Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

The English quiz is in three days.

When the news came out, the entire regular class was filled with groans of despair.

"Seriously? It's only been a few days since school started, and there are already exams?"

Liu Xue lay slumped over the table, her face filled with despair.

Gu Xiaolan also had a headache:

"I haven't finished memorizing the vocabulary yet."

Only Su Qing remained calm, as if she had expected it all along.

Lin Xiuhe didn't speak, but just looked down and flipped through her English book.

These past few days, she's been going to the library every day, and she continues to memorize vocabulary when she gets back to her dorm at night. But the more she studies, the more she feels the gap between herself and others.

This gap cannot be bridged in just a few days of hard work; it is fundamental.

While others studied for six or seven years, she had only been systematically exposed to English for a few months.

The atmosphere in the classroom was somewhat oppressive on the day of the exam.

After trying out the curling, Lin Xiuhe scanned through the text. The first half was manageable, but the reading comprehension sections became increasingly difficult, especially the last two passages, which contained many unfamiliar words.

Time passed slowly, and as she held the pen, she experienced for the first time what it meant to feel powerless.

As soon as the exam ended, many students started comparing answers as soon as they left the classroom.

What's the answer to the third question?

"B."

"Oh no, I'll choose C."

"What about the last question in the reading comprehension section?"

The chatter was deafening. Lin Xiuhe, however, didn't participate, because she knew she hadn't done well on the exam.

The results were announced the following afternoon.

English teacher Ms. Zhou walked into the classroom carrying the test papers, her expression the same as usual, but for some reason, everyone seemed a little nervous.

"The results are out."

With just one sentence, the classroom fell silent instantly.

Teacher Zhou began reading the fractions:

"Xu Wei, ninety-three."

A soft gasp rippled through the classroom—ninety-three, that's really high.

"Su Qing, eighty-nine."

"Gu Xiaolan, seventy-five."

"Liu Xue, seventy-one."

……

As the names were read out one by one, soon only a few papers remained.

Teacher Zhou glanced down at it, then read out the name:

"Lin Xiuhe".

Many people subconsciously looked up, because this name was now quite famous in the Automation Department—ranked first in the major, and a key student being groomed by Professor Chen. Many were curious about her English proficiency.

Teacher Zhou paused for a second:

"Sixty-two points."

The classroom fell silent for a moment.

Subsequently, many people's expressions became subtle.

Sixty-two, barely passing, and almost at the bottom of the class. This score was completely out of sync with her performance in her major courses.

Some were surprised, some were taken aback, and some secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out, she wasn't good at everything.

Lin Xiuhe sat there without saying a word, just looking down at the table.

In her past life, she had experienced many failures, but for some reason, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable at this moment.

This was the first time since she came to Tsinghua University that she had been so harshly disappointed by reality.

Teacher Zhou continued to hand out curls, without offering any comment throughout the process.

As the bell rang, students gradually left, and the classroom slowly emptied.

Lin Xiuhe, however, did not move.

She stared at the red score on the test paper, remaining seated for a long time.

Sixty-two was actually a little better than she had expected. But it was still not enough, far from enough.

The setting sun slowly disappeared outside the window, and only a few people remained in the classroom.

Teacher Zhou was tidying up the podium when she suddenly heard a voice:

"teacher."

She looked up.

Lin Xiuhe stood there, her expression serious:

"What's up?"

I want to learn English.

Teacher Zhou paused for a moment, then smiled:

Who doesn't want to learn English?

Lin Xiuhe looked at her and slowly said:

"What I mean is, I want to learn it."

The smile slowly disappeared from Teacher Zhou's face.

For the first time, she looked at the girl in front of her seriously, because what she said was different from what many students said.

Many people say they want to learn, but they really just want to pass, get high scores, or complete tasks.

But what she said was: Learn.

Two words, but completely different weight.

Teacher Zhou paused for a few seconds:

Why?

"Because we'll need it later."

"Who told you that?"

"Nobody told me," Lin Xiuhe paused, "but I know that many things in the future will be inseparable from English."

Teacher Zhou looked at her, his expression changing little by little.

After a long silence, she finally spoke:

Do you know where you're lacking?

"Base."

"Anything else?"

"Listening comprehension, vocabulary, and language sense."

Lin Xiuhe recounted each point without evasion or making excuses.

Teacher Zhou suddenly smiled.

Because she discovered that this student was special. When others did poorly on a test, they would always explain or complain, but she was the only one who was seriously analyzing the problem, as if she were studying a math problem.

After a long while, Teacher Zhou turned around and walked to the podium, opened a drawer, and took out an old book.

The cover is yellowed and the edges are badly worn, indicating that it has been used for many years.

She placed the book on the table and gently pushed it towards her.

English Broadcasting Textbook

Lin Xiuhe looked down and was slightly taken aback:

"teacher?"

Teacher Zhou looked at her, his voice very calm:

"Come find me at six o'clock tomorrow morning."

"every day?"

"every day."

"Can you keep going?"

The setting sun shone through the window, falling on the old textbook and also on Lin Xiuhe's eyes.

She reached out and picked up the book without the slightest hesitation:

"able."

Teacher Zhou nodded without saying anything more, but a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.

She suddenly had a premonition—this student who scored 62 points might give everyone a surprise in the future.

Lin Xiuhe walked out of the teaching building with the old textbook in her arms. The evening breeze blew in her face, and the clock tower in the distance chimed the time. The sky gradually darkened.

She glanced down at the cover, then slowly clenched her fist.

Starting tomorrow, she will patch up her shortest plank.

Meanwhile, in the corridor on the second floor of the teaching building, a figure stood by the window, quietly watching her departing figure.

Zhao Guodong.

His gaze remained fixed on the textbook for a long time.

He then turned and left.

No one knew that at six o'clock the next morning, besides Lin Xiuhe, another person would appear in the English classroom.