NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 62
After leaving the library, Xiaoqi did not go back to her aunt's dormitory. She was running short on time today, so she could only call her aunt to say she wouldn't be back for lunch.
In recent days, Xiaoqi had been trying hard to balance her sense of smell and not intentionally sniff things.
Seeing KFC, Xiaoqi walked in. There were many people, but the queue moved efficiently. Xiaoqi ordered a hamburger and coke combo meal according to her appetite, plus an extra hamburger.
Two hamburgers, a coke, some fries, Xiaoqi got her piping hot meal.
With the taste buds of a pig, Su Xiaoqi found the meal to be pretty good, mainly because it was hot and the oiliness was neutralized by the breading. The vegetables were a bit overcooked and there was a bit too much salad, but when hungry, these were minor issues.
With the slightly salty, crispy fries and chilled coke, the overall experience was nice.
Though after finishing, the aftertaste was not so nice.
It was very satisfying to eat.
But very greasy after finishing. That was probably the feeling.
After lunch it was already one o'clock. Xiaoqi walked to Ms. Liang's home.
She would normally feel sleepy after eating, but the walk helped her fight it off. She listened to English lessons on her phone as she walked.
Though this was only her second time teaching, Xiaoqi felt more nervous than last time.
After all, today she didn't have the memory buff anymore, nor the sense for language buff, so even as she walked, she was following along the audio lessons to study English. Fortunately there weren't many pedestrians at noon, otherwise hearing someone muttering bird language to themselves would probably cause people to think she was crazy.
But Xiaoqi discovered another method to study English - singing English songs. Previously she was just an average singer and didn't even like singing Chinese songs, let alone attempting English ones.
But now she felt singing was quite easy. And it was better for memorization than pure recitation. If it was a song, she could remember it after singing it once, because the melody helps, singing lyrics along with the tune makes memorizing very easy. Especially after losing her memory buff, Xiaoqi realized this. It was simply a shortcut to cheating memorization.
But this was limited to set songs. She didn't yet have the ability to take a textbook passage and turn it into a singable song herself.
This didn't prevent her from listening to English songs occasionally though. And trying to sing along still felt more effective for language sense than just repeating after audio.
So she spent her walk humming and singing. By the time she reached the tutoring venue, she had gone through two or three English songs already. Learning them alongside New Concept Book 4 felt much more relaxed this way.
At half past one, she rang the doorbell on time.
Ms Liang usually left home at 2pm. Seeing Xiaoqi arrive, she was very warm and welcoming.
This young girl always arrived early and left late. As the boss, she really appreciated employees like this - especially given her young age, Liang was very impressed with her discipline.
The girl had come early, not just this once but every time after too.
Opening the door today and seeing the girl change shoes to come in and greet, Liang Huaying suddenly had a feeling that this girl would undoubtedly have a bright future ahead. Despite her youth, she gave off the air of a teacher already that Liang subconsciously called out "Teacher Su has arrived!"
The unexpected title gave even Xiaoqi a bit of a shock.
Liang Jiajia and her classmates had been waiting eagerly for some time, chattering excitedly. The study was prepared and ready for them.
Xiaoqi entered and immediately her eyes found Guan Jingzhi. Today Jingzhi wore a bright green dress, it's vivid color very eye-catching. If Xiaoqi saw it at the mall, she definitely wouldn't even bother trying it on.
But worn on the little girl, it seemed to only further accentuate her fairness and complexion. Her whole being appeared white, clean and beautiful, catching every eye and leaving a hard to forget impression.
Xiaoqi hadn't sensed this kind of feeling even from girls in her own grade. Yet here she felt it from a 12 year old.
She inexplicably felt her own outfit looked a bit sloppy and casual next to the girl - just a t-shirt and sweats. Her t-shirt quality was mediocre, needing washing every day in summer, and had become a bit loose and baggy from too many washes. Her sweatpants had small fuzz balls around the knees, but they weren't too obvious.
