"Being good-looking is useless. I heard she's from the countryside, how good can her teaching quality be? Let's wait and see her embarrass herself this time," a female student said sourly.
"It's okay if her English isn't good, she has a pretty face anyway. Haven't you seen how eagerly Li Zhiwei from our class is chasing after her?"
"You all should stop being jealous. Look in the mirror more often. Even if her English isn't good, her face is better looking than yours. Why are your hearts so small? Look at what you're all saying, it's all nonsense. You're not good-looking, not good at your major, but you're number one at gossiping!"
Li Zhiwei turned his head and impatiently lectured a few girls not far away.
Chen Lishu stood up. She was a little nervous being watched by so many people for the first time. Professor Chen nodded at her, signaling that she could begin.
"Hello everyone, my name is Chen Lishu..."
First, she introduced herself in Mandarin, then Chen Lishu repeated it in English. When her last syllable fell, there was a moment of silence in the classroom.
No one expected her English to be so fluent.
Jiang Yuwei's lips curved upwards when she heard Chen Lishu finish, unable to help but smile.
"Yuwei, why are you happy for her when she spoke so well?" Sun Ling asked, displeased to see her smiling.
"You're mistaken," Jiang Yuwei patiently explained. "Don't be fooled by her fluent speech. Her pronunciation has many errors, and her intonation is also wrong. She's only fooling ordinary students like you. If you don't believe me, look at the teacher's reaction."
Sun Ling followed her gaze and indeed saw Professor Chen frowning again.
Chen Lishu was also a little nervous after finishing. She finally let out a sigh of relief when Professor Chen told her to sit down.
"Lishu, your English is really good. I'll study with you in the future, otherwise, my foundation is too weak, and I'm afraid others will laugh at me."
"Actually, I also have many shortcomings. If you trust me, we can improve together in the future."
Sun Ling suddenly turned her head. "That sounds nice, but didn't you see Professor Chen frowning? You're acting like you're so amazing. One dares to teach, and the other dares to learn. You two are truly a match made in heaven."
"I think it's a miracle you've lived this long. Has no one told you that you're ugly and annoying?"
Chen Lishu was thoroughly fed up with her. Back then, the counselor said they could sit anywhere. After she and Zhang Xue sat down, Sun Ling, wanting to cause trouble, directly pulled Jiang Yuwei to sit in front of them.
How dare she call her ugly! Sun Ling was furious. "Chen Lishu, you just wait."
Chen Lishu ignored her because most of the students had finished their introductions by then. Professor Chen didn't make any concluding remarks about the self-introductions but directly said, "See if anyone wants to be a class cadre. You can nominate yourselves."
The long-awaited segment had finally arrived. Several people immediately raised their hands and elaborated on their past achievements and future work plans.
Except for the time she spent in the study group at No. 1 Middle School, Chen Lishu had no other experience with campus life. Watching them enthusiastically nominate themselves, she just observed with curiosity and did not participate in the election.
Soon, the class cadre members were confirmed. Professor Chen then assigned a few people to collect textbooks. After everyone received their books and course schedules, they were free to do as they pleased as there was nothing else.
"Chen Lishu, wait a moment."
Chen Lishu was holding her textbooks and about to leave with Zhang Xue when Professor Chen suddenly called her back.
"I'll wait for you outside," Zhang Xue said to her, then left with her textbooks.
Jiang Yuwei and Sun Ling exchanged a confused glance. Professor Chen had called Chen Lishu but no one else. They could only follow the crowd out.
"Professor Chen, is there something you need me for?" Chen Lishu stepped forward and asked respectfully.
"Just call me Teacher." Chen Yinchu, abandoning the seriousness he had in class, showed a rare smile.
"I heard your pronunciation in class just now. It's very pure American pronunciation. Do you have any relatives who have been to America?"
Chen Lishu shook her head and smiled a little sheepishly, "My previous teacher lived in America."
Actually, she had started learning English American pronunciation from her previous life. Sun Shuzhen had also been curious, wondering why her pronunciation was always off when she taught British English. After all, British English was standard. Chen Lishu had been trying to correct it diligently, but the first impression was too strong, and the results were minimal.
"This is not a bad thing. It's the influence of the language environment. I have some tapes you can borrow to listen to, and you can also watch more movies and plays. I remember your English grades were very good. You need to work harder in the future."
Although English exams didn't count towards the final score, the teachers would definitely look at them once they were taken. She had almost a perfect score.
The country did not attach much importance to foreign languages yet, especially for the workers, peasants, and soldiers college students from the previous few batches. The foreign language departments in universities almost had a situation where one teacher was only teaching a few students.
However, for the country to develop, it would inevitably connect with the international community. Diplomacy required language communication, and English would definitely become a priority in the future.
Now that there was a promising talent, as a teacher, he naturally had to pay more attention to her.
"Thank you, Teacher." Chen Lishu bowed to him.
Receiving Chen Yinchu's affirmation and encouragement, Chen Lishu felt not only excited but also more confident.
"You're welcome, this is what a teacher should do." Chen Yinchu smiled and stroked his short beard, looking much more approachable in private than his serious demeanor in class.
Chen Lishu's boldness increased slightly. "My teacher mentioned you before. She said you are a very meticulous and responsible good teacher. I see that today."
"Oh?" Chen Yinchu was surprised that this was the case and became curious. "Who is your teacher?"
"Sun Shuzhen. She is now a teacher at our county's No. 1 Middle School."
Chen Yinchu had a good impression of Sun Shuzhen. Looking at this student taught by his former student, who had now become his student, Chen Yinchu felt both gratified and deeply touched. He felt even closer to Chen Lishu. "So you're Little Sun's student. She taught you very well."
After leaving the teacher's office, seeing that it was almost noon, Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue went to the cafeteria together.
Because the school had subsidies, although students had to pay part of the cost for cafeteria meals, they were actually very economical. For girls like Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue, a meal sometimes cost less than two jiao.
In the afternoon, they had nothing else to do. Chen Lishu accompanied Zhang Xue to the library, as she also needed to borrow some reference materials.
After the classes officially started, time passed quickly. Before they knew it, it was Saturday. Since there were no classes in the afternoon, Chen Lishu packed her belongings and prepared to go home.
"Didn't you say you're from the countryside? Do you have relatives in the city?" Zhang Xue asked curiously when she heard she was leaving.