I arrived at the foot of the mountain early but I did not board the bus.
When I saw Xiaoyu about to go up, I went over to let her know that I had something to settle and will be late.
I waited for the reporter. After two phone calls, a female reporter with thick-rimmed glasses arrived.
We started chatting until the bus came back.
I walked over to the driver and made a request, which he agreed to since there weren't many visitors anyway. He sent us up immediately, saving us some time.
Xiaoyu was waiting at the same place for me when we reached the top. I waved and had the reporter wait for me while I ran over to Xiaoyu to pass my phone and portable charger to her.
She took them and started her routine.
I then went back to the reporter and brought her into the institution.
"You can start the interview now," I said.
"But I've already finished asking you what I had planned to earlier. I just need to find a few of your colleagues to review your performance now," she replied.
A familiar looking doctor from not far away sidled up to us, smiling. "Why? Do you need an interviewee?"
It was the doctor I passed on the queue on my first day.
"Yeah, please help me, brother," I pleaded.
In reality, I had started talking about my predicament in the canteen a few days back. Almost all of the doctors and nurses were very willing to put in a few good words for me on the day of my the interview.
This doctor was one of them so I felt relieved.
"Hi, please introduce yourself," the reporter started.
"I'm the doctor-in-charge here. You can call me Chalk," he said.
"Nice to meet you, Doctor Chalk. Could you please share your opinion on Luqiao's voluntary service? And could you two stand closer? I'll need a photograph," the reporter requested and held up the camera that was slung over her neck.
The doctor smiled at me, saying, "It's pretty great to have a university student to help out here. He gets to experience how it's like to volunteer and also enrich his life outside of school.... blah blah... so on and so on.. . but anyway, it's a win-win situation, so I hope more university students will join us as a way of enhancing their view of the world and contributing back to society."
I was taken aback by his seemingly rehearsed speech.
He whispered into my ear, "I prepared it with much effort. I was an announcer at university."
"Impressive." I grinned.
"Hmm, Ms. Reporter, I can say more if you need. Don't you need a video recording? What program is this? Do you wanna start recording? I can repeat myself," the doctor offered hurriedly.
I could feel my brows knit together. He just wanted to appear on television.
"That's enough, thank you. I already have a rough idea. We're doing this for a newspaper and not TV so it's alright. Thank you so much, though, " the reporter replied evasively.
"So it's done?" I asked, smiling.
"Come out with me for a bit and tell me the way as well."
"Alright." I escorted her outside.
She looked at the information she had gathered and said, "Not bad. I have a few more places to go so this is alright for now. I'll supplement it if needed. Thanks for providing a decent piece of news. I will contact you again soon."
"You can wait for the bus over there. It comes every half an hour. Uhm, I want to ask... can I come to you if I have an even better piece of news?" I asked.
She raised her brows slightly. "Why? Any shocking news about this institution?"
Seeing that I've piqued her interest, I continued, "We have a math prodigy over here. She can gauge numbers at lightning speed. Throw a bunch of things in the air and she can tell you the quantity before they land."
"That amazing?" She was definitely intrigued if that smile was any indication.
"She has another unbelievable power. She can predict lottery numbers that are about to come out from the spinning machine. Most importantly, she's only 12," I described.
"12? A child? Is that the girl you were talking to earlier?" she asked.
I nodded.
"I'm interested, but this story would be better if sent to the variety program. If what you said is true, I would like to see it for myself. I have a few friends working at the television station and I will be happy to link you guys up."
Knowing that she had been baited, I smiled and said hurriedly, "I'll bring you to meet her now."
She pushed away all her schedules for that day and stayed in the institution till six in the evening when it was time for Xiaoyu to return home.
From noon till six, Xiaoyu had challenged the reporter's view of the world many times.
The reporter was stupefied time and time again. She even asked, "Do you see things in slow motion as compared to us?"
This question was something I had been dying to ask.
"More or less, I guess," Xiaoyu answered with a smile.
After we sent Xiaoyu home that night, she held my hands every few steps as if to express her gratitude.
She said she'd send people over to survey the next day. She wanted to give Xiaoyu an opportunity to become known.
I only smiled and explained Xiaoyu's temperament and habits, leaving her parents out of the equation.
Indeed, the next day, her friends came over to watch Xiaoyu's performance for a whole afternoon.
Days passed and more reporters started visiting.
Countless private cars could be seen parked along the road.
On the first day, a luxurious car appeared outside the institution. The guest offered the president a good price to get Xiaoyu onto his TV program.
On the sixth day, when I was planning to get her a new phone, I discovered that she had gotten a MacBook. The latest model at that.
I had done all that I could, although I wasn't sure if what I did was right.
Nevertheless, Xiaoyu's learning environment improved tremendously.
By the eighth day, the whole garden had been modified into a space for Xiaoyu to learn. There were tables, chairs and everything else she needed for her study.
I don't know what happened next because my month was up.
I received my salary and bade the president goodbye.
Before I left, I asked, "Will you use the money earned from Xiaoyu's performances to upgrade the institution?"
With an elusive look on his face, he answered, "It's Xiaoyu's money so she can use it to study overseas in future. Thanks for the past month."
Knowing that he wouldn't misuse Xiaoyu's money gave me a bit of relief. Her talents shouldn't be hidden and expanding her abilities elsewhere would be the best path for her.
With that, I returned to my daily routine, more than ready to embark on my fourth year and embrace school life fully.