My One And Only Love/ Exclusive Memory (Somewhere Only We Know) — 独家记忆 Chapter 1 Part 5

 Greetings, hello my dear readers! 

    How are you? And you're back with me again~!

    Last week, our poor Xue Tong was chosen to recite the words-reviewing on behalf of their friends and got caught by our Mu Laoshi (teacher)! Now, now... how will the private lesson go? (￣∇￣;))) Keep on reading~~ 

Chapter 1 Part 5: Mr. Beaver VS Miss Astro Boy 
Translated & Proofread by Fei斐

    Mu Chenghe didn't have an office in the foreign language department, hence he still occupied Chen Ting's desk. The end of the two classes in the evening was already nine o'clock, so obviously there was no teacher left in the building. I deliberately dangled for a while before I went to look for him at around 9:10. It was only Mu Cheng and another person in the office, and there were even fewer people in the corridor.

    Mu Chenghe was sitting on the desk, looking at the roster. When he saw me coming in, he motioned for me to find a chair and sit down. He put down the things in his hands, clasped his hands against his chin, and said thoughtfully, "I have never taught undergraduates before, let alone teaching languages. I know that our school's professional Russian classes are taught in small-size classes with no more than 20 students in each class. Therefore, this kind of big-scale classes of secondary foreign language subject are very difficult to teach. If there is any problem with my teaching method, you can give me your opinion as a class representative."

    When I saw him being so humble, suddenly I became embarrassed, "No, no. It's very good."

    After a moment of silence, he turned to the main topic and asked me, "Then, why can't you send [Р]?"

    "It's innate, what's so surprising. Even Lenin[1] couldn't do it." I remembered the example that Bai Lin had said to comfort me.

    "Can you compare with Lenin?"

    "Can't..."

    "Stop your tongue between [т] or [д], try again." he said.

    As before, I said "I got it", but for a long time, it never came out.

    He got up and beckoned at me impatiently, "Come here."

    I was in dazed and motionless, what's wrong with me?

    Seeing that I didn’t move, he walked around the table helplessly and walked to me, “Do not think that it is a trivial matter, you don’t even know how awkward it sounds. Look at my mouth." He ordered me to look up, then opened his lips to let me see the position of his tongue.

    "Roll up your tongue against your upper jaw, then blow the air out." He asked me to watch the movements of his lips and tongue carefully as he was explaining. Along with that, there was a long and brisk flicking tongue sound sounded lightly. He abruptly asked, "What are you thinking? "

    "Mr. Beaver." I blurted out without thinking.

    "Uh?"

    "Colgate ads." Mr. Beaver, why are your teeth so white.

Mr. Mu in XT's eyes*LOL*

    "..." He glanced at me, his eyes lingering on me, "Classmate, you are so daring to play with fire. Don't mess with me."

    From the perspective of identities between me and him, I was clearly in a disadvantaged group. A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him. I could only lower my head, pretending to admit my mistakes. He shifted the topic of conversation, squinted his eyes and smiled, "Good boy, you must be scared. I, Teacher Mu, have a broad mind, and I have never been angry with my student." Then two fingers were put against my chin, bringing me to look up at him again. He slowly re-demonstrated it for another two or three times, then let me practiced it in front of him.

    "Tongue, the key is the tongue. Don't be too stiff, relax, and squeeze the chest cavity." He said.

    "Xiao Tong, are you done?" At this moment, Bai Lin suddenly appeared at the door hopping. I was raising my head, meeting right at Mu Chenghe's face. While on the other hand, Mu Chenghe was supporting my chin with his fingers, saying something to me with his bewitching voice, "Relax your tongue, make it relax and exhale slowly through your mouth."

    Seeing what was in front of her eyes, Bai Lin was dumbfounded. She immediately recovered herself super fast and said, "Go on, teacher. You guys go on. I didn't see anything." She retreated quickly after saying this.

***

    "What's the matter, Xiao Bai?" 

