Chapter 555 | Chapter 556 | Chapter 567
Chapter 555: The Group Thesis
She felt too embarrassed to enlighten them on the marketing strategies of merchants…
Sheng Wanyan packed all their expressions of goodwill into her bag and popped a piece of candy into her mouth before class started.
It was sweet…
Inexplicably, Sheng Wanyan found herself getting along better and better with every single classmate, and the relationships within the entire class seemed to be drawing closer. They gradually began helping and learning from one another, which made the class monitor, Liu Xing, feel exceptionally comforted.
The final class of the day was Professor Zhao’s. He arranged a task for them: a group-based friendly competition and exchange.
Each group would consist of five people, formed through free pairing, to complete a thesis draft in Russian on the topic of “The Youth of Huaxia.”
A week later, they would present it on stage. The five members would complete one essay together, split into five paragraphs, with each person responsible for presenting one section. Furthermore, this thesis had to be at least 20,000 words long!
There was a prime reward for the first-place group: the National Foreign Trade Exchange Conference held by the state in mid-March of next year. The winning group would get to tag along with the various leaders as interpreters to broaden their horizons!
There were 51 students in the class, so one group would have six people. It was a free pairing process, depending entirely on one’s own capabilities!
Upon hearing this news, the students in the classroom instantly erupted into cheers. To go to the Foreign Trade Exchange Conference—just how many leaders would they get to meet! Once they left a good impression before the leaders, it would mean a massive opportunity for them to secure a job placement in the Capital after graduation.
“Quiet down.”
Professor Zhao pressed his hands down. Everyone fell silent one after another, looking at him.
“Do you all understand the rules?”
“We do!”
“Alright, you may now begin your free group pairings. Once a group is formed, no changes to the roster are allowed.”
The moment Professor Zhao’s words fell, everyone instantly flew like a shot toward Sheng Wanyan’s direction. Startled, Sheng Wanyan hurriedly retreated a few steps. In this kind of competitive exchange, the top scorer was naturally everyone’s first choice for a teammate.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, can you join our group?”
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, consider our side.”
“Wanyan, Wanyan! Over here!!!”
Catching sight of her, Wei Lili waved frantically. Leading her other four potential group members, she just couldn’t squeeze through the crowd no matter how hard she tried.
Liu Xing hurriedly pushed the crowd aside to clear a path for her, and Wei Lili immediately slipped inside. The moment she got through, she stood right in front of Sheng Wanyan, hands on her hips as she yelled at the crowd, “Wanyan is on our team! Don’t even think about it!”
Wei Lili had already locked down her other teammates; now she was only missing Sheng Wanyan.
Knowing how close Wei Lili and Sheng Wanyan were, the classmates already knew in their hearts that Sheng Wanyan would definitely choose Wei Lili. They could only sigh and wait for Sheng Wanyan to make her decision official.
Sheng Wanyan looked at the members of Wei Lili’s team: there was Wei Lili, Liu Xing, Gu Shumin, and Lin Meili.
Goodness, Wei Lili really knows how to choose. Gu Shumin, who ranked second in their major, and Liu Xing, who ranked fifth, were both here. Even Lin Meili was among the top fifteen. Don’t look at Wei Lili’s average grades in their major courses; her interpersonal skills were stellar! With more than half the team consisting of her own roommates, Sheng Wanyan naturally gladly agreed to join Wei Lili’s group.
Seeing her nod, Wei Lili instantly jumped up in joy, pulling her over to join the rest of their group members.
Gu Shumin felt a surge of delight in her heart at her arrival, though on the surface she maintained a highly composed facade, keeping her eyes fixed on the textbook in her hands.
“Once your groups are formed, sit together. If you need any study materials, just let me know.” Professor Zhao possessed many dictionaries and reference materials. Every time his students needed them, he would bring them out without a second thought. If there was something he didn’t own, he would borrow it from his old friends. As long as they were willing to learn, he would gladly put his old face on the line to track down materials for his students.
Sheng Wanyan’s group asked Professor Zhao to provide a dictionary and some reference materials for writing a thesis, while the other groups also wrote down what they needed on slips of paper for him. True to form, Professor Zhao brought the required materials to the students the very next day with a beaming smile.
The students entered their element instantly. Even during the noon rest hour, the dormitory corridors were filled with students crouching on the floor debating with one another.
Sheng Wanyan strictly needed her rest. Knowing her academic caliber, the others usually chose to discuss things with her after class once they had finished writing their sections.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, we plan to write a thesis on the imminent rise of Huaxia’s youth. What do you think?”
