Song Yang wanted to ask Bai Xiaosheng a question, and Huo Qianxun agreed so readily.
This left Song Yang a bit astonished, doubting whether he had misheard, and he couldn’t help but glance at his own teacher Chu Dashan.
Chu Dashan was startled.
Did Huo Qianxun trust that pretty boy Bai so much, feel so at ease with him?
The students attending the lecture were also taken aback, their gaze uniformly falling on Mr. Huo’s "assistant."
Bai Xiaosheng suddenly became the center of everyone’s attention.
By the time Bai Xiaosheng snapped out of it, the deal was already done. He looked at Huo Qianxun – who was secretly flashing him a mischievous smile – at a loss for words.
Feng Li and her dad Tutor Huo Dong had both praised Bai Xiaosheng’s erudition as rare in this world.
"Bai Xiaosheng, I have seen your ’martial’ skills, but I wonder about your ’literary’ skills. Whether you are truly accomplished in both military and literary arts, let’s see now. In this situation, what’s tested may not be your knowledge reserve, but whether you have the quick wit to handle this crisis."
"If you can’t answer, I will bail you out!"
Huo Qianxun watched the excitement with glee, even feeling a bit of schadenfreude.
"Hey, assistant!" Chu Dashan, with his loud voice, directly called out, "Don’t be a wimp, you’re Mr. Huo’s assistant. Surely you’re not afraid of a question from an athlete, right? Don’t disgrace us humanities folks!"
This comment was quite provocative.
The classroom immediately erupted.
"Yeah, go for it, Assistant Teacher, don’t let the athletes look down on us!"
"Exactly, show them what humanities students are made of!"
"You’re Mr. Huo’s assistant; dealing with them should be a piece of cake!"
The students were all young and vibrant. When one jeered, a hundred echoed.
Huo Qianxun on the lectern looked on with a smile, not stopping the commotion at all.
Bai Xiaosheng, with a helpless expression, also cracked a smile.
Want to play? Let’s play then!
"Ask away," Bai Xiaosheng called out loudly.
Chu Dashan sneered with a sly smile, whispering to Song Yang, "Good, he’s taken the bait. Song Yang, don’t hold back, ask!"
Song Yang nodded, cleared his throat, and just as he opened his mouth to speak,
Bai Xiaosheng hastily made a gesture to stop him.
Song Yang’s voice was caught in his throat. He swallowed it back down and hurriedly asked, "What’s wrong, Assistant Teacher?"
"Scared, huh? Chicken out before the battle; that’s embarrassing!" Chu Dashan leaned over the table and shouted.
The students were also full of surprise.
"Since everyone is so happy, how about we raise the stakes?" Bai Xiaosheng suggested with a smile, "If I can’t answer your question, then everyone here, without exception, will be treated to dinner by me tonight; no less than five hundred per person. But if I can answer—"
Bai Xiaosheng’s voice trailed off, half-smiling as he looked at Chu Dashan.
Song Yang felt conflicted and also looked toward his teacher.
"Yo-heave-ho, we haven’t even asked the question yet, and you’re betting? So confident! We’re in!" Chu Dashan certainly wasn’t about to back down.
"But Teacher, with over a hundred people, going by his standards, that’s fifty thousand..." Song Yang couldn’t help but swallow nervously, whispering his concern.
"If we lose, it’s on me!"
Chu Dashan snorted, then spat out a contemptuous "ptt ptt ptt," "What loss! Victory is ours; we’re sure to win!"
"Alright then," Song Yang was relieved of his worries.
Upon hearing this, the students immediately broke into joy.
With such stakes and a bonus at risk, they stood to gain regardless of who lost or won.
"Go ahead and ask," Bai Xiaosheng gestured invitingly.
Song Yang couldn’t help but smirk.
Then, a string of strange sounds came from his mouth.
It wasn’t Mandarin or English.
Huo Qianxun, who was enjoying the commotion and was also ready to come to the rescue, was suddenly stunned, looking incredulously at Song Yang.
