Chapter 21

On the last day of the tenth week’s evening study session, Song Cheng’s studying finally became systematic. If Song Cheng kept a diary, she would definitely mark this day with a star.

The first line would praise her own study abilities, the second would acknowledge Wen Xiangyi’s contribution to this, and the third would express her suspicion that Wen Xiangyi thought she was dumb and chose not to write it down, but it was firmly etched in her mind, awaiting later verification.

In the new week, Monday’s morning reading was English. Qin Li was standing at the front leading the reading when Teacher Liu walked into the classroom. Chen Zihao, who was secretly eating a bun, choked, He Nianyao, who was copying history homework, quickly picked up her English book, and Xie Rixin, who was singing along with the morning reading, tightly shut his mouth.

There was no English class in the morning, so why was Liu Yanwang here?!

Teacher Liu was headed for Class 4 but suddenly remembered something as she passed by Class 5’s morning reading. She stood at the door, not moving to the podium, her gaze scanning around before finally settling on Song Cheng.

Their eyes met, and Song Cheng, mid-yawn, wasn’t sure whether to stop or continue.

Teacher Liu’s black-rimmed glasses glinted with a cold light. “Song Cheng, from now on, you’ll lead the English morning reading with the class representative.”

Oh no!

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped and sympathized with Song Cheng.

Was Teacher Liu really this cruel? It was clearly a public execution of a poor student, an immoral mental torture and distress. Wasn’t Song Cheng just caught yawning?

Luckily, it wasn’t them who were caught.

Teacher Liu said, “Why are you still sitting there? Go up now.”

Song Cheng responded with an “Oh” and picked up her English book.

Even Wen Xiangyi turned to look at her, quietly reminding her, “If it’s really unbearable, just tell Teacher Liu directly.”

Who are you referring to as unbearable?

Song Cheng replied, “It’s fine.”

Even Duan Jia didn’t believe her. She stood up to let Song Cheng go, watching the solitary hero leave without returning, murmuring, “I can’t bear to watch.”

She thought for a moment and covered her ears. Perhaps not hearing Song Cheng’s speaking was a form of silent sympathy and kindness.

Song Cheng walked to Qin Li’s side. She had never led the morning reading before and wasn’t used to standing at the podium.

She glanced down and saw not only a sea of heads but also faces full of sympathy, making her scalp tingle. She quickly averted her gaze.

Song Cheng turned to Qin Li. “Shall we start from the second paragraph?”

Qin Li said, “Sure.”

Qin Li’s concern was almost visible in her eyes, and she decided to raise her voice a bit to cover up Song Cheng as best as she could.

She gathered herself and started.

Everyone else looked down at their books, preparing to witness Song Cheng’s disaster.

Following Qin Li’s lead, a stream of fluent English reached their ears, the tone deeper and richer compared to Qin Li’s clear and bright voice, easily distinguishing the two. And Song Cheng’s English was not only on par with Qin Li’s but even… better?

The students below the podium were stunned.

Is this Song Cheng?

Xie Rixin voiced everyone’s thoughts, “Song Cheng sounds so different.”

Duan Jia, who had been covering her ears, put her hand down, unable to resist touching her earlobe. Song Cheng’s English made one’s ears tingle.

In the front row, Wen Xiangyi’s gaze was fixed on Song Cheng, her breathing light.

Song Cheng handled contractions and syllable stress very well, sounding authentic and unlike a product of domestic exam-oriented education.

At first, she was somewhat unfamiliar with the podium, holding the book like Qin Li. After finishing a paragraph, she placed the book on the desk and lowered her eyelids to read, showing how relaxed she was. This version of Song Cheng had an indescribable allure.

By the end of the morning reading session, the sympathy had shifted to Qin Li.

When the final reading session ended, a dejected Qin Li looked at Song Cheng with resentment.

She had been selflessly thinking of helping Song Cheng cover up a bit. Did Song Cheng deserve her pure-hearted intentions?

What was Qin Li looking at?

Song Cheng looked back in confusion, but to Qin Li, she appeared calm, with eyes steady and a high and mighty demeanor.

Qin Li suddenly felt deflated.

Had she lost? Song Cheng’s English was so good! How did Teacher Liu know?

During English class, a brave student couldn’t help but ask.

Teacher Liu glanced around, tapping the podium. “Don’t be fooled by Song Cheng’s overall score. In the mid-term exam, her listening score was perfect. Do you know what that means? Anyone?”

Duan Jia raised her hand. “It means she had bad luck and didn’t get many questions right afterward?”

Everyone suddenly understood, and even Song Cheng felt a pang of empathy.

Indeed, except for the questions she knew, she had gotten most of the multiple-choice reading comprehension questions wrong, losing a lot of points!

Laughter erupted, quickly suppressed by Teacher Liu’s stern gaze.

Teacher Liu said, “It means she worked hard on her own, doing extensive listening practice to achieve this result. Song Cheng, is that right?”

