Li Yue was stunned. She was studying Mathematics at university, too, and she could tell that this teacher had very high standards with her lesson.
She managed to break down the important points of the problem and explain them one by one without dragging the discussion out. Her words were clear and concise.
She had even gone so far as to presume the intentions of the author for formulating such a problem.
Li Yue became engrossed in the lesson. She leaned back against her chair and listened with rapt attention.
At some point, her thoughts drifted to her younger brother, who was still in high school.
Unfortunately, the boy wasn’t gifted in Mathematics like her. On the contrary, he was so bad at it that he nearly drove her out of her wits.
Li Yue had tried teaching him, of course, but they never made it past the basic hurdles, let alone full-blown progress. She had to admit that she was pretty depressed about it.
After giving it some consideration, she took out her phone and sent the conference ID to her younger brother, telling him to log onto it and listen to the discussion.
In another part of the city, Li Yue’s brother was hunched over his desk, struggling with a Mathematics test. He was on the verge of a meltdown. The problems were just too difficult for him.
When he saw his sister’s message, he immediately heeded her advice. He had nothing to lose, anyway.
As it turned out, it only took a few minutes for his mood to lighten. His eyes were sparkling with newfound insight as he sent his sister a message.
“Sister, this teacher speaks so well! I feel like I suddenly have a new understanding of Math. Even the problems that always confused me seem so easy now.”
“Really? Do you honestly understand?”
The boy didn’t hesitate at all.
“Yes! It’s almost like the person who wrote the problems himself is the one teaching me how to solve them. Everything has become so simple. It’s super amazing, Sis! Tell me, quick, where did you find this online class?”
Their conversation was interrupted by a phone call on Li Yue’s end.
It was the class monitor, urging her to log into their meeting as soon as possible.
Li Yue hurriedly typed a short message and sent it to her brother.
“I’ll explain the situation later. Just pay attention to the class for now.”
Then she quickly exited the video conference and entered the one she was supposed to be in.
Once their class meeting was over, Li Yueswitched tabs and logged into the online class again.
To her surprise, the teacher was discussing Chemistry this time around. Just like before, her teaching methods were clear and straightforward.
Li Yue soon realized that the lecture was about to end.
She quickly sent a message to the conference group chat, addressing the teacher directly.
“Hello, Ma’am. I entered your online lecture by accident, but I found it to be very coherent and helpful. My brother has learned a lot as well, so I’d like to grab this chance to ask if you are still accepting students. I would like to register my brother for your classes. We are willing to negotiate the price. What do you think?”
Li Yue sat back in her chair and nibbled at her thumb as she waited for the teacher’s reply.
Contrary to her expectations, the response she received came from the students, and they were mostly derisive in nature.
“Hahaha! So you just wandered into our class by accident, yet you stayed until the end? You must have really liked Sister Tang’s lessons.”
“Wow, do you have any idea how lucky you are? You might as well have picked up a winning lottery ticket from the streets!”
“You’re mistaken, Miss. We are not a cram school. Who are you, anyway?”
Li Yue frowned at their comments. ‘So they’re not a cram school or anything?’
More importantly, who was this Sister Tangthat they spoke of?
But before she could type another question, Li Yueheard the teacher’s voice say, “Everyone, stop fooling around.”
Her words fell like heavy bricks, and the conference room instantly fell silent.
Li Yue thought it was amazing, to be able to command a rowdy bunch of teenagers with one simple statement.
Then again, given how brilliant this instructor seemed to be, it wasn’t really all that strange.
Li Yue decided to shoot their shot. She turned on her microphone and said with utmost sincerity, “Hello, Ma’am. I apologize for joining your conference call uninvited, but I meant it when I praised your teaching. My younger brother is having difficulty with Math, you see, and I’m really hoping that you can help him improve his grades.”
There was silence on the other end for a good while. Just when Li Yuethought that she was going to be kicked out of the call, their so-called teacher spoke again.
“We were simply having a remedial session where we review our recent lessons in class. And I am not a teacher. I’m sorry, but we cannot accommodate your request.”
“You’re not a teacher?” Li Yueblurted out before she could stop herself. She had lost count of the times she had been shocked in the last hour.
In her years of study, she could confidently say that she had never encountered an experienced professor who was able to discuss a lesson so succinctly.
But this… student—she had done it so effortlessly, and what was more, everyone had genuinely learned from her lessons.