Lan Jue did not stop to greet the gathered students. He made his way towards the podium, and placed the tray heâd brought with him atop it. Next, he fumbled through his coat until he pulled out a small cloth pouch, removing itâs contents. He placed this upon the tray.
He spun around to face the board, and scrawled something across itâs surface: Who wants to win a prize?
At first only the students in the front noticed, but word quickly spread. Attention turned to Lan Jue, and the volume decreased.
He continued to write: Itâs too noisy to hold the raffle.
Quiet washed over the room. Wang Hongyun was curious at the promise of a raffle. It was certainly a novel approach. It was quiet now, he thought, but these were college students â stickers and candy werenât going to cut it. If the prize wasnât good enough in their estimation, he was going to have a classroom of angry students on his hands.
The dance instructor had only been teaching a few years, but he knew more or less the mind of the elective student. Heâd struggled with classroom control at the outset himself.
âGood afternoon, everyone,â Lan Jue began. He stepped from behind the podium, and bowed to the gathered student body.
Jin Tao was the first to stand â a show of respect for his professor. Tang Xiao was half a second behind. But it wasnât until after the three beauties followed their example that the other students joined in. Soon nearly the whole class was on itâs feet.
âHello, Professor Lan.â Jin Tao shouted the greeting towards the podium 1 The other students echoed his call.
Lan Jue motioned for them all to sit. âPlease return to your seats.â
The students did as instructed. Jin Yan lightly kicked the man at her side. âWhy didnât you stand, Professor Wang? Weâre here listening to the class, so weâre no different than students. More than that, weâre his colleagues. If we donât show support for Professor Lan, how can we set a good example for the students?â
Wang Hongyun smirked, shrugging his shoulders. âI wasnât feeling it.â
Jin Yan scowled, but said nothing further.
Lan Jue returned to the podium and pointed to the board. âThatâs right, a prize. No tricks. So take a guess, what do you think it will be? Iâm pretty confident you wont be disappointed. Does anyone remember what I said weâd be discussing today?â
âJewelry!â A female student belted the answer from somewhere in the crowd below.
Lan Jue gave her a thumbs up. âThatâs right. Today weâre discussing jewelry. In regards to jewel knowledge, thereâs a lot of complicated information to go over. Jewelry comes in all shapes and sizes, numerous types and categories. I wont be able to cover them all in one class, so today weâll just be covering one kind. If this is a topic you all find interesting, Iâll continue with the other kinds at a later date.â
Lan Jue lifted the tray from the podium as he began the lesson. The velvet covering was a deep mazarine, identical to the one used to display products in Zeusâ Jewelry Shop. A gemstone shimmered alluringly within it. The gem itself was crystal clear, and pure white. Twinkling against the velvet, it was like a star set against the midnight sky.
âWho can tell me what this is?â
âA diamond.â Shui Zhondie at Qianlinâs shoulder was the first to answer, her pleasant voice wafting up towards him. It was almost musical, and though lacking the softness of Zhou Qianlinâs, was far more melodious.
âThatâs right.â Lan Jue nodded at her. âThis is one of the gems we often come across when considering jewelry. Diamonds. This is our topic for today. Further, this particular piece is the prize for our raffle.â
âOoohhâŚâ The studentsâ appreciative cooes filled the lecture hall. Using a diamond as the prize? It was something entirely new for the university.
The sneering, self-confident contempt on Wang Hongyunâs face froze. From where he was sitting that was a one-karat gem. He couldnât speak as to itâs value, but he knew that at least it wasnât cheap. Meanwhile, Lan Jue pointed at the second sentence heâd written on the blackboard.
The silence came quicker this time, and the students settled down to continue. It wasnât long before he had everyoneâs rapt attention.
âThereâs that old adage; a diamond is forever. I imagine youâve all heard it before. Itâs actually a slogan, but it also serves to elucidate the gemâs character. Namely, a diamondâs strength and resistance.â
âIâm no chemist, no physicist. I wont go in to how a gem in made, or itâs component parts. I will tell you that a diamond is hard. If we donât consider power gems, then diamonds are the strongest precious stones there are. If we were to assign a value of âtenâ to how hard it is, then the other gems we know such as rubies and sapphires would be a nine. Jadite would be seven. Specifically those types of jade â as they were collectively referred to in the ancient era â which were at a hardness of seven or more were Jadeite. Under seven were called nephrite.â
âItâs our first class on the subject, and as such I donât want to inundate you with information. Just know that for the classic gems, diamonds are the hardest. As a result they are the preference for engagement and wedding rings. They resist damage and wear, and represent the endurance and eternity of a coupleâs love.
