A Young Woman's Heart

The excitement on his face was impossible to contain.

He hadn't wanted to participate at first, but suddenly found the debate competition quite interesting.

"This brother keeps going back and forth in one sentence, saying a lot, but it feels like he hasn't said anything at all. Your 'because' and 'therefore' don't connect at all. What is that... cause... causal relationship! Yes, that doesn't constitute a causal relationship at all! So let me go along with your idea. If people are good, they won't turn bad even if they encounter animals. For example, if wolves come, people who are inherently good would never think of selfish thoughts like running away. Instead, they would fight together or sacrifice themselves to save others. If they abandon their companions and run away alone because of the instinct for survival, or deliberately cause their companions to fall into the wolf's mouth, doesn't that mean they have natural evil? And then there's nature. Natural disasters oppress humanity. If human nature is inherently good, then we should unite to find solutions. How could evil arise? If people are naturally good, then why do we need laws to protect people from becoming evil? I think it's precisely because people are not good that we need laws and religions to guide people towards goodness!"

Gao Yuan's words came out like a barrage of bullets, and his quick wit, honed through years of practice, proved invaluable at this moment.

Not only were the opposing team's first and second speakers speechless, but even the third speaker was somewhat taken aback.

Gao Yuan had just sat down when she quickly stood up again: "Oh, right, thank you."

Then he sat down again.

The opposing team's third debater didn't stand up immediately this time. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, frowned, and tried to argue, while Yao Gugu had already taken out a stopwatch to start the timer.

"Five minutes..."

At the very end, the opposing team's third speaker had no choice but to stand up.

"In Mencius's theory of the inherent goodness of human nature, the instinct for survival is not considered evil, because any living being that comes into this world must want to live. Therefore, what you say about the inherent evil of human nature is not human nature, but human instinct. Nature represents a kind of thought, while instinct is not controlled by the brain. **It is human instinct, not human nature. Even wolves, as animals, raise human children. Wolves are not as intelligent as humans and are mostly driven by instinct, but the little 'nature' they retain is still good. How much more so for humans? Thank you."

Cha Li glanced at Mr. Xue, her face showing no sign of tension.

Mr. Xue picked up the lipstick that Mo Xueyao had lent him, applied some more to his lips, and even smeared some of it on his cheeks.

She was using lip balm like face oil.

"My fellow debater, you still haven't proven the point that human nature is inherently good. Even if wolves are inherently good, what does that have to do with humans? Furthermore, have you seriously read the news about wolves raising children? Those wolf cubs are extremely aggressive. If wolves are inherently good, then it means human nature is inherently evil. If wolves behave evilly and the children are corrupted, then your argument is flawed. You can't prove the correct conclusion with the wrong examples." Cha Li paused elegantly. "Furthermore, have you seen how very young children treat animals? They are only a few months old, haven't been exposed to any evil influences, yet they are very rough with small animals, even deliberately abusing them. Children don't lack food and water, so why abuse them? According to your point of view, this isn't instinct, but nature, driven by thought, which is enough to prove that human nature is inherently evil. Thank you."

One act ends and another begins; this intense exchange is a real treat for the students in the audience.

It's not that the affirmative side is incompetent, but rather that the negative side is better at finding loopholes.

Just as Yao Gugu said.

Debate is not about pursuing a just outcome.

It's very simple; it's just about determining a winner and a loser, and comparing who's better.

That's it.

……

Chapter Eighty-Nine: Winning and Losing

(One)

The person usually placed as the fourth speaker is the one with the highest level of skill in a team.

After all, the round ended after this person's speech, and if the referee didn't think it was a tie, then there would be no chance to retaliate.

This is such a simple truth that even someone who has never participated in a debate can easily understand it.

Although their teammates were no match for them, the fourth debater on the affirmative side did not give up.

After a few minutes of thought, he stood up leisurely. He spoke slowly and appeared much calmer than the others.

"A person is born like a blank sheet of paper; it is the changes that follow that write the words of evil upon it. The reason why some inherently good people turn evil when they gather together is due to the influence of the natural environment. There are inducements for evil in nature. It is not that evil arises from interactions between people, but rather that nature itself causes evil to arise. The existence of law is to prevent the arising of evil, to allow people to maintain their original intentions, and to move towards goodness..."

He spoke slowly for a long time, and only sat down when the timer set by Yao Gugu rang.

If his teammates hadn't exposed too many weaknesses that required him to fix, they might have indeed overwhelmed the opposing team, including Mo Xueyao.

Even Mr. Xue was writing a lot on the paper, looking down, seemingly trying his best to deal with it.

But when Cha Li glanced at him sideways, she couldn't help but smile.

Mr. Xue wasn't writing anything at all; from the beginning until now, he's been sketching the person opposite him!

It's almost finished now.

So he didn't stand up, but instead used the five minutes to think and draw.

"Xiaoxue... at least show some respect for others." Chali couldn't stand it anymore and said softly, resting her chin on her hand.

“I’m thinking about it,” Mr. Xue replied earnestly.

He stood up just before the bell rang to signal the end of his thinking time.

He bowed gracefully to the other side: "Thank you for your wonderful speech, fourth speaker for the affirmative side. You said that a person is born like a blank sheet of paper, but a blank sheet of paper itself is neither good nor evil, right? If you can write evil words on it, you can naturally write good words as well. So the point you want to prove should not be that human nature is inherently good at birth, but rather that human nature is inherently without goodness at birth."

Mr. Xue grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

The rosy lips looked especially vibrant at this moment.

"Nature, like paper, is neither good nor evil. If the argument is wrong, there will be no subsequent results. The law is to prevent the breeding and spread of evil. Doesn't that partially prove our point?" Mr. Xue paused leisurely before continuing.

