Chapter 20 – The Test of English
The moment Bai Gin stepped into the hallway, the crisp morning air carried the faint hum of students reciting lessons from distant classrooms. Bai Gin walked ahead with her usual arrogance, her steps clicking against the tiled floor, echoing like a small declaration of victory. Her lips curved into a smug smile — she finally had a plan.
Their first class of the day was English. The English teacher, Mr. Zhang, had been asking Bai Gin for months to participate in the upcoming city-wide English competition. She had always refused, using one excuse or another. Truthfully, she enjoyed the attention it gave her — being the "talented but unwilling" student made others admire her even more. But today was different.
She had made up her mind.
When she saw the teacher standing near the office, she approached with a gentle, calculated smile.
"Good morning, Teacher Zhang," she said sweetly. "I've decided that I want to participate in the English competition."
The teacher's eyes brightened instantly. "Good, very good! I was hoping you would change your mind."
Bai Gin tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "But… on one condition."
Teacher Zhang blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Bai Xia? Why would that matter?"
Bai Gin's smile deepened. "Because I don't want any distractions, teacher. You know how… unfair comparisons can be."
Something flickered in her eyes — satisfaction mixed with malice. Teacher Zhang looked into them and, though he didn't fully understand, he had the faint sense of being manipulated. Still, he nodded absentmindedly.
When Bai Gin entered the classroom, she did so with the same smug look she always wore when a plan was about to unfold.
Moments later, the English teacher walked in. The students stood and greeted him in unison. "Good morning, teacher!"
He nodded, waving his hand for them to sit. As his eyes swept across the room, he noticed a face missing — Bai Xia. But before he could ask, his gaze landed on the new student sitting quietly at the far corner. She was calm, her posture perfect, her eyes clear.
He wasn't their homeroom teacher and didn't recognize her immediately, so he decided to use the time for introductions.
"Alright," he said, placing his textbook on the desk. "Since we have some new faces, let's all introduce ourselves in English. One by one."
Students began to stand and speak — some confident, some nervous. A few spoke with shaky accents; others stumbled over words or forgot what to say halfway. The teacher corrected them gently, moving from one to the next.
Finally, it was Bai Xia's turn.
Every head turned toward her. The whispers began immediately — some curious, some mocking.
"She's the new girl right ?"
"Yeah, i wonder what her name is ."
"I've never even heard her speak before."
Ignoring the murmurs, Bai Xia stood from her seat with quiet confidence. Her eyes were calm as she looked toward the teacher. Then, in perfect, fluent English, she said,
"Hello, everyone. My name is Bai Xia. I'm eighteen years old. It's nice to see you all in class today."
Her pronunciation was clear, her tone smooth, her accent flawless. The room fell into absolute silence.
It took a few seconds before the whispers began again — louder, this time filled with disbelief.
"What did she just say?"
"Was that… fluent English?"
"No way! That's Bai Xia?"
Even the teacher's brows rose in surprise. He hadn't expected that from her.
But one person's expression changed drastically — Bai Gin's. Her fingers clenched under the desk, nails pressing into her palm. Impossible! she thought. Her English was always just average. How could she suddenly speak like that?
Bai Xia sat back down calmly, not paying attention to the noise.
The teacher cleared his throat, composing himself. "Bai Xia," he began, "your English scores have always been… moderate. But I heard from Bai Gin that you bragged about being excellent in English."
The class erupted again.
"See? She's so arrogant!"
"Just because she got fifth in school, she thinks she's the best!"
"She probably just memorized that one sentence!"
Bai Xia lifted her gaze to the teacher. Her voice was calm, almost too calm. "I see. Then please, teacher, feel free to test me."
The teacher already planned this, then nodded. "Alright, then. Let's see how good you are."
He flipped open his textbook, then set it aside. "Translate this sentence into English: '在未来的日子里,我们必须不断学习以应对新的挑战.'"
Without a pause, Bai Xia replied, "In the days to come, we must continue learning to face new challenges."
The teacher blinked. "Good. Then tell me the difference between 'will' and 'be going to.'"
"'Will' is used for decisions made at the moment of speaking, while 'be going to' indicates a planned action or intention decided before the time of speaking," she said fluently.
Murmurs rose from the class again. The teacher frowned slightly, then pushed further.
"What is the passive voice form of 'They have completed the project'?"
"The project has been completed by them," she answered.
"Define a gerund."
"It's the -ing form of a verb that functions as a noun," she said smoothly.
The teacher crossed his arms, leaning forward. "Use 'although', 'in spite of', and 'despite' in three different sentences."
She didn't even hesitate.
"Although it was raining, we went out for a walk."
"In spite of his injury, he continued playing."
"Despite her fear, she spoke in front of everyone."
The teacher's mouth opened slightly. Around them, the class had fallen into complete silence again.
He frowned, now a little desperate. "Explain the difference between 'since' and 'for' in the present perfect tense."
"'Since' refers to the starting point of an action, while 'for' indicates its duration," Bai Xia replied. "For example, 'I have lived here since 2010,' and 'I have lived here for fifteen years.'"
Her voice was calm, measured — the tone of someone who knew far more than anyone expected.
The teacher tried again, his pride unwilling to give in. "Then, tell me — why do we use the subjunctive mood in English, and can you give me an example?"
Bai Xia smiled faintly. "The subjunctive mood expresses hypothetical or unreal situations. For instance: If I were you, I would not make that mistake."
The class broke into whispers again, but this time, they weren't mocking.
"She's so good!"
"I didn't understand half of that!"
"Her pronunciation is so natural… like a foreigner!"
"Who said her English was average? She's amazing!"
Even the teacher's expression softened — from skepticism to astonishment, then finally, embarrassment.
After a long silence, he cleared his throat. "Bai Xia… I admit, I underestimated you. Your English is… excellent. Would you be willing to represent our class in the upcoming competition?"
Bai Xia didn't answer immediately. She looked at Bai Gin, who sat frozen in her seat, her face pale and twisted with disbelief. Then Bai Xia smiled faintly and turned her gaze back to the teacher.
"Teacher," she said slowly, "I would like to know when I ever told Student Bai Gin that I was excellent in English."
The room went dead silent again.
Bai Gin's eyes widened, her lips parting — but no words came out.
Bai Xia's calm, confident tone left no room for argument.
And for the first time since she had transferred to this school, every student in Class A realized — Bai Xia was not someone they could look down on anymore....