117: Ferry Boy

The paper was densely covered with circles and marks in red pen, and there were even annotations written in the margins.

At first glance, it looked very much like the rigorous scrutiny one would expect when grading a perfect-score essay,

or perhaps like an attempt to tear this unconventional article apart.

"Inappropriate word choice here."

Shen Qingqiu pointed to the first line, her voice cold.

Lin Que was taken aback.

"And here, the logic jumps too quickly."

Shen Qingqiu continued her critique, the tip of her pen tapping on the paper.

"But..."

She shifted her tone, her fingertip stopping next to the description of the salute, and remained silent for a full five seconds.

"Aside from these flaws, the rest is written more insightfully than many textbook articles I've seen."

Shen Qingqiu looked up,

the usual sharpness in her eyes gone, replaced by a sense of relief she had never shown before.

"Lin Que, I've taught for so many years, and I've always told you all to read the classics and stay away from 'fast-food' literature.

I thought web novels were just sensationalist trash, until..."

Shen Qingqiu looked out the window and remained silent for a long time before speaking again.

"Lin Que, tell me the truth,

do students nowadays really have such profound thoughts in their heads?"

The air in the office seemed to freeze for a few seconds,

with only the ticking of the wall clock breaking the silence.

Lin Que looked at the pages of the ghost detective chapters in his hand, which were covered in red annotations, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

This chapter of ghost detective told the story of A-Zhe, a police officer who died in the line of duty.

A-Zhe had been a real workhorse in life; he sacrificed himself on the eve of his wedding while pursuing a serial murder case.

But after his death, he didn't realize he was dead.

His obsession kept him in the human world, even possessing a colleague to continue investigating the case.

It wasn't until Zhao Li appeared and helped him catch the real killer

that he looked at his blood-stained police uniform, gave a standard salute, and departed with a smile.

It was a story about responsibility, faith, and saying goodbye.

Lin Que looked down and saw that the margins of the printed paper were densely filled with red writing.

Next to a line describing Zhao Li's salute, Shen Qingqiu had written a comment that seemed to pierce through the paper:

[Rules are dead, but faith is alive. This isn't a ghost story; it's clearly a monument erected for the living.]

Lin Que's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up in surprise.

This class teacher, who was always strict and privately nicknamed 'Shen Jingbing' by the students,

was currently holding her thermos, her gaze fixed on the bare branches of the sycamore tree outside the window.

"Teacher, are you... turning into a fan?"

Lin Que raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively, half-joking.

Shen Qingqiu didn't even look up, but she tapped her red pen heavily on the desk with a crisp 'clack'.

"Don't get cheeky with me. I'm judging the writing for what it is."

She pushed up her glasses:

"What I acknowledge isn't the pen name 'Hell Dream Weaver,' but the values conveyed in the writing.

If he were writing that kind of sentimental nonsense, I would have called him out by name at the class meeting long ago."

She set down her cup and lightly tapped her fingers on the desk:

"This author has great depth in his writing.

Even though he writes about ghosts, every stroke of his pen questions the essence of humanity.

Look at this passage..."

Shen Qingqiu pointed to a spot on the paper:

"A-Zhe discovered he was dead, but he didn't turn into a vengeful spirit to take revenge on the murderer.

Instead, he insisted on using police methods to gather evidence and bring the killer to justice.

This breaks the stereotype of 'ghost equals revenge' in traditional horror stories.

This shows the author is thinking: are justice and responsibility a kind of faith that can transcend life and death?"

Lin Que listened and nodded inwardly.

As expected of a Chinese Language Teacher, her reading comprehension skills were perfect.

"And here."

Shen Qingqiu flipped to another page.

"Zhao Li said, 'Your case is closed, it's time to go'.

A-Zhe said, 'Put the handcuffs on me; this is your case'.

The handling of this conflict is very sophisticated.

It makes people see not horror, but a sense of tragic heroism."

Shen Qingqiu sighed, her gaze becoming complicated:

"I used to worry

that reading these things would make you lose your ambition and become superstitious.

But if web novels can be written with this level of depth,

then my previous worries were indeed a bit unnecessary."

Lin Que looked at the young female teacher before him.

