America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Li Qun discovered that Peter's neighbor, Mary Jane Watson, was also a member of the Liz girls' circle, and the red-haired Mary Jane was not very conspicuous among them.

"Can I go to the school library after school?" Li Qun asked.

"Okay, let's leave it at that."

Liz walked back to her group of girlfriends with a big smile and told them the good news.

“A bunch of pretty faces.” Gwen’s voice drifted into Li Qun’s ears.

“To me, that’s a combination of microphone and speaker,” Li Qun said, turning to Gwen.

“Liqun, you might get asked to leave the school library by the librarian,” Peter whispered.

How could that be?

“I think so too.” Gwen gave Peter a look of agreement.

……

Midtown High School has a library but no main library because the library space only occupies one floor, not the entire building.

The school library is a spacious, single-level room, with bookshelves dividing it into different areas, each with its own functional space.

Pushing open the glass door of the library, you'll immediately see a prominent sign that reads "Keep Quiet".

The library, however, was not quiet.

Soothing light music, classical music, and cool jazz played on a loop from the speakers hanging on the wall, drowning out the sounds of turning pages, writing, and classmates whispering.

Li Qun and Liz walked into the school library side by side, found an empty table and sat down. He took out a pen and blank draft paper from his backpack and placed them on the table. Then he saw Liz take out a math textbook from her backpack.

"The topic of our presentation is how to learn math well?" Li Qun asked Liz softly.

“And physics.” Liz smiled and took out her physics textbook as well.

"You don't just want to get full marks in English, do you want to get full marks in math and physics too?" Li Qun asked Liz in a low voice.

"Lyon, you can get me a perfect score?" Liz's eyes were filled with surprise and joy as she looked at Li Qun.

“Unlikely,” Li Qun said indifferently to Liz.

“I think so too.” Liz nodded.

"Leon, please help me!"

"I want to get a report card that will satisfy my parents by the end of this semester," Liz pleaded, grasping Li Qun's right hand with both of hers.

"Liz, what do you think is the difficulty in getting a satisfactory report card?"

Li Qun gently pulled his right hand away from Liz's grasp.

"In mathematics and physics?" Liz asked hesitantly.

"No, it depends on your attitude towards learning. If you listen attentively in class, you don't need someone to tutor you before the final exam."

"What are your expectations for the future?" Li Qun asked Liz.

“To become like my father, a successful Broadway theater actor,” Liz said.

"understood."

No wonder Mary Jane and she were a small group of sisters; Mary Jane's dream was also to become a famous actress in the spotlight.

"You're a good person,"

"Can you come to my house this weekend? My mom will really like you."

“During the summer vacation, I can also take you to Broadway to see my father’s play.”

Liz grasped Li Qun's hands again, this time even tighter.

Li Qun looked into Liz's eyes. Liz's eyes were very clear, and her pupils were brown.

“To be honest, I’ve never seen a play and I’m not interested in plays,” Li Qun said.

"Then you should definitely go see it. I guarantee you'll be hooked."

"Do you know Birdman? It was my father's breakthrough play, and all the theater critics raved about it."

“Liz, what I want to say is that my relationship with your group is only the final English exam, not all the exams this semester,” Li Qun said seriously.

“Leon, you don’t have a girlfriend yet, right? I can be your girlfriend,” Liz said to Li Qun, her tone very serious.

"?"

"What are you talking about?" Li Qun asked.

“Be my girlfriend,” Liz replied.

"I... I can't accept this. This is so strange. Liz, would you really become someone's girlfriend just for a good report card?"

Li Qun stammered a bit; as a transmigrator from Aurora, he had never experienced anything like this before.

“What do you mean ‘whatever’? Didn’t you choose me?” Liz retorted.

"You picked me out of seven or eight competitors, I don't believe you don't have any good feelings towards me."

"Don't play dumb."

“I noticed you a while ago; I was observing you the day you transferred schools on Wednesday.”

“My mom always told me not to date white men, that all white boys are terrible, and I agree with that.”

You are my type.

"..."

Liqun fell into shock and silence.

He scrutinized Liz, the mixed-race girl sitting next to him.

Compared to Gwen, girls like Liz might be the normal behavior of those nurtured by the open culture of New York and America.

Many New York girls have unusually rich romantic histories. They start having boyfriends as early as elementary school, and break up after a week or two, or even a month or two, for all sorts of bizarre reasons. Sometimes, they like someone for a trivial reason.

As his mind gradually cooled down, Li Qun suddenly remembered that the girl's mother was South Korean, which made it no wonder that her brain was love-struck.

American girls' romantic fantasies are like spending their entire lives searching for their true love, the kind of love that's willing to do anything for "real" love.

Li Qun's stereotypes about America have increased, but it's not very effective.

Li Qun shook his head at Liz, shaking his head repeatedly.

He slowly withdrew his hand from Liz's hands once again.

When Li Qun pulled his hand back, he clearly felt greater resistance. Liz looked pitifully into Li Qun's eyes.

"What are we discussing in the library right now?" Li Qun asked Liz clearly.

"When are you going to meet my parents?" Liz asked, mimicking Li Qun's tone.

"My God."

“We’re here to discuss the final exams,” Li Qun emphasized.

"Can you help me? My mother's biggest wish in this life is to see me have an Asian boyfriend."

“No, it’s an Asian boyfriend other than JP,” Liz added.

"I thought you would say that your biggest wish in life is to have a transcript with straight A's."

Chapter 47 Peter's Opportunity

"You might think I'm a weirdo, or that I have a problem with my sexual orientation, and that you can't understand my thoughts."

"It's my fault for causing you to misunderstand and think that I like you."

"I apologize to you first."

"I don't want you to be my girlfriend, but we can still be friends."

"Now that I consider you a friend, I'll tutor you in math and physics, but I can't guarantee you'll get high marks on your final exams in those subjects after I tutor you."

"Do you get me?"

Li Qun looked into Liz's eyes as he spoke, and Liz nodded to Li Qun.

“Okay, I’ll do as you say,” Liz said.

"very good."

Li Qun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let me see where you have problems with your math first," Li Qun said.

“Shouldn’t we deal with the English final exam first?” Liz asked.

“There are still two weeks left, so we can do it later. Giving a speech requires a live mindset. If you prepare too early, you'll build up pressure too early, which will eventually make you feel terrible,” Li Qun said.

"My God, Lyon, you're so professional."

Liz opened his math textbook and pointed out the parts he didn't understand to Liqun. After finishing the textbook, Liqun felt he was facing a challenge.

“Your problems are serious; you’ll have a hard time even passing,” Li Qun said.

“That’s why I’m begging you to help me,” Liz said.

"Don't be nervous. The exam is open-book, and you can even use a calculator. The questions the teacher gives for the final exam are based on questions from the textbook."

"Is there a prototype? I haven't found any." Liz was very puzzled.

"Your information gathering skills are very poor."

“You also need to understand the meaning of the question and find the key information from it,” Li Qun said.

"Oh."

"Let me teach you from the most basic skills."

The "most basic skills" that Li Qun mentioned are the "basic skills" he has mastered in exam-oriented education.

There are many things Liz doesn't understand, but there are some things she doesn't understand that won't be on the final exam. So Liqun told Liz to skip those parts and focus on the parts that will be on the final exam.

She needs to master the solution methods for five types of questions. As long as she can get full marks on these five types of questions, she can get a passing grade in the math final exam.

It was just 10th-grade American high school math, not college AP math, but with Li Qun's meticulous explanation, Liz quickly understood.