Teacher Alfred did not lie to me."
Xiao Ze lowered his head to look at Alfred.
Alfred spread out his paws, with a swaggering look between his brows.
The young man rubbed Alfred's wings and took out a stack of letters from behind. There was a book under the envelope. "This is the reply I wrote to you. I started writing it the year I entered boarding school. Now I can finally hand it to you. There is also Mr. Alfred's book. I think you will be interested."
Xiao Ze's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he paused for a moment before reaching out to take it.
The young man stood up, patted Xiao Ze on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Thank you for giving me a different seventeen years."
He slowly approached Xiao Ze, his smile as light and calm as a cloud, and his figure became as blurry as a shadow until it disappeared.
Xiao Ze stood up in panic and looked around: "Where did he go?"
Alfred flew up, stretched out a claw and tapped Xiao Ze's heart, "He's here."
Xiao Ze fell down on the bench, distraught.
Alfred fell back onto the bench and patted the young man’s arm with his short, thick paws. “Don’t look so serious. A man named Albert Camus once said that not being loved is just bad luck, and not being able to love is a great misfortune (1). You see, whether it is loving others or loving yourself, the power of love will not diminish. The person you love deeply has not disappeared, but has returned to your heart and turned into a spark. Generally speaking, when humans have the ability to love themselves, love from others will follow. Xiao Ze, congratulations on successfully completing your tutoring!”
Xiao Ze didn't say anything.
Alfred said nothing more and sat with him in silence, from the time the sun rose to the zenith until the sun set in the west.
Finally, Xiao Ze calmed down and stood up holding the letter and the book, "Teacher Alfred, let's go back."
Alfred flew up and caught up with him, tapping the young man on the top of his head with his stubby claws, "Okay."
Xiao Ze and Lu Yao returned to the cram school, and only three minutes had passed.
Pepper had just come back from outside with a bunch of snacks. When she saw the two people suddenly appear, she was no longer surprised. She tilted her head to glance at the table, and sure enough, the sleeping little black dragon and the silver ball were back.
Xiao Ze's eyes were still red, and he felt a little embarrassed in front of Huo Jiao. He handed the letter and book to Lu Yao, then turned to go to the bathroom to tidy up.
Lu Yao took out a special box and planned to put the letters and books in it so that Xiao Ze could take them back later.
Pepper leaned over and looked at the purple cover, a little curious: "What book is this? Can I take a look?"
Lu Yao: "This is Xiao Ze's book, you can ask him later."
After a few minutes, Xiao Ze came out of the bathroom.
Hu Jiao immediately said, "Senior, can I take a look at that book?"
Xiao Ze paused, "Senior?"
Pepper: "We are both tutors. You came first. I thought I could call you that."
Xiao Ze couldn't help scratching his head, "How old are you?"
Pepper: "I'll be seventeen in two months."
Xiao Ze: "That was not long after graduation. Your professional assessment result is freelance?"
Hu Jiao shook his head: "I didn't finish college and dropped out in my second year. I ran away from home and couldn't find a suitable job, so I became an anchor."
Xiao Ze looked a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry."
Pepper shook his head nonchalantly: "Brother, it's okay. Can I take a look at this book?"
He hadn't read a serious book for a long time and suddenly became interested.
There were quite a few guests outside, so Lu Yao packed Xiao Ze's things and went out to help.
Xiao Ze walked to the table and saw that the letters and books were neatly placed in a bright orange square box. There was also a small white velvet square box above the books.
Xiao Ze picked it up and opened it, and an oval golden badge came into view. It was only the size of an adult's thumb, and there was a line of small words engraved on the bottom of the badge - Graduation commemoration of the Childhood Tutorial Center.
The round and delicate badge lies on the white velvet, shining brightly.
This is a commemorative gift from the Childhood Tuition Center to every student who successfully completes the course.
Xiao Ze touched it and put it back carefully, then picked up the book below and pulled up a chair to sit down: "I haven't read it yet, want to read it together?"
Pepper is actually not used to getting along with adults and is a little resistant.
Xiao Ze on the other side had already turned the title page.
Pepper's gaze fell down, and his pupils trembled slightly.
The room was silent. On the light yellow pages of the book were written a passage that he had never seen anywhere else.
After the peak passenger flow period was over, Lu Yao asked Xu Xiaoxiao to have breakfast first.
The two glass tea rooms were booked by guests, so Xu Xiaoxiao had to eat in the cram school.
She walked in with her lunch box and saw Xiao Ze and Jiao Huo reading together. She walked over to greet them, "Is the last tutoring session over?"
In the morning, the two arrived at the store one after another, and Xiao Ze knew that Xu Xiaoxiao had changed jobs.
Given our past relationship, it was actually a bit awkward to meet again.
Especially after the tutoring ended, maybe their mentality changed. Xiao Ze recalled that both of them seemed a little ridiculous.
However, the other party looked calm and had completely let go. Xiao Ze also tried to adjust his expression and nodded, "Well, it just ended today, and the owner gave me a commemorative badge."
Xu Xiaoxiao sat down at another table, opened her lunch box, and said with a smile, "That badge is super cute, I have one too. Is that book also a graduation gift?"
Xiao Ze nodded: "Yes, it's a gift from Teacher Alfred."
Xu Xiaoxiao smiled happily: "I also got a similar gift."
That news was the best gift for her.
Xu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but add: "Teacher Alfred is really cute."
Huo Jiao couldn't stand it and felt excluded from the topic: "Where's Lu Yao? When will I start tutoring?"
He also wanted to meet the legendary Alfred.
Xu Xiaoxiao: "I'll take her place after dinner. But tutoring is very energy-consuming, and the owner needs to rest. Don't rush her."
Seeing that the store was busy, Xiao Ze prepared to leave with his things. As he left, he told Huo that he could lend him the book.
Pepper waved his hand and refused.
It is a good book, but it bears Xiao Ze's mark.
An unknown expectation arose in Pepper's heart—he also wanted a unique gift of his own without any additional conditions.
But he didn't know who to ask for it.
When Lu Yao came in, he saw Hu Jiao in a daze, and walked straight to the drawer to take out his mind key and information, "Hu Jiao, it's your turn."
Pepper came back to her senses: "Sister Xiaoxiao said you need to rest."
Lu Yao shook his head: "It's okay, I want to see the situation first. The formal tutoring will start in the afternoon."
According to the memory of what I accidentally saw last night, Huo Jiao's situation is a little different from Xiao Ze and Xu Xiaoxiao, so this tutoring session may be more difficult.
Huo Jie opened the key to the heart and took Lu Yao and the young Huo Jie back to his childhood.
The two people opened their eyes and stood in a dark and narrow corridor.