A somewhat unfamiliar voice came through the receiver in his hand. "Hello, Teacher Chi. I'm your university counselor. Our school is holding a speech by an honorary alumni representative. Would you be willing to attend as the Life Sciences Institute's outstanding graduate representative?"
"No, no." The moment Chi Ning heard "representative speech," he panicked. "I can't give speeches. Find someone else."
Counselor: "...I."
Before he could finish, Chi Ning had already hung up.
The counselor stared blankly at the receiver, which was beeping with the busy signal. Beside him, the elderly dean of the Life Sciences Institute stood with his hands behind his back and asked, "So, how did it go?"
Counselor: "He said he can't speak."
The dean was quite old and had spent too long in academia to know how to deal with someone like Chi Ning.
He sighed. "He... he really isn't much of a talker."
The dean tremulously tapped the counselor's desk. "It's fine. Call him again and tell him about the visiting professor position. Ask him to come teach. That should work, right?"
"If he doesn't want to give a speech, he should be good at teaching."
The counselor suddenly understood. A visiting professor position carried far more weight than honorary alumnus.
He picked up the phone and dialed.
Chi Ning had just hung up and sat beside Qin Heng to drink a few sips of tea when both their phones rang at the same time.
Chi Ning glanced at the caller ID. It was still the counselor.
He got up and walked aside to answer. "Hello?"
Counselor: "Student Chi Ning, it's fine if you don't want to be an honorary alumnus. How about becoming a visiting professor instead? It won't take much time. You'd only need to give one public lecture a month."