Everyone looked over and saw a man in his thirties wearing sunglasses stand up and question Chen Fan.
Many students from the Biology faculty recognized the man and some exclaimed.
“Isn’t that Mr. Du from the Biology department?”
Other students hurried to ask who Mr. Du was and they learned that he was one of the most outstanding instructors of the faculty. He was well known for his strident and outspoken character, even the Director of the college and been snubbed by him before.
His vociferousness had prevented him from being promoted to assistant professor despite the fact that he had already gained enough experience in teaching and researching.
“As we all know, Life Science is a branch of Biology. It focuses on molecular genetics to study the laws governing the life cycle and the nature of life. Its goal is to cure inheritable diseases, and gene defects using new drugs or improving the ecosystem.”
Instructor Du spoke calmly.
“However, Professor Chen had misunderstood such concepts and claimed that the purpose of Life Science is to improve and strengthen one’s life energy and enhance human’s biological features. This is equating the subject of Life Science with the study of Human Evolution. These two drastically different topics should never be put together. In layman’s terms, the real biologists are interested in curing inheritable heart disease while Professor Chen is claiming these heart diseases can be avoided by becoming a superman or spiderman.”
Everyone laughed out loud after hearing Instructor Du’s witty remarks.
Even many students who didn’t have a biology background agreed with him.
“Oh-shoot! So this visiting professor was now just pulling stuff out of thin air the whole time.”
“Life Science, and the Future of Pharmaceutical Research, hmm…. sounds legit but it’s just another way of saying pseudoscience.”
“Professor Chen won’t lie to us….”
The crowd boiled over. Some jeered at Chen Fan and some defended him. Most of Chen Fan’s supporters were girls who came just for Chen Fan’s looks. They cared very little about what Chen Fan was actually saying. The girl’s infatuation further fueled the male students’ anger toward the new professor.
“So you think it’s impossible?” Chen Fan stood next to the podium, unfazed by the challenge.
“Of course it’s impossible! Although there had been many people that believe in Qi the Soviet also conducted research for superhumans abilities, those were all as fictitious as Hollywood superheroes such as Green Lantern, Spiderman, Hulk or what have you. However, Mr. Chen, Science is not a comic book, its serious stuff and needs to be carried out with scientific methods.” Instructor Du announced. “Natural evolution followed its own set of rules and no external force could change its pace and direction.”
Many students nodded in agreement.
The students of Jin City University were the best of the best in Chinese society. Unlike the uneducated masses in the countryside who still believed in supernatural powers, they could think rationally and critically.
By then, the exchange started to cast a different light onto Chen Fan, making him look like a snake oil peddler.
Xue Jiao was sitting next to the podium and the smile on her face had long since evaporated. She didn’t expect to hear such outrageous theories and claims from Professor Chen either. Pseudoscience might be a benign topic for online communities, they were not meant to be shared with science professors and their students in a university classroom.
“Ah-ah! Was I right or was I right! He is here just for show.” Some old professor heaved a sigh and lamented.
“Hehe, he knew nothing about biology and he tried to fool us with stuff he heard on the internet. What makes him worthy of being a professor?” Another young instructor piped up.
Han Dongyu was sitting at the back of the class. He furrowed his brows as he suddenly felt that he had wasted his entire morning for this useless class.
“What if I tell you that I have proof?” Chen Fan asked slowly.
“Proof?” Instructor Du laughed. “What kind of proof do you have? Do you have a pet Godzilla or do you know Captain America?”
“Professor Chen, you should stop this nonsense right now, otherwise, more and more people are going to doubt your credentials as a biologist.” Instructor Du said with an edgy voice. “May I ask which university did you graduate from? Who is your advisor and how many research papers have you published?”
Instructor Du finally started to reveal his true intent.
He knew that if Chen Fan couldn’t offer a legitimate explanation, he would be kicked off the podium and became a laughing stock of the entire university. By then, Chen Fan would lose any hope of remaining in Jin City University much less teaching his fraudulent theory.
Everyone looked to Chen Fan expectantly, waiting for his answer.
Xue Jiao clenched tightly onto her notebook as many strong yet contradicting feelings clashed inside of her. Her heart wished Chen Fan could teach Instructor Du a lesson but her brain told her that Instructor Du was right. Biology is a science, not a superhero movie.
As the male students and instructors waited for Chen Fan to fall from grace, even the girls started to losing hope that Chen Fan would turn the tables.
