The programmer and his woman

I looked around. The usually bustling office was now empty. I couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Where is Master Sun Lingling and the class teacher? Why can't I see them?"

When Teacher Qi heard my question, a complicated expression flashed across his face, and then he slowly said, "They all resigned."

"Quitted? Why?" I asked in surprise, full of confusion.

Teacher Qi sighed and explained, "Since Teacher Kong took all the money away, we currently have no money to pay our employees. If we don't open a new class, the money we can collect later will only be enough to pay for your and Teacher Li's tuition."

My heart sank and I felt a heavy pressure coming over me. Teacher Qi's words made me realize that the future of our school is not optimistic.

Teacher Qi seemed to be infected by this atmosphere. He sighed, patted my shoulder and said, "Teacher Wang, you have to be mentally prepared. We may face more difficulties and challenges next."

I nodded. Although I felt uneasy, I also understood that this was an unavoidable reality.

Just then, Teacher Li called me: "Teacher Wang, wait a moment."

I turned around and saw Teacher Li walking towards me with a serious face. He asked, "Do you know what's going on in our school now? How come all the teachers are gone and only the two of us are left?"

I was moved and thought that this might be something that Teacher Qi had not told Teacher Li. So I pretended not to know and answered, "I don't know. I'm not used to such silence all of a sudden."

Teacher Li frowned, as if he was not satisfied with my answer. He continued, "When I came to work today, I saw on the bus that a new training school had opened three stops away from here. I was wondering if all our teachers had gone to that new school?"

I was shocked when I heard this, and realized that this might be an important clue. I replied, "Ah? Is this true? Have you talked to Teacher Qi about this?"

Teacher Li shook his head and said, "No. But I think we should tell Teacher Qi about this and see what he says."

"Let's go and talk to Teacher Qi." I suggested, my heart filled with worry about the unknown situation.

When I arrived at Teacher Qi's office, I found the door open. Teacher Qi was talking to the principal. I knocked on the door and said, "Teacher Qi, the principal is here too. That's great. Do you know the new training school?"

When the principal heard what I said, he immediately turned around, with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "You saw it too?"

I nodded and replied, "Yes, Teacher Li saw it on the way to work this morning. This location is indeed well chosen, very conspicuous and easy to see."

The principal sighed and added, "Well, it's not surprising that you saw it. His location was indeed very strategic. I just saw it today. I was discussing this with Teacher Qi. It seems that we need to go to the site to see the situation. Teacher Qi, let's go and take a look."

Teacher Qi nodded in agreement. The two of them stood up and prepared to leave. The principal turned to us and said, "Teacher Wang, Teacher Li, if you have anything to do at school, please call us. We are going to go out for a while now."

"Let's go." The principal said to Teacher Qi, and then he asked, "Do you think it could be opened by our dean and that guy named Kong?"

Teacher Qi thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe. There is a possibility. They have cooperated before, and the dean has been looking for new investment opportunities."

I listened to their conversation and couldn't help but feel a little worried. If it was really invested by the dean and Teacher Kong, it would undoubtedly be a huge challenge for our school.

"Hey, Teacher Wang, what's going on?" Teacher Li saw that I was a little absent-minded and asked.

I came to my senses and replied, "I don't know, maybe there are competitors. What we need to do now is to do our own job well and keep a close eye on their developments."

I looked at the time and it was time for class. I said to Teacher Li, "It's time. I should go to class. Teacher Li, please keep an eye on me here."

Teacher Li nodded and replied, "Okay, go ahead."

The bell rang, crisp and rhythmic. I adjusted my mood and walked into the classroom with my lesson plan and enthusiasm. The students quieted down one after another, their eyes revealing their thirst for knowledge. I stood in front of the podium and said with a smile: "Students, let's go to class. Today, we are going to talk about double buffering, which is a very important concept in computer graphics..."

As I explained, I wrote down the key points of knowledge on the blackboard. The students listened attentively and nodded from time to time to show their understanding. The atmosphere in the classroom gradually heated up, and knowledge was passed between teachers and students, as if a warm current surged into my heart.

However, as the bell rang, the short-lived bustle returned to calm. I packed up my textbooks, walked out of the classroom, and returned to the deserted office. The door of the office slammed shut, as if isolating the outside world.

"Teacher Wang, the next class is my class, so you stay here and I'll go first." Teacher Li's voice broke the silence. He picked up the textbook and walked quickly towards his classroom.

With Teacher Li's departure, the office became even more lonely. It was quiet all around, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops outside the window. I sat alone at my desk, feeling an inexplicable emotion in my heart.

In this deserted office, the voice of Sun Lingling kept echoing in my mind. Those familiar and kind words seemed to ring in my ears: "Teacher Wang, you are alive again...", "Hurry up, I can't answer this...", "Teacher Wang is so handsome today...", "Teacher Wang, do you think the new shoes I bought yesterday look good...", "Teacher Wang, your hairstyle is so ugly, it makes me laugh...", "If you tease me again, I will beat you to death..."

These voices accompanied me through many busy and fulfilling days. Sun Lingling was always full of energy, and her laughter and words always brought endless joy to this office. However, now she has left, leaving only these memories and thoughts.

I realized that I missed her so much. Those days with her seemed like yesterday. Her smile, her voice, her every move were deeply imprinted in my mind. I began to miss the time I spent with her, the days full of laughter and vitality.

