Lin Tian stood up silently, his peculiar action catching everyone off guard. Xiao Manxuan thought he was about to do sothing inappropriate and hurriedly tugged on his sleeve, but Lin Tian did not respond to her.
"Lin Tian, what’s the matter?" Liu Ruming asked, puzzled.
Liu Ruming thought Lin Tian might have an objection to the study thod and materials just ntioned. When she thought of this, a hint of anger rose in her, as she and Fang Ming had put a lot of effort into researching and organizing these materials. She felt that Lin Tian’s attitude was sowhat excessive.
Lin Tian did not speak. Keeping his lower body still, he leaned forward slightly, with his hands clasped before him, just below his shoulder level, and nodded his head slightly toward Fang Ming and Liu Ruming.
Fang Ming was taken aback, his expression turning serious as he nodded slightly in response to Lin Tian, while Liu Ruming looked on in utter confusion. Not just her, many students in the senior third class were also puzzled about the aning behind Lin Tian’s gesture.
Just after Lin Tian had made the gesture, Xiao Manxuan and Zhang Lingyu also stood up and made the sa gesture as Lin Tian, followed by several other students. Fang Ming responded to each of them in turn.
"Classmates, are you all wondering about Lin Tian’s actions? I can tell you that such a gesture is called the ’Disciple’s Salute,’ which is a sincere way of paying homage to a teacher. Lin Tian, am I right?" Fang Ming said.
"That’s right. It’s an ancient ritual. A disciple saluting their teacher is a sign of sincere respect," Lin Tian said seriously. "Teacher Fang and Teacher Liu have sacrificed their personal ti to research learning thods for us, sharing them so we can benefit for life. I believe that Teacher Fang and Teacher Liu truly deserve the title of ’engineer of the human soul.’"
Now Liu Ruming understood everything, but she felt sowhat embarrassed. She had just misunderstood Lin Tian, thinking he was being excessive, when in fact, he was paying respect.
She felt even more embarrassed because, as a teacher, she didn’t even know Huaxia’s most traditional Disciple’s Salute. She beca curious about what kind of student Lin Tian was, wondering how he knew so much.
Of course, Lin Tian knew nothing of Liu Ruming’s thoughts at the mont, and even if he did, he would understand. Many Chinese language teachers did not understand the Disciple’s Salute, let alone Liu Ruming, a foreign language teacher.
But in performing the salute, Lin Tian also wanted to express gratitude. Both during his first year and now in his third year, teacher Fang Ming had given him much care and attention, sothing he felt was a proper sign of respect from a student.
Upon hearing this, the other students showed expressions of sha on their faces and began to stand up one by one until the entire class stood, performing their first Disciple’s Salute to the teachers.
The gestures were sowhat unfamiliar and not quite standard, but that was not important; what was important was that they were sincerely performing the Disciple’s Salute.
"Students, please take your seats. Today, Lin Tian has taught us a vivid lesson. It might not be of any use in the college entrance examination, but please rember how you feel at this mont. I believe that once you enter society in the future, it will be of great use to you," Fang Ming said earnestly.
After sitting down, Xiao Manxuan pulled Lin Tian’s clothes and exclaid, "Lin Tian, you’re amazing. How did you know about the Disciple’s Salute?"
Lin Tian touched his nose and said as if it was obvious, "You and Zhang Lingyu also knew it; there’s nothing strange about knowing."
"I know it because my mother hired a teacher of classical Chinese studies to teach , and Sister Yu must have learned classical studies too, right? Have you also studied classical Chinese?" Xiao Manxuan asked curiously.
Lin Tian shook his head and replied, "Of course not, a real teacher of classical studies is so rare, how could soone as poor as afford it? But not studying classical Chinese doesn’t an I don’t understand it. The ancients have already said it well, ’In books, one finds houses of gold, in books, one finds ladies as fair as jade.’"
"What we want to know and don’t understand can all be found in books. Isn’t the attic of your family’s house filled with books? Haven’t you, Xiao Manxuan, finished reading them?" Lin Tian asked in all seriousness.
"Finished reading?" Xiao Manxuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. "How could that be possible? There must be thousands of books stored on several floors of the attic. You’re not telling you’ve read them all, are you?"
"I’ve read them all," Lin Tian said casually. He wasn’t lying; he had indeed read all the books in the Xiao family’s collection, with his current reading speed comparable to that of a computer scan, a small collection like that was nothing to him.
Of course, having read them was one thing; understanding them was another. There were many books in the collection that Lin Tian did not understand.
"I don’t believe it. With so many books, how could you possibly have read them all? I’ve been reading since I could rember and haven’t finished them yet, because so I simply can’t understand and just can’t carry on," Xiao Manxuan said with disbelief.
"Xuanxuan, you’ll co to understand that Lin Tian’s abilities are much greater than you think," Zhang Lingyu interjected.
Lin Tian glanced at her and asked, "You understand well?"
"Humph, better than you can imagine," Zhang Lingyu laughed, her smile holding a touch of mystery.
"Class representative, please distribute these materials," Fang Ming called out; Xiao Manxuan got up to take the materials, and it was only then that Lin Tian rembered the little girl was a top student, also serving as the class representative of the senior third class.
"Class Leader He, hang up these banners later, okay, the announcents are over, we’re leaving now," Fang Ming said, exiting the classroom with Liu Ruming.
As they walked out the door, Liu Ruming, uneasy about the earlier incident, looked at Lin Tian with an apologetic gaze, only to see Lin Tian winking at her, indicating he’d seen through her concerns.
Under Lin Tian’s gaze, Liu Ruming felt seen through to her core, her pretty face blushing as she quickly left the classroom, almost as if she were fleeing.
"Class Leader He, hurry up and show the banners. I heard this year’s slogans were submitted by students and selected through online voting," Fatty Huang said, moving his hefty body toward Class Leader He’s location.
It’s said "moving" because his board-like fra was simply too large, and the aisles between desks were hardly wide enough for him. However, his shout did attract a group of curious classmates.
"Since when did our school do online voting for college entrance examination slogans? I had no idea," Lin Tianqi said, puzzled. He never heard of such a thing.
"Humph, you’ve never paid attention to what happens on campus, how would you know about the voting," Zhang Lingyu snorted.
Lin Tian couldn’t be bothered to argue with the little girl and instead called out to Fatty Huang, "Fatty, don’t just look by yourself; read it out loud. Let’s see how creative our beloved classmates are."
"Alright, responding to Brother Tian’s strong request, I’ll read it to you. Hold your breath and try not to laugh too hard," Fatty Huang said, then picked up a banner.
"Listen up, ’League of Legends is for kids, the college entrance exam is our ga.’
No sooner had he finished reading than Fatty Huang himself let out a "Damn, who submitted this? Stand up, I promise I won’t beat him to death!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers