作家蒋方舟学术不端事件终于尘埃落定。2026年7月13日，中国人民大学宣布撤销其硕士学位。蒋方舟7岁开始写作、9岁出版作品，后来又被清华大学破格录取，因此一向被视为才女，但这次事件却足以让她多年建立的声誉迅速崩塌。

事件最初源于某高校教授的举报。校方第一次调查认为论文只是引用不规范，不少人相信事情已经结束。不过，有网友觉得十分蹊跷，便陆续对论文进行“鉴抄”，发现文中大量引用他人的译文和研究成果，却未注明出处。至此，蒋方舟论文造假的事实才彻底暴露。这些新证据促使学校重新调查，并最终推翻了之前的结论。

进一步调查发现，论文存在类似洗稿和顺手牵羊式的写法，一些特殊表达几乎完全照搬原文。这说明，仅靠论文查重并不能发现所有问题，因为有些人可能会利用翻译、改写等方式钻空子。连普通读者都能发现这些明显的问题，何况长期从…

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This week we meet Jiang Fangzhou (蒋方舟) who is a famous writer and media personality in China.

She’s known as the “genius girl” (天才少女) whose mother decided she would become a writer from as early as primary school.

Under these high pressure “tiger mum” expectations, from a young age Jiang’s training regime included waking up every day at 4am to write, and a ban on reading children’s books. When Jiang was seven, her mum even told her it was a legal requirement for every child to publish a book before finishing primary school, or they would be arrested.

The high pressure approach worked. Jiang published her first book at the age of nine, and by the age of 12 was writing columns for Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报), making her the youngest newspaper columnist in China at the time.

Jiang was admitted to Tsinghua University for her under graduate degree with a 60-point concession on her gaokao score, which is reportedly the first and only time that has happened.

After a stint as deputy editor of Neweekly (新周刊), a respected current affairs magazine, Jiang went on to take a master’s degree in creative writing at Renmin University (中国人民大学) which she completed in 2019. Since then she’s been a regular guest on TV shows, runs her own culture and media business, and is one of the more recognisable literary personalities in China.

But her reputation is now in tatters following accusations of plagiarism.

The controversy began in August 2025, when Tsinghua professor, Xiao Ying (肖鹰) published a lengthy accusation alleging Jiang’s master’s thesis, The Three Identities of Mary Shelley, contained “serious plagiarism and widespread fabrication” (严重抄袭和普遍造假). In April this year, Xiao formally submitted his complaint to Renmin University, which triggered an investigation.

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The story hit social media feeds in early July as the investigation was coming to a conclusion. Under mounting pressure online, Jiang published a rebuttal on July 5. She admitted some “citation irregularities” (引注不规范) in her work, but rejected all accusations of plagiarism.

In a second post, she accused Xiao of “selective whistleblowing” (选择性打假), presuming her guilt from the outset, and then hunting for evidence such as formatting slips to support that narrative:

“If this kind of whistleblowing is allowed to stand, then it is no longer academic oversight, but an instrument of vigilante justice anyone can wield.

Using public scrutiny to settle private scores damages more than my reputation alone. It undermines the credibility of academic oversight itself.”

“如果这样的打假可以成立，那么它就不再是学术监督，而是一件人人可用的私刑工具。把公器用于私怨，损害的不只是我一个人的名誉，而是’学术打假’这四个字的信誉。”

Renmin University were initially supportive of Jiang saying their investigation found no evidence of plagiarism. But a week later, following “new leads provided by netizens” (网友提供的新线索), the university reopened its investigation.

One of those leads came from a Douban user who traced passages in her thesis to a Taiwanese academic journal. Another came from a book blogger who suggested Jiang’s borrowing went well beyond her masters thesis, such as in her 2021 book, The Protagonist (主人公). One essay in that book, according to this online sleuth, closely resembled the work of British historian, Tony Judt, but without referencing it. The blogger describes this kind of plagiarism with the classical Chinese idiom:

“Leading the goat away in passing” (顺手牵羊)

Which means to steal something opportunistically without being noticed.

Eventually, on July 13 Renmin University reversed its original position on Jiang, confirming she had committed "academic misconduct" (学术不端). A statement said her thesis "overlapped" (重合) with a paper published outside the mainland without citation, and that her master's degree had been revoked.

Jiang issued a full public apology on the same day but the damage was done, as one online commentator put it:

“The carefully crafted ‘genius girl’ image that took Jiang over twenty years to build...

Came crashing down on the night of July 13.”

“蒋方舟用了二十多年精心搭建的那座’天才少女’琉璃塔，在2026年7月13日的夜晚，碎了一地。”

The case has sparked a wider debate in China about the boundaries of plagiarism, which are vague, subjective, and difficult to detect even with software.

Recent studies show academic misconduct in China is shifting from obvious word-for-word copying towards something called “hidden academic misconduct” (隐性学术不端) which can be harder to identify and prove.

One common tactic is lifting ideas from papers published outside of China in English or other languages. And through translation, paraphrasing, and reordering, the copying becomes much harder to detect.

“It takes only a few clicks of the mouse to plagiarise an article, but proving plagiarism often means engaging in an endless wild goose chase.”

“抄袭的人只要动动笔，抓抄袭的人可是要跑断腿的。”

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

Favourite Five

1. 洗稿 xǐ gǎo

article spinning (to disguise plagiarism)

论文投机者如何绕过学术查重机制，发表抄袭、洗稿的内容？ - How do academic opportunists bypass plagiarism checkers to publish plagiarized or recycled content? [1]

2. 开挂 kāi guà

to have an unfair advantage, to be overpowered

一路开挂的人生也有刹车的一天 - Even for someone as unstoppable as she is, life will come to a screeching halt at some point. [3]

• Note: internet slang phrases originally from gaming, meaning to use third party software to gain unfair advantage.

3. 学术不端 xué shù bù duān

academic misconduct

该校文学院2019届硕士毕业生蒋方舟，因其硕士论文构成学术不端，决定撤销其硕士学位 - The university decided to revoke Jiang Fangzhou’s master’s degree after finding academic misconduct in her master’s thesis. [1]

4. 异曲同工 yì qǔ tóng gōng

different in form but equally effective, achieve the same result by different means

他在蒋方舟的其他作品中，陆续发现了更多“异曲同工”之处 - He continued to spot uncanny parallels in Jiang’s other writings. [2]

• Note: used sarcastically in this context.

