If They Pass English, I’ll Kneel and Call Them Dad

"Xiaosi is absolutely incredible!" Zhao Feifei echoed with equal astonishment. "Even Xie Yiming personally endorsed her to compete in the International English Competition."

Ji Chuxing furrowed her brow slightly. It was rare for Zhao Feifei, who rarely cared about academics, to mention someone with such admiration—especially someone from the education field.

Zhao Feifei explained, "God Ji, you didn't grow up in South City, so you probably haven't heard of Xie Yiming."

Ji Chuxing nodded. "No, I haven't."

"But you're brutally honest, aren't you?"

She pressed on anyway. "He's the only expert in the history of English in South City—and a towering figure in China's English academic community. Everyone calls him 'Teacher' out of respect. Rumor has it that every national English textbook needs his final approval before publication. He's sixty now, with students scattered across the globe, yet he's never publicly praised any student—until Xiaosi. Can you believe it?"

Ji Chuxing nodded. "He must be something else."

"But how do you know all this?" Ji Chuxing asked, sensing there was more to the story.

Zhao Feifei scratched her nose awkwardly. "Well... let's just say Old Man Xie had a thing for her grandmother. He never married, and she happened to pick up some gossip along the way."

Ji Chuxing wasn't particularly interested in the details, but when Zhou Sixue returned, her excitement was palpable.

"God Ji, both the principal and the old director have asked me to join the International English Competition. I've already signed up."

Ji Chuxing: "Congratulations."

Zhou Sixue hesitated. "But I don't think I'm quite ready yet. Could you… maybe tutor me a bit more?"

Ji Chuxing nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you so much, God Ji! I'll work my hardest to make it to the national level. The principal said the prize money is 300,000 yuan. When we win, we'll split it—no, you take seventy percent, and I'll take thirty!"

Ji Chuxing's eyes lit up, and she patted Zhou Sixue on the shoulder. "Not just the national level—we're aiming for the top three in the competition."

Zhou Sixue's eyes widened. "No way, God Ji—I can't do that!"

Ji Chuxing gave her an encouraging look. "Yes, you can."

Seeing Ji Chuxing's unwavering confidence, Zhou Sixue felt a surge of determination. She clenched her fists. "Alright, if God Ji believes in me, then I'll give it everything I've got!"

The entire Class 16 gathered around, buzzing with excitement. Though they weren't entirely sure what the competition entailed, they knew this was the first time one of their own would compete at the national level. Their enthusiasm was infectious.

"We'll support Xiaozhou no matter what!"

"Right, let's scope out the other classes and size up our competition!"

Zhou Sixue was moved once again.

Class 16 truly is full of angels!

She suddenly remembered her mother's request. "Oh, right! My mom wanted to thank you all, especially God Ji. She's hosting a barbecue at home this weekend and wants everyone to come over."

She was referring to the recent bullying incident and the drama on the school forum.

Qin Taizhang had been efficient. In just a few days, he'd cleared up the old case. Bao Ye from South Street had vanished, and Zhou Sixue's father had been exonerated. However, due to his special status, the case wasn't made public—it was quietly resolved as a miscarriage of justice.

Zhou Sixue hesitated nervously. "Do you guys have time to come?"

"Of course we do!"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Barbecue? That's my specialty!"

Her face lit up as she looked hopefully at Ji Chuxing.

Ji Chuxing nodded. "Alright, send me the address."

Zhou Sixue beamed. "Perfect!"

---

Hua Xinli was dealt with, and the news broke at noon that day.

The incident drew significant attention, though few realized that Xie Yiming had also been present.

However, the Qihang class received a new English teacher. While Hua Xinli's misconduct in Class 16 was exposed, the Qihang students viewed her as a good teacher.

They couldn't relate to Class 16's grievances and believed Hua Xinli was blameless.

Changing teachers just before senior year was seen as disregarding the stability of the Qihang class. Many were angry, and some directed their frustration toward Class 16.

"They're poor students blaming Teacher Hua—how absurd."

"Exactly. Poor students will always find excuses instead of owning up to their failures."

"A single student teaching the class? I'm from Qihang, and I wouldn't dare think I could teach. This is ridiculous!"

...

On the school forum, most initial comments came from Qihang students, but gradually, others from different classes joined in.

As the discussion continued, many felt Class 16 had gone too far.

"They've crossed a line. A teacher is like a parent. This is disrespectful."

"It's typical of Class 16—they're the only ones who'd pull something like this!"

