The class went silent.
Kong Rou widened her eyes in shock. “The narration? Are you sure about that?”
It was worth noting that the narration had more lines than all three of the other roles combined, and because of the number of lines, the narrator was allowed to read directly from the script.
However, the script was ruined by the milk tea, so how could Ning Li take on the narration role?
Ren Qian was shocked. “Ning Li, you memorized the narration as well?”
Ning Li nodded. She said, “The lines of my roles aren’t that much, so while I was memorizing my lines, I memorized the narration as well.”
Ren Qian’s eyes twitched helplessly.
Did she memorize the narration while learning her own lines?
The number of words that she had to memorize would equal a long essay, yet she just simply memorized all of them?
The script was directly extracted from the original play, thus there were a lot of difficult new words. Even Ren Qian had to spend quite some effort going through it.
How did Ning Li memorize all of them within a week?
The class fell into dead silence.
Kong Rou, however, was rather surprised. “Are you sure?”
It seemed like picking Ning Li as the group leader was the right choice! She was responsible and dutiful!
Ning Li nodded. Besides having a photographic memory, He Xiaochen had accompanied her while reading the script many times throughout the week, so she would not forget it even if she wanted to.
“Okay, get ready then. We will start in a bit.”
Cheng Xiangxiang then plonked an English textbook on her table with a thud. She scoffed, “Lying without even considering your own capabilities? Don’t embarrass yourself if you can’t even spit out a single word later!”
She had clearly seen the pinyin and intonations labeled on Ning Li’s script.
How could Ning Li possibly remember the narration lines if she could not even pronounce the words properly?
Sun Huihui glanced at Pei Song a few times. She quickly tidied up her table and went to him with a blush. “Pei Song… I’m sorry.”
Pei Song reacted with his usual plain expression as if he was not bothered. “It’s fine.”
When Sun Huihui noticed that he was rather calm, she sighed a breath of relief.
Before she could say a word, Pei Song looked at her. The boy’s eyes were clear and sharp when he said, “I think you’d better have your milk tea sealed next time.”
Sun Huihui’s face then turned pale.
…
Ning Li and her group got into position for the play.
Ren Qian stood beside Kong Rou and was looking at the computer.
The computer was showing a soft copy of the script. Kong Rou told Ren Qian to stay close so that he could remind Ning Li if she had difficulties remembering the narration or her lines.
He Xiaochen was a little nervous at first, but she quickly calmed down when she saw Pei Song beside her. ‘It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be fine. There’s still someone capable in the group to support us!’
If Ning Li could not remember her lines, Pei Song could simply jump in and help her out.
While He Xiaochen was still thinking about how to save the play, a pleasant and sweet voice sounded.
Her voice was clear and loud. The narration was long and difficult to understand, yet it sounded smooth when she read it out.
Everyone was stunned.
Lin Zhouyang could not control himself and turned around to Cheng Xiangxiang. He whispered in shock, “Ning Li’s pinyin is great! I also used pinyin myself, and it sounds nothing like this! I wonder why!”
Cheng Xiangxiang clenched her teeth in silence.
The look on Ye Ci’s face also slowly faded.
Everyone could tell based on Ning Li’s voice that she could really read.
Everyone knew that Lincheng’s English education standard was behind Yunzhou’s, so where did Ning Li learn her smooth and accurate accent?
Ning Li did not even stutter when she finished reading the long narration.
Then, Pei Song recited his lines. When he finished his part, Ning Li continued.
After reading the narration, Ning Li slightly lowered her voice and her tone sounded a little heavier and softer than before.
Everyone realized that this was originally her role.
Despite playing two parts, she was able to keep both roles clear and distinct from each other. She purposely used two different tones to read the lines so that everyone knew that she was playing two roles.
Everyone was astonished. Ning Li had really memorized the entire script!
Ren Qian looked at the computer. He listened and compared her lines to the script word for word. The more he listened, the more astonished he was. He even looked at Ning Li in awe a few times during the play.
Seven minutes went by in the blink of an eye.
Ning Li finally finished reading her last line, but the spacious classroom remained silent.
Ren Qian got up and pinched his face in awe.
Ning Li did not miss out on a single word!
Kong Rou’s eyes were shining as she stared at Ning Li. Deeply impressed, she was the first to clap her hands.
She had been worried about Ning Li before this, but it seemed like her worries were useless. Why would there be rumors saying that her English was poor?
“Ning Li, have you ever joined an English-speaking competition?”
Her standard was way better than an average student’s. Even if an average student went through tedious training, he or she might not even reach such accuracy.
Ning Li shook her head. “No, I have not.”
“Then, how did you practice speaking?” Kong Rou was curious.
Ning Li’s memory was obviously better than everyone’s, but not all students with a good memory could perform the play to this level of competence. Ning Li’s performance caught her off guard.
Ning Li furrowed her brows and curled her lips into a faint grin. “It’s nothing special. I’m just reading based on the pinyin. The pinyin are labeled nicely.”
The quiet class then burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
“She’s awesome! Now I know I’ve been using pinyin incorrectly! Ning Li, can you teach us how to read like you?”
“Me too! I want to memorize the entire script as well!”
A lot of the students looked at Cheng Xiangxiang with a ridiculing gaze. Before the class, she had mocked Ning Li for her poor English and the fact that she had to rely on pinyin.
After the play, she realized she was the fool instead of Ning Li. She felt like she just got a huge slap on her face.
Ning Li might have relied on pinyin to recite her lines, but what about the narration?
Cheng Xiangxiang’s mockery became a joke, a joke that was as funny as she was harsh. She blushed as if she was really slapped in the face. The embarrassment felt hot on her face.
She tried to defend herself and argue but could not come up with a valid argument since everyone saw Ning Li’s performance.
Kong Rou also chuckled along. “See that? The performance of Ning Li’s group will be the new standard of the play. Try to learn a thing or two from her. I don’t expect you guys to be as good as her, but all of you should pay more attention to your own parts. Understand?”
The class groaned miserably at first but sighed a breath of relief after hearing what Kong Rou said.
Ning Li just did something beyond human capability; no one in class could possibly challenge her.
…
The English class carried on.
Ren Qian went back to his seat and sighed. “Brother Pei, I think my role was useless.”
Pei Song did not say a word.
“If our new classmate was this good, why am I even in the group?”
It had been a while since Ren Qian felt so worthless. He turned around for a glance at Ning Li.
Ning Li sat down in her chair and slightly lowered her head. The sun shone through the window and granted a layer of gold around her, making her look extra calm and aloof.
It seemed like the play was nothing much to her.
“However…her accent, she really sounds like you, Brother Pei! If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed that you taught her word for word—”