Chapter 18: 17. What Kind of Brain Wiring Is This? (Monthly votes and follows, please)
“Fuck, I almost got here late!” Xu Da panted, still shaken. “Is Teacher Xu way too twisted? Every morning, first thing, she squats at the gate waiting to see who’s late.”
Zhang Luo: “Wouldn’t it be fine if you left home earlier?”
Xu Da: “Is this about me not wanting to leave earlier? I can’t get out of bed.”
Zhang Luo: “Then wouldn’t it be fine if you got up earlier?”
Xu Da: “...A chicken talking to a duck.”
It was at this moment that Zhang Luo discovered his own wicked streak.
He had begun to enjoy “teasing” these middle schoolers.
Saying ridiculous things with a perfectly serious face, or the sort of thing where “no matter what you say, I’ll keep saying my own thing.”
That was the easiest way to rile up this bunch of high schoolers.
Xu Da suddenly sighed.
“High school is way too hard to get through.”
Zhang Luo looked at Xu Da in surprise.
Xu Da’s face was full of genuine emotion.
He wasn’t exaggerating. He really felt that way.
In that instant, Zhang Luo was almost amused.
Youth knows nothing of sorrow... The line abruptly surfaced in his mind.
But then again, how could you expect a young person who had yet to be beaten down by society to understand that what they had now was actually the most carefree period of their lives?
Zhang Luo merely saw himself in Xu Da.
-
Chinese class was the second period.
Xu Shuiyun first spent five minutes talking about the debate competition.
She told the students in class who had experience or interest to come sign up with her after class.
Then she mentioned Zhang Luo.
“Zhang Luo from our class has experience participating in debate competitions back in middle school, so everyone doesn’t need to worry that you can’t sign up just because you’ve never done it before. Be brave and give it a try,” Xu Shuiyun said. “After next week’s exams are over, we’ll first hold an internal debate competition in class.”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Xu Da jabbed Zhang Luo with his elbow.
“You’re something else. And you still say you’re not a top student?” Xu Da had a look of disdain that clearly said, Stop pretending.
“Having done debate equals being a top student?” Zhang Luo used the same sentence pattern again.
“...If not top students, then who does this stuff?” Xu Da said.
“Brother, that prejudice of yours is a bit outrageously huge,” Zhang Luo said.
Xu Da: “...”
-
These days, debate competitions had not yet undergone the widespread popularization of later variety-show-style debates. To the general public, in a certain sense, they were indeed linked to concepts like elites and top students.
Compared to the most basic initial understanding of “being good with words,” to truly do debate well, the first requirement was expressive ability, and the second was actually dialectical thinking.
The essence of debate was dialectics.
Why could a true debater argue whether they were on the affirmative or the negative side? Because no matter which side you were on, you had to find an angle that could stand, then combine it with other content to expound, defend, and dig deeper.
Zhang Luo was not a professional debater, nor had he studied this thing much.
However, an accidental competition experience in middle school, because such experience itself was rare among students, made him a participant in this activity throughout high school, university, and even after he started working.
Every time there was a competition like this, everyone would come to him.
Over time, the people around him all liked to say he was a professional.
It was no use explaining it himself, so he simply let the title stick to him.
As for whether he was actually professional or not, he knew very well himself.
One year, debate-style variety shows became very popular, and they brought several language-based programs into popularity as well, from debating to public speaking. A director from one production team even found him, supposedly because they had heard he was very good in this area and wanted to invite him to record a program.
Zhang Luo refused outright—
He said he had a psychological barrier and felt embarrassed. It was true.
He was not like Jiang Xiaoyu, the kind of personality that loved the camera and was willing to perform in front of everyone. He wasn’t that sort of person.
Later, the show became a huge hit. Many contestants successfully rode that favorable wind and started running their own self-media. They didn’t earn as much as celebrities raking it in hand over fist, but they no longer had to bend over backward for that little salary either.
Zhang Luo did not exactly regret it bitterly—but he would still wonder: if he had really gone, would his life have been a little different?-
After Chinese class ended, Li Miaomiao came over again.
“Zhang Luo, what kind of debate competition did you participate in before?”
“A school debate competition.”
“What place did you get?”
“First place.”
Li Miaomiao looked at Zhang Luo suspiciously.
“You’re that good?”
Zhang Luo: “So-so.”
He wasn’t being modest. He really was just so-so.
After all, it had only been an internal middle school competition. No one had been very formal about it, and most people had basically approached it as just playing around.
So although he had won first place, it was mainly because he had ridden on the coattails of several strong teammates.
It was just that when this result was written on a résumé, it looked rather impressive.
Li Miaomiao pursed her lips.
“Want to give it a try?” Zhang Luo asked.
Li Miaomiao said, “If you can do it, why can’t I?”
Zhang Luo: “...”
He looked at her suspiciously.
What kind of brain wiring was this?
“There are plenty of things I can do that you can’t,” Zhang Luo said bluntly. “Why are you comparing yourself to me?”
Li Miaomiao: “Stop looking down on people. There’s nothing you can do that I can’t!”
“I can pee standing up. Can you?” Zhang Luo asked.
Li Miaomiao’s mouth fell open as she looked at Zhang Luo in disbelief.
Xu Da had been drinking water while watching the show, and he sprayed out a mouthful of water on the spot.
The student in front let out an enraged roar and jumped up.
As a result, with that jump, he knocked over the desk.
The desk toppled toward the student in front, causing another scream.
One commotion after another broke out in succession, and the attention of the entire class was drawn over.
Li Miaomiao suddenly let out a shriek. “Zhang Luo, you’re being a hooligan—”
Zhang Luo: “...”
He was dumbfounded and hurriedly tried to clear his name. “Don’t talk nonsense!”
Of all times, from the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Xiaoyu walking past the corridor outside their class, just in time to look at him with a face full of surprise.
At that instant, Zhang Luo nearly spat blood.
He raised both hands to prove his innocence.
“Li Miaomiao, don’t slander me!”
Li Miaomiao said angrily, “We’re going to see Teacher Xu!”
“Fine, let’s go!” Zhang Luo was more than eager for someone to clarify things for him.
-
Xu Shuiyun looked at the two students before her with a speechless expression.
Li Miaomiao’s face was full of shame and anger.
Zhang Luo’s face was full of indignation.
For a moment, Xu Shuiyun could not find the right words to say. Teacher Lu Xia, who sat at the desk beside hers, laughed and teased him.
“Zhang Luo, although you only said one sentence... mm, about peeing standing up.” The smile on Lu Xia’s face was almost bursting. “But you still have to consider a girl’s feelings. How can you talk to a girl like that?”
Zhang Luo: “...”
He had forgotten that fifteen years ago, this was a conservative era where even puppy love would be “beaten apart like mandarin ducks.”
Xu Shuiyun waved her hand.
“All right, I understand what happened between you two.” Xu Shuiyun first glanced at Zhang Luo. “Teacher Lu is right about that. When you speak, you have to consider a girl’s feelings. You’re already in high school. Do you still think you’re in elementary school?”
After working for so many years, Zhang Luo understood. The key point in Xu Shuiyun’s words was “right about that,” which meant that aside from the content of that sentence itself, Xu Shuiyun actually did not like Lu Xia speaking up.
That made sense too. They weren’t students from your class. The official homeroom teacher hadn’t even opened her mouth yet, so what did you mean by laughing until your face was about to split open?
-
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