5. 顺手牵羊 shùn shǒu qiān yáng

to steal something while the opportunity arises, to pocket something casually

这让我不禁怀疑，多少东西是她自己写的，多少东西是顺手牵羊的 - This made me wonder: how much of it did she write herself, and how much was casually lifted from elsewhere? [2]

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Useful words

6. 打假 dǎ jiǎ

to expose fraud, to debunk

这是作家中，少见的因学术不端问题被“打假” - This is a rare case of a writer being exposed for academic misconduct. [1]

• Related:

  • 造假 zào jiǎ – to fabricate, to falsify

  • 胡编乱造 hú biān luàn zào – to make things up, to fabricate out of thin air

7. 鉴抄 jiàn chāo

plagiarism sleuthing

初代“天才少女”栽在论文鉴抄上，没想到还是被网友锤的 - OG “Prodigy Girl” busted by internet plagiarism sleuths [2]

• Related:

  • 抄袭 chāo xí – to plagiarize, to copy someone else’s work

8. 陨落 yǔn luò

to fall from grace, to come crashing down

随着人大的二次通报，天才作家正式陨落 - Following Renmin University’s second official announcement, the once-celebrated literary prodigy fell from grace once and for all. [1]

9. 查重 chá chóng

to check for plagiarism, to run a similarity check

蒋方舟在硕士论文中，有许多刻意规避查重的投机行为 - In her master’s thesis, Jiang Fangzhou resorted to plenty of tricks to game plagiarism checkers. [1]

• Related:

  • 降重 jiàng chóng – to reduce the similarity score

10. 蹊跷 qī qiao

suspicious, fishy

让他感到其中必有蹊跷 - It made him feel that there must be something fishy going on. [2]

11. 拧巴 nǐng ba

awkward, conflicted

感觉她处于一个很纠结、很拧巴的状态 - She seemed very torn and conflicted. [2]

12. 才女 cái nǚ

talented woman, gifted female scholar

更是对其一直以来营造的“才女”人设的毁灭性打击 - It was also a devastating blow to the “talented woman” image she had carefully cultivated over the years. [3]

• Related:

  • 神童 shén tóng – child prodigy

13. 破格 pò gé

to make an exception, to admit by special consideration

这次破格录取，当然也造成了很大的争议 - This exceptional admission naturally sparked considerable controversy. [3]

Three-character phrases

14. 坐不住 zuò bu zhù

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7月13日，中国人民大学（简称“人大”）发布通告称，经调查认定蒋方舟学术不端属实，其硕士学位被撤销。

蒋方舟身上的标签有很多，她是7岁写作、9岁出书的“天才少女”，是让清华大学降分招收、硕士免考的“人生赢家”，23岁成为《新周刊》最年轻的副主编，也是知名文化节目中的常客。

随着通告一锤定音，这些光环也渐渐黯淡。网络上有评论说，“蒋方舟用了二十多年精心搭建的那座‘天才少女’琉璃塔，在2026年7月13日的夜晚，碎了一地。”

事后，蒋方舟仅在微博上做出了简短回应，对学校的处理结果表示接受，对读者和老师致以歉意。

截至发稿，她没有进一步的公开回复。

回顾整个事件，八天之内的两次“反转”，每次都顶上了热搜高位。

7月5日，蒋方舟发文逐项回应面对清华大学教授肖鹰对其硕士论文的2…

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Frank: 大家好，我是Frank。你看奥德赛那部电影了吗？

S：还没看，但是挺期待的，毕竟是大导演诺兰加上著名史诗故事，很难不期待。你看了吗？

F：我也没看，其实我不太了解这个史诗故事，但是最近总是听说“奥德赛时期”这个词。

S：对对对，很多人都说自己正在经历自己的“奥德赛时期”。

F：这个奥德赛时期究竟指的是什么啊？年轻人的词现在太多了。

S：跟年轻人有代沟了吧？

F：有代沟，不知道这又是什么时尚的说法。

S：好，那我给你缕缕，简单说就是奥德修斯，是古希腊神话中的一个英雄，奥德赛这部史诗讲了特洛伊战争胜利后，他在海上漂泊10年终于回到自己家乡的故事。

F：哦，那就是个回家的故事？

S：可以这么说，不过这10年在海上漂泊，他遇到了独眼巨…

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过去，人们认为大学毕业后就应该成家立业，实现三十而立。但如今，越来越多的年轻人在二十多岁经历漫长的奥德赛时期。他们不断漂泊，工作换来换去，甚至裸辞，在迷茫中寻找真正适合自己的方向。现实固然充满未知数，时常令人无可奈何，但是他们不愿为了稳定而一直苟下去。

《纽约时报》专栏作家戴维·布鲁克斯认为，这段时期充满竞争和压力，却能帮助年轻人在不断拼搏和试错中再度认识自己。即便是成功人士，人生道路也十分曲折。他们曾经走过不少弯路，最终都找到了属于自己的落脚点。

转行会让积累下的经验不再适用，却可能带来更多的发展机会，因为每一次尝试都是寻找最佳匹配的一种解法。这种探索的过程难免带着几分苦涩，但也可能成为人生最珍贵的馈赠。真正丰富的人生不仅仅在于追求快乐或成功，更在于各种新奇而深刻的经历。旅行、阅读、挑战自我，甚至失败，…

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This newsletter exists to uncover and explain new words and phrases which help understand trends unfolding in China today. And this week we’ve found a cracker of a new phrase to share with you.

It’s linked to how life in China for young people used to follow a predictable script, but is now changing.

From a young age, kids are put through a punishing education. “Chicken blood parents” (鸡娃家长) invest everything into their schooling all the way up to the gruelling “gaokao exams” (高考). University follows, which is just as competitive.

Then comes the search for a stable job, with more and more graduates opting to take “public service exams” (考公) in pursuit of the “iron rice bowl” (铁饭碗). The “pressure to get married” (催婚) sets in, especially for young women. Marriage and buying a home then follows.

Traditionally this has been when adulthood begins for young people in China.

But that is now changing. With millions of graduates each year competing for a shrinking pool of opportunities, the pressure is relentless. Increasing numbers of people in their twenties are ending up as “unfinished kids” (烂尾娃). Some opt out of finding a job altogether and move back in with their parents to “work” as “full-time children” (全职子女). Others rent rooms with friends in the city where they graduated and take underpaid “workhorse” (牛马) jobs. Many also push back on the pressure to get married.

