150: happy event

Sunday morning, 6:30 AM.

The sky was not yet fully bright.

In the hazy yellow glow of the streetlights, fine mist swirled.

At the gate of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, there were usually only the shouts of breakfast vendors.

Today, however, it was filled with the low roar of engines.

Five red buses were lined up in a row.

The white exhaust smoke from their tailpipes dissipated quickly in the cold wind.

"Don't push! Line up by class! Each homeroom teacher, take a headcount!"

Fei Yuncheng held a megaphone in his hand, his voice sounding particularly harsh in the cold, crisp air.

For once, he had traded his black suit for a dark blue windbreaker, but his face remained as stiff as an iron plate.

The school gate was packed with people.

The one hundred and thirty-seven students who had passed the preliminary selection were all carrying transparent stationery bags.

Their expressions were either flushed with excessive excitement or pale from lack of sleep.

Parents were held back at the perimeter, craning their necks.

They held thermoses, bread, and some even carried 'victory cakes.'

The anticipation in their eyes was thicker than the winter mist.

Amidst the shouts filled with anxiety and tension, Lin Que lowered his head, struggling to finish the egg pancake in his hand.

Wu Di was a decent guy.

He had run three blocks specifically to buy it; the crust was fried to a crisp, and the egg inside was tender and oily.

It was also brushed with a thick layer of sweet bean sauce.

Lin Que took a large bite.

The crispy skin shattered between his teeth, and the hot, savory aroma rushed straight to his head.

"Brother Que, eat slowly," Wu Di leaned in.

"Don't get the hiccups during the exam later; that's a sight too beautiful for me to look at."

The sound of the crispy crust shattering was clear amidst the noise.

"Still, the scale of this event is huge; it's like going to war."

Not far away, Li Bowen was standing by the bus door.

He held the worn-out reference book, muttering to himself.

His thick-rimmed glasses were fogged up, but he didn't bother to wipe them.

He was in a state of anxiety akin to deep meditation.

Zhang Ya stood beside him, and although she looked calm, her fingers were unconsciously rubbing against her stationery bag.

Shen Qingqiu walked over with a roll call sheet.

She was wearing a cream-colored cashmere coat today.

The coat was tailored with sharp, cold lines, and a grey scarf covered most of her face.

"Lin Que, Zhang Ya, Li Bowen," Shen Qingqiu checked off their names.

"Get on Bus No. 3. Remember, don't wander off when we arrive; follow instructions."

"Understood."

Lin Que swallowed the last bite of the pancake and tossed the wrapper into the trash can.

He brushed the crumbs off his hands, patted Wu Di, and turned to get on the bus.

"Good luck, Brother Que!" Wu Di shouted loudly.

The heating in the bus was turned up high, making it almost stuffy.

Lin Que found a window seat and sat down.

He closed his eyes, appearing to rest, but in reality, his thoughts had already settled.

The seat beside him sank; it was Li Bowen.

"Lin... Lin Que," Li Bowen's voice carried a subtle tension.

"Do you think... if the topic is 'On Practical Work,' could I use the editorial I memorized about infrastructure?"

Lin Que opened one eye, looking at the grandson of Professor Li, finding it somewhat amusing.

"Old Li, if you write that stuff down, the judges might think you're applying for a road construction job."

He paused.

"Relax, just pretend we're going to the Grand Theater to watch a play."

"You don't understand," Li Bowen said with a bitter face, looking out the window and muttering, "This is a battle for honor..."

Although he was a science student aiming for engineering, he had a grandfather who was a literature professor, so this competition seemed to carry the old man's expectations from the very beginning.

The convoy headed east, passing through the high-rise CBD.

Finally, it stopped in front of the massive white building by the river: the Jiangcheng Grand Theater.

This building, shaped like a giant seashell, was dazzlingly white in the morning light.

And even more breathtaking than the building were the people.

The square was already packed with people.

Over three thousand students from dozens of high schools in Jiangcheng, all of whom had passed the preliminary selection, converged into a sea of black.

The school uniforms were of various colors—blue, red, white—arranged in distinct, orderly formations.

The morning breeze blew, causing the hems of their clothes to flutter.

"My god..." Zhang Ya, who had just gotten off the bus, gasped.

"There are so many people?"

"This is only the Jiangcheng division," Shen Qingqiu said, walking up behind them with a calm gaze.

"Right now, high schools across the country will be starting the exam at the same time today."

Beside them, students from other classes of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School also fell silent.

Some clenched their fists, while others kept taking deep breaths, trying to calm the drum-like pounding in their chests.

Even a few boys who were usually boisterous had reined in their smiles.

Their eyes held an unprecedented gravity.

They whispered to each other, discussing the strength of their opponents, while fearing that Shen Qingqiu might hear them.

Lin Que stood on the steps, squinting at the sea of moving heads below.

Everyone was young; everyone had a glimmer in their eyes.

Everyone believed themselves to be the chosen one.

This scene reminded him of the imperial examinations of ancient times.

No matter how the times changed, the cruelty of thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge had never changed.

"Let's go," Shen Qingqiu commanded.

Inside the Grand Theater, six different venues were cleverly divided into six independent examination areas, ensuring the focus and fairness for every candidate.

The distance between each desk was strictly controlled at eighty centimeters—just enough for one person to pass through, eliminating any possibility of whispering.

Lin Que took his admission ticket and found his seat: Hall C, Row 14, Seat 04.

It was a good spot, facing the huge stage directly.

The time reached 8:55.

The originally noisy hall instantly quieted down; even the sound of coughing disappeared.

The giant curtain on the stage slowly rose, revealing a massive LED screen behind it.

There was no host, no speeches from leaders.

Only a line of red countdown numbers pulsated.

[Time until exam starts: 05:00]

[Time until exam starts: 04:59]

All the lights suddenly dimmed.

Only the lighting in the examination area remained, illuminating the space as bright as day.

This intense contrast between light and shadow gave everyone a sense of isolation, as if they were under scrutiny.

"Is this the prestige of 'Fu Zhi Yao Competition'..." a student in the back row muttered, their voice trembling.

[00:00]

The countdown hit zero.

"Dong—" A deep, muffled bell toll resonated throughout the venue via top-tier sound equipment, making people's chests vibrate in sympathy.

On the screen, two large bold characters slowly emerged, occupying everyone's field of vision: [Topic: A Joyous Occasion]

Immediately following, a line of small text appeared below: [Note: The four great joys of life are: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a distant land, the wedding night, and success in the imperial examination.]

[These supreme joys of life are the most instinctive pursuits of mankind and also the deepest consolations.]

[However, in this noisy and superficial era, how should a true "Joyous Occasion" be defined?]

[Please write an essay of no less than 1500 words on the theme of "A Joyous Occasion."]

[Requirements: Any genre is acceptable, the plot must be complete, and the theme must be profound.]