"We've been talking about this forever, Xie Kefu. Tell us!" Zhao Chang snapped back to attention. "What is Professor Song really like? Does he look kind? Are there any taboos?"
"He's definitely completely different from what you imagine." Xie Kefu lowered his voice mysteriously. "Professor Song is actually... very young!"
"Very young?" The two boys across from him froze in unison, clearly caught off guard.
"Forty?" Wang Chong asked.
"Under forty." Xie Kefu turned to look at Song He. "Professor Song looks as young as this brother here."
"Come on!" Zhao Chang sneered. "Old Xie, that's no fun!"
"We open our hearts to you, and you play tricks on us." Wang Chong sneered too. "Old Xie, you need to be honest!"
"Really!" Xie Kefu insisted. "He really looks that young! I can swear on a scripture with my hand pressed against it!"
"Come on!" Zhao Chang and Wang Chong said together. "Where are you going to find a scripture?"
Xie Kefu was helpless. He raised a hand and scratched his blond hair.
"I don't believe it either." Song He suddenly cut in. "Betting is popular where I'm from. Do you dare make a bet?"
Xie Kefu paused, sparks flashing in his eyes. "Two hundred yuan! If Professor Song really is young, you each give me two hundred! If he's an old geezer, I'll give you two hundred each!"
"Deal!" Wang Chong and Zhao Chang eagerly took the bait.
After dinner, there was still more than an hour before class.
Song He hurried back to the dormitory. He planned to shower and change clothes so he could appear before the fifty graduate students in good form. The dignity of a teacher still had to be established.
He had just had his head shaved before returning to school. It was cut