According to one recent survey, half of fresh graduates in China say they lack a clear sense of purpose or direction.

This experience now has a name. It’s a phrase which went viral on the Chinese internet earlier this year, and is explored in a recent article by current affairs magazine, Lifeweek (三联生活周刊).

The article opens with a familiar genre of street interview shared on social media in which passers-by are asked why they’re out on the streets on a normal working day during work hours.

The common answer is:

“I’m going through my Odyssey Years.’”

“我在经历我的奥德赛时期。”

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“Odyssey Years” (奥德赛时期) is a phrase borrowed from English. It’s become one of the biggest buzzwords in China this year. It was first coined back in 2007 by New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Brooks argued that life once had four stages: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. He suggested there are now at least six stages. Before old age comes an “active retirement”. And between adolescence and adulthood sits a decade of wandering, which he called “the Odyssey Years”.

This is a reference to the hero of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. After the Trojan War, Odysseus, spent ten years enduring endless hardships before finally returning home to his wife and son, by which time he had become a resourceful and weathered man.

Nearly 20 years since it was first coined, “the Odyssey Years’ is now being used as a metaphor for young people in China who spend a decade feeling lost after graduating university.

“Raised in a tightly scripted childhood, today’s youth step into a world defined by uncertainty, trial-and-error, and endless possibilities after graduation.’”

这一代年轻人成长于结构严谨的童年，但毕业后却进入了一个充满不确定性、多样性、探索和尝试的世界。

The sudden popularity of the phrase in China, both on social media and even in the state media, can perhaps be put down to it being a sort of self-comfort. Invoking Odysseus makes the drifting feel less depressing, and offers hope that eventually a destination with be reached, and that everything will be okay.

Of course, many also disagree with this romanticised, propaganda-friendly interpretation. They argue that life in China is just getting worse and there is little or no hope of things improving for them. But nonetheless this phrase has definitely taken off and appears to be here to stay.

Another word has surfaced to explain the feeling of going through the Odyssey Years. It was a relatively uncommon single-character word until around three years ago when it started to become more widely used. That character is 苟 (gǒu) which we translate as “hanging in there”:

“Hanging in there” means knowing deep down that you still haven’t found your place and don’t yet have the ability to achieve the life you want.

“苟”是你心里清楚，自己还没有找到那个位置，还没有能力去实现想要的生活。

“Hanging in there” (苟) is not the same as “lying flat” (躺平), which is more like giving up. Instead, hanging in there, conveys a sense of sticking things out, getting through the “Odyssey Years”, until things improve and a destination is finally reached.

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 漂泊 piāo bó

to drift, to lead a wandering life

社会框架给像她这样“漂泊”的人规划了一个岸 - Societal expectations have built a safe haven for people who are “drifting” through life like her. [2]

• Related:

  • 漂流 piāo liú – to drift, to float

  • 北漂 běi piāo – people who move to Beijing to live and work (especially migrants chasing opportunities)

  • 漂泊期 piāo bó qī – period of wandering, transitional period of drifting through life

2. 游历期 yóu lì qī

period of exploration, period of wandering

这是一段“游历期”，你需要走出去见天地，拓宽认知的边界 - This is a period of wandering, a time to venture out, see the world and challenge your understanding. [3]

3. 三十而立 sān shí ér lì

to be established by the age of thirty, to be settled in life by thirty

在30岁焦虑前徘徊的年轻人，职业与婚育尚未按照社会时钟“正常推进”，无法达成“三十而立”，一切都是“不确定” - Young people are anxious about turning 30, if their career and relationships haven’t hit the milestones of the societal timeline. It means they can’t “get their lives together” by thirty. For them, everything remains up in the air. [2]

4. 定海神针 dìng hǎi shén zhēn

stabilising force, anchor

她找到了自己的定海神针，接受了如奥德赛一般“长久漂流”的状态 - She found her anchor and embraced a permanent state of wandering, much like Odysseus. [2]

5. 奥德赛时期 ào dé sài shí qī

Odyssey Years

现在那些在上班时间游荡的人可能会告诉你，“我在经历我的奥德赛时期。” - Now, those people wandering around on a normal working day might tell you: “I’m going through my Odyssey Years.” [1]

• Related:

  • 成年初显期 chéng nián chū xiǎn qī – emerging adulthood

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 苟 gǒu

to hang in there, hold on

“苟”是你心里清楚，自己还没有找到那个位置，还没有能力去实现想要的生活 - “Hanging in there” means knowing deep down that you still haven’t found your place and don’t yet have the ability to achieve the life you want. [3]

• Note: originally a concept from gaming.

7. 迷茫 mí máng

confused, lost

许多大学生在毕业后的头几年里，虽然怀揣梦想，却感到迷茫 - Many young people feel lost during the first few years after graduation, even though they have their dreams. [1]

• Related:

  • 迷失 mí shī – to lose one’s way, to feel lost

8. 拼搏 pīn bó

to strive, to fight hard

奋斗岁月的艰辛教会了他们如何拼搏 - The grueling years of struggle have taught them how to keep going. [1]

9. 曲折 qū zhé

twisting, full of setbacks

在前50名受试者中，有45人详细描述了职业道路的艰难和曲折 - Out of the 50 participants, 45 people recounted in detail the struggle and the setbacks they went through in their careers. [1]

• Related:

  • 挣扎 zhēng zhá – to struggle

  • 绕路 rào lù – to take a detour

10. 苦涩 kǔ sè

bitter, bittersweet

他们苦涩又豪迈地把自己长达十年的迷茫期浪漫化为一种史诗般的归乡之旅 - With a mix of bitterness and defiance, they romanticised their decade-long drift into an epic homecoming. [1]

11. 裸辞 luǒ cí

to quit without another job lined up, to resign without a backup plan

当28岁来临时，她发现裸辞导致自己心中的恐惧在不断放大 - As she hit twenty-eight, the reality of quitting her job began to feed a growing sense of dread. [2]

12. 解法 jiě fǎ

solution, way to solve something

张小麦辞职是为了求得一个度过奥德赛时期的解法 - Zhang Xiaomai quit her job in search of a way to get through her Odyssey Years. [2]

13. 馈赠 kuì zèng

gift, blessing

原来迷茫在某种程度上是馈赠，禾晴转变了心态 - Heqing came to realize that feeling lost is a gift to a certain extent, and this changed her mindset. [2]

