7:50 AM at the entrance of the Culture Palace.
A bustling scene of cars and people.
Xiao Qi walked over because she had made an appointment with someone, so she arrived ten minutes early.
At 5:55, she noticed a black sedan slowly pulling up at the entrance. Xiao Qi wasn't really knowledgeable about cars, but she thought this one looked nice. The paint on its surface had a shimmering effect under the sunlight, as if it were flowing.
The driver got out of the car first and hurriedly went to the back to open the door.
The door opened, and a girl in a blue dress stepped out.
Her posture as she got out of the car was graceful.
She smiled and thanked the driver.
Then she walked towards Xiao Qi and said, "Good morning, Teacher Xiao Qi."
"Good morning." Xiao Qi felt a little embarrassed that the other person called her "teacher." They were going to study together later, so she said, "Just call me Xiao Qi."
Guan Jingzhi nodded.
She found Teacher Xiao Qi quite interesting. Looking at her, she seemed aloof and unapproachable. Guan Jingzhi had seen her from the car, standing at the entrance, looking beautiful and serious. She didn't seem like someone you could casually strike up a conversation with. In this aspect, she reminded Guan Jingzhi of her cousin, who was also very aloof and dominant. But as soon as she spoke, she seemed actually quite shy, blushing even with a single word.
Xiao Qi was wearing jeans and a doll T-shirt today, which her aunt had bought for her. Her legs were long and slender, and the light pink top complemented her fair and charming appearance, adding a touch of playfulness, making her look very ladylike.
After exchanging greetings, the two of them entered together.
Zhou Meiling, Guan Jingzhi's Japanese language teacher, was a staff member at the Culture Palace. It was said that she had spent over ten years in Japan and South Korea and was proficient in both Japanese and Korean. Unlike those Japanese language training centers in Lvshan City nowadays, some of which were just pretending to teach after studying Japanese for a few years and weren't really good at speaking it, she was genuinely knowledgeable. After all, compared to English, Japanese was considered a minor language in China, so it was easier to deceive people.
Zhou Meiling was arranged as Guan Jingzhi's teacher by her family and didn't offer classes publicly. However, she did accept a few students who had connections. The tuition fee was not high, only 100 yuan per class.
Yesterday, Guan Jingzhi had sent Zhou Meiling an introduction about her friend who wanted to learn Japanese. Zhou Meiling wasn't very happy about it. She was only teaching these few students as a favor because they all had connections. Otherwise, she wouldn't have easily taken on this responsibility.
But Guan Jingzhi was one of the more outstanding students, and Zhou Meiling personally liked her. The young girl studied diligently and had a good understanding and quick learning abilities. The same couldn't be said for the other students. Fortunately, even if some students didn't perform well, they would lose interest after a while and wouldn't bother her anymore.
At her age, if she really didn't like a student, it would be easy for her to make them give up. Besides, if the person Guan Jingzhi brought along was also someone from her circles, she couldn't afford to offend them. So she agreed to teach the friend.
Guan Jingzhi had just started learning not long ago and had only taken three or four classes.
She had a favorable impression of this teacher. The teacher was polite, taught well, and had a clear and articulate manner of speaking. The teacher also had a certain elegance and insight, perhaps because she had spent time abroad. During the summer vacation, Guan Jingzhi would also go abroad to visit her aunt, giving her a similar feeling of having traveled abroad.
Xiaoqi and Guan Jingzhi entered a room that resembled a conference room. They saw a middle-aged woman sitting at the front, below the screen where slides were being projected. She wore a professional pinstripe dress with a gold-rimmed glasses.
The woman was meticulously dressed from head to toe, from the hairpin on her head to the belt around her waist, the stockings and high heels on her feet. She gave off an air of a disciplined professional.
Xiaoqi was observing the woman, and Zhou Meiling was also looking at her.
At first glance, Zhou Meiling felt that this young girl had a good temperament, even more dignified than Guan Jingzhi. Although using the word "dignified" might not be quite appropriate, it somehow conveyed that feeling.
Upon their first meeting, Zhou Meiling assumed that the girl's family background might be even better than Guan Jingzhi's. She hadn't heard about her from any source, nor knew which family she belonged to. But seeing how Guan Jingzhi respected her, Zhou Meiling became even more certain, and a smile appeared on her face.
"You've arrived, please have a seat."
After they sat down, someone actually came in and brought them two cups of floral tea and some pastries.
It didn't seem like a typical study session.
She heard the person who brought the tea call Zhou Meiling "Zhou Chu," but she didn't know what it meant.
