158: Laughter, anger, and scathing criticism can all be used to create literature.

Shen Qingqiu's gaze,

lingered for several seconds on that face which still carried a hint of youthful innocence,

before she finally lowered her head to look at the score sheet in her hand.

"Before announcing Lin Que's results, I would like to read a section of the comments provided by the judging committee."

Shen Qingqiu cleared her throat.

"Every laugh and jeer becomes literature."

"Using absurdity to depict reality, and madness to depict the human heart.

It begins as a common farce but ends in endless desolation.

Not a single word of 'sorrow' is written in the entire piece, yet through great joy and merriment, it captures the bone-deep sorrow of scholars in this world."

"With this essay out, the two words of the title, 'Happy Event,' have become the ultimate irony."

After Shen Qingqiu finished reading, she put down the paper and scanned the entire class.

The classroom was deathly silent.

A sports student in the back row scratched his head and nudged his deskmate with a confused look:

"Hey, what is Teacher Shen talking about?

Why does it sound like gibberish? Is she praising him or scolding him?"

"Sounds like praise... I think?"

The deskmate wasn't sure either.

"Didn't she say the title was a happy event? Why is it desolate and ironic? Did Lin Que go off-topic?"

Wu Di shrunk his neck and muttered softly:

"It's over, Brother Que. Why do these comments sound so sarcastic? You didn't just barely pass, did you?"

Lin Que ignored him, the pen in his hand still spinning rapidly.

Zhang Ya and Li Bowen looked at each other, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.

They understood.

These comments were too high-level.

So high that they didn't seem written for a high school student, but rather like a preface to the work of some literary master.

"Lin Que."

Shen Qingqiu's voice rang out again, this time with less tension and more of an irrepressible pride.

"Your rating is..."

She paused, her lips parting slightly as she uttered two words:

"premium selection."

The classroom was quiet for a second, then it instantly exploded.

"premium selection? What's that?"

"Don't I know A, B, and C? What the hell is this 'premium selection'?"

"Is it like... an Outstanding Selection Award? Basically a consolation prize?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

In the "Fu Zhi Yao Competition" scoring system, A+ was the ceiling. Although there was an S-rank above it, it was extremely rare.

This sudden "premium selection" sounded unfamiliar, like a label from a supermarket's discount section.

"Teacher!"

The Class Monitor raised his hand, looking thirsty for knowledge.

"How many points does 'premium selection' roughly convert to? Is it higher than an A?"

"A-rank?"

The corners of Shen Qingqiu's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

She picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and next to the giant "X" already on the blackboard,

she drew a heavy circle,

and then wrote the two large words "premium selection" inside the circle.

"premium selection is not a score, nor is it a rank."

Shen Qingqiu tossed the chalk stub accurately into the chalk box, clapped the dust off her hands, and her tone became exceptionally serious.

"Uh... it's a kind of... privilege."

Privilege?

As soon as those words came out, even Lin Que's hand, which was spinning the pen, stopped for a moment.

Shen Qingqiu leaned forward, her hands bracing against the edge of the podium:

"Receiving this rating means the Judging Panel has unanimously passed it,

bypassing all review stages and directly securing a spot in the Semi-finals."

She paused for a beat, her voice deepening:

"And, a highest-tier publishing contract from a national-level publishing house."

Boom!

This time, the classroom ceiling really was about to be blown off.

The boy who just thought it was a "consolation prize" had his mouth hanging wide open.

Zhang Ya froze completely. She had just been feeling smug about her B-,

thinking that even if she couldn't compare to the top experts, she was at least a pro.

In the end, Lin Que had just ascended directly?

Li Bowen pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.

The logical thinking he had always been proud of seemed to crumble at this moment.

He didn't understand.

For a topic as cliché as "success in the imperial examination," what on earth did one have to write to make that picky panel of judges give a "privilege" evaluation?

"I don't believe it!"

Wu Di slapped his thigh hard, the flesh on his face trembling with excitement.

"Brother Que! Did you put a hex on the judges? Or did you hide some full-score code in that essay of yours?"

Lin Que rolled his eyes at him.

"Teacher!"

A girl in the front row couldn't contain her curiosity and stood up to ask loudly:

"What exactly did Lin Que write? Can you read it to us?

We also want to learn how to write an essay that can be published by a national publishing house!"