14. 洒脱 sǎ tuō

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生活不是考卷，人生这道题没有唯一解。欢迎收听南周播客“非标准答案”，我们邀请专业人士，聊聊具体而微的生活难题。

最近几个月，“奥德赛时期”这个词悄然流行。它像一个精准的时代切片，戳中了一代人的集体困境：在二十岁到三十岁之间，他们毕业、换工作、搬城市、经历聚散，却始终卡在一种“悬而未决”的状态里。有人换了五六份工作仍找不到方向，有人三十岁重返校园，有人明明过着稳定的生活，却总觉得“这不是我想要的”。当被问起“你这辈子要做什么”，很多人会下意识地沉默。

本期“非标准答案”适逢六一儿童节，近些年，我们发现，越来越多年轻人会在儿童节这天说自己“不想长大”。“不想长大”背后除了情绪，或许还有更多社会发展因素，我们请来了心理咨询师李松蔚，和他一同聊聊这届年轻人被拉长的“奥德赛时期”。

作为国内最受年轻人关注的心…

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Frank: 大家好，我是Frank。你喝过茉莉奶奶吗？

S：人家是茉莉奶白，不是茉莉奶奶。

F：这个奶茶品牌和种类太多了，记不住了。

S：我没喝过，你喝过吗？

F：我也没喝过，但是最近茉莉奶白很火啊。

S：因为“撞脸” LV被起诉了，本来我都不知道这个奶茶品牌，现在也知道了...甚至想点一杯尝尝。

F：我很认真的去看了茉莉奶白的商标，确实跟LV挺像的，可是好像跟LV的商标相似的商标挺多的。

S：那...举个例子？

F：想不起来了。

S：你最好别想起来，万一你说了啥被LV听到了，接下来人家要起诉这些品牌呢？

F：我们的听众有这么多吗？都能被LV法务听到了？

S：万一呢，咱们这会员里藏龙卧虎的。

F：不开玩笑了，这次茉莉奶白被判了赔偿金1000万，…

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近日，奶茶品牌茉莉奶白因商标与LV经典图案极为相似，被法院认定侵权，需要向LV赔偿1030万元。茉莉奶白表示不服，将提起诉讼。然而，该品牌已有2000多家门店，更换商标意味着要付出高昂的成本。

案件引发网络热议，舆论几乎一边倒支持茉莉奶白。许多网友为其喊冤，毕竟一杯20元的奶茶与奢侈品并不存在竞争关系。也有人批评LV以大欺小，丢光了自己的路人缘。还有人指出，LV的花纹灵感借鉴了中国传统文化元素，由此引发了关于文化挪用的质疑。

不过，从法律角度来看，法律保护的是具有商业识别性的商标，不光看花纹从哪里来。茉莉奶白申请的相关商标虽被驳回，但之后仍继续大规模使用该商标，这一行为成为案件最大的破绽。法院认为，虽然消费者不会误以为LV卖奶茶，但可能误认为双方存在合作关系，因此认定茉莉奶白侵权。

律师指出，与其争取完全胜…

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A 20-yuan cup of tea is at the centre of a legal fight with a French luxury giant. The case has divided public opinion in China.

On July 2, a court in Suzhou ruled that Molly Tea (茉莉奶白), one of China’s rising bubble tea brands, had infringed seven registered trademarks belonging to Louis Vuitton. The Shenzhen-based tea company’s logo, a black-and-white four-petal flower, closely resembles LV’s famous and iconic monogram flower.

The court ordered Molly Tea to pay 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in damages plus 300,000 yuan in legal costs, apologise publicly to LV, and remove all infringing designs.

The story was soon trending on social media, with most voices speaking out in support of the tea brand:

“Who drinks Molly Tea because its logo looks like LV’s?”

“谁喝茉莉奶白是因为logo和LV相似？”

Across social platforms, comment sections were filled with images of Molly Tea order receipts. The brand’s official Douyin account added more than 110,000 followers in a single day.

Another theme in the discussions was how LV's logo is itself borrowed from China, in what is described as "cultural appropriation" (文化挪用). Images circulated online of near-identical designs called the "treasure flower" pattern (宝相花), a stylised floral motif found in Buddhist art during the Tang Dynasty (618–907).

But there were also voices, especially those of legal experts, who agreed with the court’s decision saying that:

The Tang Dynasty treasure flower cannot be used to deny the value of LV’s monogram as a trademark.

LV registered the trademark, and has spent more than a century cultivating a rich brand heritage, so they are legally entitled to protect their assets.

无法根据唐代宝相花来否认LV那朵花作为商业标识的价值。LV注册了商标，花了一百多年时间沉淀了深厚的品牌声誉，有权得到法律的保护。 [1]

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Molly Tea is a latecomer to China’s tea drinks market. Founded in Shenzhen in 2021, it specialises in jasmine-based floral teas. In 2023, the company secured funding which fuelled its rapid expansion, opening over 1,000 stores in 2025 alone.

It now has more than 2,300 stores across China’s top-tier shopping districts, and has opened outlets in New York and Bangkok.

Back in 2024, Molly Tea filed multiple trademark applications for its four-leaf flower design. But they all were rejected with the trademark office citing LV’s existing four-petal marks.

At that time, Molly Tea urgently needed to scale and "tell its story" (讲故事) to investors as a brand on the rise in a highly competitive sector. The cost of changing the logo, in both money and time, seemed to be far greater than any possible future infringement damages.

So the company took a bet and continued to use the logo. This kind of gamble, where a small brand riding on its similarity to a bigger one, is a well trodden path in China. Like the homegrown sportswear brand, Qiao Dan (中国乔丹), which for years traded off its likeness to American brand Air Jordan.

Molly Tea intends to fight the decision. Founder Zhang Bocheng (张伯丞) has said the company will appeal within 15 days, though legal experts believe overturning the ruling is a long shot, and that the best it can realistically hope for is a reduction in damages.

Either way, the future is now more uncertain for the tea brand. While Molly Tea is enjoying a short-term boost in publicity and sales, many observers in China think this won’t last. And the heavy cost of the legal case, along with rebranding thousands of stores, could have a damaging effect on its future growth.

For LV, there is also a question mark: whether winning in court is worth alienating Chinese consumers. Western luxury brands have a poor track record here. In 2022, Dior, part of the same LVMH group, was caught up in controversy over a skirt that appeared to copy the traditional Chinese "horse-face skirt" (马面裙). Dior never acknowledged the resemblance.

