Chapter 288 Resignation
In the academic affairs office of Taisho Tachibana Kita First Private High School in the core area of ​​Inaho District, Otaru City, Fujii Itsuki sat upright on the sofa and gently pushed the [resignation letter] carrying an important decision on the glass coffee table forward.

Academic Director Sasaki, who had just been smiling for the excellent results achieved by Fujii Itsuki, now had a serious expression on his face.

Although this was not the first time she heard that Fujii Itsuki was considering retiring.

After a long silence, the Dean of Academic Affairs, who was over fifty years old, sighed deeply and advised earnestly:
"Teacher Fujii, you must have had a very comfortable time in Tachibana Kita this past year, right? Moreover, you just led the students in the wind band to win the national gold medal. How come you decided to resign in the blink of an eye?"

Fujii Itsuki smiled and responded: "Dean, please don't misunderstand me, I am not planning to transfer to another school."

"What's the reason?" asked Sasaki, the academic dean.

"It's just a personal reason," Fujii Itsuki put away her smile, "Besides, I will never choose the profession of teacher again in the future. Of course, this has nothing to do with the students of Tachibana Kita. Everyone is very good. My decision is entirely based on personal considerations."

Academic Dean Sasaki sighed again, then stood up, said a few brief words to Fujii Itsuki, and walked out of the office to make a phone call.

Fujii Itsuki waited quietly in the office for a moment, and soon saw Academic Director Sasaki return to the sofa opposite.

Her eyes involuntarily turned to the window, where snowflakes were falling outside.

"I still remember that a year ago, Mr. Fujii also completed his employment procedures here, right?" Academic Dean Sasaki spoke slowly.

"Oh, thank you for remembering this."

"I'm not an old man in his eighties or nineties who can't even remember what happened a year ago." Sasaki, the academic administrator, refocused his gaze on Fujii Itsuki's face. "I still remember when I introduced our school's philosophy to you, you were a young man full of ideals and ambitions, and you deeply agreed and recognized the policies our school upholds. Only one year has passed since that day."

“I am very grateful to the school for taking care of me this year.”

"."

Fujii Itsuki could sense that Academic Director Sasaki was holding the resignation letter, feeling somewhat reluctant to part with it.

In fact, the school and the academic affairs office have very direct ideas. They just don't want the students of the school to lose a teacher, and the school management doesn't want to lose a useful talent.

Fujii Itsuki thought he had not made much progress in this year, but according to the results of a survey conducted by the school, he has become the most popular teacher in his grade. Not only did he lead the wind band all the way to Tokyo in this year, but he also won reports from many local newspapers and news agencies in Hokkaido.

Academic Director Sasaki was quite reluctant to let her go.

"The school naturally has no right to interfere with Mr. Fujii's decision, but both from the perspective of the school management and from the perspective of the students, we hope that Mr. Fujii's departure will not be so sudden.

"Because it is difficult for us to find someone who is qualified for your job in Hokkaido, let's put it this way. Now is the holiday, so I will leave this resignation letter with me. When the holiday is about to end and the school starts, Mr. Fujii will give us a clear answer. Whether you stay or leave, we can also find a new homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher for Class A during this time."

Academic Affairs Director Sasaki proposed a compromise.

"Teacher Fujii, how is it?"

After hearing this, Fujii Itsuki nodded slightly, with a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

He understood the school's position and was well aware that his sudden resignation would cause considerable trouble to the school, especially for the students he had taught for a year. This would undoubtedly be a big change.

"Dean of Academic Affairs, your suggestion is very pertinent. I also hope there will be a smoother transition."

"Teacher Fujii, I'm really glad that you think this way."

Sasaki, the academic director, said with some emotion, "I still have something to say to you. This year you have not only achieved remarkable results in teaching, but more importantly, you have won the respect and love of the students in the wind band.

"When I pass by occasionally, I hear them talking about you in private and expressing their gratitude to you. This is our most precious treasure as educators.
"Finally, whether from the perspective of the school or my personal feelings, I hope that Mr. Fujii can stay in Tachibana Kita."