As a scholar of ancient European literature, Huo Qianxun had gone out of his way to listen to audio records to experience the grandeur of epics.
It was definitely Greek!
An athlete, how could he know this language!
Huo Qianxun simply couldn’t believe it. Even she could barely understand it.
And Song Yang’s question was very profound!
If you weren’t a specialist, you absolutely wouldn’t be able to answer it!
As Huo Qianxun gasped in astonishment, the lecture theatre suddenly fell silent.
Then, the students erupted.
"This athlete, he even understands Greek?"
"My god, that’s a minor language..."
"In our school, there must not be many who can understand it!"
The room was filled with astonishment.
Chu Dashan was in high spirits, grinning at Huo Qianxun’s surprise, looking at Bai Xiaosheng quietly saying nothing.
As soon as Song Yang opened his mouth, it would be victory!
"Ask him where to eat dinner tonight," Chu Dashan urged Song Yang.
Asking this was to make Bai Xiaosheng admit defeat for sure, once he conceded, Chu Dashan would then have a good laugh at his expense.
After this, he’d probably have no face to be Qianxun’s assistant anymore! That was Chu Dashan’s true intention.
This is a bit too much...
On the stage, Huo Qianxun was anxious.
Although she wanted to make things difficult for Bai Xiaosheng, she didn’t want him to be embarrassed in public.
A man’s face, after all, is extremely important!
She was afraid Bai Xiaosheng would really get angry.
Under Chu Dashan’s prompting, Song Yang started to speak, but he had barely said half a word.
A string of sounds came from Bai Xiaosheng’s side, the same intonation, but the pronunciation was smooth as flowing water, with a lively rhythm.
It was Greek as well!
Song Yang was stunned, Huo Qianxun looked at Bai Xiaosheng in disbelief.
Chu Dashan’s smile stiffened, he looked at Bai Xiaosheng in surprise, his eyes were wide open.
"What did he say?" Chu Dashan couldn’t help asking.
"He said my pronunciation is not standard!" Song Yang stammered, "Said my grammar...has errors!"
Song Yang knew his own level the best, and what the other party had pointed out was right on the mark!
Chu Dashan was dumbfounded.
The lecture theatre fell silent, then, a hundred liberal arts students roared in triumph.
After all, to them, Bai Xiaosheng was "one of their own," and if they were worse than an athlete, they wouldn’t have any face left either.
"The assistant teacher is amazing!"
"The assistant teacher is mighty!"
"Ha ha, trying to show off your language skills on our liberal arts turf, now you know who’s boss!"
The crowd didn’t care whether Chu Dashan was a teacher or not, in their exuberance, they were utterly uninhibited in their words.
Bai Xiaosheng walked unhurriedly onto the stage, looked at Song Yang, and explained the answer to him in the most pure Greek.
Huo Qianxun watched with worshipful eyes, her gaze gleaming.
"What is he saying? Ah, what is he saying!" Chu Dashan, seeing the look on Huo Qianxun’s face towards Bai Xiaosheng, suddenly got agitated and pressed Song Yang for answers.
"I can’t keep up, he’s speaking too fast! This vocabulary...it’s not enough!"
Song Yang, a tall guy, was almost crying.
"Useless fool!" Chu Dashan trembled with anger.
Seeing Bai Xiaosheng looking over, he got irritated.
"What are you blabbering about! Who knows if what you’re saying is even the answer!" Chu Dashan, in a moment of desperation, shouted.
This was somewhat tantamount to being unreasonable.
"Can’t understand Greek, huh? Fine, then I’ll switch to Mandarin and explain it to you," Bai Xiaosheng said as he stepped onto the stage, while Huo Qianxun graciously moved aside from her spot.
Bai Xiaosheng stood there, facing the full classroom, and began to lecture.
Huo Qianxun stood with her hands at her sides, her eyes wide, looking at Bai Xiaosheng with admiration.
How could this man know so much!