Chapter 298 - The ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ that No One Dares to Teach! (1/2)

After 9.

Cla.s.s had ended.

Zhang Ye was just about to leave with President Wu, as well as the department Dean. However, the moment he got off his podium, he was surrounded by students!

“Teacher Zhang!”

“Can I get an autograph!?”

“Please take a picture with me! I’m your fan!”

“Teacher Zhang Ye, I have a question about literature that I need to consult you about. Do you have time after cla.s.s? Can I treat you to lunch?”

“I also want to consult you!”

“I also have an important question about literature!”

More than half of the students left as many of them had other cla.s.ses. The remaining students were all very pa.s.sionate. There were both male and female, but mostly women, who were surrounding Zhang Ye, asked him all sorts of questions. Zhang Ye did not reject them. Although he said stuff like never again, he still gave his students their requested autographs. He did not agree to the pictures with them, since this was a college campus. President Wu and company still had not left, so it was not appropriate to take photos.

Wu Zeqing took a step out the auditorium in her heels and gave a gentle smile, “Let us leave first. There’s no need to wait for Little Zhang.”

Chang Kaige gave a few glances back before helplessly shaking his head, “To think they even want autographs. These students are really pus.h.i.+ng it, and that Teacher Little Zhang, hai.”

Professor Zeng laughed, “This shows how popular Teacher Zhang is, for him to mingle well with his students.”

Chang Kaige gave a wry smile. Only when President Wu was far away did he glance at Professor Zeng and said, “Old Zheng, why do I have a premonition chaos will happen?”

Professor Zeng said, “Letting Zhang Ye teach is also an experimental attempt of the school.”

Another department’s teacher said, “It’s already in chaos. Just his first meeting with his students and not even an actual cla.s.s, Teacher Little Zhang has already questioned the academic world’s choice of textbooks? Who knows what earth-shattering words he will say tomorrow when he officially begins teaching. I’m also worried. With Zhang Ye here, it would be difficult for our Peking University Chinese department to be peaceful. Everyone in this industry knows how daring that mouth of his is!”

They walked away while discussing.

Over here.

After attending to the pa.s.sionate students, Zhang Ye found an excuse to leave, but before walking far from the auditorium, he found someone tailing him. Oh? Wasn’t this the girl who asked the first question? He had seen her earlier at the food stall in the morning.

As he came to a halt, Zhang Ye smiled, “Is there something wrong?”

Yao Mi came forward with a cheerful smile, “Uncle Zhang.”

Zhang Ye nearly fainted and said, “Why did I become an Uncle? If you want to call me, you can call me Brother Zhang. I’m not that much older than all of you, so I’m not that old.”

Yao Mi chuckled, “But our generational hierarchy exists. You and my Dad call each other brother, so I can’t just blindly call you Brother. I definitely have to call you Uncle.”

Zhang Ye happened to find this girl who had very distinct characteristics, but not considered pretty very familiar, “Your father is…?”

Yao Mi casually said, “My Dad is Yao Jiancai.”

“Heyo!” It suddenly dawned on Zhang Ye, “No wonder your eyes reminded me of an old friend! So you are Old Yao’s child. He had previously mentioned you to me, but never said you were in Peking University. Nice, Old Yao sure concealed it well. I didn’t expect him to have such a clever daughter. What’s your name?”

Yao Mi said, “I’m Yao Mi.”

Zhang Ye said, “What year are you in?”

Yao Mi said, “I’m going into my second year this year.”

Zhang Ye said, “Not bad. Find me if there’s anything you need.”

Yao Mi said, “Hehe, then my credits will be depending on Uncle Zhang.”

Zhang Ye chuckled, “I am new here. I don’t know how the exams work yet, and it’s not my call to make. However, if you listen to my cla.s.ses well, I can guarantee you will receive the credit you deserve.”

“That’s all that matters.” Yao Mi said.

As they conversed, Zhang Ye suddenly thought of something important, “Oh, just nice. I wanted to chat with our cla.s.s’ students. What did Professor w.a.n.g teach in ‘Appreciation of the Cla.s.sics’ last time?”

Yao Mi recalled seriously, “It’s just some famous works, such as Three Kingdoms, or Water Margin, or Journey to the West, and some other famous cla.s.sics. Most of them are Chinese. The appreciation of foreign cla.s.sics is another cla.s.s and taught by other teachers, but then, that was what Professor w.a.n.g lectured in the past few years. This year, Professor w.a.n.g only held two cla.s.ses and talked a bit about the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, and that was it.”

Zhang Ye got some understanding of the situation, “Then what do wish to hear?”

Yao Mi chuckled, “Isn’t your forte the Three Kingdoms?”

“Other than Three Kingdoms? You don’t have to care if it’s my forte. Just tell me what the mainstream opinion of what you guys and the other cla.s.smates want to hear? Which famous cla.s.sic are you interested in?” Zhang Ye asked.

“About that…” Yao Mi licked her lips, “The most interested cla.s.sic would definitely be ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’.”

Zhang Ye was surprised, “Oh? Everyone has similar views on this?”

Yao Mi said, “At least for me. I really like ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ too much. The romance in it is too beautiful. Besides, not many people lecture on ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. Even Professor w.a.n.g has never taught it. I heard from a few seniors who had taken this cla.s.s that over the many years of teaching ‘Appreciation of the Cla.s.sics’, Professor w.a.n.g has at best, only mentioned the accomplishments of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. However, there was no detailed lecture about it. When someone asked a crucial problem about ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’, Professor w.a.n.g would also shrug it off, like he did not wish to talk about this cla.s.sic.”