Translator: 549690339
The office of the painting club was situated upstairs.
Luo Wei, the president of the painting club, hadnât been to the club for a while due to serious issues with failing courses. Little did she expect that upon her rare appearance today, several students would confront her at the entrance âTuition-based teaching?â
Luo Wei found this a novelty. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, âWhoâs involved?â
The complaining students presented themselves in indignation. âZhong Yu, Li Jia and Zhao Yan among others; they often participate in Lin Yuanâs paid sketching lessons. Theyâre ruining the atmosphere of our painting club!â
âFor how long?â
âMore than ten days, I guess.â
Luo Wei seemed thoughtful, saying, âNo wonderâ¦â
The complaining students were taken aback. They hadnât expected the president to take this so calmly. One of them unwillingly asked:
âNo wonder what?â
Lightly tapping her finger on the desk, Luo Wei shot a glance at the questioning student. âNo wonder Zhong Yu and Li Jiaâs sketching grades have improved so quickly.â
âHuh?â
âAll of you are aware that they are in the same class as me, right? In yesterdayâs sketching test, Zhong Yu came fourth in the class, and Li Jia fifth. They had never been so illustrious before. I was curious as to their sudden improvement. So it turns out they found a private tutor in the painting club. Our private tutorâs skill level is surprisingly high,â Luo Wei explained.
âWhat?â
The complainers were stunned.
At that moment, Vice President Shen Liang happened to enter the office.
Luo Wei greeted him with a smile, âPerfect timing! You heard about our painting clubâs new sketching champion providing fee-based teaching?â
âYes.â
Shen Liang gave a glance at the complaining students, âThis does not violate the rules of our painting club. Besides, I have conducted investigations; those who have participated in Lin Yuanâs sketching training have seen rapid improvement. It was their voluntary act to pay to improve themselves, and the results prove they were not deceived.â
âIâve got it, you guys can go back.â
Luo Wei glanced indifferently at the group of complainers: âPut your focus on painting instead. It may be helpful for your skill level. A high-level sketch artist like this wouldnât be teaching for money. Or do you think Zhong Yu and others arenât as intelligent as you? These guys are savvy; would they pay willingly for things that arenât beneficial?â
Looking at each other, the group of complainers left in awkward silence.
Watching their retreating figures, Luo Wei expressed her interest, âSeems like we have a real expert here. He significantly improved their skill level in such a short span of time. I have to meet him after my re-exams.â
âIndeed, heâs very impressive. I reckon no one in our club has better sketching skills than him.â
Zheng Liang admitted with a respectful face, âInitially, I too thought his means of charging for teaching wasnât right. But after seeing the rapid improvement in sketching grades of those who studied with him, I realized that perhaps what he cares about may not actually be the money. He might just be trying to get the learners to cherish the opportunity moreâ¦But President, your habit of failing courses every year is severe. Are you going to get retained? Are you going to be my junior?â
âShoo.â
Luo Wei rolled her eyes.
And just like that, the complaints evaporated into thin air.
But word got around the entire painting club that those studying with Lin Yuan had significantly improved their sketching grades.
Zhong Yu in particular was proud enough to flaunt his sketching result, boasting about his improvement within the painting club. He also unabashedly declared:
âIâm the number one disciple of the GOAT!â
All controversies were toast. Lin Yuan suddenly became the darling of the painting club, with many trying to take lessons from him.
No one is a fool!
Zhong Yu and the others improved way too quickly!
And even if someone was a fool, after witnessing the progress made by Zhong Yu and the others, it should be clear how valuable Lin Yuanâs teaching is!
Lin Yuanâs teaching skill may not necessarily be better than that of the experienced teachers at school. The school teachers have too many students to look after; they cannot possibly pay undivided attention to each.
But Lin Yuan was different.
He had a professional level of painting skill, and his one-on-one teaching concept was completely unique.
Lin Yuan understood this.
So, despite more and more people wanting to take lessons from himâso much so that many almost fought for the opportunityâhe still stuck to his one-on-one teaching strategy.
The strategy to only teach one person a day ensured targeted improvements in the learnerâs skill level.
However, Lin Yuan did make some adjustments to avoid his office doorway getting trampled by club members:
He raised his fee!
From originally two hundred an hour, his one-on-one teaching fee soared to five hundred per hour.
The majority of the students werenât wealthy.
The doubling of Lin Yuanâs teaching fee indeed held back quite a number of them.
But Lin Yuan didnât run out of students to teach in the coming days.
Even at five hundred an hour, many students were willing to foot the bill.
In addition to the one-on-one sessions, Lin Yuan conducted a public painting lesson every day, which was much appreciated by the club members.
âThis is like a free class for us.â
âThe GOAT indeed takes care of us poor students.â
âYeah, just watching him paint alone, we can learn so much.â
âI heard someone tried to blacken his name before, so heartless. Fortunately, the president didnât make a fuss about it.â
Even though Lin Yuan hadnât been with the painting club for long, he quickly accumulated positive feedback. Whenever he was painting in public, club members would voluntarily bring him milk tea, coffee or snacks.
Lin Yuan was delighted.
Beyond his one-on-one teachings, he noticed that his reputation points increased every time he painted in public. The progress of the task was very promising.
All he needed to do was continue painting publically, letting the audience acknowledge his work time and again, and he could successfully complete the mission of gathering a thousand reputation points.
âAll set.â
After finishing the public painting for the day, Lin Yuan left under the admiring gazes of the club members. It was time to go home and rest.
The end of the month was fast approaching.
Lin Yuan remembered he had to participate in the short-story submission for the literature section of the Tribe. Therefore, he planned to submit his short story that heâd already finished tonight.
Whether he would get the first prize was not certain.
But he was confident heâd be in the top three.
With those thoughts in mind, he returned home. He sent the chosen novel to the email address provided by the Tribeâs literature manager.
Meanwhile.
Wei Long, one of the chief editors of Tribeâs Literature section, received a ping in his email.
âChu Kuangâs submission?â
Wei Long got up to check, curiosity flashing across his face. The story before his eyes was titled âDeath of a Small Civil Servantâ..