Chapter 236: What Is It All For?
Chapter 236: Chapter 236: What Is It All For?
The live stream resumed in the afternoon.
But it didn’t last long, ending a few hours after dinner.
After the live stream ended, Nan Zhi got Nan Yi washed up early, and they went to bed to rest.
Nan Yi had spent the entire afternoon running wild with Qing Xi. Even his boundless energy was completely spent, and he fell asleep almost the instant his head hit the pillow.
Nan Zhi gently patted his shoulder through the quilt, listening to the sound of his steady, quiet breathing. Then, she turned over and looked at the flower crown hanging on the headboard.
For the first time in a long while, she couldn’t sleep.
The fragrance of the flower crown kept intruding upon her thoughts, making it impossible for her to find peace.
What exactly had she been thinking about? Nan Zhi couldn’t say for sure.
She only remembered drifting off at some unknown point and having a long dream, a dream filled with her college days with Lu Shixu.
「The next day was Sunday.」
Remembering that the newly planned cooking classes were on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—meaning the first one was tomorrow—Nan Zhi started preparing her lesson early, mulling over what new content she should teach.
As she held her pen, deep in thought, doodling on the table, the sound of someone calling her name drifted in through the open door on the breeze—
Nan Zhi recognized the voice. It was Teacher Zhang.
She put down her pen, stood up, and went to greet her. Sure enough, she saw Teacher Zhang walking toward her along the village path.
Nan Zhi was surprised.
"Teacher Zhang, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
Nan Zhi had always been intuitive, and she immediately sensed from Teacher Zhang’s behavior that something was amiss.
As expected, when Teacher Zhang saw her, her face filled with guilt. She stammered for a long time, not knowing where to begin.
Nan Zhi glanced at the camera in the yard, which was still recording.
Then, she pulled Teacher Zhang into a blind spot and turned off her microphone.
"Did something happen at the school?"
she asked with concern.
She knew very well that the only thing Teacher Zhang truly cared about enough to get this worked up was the school.
But Nan Zhi never would have imagined that this matter was actually about her.
"Xiao Nan, I’m so sorry."
Teacher Zhang grabbed Nan Zhi’s hand, her face etched with worry.
"Here you are, still worrying about the school, and we couldn’t even protect your class..."
Nan Zhi was completely baffled.
’Couldn’t protect my class?’
’Could it be the cooking class?’
Nan Zhi guessed,
"Did one of the higher-ups forbid us from continuing the cooking class?"
Although Teacher Zhang had founded Cuishui Village Primary School herself, it still relied on the support of higher authorities. Naturally, things like class scheduling were subject to their jurisdiction.
Combined with Teacher Zhang’s apology, this was the only explanation Nan Zhi could think of.
But Teacher Zhang shook her head.
"No. Your cooking class was a huge hit, and the leadership thought it was great. It just so happens that a charity foundation approached them, wanting to formalize the course, so..."
After Teacher Zhang explained everything, Nan Zhi finally understood the whole story.
It turned out the problem wasn’t that the cooking class was bad, but that it was too good!
Because of this, the higher-ups were taking it very seriously and wanted to bring in more professional people to standardize the course. They also planned to promote it in schools throughout the town, and even the county.
They didn’t understand the internet and had only vaguely heard that Nan Zhi was a "vase" actress with a poor reputation, which made them distrust her from the start.
Then, a professional charity foundation stepped in, offering to invite top chefs to partner with the local community to promote the cooking class.
Between a "vase" actress with a bad reputation and a reputable, highly professional charity foundation, it was obvious which one the leaders would choose.
What’s more, they promised that if the cooking class went well, they would send 10 students to the Blue Ribbon Cooking School in Country F for advanced studies each year. The foundation would cover all tuition and living expenses.
This offer was the final weight that tipped the scales, which were already leaning toward the foundation, completely in their favor.
"Now, they want to use Cuishui Village Primary School as a pilot location. So for tomorrow’s cooking class, they’re inviting a professional chef to come..."
Teacher Zhang’s face was full of shame. She didn’t know if she should continue and didn’t dare to look at Nan Zhi’s expression.
In Teacher Zhang’s eyes, this was incredibly unfair to Nan Zhi.
Nan Zhi had built this cooking class from the ground up. It was because of her that it had gone viral online and gotten recognition from official media. How could a bunch of people suddenly show up to swoop in and take the credit?
’More professional? For the sake of the students?’
’If they were really that considerate, why not just wait one more week?’
’Teacher Nan’s production team will finish filming in another week, and she’ll be leaving then anyway. Wouldn’t bringing in a professional chef to take over after that be a perfect solution for everyone?’
Even though Teacher Zhang knew that the higher-ups had their own selfish motives of wanting to score political achievements, she also knew they were genuinely trying to do what was best for the children. All their considerations were based on that.
But wasn’t this decision just too cold and impersonal? It was truly disheartening!
For the sake of the children, Teacher Zhang often had to humble herself before the foundations and the leadership.
But she wasn’t a fool.
The moment she heard the foundation’s name and noticed their frantic haste, she knew that Miss Chang Mu, the woman who had come to donate shoes the other day, had to be pulling the strings.
Normally, Teacher Zhang didn’t mind when public figures used charity for publicity, because no matter what their motives were, the children were the ones who truly benefited.
But now, for the first time, she was disgusted by it!
She even regretted ever having contact with that charity foundation, including Chang Mu!
"I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry."
Teacher Zhang apologized over and over.
She left out the detail about how she had gotten so angry in the leader’s office that morning that she’d slammed her hand on the desk during their confrontation.
But Nan Zhi could see it all—
the anxiety and guilt in Teacher Zhang’s eyes, the dry foam at the corners of her mouth, the slight tremble in her legs...
It all showed that Teacher Zhang had already done her absolute best.
Besides, Nan Zhi hadn’t been angry at all.
She just asked curiously,
"That charity foundation... is it connected to that Miss Chang?"
"Yes."
Teacher Zhang nodded. She hesitated for a long moment, then spoke cautiously.
"Teacher Nan, I just get the feeling that Miss Chang... has ill intentions toward you. It seems like she’s deliberately targeting you, so you must be extra careful. It’s always wise to be wary of others."
Teacher Zhang wasn’t the type to speak ill of others behind their backs.
But this time, Chang Mu’s actions had crossed her line. It made Teacher Zhang’s impression of her plummet, to the point that she felt compelled to warn Nan Zhi.
A warmth spread through Nan Zhi’s heart. She nodded and said,
"I know."
Instead, Nan Zhi was the one who gently comforted Teacher Zhang. Only after she had calmed down did Nan Zhi persuade her to leave.
Afterward, she didn’t rush back inside, but stood outside the door for a while.
A growing curiosity about Chang Mu surfaced in her mind—
’What’s the reason for this deliberate, calculated targeting?’
’Could it be... Lu Shixu?’