Chapter 25: An Impeccable Narrative
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Xiao Luo, what’s the meaning of this? Do you have any opinions about cla.s.s monitor Ruoran?”
“If you are unhappy that Ruoran is the cla.s.s monitor, you can feedback to the counselor, or, you could offer your own services by recommending yourself to be the monitor. But it’s another matter if the cla.s.s will vote for you .”
“That is, don’t think that just because you boys are national treasures, you can be undisciplined, out of control and disrespectful to the cla.s.s monitor.”
Four to five girls stood up and bluntly delivered some harsh words in defense of Huang Ruoran.
Zhu Xiaofei and Ding Kai felt a headache coming on. For Huang Ruoran to be the monitor, of course she had many supporters in cla.s.s. Those who stood up and rebuked Xiao Luo were either members of the cla.s.s committee or girls who had a good relations.h.i.+p with Huang Ruoran. This was not a result that they wanted to witness.
Xiao Luo stared blankly before revealing a scornful smile. He felt rather bewildered now. He was merely feeling upset by a girl criticizing him so openly and bossing him around. How did they turn it into a case of him being dissatisfied with Huang Ruoran as the cla.s.s monitor? It was really sudden how this offense was pinned on him.
At this time, Huang Ruoran said to the girl who stood up, “What are you doing when we are having lessons now? Don’t you have any discipline in the cla.s.sroom? All of you, sit down and pay close attention to Tutor Zhong’s lesson. Don’t lower yourself to that level.”
She still had authority as the monitor. The four or five girls who berated Xiao Luo glared at him, as if in warning, and then sat down.
They should not lower themselves to that level?
Xiao Luo felt very annoyed in his mind. Huang Ruoran was obviously mocking him. “That level” clearly referred to n.o.body else but him.
“Ahem…..”
Tutor Zhong Meili coughed a few times and said sternly, “Okay, let’s leave the unpleasantness just now behind and don’t bicker too much about it. Moreover, Xiao Luo has admitted his mistake. He just arrived in our cla.s.s and it takes a while to integrate into this group. Everyone should to be more tolerant. Let’s continue the lesson now. Xiao Luo, sit down. ”
She spoke up for Xiao Luo because she saw that Xiao Luo’s level of spoken English was quite high. Otherwise, she definitely would have helped Huang Ruoran to bring him down a peg or two.
Xiao Luo complied with her words and sat down, but rage churned in his guts. He never thought that he would be so angered by a little girl even though he had been working and living in society for three years, However he thought about it and ultimately put the blame on his male chauvinism.
“My dear, dear Brother Luo, why did you make an enemy out of the cla.s.s monitor?”
Zhu Xiaofei advised with great patience and sincerity, “Our major has always been female dominated. We may be labelled as a ‘national treasure’, but well, we’re actually suppressed by them.”
“Yeah, we’re the only three boys. They can’t outdo them when they have strength in numbers.” Ding Kai said.
Xiao Luo smiled, “I just don’t like to be so blatantly criticized by a girl, don’t worry, the matter is in the past now, I won’t bicker about it with her.”
Zhu Xiaofei and Ding Kai looked at each other, they did not believe Xiao Luo’s words at all. One must know, when Xiao Luo was ridiculed by the opposing team during the game yesterday, he immediately used his Barbarian King to teach the other parties a lesson that they would never forget with each slash of his sword. They were very sure that while Xiao Luo was someone who would repay a kindness, he also believed in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. He remained impa.s.sive on the surface, but by the time he exposed his fangs, the other party had no time to react at all.
After the brief disturbance, Tutor Zhong Meili continued the lesson.
The content she was presenting today was about the world’s various countries’ history of currency. Of course, she conducted the lesson in English. After all, she taught oral English. It would be out of step if she she was to teach in Chinese.
“Since the time of our ancestors, there has always been a saying that ‘money is the root of all evil’. So, is money really the root of all evil? Students, what do you think of this?” Zhong Meili tossed out a topic.
“Money is certainly the root of all evil. All kinds of crimes have arisen because of money. From ancient times till today, countless people have died for wealth.” An Huanhuan stood up and expressed her opinion in English.
Others also agree with this statement one after another. After all, there was a saying in the Chinese state that went like this, “Human beings die in pursuit of wealth, and birds die in pursuit of food.” This sentence fully ill.u.s.trated the status of sin that money occupied.
“Do all students share this view? Ruoran, how about you?” Zhong Meili looked at Huang Ruoran.
Huang Ruoran stood up and organized her speech. She answered in fluent English, “The story of ‘Paradise Lost’ from the Bible and the teachings of our distinguished Chinese predecessor, Mencius, both explained that it is not by nature that man is evil. It is the external temptations that make people lose their conscience.
I think that money is the root of all evils.
First, money has the real legitimacy of an equivalent exchange with any commodity. It has unlimited effectiveness, and therefore can arouse infinite greed.
Second, not only can money control the power of nature in the field of commodities, it can also commodify non-commodities. It is not only a symbol of material wealth, it has also become a bargaining chip for spiritual values. Power and status can be purchased with money; chast.i.ty and honor can be put up for sale in public. Humanity and dignity can be sold to the highest bidder, even the natural order of things and conscience has been contaminated with the stench of money.
Third, people’s wors.h.i.+p of money has also alienated the relations.h.i.+p between people and money. In reality, money is regarded as a G.o.d that people wors.h.i.+p. Because of money, people have lost their bearings in this grotesque and variegated world of material desires. It is also because of money that people have lost their innate sense of right and wrong but remain totally oblivious about it.
Shakespeare has long ago revealed that money can turn dark to light, ugly to beautiful, wrong to right, and the lowly to n.o.ble. It is precisely because money has the boundless power to confound right and wrong, and to turn the universe upside down that it has become the greatest root of the criminal and wanton spread of evil, so I believe that money is the root of all evil. ”
Although they were English Language majors, everyone’s English ability had not reached a certain level. They only half-understood what they had heard. But Huang Ruoran re-stated her point of view in Chinese after speaking, and the entire cla.s.s was deeply convinced by her rational and well-evidenced discourse that even made use of quotes from famous people.
“Indeed, she deserves to be the cla.s.s monitor. Her speech is just too good.”
“The cla.s.s monitor is right, money is the root of all evil.”
“Hmm, human beings are inherently good. Only external causes can make people fall into crime, and money is the cause.”
For a while, everyone in the cla.s.s supported Huang Ruoran.
“Ruoran is really eloquent!” Chu Yue said as she pursed her small mouth.
“Yeah, otherwise our Young Mistress Chu would never have been willing to let her have the position of the cla.s.s monitor.” Bai Ling nodded in agreement.
Chu Yue rolled her eyes at her, “You talk too much.”
Bai Ling playfully stuck out her tongue and did not speak again.
Zhu Xiaofei and Ding Kai stared at Xiao Luo without blinking. They always felt that Xiao Luo would stand up to refute Huang Ruoran, they did not believe that Xiao Luo could really swallow down the anger he felt just now.
But both of them felt that Huang Ruoran’s narrative was flawless, it was impeccable, even perfect. After listening to Huang Ruoran’s narrative, even they, who thought of money as the greatest treasure, felt as if they had been brainwashed. They now firmly agreed that money was the root of all evil. There was no way he could outdo Huang Ruoran. They feared that Xiao Luo would only make a joke of himself if he stood up to refute her, this was not what they wanted to see.