    Xiao Bai's voice came from the other side of the corridor, "Nothing, Teacher Mu is still teaching Xiao Tong."

    I heard this last sentence. After that, there was no more voice in the hallway.

    "It's strange, what is she running for?" I was puzzled.

    "Yes, ah." Mu Chenghe echoed, "Come on, let's continue."

    In the end, I spent all my energy and made my tongue move two or three times going back and forth.

    "Remember how, go back and practice hard. Learning can't be done overnight." Mu Chenghe said.

    "Mn." I wiped my sweat. He finally let me go.

    "Next week, I will still be here waiting for you." Mu Chenghe added casually. Kacha[2]一 I seemed to hear the sound of broken hearts.

    He stopped me again, "Classmate."

    "Here."

    "Your name?"

    "Xue Tong." I said.

    "Xue Tong." While he repeated simultaneously in his mouth, he picked up the student roster and looked for the name on it.

    "Xue Baochai's[3] Xue, Wutong's[4] Tong." I explained.

Phoenix Tree

    "Phoenix Tree?" He seemed to smile. "Phoenix would not inhabit the Phoenix Tree^[5]?"

    "No," my parents were not that cultured, "My father's surname is Xue, and my mother's surname is Tong. As a result, he named me Xue Tong. Later, people said that I was lacking of wood in the five elements, so my father changed my name into Wutong's Tong."

    "The five elements, and you are lacking a wood," he happily heard the words, "then I think there is a name that suits you better."

    "What is it?" I looked up.

    "Astro Boy[6]."

    "%&*￥#……"

    The little good feelings that had just been cultivated disappeared in an instance.

    I went back to the girls' dorm building and kicked open the door of my dormitory. Bai Lin jumped up from the stool. She rushed over to hug me and asked, "How was it? How was it?"

    "You still have the nerve to ask. Slipping away without even waiting for me.."

    "It's not like I have no shame." Bai Lin's face flushed, and hung her face down. After a short while, she continued asking, "How was it?"

    I thought of how Mu Chenghe had made fun of my name. I was itching with hatred that I couldn't help but madly said, "Mu Chenghe, he and I are extremely incompatible!"

    "I say, Xiao Tong, although fighting is a personal path to curse and love, this kind of thing should be kept low-key. After all, between teachers and students...that-what." Bai Lin winked at me mysteriously.

    "What 'what'?" I was puzzled.

    "Aiya[7]! That's exactly what, it's so obvious." Bai Lin patted me shyly.

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[1] Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by his alias Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. (Read more about: Lenin)

[2] It's an onomatopoeia of something breaking.

[3] 薛宝钗 Xuē Bǎochāi一 is a female character in Dream of Red Mansions, married to Jia Baoyu. And this is the Xue in Xue Tong's name.

[4] 梧桐 Wútóng一 is a Chinese Parasol Tree/Phoenix Tree. This is the Tong in Xue Tong's name.

[5] 凤凰不遇梧桐树就不栖息，没有竹米，就不进食。Fènghuáng bùyù wútóng shù jiù bù qīxī, méiyǒu zhú mǐ, jiù bù jìnshí.一 The phoenix would not inhabit the phoenix tree, and would not eat without bamboo. (I guess it's a literature poetry. This is what I got from searching for so long.. I'm still unsure. If anyone knows, please tell me! Tysm☺)

[6] 阿童木 Ā tóng mù一 It's the Chinese name for Astro Boy. The 木(mù) in Ā tóng mù (Astro Boy) is the Chinese character for wood. Just now, XT said that her name lacked in wood element. Therefore, MCH suggested the name as it contains a pure 'woodly' element HAHAHAHA.

[7] This is an expression used to express something like "Goodness!" in English.

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HAHAHAHAHA. Now you know where did this chapter's title, Mr. Beaver VS Miss Astro Boy, came from. Learned a lot of new things translating this chapter, and TBH I have never watched Astro Boy before. That's all for today's update.. See you next week~!

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