Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Huang Keyun's good friend is Wen Xiu, who attended the same university as Huang Keyun for her undergraduate studies.

However, she did not pursue graduate studies and instead became an English teacher at New Taipei Experimental Elementary School after graduation. Now, she is the one with more seniority and a better school.

"I think you've gone completely mad, Ke Yun. Your education is definitely more valuable. How long have you been a teacher? This profession is all about seniority. I suggested you try junior high, but you insisted on elementary school. If you want stability, don't be so ambitious. And all this talk about connections—you're good-looking, but be careful of those so-called influential people who might have ulterior motives..."

"What are you talking about? This person is my student, the one I'm talking about!"

Huang Keyun spread out the test paper in her hand in front of Wen Xiu.

"That's why I said you've gone mad. How powerful can an elementary school student be? And you call yourself a benefactor..."

"Take a look first, and be careful not to get the drink wet."

Wen Xiu shook her head helplessly, holding the test paper in her hand. "A perfect score. To be honest, there are two other kids in our class who could do that too."

"Take a look at the translation and the composition first."

Soon, Wenxiu noticed the word "picturesque".

"Oh? 'Picturesque scenery' is a pretty good translation, isn't it?"

"Keep watching, this is just the beginning."

Huang Keyun proudly picked up the Ovaltine and took a sip; she had never found anything so sweet to be so delicious.

"Hmm? This..." Wen Xiu suddenly frowned.

Huang Keyun had been waiting for this moment; the frustration she had been holding in for the past few days was almost instantly relieved.

"meticulous" describes someone who is meticulous in their work.

Wen Xiu smiled awkwardly. "Well, well, after teaching elementary school for so long, I'm not familiar with some of the words anymore. The translation for 'My mother is very careful when she cleans the house' is probably something a normal elementary school student would say, right?"

Huang Keyun nodded, "But this kid wrote 'My mother is meticulous about household chores'."

"Using 'clean house' to replace 'doing housework' isn't quite as accurate as he described it. But 'careful' is fine, right?"

This is exactly the question we've been waiting for.

"Meticulous implies meticulousness, even a bit of pickiness, and is a stronger semantic element than careful."

When Huang Keyun gave her explanation, Wen Xiu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Right, right, I had the same reaction as you!" Huang Keyun's voice was much louder with excitement. "Using 'picturesque' can be explained as a coincidence, showing off one's vocabulary. But this translation carries his own emotional color! Household chores and a picky and meticulous mother—I couldn't even believe it when I saw it."

Wen Xiu frowned. "That's unlikely... How come I've never heard of this before?"

"Yes, this child's English wasn't particularly outstanding before. He didn't even get into the national competition's preliminary training class, and he simply didn't register."

"How could that be!" Wen Xiu shook her head repeatedly. "I want to see his essay."

The essay title, "My Family," is a very classic and old topic.

"Can you even write something fancy about this?"

Huang Keyun pursed her lips, forcing herself not to laugh out loud.

When Wenxiu read the first line, she remained calm. Apart from the word "member" being slightly beyond the scope of the curriculum, the content was quite ordinary.

On the second line, she frowned again.

In the third line, his brows were almost knotted together.

After reading it, Wenxiu flipped back to the first page in disbelief and confirmed that it was a sixth-grade student's test paper.

"Li Zhao..."

Is that an exaggeration?

"That's too exaggerated..." Wen Xiu shook her head repeatedly. "To be honest, there are some words I'm not very confident about myself..."

"It's normal that you don't recognize it," Huang Keyun said with a smile. "To write that your father is a rational engineer, and then add a sentence like 'exerts a calming influence on everyone around him with his meticulous approach to problem-solving,' let alone elementary school students, how many college students could write that in an exam?"

Wen Xiu avoided eye contact and took a sip of juice.

"Even for you, translating right now wouldn't be easy, would it?"

Wen Xiu nodded awkwardly.

"Take it literally, and the explanation is actually a bit strange: He handles problems meticulously, always able to calm everyone around him down. But, if I say this: A meticulous person naturally exudes a calm aura, enough to make those working with him feel at ease. Doesn't that make sense? Doesn't that sound like the evaluation of a foreign company leader!"

"Could a high school student write this?"

"I don't know. Maybe I could figure it out if I thought about it carefully as a senior in high school, but he only took twenty-odd minutes to finish this test. I thought he was just scribbling something down. I should have kept an eye on him while he was writing!"

"Twenty-odd minutes? Didn't you have a listening comprehension section? You mean he only spent about ten minutes writing the rest?"

"Yes."

Wen Xiu laughed, "Impossible!"

"Why would I lie to you?" Huang Keyun wanted to take back the test paper.

Wen Xiu was unhappy and continued reading Li Zhao's English essay.

"devotes herself wholeheartedly... does this mean, 'to devote oneself entirely'?"

"right."

"Exhibits an astonishing aptitude..." Wen Xiu even lost confidence in her pronunciation, pointing directly at Huang Keyun with her eyes wide open.

"He has shown amazing talent."

"Hiss..." Wen Xiu returned the test paper to Huang Keyun in shock, then covered her head.

"Don't feel frustrated. I first heard that word when my advisor praised our group's most talented graduate student." Huang Keyun carefully put the exam paper away. "But, this is actually an elementary school student's English exam!"

Wen Xiu pursed her lips and frowned, not daring to smile.

This test paper is a bit too advanced for the curriculum.

Li Zhao's twenty-odd years of experience completely baffled Wen Xiu through the examination paper.

If Teacher Wen knew that this was the result of his deliberate effort not to show off, his worldview would probably be shattered.

"It's not that I'm trying to spoil your fun, Keyun."

"I know what you're going to say: the kid cheated, memorized in advance, just to get attention..."

"Um."

Huang Keyun shook her head. "We're both English teachers. You have a bachelor's degree from a 985 university, and I have a master's degree from one. Come on, do you still remember that phrase we just discussed about being meticulous in our work?"

Wen Xiu was taken aback, muttered for a while, then mumbled "exerts a calming influence on everyone" and then got stuck.

"You can't just memorize these phrases; he's very familiar with them," Huang Keyun said earnestly. "He gives me the impression of someone who needs to use business English in daily life."

"That's why I still don't understand. Some kids at my school have an incredible English vocabulary from a young age, and their families are in foreign trade; they've been learning English since they were little." Wen Xiu had even lost her appetite. "But even he, at most, would show off his presence in translation questions like 'picturesque,' unlike this Li Zhao! You even said his level wasn't outstanding before, how do you explain this?"

"I believe him. I'll test him in person when I get back next Monday."

"To be honest, I don't believe it." Wen Xiu shook her head. "Are you suggesting that this kid named Li Zhao has been pretending to be mediocre all along, but in reality, his abilities are comparable to those of an outstanding college student, and he's just showing up now for elementary school graduation?"

"Hmm, it's quite possible for a child to do that," Huang Keyun nodded.

"what?"

He Shuyao, who had been eavesdropping under the pretense of getting some seasonings, couldn't contain her shock.

However, the moment Huang Keyun turned her head, she immediately squatted down, perfectly avoiding Teacher Huang's gaze.

"Li Zhao... was he just pretending to be mediocre all along? His abilities are comparable to those of an outstanding college student?"

He Shuyao's heart was beating very fast.

"It must be...it must be because I squatted down too quickly."

Li Zhao, who had just arrived home, sneezed for no apparent reason.