Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
“Professor Qin, I beg to differ.”
There was an instant silence in the classroom after he spoke.
Everyone turned to look at Qin Ze. Even Zhang Mingyu frowned and turned.
As everyone watched, the lyrics that he heard in the Points Mall yesterday replayed in his brain: “The crowds quieted / people paid less attention / I wanted to make a scene / like suddenly bursting into song…”
Was he like the attention-seeking clown to everyone now?
Qin Ze smiled and shook Zhao Baliang’s hand, which was gripping onto him tightly, aside. He walked towards the podium with ease. Approaching the blackboards, he cleaned off his father’s writing and began writing with a piece of chalk as everyone gawked. His words were scribbled but flowing. He was writing in Chinese so such busybodies began reading it out.
“Under the system of gold as a currency, the wealth of nations grew gradually but stably. There were no changes that happened overnight. No one could grow bankrupt instantly; neither could they gain riches instantly. For people who wanted mobility, it was indeed a time of despair and struggle. Paper currency created opportunities for people. It created the possibility of the infinite increase of wealth in the work.
“The lives of humans were bound to change, and life was full of opportunities, but…”—Qin Ze paused to look at Zhang Mingyu with contempt before he continued—”the inflation and deflation were like a woman’s period—unpredictable and silent. You could go from rags to riches—or vice versa in one night. Yesterday, you could afford a car, but you can only afford bread today. If God opened his eyes to glance at the world, he would be in awe of the American government, not the world governments’ wisdom!”
Qin Ze turned to face all two hundred students in the room. “The author used this excerpt to mock the American and world governments, even though it might seem like he is praising them. He’s mocking the use of paper currency as the most shameless in the history of world currency. But just like the Chinese, Russian is complex. ‘Kissing your sister’ and ‘your biological sister’ are not the same thing1. You won’t catch the sarcastic undertones unless you have a strong foundation in Russian.”
Zhang Mingyu’s expression immediately turned gloomy.
‘Kissing your sister’ and ‘your biological sister’ were not the same thing…
Professor Qin was speechless.
At this point, the bell rang. Qin Ze flicked the chalk into the box without looking at his father. “I’ve translated the excerpt; you all can just copy it. Don’t thank me, I am but a good Samaritan,” he said as he dusted his hands.
Being able to read Russian and being able to translate Russian were two different concepts.
He walked out of the silent classroom to the bell.
Nice!
I give myself full marks for the pretentiousness!
He may have looked cool, but he was just fleeing for his life. As he walked out of the room, the system’s voice spoke in his head: “Mission to stand out, complete. 200 points awarded!”
Qin Ze lowered his head and opened the interface, but the mission did not disappear like it did with Qin Baobao’s case. It was still there: “Mission of standing out (1/15)”
“It’s not a one-off mission?”
“According to the host’s desire to stand out and be noticed by girls and admired by boys, this mission is not a chain mission.”
“Oh, no, there’s no end to human desire. I’ll never finish this mission.”
The system did not reply.
“Qin Ze!” He heard people calling his name from behind. The trio from his dorm room caught up as he waited for them.
“You are a legend; please have my admiration.”
Liu Ziqiang, “When did you learn Russian? We never knew.”
The only thing that Qin Ze was particularly good at was talking, “It’s not like you don’t know who my dad is.”
The trio immediately understood Qin Ze was the son of the professor. Even though not many students knew about it, he did not keep it from his roommates. After all, this was no secret; but it was not something to be broadcasted. Most students had ties to the faculties nowadays.
Professor Qin was fluent in Japanese, Russian, and English. It was not unusual for his son to know some Russian.
Zhao Baliang patted Qin Ze’s shoulder heavily, causing the latter to almost fall to the floor. “You sir, have my respect.”
Li Liang was ecstatic. “Did you see Zhang Mingyu’s face? He was glaring at you like you killed his father.”
“That was cathartic, especially your last sentence. ‘Russian is complex just like Chinese…’ I finally understand the might of words,” Liu Ziqiang said.
The four of them left the teaching building and was about to head to the cafeteria when Qin Ze’s phone buzzed. He took it out, and there was a message waiting for him. “Wait for me on the second floor of the cafeteria.”
