“It's fine as long as you return it before the afternoon. I need it later today.”

“Uh... okay... alright.” Julia Harris turned her head away in astonishment. The last few times she had lent it, this boy had always blushed, stammered, and couldn't even look her in the eye. He was nothing like now—so calm and composed, even setting a clear return time with complete confidence.

After Julia Harris turned back, William Brooks slapped Grace Miller hard on the shoulder with a loud smack.

“Not bad, kid! You’ve got guts now!”

“Tch, what guts?” Grace Miller said indifferently. After all, he was already an adult. If he couldn’t even handle something like this, what was the point of all those years of living?

What he said earlier about needing it in the afternoon was true. Having been reborn, he couldn’t afford to waste time. Plus, with the Qi Cultivation manual giving him so much energy, he had to work hard and enrich himself—there was no excuse not to.

Back in college, he had passed CET-6, but his real level was only about CET-4. He could read and write, but his listening and speaking were terrible. Now that he was back, he had to make up for it. Language was just a tool, but mastering it would allow him to access a much broader range of knowledge. After all, translated foreign textbooks could never compare to reading the originals himself.

“Brrrrrrrrrrr—” The shrill bell rang. The students all hurried back to their seats, taking out their English textbooks for morning reading. A few students were still stuffing the last bites of their breakfast bread into their mouths.

A bespectacled, slightly overweight middle-aged man with a stern expression walked into the classroom, almost exactly as the bell finished ringing. He was the homeroom teacher and English teacher, Thomas Lee. He was strict and serious, always using rules and regulations to pressure students, and often threatened them with disciplinary action. He was not well-liked in the class.

“Ahem—The grade sheets are out.” Thomas Lee swept his gloomy gaze over the students.

“This test basically shows the general distribution of grades in our class. While I admit the questions were difficult, I cannot accept these results.” He then began reading out names and rankings one by one.

“Alice Harris, 121 points, first place.”

“Eric Bennett, 119 points, second place.”

“Laura Wright, 118 points, third place.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Name after name was called. Now in the second year of high school, everyone was already familiar with Thomas Lee's methods. Those with lower scores felt embarrassed when their names were read, especially under the gaze of their classmates. These days, having poor grades made you unconsciously feel inferior when talking to others.

“Grace Miller, 82 points, thirty-ninth place.”

Grace Miller immediately felt more than a dozen glances drifting his way. Out of 150 points, 90 was passing, and he hadn’t even reached the passing line.

After reading out the last few names, Thomas Lee gave a harsh scolding, his expression growing even more severe.

“These grades are nothing yet, but!” He changed his tone, sweeping his gaze around the classroom and raising his voice.

“This weekend, the school will organize a large-scale English test to select ten exchange students to go to the United States this year. Also, our foreign teacher classes have been scheduled. If you’re still at this level, I’m sure foreign teachers Mary Green and Stephen will refuse to teach our class. You’re all nearly adults now, with your own minds. You should understand how precious these opportunities are, especially since both foreign teachers have priority recommendation spots for exchange students. They also have connections with schools in their own countries. If you can earn their recognition, it’s very possible to get exchange spots for Korea or the UK as well.”

With those words, Thomas Lee strode out of the classroom.

Korea and the UK—those two words instantly ignited everyone’s enthusiasm. Such opportunities were extremely rare, only available at top provincial schools. Of course, this didn’t include Grace Miller.

Opening the English textbook on his desk, Grace Miller began following his pre-planned study steps, completely unaffected. His time was precious now.

Chapter 5: Cultivation

As the noon dismissal bell rang, the Chinese teacher decisively stopped the ongoing classical Chinese explanation, tidied up the lesson plan on the podium, adjusted his glasses, and strode out of the classroom with a calm expression. The new Chinese teacher, Mr. Bolton, was a model of never dragging out class. No matter how passionate his teaching, even if he was just a bit away from finishing the planned content, as soon as the bell rang, he would immediately pick up his lesson plan and leave without another word. He was highly praised among the students.

As soon as the teacher left, the classroom became lively. From the end of morning classes to the start of afternoon classes, there were two and a half hours, leaving about an hour and a half of free time after eating and commuting. Generally, in classes like Grace Miller's, more than ten students would choose to stay in the classroom for self-study until the afternoon, eating directly in the staff cafeteria. Most students, however, would take their bags and head straight home. Grace Miller used to be one of them.

“What!? You’re not going home?” William Brooks looked shocked. “Acting! You’re totally faking it! Keep it up!!”