Sheng Wanyan was slightly surprised by Liu Xing’s words; she was amazed by their grasp of the bigger picture.
“I think it’s excellent.”
Hearing this proposal of theirs, a sudden surge of hot-blooded passion inexplicably welled up in her heart.
“Since we all think it’s good, let’s each write a 4,000-word piece first. Then we’ll translate it into Russian and see how to weave them together into a single thesis. Comrade Gu Shumin, I’ll leave the synthesis, grammar, and formatting of the thesis to you.”
Liu Xing truly possessed excellent leadership skills; he knew everyone’s strengths and how to delegate. Originally, he had wanted to hand this task to Sheng Wanyan, since her Chinese language score was the highest in the entire university, meaning writing a thesis would certainly be no issue for her. However, since she was pregnant and he didn’t want to overexert her, he handed it to Gu Shumin instead.
Gu Shumin adjusted her glasses with her finger and nodded as she accepted the task. “No problem.”
“Comrade Lin Meili, I’ll leave the artistic flow of everyone’s essays to you.”
“Huh? Artistic flow?” Lin Meili stared at him with complete bewilderment.
Liu Xing explained it to her; to put it plainly, it meant polishing the text to make it sound more sophisticated and grand. Lin Meili nodded, accepting the task with a touch of daze.
“Comrade Wei Lili, your job is to tell jokes to relieve everyone’s stress.”
Wei Lili patted her chest. This was right up her alley, absolutely no problem. “Leave it to me with confidence.”
Seeing her proud demeanor, a hidden spark flickered in Liu Xing’s eyes as he continued delegating. “Comrade Sheng Wanyan, you will be responsible for proofreading any errors in content as well as the grammar and diction of the text.”
“Alright.”
Sheng Wanyan accepted her task, looking at Liu Xing and then at Wei Lili, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upward as she caught onto the underlying dynamic.
“I’m the only male in our group, so if there’s any grueling labor or chores you don’t want to do, just leave them to me and order me around as you please. Of course, if you’re under too much pressure, you can also vent your frustrations on me, just don’t let it upset your own health.” After all, he didn’t want to lose such wonderful teammates, nor did he want…
Liu Xing stole a glance at the brightly smiling Wei Lili, turned back, and continued, “Let’s help one another, discuss things together, and seize first place!”
With just a few words, Liu Xing put the four girls into a delightful mood, and a mutual trust was forged in an instant.
“Then shall we allocate the paragraphs?”
The others nodded, and after a brief discussion, they assigned the most difficult final paragraph to Sheng Wanyan. Furthermore, Sheng Wanyan needed to familiarize herself with the drafts of the other members to deliver the final conclusion, making the presentation hot-blooded and immersive for the audience.
“That works.” Sheng Wanyan had no objections. Everyone was being highly considerate of her pregnancy, so it was only natural for her to pull her weight.
“Who will take charge of the first paragraph?”
Chapter 556: The Exchange Competition Begins!
Whoever was responsible for the first section would be the first to speak. It was a position bound to induce immense nerves. Liu Xing looked at the other three.
“I can’t do it, I’ll be too scared…”
“The moment I get scared, I’ll start misspeaking.” Wei Lili said hurriedly. She truly didn’t have the stomach for it and didn’t want to drag down the group.
“I can’t do it either…” Lin Meili declined. She could be highly proactive and enthusiastic when it came to food, but this kind of thing would just make her feel awkward! Just imagining the scene made her feel like the candy in her mouth wasn’t even sweet anymore.
Liu Xing looked at Gu Shumin, but Gu Shumin wouldn’t even look at him.
“Alright then… I’ll go first.”
Upon hearing Liu Xing’s words, the rest of the group looked at him with immense satisfaction. What a good man!
“I’ll take the second section.” Lin Meili raised her chubby hand, and no one objected.
“I’ll take the third section.” Wei Lili followed closely behind. Gu Shumin had no objections to the fourth section. With the five of them having arranged their respective tasks, they began writing their drafts.
“What should we call our thesis?” Wei Lili looked up and asked, throwing everyone into deep thought.
“The Imminently Rising Huaxia?”
“No, too blunt.”
“Huaxia’s… Awakening Future?”
“Why not just call it the Awakening Dragon?”