Lan Jueâs voice was magnetic. Not too fast, not too slow. His words were plain, his delivery solid. The students listened easily as he continued.
Lan Jue stepped from the dais and handed the tray to Jin Tao. âPass this around and make sure everyone has a chance to look.â He smiled a little. âAnd if everyone wouldnât mind showing a little restraint. In fact losing this diamond wouldnât affect me, as itâs meant to be given away regardless, but it would take the opportunity away from your fellow classmates.â
A soft chuckle trilled though the students. The atmosphere grew a little more relaxed.
Lan Jue paid no further mind to Jin Tao and the diamond, and returned to the podium to continue the lecture. âSo thatâs it concerning the hardness of a diamond. Today, what weâll discuss is how to assess the quality of a diamond, if you are so inclined. First, is the size. Generally speaking the size of a gem is directly proportional to itâs cost â the same holds true for power gems. I suppose itâs fair to say that the bigger the gem, the more itâll cost you. Conversely the smaller, the cheaper. It certainly applies as a rule to diamonds.â
âIf your interest in a diamond is for itâs value as an item later, then youâre looking for something in the range of one karat or more. The price difference between a point ninety-nine and one karat diamond is significant. The one being passed around class right now is precisely one karat. The size of a diamond, though, doesnât not entirely determine itâs price however. If this diamond were two karats the price would not be doubled, necessarily.â
âOther than size, in an effort to determine the quality of a diamond, there are a small number of other criteria to consider. Could one assume that two, one-karat diamonds would be of similar prices? This would be false, as their quality could be vastly different. The price, then, could be just as volatile.â
The tray had begun to make itâs way back from the far recesses of the class. The students were all familiar with diamonds, but it was the first time for most that they saw one up close, much less with an explanation. They examined it with interest as it passed.
âThere are three others ways to determine a gemâs quality, aside from size. They are color, clarity, and cut. Weâll start with color. For diamonds, itâs simply the whiter, the better. Their ranking in the order of color is indicating by alphabet, with the lowest letters displaying inferior color. The highest, is D. This indicates one hundred percent, pure white. Perfection. Next is E, nearly perfect. Then F, approximately ninety-eight percent white. These three are the top of the color scale. Lower letters are G, H, I, J, and K. The further down the list you go, the more yellowed the gem appears, and the price suffers as a result. A D-colored gem could be triple the price of an I-colored gem of the same size. Clearly, the color has a significant impact on value. Of course when seeking a purchase you donât always need to chase after perfection. D, E and F gems are immaculately colored, and just as rare.â
âThe gem before you today has a color rating of F, nearly entirely white.â
As the gem passed from hand to hand, Lan Jue continued to elaborate on the intricacies of diamond identification. He followed with clarity, and cut, delivering the information with ease and approachability.
âThe perfect diamond would be one whose color, cut and clarity are the top of itâs class. These are what are called Flawless Diamonds. This is where the phrase âflawless beautyâ comes from.â
Time passed quickly as the class proceeded, Lan Jue carefully providing the knowledge to the gathered students. The diamond and itâs tray made the rounds, finishing itâs journey back on his podium.
âAnd now for the moment you all have been waiting for. You all have been patient and attentive. Itâs time for the lottery.â
He picked up the tray before him. âOur method will be simple, to ensure fairness for all participants.â
Lan Jue passed out scraps of paper heâd prepared in advance. âPlease write your names on the paper, then pass them back up when youâre finished. Weâll place your tickets in a box and draw one slip. Whoever has their name on that paper, thatâs the diamondâs new owner.â
The slips were quickly written and recovered. Lan Jue placed them all in a box heâd prepared earlier, and set it on the podium. He stuck his hand within, rustled the contents, and pulled out a single scrap.
âAlright, and the winner is⌠Zhou⌠Zhou Qianlin!â Lan Jue stuttered ever so slightly, surprised by the unlikely result.
What are the chances? But there it was, the winner, Zhou Qianlin.
She herself was taken aback, and her numerous male fans seated behind her waved their arms in excitement. Still Lan Jue felt something was amiss. A flash of blue light crossed his eyes as he employed his psychic force to probe the interior of the box. In the one hundred or so tickets he found, forty-two bore Zhou Qianlinâs nameâŚ
1. In China, itâs customary â mostly in primary/middle/high school â to stand and say hello to the teacher in this fashion at the start of class. Itâs really only done in universities for teachers that are highly respected.