Fujii Itsuki nodded slightly in response to this, then ended the conversation and walked out of the campus.

At this moment, snowflakes in Otaru are falling lightly and quietly from the sky.

They slowly rotated and circled in the air, and finally landed lightly on the eaves, streets and canals, dressing the small town in silver.

Taisho Tachibana First Private High School also appears particularly peaceful and solemn against the backdrop of the snowy scene.

In the past, Fujii Itsuki found it difficult to understand the deep attachment to a certain building or place in literary works.

But when I looked back at it, at this school, I couldn't help but feel a little reluctant and emotional.

He felt like he had gone back to a year ago, when he first came here.

At that time, Jubei was also covered with white snow.

You had only known Xiaoyue for a short time at that time, right?
At that time, Xiao Jiuhua was still a stubborn little girl. She would call herself "perverted uncle" all day long, with disdain and disgust in her eyes.

As for now.
Fujii Itsuki couldn't help but laugh.

He walked slowly on the snow on his way to work, took the bus, and went all the way back home.

"I am back."

Fujii Itsuki changed his shoes and walked into the living room. Yang Kui Chitose, Matsumae Shinchun, and Jiu Huayue were sitting on the sofa, the movie screen was silently playing, but their eyes were all focused on him.

"Huh? What's wrong with you guys? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Fujii Itsuki noticed that the atmosphere was strange.

The emotions revealed in the eyes of the few people were different, but the common point was that they all lowered their heads and seemed to be in a bad mood.

Matsumae Shinchun finally couldn't help herself and broke the silence first:
"Teacher, you... have successfully resigned, right?"

"I guess so," Fujii Itsuki replied easily, hanging his coat on the back of the sofa, "but there are still some handover work to be done."

"."

After a brief silence, Matsumae Shinharu lowered her head again. Yang Kui Chitose and Jiuhuayue also maintained similar expressions. The atmosphere seemed a little heavy.

Fujii Itsuki laughed, "Please, everyone, please don't be like this! Think about the bright side, I will have more time in the future, and we can do a lot of things together!"

"But. Brother Tree."

"Qi Sui, didn't you always want me to take you out to play? Now that the competition is over, you have a holiday and you have achieved good results. Well, it is indeed suitable for traveling. How about we find a place to relax together?"

"."

However, Yang Kui Chitose did not respond, Matsumae Shinchun also remained silent, and Jiuhuayue lowered her head from beginning to end without saying a word. The atmosphere in the entire living room became extremely heavy.

A warm feeling welled up in Fujii Itsuki's heart. He understood everyone's concerns, so he comforted them:

"I always think that you don't need to think too much about me. Don't be so self-righteous as to think that you forced me to agree to you! I chose to agree to you, and it was also the choice I made. Since this is also the choice I made, then I will work hard to adapt to the life of the new job in the future. This is actually my own business. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"But, uncle——"

"Okay, okay, Xiaoyue, stop talking," Fujii Itsuki interrupted, "Everyone, don't mention this anymore. It's almost noon. Didn't you say you would prepare delicious food for me before I left? Where is the delicious food?"

Yang Kui Chitose stood up after hearing this and said: "I will do it now."

"Uh-huh."

Fujii Itsuki tried hard to force a smile, trying to dispel the gloom on everyone's face, "Then I'll go to my room to pack up my things. Call me when lunch is ready."

Matsumae Shinharu nodded in agreement, and the three of them watched him return to the room.

Then, the three girls began to divide the work and prepare the ingredients for lunch.

While Jiuhuayue was cutting vegetables, Yang Kui Chitose was standing by with a pot and a spoon and asked her:
"How do you feel about Brother Shu these days?"

"What do you think, Qiansui?" Jiuhuayue asked back.

"Hmph! I'm asking you! You speak first!" Yang Kui Qiansui urged, pretending to be angry.

Jiu Huayue lowered her head and remained silent for a moment, then said softly, "I think the uncle is quite unhappy. Although he keeps smiling at us, inside..."

As soon as these words came out, several people's hearts couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Yang Kui Chitose gently put down the spoon in her hand, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.