Several names were rejected. Everyone looked at Sheng Wanyan, letting her come up with one. Sheng Wanyan lowered her head to ponder. After a good while, she looked up at everyone, who was staring back at her expectantly. Sheng Wanyan slowly uttered a few words:
“Studying for the Rise of Huaxia.”
Hearing this title, the others repeated it several times in their mouths. The more they said it, the better they felt it was, perfectly matching their content.
“Great! This is the name!” Everyone agreed, and the title of the thesis was finalized. They now had a direction, and one by one, looking as if they had been injected with chicken blood, their pens began flying non-stop across the paper.
When Sheng Wanyan returned home after class, she thought about the content and direction of her group, as well as the underlying meaning each of her four teammates wanted to express. A 4,000-word conclusion certainly couldn’t be dry or uninteresting; it required something that would make everyone’s blood boil with passion the moment they heard it.
The students of the entire major spent the next week as if they were fighting a war. Seeing Sheng Wanyan busy writing her thesis, Gu Tingxiao took it upon himself to keep Yi Yi entertained. With Gu Tingxiao keeping Yi Yi occupied, she couldn’t go bother Sheng Wanyan, giving Sheng Wanyan her own quiet space.
Very soon, a week passed, and the exchange competition within the class officially commenced!
“Each group will send one person up to draw lots. Whichever number you draw corresponds to the order in which you will present.”
“Liu Xing, you go!” Sheng Wanyan and the others pushed Liu Xing forward. Liu Xing was incredibly nervous, terrified of drawing a bad number.
“It’s fine, we believe in you.”
“Exactly, it doesn’t matter what number it is.”
“Alright.”
Armed with the trust of his teammates, Liu Xing went up to draw lots. Five folded slips of paper were laid out in front of Professor Zhao. Closing his eyes, Liu Xing picked one and walked back to his group’s seats.
“What is it?”
Liu Xing nervously unfolded it. The moment everyone saw the number “4,” they instantly grew ecstatic.
“We’re presenting fourth! Liu Xing, your luck is incredible!”
“For real?” Liu Xing hadn’t even dared to look himself. Hearing their words, he instantly snapped his eyes open, and seeing the digit on the slip of paper, he excitedly pumped his fist. “Yes!”
“It really is a 4!”
“Exactly, your luck is truly phenomenal.” Wei Lili whispered beside him.
Liu Xing’s ear tips turned bright red, and he didn’t dare look Wei Lili in the eyes. Sitting directly opposite them, Sheng Wanyan propped up her chin, watching the two of them with a knowing, maternal grin.
Liu Xing looked up and caught Sheng Wanyan’s gaze, instantly freezing up across his entire body, not daring to speak. Sheng Wanyan sighed inwardly but couldn’t help enjoying the spectacle; she felt as though she had been watching a real-life campus romance drama over the past week. University love… is truly beautiful.
The first group to take the stage was Li Jiahua’s group. The five of them were incredibly nervous, adjusting their breathing beneath the podium.
“Let’s begin.”
For this class, it wasn’t just Professor Zhao present; every single specialized instructor from the Russian major, the dean of students, and the principal were all seated at the back to listen. They would ultimately cast votes, and the group with the highest tally would claim first place!
As Li Jiahua’s group took the stage, their title was “The Courage of Huaxia’s Youth.” The instructors at the back all sat up straight to listen.
Li Jiahua was the first to speak. This was an opportunity she had aggressively fought to secure for herself, precisely so the instructors would remember her. Holding her speech draft, she looked nervously at the students and instructors below, her heart pounding like a drum.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted the speech draft and began to read. Perhaps because she was far too nervous, she mispronounced several words, and her delivery was somewhat stilted. Sweat beaded on Li Jiahua’s forehead as she stumbled through her draft, looking anxiously at the instructors below.
Professor Zhao knit his brows, looking up at Li Jiahua on the stage, inwardly muttering what a pity it was. The content of the essay was quite decent, and he had been looking forward to this group, but how could even the grammar be incorrect? However, seeing that they were the first group to take the stage, he understood their hardship.
The remaining teammates felt their hearts drop when they heard Li Jiahua’s opening; they could only try their absolute best to turn the tide.
Once the first group finished presenting, the principal leaned over to whisper a few words to the dean of students, and the score for this group was quickly tallied. However, the marks would only be announced at the very end to avoid affecting everyone’s morale.
When Li Jiahua stepped down from the stage, her eyes were rimmed with red. The other teammates wanted to chide her, but seeing that she was on the verge of tears, they could only swallow their words back down.
“Second group.”