Teacher Wang, at this moment, a familiar voice broke the silence in the office. I looked up, and a flash of expectation flashed through my mind, thinking that it was Sun Lingling who came back. However, when I saw the person coming, I realized that it was Miaomiao, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"Teacher Wang, what's wrong with you? You seem absent-minded." Miaomiao asked with concern.

I smiled awkwardly and shook my head, trying to cover up my mistake. "Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about something." I explained.

"Teacher, I forgot to bring a cup today. Do we have paper cups?" Miaomiao asked softly.

"Oh, yes, I'll get it for you." I stood up and walked to the tea area and got her a paper cup.

"Thank you, teacher." Miaomiao took the paper cup and smiled gratefully.

Just then, I heard a few more shouts from outside the door. I turned around and saw several colleagues from the studio walking in.

"Hey, you're here." I greeted them enthusiastically.

"Hello, Teacher Wang." They responded in unison.

"Come in and sit down. I'll come to see you later." I pointed to the rest area in the office and motioned for them to sit down and wait.

"Boss, why haven't we arranged any work for the past few days?" one of them asked with some concern.

I sighed and explained, "Some things at school have been a bit tricky lately, so the studio has been put on hold for a while. But don't worry, we'll have work to do after this busy period."

"Boss, the main reason we're here this time is..." One of them hesitated to speak, seeming to find it difficult to start.

"What's wrong? Why are you hesitating? If you have something to say, just say it. If you have to fart, fart quickly!" Seeing that they were hesitant, I urged them impatiently.

"Then I'll be frank." One of them took a deep breath and said with courage, "A game company has approached me several times. Teacher Wang, you know my family's situation. My family depends on me for money. If we don't take any more jobs, I won't be able to hold on any longer."

I nodded to show my understanding. Then I looked at another planning colleague and asked, "What about you? What do you think?"

"I... I also want to find a company to work for." He hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to express his thoughts.

"Yeah." I turned to look at my art colleague named Dahai, "Art, what about you?"

Dahai scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly: "I don't want to work anywhere else, mainly because I can't get out of bed. I like our job here, the working hours are flexible, and if I can continue to do this in the future, I am willing to work here. If there is no work now, I won't come. If there is work, just call me and I will definitely come."

I nodded to show my agreement. Then I said to them, "Okay, you all can go now."

"Boss, Teacher Wang, that's not what we meant..." Everyone seemed to have misunderstood what I meant and hurriedly explained.

I waved my hand, signaling them not to say anything more. "It's okay, this is normal." I smiled and said, "You came here to study in order to find a good job. Now the studio can't pay you anymore, so it's only right for you to leave. You don't have to blame yourself, the responsibility is mine. I was thinking of giving you dividends at the end of the year, but now it seems that's all gone." I sighed in disappointment.

"Don't say that, boss." They advised, "We are already very satisfied to earn so much money here. Please contact us if you need us in the future. We will take our leave first." They stood up and prepared to leave.

"Okay, have a good trip." I walked them to the door and watched them leave.

After seeing off my colleagues from the studio, I sat alone in the office, feeling mixed emotions. Not long after, Teacher Qi and the principal came back, both with solemn expressions on their faces.

I stood up, walked over and asked, "Teacher Qi, Principal, how did you get to know the situation there?"

Teacher Qi sighed and said solemnly, "I have some unfortunate news for you. The content taught at that newly opened training school is exactly the same as ours. I even saw my lost materials there, including the teaching materials we compiled to consolidate the students' foundation."

My eyes widened in shock and I demanded, "Are you sure? This is unbelievable."

Teacher Qi nodded and said angrily, "Sure, I wrote all those materials myself. How could I not recognize the cases at the end? This is obviously someone doing this on purpose, trying to steal the fruits of our labor."

I frowned, thinking about countermeasures: "It seems that they may have planned it long ago. Is there no way for us to sue them?"

Teacher Qi shook his head helplessly: "But we don't have direct evidence. Even if we call the police, we may not be able to file a case."

The principal patted Teacher Qi on the shoulder and consoled her: "Teacher Qi, don't be so excited. You are old, and your health is more important. We need to think about countermeasures calmly."

The principal turned to me and said, "Teacher Wang, you may not know this, but your master almost got into a fight with someone over there just now."

I asked nervously, "Ah? Is the master hurt?"

Teacher Qi waved his hands: "No, I just can't stand their shameless behavior."

I breathed a sigh of relief and consoled him, "Master, please don't be angry. Your health is more important. Oh, and I have some bad news for you. The studio just closed down because it couldn't make money, so everyone decided not to do it anymore."

Teacher Qi was silent for a while, then said: "This is something I had expected a long time ago. It's just a pity that we have all worked together for so long. But Teacher Wang, you can't leave, we still have to hold on for a while."

I answered firmly: "Don't worry, I won't leave. I will get through this difficult time with everyone."

The principal nodded and said, "Okay, I will think of a way to solve the funding problem. We must unite and face this challenge together."

Although the school has been quite leisurely recently, the sudden news broke the peace again. When I heard Teacher Qi inform us that the school was going to move again, I widened my eyes in astonishment.

"Why are we moving again? We haven't been here long." I said puzzledly and with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Teacher Qi sighed and explained helplessly: "Our principal has transferred this project to another principal, and we have to go with him. Call Teacher Li Lei, and the three of us will go together."

When I heard the news, I immediately went to find Teacher Li. He was also very surprised after hearing it: "This... Then we have to pack up quickly. After packing up, what should we eat for lunch? Teacher Wang, do you have anywhere to go?"