But for now at least, LV has won the battle in the courtroom, while Molly Tea is winning in the court of public opinion:

“It wasn’t a total win for LV.

They got the money, but some say it cost them their mass appeal.”

LV这边似乎并没有全然胜利——拿到了钱，却被一些声音形容为”丢了路人缘”。

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 喊冤 hǎn yuān

to cry injustice, to protest one’s innocence

现在很多人为茉莉奶白喊冤，理由是“四叶花是大自然的，凭什么LV能注册” - Many people are rallying behind Molly Tea, arguing, “The four-petal flower belongs to nature, so why should LV be allowed to register it as a trademark?” [2]

2. 侵权 qīn quán

to infringe, infringement

LV诉茉莉奶白商标侵权相关话题下，类似的声音不在少数 - This sentiment is widely echoed across social media threads on the topic of LV suing Molly Tea for trademark infringement. [1]

3. 交学费 jiāo xué fèi

to pay tuition, to learn an expensive lesson

无论结果如何，既然成为第一个被奢侈品牌告上法庭的奶茶品牌，茉莉奶白都将交上一笔不菲的学费 - Regardless of the outcome, as the first milk tea chain to be taken to court by a luxury brand, Molly Tea is bound to pay a hefty price. [1]

• Related:

  • 代价 dài jià – cost, price

4. 路人缘 lù rén yuán

mass appeal, popularity with the general public

LV这边似乎并没有全然胜利——拿到了钱，却被一些声音形容为“丢了路人缘” - It wasn’t a total win for LV. They got the money, but some say it cost them their mass appeal. [1]

5. 寸步难行 cùn bù nán xíng

unable to make progress, unable to get anywhere

茉莉奶白如果拒不整改，在欧美东南亚估计也是寸步难行 - If Molly Tea refuses to comply to the ruling, it will likely struggle in Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia as well. [2]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 驳回 bó huí

to reject, to dismiss

在商标被驳回后，茉莉奶白如果没有继续大规模公开使用这个logo，也不至把自己推进千万赔偿的大坑里 - If Molly Tea had not continued using the logo on a large scale after the trademark rejection, they wouldn’t be facing this massive, eight-figure liability trap. [1]

7. 诉讼 sù sòng

lawsuit, litigation

如果去打行政诉讼，考虑到茉莉奶白也具备一定的知名度，还是有争取空间的 - If Molly Tea pursues an administrative lawsuit, they still have a fighting chance given the brand’s established market presence. [1]

8. 破绽 pò zhàn

flaw, loophole

LV显然是做足了准备——相比之下，茉莉奶白破绽不少 - LV was clearly well prepared, while Molly Tea had quite a few weaknesses in its case. [1]

9. 善后 shàn hòu

to deal with the aftermath, to handle the fallout

LV赢得无可挑剔，但恰恰是这场无可挑剔的胜利，或许会让公关团队拿出更多精力“善后” - While LV’s legal triumph was unimpeachable, it is this very success that may require their public relations team to spend more time cleaning up the aftermath. [1]

10. 不服 bù fú

to refuse to accept, to be unconvinced

苏州中院给奶茶品牌“茉莉奶白”开出的一审罚单，数字很大，茉莉奶白很不服 - Molly Tea is strongly protesting the first-instance verdict by the Suzhou Intermediate Court, which ordered the brand to pay exceptionally high damages. [2]

11. 挪用 nuó yòng

to appropriate, to misappropriate

有人翻出唐代宝相花来论证LV的“文化挪用” - Some people pointed to the Tang Dynasty treasure flower motif as evidence of LV’s “cultural appropriation”. [3]

12. 相悖 xiāng bèi

to contradict, to be at odds with

情感与法理有时候是相悖的，最终裁决必然需要按照法律条款来定音 - Emotions and legal principles are sometimes at odds, and the final ruling must ultimately be determined by the letter of the law. [4]

Three character phrases

13. 实打实 shí dǎ shí

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7月2日，这个正处于上升期的奶茶品牌一举一动都被全网关注，原因很简单：它刚刚被LV告了。不是律师函，不是起诉书，是实打实的判决书。苏州中院一审认定其侵害LV 7件商标专用权，判赔经济损失1000万元、维权合理开支30万元。

不过，LV这边似乎并没有全然胜利——拿到了钱，却被一些声音形容为“丢了路人缘”。20块的奶茶和2万块的包，这场官司LV在法律上全胜，在舆论场上却显得格外复杂。

一时之间，众多网友倒向茉莉奶白。“谁喝茉莉奶白是因为logo和LV相似？”“LV很差钱吗？”更有人翻出唐代文物上的宝相花图案，认为LV的logo也不过是借鉴中国文化而来，颇有为茉莉奶白喊冤的意思。

LV与茉莉奶白的…

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Frank: 大家好，我是Frank。你那边天气热吗？

S：这几天好多了，上上个星期挺热的，热的我已经开始怀疑人生了。

F：我前一段时间看新闻说，热浪席卷欧洲，三十几度甚至四十度。

S：真的是酷热，很多欧洲人不习惯这么热，以前没经历过，这好像也是头一次。

F：重点是这么热，但是还没空调。

S：对，但这个不像很多自媒体说的那样，说什么欧洲连空调都没有，其实是很多欧洲国家的气候不需要装空调。

F：除了南欧？

S：应该是吧，我也没在夏天的时候去过南欧，不知道有多热。

F：但是大部分西欧啊，北欧啊，没必要装空调吧，根本不热。

S：对，就是没这个习惯，然后很多建筑，尤其是老建筑，没有安装空调的条件。

F：我记得你老家也不热？

S：对呀，我老家在内蒙嘛，内…

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今年夏天，欧洲遭遇历史罕见的酷热天气，很多国家连续刷新高温纪录，一亿多人受到热浪影响。而当地绝大多数住宅只侧重冬季保暖，通常不安装空调。此次高温天气出现后，空调供不应求，迅速引发了抢购潮。

空调在市场上一机难求，使亚洲空调品牌成为最大赢家。三星、美的、三菱电机等企业纷纷爆单，只能加班加点、满负荷生产。其中，美的专门为欧洲设计的一款分体空调PortaSplit成为最受关注的主力产品，不仅在多个国家脱销，二手价格还出现两到三倍的溢价。除此之外，这款空调在社交媒体上早已爆红，拥有很高的话题度。

PortaSplit成功地解决了欧洲消费者长期面对的痛点，成为人人想要的避暑神器。欧洲很多国家对安装传统空调限制十分严格，安装费用也高到令人却步；相比之下，PortaSplit能巧妙地“卡bug”——用户不用钻孔，自己就…

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The heatwave in Europe is making headlines in China, but for an unexpected reason.