The second group was Zheng Lingling’s. Their theme was “The Talent of Huaxia’s Youth.”
Hearing this topic, Sheng Wanyan felt a trace of curiosity and listened intently to the presentation of Zheng Lingling’s group. It had to be said that it was exceptionally brilliant. They vividly and incisively articulated the capabilities of Huaxia’s youth, their hot-blooded passion, and their patriotism. Once it concluded, everyone clapped enthusiastically, having been thoroughly drawn into the speech.
“Lingling’s group spoke so well.” Wei Lili clapped frantically. If the instructors and principal hadn’t been present, she certainly would have stood up to cheer.
“Are you happy? It’ll be our turn very soon.” Gu Shumin delivered a blunt, no-nonsense line, instantly dampening the mood of the entire group. The smile froze on Wei Lili’s face, and she lowered her hands.
Goodness, the third group is already taking the stage!
The third group consisted of Liu Na, Liang Fanghua, and the others, speaking on “The Dreams of Huaxia’s Youth.”
If the essay for this theme was written well enough, it could easily resonate with everyone, and the reality proved to be exactly that!
“The youth of Huaxia possess but a single dream.”
“And that is for our motherland to grow powerful, unfeared by the bullying of anyone!”
Although these words were expressed in Russian, they were filled with Huaxia’s strength and resolve. The instructors and students at the back all stood up, shouting praise one after another.
“Excellent!!!”
Clap, clap, clap…
The classroom was filled with thunderous applause, everyone sharing a mutual resonance. The dream they had all been charging toward was always the exact same one—for their motherland to grow strong!
It took a good while for everyone to snap out of it. However, the performance of the third group only served to make Wei Lili and the others even more nervous.
Chapter 557: Studying for the Rise of Huaxia!
“Wanyan, what should we do?”
“It’s fine, just perform normally.”
“Just act like nothing happened.”
Hearing her words, Wei Lili took a deep breath, kicking the third group’s performance completely out of her mind.
“Fourth group.”
Sheng Wanyan took the stage while heavily pregnant. They held no papers in their hands—they were presenting entirely without notes!
Everyone was stunned, looking at them in utter disbelief. With so many vocabulary words, they had actually memorized all of them?
“What is your theme?”
Seeing that they hadn’t announced it, Professor Zhao asked. However, they maintained an air of mystery.
“Professor, we won’t say just yet.”
Hearing this, Professor Zhao exchanged glances with the other instructors. The principal’s curiosity was instantly piqued as he watched them. Professor Zhao nodded, letting them begin their speech, and listened intently.
Liu Xing took a deep breath, his eyes fixed firmly on his fellow classmates. His tone didn’t sound like a speech at all; instead, it felt as though he was telling a story.
(The following contents are spoken in Russian, but I will write them directly in English~)
“Once, there was a patriotic and great figure. In his youth, he saw the common people plunged into misery and suffering, and his impoverished, backward motherland left at the mercy of others.”
“He saw the flames of war raging everywhere, saw his compatriots enduring torture and hardship, and saw beautiful homelands reduced to ruins.”
“As he grew older, he saw the prosperity of other nations, and saw Hong Kong turn into a leverage point where our nation had no choice but to step back!”
“He saw people abroad eating meat and drinking wine, while the people of Huaxia felt absolute joy just from being able to taste a single bite of meat.”
A deep sorrow filled Liu Xing’s eyes as he finished these words, throwing the students below into solemn reflection.
“Next, let us retrace that humiliating period in modern Huaxia’s history.”
“In 1840, the iron hooves of foreign capitalism trampled upon China’s fertile yet backward land. The corrupt Qing government handed over China’s rights and territories bit by bit to foreign powers.”
“In an instant, the gates of Huaxia were kicked open, and the curtain rose on a life of humiliation for our people.”
Hearing this piece of history, sorrow welled up in everyone’s hearts. Back then, the nation had lost so many compatriots.
“Look upon the vast lands of Huaxia; the people could find no livelihood, and cries of grief echoed everywhere.”
“The air was filled with the groans of Huaxia’s weak, ignorant citizens and the ferocious, mocking laughter of imperialism!”
Using fluent Russian, Liu Xing relentlessly articulated the shame of Huaxia’s past. His eyes burned with hatred and fury, but even more so with powerlessness.
As the specialized instructors listened to this, their hearts filled with sorrow and memories. Huaxia… was suffering now, but it had suffered even more in the past. Their generation suffered, and the previous generation suffered even more. Yet no matter the hardship, what everyone held in their hearts was the dream of a powerful nation!