"Yeah, Teacher! Read it out loud!"

"Let us broaden our horizons!"

The clamor rose and fell.

Everyone really wanted to know what kind of divine piece this essay was that could make the Judging Panel give it the green light.

Looking at those eyes glowing with anticipation, Shen Qingqiu felt a bit of an itch in her heart as well.

To be honest, as a Chinese Language Teacher,

she was the person in the entire school who most wanted to post this essay on the bulletin board for exhibition.

How much prestige would that bring?

In the future, when attending teaching and research meetings in the city, she could stand so tall and proud that her back would be stiff enough to pierce through a table.

But she couldn't.

"Cough."

Shen Qingqiu cleared her throat, suppressing the commotion in the classroom, her face showing a hint of helplessness.

"I want to read it too."

"But unfortunately, I can't."

"Huh? Why?"

A chorus of wails came from below.

Shen Qingqiu pointed to the two photocopies of Zhang Ya's and Li Bowen's exam papers on the podium:

"I will post Zhang Ya's and Li Bowen's essays in the Study Corner at the back after class for everyone to read and learn from."

Then, she turned her gaze toward Lin Que, her expression becoming exceptionally solemn.

"As for Lin Que's..."

"Because it involves exclusive publishing rights, the organizing committee has already initiated copyright protection procedures.

Before the complete collection is officially released, this manuscript is considered a commercial secret and is sealed internally."

"No one except for the core Judging Panel has the right to access it."

Top secret?

These words whetted everyone's appetite even more.

Writing a composition could actually turn into a state secret?

Lin Que rubbed his brow helplessly.

Was Teacher Shen worried he wasn't being flashy enough?

What secret? It was nothing more than preventing plagiarism and the premature leak of ideas,

yet she made it sound like a spy movie.

"Alright, stop guessing blindly."

Seeing Lin Que's "I want to be left alone" expression, the smile in Shen Qingqiu's eyes deepened.

"Although the essay is sealed, surely the thought process isn't confidential too?

As the only 'premium selection' of the preliminary round, tell your classmates:

how did you manage to find a way through the dead end of 'success in the imperial examination'?"

"I'm sure everyone is very curious about how your brain is wired."

Dozens of gazes instantly focused on him.

Lin Que knew he wouldn't be able to dodge this.

He stopped what he was doing, tossed the pen onto the desk,

and leaned back lazily, exuding a sense of nonchalant relaxation.

"Actually, it wasn't that complicated."

Lin Que leaned back:

"Everyone was writing about how to be happy, so I thought about writing what it's like when happiness goes overboard.

For example, if someone is so desperate to succeed that they go crazy, would their mind snap on the day they actually make it?

That's basically the logic."

The classroom was silent for two seconds.

"Just... that's it?"

Someone muttered softly.

"It sounds... pretty simple?"

"Going crazy with joy? What kind of logic is that?"

Everyone originally thought they would hear some profound theory or ingenious conception,

but the answer Lin Que gave was so simple and blunt it was hard to believe.

"Inspiration is just a coincidence."

Lin Que smiled and talked nonsense off the top of his head:

"The other day I passed by a lottery station and saw an old man who won five hundred yuan; his dentures literally flew out from laughing."

"So I thought, if he won ten million, wouldn't his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all explode from laughter?"

"So I wrote about a madman who suffered from extreme joy."

"..."

What the hell, dentures flying out!

Isn't this source of inspiration a bit too casual?!

"Alright."

Shen Qingqiu interrupted everyone's reverie and tapped on the blackboard.

"Zhang Ya, Li Bowen, don't you two slack off either.

While a B-rank is decent, in the upcoming stages of the competition, it's only considered the passing line."

"Lin Que, you also keep the confidentiality regulations in mind."

Lin Que nodded.

"Class dismissed!"

The bell rang just at the right time, like a life-saving gospel.

The moment Shen Qingqiu stepped out of the classroom door,

Lin Que was immediately submerged in the vast ocean of a 'people's war.'

"Brother Que! I'm going to stake out the lottery station too!"

"God Lin, can I borrow your brain when I'm writing compositions?"

The noise was about to lift the roof off.

Just as Lin Que was thinking about how to make a bathroom escape, his pants pocket vibrated.

Short and light.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his phone.

The screen lit up.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: [Image][Image]

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