“Come in.”

Jiang Cheng pushed the door open and entered. Inside were three people: Teacher Lü, Principal Wang, and a square-faced young man who was unfamiliar to her.

Teacher Lü, who had not been in a good mood, seemed to ease up slightly upon seeing Jiang Cheng.

“You’re right on time. Sit here, we’re starting the lesson.”

“Okay, teacher.”

Jiang Cheng greeted Principal Wang before taking a seat across from Teacher Lü, calm and focused, paying full attention to the lesson.

The square-faced young man beside them, however, had an unconvinced look in his eyes the entire time.

“If you dare to speak, get out.”

With just one sentence from Teacher Lü, the man swallowed back whatever he was about to say and sat down sullenly.

Principal Wang had originally wanted to smooth things over, but a single look from Teacher Lü scared him into silence.

Yesterday, after hearing about Jiang Cheng, he had been filled with curiosity and even a bit of anticipation.

Teacher Lü had always hoped to cultivate talented translators who could contribute to the country’s current difficult situation.

But was Jiang Cheng really capable?

So far, he had never met a student smarter than Zhao Chengde.

Principal Wang glanced at Zhao Chengde, who was sitting restlessly with emotions clearly written all over his face.

Setting aside linguistic talent, when it came to temperament, Zhao Chengde was far behind Jiang Cheng—not by just a little.

The lesson began.

Principal Wang soon found himself drowsy.

Was this a lesson? It was just reading text after text.

Well, not exactly. Teacher Lü also touched on pronunciation techniques and phonetics.

But wasn’t the pace a bit too fast?

Could just skimming through the text like this really be useful?

Or had Teacher Lü’s teaching skills declined?

From 5:10 to 6:50, the lesson continued. Then, Teacher Lü finally stopped.

“Jiang Cheng, page 37 of the book.”

Jiang Cheng immediately understood—this was her moment to show off!!

She sprang to her feet so quickly that it scared the drowsy Principal Wang.

“Don’t start a fight!”

“###&&&&####…”

Fluent and standard Russian poured smoothly from Jiang Cheng’s mouth.

A fleeting smile crossed Teacher Lü’s face. This kind of unspoken understanding between teacher and student was truly satisfying.

Teacher Lü placed the book on the desk and, with a composed yet slightly smug tone, said, “Pick any page. Whatever you choose, Jiang Cheng will know.”

“Oh—by the way, this is only her second Russian lesson. Before this, she didn’t know a single word.”

Leaning back in her chair, Teacher Lü felt a satisfaction akin to eating an ice-cold watermelon on a sweltering summer day.

She was starting to understand the joy of Jiang Cheng’s bragging.

Jiang Cheng, ever the diligent tool for demonstrating her skills, picked up the pace and swiftly completed reciting page 37.

She theatrically glanced at her wrist.

“Still six minutes left.”

“Jiang Cheng, you don’t even have a watch on your wrist.”

Jiang Cheng tilted her head, addressing the head of the night school with a friendly smile.

“Principal Wang, time exists in my heart.”

Principal Wang: “…”

“Page 43.”

Zhao Chengde clutched his book tightly, staring intently. Jiang Cheng, wasting no time, immediately began reading.

Perfect!

Again, it was perfect!

“Page 23.”

“Sorry, it’s time for my next class.”

Jiang Cheng picked up her backpack and respectfully bowed to Teacher Lü.

“Thank you, Teacher Lü. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“You’re still a little lacking. Even Principal Wang dozed off.”

“You’re absolutely right, Teacher. I’ll continue working hard.”

Principal Wang: “Teacher Lü, I’m still here.”

“So?”

Teacher Lü raised an eyebrow, and Principal Wang chuckled. “I just wanted to remind you of my presence.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled to herself and, right on cue, returned to class.

Back in the office, Principal Wang anxiously asked:
“Teacher Lü, could it be that Jiang Cheng memorized everything in advance?”

