Reading on phone These days, if someone were to say to another person that they've wasted their time studying the sages' teachings, they'd probably be laughed out of the room. Yet Master Chen is particularly fond of this notion—he firmly believes himself to be a disciple of the sages and has long used the sages' teachings as his personal motto to motivate and guide himself. Anyone who dares to challenge him on this point would inevitably provoke a spirited debate. "Very well, then, let me explain it to you in detail." "Master Chen faced Qin Feng with his nose, saying: 'First, you're a wealthy child from a business family, driven by profit, while our Chen family is a scholarly lineage—thus, the mismatch in status and background. Second, there's a clear age gap between you two, which implies a generational divide; even if you manage to stay together, differences in thought and perspective will inevitably lead to conflicts. Third, you are officially in a teacher-student relationship—Confucius said, "Once a teacher, for life you are like a father"—thus, romantic feelings between teacher and student are not only inappropriate but forbidden. Fourth,..." Qin, the young man, listened with a cheerful smile, glancing at Chen Yue and Su Wu, who were both sweating profusely—how could it be that in this era, being called "Master Chen" still felt so authentic and justified? Master Chen took exactly ten minutes to deliver a detailed critique of Qin Feng, with every point aimed at a single purpose—proving that the two of them were simply not a good match. "Master, you've finished now." "Once Qin Feng nodded in agreement, he spread his hands and said, 'We've already performed the rites of Zhou Gong. Now that we've shared physical intimacy, we've truly become husband and wife. If your daughter doesn't marry me, who else could she possibly marry?' The young female counselor blushed deeply, rolled her eyes at him, embarrassed that he had brought up the matter at all. She had hoped to use this to shut the old man up—after all, you're so rigid, so out of touch with modern times. Since you're so fond of traditional customs, I'll join you and see who's more stubborn. But instead, the Confucian scholar remained unmoved and remarked, 'In this day and age, how can your thinking still be so rigid? Nowadays, it's all the rage for firstborn children to stay with their husbands—why should anyone care who the first one married?' All three of them stared at him in astonishment, as if they had just heard something completely unexpected. How can this scholar be so unconventional? If he's so open-minded about this matter, then what about all the previous formalities he went through? 'Well, then,' he finally conceded, 'I suppose I'm just as rigid "Qin Feng had to resort to his second move and said, "I'd like to counterpoint one thing: our Qin family is indeed a scholarly lineage, though we may not be particularly wealthy—there's no mismatch in status at all!" The elder scholar raised an eyebrow, "You're kidding, aren't you? Thinking I'm easy to fool? Let me tell you the truth—I've already investigated your background. Your father was a boxer, and your mother a primary school teacher. That qualifies as a scholarly family? I've been a university professor for over fifteen years—now you're claiming Chen family is scholarly? You're not even making up your stories on the spot!" "Who says a professor is a necessity for a scholarly family?" countered Qin the young man, firmly. "My father may have abandoned literature for martial pursuits, but that doesn't erase the glory of our ancestors. I'll be honest—since you claim to be scholarly, I'd like to ask you: how many books does your family actually possess?" "The old man thought he had hit the mark. 'Our Chen family doesn't have much else—only books,' he said with pride. 'Our household holds over ten thousand volumes, and not a single one is merely decorative. I've read every single one carefully!' 'Are there any ancient manuscripts?' asked Qin the younger. 'Of course,' replied the elder. 'Ninety percent of them are ancient texts—classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections. My reputation as a professor of classical Chinese literature isn't something I've earned by chance.' His chin nearly pointed toward the sky. 'You've misunderstood my point,' explained Qin the younger. 'I'm referring to ancient books passed down through generations—such as Song Dynasty or Ming Dynasty editions.' The elder shook his head frankly. 'None of that. By the time modern publishers turned those ancient books into collectibles, their prices had soared beyond belief. How could I possibly afford them?' 'Yet you still dare to call yourselves a scholarly family?' "Qin Feng changed his tone, speaking with a light, casual air: "Sorry, we have quite a few—mostly Qing and Ming dynasty editions, with a good number of Song dynasty ones. Works like *The Poems of Tao Yuanming* and *The Poems of Tang Bohu* are no problem. Even Tang dynasty wooden-block printed books—we have several!" The scholar's eyes lit up: "Really?" "I wouldn't deceive you," he declared firmly. "And there are also hand-copied versions of *The Analects* and *The Spring and Autumn Annals* from the Sui dynasty. Oh, and one of Zhu Xi's personally annotated editions of *The Great Learning*!" The scholar's eyes sparkled as he clasped his hands excitedly: "Could I possibly borrow a copy of each of these books? I haven't even heard of them before!" Su Wu, seeing the old man now so enthusiastic, said to Chen Yue: "Your father has already been fooled by Qin Feng, and he'll only get deeper into the situation!" Chen Yue nodded: "If little Qin Feng truly possesses such ancient texts, he'd only need to present one—then the scholar would willingly hand "Don't worry, Xiao Feng is truly quite capable," Su Miss said in a hushed tone. "He made a fortune in Europe and acquired a collection of antiques—many of them were looted during the Opium War. Books, surely, won't be lacking!" The old man grew impatient: "It's just about you and Xiao Yue!" "But you didn't agree, did you?" Qin Feng continued to act dumb. Chen Yue, after listening carefully, spread her hands and said to her close friend, "Well, they've sold me out. If I'd known just a few books would do it, why did I hide around for so long?"