Become the most famous student in the country?
That wasn’t what Xia Xiaolan wanted.
Why should she pursue such fame when her wings weren’t fully grown yet? Keeping a low profile while quietly making money was the right path.
“Teacher Katherine, I don’t understand what you mean.”
During last year’s finals, the TV station had sent a crew to record the entire process, saying they would broadcast it on television. After the recording, there had been no news. If she hadn’t met Katherine today, Xia Xiaolan would have completely forgotten about it.
She didn’t quite understand how one competition could make her the most famous student in the country.
Katherine was here to buy clothes. Xiushui Street was exactly the kind of place where foreigners like her frequented. Katherine lived nearby, and this wasn’t her first visit to the store – she and Xia Xiaolan had simply missed each other before.
“Xia, the finals were recorded in their entirety. For the twenty contestants who made it to the oral examination, they recorded several hours of footage, including the morning written test. The TV station’s production team has edited it into ten episodes. You’re the grand champion – once the show airs, everyone who watches it will know you!”
Xia Xiaolan possessed all the characteristics needed for fame.
She performed well in the finals.
She attended a good school.
She was beautiful and photogenic.
Katherine thought highly of Xia Xiaolan. Her offer to write a recommendation letter wasn’t a joke – foreign universities wouldn’t reject such a promising Chinese female student.
Xia Xiaolan was impressed that the TV station could edit one competition into ten episodes.
However, she wasn’t as convinced about Katherine’s prediction of nationwide fame. The finals had twenty contestants taking oral exams in succession. Even if her oral examination took longer, she’d probably only appear in one episode out of ten.
If this were a modern talent show with progressive elimination rounds and concentrated star-making resources, that would be different.
Katherine’s words seemed exaggerated to Xia Xiaolan, who didn’t take them too seriously. Chinese people were reserved, and foreigners tended to speak with some exaggeration. Fortunately, Teacher Katherine was British – if she were American, the exaggeration would have been even greater!
“Xia, do you remember when I said I’d write you a recommendation letter? I’ve consulted my friends in England about this. If you’re interested, we can discuss it in detail. The TV station will air the first episode of the competition on the 30th.”
Katherine was shopping with friends and had already spent too much time talking to Xia Xiaolan. She wrote down her detailed address and contact number for Xia Xiaolan, emphasizing “Call me” twice. Xia Xiaolan could feel Katherine’s sincerity.
Looking at the note, she felt she would likely have to disappoint Katherine’s good intentions.
Xia Xiaolan hadn’t decided about studying abroad yet.
Even if she did choose to study abroad, to make it easier to help Grandmother Yu find her son, she would choose America over England.
Despite British universities being world-renowned for their architecture programs, Xia Xiaolan tucked Katherine’s contact information into her pocket. When she turned around, both shop assistants were looking at her with awe.
“Wang Lin, what’s wrong with you all?”
“Manager Xia, your English is so good! Whenever we have foreign guests, you can easily sell clothes to them. Unlike us, who can only use hand gestures.”
While Xia Xiaolan considered Ning Xue a genius, in ordinary people’s eyes, she was undoubtedly an academic achiever.
Wang Lin’s tone was envious. Xia Xiaolan smiled, “You can learn English too. Having an extra language is always useful. In the short term, it helps you communicate with foreign customers and sell more clothes, improving your performance. In the long run, it can help advance your career.”
True iron rice bowls were rare, and even current state enterprise workers, who seemed to have secure jobs, would face the risk of layoffs in the future.
Being a clothing store sales assistant was a youth-dependent job. One could sell clothes at twenty, and still at thirty.
But in Xia Xiaolan’s view, remaining an entry-level sales assistant at forty or fifty showed a lack of ambition.
“Manager Xia, can we learn English?”
Xia Xiaolan countered, “Why couldn’t you? I’m not afraid of you earning high commissions or leaving if you become excellent. I hope you’ll work to improve your overall capabilities. English proficiency is just one aspect of that.”
Only Wang Lin pursued the conversation with Xia Xiaolan.
The other sales assistant showed little interest. Starting from the same point, one had ambition while the other was complacent. Life’s watershed moments might well be planted at times like these.
Seeing Wang Lin’s genuine interest in learning English, Xia Xiaolan shared the same method she had previously taught Chen Qing and gave Wang Lin a dictionary and two cassette tapes.
“Language learning is about accumulation. Without knowing basic vocabulary, any grammar is heretical. Your learning environment is more advantageous than others – this is Xiushui Street, where foreign guests frequently visit the store. What better learning opportunity could there be?”
Not being greedy, learning ten words a day would amount to over three thousand words in a year.
This vocabulary was sufficient for simple daily conversations.
Xia Xiaolan told Wang Lin to ask her whenever she had questions.
But Wang Lin needed to work hard on her own – Xia Xiaolan couldn’t start teaching from the 26 letters, from vowels and consonants. She was Wang Lin’s boss, not her teacher!
Others had no obligation to freely impart knowledge.
Even ancient scholars collected tuition from their students. When Xia Xiaolan received Ning Xue’s second invitation to school, she knew she had to make a formal visit to the Ning family – what was Old Master Ning’s intention in having Ning Xue continuously guide her?
The old gentleman might not say it directly, but Xia Xiaolan, having benefited, couldn’t continue pretending ignorance.
“You think too much sometimes, being overly cautious.”
Hearing that Xia Xiaolan planned to bring gifts to the Ning family, Grandmother Yu muttered.
Xia Xiaolan remembered what Teacher Katherine had said, “Oh right, I met one of the English competition judges at the store. She told me the TV station will broadcast the finals recording on the 30th.”
“The 30th, that’s tomorrow night!”
With April approaching and spring clothing sales continuing for another month, Liu Fen had originally planned to make another trip to Yangcheng to exchange some styles and select new ones. Upon hearing this news, she immediately decided to watch the entire TV program before leaving – otherwise, she’d miss it on the train!
“You don’t need to rush. I was the 17th contestant, I might not even be in the first episode.”
Liu Fen wouldn’t listen.
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t understand her feelings. As a mother, even the smallest achievement of one’s daughter was a source of pride, let alone winning a national competition. Liu Fen would rather earn less money than miss a TV program where her daughter might appear!
…
The plane from Beijing to Yangcheng landed successfully.
In late March, Yangcheng’s weather was perfect for spring dresses. Xia Ziyun, carrying her suitcase, looked quite elegant after her makeover.
She had used the excuse that Xia Hongbing’s family of three was detained in custody to get Wang Jianhua’s help in securing a plane ticket.
After leaving the airport, Xia Ziyun had no intention of going to the detention center, instead heading straight for Pengcheng. For the second time, she still didn’t have a border pass and needed to crawl through wire fences to cross the border. Xia Ziyun could sense how oddly others were looking at her… she swore this would not happen a third time!