After the first opposing speaker finished, it was the turn of the second opposing speaker, Zhuang Liu. While listening to his teammate rebut Tan Rou, he wished he could seal his teammateâs mouth right then and there to prevent him from speaking anymore.
âThe second speaker for the opposition?â the teacher called Zhuang Liu again, âIf you donât have any points to rebut, you may choose to skip and let the third speaker for the opposition respond.â
Since the teacher mentioned skipping was an option, Zhuang Liu didnât insist anymore. Every minute and second he sat there was torture. If it hadnât been impossible to leave, he would have jumped to Tan Rouâs side of the debate bench.
After the opposition had stated their viewpoint, it was the propositionâs turn again to make a rebuttal based on the oppositionâs points. If the opposition failed to respond and couldnât find the most suitable evidence, they would lose.
Fortunately, Tan Rou and her teammates were quite adept, not only rebutting the opponentâs evidence but also presenting new evidence to prove their points.
However, the opposing team wasnât doing well at all. Apart from the first speaker constantly presenting evidence, the other team members were all talking nonsense, especially Zhuang Liu. Every time he forfeited his turn, if the teacher hadnât stated they couldnât completely skip, he probably wouldnât have provided any evidence at all.
âI think itâs not suitable to date during college, because⦠becauseâ¦â Zhuang Liu racked his brains and finally thought of a reason, âbecause once youâve dated, you donât feel like doing anything else.â
His argument silenced everyone in the classroom, even the teacher didnât react immediately to what he was saying. About a minute later, the teacher started laughing, covering her mouth, âThe reason given by the second speaker for the opposition is really amusing. Having organized so many debates, I have asked this question many times, and this is the first time that Iâve heard such an argument.â
An audience member then asked, âShouldnât the argument presented by the second speaker for the opposition belong to the proposition?â
Others chimed in, âI feel like the proposition could use this point.â
The first speaker for the opposition angrily said, âSecond speaker, whose side are you on exactly?â
Zhuang Liu replied calmly, âThere are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand peopleâs eyes. I think being in love makes one blind, and once in love, you find that nothing else seems interesting. Is there anything wrong with this argument?â
The first speaker for the opposition was about to explode with frustration, âYour argument is flawed, and such flawed arguments should not appear in a debate. Please present another argument.â
Zhuang Liu refused to say another, having struggled to come up with that one, and he certainly wasnât going to replace it.
The first speaker for the opposition glared at him, baffled, âYou arenât a spy sent by the other side, are you?â
Zhuang Liu responded, âI may not be a spy, but we might all be traitors. Havenât you noticed that aside from you, no one else has put forward a solid argument? It seems everyone agrees with the proposition, so you might as well stop talking and choose to forfeit.â
The teacher reminded, âSecond speaker for the opposition, our debate does not allow persuading oneâs own team and the opposing debaters to forfeit. Therefore, considering your remarks, I need to deduct points from your team. Do you have any objections?â
Zhuang Liu didnât care about the score at all, believing that besides his teammate, the first speaker, no one else really cared either.
The first speaker for the opposition felt like vomiting blood out of rage. Initially confident, he wanted to convince everyone of the downsides of dating in this debate, but his teammates, especially the good-looking young man beside him, were definitely spies sent by the other side.
As it was, there was only one debater on their side seriously defending their viewpoint, the rest were all disengaged, so they had no hope of winning.
Zhuang Liu kept glancing at Tan Rou after he had finished, as if seeking her approval.
From her position, Tan Rou could not only see Zhuang Liu but also the first speaker for the opposition beside him. Zhuang Liu wore a triumphant smile, while the face of the first speaker for the opposition was full of anger. Tan Rou thought if the teacher hadnât been watching, the first speaker might have jumped up and punched Zhuang Liu.
Tan Rou smiled briefly and then stood up to state her teamâs final argument.
Following the propositionâs final argument, the first speaker for the opposition chose to give up. He no longer wanted to waste time and, if possible, wanted to catch the next debate where he hoped the teacher would give him another chance.