The teacher had already provided a justification, so Song Cheng had no reason to refute and nodded immediately.

Teacher Liu was satisfied and withdrew her gaze.

Indeed, she had just remembered Song Cheng’s extreme “subject-specific” score distribution in the morning and wanted to use the morning reading to encourage her, while also applying some external pressure to this underperforming student. She didn’t expect Song Cheng to give her such a pleasant surprise.

Teacher Liu thought of the sweat behind Song Cheng’s success and then looked at some troublesome students in the class. “Everyone else is working hard in private, and you’re still laughing? On Wednesday morning, we’ll do a listening test, and I’ll personally supervise you.”

“……”

Everyone fell silent at once.

Song Cheng’s appearance seemed to have reminded Teacher Liu that she could use the morning reading to work on listening skills. For the next two weeks, English morning reading included not only the usual dictation and recitation but also frequent listening exercises, and it took on a permanent presence.

Among these exercises, Song Cheng consistently scored full marks, becoming the top student in Class 5 for listening skills.

Gradually, everyone began to see Song Cheng in a new light—she was indeed putting in a lot of effort into her studies.

On Thursday morning, the third period was an English quiz. At lunchtime in the cafeteria, several girls had gathered around an eight-person table, eating together.

Duan Jia, sipping on her hot milk tea, said, “I went to the office to get the homework and heard Teacher Liu praising us to the English teacher from Class 6 while grading papers. She even singled out Song Cheng for praise, and Old Li was there too.”

He Nianyao asked, “What did she say? Tell me in detail.”

“First, she told the Class 6 teacher that our class’s listening training was really good and should continue.”

Duan Jia looked bitter; she hated listening exercises. “Then she told Old Li that Song Cheng’s English was making significant progress, and probably other subjects as well. Old Li just said, ‘Ah, it’s good that Song Cheng is studying hard!’”

Duan Jia imitated Old Li’s hoarse and slow voice like a grumpy old bear, and several girls laughed.

Song Cheng, sitting at the edge, remembered the scene when she was called to the office after the parent-teacher meeting.

Old Li said he hadn’t received a call from her parents, so he took the initiative to call them. He asked if Song Rongjian knew about Song Cheng’s situation, and Song Rongjian took a while to say he knew, sounding quite angry.

Old Li told Song Cheng that his intention was to have her discuss things properly with her family, and Song Cheng responded, “Without that subsidy, he wouldn’t be happy no matter what.”

Old Li was dissatisfied with this result, and his expression remained grim as Song Cheng left the office.

Song Cheng was determined to focus on her studies. As a teacher, Old Li couldn’t simply push a student away. No matter how troublesome a student was, they were still a student.

That day, Old Li also told Song Cheng, “Teacher Xu is back from her leave. She’s the one who trained you, so you should speak to her personally.”

Xu Ling was Song Cheng’s training teacher, relatively young among the teachers. Song Cheng was first brought to No. 3 Middle School by her and had always practiced under her guidance.

When Song Cheng heard Xu Ling had returned to school, she went to find her that day.

After many years and having given up sports, Song Cheng felt a bit nervous and guilty upon meeting Xu Ling.

Finally finding Xu Ling in the indoor sports hall, Xu Ling, with her messy hair and head down, was wiping her nose. She looked particularly delicate but had developed a strong physique from training, still wearing the familiar maroon gym clothes and holding a badminton racket. Upon seeing Song Cheng, she immediately furrowed her brows and said:

“Ah, you little rascal took advantage of my absence to achieve great things.”

Immediately, Song Cheng’s initial “homesick” anxiety disappeared.

She forgot what she had said to Xu Ling that day, only remembering her earnest explanation: “It’s hard to find a job in sports, Teacher.”

“Nonsense. Don’t I have a job?” Xu Ling laughed after saying this. “You’re thinking too far ahead.”

Song Cheng thought, isn’t that the truth? No more picking a major with a slap on the thigh. She really wanted to ask Xu Ling what she was thinking when choosing her major. It seemed like Xu Ling’s choice was randomly selected in her mind.

Then Xu Ling took Song Cheng home for a meal.

Xu Ling’s cooking was as terrible as Wen Xiangyi’s, not as good as the cafeteria. After eating, Song Cheng suggested they should get food from the cafeteria next time, and Xu Ling scolded her.

Well, honest advice is always hard to hear. It’s okay; she didn’t blame Xu Ling.

At least Xu Ling didn’t punish her with extra work; extra work is a form of physical punishment.

By the way, Xu Ling’s cola chicken wings were burnt. How could they compare to the chef’s perfectly cooked and aromatic dishes in the cafeteria?

Song Cheng glanced at Wen Xiangyi’s plate of fragrant chicken wings and ate the stir-fried bok choy on her own plate.

It’s okay; the chef’s bok choy was also tasty and healthy, sob sob.

Song Cheng was eating absentmindedly when suddenly, a perfect cola chicken wing landed on her plate.

Huh?

Song Cheng quickly looked at Wen Xiangyi.