Xia Chuyi shifted her body slightly, quietly relaxed a bit, then smiled, ready to respond.
âHello, Xia Chuyi, could you introduce yourself briefly? Or perhaps share your thoughts on French and your insights on learning it?â Her French professor, speaking entirely in French, addressed her, âNo need to make it too complicated, youâre just starting to learn, keep it simple.â
Since most of the people present couldnât understand French, the French teacherâs question was entirely going easy on them.
Xia Chuyi couldnât help but smile and said, âHello, teacher, hello, classmates, hello everyone.â
âNo need for self-introduction, let me talk about my insights on learning French.â
âAlthough my contact with French, this beautiful language, has been short, Iâve invested a lot of effort into it.â
âIn my view, French is like a beautiful youth; itâs very interesting, with its masculine and feminine nouns, and even neutral ones, like a youth who transcends gender, possessing incredible charm.â
âAt the same time, itâs also like a little elf; its trilled sounds often make my tongue go numb, yet I still find it so much fun.â
âSo, this beautiful youth, this lovely little elf, really makes me both love and hate it.â
âPfft!â When Xia Chuyi finished, one of the students in the back row stifled a laugh, one of the four exchange students.
The scene immediately went quiet.
Liu Yingyingâs eyes suddenly lit up.
Was there a problem with Xia Chuyiâs grammar? Was there an issue with Xia Chuyiâs answer?
Otherwise, why would that foreigner laugh?
Not just Liu Yingying, except for the French major students and some scholars with some exposure to French, everyone else basically had this idea.
Although Xia Chuyiâs French sounded quite fluent, very melodic and pleasant, they didnât understand French and didnât know how Xia Chuyi actually did.
Was that foreigner laughing in ridicule?
When everyone looked at the exchange student, they saw him form a microphone with his hand, bring it to his mouth, and say: âBRAVO, beautiful Chinese lady, your Chinese is also a beautiful youth!â
âIt has rising and falling tones, retroflex and non-retroflex sounds, yin and yang tones, just like a little elf that makes me both love and hate it!â
âNo, believe me, I probably dislike it a bit more, hahaha!â
Xia Chuyi and the French major teacher couldnât help but laugh when they heard the foreignerâs words.
Ha, what just happened?
Now everyone present was completely confused.
And the foreignerâs friend next to him nudged him with an elbow, tilted his head and whispered something to him.
The foreigner immediately nodded and said, "Hello, everyone."
"This student previously mentioned that French makes her both like and dislike it."
"I told her that I feel the same way about Chinese, possibly liking it even less..."
The international studentâs Mandarin was clearly not that fluent.
Xia Chuyi smiled and quickly said, "Let me translate for everyone, what this student just said in French was..."
After listening to Xia Chuyiâs translation of the French, everyone couldnât help but chuckle.
Why?
Because without her translation, everyone really couldnât quite understand what the international friend meant.
At this point, the professor also nodded and said, "Thatâs right, thatâs precisely what Chuyi meant."
"Chuyiâs French oral skills have passed." The teacher announced on the spot.