As the fourth debater, he didn't just stop by refuting the opposing fourth debater; he even logically and clearly refuted the views of all the opposing contestants.

"We are here today to prove that human nature is inherently evil, not to tell the world that doing evil is human nature and not our fault—but to tell the world that it is precisely because human nature is inherently evil that we need to change for the better, follow human ethics and morality, and develop in the direction of goodness. Under this clear sky, we hope that we can restrain the seeds of evil in our hearts and let the pure flowers of goodness bloom in the soil of our souls. We hope that the evil in each of our hearts will never be revealed."

Mr. Xue smiled and nodded to the four people on the other side, then to the judges, and then turned to the judges and nodded: "It is precisely because we can restrain our evil nature and do good that we can be called 'human'. Otherwise, how are we different from beasts?"

"It is precisely because human nature is inherently evil that the goodness that is cultivated in human nature is so precious, and that is why we sing its praises and celebrate it."

"May those who are inherently evil always do good deeds, and may the warm sunshine gently shine on every corner of the earth. Thank you."

If the previous debates were full of tension, then Mr. Xue's words were full of tolerance and gentleness.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but lead the applause, and the others clapped enthusiastically as well.

Turning a debate into an exploration of truth is something that Mr. Xue is probably capable of doing.

With such a profound understanding, the outcome is clear without the need for judges to comment.

Sure enough, after some whispering among the school leaders, they unanimously agreed that Class 2 of Senior Three had won and would advance to the semi-finals.

Mo Xueyao clapped her hands until they were red before stopping, and gave Mr. Xue a thumbs up: "As expected of you, Xiao Xue!"

"Hehe." Mr. Xue smiled faintly, without being modest, but rather accepting it gladly.

Perhaps it was because Mo Xueyao and the others used to tease him, saying that excessive humility was arrogance.

So now he occasionally becomes less modest.

……

(two)

Indoor lunch break.

Class Two does not require the classroom to be quiet.

Sometimes, even Ye Wen herself wouldn't come over.

When she comes over, she just sits down to grade homework and looks at some materials.

They'll only say a few words to the students when it gets really too noisy.

Basically, the only requirement is that you cannot leave the classroom.

Moving your seat around is perfectly fine.

Therefore, it often happens during indoor lunch break that several students gather around the same table to chat or play some 'childish' games.

Of course, most people will still choose to do their homework to avoid going to bed very late when they get home.

"Hey, Zhou Yong, wanna play with magnets?" Mo Xueyao, who had already finished all the homework assigned by the teacher that morning, was a little bored. She nudged Zhou Yong's arm and asked lazily.

"A magnet, ah, the kind you bounce around in middle school and eat the other person?"

"Yes." Mo Xueyao's eyes lit up when she saw that he had played with it before, and she took out a small plastic bag containing magnets from her schoolbag.

There are six coins in this bag. A pack costs only 50 cents. They are about the size of a coin. You can make them bounce by pressing the edge. As for how far or near they bounce, it depends on your skill and luck.

"Did you buy it at the school gate?"

"Yeah, I bought it last night. I saw they were selling it again, and it made me nostalgic, so I just bought it." Mo Xueyao eagerly tore open the plastic bag. "Let's fight! You know how, right?"

"Yes, I do, but I haven't played it in a long time. I played it a lot when I was in elementary school," Zhou Yong said nostalgically. "Back then, we would flick the magnet to eat the other person's magnet to win, but if our magnet got stuck underneath, we would lose. I didn't expect girls to play it too?"

"So what?" Mo Xueyao pouted.

However, in reality, she had never actually met any girls who played this game.

I was an exception, after all, I was still a 'boy' back then!

"Back then, I got out of school early on Fridays, around 2 p.m. Then my classmates and I would run to a place with flat concrete ground where we wouldn't be disturbed. We usually ran under the bridge, which was the safest place. We would play there for the whole afternoon, haha."

“Childhood happiness was so simple.” Mo Xueyao placed three circular magnets with anime character stickers on them on her side of the table. “This way, the magnet that is eaten can join the opponent’s team, just like in Go. It continues until all of the opponent’s magnets are eaten. If a magnet falls under the table, it is considered dead and can no longer be used by anyone. The number of actions you can take per turn is the number of magnets you have.”

"Let's add some more obstacles? That would be more fun." Zhou Yong took out a pencil case from the drawer, along with the pens and ruler inside, and casually placed them on the table as obstacles.

“Then I’ll use books…” Mo Xueyao took out books and arranged them in a small circle around her, like a fence, so that the magnets wouldn’t fall to the ground.

"Speaking of which, what's it like when a girl likes someone?"

"Liking someone? Everyone behaves differently. Some people act very affectionately, but that doesn't necessarily mean they like you, or that it's not that kind of liking."

"Oh—" Zhou Yong nodded as if he understood but not quite.

"Hey, you haven't confessed your feelings yet, have you?"

"Uh, no, it wasn't me, I was asking for a friend."

"You're kidding me. Last time you clearly said it was yourself."

"Ha, haha..." Zhou Yong scratched his head, feigning ignorance, and awkwardly changed the subject, "So, who goes first?"

"Rock, paper, scissors."

"Rock, paper, scissors!" The two immediately waved their right hands, then suddenly stretched out their own hands.

"Haha, I'll go first!" Mo Xueyao proudly waved her little hand, which was made of scissors. "Take this!"

"You're so far away, you don't want to just eat my magnet, do you?"

“Yeah, is that not allowed? I’m really good at long-range shooting, no, long-range throwing!” Mo Xueyao pressed down hard on the edge of the magnet.

However, the magnet slipped from my hand and flipped forward, barely moving.

The second one even jumped on the spot.

Mo Xueyao angrily wiped her hands on the hem of her skirt: "It's been so long since I played, I'm a bit rusty!"