Chapter 171 - Obviously Unreliable
Qiu Chenxi’s face turned slightly stiff, but she quickly reverted to her normal self, revealing a natural and gentle smile. “I heard that… your English is quite good at school. If there’s anything you’re not sure of, you may seek my advice. Of course, feel free to point out my mistakes too.”
“Young lady, did you hear that? Don’t hold back. Speak your mind.” Lin Yuankang nodded and passed a pen to Qiao Nan.
Qiao Nan raised her eyebrows and looked at Zhai Sheng. Zhai Sheng nodded in return. Qiao Nan then took the pen from Lin Yuankang and started writing quietly.
About fifteen minutes later, Qiao Nan had reviewed the first page of the document Qiu Chenxi submitted to Lin Yuankang and wrote a number of comments. Thereafter, she passed the document back to Lin Yuankang. “Too many, I can’t finish reading them.”
Reviewing the first page only should suffice.
“Oh, have you finished reading a page of it?” Lin Yuankang shrank his neck and hid his chin. He was unable to properly see the numerous words written on the paper.
Lin Yuankang did not say a word. As his pair of eyes stared at the document edited by Qiao Nan, he simply opened the second drawer to the right of his table with his right hand to retrieve a spectacles case. His action was swift and precise, as if there was another pair of eyes on his hands. He took out the pair of reading glasses from its case and put it on.
Qiu Chenxi was stunned. Didn’t Grandpa Lin say he could not find the pair of reading glasses?
“…” Qiao Nan twisted her lips. She already said that this old man was not reliable at all.
“Not bad.” This time, Lin Yuankang personally saw Qiao Nan edit the document, and the document was brought over by Qiu Chenxi. There was no way she could have cheated.
Lin Yuankang was very satisfied with Qiao Nan’s performance. “Young lady, take a look too.”
After he read the document, Lin Yuankang returned them to Qiu Chenxi.
Qiu Chenxi’s face scrunched up. There seemed to be a thin layer of frost on it. She looked extremely cold.
She did not believe the English standard of a new high school student would be better than that of a gifted college student from a foreign language school.
However, when Qiu Chenxi saw the additional sentences and grammar on that piece of paper, she was totally stunned.
Qiu Chenxi’s first reaction neither arose from reading the contents written by Qiao Nan nor whether they were right or wrong. She was shocked by Qiao Nan’s excellent handwriting.
Qiao Nan’s English handwriting was not the fancy style that was typically beautiful and smooth. It was the formal and upright style like those on printouts.
Qiu Chenxi was very surprised.
The content in this document was completed alone by Qiu Chenxi using the computer. Hence, it was printed, not handwritten.
But Qiao Nan’s handwriting was almost no different from those on the printouts. The main difference was that Qiao Nan used a pen with a thicker tip. Hence, her fonts had a thicker line than that of Qiu Chenxi’s.
In addition, she was only a high school student. Even a college student might not have such handwriting. The words were so beautiful!
Qiu Chenxi tightened her hold on the document, nearly crushing it.
She took a deep breath. She could not allow herself to panic or lose her cool. She had to calm down. What was the use of having such beautiful handwriting?
Although it was not so prevalent in China now, the Information Technology field would definitely become popular and be widely used once developed.
When that time came, who would write with their hands? Everything would be typed with a machine, and there was no room to showcase beautiful handwriting. In the end, these fanciful handwritten words would become obsolete, unrealistic, and superficial. It would be more important to rely on capability and knowledge!
However, when she saw the standards of the vocabulary and grammar marked by Qiao Nan were beyond that of hers, the hands Qiu Chenxi used to grab the document could not help trembling.
Qiu Chenxi’s English was really good amongst people of her age. She had put in a lot of hard work and effort.
Therefore, she was able to tell whether Qiao Nan’s edits were right or wrong.
If Qiao Nan’s edits were correct, it meant what Qiu Chenxi wrote previously was wrong.
The most embarrassing thing for Qiu Chenxi was that Qiao Nan pointed out six mistakes on that one page alone. She was not thick-skinned enough to admit that she could not understand one of the edits Qiao Nan wrote!
“Young lady from the Qiu family, what do you think of my little disciple’s edits? Are they okay?” Lin Yuankang removed his glasses. It was strange that the little lad from the Zhai family was enlightened all of a sudden. He also knew how to use the back door now. After all, he really helped him find a little disciple with very good qualities.
Zhai Sheng did something good via the back door route. However, he was not sure whether it was for the sake of his little disciple or himself. Regardless, it was a happy ending for everyone.
Hearing Lin Yuankang’s words, Qiu Chenxi could not hide the change in her expression.
Qiu Chenxi was prepared to visit the Lin’s residence today. She even brought her documents.
Many heard that Lin Yuankang would soon retire from the political scene. Given his experience and ability, and the numerous disciples under his wing, many had designs on him.
Otherwise, there would not be so many people crowding at the entrance of the Lin’s residence. Qiu Chenxi’s visit also had similar purposes. She hoped to take this opportunity to request Lin Yuankang to accept her as his youngest disciple.
Besides Lin Yuankang’s knowledge and ability, the network and connections he had accumulated was something yearned over by many politicians.
If Qiu Chenxi could become Lin Yuankang’s disciple, it would be of great help to the Qiu family’s business. Most importantly, she could raise her own status and reputation.
However, these were all one-sided and wishful thinking of the outsiders. In fact, Lin Yuankang did not let out any news that he would take in a disciple in his golden years.
Nevertheless, everyone was unwilling to give up. They sent their sons and daughters to the Lin’s residence, hoping that Lin Yuankang would meet them. If Lin Yuankang happened to take a liking to them, then their child and family could attain great success.
Initially, Lin Yuankang had maintained the same stance toward these people’s harassment during the period: “Sorry. I am old and want to rest. I am not accepting any disciple.”
Qiu Chenxi had been wracking her brains on how to move Lin Yuankang’s heart, trying to use her strength and ability to win his favor. Unexpectedly, she met someone who obstructed and thwarted her good plan. Lin Yuankang even took in that person on the spot and directly addressed her as his little disciple!
Once she heard the two words ‘little disciple’, Qiu Chenxi knew that her hopes were lost.
“Then, I must really congratulate Grandpa Lin for accepting such an intelligent disciple this time.” Qiu Chenxi’s words were beautiful, but the smile on her face was a little distorted and scary. She did not look happy for Lin Yuankang at all.
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to everyone’s blessings. True enough, when one is old, they will be too bored to rest and do nothing. It is the right time to accept a disciple.”