As temperatures have soared past 40°C in Germany, France, the UK and beyond, Europeans are rushing to buy air conditioners which is something they have rarely needed until now.

Only around 20% of European households are air conditioned, compared to nearly 90% in the United States. Older properties were built for cooler weather, and strict heritage rules limit changes to their exteriors, such as fitting external air conditioning units. So installing one is often either prohibited altogether, or prohibitively expensive with fitting costs alone running to over €1,000.

But despite the high cost, many Europeans are now buying air conditioners for their homes. Orders have surged at big Asian manufacturers like Korea's Samsung, Japan's Mitsubishi Electric, and Midea (美的), a Chinese white-goods manufacturer headquartered in Foshan in Guangdong.

One Midea product has stood out this summer. It’s called the PortaSplit.

As the name suggests, it's a portable "split-unit" (分体式) air conditioner with one part that fixes outside a window, and a cooling unit which sits on the floor inside. Designed specifically for the European market, it’s sold out in several countries at €900 per unit, with second-hand prices soaring to two to three times that.

The PortaSplit's popularity is down to how it works within Europe's strict and varied building rules across different countries. Its outdoor unit clips onto a windowsill with a simple bracket so no tools or drilling are required. This means in legal terms it counts as an internal appliance on a shelf, sidestepping the ban on façade changes to older buildings. Its refrigerant capacity is 1.99kg, just under the French 2kg threshold. In silent mode it runs at 35 decibels, right on the German limit. And its efficiency rating of 6.1 lands just inside the bottom end of Switzerland's A++ band.

So it's the ingenuity of Midea's design that has caught attention in China, which is summarised in this common internet slang phrase:

This is product design at its finest, which has been jokingly called “gaming the system”.

Midea’s global, legal and design teams all deserve a hefty year-end bonus.

这种极致的产品定义被戏称为”卡bug”，美的的外贸、法务和设计团队都该集体加年终奖。

• "Gaming the system" (卡bug) is a hybrid Chinese-English slang phrase. It comes from the early days of online gaming in China, where certain repeated moves or keyboard combinations exploited bugs in those early games to jump to higher levels.

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Midea’s success in Europe comes at a time when companies in China are obsessing about “going global” (出海).

Faced with declining consumer spending, “involuted competition” (内卷), market saturation, and often increasingly restrictive government policies at home, many have concluded that:

“It’s either go global or go down.”

不出海，就出局

But some firms struggle to "go global" because they fail to adapt to foreign markets. And those that do adapt come up against the same Chinese competitors they were trying to escape from at home.

Chinese companies supply 80% to 90% of the home air conditioners sold in Europe, so competition between them is already fierce, in what is often described in business lingo as:

“Taking involuted competition from China to overseas markets.”

从国内卷到海外去

And this usually ends the same way it does at home: a “race to the bottom on price” (卷价格).

But with the PortaSplit, Midea has sidestepped this involuted competition and opened a “new opportunity for growth” (known as 增量 in Chinese). It’s done this by identifying a specific “pain point” (痛点) in Europe which none of its competitors have yet solved. Another business-y way to describe it is “providing a missing link in the supply chain” (补链 in Chinese). Which is to provide a specific solution to a specific problem in that market which is under served, backed by the ability to design, manufacture and distribute at scale, fast.

The result is a product that competes not on price but on the problem it solves: an affordable fix that works within strict building rules, which is easy to fit, and costs less than buying and installing a traditional air conditioner:

This summer, the air conditioner Europeans are scrambling to buy solves a real pain point.

With climate change, regulation and manufacturing all coming together, Chinese manufacturing was perfectly placed to seize the moment.

这个夏天，欧洲人抢的那台空调，解决的是真实痛点。把气候、规则和制造业这几个条件凑在一起，中国制造恰好抓住了这一次机会。

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 酷热 kù rè

extreme heat, scorching heat

这场史无前例的酷热中，一款来自中国的移动空调正在全欧洲被疯抢 - During this unprecedented heatwave, a portable air conditioner from China is being snapped up across Europe. [3]

• Related:

  • 严酷 yán kù – harsh, severe

  • 炎热 yán rè – hot, sweltering

2. 脱销 tuō xiāo

to sell out, be out of stock

制冷效果又接近分体机，所以近日在欧洲大暑天时脱销并走红 - Its cooling performance is close to that of a split-system air conditioner, so it has been selling out everywhere and become a sensation during Europe’s heatwave. [2]

• Related:

  • 售罄 shòu qìng – sold out

  • 卖断货 mài duàn huò – to sell out completely

3. 卡 bug kǎ bug

to exploit a loophole, to game the system

这种极致的产品定义被戏称为“卡bug”，有网友调侃称：“美的的外贸、法务和设计团队都该集体加年终奖。” - This is product design at its finest, which has been jokingly called “gaming the system”. One netizen joked, Midea’s global, legal and design teams all deserve a hefty year-end bonus. [1]

4. 话题度 huà tí dù

level of public attention, buzz

在这轮抢购狂潮中，美的PortaSplit无疑是话题度最高的单品 - In the latest buying frenzy, Midea’s PortaSplit was undoubtedly the product generating the most buzz. [1]

5. 避暑神器 bì shǔ shén qì

summer lifesaver, ultimate cooling gadget

中国企业推出易安装的移动分体式空调，最近被欧洲人视作“避暑神器”而卖爆 - The easy-to-install portable split air conditioner produced by a Chinese company has recently become a must-have summer lifesaver in Europe and is selling like crazy. [2]

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Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 炙烤 zhì kǎo

to scorch, to bake (under intense heat)

超过一亿欧洲人面临35°C以上的炙烤 - More than 100 million people in Europe are facing scorching temperatures above 35°C. [1]

7. 溢价 yì jià

premium, markup

二手溢价一度达原价2-3倍 - At one point, it was trading at a 200–300% premium on the second-hand market. [1]

