Chapter 132: Public Lecture

The university campus was lush and green; although it was autumn, various plants were still full of vitality.

Lu Chen accompanied Professor Li as they strolled along the small path of the university.

Two stewards followed behind, carrying Professor Li's thermos, lesson plans, and other items.

Steward Wang also held a thermos for Lu Chen, which Professor Li had shoved into his hands.

Lu Chen opened it and took a look; it was filled with bright red goji berries and some tea leaves.

It made him feel completely out of sorts.

Professor Li took the thermos with an expressionless face, took a sip, and only after a good while did he speak softly.

"When you're a professor, you need to take good care of your throat; I usually can't bear to give these tea leaves to anyone else."

"You are right, sir, but haven't I already looked over today's public lecture? Do I still need to admire your heroic bearing?"

Lu Chen's tone carried a hint of jest as he walked side-by-side with Professor Li.

He watched as Professor Li nodded slightly to the students around them.

"What are you thinking about, kid? Today is your performance. As for me, I'm old, and there must be someone to take my place."

Professor Li glanced at Lu Chen before speaking softly.

"You're already the chairman of a group, so giving a speech shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to react.

"You're being unfair, sir. This isn't how you should be slacking off, is it?"

Lu Chen took the lesson plan from the steward with some helplessness and flipped through it again.

"If I mess up the lecture in a moment, you mustn't watch the joke from below."

"It's fine, I've already given you the lesson plan anyway."

A hint of a smile appeared on Professor Li's face as he added a final jab.

"If you don't lecture well, my old friends will laugh at you."

"You're being a bit ruthless, sir. Who sets up such a big scene for a first-timer?"

Lu Chen instantly felt that the meticulous old man in front of him was no longer cute.

Who puts pressure on someone right before they go on stage?

However, this did indeed stir up a tiny bit of Lu Chen's competitive spirit.

"If you lecture well, the surprise might come early; if you don't, the surprise will be gone. You figure it out yourself."

Professor Li shrugged indifferently and looked at Lu Chen askance.

"Don't feel pressured. If you can't handle such a simple matter, you might as well stop running your company."

After Professor Li finished speaking, he straightened his suit and walked into the teaching building.

No, to be precise, it wasn't a teaching building, but an auditorium.

Behind the scenes of the auditorium.

Lu Chen took two deep breaths before following Professor Li inside.

Although it was slightly dim, there was actually plenty of sunlight.

From backstage, Lu Chen could hear all kinds of rustling sounds of people entering.

He could even hear some of the louder conversations.

"Professor Li hasn't taught for a long time. I heard it was due to health reasons. I wonder if this public lecture will be brilliant."

Remarks like these seemed to be endless.

But after entering the auditorium, these discussions were as if they had been choked off.

Lu Chen seized the time to familiarize himself with the lesson plan, even opening the Civil Law book beside him to take a look.

Professor Li sat to the side, calm and composed, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

Not until the bell rang did Professor Li stand up, straighten his suit, and ask softly.

"I wonder, have you memorized it? Can you lecture without looking at the lesson plan?"

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, and after a few seconds, he nodded gently.

"I haven't fully mastered it yet, but if it's just lecturing, it won't be a problem."

While Lu Chen was speaking, the host on stage had already begun the performance.

The entire audience applauded continuously.

Professor Li nodded slightly and took the stage first, with Lu Chen following behind him.

He gently straightened his suit, wore a slight smile on his face, and held the lesson plan and the thermos in his hands.

"Welcome Professor Li, and his closing-door disciple, Assistant Instructor Lu."

As the host spoke, Lu Chen also stepped onto the stage and bowed slightly along with Professor Li.

Professor Li took the microphone and spoke softly.

"Due to my personal health reasons, I have been absent from class for a long time. I have troubled my colleagues to help me teach."

Professor Li bowed slightly toward the old men in the front row.

Then he spoke again.

"I know that many students from other departments have come to audit this public lecture today. Unfortunately, I am still not feeling very well, so my disciple, Assistant Instructor Lu Chen, will be the main speaker. If there are any questions, I will answer them."

After finishing, Professor Li bowed slightly, turned and walked to the table and chairs on the side of the stage, sat down, and meticulously arranged a notebook, a pen, and his thermos.

During this time, the applause continued.

He nodded slightly toward Lu Chen.

Lu Chen then stepped to the center of the stage and bowed slightly.

Then he placed the lesson plan and the thermos on the lectern without opening them.

"Hello everyone, professors and students, I am Lu Chen."

As Lu Chen spoke, applause erupted in the venue once again.

Lu Chen pressed his hands down slightly, and only after the applause in the venue had ceased did he continue to speak.

"To be honest, when the old man called me here today, I was truly a bit bewildered. He tossed a lesson plan at me and told me, 'Come on, listen to the old man's brilliant lecture,' and now..."

Lu Chen spread his hands and glanced helplessly at Professor Li.

Following Lu Chen's lighthearted complaint, the students in the audience still applauded enthusiastically, and Lu Chen pressed his palms together and bowed toward Professor Li.

Only then did he make a gesture to quiet them.

Professor Li waved his hand slightly, a smile on his face, and nodded slightly.

He picked up the pen that had been placed on the table.

"The theme of today's lecture is the evolution from ancient punishments to modern legislation."

Lu Chen cleared his throat before speaking in a soft voice.

"Ancient punishments have a history of development spanning over 4,000 years, starting from the period of slave society..."

Lu Chen began to narrate slowly.

"Punishments during this period were primarily focused on damaging the body..."

"It was like a form of the most primitive retaliation."

"But by the time we reached the feudal society period, the evolution of punishment was, relatively speaking, more people-oriented."

With Lu Chen's introduction and a few small examples, the atmosphere in the venue did not turn cold.

Lu Chen took a sip of tea and glanced at Professor Li.

Professor Li nodded slightly.

Only then did Lu Chen feel at ease and continue his lecture.

It was not until he reached the current legislation that Lu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, this public lecture was not considered a formal law class, but rather just a history lesson.

But this was exactly what prevented Lu Chen from being stumped by various tricky professional questions.

Only at this moment did Lu Chen realize it.

Professor Li had indeed cut him some slack.

After interacting with the students for a while longer, Lu Chen bowed slightly, concluding this public lecture that had lasted for two and a half hours.

Lu Chen felt as if his throat was about to smoke!

If not for this cup of clear tea, Lu Chen felt he wouldn't have been able to speak at all by the second half of the lecture.

However, it was fine; at least the lecture was finally over.

Professor Li took the microphone and spoke softly.

"Students, are there any other questions you would like to ask? I will answer your questions next."