Chapter Sixty-Four: She Didn’t Mean It, She’s Just a Child

Although she felt somewhat disappointed, Wen Yan knew she couldn’t ask for more. She had no choice but to accept it.

“Chinese class it is, then!”
“I’ll lead the students in reading aloud.”
“That still showcases a bit of my foundation, doesn’t it? Not bad!”

With these thoughts, Wen Yan entered the classroom.

Inside, all the students watched their new teacher for the day with curiosity. Wen Yan smiled and said, “Let’s read the text together!”

“Yes!” the children replied, their voices tender and excited.

Meanwhile, outside the playground, Principal Zhang Ruchun, Bai Ling, and Teacher Wen Huaiyu were cleaning up, dealing with the trash left from the lunch break. The school was small, so any commotion in the classrooms was easily audible to those outside.

Hearing Wen Yan announce a reading session, Wen Huaiyu and Zhang Ruchun exchanged amused glances, their interest piqued.

Soon, Wen Yan’s voice drifted out:

“Once upon a time, in the forest, there was a babbling brook, and beside it lived several hermit crabs… Oh, hermit crabs…”
“Goodbye, my home, goodbye, river embankment…”
“Look at that straw hat—so perfectly round…”

At first, Zhang Ruchun and Wen Huaiyu watched Wen Yan’s expressive reading with smiles, but their expressions gradually changed. Even Bai Ling was stunned.

Something was clearly amiss.

Before Bai Ling could react, Zhang Ruchun stepped forward and pushed open the classroom door.

“Excuse me, I’m afraid I have to interrupt,” she said. “Miss Substitute, I think you mispronounced a few words just now.”

Still immersed in her own world, Wen Yan was oblivious. The camera in the classroom was streaming directly, and the main broadcast was split to include her channel as well. Wasn’t this exactly the exposure Wen Yan had wanted? She was enjoying herself, reveling in the joy of reading aloud, as if she truly was a well-bred young lady nurturing the nation’s future.

But Zhang Ruchun’s sudden entrance left her at a loss.

“Huh?”
“Mispronounced words?”
“That can’t be!”

Wen Yan looked utterly confused and bewildered. She genuinely didn’t think she’d made any mistakes.

Had she?

The children below, some eager to speak up, wore mostly puzzled expressions.

Unbeknownst to her, the live broadcast had already exploded with activity long ago.

“She mispronounced them, and not just one!”
“I’m stunned—‘embankment’ should be ‘di,’ not ‘ti’!”
“When she read ‘hermit crab,’ I thought she was about to run out of breath.”
“This is so awkward. Isn’t this a primary school textbook? How could she get these wrong?”
“Yeah, ‘embankment’ isn’t even a rare word.”
“And ‘defense’—what ‘defense xie’? Is she serious?”
“Thank goodness she’s not an actual teacher, or who knows how many kids she’d mislead.”
“Exactly, lucky she’s not a teacher.”
“Aren’t we all being a bit too generous?”
“Wen Yan might not be a teacher, but she’s a public figure. How can she get so much wrong? I seriously doubt she even graduated junior high!”
“Even junior high students wouldn’t misread these words.”
“No, I remember Wen Yan graduated from a prestigious university, right?”
“She said so during the girl group auditions, didn’t she?”
“What, is this the standard of a top university?”
“This is a bit much.”
“So she was playing the role of a top student all along?”
“She doesn’t look like a top student at all.”
“Maybe she never tried to cultivate that image, but today’s performance is really disappointing!”

Misreading words could be understood—after all, not everyone is a language master. Even someone well-educated might occasionally trip over a character.

But!

Wen Yan was acting as a substitute teacher, educating children. No matter what, she should have prepared properly in advance. Besides, it wasn’t just one or two mistakes—it was an entire string of them. That was going too far.

Even some who had once liked Wen Yan now felt a chill of disbelief. Wen Yan herself was starting to feel the same way.

Though she didn’t think she’d made a mistake, the reactions of the children below made it clear she’d probably blundered. This situation was proving difficult to handle.

She instinctively protested, “Teacher Zhang, you must be mistaken.”

“That can’t be right.”

Zhang Ruchun wasn’t there to scold her—just to offer a reminder, lest she truly mislead the students. If Wen Yan had simply admitted her mistake, the matter would likely have been resolved.

But Wen Yan’s repeated denials did not please Zhang Ruchun.

“Miss Substitute, why don’t you take a break outside?” Zhang Ruchun suggested. It was only because of the live broadcast and the show’s production team that she was so restrained.

But Wen Yan refused to back down.

“No, Teacher Zhang. Maybe I did mispronounce a word or two, but that’s understandable, isn’t it? It’s not a big deal.”

Once, maybe. Twice, possibly. But three times was too much.

Even as Wen Yan admitted the possibility of error, her attitude was far from apologetic. She didn’t think it was important!

Zhang Ruchun’s expression grew darker. It was obvious to anyone watching that Teacher Zhang was on the verge of losing her temper.

Wen Huaiyu and Bai Ling realized they couldn’t stay silent any longer. Wen Huaiyu stepped forward, pulling Teacher Zhang back, and said to Wen Yan,

“Wen Yan, what nonsense are you spouting? Hurry and apologize to Teacher Zhang!”

Bai Ling stood silently by the classroom door, but her stance was clear.

At this moment, Wen Yan could no longer hold back her sense of grievance. She had come to this show to showcase her talents, hoping it would boost her career in the entertainment industry.

She should have been the center of attention. But instead, Bai Ling had stolen the spotlight, and her one chance to stand out ended in disaster.

She was just a child—why did she deserve this treatment? The world was simply too unfair!

In an instant, Wen Yan’s eyes brimmed with tears, her delicate sobs enough to arouse the sympathy of a wave of viewers.

“She didn’t mean it. There’s no need to be so harsh.”
“Yeah, poor girl.”
“Let’s just let it go.”