Jiang Nan Fang felt her words made sense.
Before, fearing the children would suffer, she had tried her best to save money and build a future for them.
Zhan Bei Jue, on the other hand, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Their children had been spoiled to no end, and none of them truly understood hardship, which was why they were so prone to being overly dramatic.
If she were to make them experience hardship, see the world, and face some setbacks, perhaps they would become more sensible.
She suddenly thought of a charity project.
Over the years, she and Zhan Bei Jue had been involved in charity work, sponsoring schools in remote mountainous areas across the country.
Chen Jiao Jiao's reminder had suddenly enlightened her.
Chen Dong Yang quickly arrived at Chen Jiao Jiao's beauty salon.
Upon entering, he saw his sister and future mother-in-law lounging on a bed getting beauty treatments. Compared to his own frantic state, they seemed to be in a different world.
But who could he blame?
The situation had escalated to this point, and ultimately, it was all his own doing.
In fact, Chen Dong Yang was under a lot of pressure. He couldn't lose his job, he couldn't lose Tian Tian, and he couldn't escape the moral condemnation. He suffered even more than Tian Tian.
However, he was a man, and he could only endure his pain.
A staff member handed him a chair, and Chen Dong Yang greeted them from the head of their beds.
Jiang Nan Fang casually replied, then asked, "Did something happen to Tian Tian again? Why did she suddenly decide to look for you this morning?"
Chen Dong Yang didn't hide anything from them and told them about Tian Tian wanting to break up with him.
Jiang Nan Fang was not one to always protect her own.
"This stubborn girl, she's just too happy with her life and doesn't know how to cherish it. On your way here, your sister and I discussed it. We need to let her get out more, experience the hardships of life, and she'll naturally come to her senses."
"I plan to arrange for her to teach in a remote mountainous area. Do you agree?"
Chen Dong Yang never expected that at such a critical time for his daughter's mental state, her mother would want her to experience hardship.
"Teaching? Where would she teach?"
Jiang Nan Fang said calmly, "There are many places. High plateaus, plains, mountainous regions. She can choose herself, no pressure. But I definitely won't agree to your breakup."
"As her boyfriend, where do you think would be best?"
Chen Dong Yang felt that nowhere would be good.
Tian Tian was delicate and pampered, having never experienced hardship since childhood. Just hearing the names of those places sounded terrifyingly backward.
He was worried something might happen to her.
But at the same time, he felt that Jiang Nan Fang's words had some merit.
Constantly moping at home and overthinking things could make her sick even if she wasn't.
"No matter where she wants to go, I'll accompany her. Let her choose herself. I'll go back and discuss it with her now."
Jiang Nan Fang was relieved and thus, the decision was happily made.
Chen Dong Yang bought some breakfast that Tian Tian liked and returned home. She had finally gotten up.
Her hair was a mess, and she hadn't tidied herself. She sat on the hammock on the balcony, hugging a pillow, gazing into the distance.
He placed the breakfast on the coffee table and walked behind her.
"I thought carefully last night, and what you said has some truth to it. I agree to break up."
As soon as he said this, Tian Tian's swaying body noticeably stiffened.
Chen Dong Yang knew that she was reluctant in her heart.
It was just that she was conflicted, unsure of what to do.
Others had lost their happiness because of her, and she felt she didn't deserve happiness either.
Seeing her reaction, Chen Dong Yang's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Suppressing the urge to hug her, he calmed himself and continued.
"But I have a condition."
Agreeing to break up, yet imposing conditions?
Tian Tian paused for a few seconds before slowly turning her head to look at him.
Chen Dong Yang said, "I don't like the person you are now either. You're like a walking dead person, just focused on punishing yourself for momentary relief, disregarding everyone else's feelings, selfishly. Your parents gave birth to you and raised you, provided you with so many years of education, not for you to be useless for the rest of your life. You have to do something, right?"
Didn't Tian Tian know she was like a useless person now?
She also wanted to do something to change herself, but her thoughts were always scattered. She couldn't even focus on watching TV, let alone create.
Hearing this, she rubbed her hair in distress.
"To be honest, Chen Dong Yang, I don't know what else I can do. My brain is broken."
Chen Dong Yang squatted in front of her and coaxed her.
"It's not. Tian Tian, you might not be suitable for creative work right now, but the knowledge you've accumulated is still there. There are still positions suitable for you."
Tian Tian seemed to see a glimmer of dawn, grasping a lifeline, and immediately asked him.
"What?"
"Teacher. Go teach in a place that lacks teachers. Come with me."
Chen Dong Yang grabbed her slender, boneless wrist and led her back to the living room, brought out a laptop, and found a documentary for her to watch.
It was an old documentary from many years ago, filmed by a reporter who ventured deep into the mountains of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, capturing the lives of children striving to get an education.
In the film, they had nothing to eat, drink, wear, or live in, yet their eyes still shone with a bright light, and their words were filled with yearning for the world beyond the mountains.
As the film ended, Chen Dong Yang said.
"Instead of wasting your life meaninglessly like this every day, you might as well help them."
"Call it helping them if you want to be polite, or call it mutual salvation and experiencing life if you want to be blunt. Are you willing?"
When she was studying, teachers had shown Tian Tian and her classmates similar documentaries to make them appreciate their parents' efforts.
At that time, Tian Tian's mind had conjured many fantasies.
When she entered society and gained her own capabilities, she would do many things to help these people.
But after actually entering society and getting caught up in all sorts of messy things, her beautiful past ideals were forgotten.
To impart her own thoughts to them?
Tian Tian couldn't help but doubt herself now.
"Why not?"
Chen Dong Yang persuaded her, "You are well-read, kind-hearted, have sound values, and are physically healthy. You're just teaching them to read and write, what's so difficult about that?"
"I have a set of data about the weak teaching staff in remote mountainous areas. You can look at it and see how capable you are."
"Moreover, as long as you promise to go teach, I guarantee I'll disappear from your sight immediately."
It wasn't Chen Dong Yang's conditions that moved Tian Tian, but rather she truly realized from the bottom of her heart that she couldn't continue like this.
If she wasn't going to die, she needed to save herself.
She had decades of life ahead of her. She couldn't go through life in a daze every day and worry her parents, could she?
So, after a brief period of thought, Tian Tian agreed.
While Chen Dong Yang was relieved, he also felt a pang of sadness.
He didn't know if Tian Tian wanted to save the children or escape from him.
But he patiently listed several places for her to choose from for teaching.
Tian Tian liked the plateau. She always felt that the vast, desolate mountains had a deep sense of historical weight.
She also remembered being taken by her dad to remote Gansu province to chase her mom when she was a child.
Her mom was so cool back then.
She had four children before she was thirty and could lead a team of men to build a business in the desert.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of determination.