However, Fang Qiong had a feeling that if Professor Chen really was the same person she met who could walk on the water, he would not be defeated by a group of academics.
“I have never studied biology.”
The crowd exploded after hearing Chen Fan’s remark.
“Sigh!”
Chen Fan heard many disappointing long sighs. Xue Jiao shivered a little, as her heart sank to the bottom.
“Professor Chen! How could you confess that in public? Not even the director can save you now.”
Han Dongyu shook his head and was ready to leave the classroom.
“You have never studied biology you say?” Instructor Du’s smile disappeared as his eyes started to glint sharply. “Someone who knew nothing of biology dares to walk into the Jin City University and pretend to be a visiting professor? How preposterous! This is a humiliation to us all! You are a humiliation to the Jin City University! ”
Instructor Du said vehemently and many Jin City University students agreed with him.
They were proud of their university’s high standards and therefore, could not tolerate the appearance of academic fraud.
“I will lodge a complaint to the director! If nothing happens I will complain to the board! How could the Jin City University let a snake oil peddler into its campus!”
“Just so! He is not even twenty, yet already a visiting professor! There must be something kind of shady dealing behind the scenes.”
“Maybe Professor Chen is innocent… maybe…”
Facing the increasingly angrier mob, the girls felt increasingly reluctant to speak out for Chen Fan.
“Sigh! Professor Chen looked so handsome but he turned out to be a fraud.” Zhong Yaoyao leaned on Fang Qiong’s body and said. “He was going to become my life-time idol, the love of my life, but it seemed that we could at most be friends with benefits. I don’t want to marry a fraud.”
“I thought you only cared about his face.”
“Nonsense! I am not that shallow. I care about what’s inside as much as outside.” Zhong Yaoyao protested.
By now, Xue Jiao’s face had turned as pale as a piece of paper. She struggled to convince herself that Chen Fan was innocent since everything suggested that Chen Fan was indeed a fraud.
“Mr. Chen Beixuan, what else do you want to say?” Sensing the promise of victory, Instructor Du put on a smile and asked Chen Beixuan.
Chen Fan looked around and let those jeering remarks and glares set in. Then he saw Xue Jiao, Han Dongyu, Zhong Yaoyao, all those people he knew and hung out with during his last life. In the end, he saw Fang Qiong.
She sat quietly and elegantly, looking as charming as a goddess.
Beauty was in the eyes of the beholders. Although Chen Fan knew that objectively, Fang Qiong was just of above average looks as of now, he couldn’t help thinking that she was the most attractive woman in the world. The sight of Fang Qiong brought a smile to his face unknowing to him.
“Why are you smiling?” Instructor Du furrowed his heavy brows.
How was he able to bring himself to smile at such an embarrassing situation? Does he know what’s going to happen next?
“I am not smiling, I am laughing at you. You know nothing about Life.” Chen Fan walked down the podium and said: “Although I have never studied biology, and never have I written a word on the subject, I know much more than you about life.”
“You know more than me?” Instructor Du was taken aback by the remark.
“At the end of the day, biology is the science of life. It was dictated by the laws that governed the changes in life. In other words, biology does not define life, it was the other way around.” Chen Fan then pointed to a pot of wilted narcissus flower by the window and asked. “When is the blooming season of narcissus?”
“Springtime from January to march.”
As an expert biologist, Instructor Du answered readily without any hesitation. It was September right now, and the plant clearly had seen better days.
Chen Fan didn’t say a word, instead, he fished out a little bottle from his pocket and poured some solution onto the narcissus flower.
Everyone looked to Chen Fan incredulously as they wondered what Chen Fan was going to do. Is he going to bring the dying plant back to life with a few drops of water? How was that possible?
Xue Jiao around her eyes expectantly.
One second, two, three…
Ten, twenty, thirty…
Nothing had changed. The plant hasn’t been watered for a month and a few drops of water was not likely to save it. Its leaves were still shriveled and the flower bud remained a tiny closed dot.
Many older professors shook their heads and were about to leave.
Xue Jiao also turned her head around as disappointment filled her heart.
Han Dongyu had already made his way to the exit. As he wondered if he should ask Xue Jiao out tonight, he heard a cheer erupt behind him.
He looked back and was stunned.
A colorful narcissus flower bloomed like it was in the middle of January.
Under Instructor Du’s incredulous stare, Chen Fan put down the bottle and said slowly: “I told you so, I know more about life than you ever could.”