Chapter 62: An Unexpected Talent
"Today, I had Liu Shang solve two problems in a row, and it's clear he's relentless."
"Therefore, I've decided to increase the difficulty of your final exam this time. I want to see if it's possible to actually challenge Liu Shang on paper."
"In the past, your final exam questions were all taken directly from the textbook. At most, I changed the numbers and scenarios."
"But this time, I'm going to adopt the style of the college entrance exam questions, using the textbook as a foundation and then extending and deriving new problems from there."
"So, if you don't want to fail at the end of the semester, you had better put in one hundred percent of the heart and energy you had when you were studying for the college entrance exams!"
Hearing his words, the entire class practically fainted. The next moment, wails of despair echoed throughout the room.
"Oh my god, no! Today isn't April Fool's Day, Professor Chen, please don't scare us..."
"The college entrance exam? That was hell! A nightmare! Professor Chen, do you have the heart to take us poor souls—who have already been through hell and back to get here—and throw us right back in?"
"Why are there tears in my eyes? Because I despise... despise advanced math this much!"
"Waaah, Professor, Liu Shang was the one who skipped class! Why are you punishing us—the ones who always attend on time and listen carefully—for someone else's mistake?"
"What did our major do to deserve this? Why did we have to be in the same class as Liu Shang?"
"Ugh, my mood is ruined. Internet cafe? To hell with the Internet cafe!"
"Didn't you hear Professor Chen? If you want to avoid failing, you have to channel the energy you had for the college entrance exams! I'm going to see if I can buy any practice books later."
"What is this nonsense? We're already in college, and we still have to do practice problems?!!!"
At that moment, Liu Shang's dorm mates, along with everyone else in his class and major, could only give him helpless, mournful looks.
"Liu Shang, do you have to be so ridiculously good? You've really killed us this time..."
"This is a classic case of the innocent getting caught in the crossfire!"
"No, it's worse! The fire at the city gate hasn't even started, and the fish in the pond are already dead!"
***
That afternoon, after Jiang Ruolin's repeated pleading and encouragement, Liu Shang obediently went to his English class.
To his surprise, the English professor, who was always gentle and rarely called on students, called his name as soon as she began.
"Is Liu Shang from Oil and Chemical Engineering, Class Two, present?"
Then, under everyone's gaze, a very surprised Liu Shang slowly stood up.
At this, the English professor smiled and said, "Ah, so you're Liu Shang from Oil and Chemical Engineering, Class Two?"
"Thanks to Professor Li Wenzhong and Professor Chen Hongsheng spreading the word, your name has become quite famous in the freshman faculty office!"
"Alright, please read the second paragraph of the text aloud."
At the same time Liu Shang was called to stand, in the corner of the back row of the large lecture hall, an acquaintance—Yang Dandan, Jiang Ruolin's roommate—turned her gaze toward him.
Yang Dandan and her roommates had no classes that afternoon. A few of them had gone to electives or, like Song Sha, had their own parties to attend. Bored, Yang Dandan had decided to tag along with an older friend of hers.
She happened to be sitting in on this large lecture with Liu Shang and the other oil and chemical engineering majors.
After hearing the professor call out Liu Shang's name and say those words, Yang Dandan couldn't help but smile, wondering if Jiang Ruolin had something to do with it. After all, they were the ones who had kindly tipped Jiang Ruolin off that Liu Shang was skipping class.
At that moment, Liu Shang began to read the text aloud as requested.
But the moment the first few English words left his lips, everyone in the large lecture hall, including the female English professor at the podium, was momentarily stunned.
Then, in astonishment, all eyes focused on Liu Shang as he stood reading the text aloud.
Were they hearing things?
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would have thought they were listening to the official audio recording for the textbook!
Contrary to what anyone might have expected, Liu Shang's English was impeccably fluent. His magnetic, standard pronunciation and perfectly authentic intonation were incredibly pleasant to listen to!
Even after Liu Shang finished reading the passage, no one in the classroom could tear their gaze away from him.
The English professor at the podium shook her head in disbelief before she began speaking to Liu Shang in English.
The topic of their conversation was quite simple. The professor first asked Liu Shang why he was often absent from class and whether he was facing any difficulties at home.
Liu Shang replied smoothly that he was simply using his personal time to gain practical experience outside of school and that he meant no disrespect to his professors at all.
Later, the professor asked Liu Shang how his English had become so good.
Liu Shang explained that he had been communicating with foreign friends in English since junior high school.
It had become a habit, and he now saw English as a language woven into his life, not just a tool for passing exams. Unlike other students, he felt no aversion to it.
As they conversed in English, all the other students in the lecture hall could only stare blankly, like ducks listening to thunder—utterly lost.
Their English professor had extensive experience with overseas exchange programs, and her English was considered excellent by domestic standards.
Liu Shang, however, was on another level entirely. He was like a walking, talking language tape; his pronunciation and intonation were identical to the textbook's original audio.
Furthermore, the dialogue between the professor and Liu Shang possessed a shockingly rich vocabulary that had already surpassed the level of the CET-4 and CET-6 exams. As mere freshmen, they probably couldn't even understand thirty percent of the words, let alone grasp the general meaning of the conversation.
"Damn! Does Liu Shang, a guy in our major, have to be so unbelievably talented?"
"He's a genius in our major courses, brilliant at advanced math, and now his English is this good too?"
"Hey, what major is that guy in? Is he in oil and chemical engineering?"
"Wow, he's so handsome. The ray of sunlight hitting him from the window... he looks so handsome!"
"I wonder if he has a girlfriend? My English is terrible. I need to find a boyfriend like him to tutor me~"
"Hee hee, Man Man, getting thirsty again, are we? Where do you want him to tutor you? In bed?"
The girls' jokes made the male students nearby flush red.
At that moment, Yang Dandan kept shaking her head, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Back at Annie's Western Restaurant, she had felt that Liu Shang handled Western dining with the same ease as he used chopsticks.
And now, his English was this incredible!
Does Liu Shang really come from an ordinary family? And not one where he lived abroad since childhood?
His English was practically at the level of a native-speaking foreign teacher!
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