Chapter 36

It rained in Changqing in the early hours of the morning.

The temperature dropped several degrees.

When Jiang Weichao went upstairs to get his coat, he noticed that the light was on in Jiang Jiawei's room. He assumed she had forgotten to turn it off while she was asleep last night. He quietly opened the door and saw a woman sitting at her desk with her back to him, muttering to herself. The woman's voice, playing from a cassette player, was speaking English.

Jiang Weichao glanced at the quartz clock in the living room and confirmed that it was indeed six o'clock.

"Jiajia".

"ah?"

Jiang Jiawei turned around.

Why are you up so early???

"I'll get up and recite my lessons."

Jiang Weichao walked into the room, glanced at the textbooks spread out on her desk, and flipped through them. "It's too early. Won't you be too tired for class if you get up so early? Go back to sleep for a while."

"I can't sleep."

Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

"I just want to... try a little harder."

Jiang Weichao patted her hair. "Shall I bring breakfast up for you?"

"good."

What would you like to eat?

"I'm not drinking plain milk today."

"What flavor do you want to drink?"

"I want to drink blueberry-flavored yogurt today."

"Okay."

Mu Zhengxi said that during today's quarterfinals, two debaters from the next group got into a fight in the bathroom while preparing for their match.

How did you know they were fighting in the bathroom?

"Because I just went in, I even thoughtfully asked them if they wanted to close the door~"

"Haha, so what happened next?"

Mu Zhengxi shrugged. "They were probably afraid that if I told the teacher, it would affect their participation in the competition, so when they saw me go in, they stopped playing and came out."

What is the topic of your debate today?

"This House would ban animal testing for cosmetic purposes."

cosmetic?

Jiang Jiawei remembered the white paper bag in the room and wandered off course.

"Hey Jiang Jiawei, are you going to the city center for a competition this Saturday?"

"yes."

"How are the preparations going?"

"have no idea……"

Mu Zhengxi laughed upon hearing this, "Why are you so unconfident? Do you want me to teach you?"

The English proficiency competition consists of three parts: listening, written test (reading and writing), and oral dialogue retelling based on a randomly selected text.

"Okay, you teach me."

Jiang Jiawei went back to her room to get her materials and practiced the oral retelling part. Mu Zhengxi talked to her in a question-and-answer format, corrected some of her pronunciations, and taught her how to read aloud more fluently.

"Wait a minute, you're speaking too fast, I can't quite understand you."

Sorry~

When Jiang Jiawei speaks English, her speaking speed is slower than usual, and her pronunciation is very standard and clear. Listening to her makes you feel like you've returned to the time you spent in Amalfi after graduating from high school, living a carefree life in the countryside, with the refreshing scent of lemon trees in the air.

Mu Zhengxi remembered that Jiang Jiawei, as a makeup artist, sometimes traveled abroad with celebrities, so English was a subject she had been studying since she entered the workforce, and eventually she became so fluent that it could be used as her second mother tongue.

Even without an impressive academic background in the eyes of outsiders, Jiang Jiawei has always strived to become a better version of herself.

"Jiang Jiawei, you should become a translator in the future."

"English translation?"

"yes."

"I hadn't thought about that either."

"Now you can think about it."

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea. Would you like to practice your spoken English with me?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Friday night.

The vice principal and English teacher of Jiang Jiawei's school drove the three students who were participating in the competition to the city. Since the competition was to start early the next morning, they stayed at a hotel near the participating school the night before to avoid being too rushed.

Jiang Jiawei shared a room with a female classmate who was in the same class. She was a girl from the science class, and they had met a few times during this period and were quite familiar with each other.

The two lay on the bed, and Jiang Jiawei taught her how to use the camera.

Jiang Jiawei: "Have you ever been to the airport in the city?"

Student: "Yes, one year my dad's company organized a trip, and I went with them. We went by plane."

Is it far from here?

"It's not far from where we get off the highway."

Jiang Jiawei rolled over and lay flat on her back.

"I'll take a picture of Jiawei for you."

"ah?"

Before she could finish speaking, the shutter clicked. Jiang Jiawei smiled and said, "This angle is too weird."

Haha, what's on your face?

"Um?"

"Your eyelashes are so long! Get them extended."

"Haha, is one enough? I'll give you a few more."

"Okay, go ahead and pull it out."

"Would you like me to take a picture of you?"

"Okay, could you take a picture for me when I do the oral retelling tomorrow? I'll show it to my mom then."

"Can."

"I'll take a picture for you too."

In the English proficiency competition, the listening section in the morning went well, but the reading section of the written test was a challenge. The densely packed English letters made reading difficult, and Jiang Jiawei struggled in despair, but still managed to fill in all the answers.

