“All the teachers from the better classes are fighting to have you. I think we should ask your opinion – do you want to transfer to a better class or stay in your current class?”
Jiang Qian looked back at everyone in Class 17, then at her desk mate who was memorizing vocabulary words. “No need, Teacher Fang. I really like this class. I don’t want to transfer.”
Fang Zixin looked at her. “Alright, I’ll respect your wishes.”
…
When January arrived, final exams and winter break weren’t far away.
The weather was getting colder.
It was so cold that hands holding pens would freeze.
January 26th, Monday.
He Guoshi had only walked a few steps in the hallway when he slipped and fell hard. He got up rubbing his bottom and looked at the thin layer of ice on the ground.
He yelled at Class 17: “Who was on cleaning duty? Are you brainless? Don’t you know to use a dry mop after mopping the floor?”
The students on duty from Class 17 came out to apologize: “Sorry, Director He. We forgot to wipe it again.”
Director He was so angry his mustache quivered as he touched his already thinning hair: “Mop it again. Just because break is coming doesn’t mean you can slack off.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
He Guoshi left, only to slip again right in front of Class 18.
Class 18 students who had been secretly enjoying Class 17 getting scolded weren’t laughing anymore.
…
The Class 18 homeroom teacher stood at the podium: “Class 17 somehow surpassed us in the midterms. For these final exams, we must absolutely beat Class 17!”
“Yes!”
…
Yang Shikun said to Hao Ming: “It didn’t matter that I scored poorly before, but this score directly affects whether I can have a good New Year. When relatives come and ask how much their child scored, if I score too low my mom will think I’m embarrassing.”
Hao Ming: “You have a point.”
Yang Shikun looked worried.
Hao Ming: “Well, we’ve gotten through every year like this.”
Yang Shikun: Thanks, that’s not helping.
The fourth morning class was Zhang Runfa’s.
He strode into class looking stern.
“Teacher, you set this exam paper, right? Is it difficult?”
Hearing this, Zhang Runfa stroked his hair: “Not difficult. New Year’s coming – how could I set such difficult papers that would ruin your holiday? Don’t you agree?”
“Teacher, could you secretly give us some hints? You set the paper, right?”
Zhang Runfa squinted at this: “That’s not allowed. I never do such things, but…”
Everyone in Class 17 waited to hear what came after that “but.”
“If you beg me, I might tell you the important points.”
“Teacher Zhang is so handsome!”
“Teacher looks just like Zhou Runfa!”
“He’s basically the Zhou Runfa of A City!”
As Class 17’s compliments got more outrageous, Zhang Runfa made a “stop” gesture: “The new unit we just learned will have one big question, and I’ll tell you which units the other questions come from. The exam is tomorrow, so you can do some last-minute cramming.”
“Great!”
“Teacher, you’re my idol!”
…
At noon.
Xu Si held the study materials and said to Jiang Qian: “Little teacher, there’s not much left, almost finished.”
Only a thin portion remained unfinished.
Jiang Qian glanced at the materials in his hand: “Very good. I’ve already bought new materials. Once you finish these, I’ll give you the new ones.”
“Little teacher, remember my reward?”
Jiang Qian smiled at him: “Yes, I hope you can improve by fifteen ranks this time.”
“Can we combine the two times together, little teacher?”
Jiang Qian thought for a moment and nodded: “That works too.”
Yang Shikun turned back to Jiang Qian: “Scholar Jiang, what should I do if I can’t understand the English listening?”
Jiang Qian thought for a moment and replied: “If you can’t understand the English listening, try closing your eyes to listen, close your eyes to feel it.”
“Okay, I’ll try Scholar Jiang’s method for this exam.”
Jiang Qian smiled: “Good.”
Then she smiled at Xu Si: “Good luck!”
Xu Si chuckled softly: “Thanks.”
…
“Excuse me, can you tell me how much the shirt is? Yes, it’s nine fifteen. The shirt costs 9 pounds 15 pence, so choose option C.”
“…”
After the sound check, the actual listening test began.
Yang Shikun followed Jiang Qian’s advice and closed his eyes to feel the English listening.
He listened to the string of English.
And nearly fell asleep.
He opened his eyes and rubbed his face to finally wake up a bit.
Most of the audio had played, but he barely understood any of it.
With Jiang Qian’s encouragement, Xu Si solved problems without any panic.
When the last exam finished, finals were over.
…
When Jiang Qian returned, she saw Xu Si pulling two people’s desks.
Just as she picked up her books, she heard Xu Si’s voice: “Little teacher, put the books on the desk.”
Jiang Qian obediently stacked the books on the desk and said: “I’ll help you move the desks, they’re too heavy.”
“No need, just bring the cups in. I’ll handle the rest.”
They had just finished organizing the desks and sat down.
Yang Shikun looked worried: “Scholar Jiang, it’s terrible, I couldn’t understand the English listening at all.”
Jiang Qian looked at him: “The listening?”
“Yes, I followed your advice to close my eyes and feel it, but I almost fell asleep.”
Jiang Qian didn’t know what to say to that.
“It’s not Scholar Jiang’s method that’s the problem, it’s me. When you listen, it’s like they’re directly telling you ‘choose A for this question, choose B for that one.’ When I listen, it’s just a bunch of gibberish I can’t understand.”
Jiang Qian couldn’t help but laugh.
“Scholar Jiang, do you think this exam was harder than the last one?”
Jiang Qian thought it was similar to before: “It was okay.”
Yang Shikun sighed: “Well, let’s leave it to fate. At least we can enjoy a few more days.”
Fang Zixin came in: “Subject representatives go to the printing room to get the test papers. There are quite a few, so bring someone to help.”
Jiang Qian went to get the English papers, with Xu Si following behind: “I’ll help you, little teacher.”
Jiang Qian counted the papers while Xu Si secretly watched her.
After counting, Xu Si carried the papers beside her. He held thick stacks of more than ten piles, leaving just one set for Jiang Qian.
After distributing the papers.
“Teacher Fang, this is too much!”
Fang Zixin smiled: “The papers are uniformly printed by the school.”
“It’s too much, we can’t finish it!”
“Just writing our names will take forever!”
“Just write according to the teachers’ requirements. You don’t need to complete everything.”
“Great! Long live Teacher Fang!”
“Long live Teacher Fang!”
Fang Zixin also explained about the holiday and new semester: “Wish you all a happy holiday! Pack up your things and you can leave. Happy New Year in advance!”
“Happy holiday, Teacher Fang!”
“Happy holiday! Happy holiday!”
Xu Si turned to his little desk mate: “Happy winter break, little teacher.”
“Happy winter break!”
P.S. Back in high school, I once asked a friend who was really good at English what to do when I couldn’t understand the listening. She said if you can’t understand, close your eyes and feel it. I closed my eyes to listen, and then nearly fell asleep.
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