Chapter 258: 258 New Identity (Second Update)

The principal was just about to say something when one of the foreign judges, very excited, stood up and looked towards Chu Jin, "Miss Chu, hello, you said that you can recite the world’s ten greatest literary works. Could you please recite the beginning of ’Anna Karenina’ for me?"

Originally, these foreign judges were quite fond of Chu Jin; however, to their surprise, someone came up to them midway and suggested that Chu Jin might be guilty of plagiarism.

How could a good judge tolerate the existence of a plagiarist?

Plagiarism is shameless! Plagiarism is simply an insult to the competition!

That’s why they changed today’s first place to Lin Xiaoyue.

Otherwise, how could it be Lin Xiaoyue’s turn to win first place today?

Lin Xiaoyue looked at Chu Jin with a smug face and clenched her fist, wishing that Chu Jin would embarrass herself sooner rather than later.

’Anna Karenina’ is a work from F Country, and as is well known, French is one of the ten most difficult languages in the world to learn. No matter how good her English is, she would be powerless in front of French.

She couldn’t possibly recite it in Chinese in front of the foreign judges, could she?

Just thinking that Chu Jin was about to make a fool of herself made Lin Xiaoyue’s heart leap with joy.

Chu Jin nodded slightly, her eyes shimmering, her dimples shallow, "Of course I can."

Her excessively clear and handsome features were as calm as ever, without the slightest ripple.

Those faint four words, however, landed with weight.

Almost instantly, the air quieted down.

All eyes were focused on the stage.

The quiet auditorium echoed with her soft voice, infused with a lively touch, like a spring breeze in the human world of April, slowly flowing through people’s hearts, tender rain and gentle breeze, melding with the faint fragrance of spring soil, lingering at the heartstrings, unceasingly.

"Le, bonheur, de, la, famille, sont, similaires, chacun, a, le, malheur, de, la, famille..."

The opening sentence of ’Anna Karenina’ states that happy families are all alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

The barrage on the live streaming platform had gone from a few dozen at the beginning to several hundred now.

[Whoa! Is that a big shot?]

[This move is 66666666!]

[There always emerges new talent in the nation.]

[Those who just said she couldn’t understand the ten great classics, does your face hurt?]

[Damn! I can’t understand a sentence; can some expert translate for me?]

**

Meanwhile, in Goryeo Nation.

Inside a world-renowned cosmetic surgery hospital.

In a high-end VIP ward.

Because of having taken Ice Dew, the girl who was originally bandaged like a mummy, now with the bandages removed from her face and body, was sitting on the hospital bed, carefully studying the Tarot cards in her hands.

There was also a blond, blue-eyed foreign man beside her, explaining, "Today, I’ll tell you about the taboos of Tarot card divination. First, you must not draw cards or divine during the Demonic moment; second, because Tarot cards possess the power to choose their master, you must unwrap them yourself the first time, and not let others do it for you; third, apart from during divination, you mustn’t let others touch your cards, especially not to get blood on them, or else you will suffer the backlash of the Tarot cards’ spiritual power..."

This foreign man, wearing a strange long robe with a string of long pendants around his neck and sporting golden yellow whiskers, gave off a very curious feeling.

He spoke in a meticulous Chinese dialect with a strong nasal accent.

Yet when he mentioned the word Tarot cards, his eyes were filled with brilliance and sanctity.

It was evident that he was a true fortune-teller, and a true Ability User.

Upon hearing this, the girl looked up, voicing the doubt in her heart, "Teacher Aaron, I want to ask, what is this Demonic moment? Why can’t I do any divination during this time?"

After a few days, and with the adjustment from Ice Dew, the swelling on the girl’s face had significantly reduced.

She had undergone surgery on nearly every part of her face.

She had double eyelid surgery, had the corners of her eyes done, a nose bridge implant, and her chin reshaped...

The entire person was unrecognizable from before, and although the swelling had gone down a fair amount, there was still a sense of complete alteration to her features.