8. 制冷 zhì lěng

to cool, refrigeration

全球“需要制冷天数增幅最大”的10个国家中，有8个位于西北欧 - Of the ten countries with the most significant increase in the number of days requiring cooling, eight are in Northwestern Europe. [1]

9. 踩线 cǎi xiàn

to toe the line, stay just within the limits

面对这些壁垒，PortaSplit几乎做到了逐条“踩线”过关 - Faced with these barriers, PortaSplit managed to meet almost every requirement by staying just within the limits. [1]

10. 热泵 rè bèng

heat pump

它还搭载了空气源热泵技术 - It is also equipped with air-source heat pump technology. [1]

11. 爆单 bào dān

to receive a flood of orders, surge in orders

亚洲空调军团正在欧洲集体爆单 - Asian air conditioner manufacturers are experiencing a surge of orders across Europe. [3]

12. 爆红 bào hóng

to become an overnight sensation, go viral

这个网站在社交媒体上迅速爆红 - This website quickly went viral on social media. [3]

13. 痛点 tòng diǎn

pain point, key challenge

它需要对海外市场痛点的深刻洞察 - It requires a deep understanding of the pain points in overseas markets. [3]

Three-character phrases

14. 抢购潮 qiǎng gòu cháo

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法国上周录得有史以来最热的一周：全国日均气温突破纪录，局部实测达44.3℃，全国72个省份（约四分之三的国土）被列入极端高温红色预警。而在西班牙安达卢西亚，气温飙至45.1℃，创下整个欧洲大陆的本世纪高温极值。

而这场史无前例的酷热中，一款来自中国的移动空调正在全欧洲被疯抢，美的PortaSplit移动分体式空调在德国、西班牙、法国全面售罄，二手市场溢价高达原价的两到三倍。

但它并非孤例，三星在意大利、西班牙、法国实现双位数增长，LG韩国工厂自4月起满负荷运转，三菱电机在同一市场订单激增。亚洲空调军团正在欧洲集体爆单，移动分体式空调成为其中最具话题性的一个。

官方售价约800至900欧元的标准型号，在德国二手市场被炒到2679欧元。一位奥地利消费者在社交媒体上抱怨，维也纳气温…

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Frank：大家好，我是Frank。最近，世界杯看了吗？

S：看了看了呀。

F：我记得你不爱看足球啊？

S：确实，我以前不怎么看足球，但是这两年，可能受身边人的影响，就会看看球什么的。

F：你比较支持哪个球队？

S：没有特别支持的球队，我也不算是球迷，就是看个热闹，跟大家一起感受一下气氛。你呢，你看球吗？

F：抽时间看，平时工作太忙。

S：那你喜欢哪些球队啊？

F：球队的话，我个人比较喜欢阿根廷。

S：啊！阿根廷啊！梅西确实很帅。还有挪威的哈兰德也挺可爱的，我也挺喜欢的。

F：梅西和C罗确实都很帅，哎...只不过...

S：哎...我知道你在叹什么气。

F：我叹的是中国队的不争气。

S：世界杯48个国家都没有中国，属实是有些说不过去了...

F：有些…

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2026年世界杯之际，一个讽刺的现象再次出现：国足继续缺席，中国企业却在广告牌上刷存在感，令许多球迷意难平。更讽刺的是，唯一能代表中国站上这片赛场的，竟然是裁判马宁。

马宁原本是一名大学体育老师，后来决定成为职业裁判。当时，没有背景的人进入这个行业，简直比登天还难。但他选择和自己的梦想死磕，坚持训练二十多年，最终以47岁的年龄站上了世界杯赛场上。

一直以来，马宁被球迷称为“卡牌大师”。之所以这样叫他是因为他在赛场上严格执法。无论面对的是大牌球星还是普通球员，他都绝不因其名气大小而违背原则。也正是这种不受足球圈人情世故左右的态度，让他赢得了许多球迷的认可。

当然，一个裁判的成功并不能解决中国足球的顽疾。中国足球的问题早已积重难返，导致足球发展出现了很多问题。虽然中国制造已经遍布世界杯，但国足始终无法进入正赛。…

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The 2026 World Cup has kicked off in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

China’s national team (known as “国足” in Chinese) is absent again, and hasn’t made it to the World Cup since 2002.

The irony of that absence has not gone unnoticed by Chinese football fans as one widely shared comment on social media put it:

“Except for the national team, everything China could send showed up.”

除了国足，中国能来的都来了。

That’s because off the pitch, China seems to be everywhere at the World Cup.

Chinese companies appear heavily on the advertising boards, Chinese-made souvenirs fill the shops, and even Labubu, the “ugly cute” toy made by Chinese company Pop Mart, had a role in the opening ceremony, which is a first for a Chinese brand.

Elsewhere, Chinese technology is behind the VAR system, the IT and AI infrastructure across all 16 stadiums, and even the sensors inside the official match balls are Chinese-made.

On the pitch, though, in the absence of their national team to follow, Chinese fans have found a surprising alternative: his name is Ma Ning (马宁), and is the only Chinese referee at the tournament, and the first to take charge of a World Cup match in 24 years.

Ma's first match was Ecuador versus Curaçao on 20 June. Unbeknownst to the two teams on the pitch, millions of Chinese fans tuned in. Not to watch the teams compete, but to see Ma Ning referee the match. Views on social media platform RED surpassed 10 million by the final whistle.

Fans lamented how Ma Ning was China’s “only starter” (唯一首发) in the tournament, while others photoshopped him alongside the Lababu from the opening ceremony creating a mock China squad list.

“China’s starting line-up: Ma Ning and Labubu.”

“中国队首发：马宁和拉布布。”

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Ma Ning was born in 1979 and spent his early career as a university PE teacher in Wuxi. Refereeing started as a hobby which he did in his spare time.

In 2005, at age 26, Ma enrolled in the Chinese Football Association’s national referee training programme. He passed the exams and came top in both theory and fitness. He began refereeing in the lower Chinese leagues, before working his way up to the Chinese Super League.

Then in 2011 he became an international referee. A decade later, at Qatar 2022, he made it it into the referring squad as fourth official and VAR assistant. But never took charge of a match. After that Ma trained for four more years and, against the odds, made it into the refereeing squad for this World Cup at age 47.

A big part of his appeal with Chinese fans is that he is the only Chinese national on the pitch at the World Cup. But beyond that, it’s his style which has won him viral appeal and given rise to his nickname:

Within the profession, he’s known as the “Card Master”.