She followed Guan Jingzhi's lead and greeted, "Hello, Teacher Zhou."
"Teacher Zhou, this is my friend, Su Xiaoqi. She's very interested in learning Japanese and wants to study too," Guan Jingzhi sweetly said.
Zhou Meiling's smile grew broader.
"That's great. You've already had three lessons. Today, I can start from the beginning to review," she said considerately.
Originally, Xiaoqi was worried about affecting the progress of the class and was thinking of just auditing. She didn't expect the teacher to be so considerate.
Zhou Meiling observed that Xiaoqi wasn't a very talkative or overly tactful person. This made her even more certain that she must come from a well-off family. Those from well-off families didn't need to please others.
Although her bag and watch were average, and her clothes were ordinary, strict demands were often placed on the children of wealthy families. They couldn't use luxury goods, which was actually a sign of longevity.
In short, at first glance, Zhou Meiling saw an unapproachable aura around Xiaoqi. She firmly believed that this student had an extraordinary background, and any further analysis seemed to confirm this assumption.
Xiaoqi was unaware of this misunderstanding and just thought that the teacher seemed quite imposing at first, but also friendly.
"Learning Japanese is quite simple. When we look at Japanese books or watch movies, we'll find that many characters are the same as our Chinese characters. So we have an advantage in learning Japanese. However, the pronunciation and meanings of these characters are mostly different. We'll start with hiragana and katakana, which are equivalent to our pinyin. Hiragana and katakana have the same pronunciation but different writing styles," she explained, while the content on the slides changed accordingly.
It displayed the Japanese hiragana chart.
Guan Jingzhi had already learned this content in a few classes, but she had basically memorized it.
Today, I reviewed again without feeling any impatience. I listened attentively throughout the session.
Xiaoqi had an efficient buff that enhanced her focus. Once she started listening to the lecture, her attention became highly concentrated.
Although she was introduced to a completely new subject, she didn't find it too challenging.
In fact, her age was the perfect time for learning—her memory was sharp, and her mind was agile, making it easier for her to grasp new things. However, because of these factors, children of her age were more susceptible to external influences. Learning often extended beyond textbooks and encompassed social knowledge. Their capacity for learning remained the same.
Therefore, the social environment in which a person resides is crucial, as is the ability to think critically.
Xiaoqi found this class to be extremely engaging, particularly the Hiragana and Katakana charts.
The teacher taught them how to read each character, and she followed along with Guan Jingzhi.
This experience was different from being a teacher or being in a regular class. Small-group teaching had distinct advantages because you could ask questions when you didn't understand, and the teacher would promptly provide answers, greatly increasing efficiency.
The class lasted for an hour and a half, and Xiaoqi surprisingly found it effortless.
Writing was quite easy, and reading was also straightforward. Japanese seemed even simpler than English in many ways.
The teacher also interjected a few simple Japanese greetings:
"Good morning: おはよう (Ohayou)
Hiragana pronunciation: おはよう
Romanized pronunciation: ohayou"
"Good morning, teacher: 先生お早うございます (Sensei ohayou gozaimasu)."
These phrases were easy to remember.
After learning these, it became easier for Xiaoqi to understand her Japanese textbook and the examples provided.
When the class ended, Xiaoqi bid farewell to Teacher Zhou and Guan Jingzhi and went to the gymnasium for swimming.
Zhou Meiling was also pleased. It seemed that the new student was exceptionally diligent in her studies. Zhou Meiling had already considered Guan Jingzhi to be quite good, but she hadn't expected this new student to learn even faster. It was as if she had mastered Hiragana and Katakana in just one class. Zhou Meiling couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. People truly differed from one another. If she had possessed such a strong drive for learning when she was young, her current situation might have been different.
Xiaoqi hummed a song along the way, feeling exceptionally cheerful as she walked.
Learning new things made her feel good.
When she arrived at the swimming pool, her mind was still filled with the Hiragana and Katakana she had just learned.
She noticed that her memory had improved compared to before. It seemed that the more she used her brain, the more active it became. If she didn't use it, it would stagnate.
Swimming was a mechanical activity, allowing her to swim and recite the morning's lesson simultaneously.
Since yesterday was a swimming competition, the coach didn't push her to swim too fast today. Instead, they focused on maintaining the swimming rhythm and practicing more. As a result, she felt relaxed, and it was the perfect opportunity to recite while swimming.
When she emerged from the water and stretched her body, she suddenly heard a mechanical voice in her ear: "The host has learned a new language and quickly mastered the Hiragana and Katakana charts. As a reward, the host will receive an experiential reading card."
