Chapter 26: This is phenomenal!
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Minute after minute pa.s.sed and the only break Ling Yun had taken was a sip of water after chapter four. Other than that, he was a hundred percent engrossed in reciting the content.
No one was willing to break his momentum. They allowed this obese-looking loser to continue with his recitation of the chapters.
Amazing would be an understatement of his wondrous ability. It was nothing short of phenomenal!
By now, all the mockery from his cla.s.smates had vanished. What remained of it were just looks of envy and jealousy towards Ling Yun.
At the side, Zhang Ling used her hands to cover her chest, so as to prevent her heart, which had been thumping very fast, from bursting out from her chest. She was probably the only person in the whole cla.s.s who correctly guessed that Ling Yun would have something up his sleeve to retaliate against Mr. Wu. What she did not expect was the method Ling Yun used. It was shockingly simple yet fancifully effective.
As for Cao Shanshan, she was flabbergasted. She had to forcefully control herself to stay as composed as possible. This was after Ling Yun’s incredible performance gave her the shock of her life, leaving her with a wildly pulsating heart. She was worried that she might affect Ling Yun’s recitation if her breathing got too heavy.
Wei Tiangan was one of those students that were taken aback by Ling Yun’s astounding recitation. At the start, he had been thinking about stirring up some trouble and making a big deal out of it so as to disrupt Ling Yun’s memory. But now, he had entirely forgotten about it. Ling Yun’s smooth and fluent recitation managed to take his mind off his nefarious schemes.
By the time the first period ended, Ling Yun had the first seven chapters all read out. However, he was disappointed at himself for being two chapters behind time. He presented a face full of probe at Mr. Wu, asking him if he wanted him to resume the chapters.
Mr. Wu could not control his excitement anymore as he joyfully crossed his arms to signal a stop.
While activities happening outside the cla.s.sroom were chaotic and lively, there was complete silence inside the cla.s.sroom of Grade 12 Cla.s.s 6. It was so silent that even a pin drop could be heard. Only after a minute did the rounds of applause start. The applause carried on for what seemed to be almost an eternity before subsiding.
Some would say that even President Obama did not receive such a thunderous ovation when he got on stage to deliver his famous speeches.
Mr. Wu, who was clapping enthusiastically with vigor, walked up to Ling Yun and affectionately gave a pat on his shoulder. “Are you thirsty? Let me get you a drink,” Mr. Wu insisted, in a gentle tone unbefitting of him. He picked up his cup of water and offered it to Ling Yun, looking at this student of his ten times more tenderly than he would at his beloved pet dog or dream lover.
To Mr. Wu, Ling Yun was not just one in a thousand, he was one in a million! He did not regret his underhanded tactics as that had been the key to discovering his precious student’s hidden talent, although he hid feelings of heartfelt apology deep in his heart.
After serving the drink to Ling Yun, Mr. Wu walked to the front of the stage and uttered in a crisp and welcoming voice, “Students, what do you guys think about Ling Yun’s recitation?”
“Great!” Everyone, other than the uneasy-looking Wei Tiangan, had the exact same sentiments.
“Doesn’t everyone feel that the lesson we just had was extremely fruitful?” Mr. Wu inquired further. The cla.s.s agreed energetically in response.
“Alright. Everyone, go and have a short break. Cao Shanshan, you will be in charge of the cla.s.s discipline for now,” Mr. Wu announced to the cla.s.s. “And… Ling Yun, follow me to the office. I have something to talk to you about.”
This time, Mr. Wu did not bother about whether the cla.s.s greeted him or not as he walked over to Ling Yun and guided him out of the cla.s.sroom in a welcoming fas.h.i.+on.
As Ling Yun walked out of the cla.s.sroom, he looked back in the direction of Cao Shanshan and Zhang Ling. However, he did not meet their gazes. This meant that he had pretended to not know Cao Shanshan.
After Mr. Wu and Ling Yun’s exit, silence devoured the cla.s.sroom as if the students had all became mute. They were immersing themselves in Ling Yun’s fabulous showing earlier. Such an occurrence had actually happened right in front of their own eyes! It would probably be one to stay in their memory banks for a long time.
“This is the fourth time already…” Zhang Ling blurted out.
“Huh? Fourth time…?” Cao Shanshan got very curious about Zhang Ling’s statement.
“Yesterday night outside the hostel, this morning on the track, a few hours ago at the canteen against you, and now…”, Zhang Ling recalled while counting with her fingers. “This is the fourth time already! I’ve told you he’s changed but you did not believe me.”
This time around, Cao Shanshan could not provide a reb.u.t.tal. She was still overwhelmed by Ling Yun’s capability. How could someone’s memory be so incredibly impressive? If he could remember so well, why would his academic results be so poor?
The students did not stay quiet for too long as they broke out of silence and started to exchange their views about Ling Yun.
