Hesta suddenly felt deeply moved.
She pressed her lips together, her brow lifting slightly as she considered how to respond to Xia Yixue's heartfelt confession.
"Anyway, thank you," Xia Yixue suddenly said.
"Me?"
Throughout this conversation, Hesta had repeatedly been taken by surprise, and this was the most unexpected moment of all—she had been preparing to thank Xia Yixue for her trust and choice, yet the other woman had voiced her gratitude first.
"It isn't easy to run a school in a place like this. We know that better than anyone," Xia Yixue said. "Teacher Pakart has plenty of teaching experience, but she isn't actually good at dealing with officials... The last time someone was willing to support her like this was back in Nia Province, thanks to the administrator there, Miss Ava. Few officials cared as much as she did about the education of impoverished children."
Thinking of Ava, Hesta lowered her gaze. "...Yes. She always cared deeply about whether something was fair."
"What I mean is," Xia Yixue began carefully, "no matter how loud the voices outside get, the people around you—people like us—understand you, and we support you. We will stand with you."
Hesta's gaze skimmed over Xia Yixue's eyes as swiftly as a dragonfly before darting away again.
"...Thank you."
"Keep it up." Xia Yixue patted both of Hesta's arms. "I'm rooting for you."
It was only after Xia Yixue's back had vanished down the corridor that Hesta belatedly realized that perhaps those words had been a consolation specially brought for her—Xia Yixue, along with many of the farm's teachers, had probably seen the media reports from that morning.
Hesta leaned alone against the corridor window for a while, half her body extended outside as she gazed into the distance at the horizon.
Somewhat lost in