Chapter Twenty-Eight: First Place in the Competition

[Shallow Waters Fish]: “Why are you all so quiet? No one's claiming the red envelopes?”

[Enchanting Beautiful Fox]: “Not much happening, most people have gone into seclusion.”

[Shallow Waters Fish]: “Oh… does seclusion take a long time?”

[Enchanting Beautiful Fox]: “Depends. Some people are talented and finish quickly, idiots will be slow, naturally.”

[Shallow Waters Fish]: “So does that mean we don't need to send out snack red envelopes during this period?”

[Enchanting Beautiful Fox]: “No stopping!!! Not everyone is in seclusion! If you stop sending snacks, I’ll bite you tonight!”

At the thought of snacks being stopped, Su Daji nearly bristled with anger. Anything else could be given up, but not delicious food. If those bastards recovered and found out the snacks were gone, and it was all because she’d made up the story about seclusion, she could kiss her beautiful fur goodbye.

She couldn’t understand their thinking. Even though Qianqian was still a child, she’d grow up and have a man sooner or later—why act like their treasure was being stolen?

Besides, she thought that Zhou Jingchen was quite good-looking. If he were her man, she’d have claimed him already.

[Enchanting Beautiful Fox]: “Red envelopes will be sent as usual. Those not in seclusion and those who come out of seclusion know to claim them. If they’re not claimed in time, they’ll automatically return to your space.”

[Shallow Waters Fish]: “Alright then…”

After that, only Su Daji spoke to her. Compared to the previous liveliness, Yu Qian felt a little unused to the quiet.

She felt anxious, wanting to ask if something had happened to her, or if perhaps something had happened to her parents.

“Right, Mom and Dad!” Yu Qian exclaimed, hastily pulling out her phone to call home.

“What’s wrong?” Teacher Zeng asked curiously, noticing her suddenly sit up.

“I just feel uneasy. I’m worried something might have happened, so I wanted to call my mom.” As she spoke, she was already dialing, but no one answered.

Yu Qian grew even more anxious, so she called Yu Wen’s number instead. Fortunately, that call was picked up.

“Dad, what are you and Mom doing? Why isn’t Mom answering?”

“Hm? We’re at the factory. It’s noisy, so she probably didn’t hear the phone. Little one, what’s wrong? Didn’t you already call to say you were safe?” Yu Wen hadn’t expected his daughter to call suddenly, sounding surprised.

“It’s fine as long as you’re okay. I just felt uneasy and was afraid something might have happened to you.” Hearing her parents were well, Yu Qian finally relaxed. “Take care of yourselves.”

“What are you worrying about? We’re both fine, you just focus on your competition. When it’s over, come home and we’ll cook something delicious for you,” he said with a smile in his voice.

“Okay, just make sure you head home early after work and don’t tire yourselves out. Bye, Dad.”

Yu Qian didn’t know that while she was feeling anxious, far away in Hangzhou, Zhou Jingchen, who was reviewing high school material, absentmindedly touched his left chest. He couldn’t figure out why his heart was suddenly racing. After pondering fruitlessly for a while, he plunged back into his studies.

His time was limited; he had to master the high school curriculum before things got busier at the company. Otherwise, he’d be pressed for time having to juggle both. Once everything was on track and he’d found a professional manager, he could finally relax.

Both of them, letting the feeling slip from their minds, refocused on what was in front of them.

To keep herself in top form, Yu Qian made a point of speaking English with Teacher Zeng as much as possible.

In her previous life, her English foundation had been solid, and she loved British dramas, so she’d picked up a standard accent. In this life, she hadn’t let up either; even with limited resources, she’d watched plenty of British shows and practiced with BBC broadcasts.

The schoolwork itself wasn’t hard, and Teacher Zeng had always assumed Yu Qian’s English was at most a high schooler’s level. But after two days of all-English conversation, she was utterly drained, body and soul.

Had anyone ever seen a university-educated, professional English teacher being reduced to stammering by a ten-year-old child? She hadn’t—until now. What kind of elementary school student was this? This was a little demon king! She finally understood how those kids must have felt the first time Yu Qian entered a competition.

During the competition, she watched as the kids from Sichuan Province encouraged each other eagerly, all shouting that they’d take first place, while the children from Yun Capital and Sea City looked on with arrogant, disdainful glances from afar. Teacher Zeng couldn’t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude.

In front of this demon king, everyone else was just cannon fodder—she was looking forward to the show.

Yun Capital and Sea City—one the nation's capital, the other its economic center—naturally had much higher educational standards than elsewhere, and as soon as their children spoke, they easily outshone those who had gone before.

Seeing their hopes dashed, these once-confident children couldn’t help but feel discouraged, and Teacher Zeng sighed quietly.

Whether by chance or not, after the draw, all the Sichuan contestants were scheduled in the first half, except for Yu Qian, who was second to last.

With the stars of Yun Capital and Sea City dazzling the judges, none of the later speakers could brighten their moods.

Teacher Zeng couldn’t help but worry for Yu Qian. Being second to last, if she performed well, she could steal the show and outshine everyone—but if anything went wrong, first place would surely go to someone else.

She didn’t doubt Yu Qian’s ability, only worried about unexpected mishaps. Fortunately, there were none—Yu Qian dominated the field, her performance and advanced vocabulary in the spoken section making the judges beam with delight.

Looking at the faces of the elementary students below, Teacher Zeng could almost believe she was seeing the same expressions as those who’d been shocked by Yu Qian a year before.

And the reporters, certain that first place would be claimed by Yun Capital or Sea City, were left stunned—this child’s English was better than most adults!

“Yu Qian, can you tell us how you learned to speak English so well?” asked the reporter from the People’s Daily, his tone gentle.

Yu Qian tilted her head in thought, then answered, “By watching TV and the news.”

Seeing the reporters’ confused faces, she went on, “I watched British TV dramas and British news, and just learned by repeating what they said.”

The People’s Daily reporter paused, then asked, “Do you really know all those words and understand them?”

“If I didn’t understand, I’d write them down and ask my teacher at school or look them up in the dictionary. My mom bought me a dictionary this thick so I could check,” she said, indicating with her hand the size of a brick.

The reporters all looked as though they’d swallowed something bitter. They could understand asking teachers, but had anyone ever actually used a dictionary that thick? Other kids learned English through tutors and cram schools—how had she done it just by watching TV?

The interview wrapped up quickly. Everyone rushed off to write their articles. This uniquely talented first-place winner deserved high praise, and they wanted other students to know that with diligence, even watching TV could lead to excellent English.

Yu Qian paid them no mind. Once the interview was over, she clutched her certificate and trophy and hurried over to Teacher Zeng.

Seeing this little demon king, who only a moment before had looked like a miniature adult and now seemed like a real child, eagerly awaiting praise, Teacher Zeng felt a bit helpless. “Qianqian, you’re amazing. I’m so proud of you.”

“Teacher Zeng, you’re so perfunctory. You say that every time,” she replied, a bit disgruntled. Couldn’t she think of something new?

“Well, no matter how many times you’ve heard it, you still want to hear it, don’t you?”

Yu Qian stuck her tongue out playfully and returned to sit with the Sichuan team. The teachers from the provincial capital looked a little sour, forcing a congratulatory smile at her before turning a frosty face to the other kids.

At first, those two teachers had looked down on Teacher Zeng and Yu Qian, even assigning them to share a room. Coming from a small county, and with the team leader’s spot secured through connections, they believed their own students from top provincial schools were sure to be better than Yu Qian.