We stayed in the city for only five days, and since it was weekdays, there were some friends I couldn’t meet or accept their invitations. It was a pity.

This afternoon, one of my cousins invited us to dinner. After that, I attended a small party organized by my former students whom I had taught 10 years ago. Those small kids have grown into big and handsome young men.

At the beginning, they asked me to guess their names. I had forgotten some of their names, and their appearances had changed a lot. Even when they told me their names, I couldn’t connect them with the images I had in my memories. They were very polite in front of me, refraining from using any inappropriate language. One boy pulled up his T-shirt and was asked to put it back down, and he obeyed.

They shared many interesting stories from middle school, which surprised me. They talked about a boy who fell in love with a girl and how he won her heart. They mentioned two boys who gambled under the desk during my English class, and I had no idea. Some boys even took photos of me in class, and I didn’t even know they had phones at that time! They were mischievous and clever.

They shared their love stories, college experiences, and work anecdotes with me. I felt sorry for one boy who didn’t show up today. Since primary school, he had been the top student. In Grade 6, his parents—his father was my coworker—asked me to teach him English. All the teachers believed he had a bright future ahead. But no! He lost interest in studying after entering high school. He started doing business to earn money, like buying T-shirts wholesale and selling them to his classmates at retail prices. His exam scores plummeted. After graduating from high school, he fell in love and got married. He was too young to obtain a legal marriage certificate, and soon after the wedding, he had a son. However, he ended up getting divorced, and his parents had to raise his son. The worst part is that he became addicted to gambling and lost more than two billion RMB (around 300,000 USD). Although he was born into a wealthy family and his parents can pay off his debts, I still feel sorry for him. If he had maintained his excellent academic performance from middle school, he might be leading a different life. Maybe not as rich or successful, but at least he could raise his child and not make his parents worry so much. I hope he can quit gambling and become a responsible father and son.

All the students who attended the party often gather together because they live close to each other. The government bought the land where they lived in order to develop it into a large town, and their families received a significant payout from the government. They talked about gambling with large bets, something I had never considered or been brave enough to try. It highlights the gap between them and me.