Recently Xiaoqi seldom felt insecure about her appearance, but seeing this young girl Guan Jingzhi stirred up some other feelings in her again. The girl wore clean clothes, and while her dress didn't appear brand new, it still gave off the sense that she had quality upbringing - not just from family wealth but her as a whole.
The other girls were also dressed decently, just none stood out like her.
It was probably an innate grace and aura.
After only a brief moment of admiration, Xiaoqi sat down to start today's lesson.
As usual she began with a review test of previous material first.
Already used to being video recorded, today one of her students took it a step further - not only filming with phones but even setting up a video camera on a tripod.
Xiaoqi sat there and glanced up at the camera lens, feeling a tiny bit uneasy but quickly adjusting.
The few girls weren't entirely well behaved during class, though they stopped short of blatantly copying each other's work. Occasionally whispering and note passing did happen in practice. But oddly today they seemed especially obedient from Xiaoqi's entry onward.
But Su Xiaoqi noticed instead of whispering, they passed written notes on their homework pages - essentially microchatting via notebooks, which Xiaoqi had also done during her own classes, quite familiar with it. Still, she could see they weren't cheating or anything, so she just gently reminded them to finish the test during allotted time.
The girls settled down a bit at that.
The notes had said:
"Emma, wonder why Little Seven teacher seems kind of stern today?"
"I think so too, like our head teacher."
"Yeah, a bit."
Liang Jiajia finished her test, checked it over, then let her little head wander as she watched the teacher read a book in the camera frame, randomly finding her suitable to edit into some online anchor clip - feeling Teacher Xiao Qi looked quite like she was hosting news, very serious.
When the first review test finished, Xiaoqi quickly graded them. Other than some minor mistakes, they had basically all done fine, at least demonstrating these kids had reviewed adequately back home.
In reality it wasn't due to the kids' own diligence though. Xiaoqi taught clear and simply on one hand, and on the other hand there was video recording, so nobody wanted to embarrass themselves to review poorly later. Everyone still did their homework properly in order to save face.
Next began the actual lesson. Xiaoqi divided up learning tasks based on the three groups' different progress levels.
Time passed quickly alternating between them.
She gave Guan Jingzhi the original English book she was reading before, The Little Prince, telling her to write a reading reflection on it.
The group with the weakest English foundations, Liang Jiajia's, was still mainly going over New Concept Book 1. But up through today's lesson, they had reached a point of being able to summarize and integrate knowledge already. Xiaoqi saw Liang Jiajia had scored 91 points on her test, a marked improvement from the initial 46 points.
The two students at intermediate level had already started on Book 2, content Xiaoqi knew backwards and forwards, teaching it with ease.
The few students were exceptionally well behaved today for some reason, lacking their usual playfulness. Xiaoqi even felt her teaching was a bit too stern and solemn as she shared her own experiences of studying English.
Singing English songs.
After nearly three hours of obedience, Liang Jiajia couldn't sit still anymore. She couldn't really edit Teacher Xiao Qi into a news anchor. Hearing the teacher mention English songs, she immediately piped up "Teacher, sing us one!"
Even Guan Jingzhi gazed at her expectantly.
The other girls finally chimed in pleadingly as well.
Xiaoqi did not decline either. With her language sense buff missing today, the lecture had actually left her feeling a bit tense. But singing she could handle. And she had learned many songs recently.
"Alright then, let's end today's lesson with an English song - 'Say You Say Me.'"
In the evening study, the air conditioner had quieted to a balanced, silent state.
The desk was covered with books and workbooks.
"Say you, say me speak of yourself, speak of me
I had a dream, I had an awesome dream
People in the park
Playing games in the dark
Believe in who you are
Have faith that you are the one
You are a shining star......oh, you yourself are a shining star
Say it together, naturally, let's all say it together naturally......
The gentle tones, melodious singing, like a river, ding-dong sounding, flowing slowly, sometimes a bit slow, then gradually getting faster, becoming passionate and sonorous, as if expelling all the turbid air from the chest.
Xiao Qi really liked this song, not only for learning English, but also because singing it always makes one feel full of hope and strength.
The camera continues flashing, and the eyes of several students are also flashing.