The elementary and middle school where I had worked for eight years appeared in my dream, featuring the same new buildings as in many of my other dreams. However, unlike reality, the background color in my dream was grayer, reminiscent of a black-and-white film.

As is often the case in my dreams about being a teacher, I felt a sense of regret for quitting teaching. My former colleagues appeared happy, and there were many new faces among the teaching staff. This time in my dream, after studying hard, I had been recruited by a government office. Interestingly, one of my colleagues, Lee, who had actually relocated to another city, received the same offer.

Lee and I made our way to the school, engaging in conversation along the road. We discussed a retired teacher who had a long-term girlfriend. According to Lee, the old teacher had sold all his houses and become poor because of his tendency to support underprivileged students. We assumed that most of his money was taken by his cunning girlfriend, whose lazy and greedy daughters and son disliked their father’s partner. The teacher’s son, who happened to be gay, had severed ties with his father, and the feeling was mutual. The conversation then shifted to a tragic incident involving two high school students, a boyfriend and girlfriend, who drowned in a large lake. The girl was beautiful and academically gifted. When their bodies were recovered, they were placed on either side of the private high school gate, which was half a mile away from my school, for one week as a means to extract compensation from the headmaster. Strangely, despite being a forgetful person, especially when it comes to names since having my son, the names of those two high school students remained clear in my memory. Even though I had never met or seen them, I had heard about them from others, and the incident had occurred thirteen years ago.

Upon entering the school, we noticed a newly added straw roof building adjacent to our old dormitory, its windows polished and gleaming. As we ascended to the upper levels, we passed by some new classrooms. Inside, we observed teachers conducting exams. Among them were two former colleagues who had taught the same grade as me—while I taught English, they taught Chinese and Mathematics. They were engrossed in their work and didn’t notice my presence. In another classroom, there were unfamiliar faces of new teachers, yet their appearances were vivid and distinct. When I woke up, I couldn’t fathom why I dreamt of these strangers with such clarity. I was certain that I hadn’t seen their faces in any television shows, movies, or pictures. One new teacher even laughed at himself, saying, “I don’t want to answer these trivial questions, but I’m already thirty-six. If I don’t work hard, I might lose this job, and I doubt I’ll find another one.” His words made me feel fortunate, knowing that I had already received an offer. I shared this with Lee, and she laughed as well. Then it dawned on us that we might be running late to sign our names for the new job. We hurriedly left the school.

Outside the school gate, we encountered a woman who used to run a small store selling toys and food for students. In my dream, she had moved to a small guardhouse where she was cooking a hotpot—a reflection of her exceptional culinary skills in real life. She sat beside the stove, knitting sweaters, hats, and shoes, displaying her talent in knitting. Lee asked if she felt hot in the small room with its cemented roof, to which she pointed at the electronic switch and informed us that the room was actually quite cool, so she had turned off the air-conditioner. In reality, the school had never been in stalled air-conditioners.

We left the lady, and at the entrance of the road leading to the gate, I noticed a man placing a doll on the smooth ground. It was the same doll I had seen yesterday afternoon when I took my son to the playground on the right corner of my house. A mother was holding it for her daughter.

Unfortunately, my dream did not reveal whether we were late for our new job or not because I woke up.