Chapter 4: Is This Still the Son They Once Knew?

“293 points!”
“Math 151, Chinese 112, English 30!”
“These are your son’s final exam results!”

Su Wanyu slammed the report card onto the living room table. Chen Xianqi, standing nearby, pretended to pick it up and scrutinize it, deliberately wearing a stern expression. “30 points? Even if I stomp on it with my foot, I’d score higher than that.”

“Wasn’t it over 40 last time?”

Chen Xianqi looked up at Chen Jin, who stood respectfully beside him but said nothing.

Because the system’s task completion alert sounded again in his ear.

But this task was somewhat odd.

[Task]: Spend more time with the elderly. (In progress)
[Please claim your reward]

“Say something?”

Chen Xianqi raised his voice, noticing his son’s silence.

“In progress? What does that mean?”

Chen Jin frowned but replied helplessly, “This English test was harder than the last one.”

“Harder, and you still only scored 30?”

“Dad, I’ll be honest with you. I just had bad luck this time. If I’d been lucky, I could’ve scored over 40.”

Anyone who’s taken English exams knows that luck plays a crucial role among low-scoring students; with a 120-point test, a lucky guess might net 50 or 60 points.

But if the luck runs out, you might barely get into the teens.

Chen Jin’s test was out of 120 points. He could answer about 20 points confidently, but the other 100 points were mostly guesses.

If he guessed correctly more often, his score would be higher.

If not, even the latest mnemonic tricks like “choose the shortest among three long options, the longest among three short ones” wouldn’t help, and now selecting all C’s or B’s doesn’t get marked.

The grading standards keep evolving.

Even pencil-twirling superstitions are unreliable; the mnemonic was the highest-scoring method Chen Jin found to be true.

“Listen, this is your son’s English!”

“Luck?”

Su Wanyu was too angry to look. In truth, if you removed English from Chen Jin’s overall score, his results were still quite good.

And his science scores were excellent.

But with the current three-subject college entrance exam system in Jiangnan, no matter how high you score in physics and chemistry, you can only get an A+ or A.

In the past, when five subjects were counted, even with uneven scores, there was still a chance to enter university. Now, if you’re weak in one of the three core subjects—Chinese, Math, or English—even community college won’t admit you.

This explains why Chen Jin’s high school, although a provincial key school that occasionally produces top students admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua, still has bottom-tier students like him.

If only he had five subjects, he might have made it to an undergraduate program.

“What should we do then?”

Chen Xianqi was worried too. It was already known in sophomore year that his son was poor at English.

They had tried many tutoring sessions, but he just couldn’t absorb it—or rather, he simply wasn’t interested in English.

He enjoyed watching foreign films, but when it came to memorizing vocabulary and learning grammar, he would just shut down.

“What do you mean, what to do? More tutoring!”

“If you can’t learn English, it’s just laziness and lack of will—there’s no other reason!”

“Mom, I really want to take the art entrance exam!”

Chen Jin suddenly interrupted, “Have you noticed my voice has changed a bit?”

“What?!”

Su Wanyu was momentarily taken aback.

Chen Xianqi, however, pondered and his eyes brightened slightly. “It does seem a bit different.”

“Right? Isn’t it more pleasant to listen to?”

Chen Jin cleared his throat. Chen Xianqi nodded in agreement, but Su Wanyu frowned, “Is this really the time to be talking about this?”

“Mom, how is my desire to take the art exam not serious?”

“My voice sounds better, right? I’ve been practicing pronunciation every day while memorizing English words!”

Chen Jin looked at the system’s virtual panel in front of him. He had just claimed the reward.

Ding!

[Congratulations, host, you have received the reward—Line Delivery Skill!]
[As a seasoned actor, voice, stage presence, movement, and expression are the four foundations of performance; line delivery is one of the most important skills.]
[Line Delivery Skill]: Beginner (1/10).

…

Countless hours of line practice experience were instantly transmitted into Chen Jin’s brain.

Now, when it came to reciting lines and speaking, he had considerable insight.

This strengthened Chen Jin’s resolve to pursue the art entrance exam.

Before the system, he had been a background actor for over ten years; with the system’s help, his life would undoubtedly change dramatically.

Most importantly, the system was called “From Extra to Veteran Actor.” If it had been a billionaire or academic prodigy system, he would have chosen a different path.

But this “Veteran Actor” system left no alternative.

“Pronunciation?”

Su Wanyu finally caught on and almost laughed at the absurdity. “Pronunciation? You can’t even read English words fluently—”

“Mom, don’t underestimate a young man’s potential!”

Chen Jin tried out his vocal techniques, cutting off Su Wanyu’s words. His voice was rhythmic and slightly magnetic.

Chen Xianqi could feel it too, his face showing a hint of surprise.

Su Wanyu noticed as well.

Seeing their astonishment, Chen Jin’s confidence soared. “Mom, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—don’t underestimate a young man’s poverty!”

This was a famous line from the popular web novel “Battle Through the Heavens.”

Chen Jin said it on impulse.

Like actors reciting lines or poetry on TV, he applied some techniques and tricks.

To Chen Xianqi, it indeed sounded somewhat impressive.

Su Wanyu, though unfamiliar with acting or broadcasting, could still tell at once whether a voice was pleasant or not.

That line surprised her more than she expected.

“Mom, I’ve prepared a lot for the art exam!”

“For example, this vocal training!”

Chen Jin cupped his hand and began vocalizing, “Hear that? This is called ‘voice training.’ Drama actors and even Yue opera performers you like often use it!”

“You first take a deep breath, then use the gap between your nose and tongue tip to inhale naturally and gently, like smelling a flower…”

Chen Jin took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his voice becoming smoother. “Inhale fully, then lower the breath to the dantian, relax your chest and ribs, let the air flow out slowly like a gentle stream. Exhale evenly, and the longer you can control it, the better…”

“This is just the first step, also called ‘deep inhale, slow exhale, controlled prolongation exercise.’”

Actors practice this because many lines need to be spoken in one breath, whereas normal breathing lasts only 3–4 seconds, which is insufficient.

Many film lines require a single breath lasting over ten seconds, sometimes even longer.

This is why voice training is necessary—to maintain a steady breath slowly released from the lungs.

All these techniques were part of the system’s recently granted reward—line delivery proficiency and its theoretical methods.

In fact, Chen Jin had been practicing daily as a background actor.

But now, with his modified voice and these vocal techniques, the impact on Su Wanyu and Chen Xianqi was immense.

Is this really the son they knew?

Where did this kid learn voice training?