"Half-frightened, I fear the Consort will cherish his phoenix match and be unwilling to die for love with me in the underworld…"
As the female voice finished singing from "the legend of the princess chang ping", Zhang Chengyi, following the tune from the radio, was about to continue with the male part when someone else suddenly took over, singing: "My heart yearns for us to be buried together, a pair of mandarin ducks side by side…"
Zhang Chengyi subconsciously opened his closed eyes and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see his favorite student, Huo Yaowen, walking towards him at the end of the aisle, carrying a large watermelon and a plastic bag.
Huo Yaowen smiled and continued to sing: "…In the underworld, we'll set up a new bridal chamber, and in the netherworld, we'll find that Pingyang alley!"
Zhang Chengyi placed the teapot on the small side table, quickly stood up, and looked at the approaching Huo Yaowen, scolding him with a smile: "You rascal, that's not how you sing the male part of "the legend of the princess chang ping"."
"Teacher, I was just singing casually."
Huo Yaowen finished speaking with a smile, then handed the large watermelon and grapes he was carrying to his teacher, saying: "I just saw a hawker selling fruit downstairs. It's hot, so I bought some watermelon and grapes to show my respect to you and Mother."
Zhang Chengyi looked at the fruit his student handed him, frowned, and said unhappily: "It's fine to visit, but why buy so many things?"
"Old Zhang, who's here?" Mother, who was tidying up inside, heard Zhang Chengyi talking to someone, opened the security door, and walked out. Upon seeing Huo Yaowen, she said with a joyful expression: "Ah Wen is here! Come in quickly and sit down. It's so hot outside; come in and enjoy the air conditioning."
"Mother," Huo Yaowen greeted her with a smile.
Mother saw that Huo Yaowen was still holding a large watermelon and a bunch of grapes, her brows furrowed, and she said with displeasure: "You child, it's enough to just visit. Why did you buy fruit?"
Huo Yaowen smiled and said: "Isn't it because the weather is hot, so I thought of buying some fruit to show my respect to you, Mother?!"
"Didn't you just say you bought them for me? How come as soon as Mother comes out, you say they're for her?" Zhang Chengyi teased from the side.
"Slap!" Mother slapped Zhang Chengyi's arm hard, glared at him, and then, with a smile, said to Huo Yaowen: "Alright, alright, just this once. If you buy things again next time, don't blame me for not opening the door."
"Understood, Mother." Huo Yaowen heard her, but he still intended to do as he pleased.
In his memory, Teacher Zhang and Mother had always been very kind to Huo Yaowen. Not only did Teacher Zhang help him a lot with his studies, but when he lived at the school, Mother would also often invite Huo Yaowen to the teachers' dormitory to eat good food that wasn't available in the cafeteria.
...
The three entered the house.
After Mother invited Huo Yaowen to sit down, she took the watermelon and grapes to the kitchen to wash and cut them, preparing to serve them to Huo Yaowen.
Zhang Chengyi fanned himself, looked at the increasingly refined Huo Yaowen, and thinking of his careful guidance over the years, he felt a surge of satisfaction. He said with a smile: "Yaowen, why do you have time to visit me today? Are you here to learn some teaching experience from me, or to ask about something else?"
"Haha, as expected, nothing can escape Teacher's keen eyes!" Huo Yaowen subtly flattered him, adjusted his glasses, smiled, and said: "This time, I'm indeed not just here to visit you, Teacher. The main reason is to learn some teaching experience from you. Teacher has been teaching at Hong Kong University for over twenty years. Even if I only learn a tenth of what you know, it will be immensely beneficial to me and enough to guide the students entering in the new semester."
"Rascal!" Faced with Huo Yaowen's compliments, Zhang Chengyi was happy but also pretended to be serious, saying: "Teaching experience isn't that easy to learn. Everyone has different circumstances, and every student has different needs. It's like going to the hospital when you're sick; the doctor prescribes the right medicine for each different patient."
"Yes, yes, that's why I hope Teacher will teach me everything he knows!"
Seeing that Huo Yaowen was still as respectful as he was during his student days, Zhang Chengyi said with a beaming smile: "Teaching experience is actually very hard to teach you. It's nothing more than preparing well before class and recording any shortcomings you had in class afterward. So, I don't have much to teach you about teaching experience, but in philosophy, I can teach you a lot. While you haven't gone to the school to be a teacher yet, let me test you: what is philosophy?"
