Chapter Ten: A Masterful Command of English

Originally, Zhou Xuan thought his words would be enough to curb Zhuo Lian’s gossiping curiosity. He hadn’t expected that within just ten minutes between classes, Zhuo Lian’s big mouth had spread his remark throughout the entire class.

His classmates now cast curious glances at him, and among them were several girls whose eyes seemed unusually bold. Zhou Xuan’s recent conduct had indeed appeared strange to his peers, but the results were unexpectedly impressive. In their eyes, he possessed an astonishing literary talent—after all, even Liu Yixue, who considered herself the best writer in their grade, had never received such lavish praise from Teacher Chen.

Zhou Xuan had no idea how his classmates truly perceived him; only he knew the reason behind his actions.

Eileen Chang once said, “Fame comes early, doesn’t it?”

The second break was twenty minutes long, but it was time for the morning exercises. Everyone filtered out to the sports field, standing in their assigned areas according to their class, and began their broadcast calisthenics as the music played.

Once the exercises were done, the students returned to their classrooms, chatting and laughing, some heading to the restroom. Before long, the third and fourth periods began—the English classes. The English teacher, Ms. Wang, was around thirty years old. Zhou Xuan remembered that his English grades in his first two years of middle school were mediocre, hovering around ninety points. It was thanks to Ms. Wang, who was diligent and conscientious, patiently guiding him step by step, that his scores improved.

Thus, when Zhou Xuan eventually qualified for the top high school, his high English score played no small part. But for Zhou Xuan, who had spent decades as a programmer and had recently reviewed English in the virtual space, middle and high school English was no longer a challenge.

“Turn to page sixty-seven in your textbooks. Today’s lesson is ‘The Eyes Can Speak’,” Ms. Wang announced as she wrote the English title neatly on the blackboard. Her handwriting was elegant, her English script flowing gracefully.

“I asked you all to preview this text last class. Did you do it?” she queried.

“We did!” the students replied in unison.

Zhou Xuan quickly lowered his head, knowing the teacher would soon call on someone to read aloud. He hadn’t previewed the text, but reading it aloud would pose no difficulty for him. Still, he didn’t want to stand up and read, for if he read seriously, his accent would reveal a pure American English, more authentic than Ms. Wang’s own, and would surely startle her and his classmates.

In his previous life, Zhou Xuan had handled many outsourced projects, including those from foreign companies, prompting him to practice his spoken English diligently. His oral English was genuinely excellent. After his rebirth, in the virtual space, he’d spent several days practicing using Li Yang’s “Crazy English” method, and his pronunciation had become flawless.

But fate had other plans. Ms. Wang called his name, “Zhou Xuan, please read this passage.”

Zhou Xuan had no choice but to stand under the gaze of the entire class, open his book, and begin to read aloud.

“Much meaning can be conveyed, clearly, with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak…”

He had barely finished a paragraph when Ms. Wang’s eyes brightened, and his classmates turned to look at him in surprise and disbelief. Zhou Xuan’s reading was outstanding, even better than Ms. Wang’s previous readings. To his classmates, Zhou Xuan seemed almost like a native speaker, his fluent and authentic English leaving them in awe.

Ms. Wang herself was incredulous; his accent was even more precise than hers. She wanted to ask Zhou Xuan how he had achieved such mastery—had he lived in America for some time? The thought was quickly dismissed, for she knew Zhou Xuan was a rural child, from a farming family with no means to go abroad. It was truly puzzling.

“No, I must talk to him later,” Ms. Wang resolved.

Under the focused attention of the entire class, Zhou Xuan calmly finished reading. He smiled helplessly; he’d managed to stand out twice in the same morning. But Zhou Xuan could only sigh inwardly—there would be plenty more surprises ahead, so let his teachers and classmates slowly adjust.

“Zhou Xuan, that was excellent! I didn’t expect your spoken English to be so authentically American. How did you practice? Do you have any tips to share with your classmates?” Ms. Wang was clearly not ready to let him off so easily.

Zhou Xuan looked at her and replied, “Ms. Wang, honestly, there’s not much to it. During the summer vacation, I read about Crazy English in a magazine. It said the method was very effective for improving spoken English, so I tried it, and it worked surprisingly well.”

In 1994, Li Yang, the founder of Crazy English, left the radio and established his studio, dedicated to popularizing English in China and sharing Chinese with the world. That year, Crazy English launched a nationwide promotion, but mostly in major cities; in small towns like South City, few people had heard of it.

“Crazy English—I know it’s been quite popular nationwide lately. I believe it was created by someone named Li Yang, but in small county towns like ours, not many people have heard of it yet, right?” Ms. Wang, apparently well-informed in English education, even knew Li Yang’s name, impressing Zhou Xuan.

“Yes, I practiced my spoken English using the Crazy English method.”

“Very good, thank you for sharing, Zhou Xuan. I’d like to discuss the details of Crazy English with you after class. For now, let’s continue the lesson.” Ms. Wang realized this was not the time for a detailed discussion, and so returned to the lesson, deciding to learn more about Crazy English later.

After sitting down, Zhuo Lian leaned over again. “Impressive, Zhou Xuan! You’ve hidden your talents well. We’ve been classmates for two years, and no one ever discovered how excellent you are. How did you suddenly burst onto the scene these last couple of days? Are you hiding more secrets?”

“Oh, I have plenty of secrets, but I won’t tell you any of them.” He turned his head, ignoring her. When it came to girls, it was best to pique their curiosity and then reveal things little by little.

“Hmph, whatever!” Zhuo Lian pouted angrily.

Class continued. Besides the occasional curious glances from his classmates, Zhou Xuan also received a predictable look of envy, jealousy, and resentment. If looks could kill, Zhou Xuan would have died dozens of times by now.

From the Chinese class until now, Wei Xinyu, the math class monitor, had kept her gaze fixed on Zhou Xuan, brimming with jealousy. Seeing Zhou Xuan stand out so much, Wei Xinyu gritted her teeth in hatred.

But Zhou Xuan wasn’t without a reaction. He glared back fiercely, then, with a roguish air, raised his middle finger and gave a cold smile, causing the classmates watching him to shiver.

Wei Xinyu, seeing Zhou Xuan’s provocation, was furious. If she hadn’t been a model student, and if it weren’t class time, she might well have stormed over to start a fight.

Zhou Xuan knew Wei Xinyu’s character well. Though she was proud due to her family background and easily jealous, she was timid, always cautious when she held office, and unwilling to help classmates with even the smallest requests. Unlike some arrogant and flamboyant heirs seen in news reports, she was far more reserved.

In a few days, Zhou Xuan planned to defeat Wei Xinyu in math, utterly crushing her pride. To beat someone, the best strategy was to defeat them in their strongest field.