Instead of answering directly, Teacher Lü countered, “And what good would that do her? Do you think I only teach from one book? Could she possibly predict every book I’d use in advance?”

Principal Wang was left speechless. That was a good point.

Teacher Lü then turned toward Zhao Chengde, who still looked unwilling to accept reality.

“The bell rang.”

Zhao Chengde snapped out of his thoughts and silently returned to Advanced Class One. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, was in Class Two.

Principal Wang hesitated. “He won’t do anything, right? He’s a promising student.”

“He lacks discipline. If Jiang Cheng can humble him, it’s his good fortune.”

Principal Wang was taken aback. Did Jiang Cheng hold such a high place in Teacher Lü’s heart?

Advanced Class Two, Mathematics

Jiang Cheng, seated beside the teacher, was asking the simplest of questions—about linear equations with one variable.

Math teacher Mr. Yu was still young and ambitious. He patiently answered Jiang Cheng’s questions.

The classmates who had been disheartened by Jiang Cheng’s prowess the previous day now regained their confidence.

It seemed the rumors were true—Jiang Cheng hadn’t even finished elementary school.

He Dan was practically overjoyed.

The same was true for Sun Jiandong, who had bet against Jiang Cheng.

Russian was just one subject. But there were many more, and total rankings depended on cumulative scores.

Sun Jiandong could already envision his victory.

As he indulged in his fantasy, Jiang Cheng continued raising her hand, each time asking progressively harder questions. Her progress was evident—she was advancing rapidly.

By the end of math class, she handed Mr. Yu several sheets filled with problems.

“Mr. Yu, my foundation is weak, but I don’t want to drag down the class. More importantly, I don’t want to bring shame to our night school. Could you help me solve these problems?”

Mr. Yu readily agreed. He took the three pages and left the classroom. But as he reached the office door, he suddenly paused.

“Wait… was I just assigned homework?”

It had to be a misunderstanding.

An hour later, the geography teacher returned with four sheets of problems.

The two teachers exchanged glances.

“Did Jiang Cheng give you those?”

“You got some too?”

After a brief conversation, the geography teacher frowned. “Why do you only have three pages?”

Mr. Yu: Is that the point??

Still, faced with such a hardworking student, they, as teachers, couldn’t slack off.

Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng’s approach left her classmates with a different impression.

To them, she simply didn’t know much, which was why she had to ask so many questions.

Jiang Cheng didn’t bother explaining.

They would soon witness how far she would soar!

At the end of the school day, Jiang Cheng bolted out of the classroom, leaving Zhao Chengde, who had come looking for her, empty-handed.

She headed home with Grandma Shen and the kids.

“Here.”

As she was explaining a science story to Shen Xing, Jiang Cheng beamed and accepted a corn pancake from Grandma Shen.

“Smells great!”

She fed the kids a bite each.

Shen Xing refused. If he ate, Jiang Cheng would have less for herself.

“You’re rejecting me?”

Jiang Cheng dramatically feigned hurt.

Shen Xing sighed. Could she be any more fake?

“I don’t reject you, sister! I like you the most!”

Shen Yue declared.

Shen Xing sighed again, feeling utterly drained.

Laughing together, the four of them made their way home.

At home, Jiang Cheng enjoyed a bowl of millet porridge specially prepared by Grandma Shen. She fed the kids two spoonfuls each.

After drinking a sip, Shen Xing ran off and returned holding three fabric coupons.

“Sister Jiang Cheng, these are for you.”

“Fabric coupons? Your big brother wrote back?”

Shen Xing nodded, then proudly handed them over like a little boss.

“They just arrived today. Take them to make new clothes, Sister Jiang Cheng.”

“Yes! Sister Jiang Cheng looks good in everything!”

Jiang Cheng accepted them without hesitation and lowered her head, saying nothing.

Shen Xing: Was she… touched? Could Sister Jiang Cheng even feel touched?

“…Xing Xing, does your family take custom sewing orders?”