"But seriously, if one student manages to pass the English exam, I'll kneel and call them 'Dad'!"

"Same here—if they pass, I'll be their grandson!"

"+1"

"+10086"

"+My ID number!"

"Still, doesn't Class 16 seem kind of cool?"

This comment was quickly buried under thousands of replies.

Zhao Feifei fumed. "What a bunch of idiots!"

Naturally, the Class 16 students saw it too. "Just wait until we pass—you'll be calling us 'Dad' soon enough!"

"Yeah, and we'll livestream it. You're making me so mad!"

Zhou Sixue was furious. Those people mocking her classmates made her blood boil.

The soft-spoken girl stepped onto the podium. "We can't let them underestimate us. I'm confident I can help raise everyone's English scores!"

Lu Xing leapt onto the stage and banged on the podium. "Starting today, no sleeping in class! Everyone memorizes 100 English words daily!"

"That's right!"

The entire class erupted in agreement. "Passing? They talk as if none of us can pass. What a bunch of fools!"

Five minutes later, a new post appeared on the school forum, filled with screenshots of those who claimed Class 16's average English score would pass and promised to call them "Dad."

"These accounts—we've noted them all. Get ready to eat your words, idiots!"

This post sparked a school-wide challenge. More people became interested, and even those who hadn't joined in before thought Class 16 was insane, leading to even more replies.

"Haha, the maximum score in English is 150. Class 16's average has never been above 50, right?"

"Are they crazy? How dare they challenge this? Where does Class 16 get the nerve?"

"I'm in on this bet. If Class 16's average score passes, I'll call them 'Dad'! Otherwise, everyone in Class 16 will run laps around the playground shouting 'I'm a grandson' a thousand times!"

"Seconded!"

"Joining the bet!"

"Exciting—I'm in!"

"Crazy, I'll join. If Class 16 passes, the entire Qihang class will call them 'Dad'!"

In just ten minutes, the post had over two thousand replies and was still growing.

When Old Huang came to check on the class during the next period, his eyes nearly popped out.

This… his Class 16 students, actually paying attention and no one sleeping?

Though most of them looked confused, clearly not understanding, it was still shocking. Even the subject teacher left the podium bewildered, thinking it was a dream.

However, the news that Zhou Sixue from Class 16 was participating in the International English Competition spread quickly.

Before this, Zhou Sixue's name was only known as the daughter of a supposed murderer on the school forum. No one else knew her.

It was only recently that she became known.

When the Qihang class heard that a student from Class 16 was competing, they laughed uproariously.

"Her? Never heard of her before."

"She learned a few English words and thinks she can be a teacher and compete? Maybe the principal is compensating her for the previous incident by giving her a symbolic spot?"

"I heard she's practicing English with Ji Chuxing after class. Hilarious, two poor students—they're just embarrassing themselves, right?"

Moxue had been expelled, but it didn't cause much of a stir in the Qihang class.

Although they knew Zhou Sixue wanted to sue Moxue, no one sympathized with her. Some even gloated.

After all, Moxue had started the thread on the forum. If not for her, they wouldn't have been involved.

But with Moxue gone, some people's resentment and frustration fell on the protagonists, Ji Chuxing and Zhou Sixue.

Wen Xinyue, of course, heard about this.

She was also participating in the International English Competition and was the top student at Nan High School.

"Xinyue, did you hear about this?" someone asked her.

Wen Xinyue, buried in her papers, replied, "Anyone can participate in the competition."

She didn't care at all. She knew Ji Chuxing's level; she couldn't even speak basic English.

Seeing her indifference, the others gathered around. "Exactly, Xinyue has no problem with English abroad. What is Zhou Sixue compared to her?"

"Xinyue will definitely win. There's no doubt. I have faith in you."

Everyone praised her, and Wen Xinyue smiled. "Thank you, everyone. I'll prepare thoroughly."

At that moment, someone called from outside, "Xinyue, Teacher Wu is looking for you."

Wu Fangying stood at the door of the Qihang class. Wen Xinyue was delighted and quickly stood up. "Teacher Wu, you're looking for me."

Wu Fangying nodded. "Do you have time? Let's go to the lab."

"Of course, I'll go with you right now."

Wen Xinyue followed Wu Fangying, and the Qihang class continued to buzz with envious remarks.

"Xinyue is amazing, working with Teacher Wu in the lab."

"In all of Nan High School, only she has this ability. She'll definitely be recommended by Teacher Wu to North City University."

"Really enviable."

"Oh well, we can only envy her. She always gets the top scores."