The previous generation had laid down their lives to remind everyone of that past shame, printing it deeply into the hearts of generations to come. They only hoped the new generation could stand up and rise to the absolute peak of the world!
“From that moment on, the grand ambition of studying for the rise of Huaxia emerged, and groups of patriotic, progressive youths who embraced advanced foreign cultures came forward.”
“Advanced books flowed into Huaxia, and progressive culture poured into the minds of the Chinese people, causing their numb brains to begin awakening.”
“Thus, a rift was carved into the dark future of Huaxia.”
“It can be said that books containing advanced theories saved us, rescuing us from the depths of misery and suffering.”
……
Liu Xing continued his incisive narration, and soon it was Wei Lili’s turn. Wei Lili seamlessly took over the presentation.
“Speaking of this, perhaps some classmates might ask: studying could make Huaxia rise in the past, but now, our nation is stable, safe, democratic, and free. Why do we still need to study?”
“Classmates, history tells us never to forget the past, and history also tells us to remain vigilant for the future.”
“Do you still remember the history when foreign nations flew fighter jets to invade Huaxia, and Huaxia could only fight back with basic rifles?”
“Do you still remember the stifling grievance when imperialism bombarded Huaxia with heavy artillery, and Huaxia could only counter with hand grenades?”
“Setting history aside and speaking only of the present, we are still backward!”
“This is a fact! We do not need to evade it. What we need to do is face it and recognize reality!”
……
“Therefore, we study! We acquire knowledge! We do so not for a stable job, not for a secure position in a state unit, and certainly not for the petty vanity in our hearts!”
“We study to make our nation rise, to make our country stronger, and to ensure our motherland is never bullied by others again!”
“Only when the nation is strong can the home be safe!”
After speaking, Wei Lili bowed deeply to everyone. The crowd felt a surge of adrenaline, instinctively erupting into applause.
“Excellent!”
“Well said!”
The principal watched the five individuals on stage, softly murmuring the words “Only when the nation is strong can the home be safe” to himself.
Lin Meili stood right at the front, stepping up to continue the speech.
“The so-called weak nation possesses no diplomacy; if you lag behind, you will be beaten.”
“Yes, our country’s economy has developed, and yes, our international status has improved.”
“The shame of history has not repeated itself. Now, the nation is developing and has restored university education!”
“But I want to ask our classmates a question.”
Lin Meili looked at the audience below. The students stared back at her, wondering what she was going to ask. Lin Meili’s eyes turned slightly red, her voice trembling slightly with intense emotion.
“Even so, are we not still subjected to the bullying of those arrogant nations today?”
The entire venue fell dead silent! A bitter ache welled up in everyone’s hearts. Yes! Are they not still bullied by arrogant nations today?
“And why is all of this? Is it not simply because we are still backward?”
“My vibrant, youth-filled classmates, we are the successors of this nation, we are the future pillars of Huaxia!”
“We must make the Western capitalist nations look at us in a new light, and we must wash away all past and present humiliations. We must make Huaxia a giant dragon of the East that will never fall!”
……
Lin Meili spoke in a continuous, flowing torrent, leaving the students and instructors below thoroughly spellbound. Everyone forgot to clap, forgot to cheer, sitting perfectly straight as they listened intently, completely captivated by the figures on stage.
Lin Meili felt incredibly emotional after concluding her section. When she stepped back into line, she was visibly choking back soft sobs.
Next, Gu Shumin took the stage to speak:
“As the future of this nation, we are living in the most beautiful era, and the heavy responsibility of Huaxia’s rise will fall squarely upon our shoulders.”
“Ambitions must not be wasted, and youth should not be spent in vain.”
……
“Studying for the rise of Huaxia should now become the learning objective for us vibrant young people. We cannot allow the history of the past to repeat itself, and the cowardice of yesteryear will never appear on us again!”
After Gu Shumin finished speaking, she bowed and stepped back, and the students below clapped enthusiastically.
“Excellent!!!”
Sheng Wanyan stepped forward, starting her fluent Russian delivery to weave the final conclusion.
“Huaxia is an ancient nation with thousands of years of civilized history. How magnificent and grand is our vast China!”
“But even such a great and mighty nation has faced times of invasion and being trampled upon.”
“In those dark days, when invaders ran rampant across our sacred land, it was the descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors who defended the motherland to the death, composing immortal epics!”