It was from his father.
Qin Ze put the phone back into his pockets and bid his friends goodbye when they reached the cafeteria. “My dad asked to meet me for lunch. You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you all at the door later, and we can go have fun.”
The second floor was the staff cafeteria. It was clearly less crowded than the one on the first floor, but it was empty. The environment was not too bad, and the food was much better. Professor Qin was more strict and conservative so he volunteered to bring his son here. Usually, it was Qin Ze who insisted on following his father here.
Qin Ze picked a window seat and waited quietly.
Ten minutes later, his father appeared. The old man glanced around before he headed to the lunch line as he greeted his colleagues along the way.
After a few moments, he sat across from Qin Ze. Two bowls of rice, two meat, and two vegetarian dishes. The amount of food was quite substantial, and it looked much more appetizing than what the students had.
Professor Qin was not very particular when it came to dining. He did not expect utter silence, only that one chew properly and elegantly. However, neither of his children inherited his traits. They usually picked up their bowl while eating or ate while lying on the sofa as they watched TV. Occasionally, they would even fight over the food. Professor Qin would probably flip if they were at home.
“When did you learn Russian?” his father asked seemingly casually as he chewed on his food.
Here it was!
Qin Ze pushed some food into his mouth as he came up with something. “It’s been half a year. I’ll go over to the foreign language department to sit in when I have time. If not, I’ll watch videos at home and practice my pronunciation. Russian’s quite interesting, and I like it more than English. Besides, my degree itself is not much to look at so I was thinking of boosting my resume a little.”
What he actually wanted to say was… I exchanged a hundred points for instant mastery!
The mission this time was…’Translate the Russian passage, beat down Zhang Mingyu, and stun everyone!’
Without any tools, he could only exchange of Russian mastery in the Points Mall. Thankfully, he had been exploring the interface beforehand so he could find the right section and item quickly. The mission rewarded him with 200 points so after the deduction from the exchange, he only earned 100 points.
“It’s good that you’ve come to such a realization… hey, what are you saying?” Professor Qin was heartened but came to realize that his son’s words were offensive. He was a professor at the college that gave the degree in question!
Qin Ze pretended not to understand.
“How’s your sister doing?”
“She’s okay. She clocks regular hours at work, and she’ll watch TV or play some games on her laptop after dinner. She’s always in bed before 11. We’ll go out on the weekend sometimes, get some coffee or hotpot.” We’ll game, too. He added silently.
Qin Ze had to report on his sister to their father regularly. Even though his sister was intelligent, she was not very good at household chores and the like. She was 25, and yet her parents were still worried about her. Even though Qin Ze was less intelligent, he had always been the mature and obedient child; and his parents were never worried about him.
“You guys have not come home for a month. Mom misses you all. Come back for a meal this weekend.” Professor Qin nodded.
“Did Mom set her up for another matchmaking session again…?” Qin Ze asked.
Their mom was worried about Qin Baobao’s marriage, especially since their neighbors have all had married daughters and grandchildren. Yet Qin Baobao had not even brought a boy home. Her daughter was not proactive so, as the mother, she had to help her out. She even bought a camera just to take pictures of Qin Baobao, and she would arrange for matchmaking on Qin Baobao’s behalf from time to time. Qin Baobao was frustrated and hence returned to home less and less. The last time she went home was a month ago.
Mom, if you put in that effort with me, I’ll probably have children by now.
“It’s about time she dated someone…” said his father.
“No rush, no rush. I don’t even have a girlfriend yet,” Qin Ze said sourly.
“She’s already 25; how can there be no rush? Are you both the same? Men peak at 30 so it’s not too late for them to start a family then. However, how many years of youth do women have? They begin to decline after 30, and there’s nothing to stop it. There’s no way she can marry into a good family even if she wants to then.”
It’s not like she’s 35. She’s only 25. Qin Ze pouted indignantly.
“Does she have a boyfriend?”
Qin Ze thought about it and thought that she did… since he did see her in lingerie yesterday. However, he kept quiet, for fear of the old man lashing out at him.