She might not understand the 'golden first three chapters' of web novels, what makes a 'hook,' or the capital-driven traffic operations.

But she understood literature, she understood education, and more importantly, she understood the human heart.

She didn't dismiss it outright just because of the 'ghosts and gods' theme.

Instead, she keenly captured the true value behind these two stories.

It was about humanity, about responsibility, and about how to face regrets.

Furthermore, she was trying to extract these values and transform them into nourishment for her students.

"Teacher, if you went into book reviewing, those professional critics would probably lose their jobs."

Lin Que said with a smile.

"Don't flatter me."

Shen Qingqiu gave him a sidelong glance.

"I didn't call you here to discuss literary appreciation with you. I have serious business."

"Please, go ahead."

Shen Qingqiu sat up straight, her expression becoming serious:

"You've seen what a mess the class has been these past few days.

If this continues, the whole class will fail the final exams!"

She looked at Lin Que, her eyes turning stern:

"Blocking is not as good as channeling. Since everyone is so obsessed with these things, let's just bring the 'ghosts' out into the open to talk about them.

For next Friday's class meeting, we won't do the final exam mobilization; we're changing it!"

"Changing it to what?"

"To 'Obsession and Letting Go'."

Shen Qingqiu looked at Lin Que, a certain expectation shining in her eyes.

"I want you to host this class meeting.

Don't preach; just use these two books to talk about how to send away the ghosts in one's heart."

Shen Qingqiu paused, her tone becoming exceptionally solemn:

"Lin Que, your speeches can stir up emotions,

but I hope this time, you can use them to heal.

Do you understand what I mean?"

Lin Que was stunned for a moment.

Ghosts in the heart?

"Do high school students have ghosts in their hearts too?" Lin Que asked.

"Of course they do."

Shen Qingqiu's voice was soft, yet powerful.

"The shadow of failing an exam, the cracks in family relationships, the confusion of adolescence, the fear of the future... these are all 'ghosts'.

Like A-Zhe's obsession, they trouble you and prevent you from moving forward calmly."

"Shanshan in Convenience Store No. 444 refused to leave because she hadn't finished her wedding.

A-Zhe in ghost detective was unwilling to reincarnate because he hadn't caught the killer.

The core of these stories is actually 'unfinished regrets'."

Shen Qingqiu looked at Lin Que with a burning gaze:

"I've seen your public speaking ability.

Since you're a fan of both authors and have a deep understanding of these works,

I think no one is more suitable than you to be this ferryman."

Lin Que was silent for a moment.

He looked at Shen Qingqiu, and a sudden surge of respect rose in his heart.

In this era where grades are everything, on the eve of a critical juncture like the final exams,

there was actually a teacher willing to stop her hurried pace

to pay attention to the tiny cracks deep within her students' souls.

She wasn't just teaching subjects; she was nurturing people.

What she wanted to do was not just send students to university,

but to 'ferry' them out of the confusion and obsessions of adolescence,

letting them face their future lives with a light heart.

Wasn't she also a ferryman?

Compared to Zhao Li's gun or Tristan's gentleness,

the chalk and lesson plans in Shen Qingqiu's hands held just as much weight.

"What? You're not willing?"

Shen Qingqiu saw that he wasn't speaking and thought he wanted to decline.

"No."

Lin Que smiled, his smile bright.

"Since you trust me so much, Teacher,

then I must make this 'exorcism'... oh no, this class meeting, absolutely spectacular."

Shen Qingqiu was amused by his choice of words and waved her hand:

"Alright, go back and prepare. Don't let it interfere with your revision.

If you mess up the finals..."

"Understood!"

Lin Que didn't wait for Shen Qingqiu to finish; he grabbed the printed pages and ran out of the office.

As soon as he stepped out, he took a deep breath.

The sunlight in the corridor was just right, spilling through the glass windows and feeling warm on his body.

He looked back at the closed office door.

Shen Qingqiu didn't know that she hadn't just assigned a task; she had given Lin Que a lesson.

A lesson about what education is, and what responsibility is.

Lin Que gripped the papers in his hand tightly.

In that case, this class meeting couldn't just be a casual chat.

He had to give these 'kids' buried in exam papers some real 'strong medicine'...