“Impossible! It is definitely impossible!” The majority of the students commented.
“How is it impossible? If someone can recite Pi to its sixty thousandth decimal place, what makes you think that Ling Yun is not capable of putting to memory everything in this history textbook?” Voices of reb.u.t.tals were heard as well.
“But what you are talking about is a Guinness World Record. How can you compare that to Ling Yun, who is, more than often, the last in our cla.s.s?”
“Hey… What’s the big deal about being able to memorize the textbook content? That does not guarantee him a university admission! I don’t get why Mr. Wu has to wait on him!” One of the students resented.
“Exactly! The end of year examinations is so much more than just History alone. Maybe he has spent the past three years doing nothing but memorizing these chapters…”
All these jealous and hateful remarks emerged, although not directly from the mouth of Wei Tiangan, but under his deliberate instigation.
Zhang Dong was an exception, as he stayed stuck to his seat in an aghast state. It was true that Ling Yun’s accomplishment was nothing compared to that Guinness World Record but Zhang Dong had seen with his own eyes that Ling Yun only skimmed through the textbook once. Just once. There was no way he could have had it prepared beforehand.
It was unbelievable how Ling Yun had managed to memorize this vast amount of content within that limited time he had before the start of the lesson. As Zhang Dong looked out of the window at the track, he became even more impressed as he was reminded of Ling Yun’s actions earlier that day.
Inside Mr. Wu’s office.
“Hey Ling Yun, relax and take a seat.” Mr. Wu caringly smiled at Ling Yun.
“I did not expect you to have such a talent. How did you train to have such an unimaginably good memory?” He asked. Of everything he had said or done to Ling Yun, that was the only question he was most interested in. If he could master then teach the skills to have a wonderful memory to his students, that would be beneficial to everyone taking the History subject.
As for Ling Yun, he understood the reason for that sudden change of att.i.tude from Mr. Wu to him. He thought to himself. Everyone flocks to you and treats you like their king when you are successful, but look down on you when you lose your value and become a good-for-nothing.
“Nothing much actually. All I did was to put in more effort and memorize them a few more times,” Ling Yun replied, obviously making his reason up on the spot.
Mr. Wu chose not to believe his words. To him, Humanities subjects required hard work in memorizing the key points in the content. But to be able to recite from memory seven chapters straight without missing out a single word was something even hard work and talent combined couldn’t produce.
As Ling Yun clearly was not interested in sharing about his ability, Mr. Wu decided not to push Ling Yun any further for an answer. He proceeded to focus on his main reason for meeting Ling Yun face to face; to persuade him to achieve better results so as to enhance his reputation as a subject teacher.
“Ling Yun, I might not know how exactly you did that. However, since you have this natural talent in you, why not make the full use out of it academically? As you know, History is a subject that requires you not just to remember a lot of content, understanding the main concept and key points is more crucial,” Mr. Wu advised Ling Yun convincingly into aiming for better results.
Looking at Ling Yun’s serious-looking face, Mr. Wu was satisfied. ” You have less than two months to the end of year examinations. Start by reading more history textbooks and getting your basic foundations right first. I’ll arrange for the History representative to tutor you with your homework. If you still have any doubts, feel free to look for me”.
Mr. Wu knew that with Ling Yun’s ability to memorize so well, History, Geography, Political Science and his language subjects would pose no threat to him anymore. So long as he was able to perform well for these subjects, he should be able to gain entry into university without much of a problem. He immediately went on with his arrangements for Ling Yun.
“Thanks, Mr. Wu. I’ll study hard,” Ling Yun nodded his head in agreement. Why would anyone say no to free tutoring?
“Alright then, you can return to cla.s.s now. I’ll be looking forward to seeing your results in the upcoming mock exams,” Mr. Wu motivated Ling Yun sincerely.
After Ling Yun stepped out of his office, Mr. Wu exhaled heavily and mumbled to himself, “It is such a pity this genius wasn’t discovered earlier. Otherwise, he would be able to enter any university course that he desires.”
As Ling Yun stepped into the cla.s.sroom of Grade 12 Cla.s.s 6, he started to feel awkward as everyone’s sight fixated on him, like paparazzis’ non-stop camera flashes on celebrities. He quietly made his way back to his place before picking up his book to read again.
“Well done, bro. You stunned Mr. Wu so badly he nearly p*ssed in his pants!” Zhang Dong leaned towards his tablemate and said.
“Nah, it’s nothing much. Let’s just study,” Ling Yun smirked before responding back.
“If you do not know what the main points are, feel free to ask me because I have them in my books.” Zhang Dong told Ling Yun, as he pointed to his mountain of books.
“Sure!” Ling Yun accepted his offer this time around.
The following lesson was Geography and the students were all looking forward to another showdown, this time with the Geography teacher instead. However, they were left disappointed as Ling Yun was law-abiding throughout and the teacher had nothing against him to reprimand him about.