This was his mother's job. Jack Cooper had to help his mother sweep the floor every day. He was a very good child. If only there were a bit more of a smile on that pretty little face, Henry Clark would decide to cast this year's vote for Outstanding Student for him. After all, these thirteen young masters and ladies would absolutely not vote for anyone else, so Jack Cooper would win by a huge margin of two votes.

Looking around, he didn’t see his mother anywhere.

“Stop looking, my mom is gone.” Jack Cooper's voice sounded from behind Henry Clark.

“Gone? What do you mean, gone? Where did she go?” Henry Clark asked in confusion. He couldn’t make out any meaning from the boy’s blunt words.

“Gone means she’s not coming back. She left me fifty yuan.” The voice was still monotone, but a bit hoarse.

“Then why are you still sweeping? Got nothing better to do? Come on, let’s go get something to eat, then find the principal and discuss your future. Be strong, you’re a man. It’s not a big deal. The teachers have it worse than you, and didn’t they all graduate from top universities anyway?”

Jack Cooper looked at Henry Clark as if he were an idiot. After a long pause, he finally said, “I’ve been sweeping this place for twenty-seven days. This month has thirty-one days, so if I sweep for four more days, I’ll get 1,033 yuan. I’m counting on that money to eat next month. And you want me to stop sweeping?”

“You’re a minor. The country has laws. They’ll arrange for you to live with relatives, and you’ll get government subsidies. You don’t need to worry about earning money to support yourself.”

Jack Cooper suddenly smiled. This was the first time Henry Clark had seen him smile. But this kind of smile didn’t belong on his face at all. He slung the broom over his shoulder and said to Henry Clark, “Teacher Yun, even my own mother didn’t want me. Do you think my relatives would take me in?”

The two of them stood at an impasse on the playground. At some point, heavy rain finally began to fall. Jack Cooper showed no intention of taking shelter; he was determined to sweep away all the rainwater, not leaving a single drop.

That was nonsense. In the end, he was just fighting with himself, trying to show through this fragile strength that he could bear all the pain in the world.

The kid was stubborn and wouldn’t listen. If he stayed in the rain any longer, he might get sick, and getting sick now would be a real problem. Henry Clark tucked Jack Cooper under his arm, randomly opened a door, and walked inside. It was very dark, like a storage room. He groped his way halfway in before realizing—where would there be a door on the playground?

Half an hour was enough for Henry Clark to walk all over the school, but now he was still fumbling in the darkness. He shouted loudly twice, but there wasn’t even an echo. He took out his lighter and lit it, but only a tiny flame flickered out. No matter how high Henry Clark turned the gas, there was always just a single spark.

Jack Cooper, under his arm, seemed to have fallen asleep, his body growing heavier and heavier. Putting away the lighter, Henry Clark reached forward with one hand and shuffled his feet ahead. Finally, he found a wall. If he couldn’t find something to lean on soon, Henry Clark felt he would break down.

Still catching his breath, Henry Clark slowly felt along the wall. He found that the wall didn’t seem very solid. He hoisted Jack Cooper onto his back and rammed his shoulder hard against the wall.

Then he saw the sun. That thing was hanging bright red in the sky, looking as if it had just risen. That made sense. Who was playing a prank on the playground? Henry Clark was a bit angry. No one but his students would do this. Jack Cooper's greatest fear was his mother leaving; he would never joke about that.

Those kids had gone too far. William Clark allowed his students to be mischievous and naughty, but he would never allow them to lack compassion. He was about to scold them loudly, but then closed his mouth, his heart sinking helplessly into darkness.

No matter how capable his students were, there was no way they could conjure up a panda. Yet now, a panda the size of a cat was licking his own feet nonstop. That wasn’t surprising—Henry Clark hadn’t washed his feet last night, and they were salty...

He stiffly turned his neck in a circle. In front of him was a lush green bamboo forest. He was wearing only one shoe, and the other was right beside him. But why had his shoe fallen off?

Looking at the delicate feet below, after checking several times, Henry Clark was finally sure—they were his own feet. The ink mark on the top of his left foot was still there.

A little boy, dressed in oversized clothes, stared at him without blinking. He looked confused too and asked Henry Clark in a childish voice, “Who are you? How did I end up here?”

Henry Clark had no time to answer. He quickly wrapped the little kid up, tied a knot in his sleeve, and slung him onto his back. There was a little panda at his feet, which meant there must be a big panda nearby. Those things didn’t just eat bamboo—they ate meat too. There was no reasoning with a mother panda protecting her cub. The most important thing was to run for his life.

The shoes were too big, so he couldn’t run fast. But the shoes on the little kid’s feet seemed to fit just right. He quickly took them off and put them on himself. After tying the laces, he skirted around the bamboo forest and darted into the bushes. When he reached a patch of dry red sandstone, Henry Clark finally took a careful look at everything about himself.