She understands.

In fact, everyone here understands.

If everyone was not in a hurry to get Fujii Itsuki's approval and give them a sense of security because of various messy things, then Fujii Itsuki would not have to deviate from the path of "teacher" and would have continued on this path.

Especially Matsumae Shinharu.

She felt the most about this matter.

Because there is no doubt that Fujii Itsuki will have to help her for the rest of her life and take over some of the affairs of the Matsumae family.

Yang Kui Qiansui sighed, with a barely perceptible sadness in her voice, and the spatula in her hand seemed to wilted. "I think so too. After all, being a teacher is Brother Shu's lifelong dream. It's really too much for him to give up just because of us..."

At this moment, there was suddenly movement in the living room.

Chitose Yang Kui put down the spatula, quietly ran over, and peeked through the wall. She saw Fujii Itsuki constantly moving things out of the bedroom.

That seemed to be the box that Fujii Itsuki usually used to store lesson plans, various report cards, rosters, and discarded schedules.

That is, items related to his work.

Yang Kui Chitose watched him move all these things out of the room one by one. Seeing that Brother Shu looked reluctant, she felt that Brother Shu was saying goodbye to something. The more she watched, the sadder she felt.
She went back to the others and told them about it.

"Should we do something for him?"

After a long silence, Jiuhuayue spoke.

"What do you think, Xiaoyue?"

"Since uncle is reluctant to let go, why don't we at least help him buy some more time?" Jiu Huayue suggested.

"How do we fight for it?"

"I don't know how to do it specifically, but in this situation, everyone is unhappy, the uncle is unhappy, and it hurts for us to see it. We have to do something, even if it's just a small contribution."

Yang Kui Qiansui's eyes lit up, and suddenly she remembered something:
"Oh right! How could I almost forget such an important thing!"

"What's the matter?" the other two asked.

"It's Brother Shu's birthday! It's next week!" Yang Kui Chitose said excitedly.

Jiuhuayue and Matsumae Xinchun looked at each other, and the same light flashed in each other's eyes - they wanted to use this birthday to do something.

"We can hold a farewell party for Brother Shu!" Yang Kui Chitose suggested, "Invite all the members of the wind band and friends from school to send him blessings and thanks. Let him know that although he is leaving, we will always cherish the good memories and friendships he left here."

Jiuhuayue shook her head and rejected it:
"Not very good."

"Hmph Jiuhua, what good ideas do you have?"

"Didn't I just say that since the uncle is reluctant to leave, let's buy him some time. Since you, Chitose, said that you would find an opportunity to gather everyone together, why don't we just go with the flow and tell everyone that the uncle wants to leave.
"I don't know about the others, but the students in Class A and the wind band will definitely miss me!
"Dozens of people, big and small, came together to celebrate the uncle's birthday and try to keep him here!

“If nothing else, at least we have to wait until everyone graduates!

“I think everyone is looking forward to taking graduation photos when they graduate, and there will be uncles in the photos, right?
"What do you think, Xinchun?"

Matsumae Shinchun slightly pinched her chin, her eyes revealing approval, she nodded, and added:

"That's right. I can start preparing for the birthday party in advance. I will arrange the venue, food and drinks, as well as the writing and distribution of invitations. At the same time, I will notify everyone one by one about celebrating Mr. Fujii's birthday to ensure that everyone can receive the invitation and participate in the party together."

"That's right!" Yang Kui Chitose interrupted excitedly, "We just won the gold medal in the national wind instrument competition a few days ago, and we didn't have time to celebrate properly before we hurried back to Otaru. Everyone is actually looking forward to a celebration party to relax. Now, combining Brother Shu's birthday party with the celebration party is simply killing two birds with one stone! When the time comes, everyone will definitely participate enthusiastically!"

Matsumae Shinharu: "It may sound a bit selfish, but I hope that Mr. Fujii can at least lead us all to graduation. This is everyone's common wish. If Mr. Fujii leaves after we win the gold medal, we will all feel sad."

The three girls talked to each other and the matter was settled.

(End of this chapter)