It’s not a jab, but a respectful acknowledgement.

His approach on the pitch is simple to the point of stubbornness: he follows the rules, not a player’s reputation.

业内人送他外号”卡牌大师”。这不是调侃，是带着敬畏的认可。他的赛场逻辑简单到近乎固执：只认规则，不认脸。

• He was first called "Card Master" in 2015, after a Shanghai derby where he handed out twelve cards: nine yellow and three red. The name comes from a card-throwing character in the video game League of Legends (英雄联盟).

Ma Ning’s rise is a story of hard work and persistence. He spent years refereeing in the lower leagues, earning next to nothing. And now, after more than 20 years, that persistence has paid off in a way almost no referee ever sees: he has sponsorship deals with some of China’s biggest brands, Lenovo (联想), Mengniu (蒙牛), Hisense (海信) and Meituan (美团).

Ma Ning’s achievement poses an awkward question: how can one referee reach the World Cup through sheer effort, while the Chinese men’s team is nowhere to be seen? One widely shared article offers an opinion that seems to resonate:

You can buy in outside help, but you can’t buy integrity, less still backbone.

With a rotten core, the system devours its own players and crushes talent before it can flourish.

能买来外援，买不来底线，更买不来骨气。腐朽内核：体制吃人，天才夭折。

The problems of corruption in Chinese football is something we’ve explored before in this newsletter.

Let’s hope Ma Ning’s arrival at this World Cup will finally help to drive change.

Favourite Five

1. 缺席 quē xí

to be absent, be missing

唯独中国男足，永远缺席世界绿茵 - But the Chinese men’s national football team remains absent from the international pitch. [1]

2. 死磕 sǐ kē

to persist stubbornly, fight relentlessly

国家队没能站上的地方，他凭着二十年的死磕，站上去了 - He got to where the national team fell short through twenty years of sheer perseverance. [2]

3. 无欲则刚 wú yù zé gāng

free from desire, one becomes strong; integrity comes from having no selfish desires

马宁在国际赛场上“没有软肋”“无欲则刚”，更能全心全意地贯彻执法哲学 - On the international stage, Ma Ning has neither vulnerabilities nor vested interests, which allows him to fully commit to his approach to officiating. [3]

• Related:

  • 不安分 bù ān fèn – restless, unwilling to stay within limits

4. 卡牌大师 kǎ pái dà shī

card master

业内人送他外号“卡牌大师”。这不是调侃，是带着敬畏的认可。他的赛场逻辑简单到近乎固执：只认规则，不认脸 - Within the profession, he is known as the “Card Master”. It is not a jab, but a respectful acknowledgement. His approach on the pitch is simple to the point of stubbornness: he follows the rules, not a player’s status or reputation. [2]

5. 十年磨一剑 shí nián mó yí jiàn

to spend ten years honing one sword; years of dedication to perfect a skill

二十年磨一剑：从无锡职院的操场，到世界杯的聚光灯 - Twenty years in the making: from a Wuxi vocational college pitch to the World Cup spotlight [2]

• Note: originally the phrase refers to “ten years” (十年), but it can be adapted to 20 years (as it is here), or 30 or more.

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 敛财 liǎn cái

to amass wealth, make money unscrupulously

金元足球疯狂敛财，归化工程沦为闹剧 - As big-money football became a cash grab, the naturalization project descended into a farce. [1]

7. 顽疾 wán jí

chronic problem, persistent issue

根深蒂固的行业腐败、利益捆绑的管理机制、功利化的虚假青训，形成闭环式足坛顽疾 - Entrenched corruption, management systems tied up in vested interests, and profit-driven youth training scheme have formed a self-perpetuating cycle of chronic problems in Chinese football. [1]

8. 讽刺 fěng cì

ironic, irony

说起来挺讽刺的，第一个火遍全网的中国人，不是哪个球员，是裁判马宁 - It’s quite ironic that the first Chinese participant to go viral on the internet was not a player, but referee Ma Ning. [2]

9. 底气 dǐ qì

confidence, self-assurance

再加上中国不是足球强国，也让中国裁判相比国际同行少了几分底气 - On top of that, since China is not a football powerhouse, Chinese referees are somewhat less confident than their international counterparts. [3]

10. 软肋 ruǎn lèi

weak spot, vulnerability

“没有软肋”的马宁，让C罗都发怵 - Ma Ning, who has no vulnerabilities, even makes Cristiano Ronaldo nervous. [3]

Three-character phrases

11. 清一色 qīng yī sè

all of the same kind, entirely

场馆基建、官方吉祥物、顶级赞助商、赛事定制数字足球，全产业链清一色中国制造 - From stadium infrastructure and official mascots to major sponsors and bespoke digital match balls, the entire World Cup ecosystem is dominated by Chinese products. [1]

12. 意难平 yì nán píng

lingering regret, unresolved disappointment

这不是玩笑，是亿万球迷十几年的意难平，更是刻在足坛的耻辱 - This is no laughing matter, but the frustration of hundreds of millions of fans over more than a decade, and a lasting stain on the game history. [1]

13. 伤仲永 shāng zhòng yǒng

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说起来挺讽刺的。

国足，又一次毫无悬念地缺席。世界最顶级的足球盛宴，中国队的身影，依旧只存在于场边的广告牌上、球迷手里的纪念品里，还有那些铺天盖地的赞助商Logo里。

用网友那句扎心的话说：

除了国足，中国能来的都来了。

就在这种尴尬到骨子里的时刻，马宁站了出来。时隔二十四年，终于有中国裁判以主裁身份，堂堂正正地踏上世界杯正赛的草皮。

消息一出，球迷圈直接炸了。有人调侃他是“本届世界杯中国队唯一首发”，有人把他和开幕式上的中国潮玩P在一起，搞出一张“中国队大名单”。

笑着笑着，很多人却沉默了。

国足没走通的路，一个裁判替我们走通了。

这份热度，不是马宁蹭世界杯，是中国球迷，在漫长的压抑里，终于找到了一块能让自己理直气壮、敢转发朋…

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Just a quick note, in case you’re interested…

Registration for the summer RTM Speaking Sprint cohort is now open.

The Sprint is a structured immersion program focussed on speaking.

It takes everything you’ve been learning in the self-paced RTM Plus program (which is what you subscribe to at the moment), and brings it to life in conversations about…

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