Chapter Twelve: The English Competition (2)

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The county’s No. 1 Primary School had cleared out its main lecture hall. Students from nearly twenty schools around the county, both big and small, were packed into the space. Even if each school had only sent about a dozen students, the hall was still filled to the brim.

There were no seats left for the parents; they could only stand at the back.

The competition for the lower grades was simple—no prepared speeches, just live questions and answers from the judges, with scores based on performance.

For the upper grades, it was much more complicated. The older students had already learned some more challenging vocabulary, so all were required to bring their own prepared speeches.

Yu Qian’s speech was about dreams. On the basis of a brief conversation they’d had that day, Teacher Zeng had written a speech for her on the subject of dreams. Over the past month, Yu Qian had practiced and memorized it again and again, all so she could deliver it without notes during the competition.

At that time, almost all the upper-grade students read from their scripts. If Yu Qian could recite her speech from memory and perform well, the first prize would be hers for sure.

Teacher Zeng was ambitious, too. She hoped Yu Qian would deliver a stunning performance. This way, when it came time for promotion evaluations, the school would remember that her student had brought honor to the institution—giving her a fighting chance.

She listened patiently, but the more she heard, the duller it became. She had expected perhaps a pleasant surprise—maybe someone would have excellent spoken English. But one after another, the speeches were all about “my father and mother,” “my family,” “my teacher”—nothing new, and the content was exceedingly dull.

The live-stream was running, and people in both groups were complaining about how boring it was.

The livestream was a new feature Yu Qian had discovered that very morning. Nuwa had quietly told her that the system had gotten the idea from the last group video chat, so now people in both groups could watch and interact in real time.

After nearly dozing off waiting, it was finally almost Yu Qian’s turn.

She handed her script and book to Teacher Zeng, tucked her phone—with only the camera peeking out—into her uniform pocket.

She saw the people in her group cheering her on as she slipped the phone into her pocket, and couldn’t help but smile.

When Yu Qian stepped onto the stage, the judges, seeing she held no script, grew expectant.

“Hello, judges and teachers. My name is Yu Qian. I come from Class 1, Grade 4 of primary school. The content of my speech today is related to my dream.”

The moment she spoke, it was clear she stood apart. The judges’ eyes lit up.

“Dream is a beautiful word. Everyone has his own dream, but whether it can be realized depends on his actions.”

Looking around, she saw that aside from a few judges and teachers, the students and parents wore blank expressions.

They couldn’t understand—a lot of the vocabulary was beyond them.

If she was the “big boss,” why bother coming to compete with us little kids?

The elementary students were crumbling inside.

“My dream is to be a screenwriter.”

...

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“Thank you, teachers. That’s what I’m talking about today.”

When Yu Qian finished, the lecture hall fell silent. It was over ten seconds before scattered applause broke out.

She bowed and returned to her seat. Teacher Zeng was especially pleased; barring surprises, Yu Qian’s first place was all but assured.

The director of studies was also astonished. He’d thought the best talent was in sixth grade, never expecting that Ms. Zeng had such a trump card up her sleeve.

The students who went on stage after her, whether from fourth or sixth grade, were all distracted and, unsurprisingly, didn’t perform well.

But near the end, a dark horse emerged from the county’s No. 1 Primary School. Though his speech was simple, delivering it without notes and without stumbling was praiseworthy. If it weren’t for Yu Qian, he’d most likely have taken first place.

Yu Qian—child in appearance, adult at heart—felt no guilt about “bullying” elementary students.

Wen Yu, sitting at the back, was beaming with pride. None of these other children could compare; her daughter was the best.

She took out her phone and saw the screen still filled with compliments.

“This little girl Yu Qian is truly impressive. I noticed everyone else had their scripts in hand.” That was Nuwa and Fuxi.

“Yu Qian’s foreign language is quite good. Interested in teaching a class for Red Boy and Jingwei and those little rascals?” That was the Lady of the Nine Heavens.

“It sounded great, but my sisters and I couldn’t understand a word,” said Su Daji.

Even Du Fu, Li Qingzhao, and Nalan Xingde, all legendary figures, couldn’t stop praising her.

“No wonder she’s from Meizhou,” Su Dongpo chimed in.

Seeing Su Dongpo praise her, Yu Qian blushed a little.

Of all the sages in the group chat, Yu Qian liked Su Dongpo best—even more than Li Bai or Du Fu.

First, she enjoyed Su Dongpo’s literary style; second, she admired his approach to life; and third, they were both from the same hometown—her small county was under Meizhou’s jurisdiction.

The competition dragged on for nearly two more hours before ending. The judges huddled together to confer.

With nothing more to see, Yu Qian ended the livestream and slipped to the back to find Wen Yu.

“Mom, aren’t you tired after waiting here so long?”

“Not at all. My daughter is amazing,” Wen Yu replied with a proud smile.

“Mom!” Yu Qian blushed, “there are others even better than me!”

“Oh my, my daughter is shy!” Wen Yu laughed aloud at the sight of her red cheeks. “In my heart, you’re the best.” She decided to shower her with praise anyway.

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“I won’t talk to you anymore, I’m going back to wait for the results.” Stamping her feet, Yu Qian hurried back to her seat, her face still red.

After Yu Qian left, several nearby parents gathered around Wen Yu.

“That was your daughter just now? She’s incredible!”

“Yes, yes, she recited her speech from memory—did she memorize the whole thing?”

“How did you raise such a well-behaved, high-achieving child?”

...

Listening to the parents’ flattery, Wen Yu’s face hurt from smiling; her daughter had truly made her proud. “Her father and I have both worked away from home for years, so we rarely supervise her. But my daughter has always been obedient—she studies diligently even without anyone watching over her.”

Meanwhile, the judges had made their decision, and the deputy director of the education bureau took the stage to announce the results.

“After scoring by the judges, we now have the results for both the lower and upper grade groups in my hands.”

“I’ll first announce the results for the lower grades. Those whose names are called, please come up to receive your certificates.

First place for lower grades: Lan Xinyi, Class 2, Grade 3, County No. 1 Primary School. Second place: Chen Yue, Class 1, Grade 3, Experimental Primary School; Song Xiao, Class 1, Grade 3, Nancheng Primary School.

...

Those whose names are called, please come up to receive your awards.”

Those whose names were called beamed with joy, while the others looked crestfallen.

After the first, second, and third prizes were given, everyone expected the upper grade results next, but the deputy director spoke again: “Next, we’ll present the ‘Outstanding Student’ awards. If your name is called, please come up to receive your certificate.”

“Yu Sisi, Class 1, Grade 3, Nancheng Primary School; Song Ya, Class 3, Grade 2, Baiguo Primary School...”

...

Those whose names are called, please come up to receive your awards.”

A sudden twist—nearly half the children went up to the stage, grinning from ear to ear.

Though they later learned that the Outstanding Student award didn’t add any points, Yu Qian was still astonished.

So many people won awards—it was like dividing up a pig among the crowd.