When I decided to resign, among the few that I broke the news to, was my ex lecturer who taught me Criminal Law. I called him one day and told him that I was planning to quit. He was not that enthusiastic upon hearing the news. In fact, for the first 20 minutes on the phone, all I received was scolding from him. I tried to explain the reasons that made me came to such decisions. He listened and he calmed down. Then he offered me some advices and I cried. It was evidently clear from his voice that he was really concerned about my future, but he also made it a point that he believed I will succeed in whatever field I choose. Before we hung up, he said that he would like to meet Mr H and me for a chat.

We went to a Hotel in Shah Alam. It was his preference because he said he wanted to eat Dim Sum. We discussed about the future and also about the good old days during when I was still his student. I excused myself to go to the ladies room and proceeded to pay the bill after that. He was really furious when he found out that I had paid the bill. Not angry. Furious! He shoved some RM notes in my hand but I refused to take them. I even told him, jokingly, "Don't worry sir. I still have my salary for this month."

Before we bid goodbye to each other, he gave me a packet of Ang Pow and still, I refused to take it from him. I have so much respect for this man who taught me Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law and really, all the knowledge that he had passed to me, no amount of money would even come close to replace them. He literally forced me to accept the Ang Pow. Mr H then encouraged me to take the envelope because people were already looking at us, wondering what was happening. He assured me, "In our culture, this is a symbol of good luck!". He was referring to my plan of resigning.

Once we were already in the car, I looked into the Ang Pow and was surprised to see the RM notes in that Ang Pow. The amount was RM 500! This old man who had shared his knowledge and wisdom with me, had given me an Ang Pow of such a big amount. I was speechless.

I was not an outstanding student. At one time, for a Criminal Law Procedure assignment, I got an F. I was stunned when I looked at my graded assignment and I remember asking him, "F sir? Why?" And he replied, "Because I could not grade you with a Z. The University wouldn't allow me". You would think that I was angry because of his remark (like so many students would have these days), but I was not angry at all. I made a mental note to perform better for the next assignment and I did. I got an A-.

After I reported duty as a lecturer, he would always greet me and sometimes we encountered into small conversations. After he learned that I prefer dark chocolate more than the ordinary ones, he would bring packets of them to the faculty and gave them to me. He always said, "You are a rare breed. Not a lot of girls like dark chocolate." To which I replied, "Yes sir. Very rare. That you gave me an F for my assignment". He would laugh at my statement. I had never let him forget about that incident and would constantly remind him about that. "But look what that had done to you?", he said. And I agreed.

Today, I would say that this is one of the lecturers that I am so much indebted to. I am thankful for the knowledge, guidance and endless support that I received from him. Believe me when I say, there will be no other Tuan Lee in the future.♡