"philosophy is the study of fundamental and general questions…"
"I'm not asking you to repeat what I taught you. Those are just the basic theories of philosophy. What I want to ask is, what do *you* think philosophy is? Don't repeat your previous answers. I want your latest insights. What exactly is philosophy?!"
Upon hearing Teacher Zhang's words, Huo Yaowen quickly recalled the original owner's memories. In those memories, he had a deep understanding of philosophy, but it seemed he had already discussed all of this with Teacher Zhang.
In his haste, Huo Yaowen cleverly said: "philosophy is philosophy!"
Zhang Chengyi was stunned, then laughed and scolded: "You weren't so slippery when you were studying! philosophy is indeed philosophy, but the answer I want, or rather, what I need, isn't that. Don't tell me that after only two months out of school, you've lost all interest in philosophy. When you were at school, you had many different understandings and questions about philosophy every day."
"How could that be, Teacher?" Huo Yaowen quickly said: "Recently, I've been constantly contemplating subjective human issues, so I haven't thought much about other things."
"Oh? Tell me about it," Zhang Chengyi became interested.
Huo Yaowen pursed his lips. His understanding of philosophy was almost entirely the original owner's understanding; he himself didn't even know what philosophy was, so how could he know what philosophy truly was?
However, thinking of the popular 'three views' on the internet in later generations, Huo Yaowen pondered for a moment, thinking this should fall within the scope of philosophy, and then said: "Recently, I've been thinking about three questions: what is the outlook on life, what is the outlook on values, and what is the outlook on the world. What is the connection between these three views and philosophy, and how should I understand and interpret them?"
"Outlook on life, outlook on values, outlook on the world! The three views!" Zhang Chengyi repeated, his eyes lighting up. He eagerly said: "Continue, what do you mean by these three views?"
"The three views are the outlook on life, the outlook on values, and the outlook on the world. In my opinion, to put it simply, the outlook on life is how a person should live their life, the outlook on values is what is most precious in a person's life, and the outlook on the world is what this world is like…"
Huo Yaowen explained the popular 'three views' concept from later generations, according to his own understanding.
After listening, Zhang Chengyi pondered for a moment and said: "Your three points of view are very good. Broadly speaking, they are equivalent to the concept of philosophy. Narrowly speaking, they can also teach a person how to live in this world, letting people know the meaning of living, the value of living, and the philosophy of living."
Before Huo Yaowen could say a few humble words, he heard Zhang Chengyi say again: "Not bad. It seems you've still been diligently studying and enriching yourself since graduation. This will be of great help to your future path in life."
"Yes, I will remember that, Teacher." Huo Yaowen felt ashamed. He truly didn't understand philosophy and didn't want to. If it weren't for the job he applied for being a philosophy lecturer, he wouldn't even think about these things.
"What are you chatting about so warmly?" Mother emerged at this moment, carrying the cut watermelon and washed grapes. After placing the fruit platter on the table, she looked at Huo Yaowen with a smile and said: "Ah Wen, stay for dinner tonight at my place."
"No, Mother, I've already told my Mother I'm coming home for dinner." Huo Yaowen quickly stood up and said: "Then I won't bother Teacher and Mother anymore. If the bus is any later, I'm afraid there won't be any left."
Before Mother could try to persuade him to stay, Zhang Chengyi said: "Yaowen, when you go back, write down in detail the three views you just spoke about. Make sure to write down everything you've thought and pondered."
"Oh, understood, Teacher."
Mother said unhappily: "What's wrong with you? Ah Wen rarely comes to visit. Why are you rushing him back? You still treat Ah Wen like your student, but now Ah Wen has graduated and isn't under your supervision anymore."
Seeing Teacher Zhang's embarrassed expression, Huo Yaowen quickly smiled and comforted her: "Mother, next time I visit, I'll definitely try your cooking again. When I was studying, I loved your food the most, especially your most delicious soups."
"Haha, really?" Mother was very pleased by the compliment and nodded with a beaming smile: "Alright then, Ah Wen, be careful on your way home. Next time you come, notify your Mother in advance, and I'll definitely prepare your favorite dishes."
"Understood, Mother."
...
After leaving Teacher Zhang's house, Huo Yaowen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. In his memory, he loved discussing philosophical issues with Teacher Zhang, but currently, he had no interest in philosophy at all. The feeling of being there was like living a year in a day, and he thought it best to visit as little as possible in the future.
Arriving at the fruit stall intersection again, he saw that the hawker was still there. Huo Yaowen felt the little money left in his pocket, walked over, bought another watermelon, and carried it as he took the bus home.