The atmosphere during the afternoon's oral retelling session wasn't much more relaxed. In addition to the judges and contestants, there were also a bunch of accompanying teachers, parents, and audience members. As far as the eye could see, there were heads everywhere.

However, after the morning's reading torture, Jiang Jiawei felt like she had nothing to lose and decided to let things take their course. She fiddled with her camera, took some photos of her classmates, and posed for a group photo with the teacher who brought them there.

When it was her turn to go on stage, she was perhaps too nonchalant and performed better than she had imagined. Mu Zhengxi told her that when speaking English, not many people pay attention to grammatical errors; they focus more on fluency. She should not pause for too long, and when thinking, she can use some simple colloquial expressions to buy time. Most importantly, she should not show any fear.

Yes, don't show weakness.

While they were waiting backstage, she overheard several people, who she couldn't tell were parents or teachers, making a slightly contemptuous comment about a high school student from a county town on stage.

"That's how it is when people from small counties come here. They're timid and hesitant. Look at those guys from No. 1 High School in the city, they clearly have great stage presence and their pronunciation is very pure. They really can't compare."

"Yes, their spoken English is completely Chinglish, how can there be any comparison?"

"The mindset can't be broadened."

That's infuriating to hear.

Her classmate clenched her fist to encourage her: "Keep it up!"

Jiang Jiawei: "Okay! Keep it up!"

Perhaps she wasn't the best presenter on stage today, but Jiang Jiawei was the most composed one so far. Unlike the others' nervousness, seriousness, or the trained smiles of their speeches, she stood on stage as if she were speaking her native language.

It's not actually that difficult.

Jiang Jiawei stepped off the stage and silently let out a sigh of relief.

The teachers and students from their school in the audience clapped their hands until they were red.

"You're awesome!"

"Now I can finally relax."

"I took a lot of photos of you."

...

The competition ended at around 4 p.m. The vice principal bought them milk and bread for the journey, and music was played in the car. The return trip was much more relaxed and enjoyable than the journey there.

As Jiang Jiawei was talking to the subject teacher in the co-pilot's seat, the classmate sitting next to her suddenly slapped her arm several times, pointed out the window, swallowed the bread in his mouth, and excitedly said, "Airplane, Jiawei, airplane."

Jiang Jiawei looked out the window. The plane passing by at low altitude looked like a big white goose. Her gaze followed it until it disappeared into the clouds and disappeared from sight.

As the Spring Festival holiday approaches, every day feels like it's been put on slowdown. There are endless tests to finish, books to memorize, and mornings that are hard to get up. Every second feels like it's being stretched out infinitely, like maltose.

"Winter break? We're going to visit my aunt during winter break, and then we'll go back to my grandma's house together," Jiang Jiawei said.

"Are you going as soon as winter break starts?"

"It should be."

Mu Zhengxi, who was squatting at the entrance of McDonald's, chewing on a Coke straw, frowned upon hearing this answer; this was really bad.

"And you, where are you going to spend the New Year?"

“I’m definitely in Hanyang.” Mu Zhengxi leaned against the wall next to him. “But I should go back with my dad and the others to pay respects to our ancestors before returning to Hanyang.”

“Then you…” Jiang Jiawei’s voice trailed off, and she stopped mid-sentence.

"What's wrong?"

When do you get your winter break?

"Just like you."

However, Mu Zhengxi only found out in the last two days that Mu Shaoqing had secured a spot for him at a winter school, and that once New Year's Eve was over, he would really be sent to the other side of the ocean.

Mu Zhengxi hung his head dejectedly. "Jiang Jiawei, can you go to your aunt's house a day later?"

"Um?"

After a long silence, Mu Zhengxi finally came up with a reasonable excuse: "I haven't picked up my photos yet. Wait for me to get them before you leave."

The first half of the sentence was delivered with great force, but the second half made the excuse seem weak and unconvincing.

Then ask.

Is that okay?

Jiang Jiawei didn't react immediately, "What photos?"

“You said you’d show me the photos last time, and here are the photos I took of our debate competition. We need to exchange them.”

Are you coming to Changqing?

"Of course I have to, I—" Mu Zhengxi swallowed the words that were about to slip out, licked his lips, "I have to go back to pick up my grandma."

"good."

Jiang Jiawei said.

"I'll wait for you to come before I leave."

Mu Zhengxi stood up almost reflexively, the ice cubes in the glass in his hand swaying crisply. "Don't go back on your word, Jiang Jiawei."

It seems that whenever it comes to promises and agreements, Mu Zhengxi is always very uneasy and has to confirm them two or three times over. Jiang Jiawei has also gotten used to giving him affirmation every time.

"I will not break my promise."

It's snowing in Hanyang.

But there are always places where the leaves never fall.

The moonlight made every leaf shine.