Shen Yixiao used the bet to make his demand.
"Alright!"
"No problem!"
To Shen Yixiao's surprise, his old man agreed right away, his eyes lit up: "Really?"
"A promise is a promise!"
Shen Qiushan smiled slightly: "When have I ever broken my word as your old man!"
"However, since you have a request, I need to make one too."
"If you lose, you must memorize fifty words a day from this book. I'll quiz you, and if you can't finish, you won't see your little girlfriend!"
"OK!"
"It's a deal!!"
Shen Yixiao agreed without a second thought, naturally full of confidence in this bet.
Others might not understand his old man, but he certainly does!
His old man's English was probably still stuck at:
[How are you?]
[I'm fine, thank you, and you?]
That kind of level!
And he wanted to compete with a high schooler in vocabulary.
Isn't that overestimating oneself!
Though his high school English grades were a bit poor, he was still an "elite" who endured nine years of compulsory education!
How could he lose to his old man who left school more than twenty years ago!
Go, go, go!
This round is a sure win!
Brimming with confidence, Shen Yixiao loudly called to Wang Yunpeng: "Brother Peng, come here!"
"What's up?"
Feeling a bit sleepy, Wang Yunpeng was lying on the desk, ready to take a nap.
"I want to compete with my dad in English vocabulary, you be the referee."
Shen Yixiao shouted.
As soon as he spoke, several classmates immediately turned their heads, a spark of gossip in their eyes.
Though they were busy with their own stuff, they were all subtly keeping an eye on Shen Qiushan, the mature-age transfer student.
By the end of lunchtime, news about a mature-age transfer student in Class 5 of Grade 3 had spread throughout the school.
After all, it was too peculiar, simply unbelievable!
As a result, information about Shen Qiushan became the "hard currency" among student conversations.
Whoever held first-hand information about Shen Qiushan had more say among their peers!
For instance, if several people were eating together in the cafeteria, a person from Class 5 would dominate the conversation.
It was out of curiosity about Shen Qiushan that students with limited material exaggerated the limited information they had.
That's how rumors like "English genius" and "Teacher Chen asking for advice" came to be, according to Zhou Yu!
So when news of the father-son English vocabulary competition reached the students already interested in Shen Qiushan, they immediately perked up.
"Shen Yixiao, how about I be the referee?"
"My English grades are much better than Wang Yunpeng's."
A bespectacled boy volunteered.
"Me, me!"
"I'm the English class rep!"
"It's more fair if I am the referee!"
The English class representative Yan Lei smiled as he joined in.
No matter who wins or loses in this father-son showdown, it will become a legendary school story and a topic for after-school chatter.
So being the referee and witnessing firsthand this showdown, one could boast about it for quite some time!
They could even use it as a topic to impress someone!
Yan Lei had even thought of the opening line...
Hey, do you know about that father-son competition?
I was the referee back then!
And then I'd tell you...
While telling the story, he could pretend to inadvertently hold the other's hand...
Ah, this referee position!
It must be mine!
Yan Lei was happily dreaming, when suddenly, a clear female voice sounded behind him: "Uncle Shen, I'm the class president, let me be the referee!"
It was Wu Ruohan, the class president of Class 5, Grade 3.
This small girl was quite pretty, cheerful, and a top student who was well-liked in the class.
Obviously, Wu Ruohan was also a gossip enthusiast.
Such a "father-son showdown," unprecedented in Sanjiang High School's history, was something she wanted to witness too!
"Class president, why are you joining the fun!"
"This is an English matter!"
Yan Lei, having already decided on his opening line to impress someone, certainly wasn't going to relinquish his claim to the referee's position.
"What do you mean by 'your English matter,' don't I also study English?"
"And the last mock exam, I scored one point higher than you in English!"
Wu Ruohan lifted her fair swan neck and argued.
"Well, there has to be an order of who called it first."
"I called it first!" Yan Lei retorted.
"Yes, yes!"
"It should be in order of offer."
The first boy who spoke up immediately nodded in agreement.
Seeing three kids arguing over referee qualification, Shen Qiushan was a bit speechless, but since the kids were so enthusiastic, he didn't want anyone to be disappointed and cheerfully said, "How about this, each of you picks ten words, counting Yunpeng makes forty."
"Hmm, one more needed!"
Shen Qiushan waved towards the kids watching.
"Me, me, me!"
"Uncle Shen, me!!"
"I want to do it!!"
"..."
Everyone immediately raised their hands in response.
But just then, the class bell suddenly rang.
Homeroom teacher Chen Xiangyu walked into the classroom right on the bell. The first class in the afternoon was supposed to be history, but the history teacher had something urgent and moved it to the last period.
So Chen Xiangyu turned this class into English.
Seeing a crowd at the back of the classroom, making a lot of noise, she frowned, walked to the podium, and slammed a stack of papers on the desk: "Everyone return to your seats!"
Hearing Chen Xiangyu's voice, the students suddenly acted like mice seeing a cat, quickly returning to their seats obediently.
Class president Wu Ruohan and English class rep Yan Lei, who missed out on referee qualifications, both looked dejected, mumbling to themselves: Why didn't class start later!
"Wu Ruohan!"
"What were you all doing?"
Unaware of what happened, Chen Xiangyu directly called out the class president.
"Uh, it's like this, Teacher Chen..."
Being a loyal follower of the homeroom teacher, Wu Ruohan hesitated for just a second before recounting the scene that just transpired.
She thought that after Teacher Chen heard this, it would just blow over, but instead, Chen Xiangyu looked at Shen Qiushan in the last row and asked: "Old Shen, are you sure you want to compete with Shen Yixiao?"
"Yes, I'm sure!"
Shen Qiushan nodded firmly, knowing she was actually asking if he was confident in winning.
"Alright, in that case, I'll be the referee!"
"Old Shen, and Shen Yixiao, write on the blackboard, one on the left, one on the right."
"Others take out scrap paper and join in by writing, then match answers with your deskmate!"
Chen Xiangyu immediately thought of a plan that would allow a fair competition between the father and son, while also involving other classmates.
Seeing Teacher Chen Xiangyu willing to host this "father-son showdown," the students in Class 5 became as excited as if they were injected with adrenaline.
In the previous setup, only a few could see Shen Qiushan and Shen Yixiao's answers, but now it was different, done in front of the entire class.
Everyone would soon know how many words they got right, which ones were correct, and which were wrong, spreading throughout the campus!