Having had breast augmentation, she still had some gauze wrapped around her chest, and if one got closer, they could smell a hint of disinfectant.

Moreover, her voice sounded strange, as if she was deliberately lowering her pitch.

It masked her original voice, and the whole cadence gave an incredibly uncertain impression, with control over its tone fluctuating, sometimes thick, sometimes thin.

It was as if... she was learning someone else’s voice and had not yet fully mastered it.

It gave off an extremely awkward feeling.

When people heard her voice, they would get goosebumps all over.

Aaron looked up at the girl and said, "Not bad, you’re a very diligent learner with the potential to study Tarot cards. The so-called ’Demonic moment’ refers to four specific times within a day, which, as you in China often say, are the hours of Zi and Chou when one should not perform divinations."

The girl wanted to smile at Aaron, but her whole head felt numb, and her facial muscles were very stiff, so she could only nod politely, "Okay, I understand, thank you, Teacher Aaron."

Aaron nodded in approval, then flipped a page of the book he was holding, and continued, "Alright, next I’ll explain how to deduce the correct meanings from the faces of the cards. Tarot cards are quite magical. Through their faces, we can see the innermost thoughts of the questioner..."

Right at that moment, with a ’squeak’.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Shen Minjie walked in with her phone, apologizing with a smile, "I’m sorry, Teacher Aaron, for interrupting your lesson."

"It’s fine," Aaron shook his head and slowly spoke, "Your daughter is very bright and eager to learn; I quite like students like her."

Aaron wasn’t just offering empty praise; this girl truly had a strong ability to learn.

In just a few days, she had not only memorized all 78 card faces but also recited all the meanings of the four interpretations for each card.

Teachers generally prefer smart students, and Aaron was no exception.

At the same time, Aaron was also very curious about this girl, having taught her for several days without knowing her name.

He didn’t even know how old she was.

He was also curious about her original appearance, not understanding what kind of ugliness a person might have or how dissatisfied one must be with oneself to undergo such extensive surgery.

The tenacity of a person had to be immense to endure such pain.

Such bone-deep pain!

What mattered was that she wasn’t just an acquaintance of Zheng Chuyi; if it weren’t for Zheng Chuyi’s request, even if the girl was clever, she wouldn’t be worth his full devotion.

The fact that he was personally teaching her Tarot was entirely for the sake of Zheng Chuyi.

Hearing this, the smile on Shen Minjie’s face grew deeper as she flattered, "It’s all due to your excellent teaching, Teacher Aaron. It’s lunchtime, why don’t you go ahead and eat, rest for a couple of hours, and then come back to continue the lesson with our daughter this afternoon?"

Shen Minjie had something she wanted to say to the girl alone, which was why she asked him to leave.

The astute Aaron could not fail to realize this. He gathered up the fortune-telling books from the table and said with a smile, "Alright, madam, then I’ll take my leave for now, see you in the afternoon."

"See you in the afternoon," Shen Minjie said with a smile.

Aaron left with large strides, even courteously closing the door behind him.

Once Aaron was gone, Shen Minjie leaned over and sat on the bed.

Seeing her mother had something to say, the girl took the initiative, "Mom, did you send Teacher Aaron away because you want to talk to me about something?"

Seeing her daughter’s cleverness, Shen Minjie said with a smile, "My precious daughter is indeed smart," then, pulling out a rigid card from her pocket, she shook it twice in front of the girl’s eyes, speaking with a hint of mystery, "Guess what this is?"

She was shaking it quite fast, and since the girl had undergone eye surgery, she couldn’t see clearly what was held in her mother’s hand, but she could faintly make out something white and card-like shimmering with light.

"Mom, stop beating around the bush and just tell me," the girl said.

"It’s an ID card!" Shen Minjie pushed the ID card into her daughter’s hand, adding, "Take a look, this is an ID card personally prepared for you by Lady Jiufen."

It was evident that Shen Minjie was genuinely very happy today.

"Really? I have a new ID card now?" the girl asked excitedly, looking towards Shen Minjie.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read