302: Chapter 302 First Release in Four Cities

Wu Di was the first to charge over like a cannonball,

nearly sending Lin Que to the afterlife with a solid bear hug.

"Brother Que! You're finally back! You promised to carry me during summer break, where were you?"

Lin Que was strangled until his face turned red, coughing repeatedly as he slapped Wu Di's arm with his right hand.

"Let go, you're going to kill me."

"We agreed to rank up together this summer, but you just went and disappeared!"

Wu Di clamored, though the strength in his grip loosened slightly.

Lin Que broke free from that deadly bear hug, stepped back half a pace, and leaned on his knees to catch his breath.

Looking up, he saw Wu Di's round face was filled with resentment.

"So, what have you been doing for the past month or so? What big secret project were you working on?"

This resentful interrogation style drew several people from the surroundings to gather around.

Zhang Ya stood in the aisle holding her English book; she didn't say a word, but her ears were already perked up.

Li Bowen adjusted his glasses, his expression inquisitive.

"Lin Que, you really did seem to evaporate into thin air this summer."

Li Bowen spoke politely, but the meaning was the same.

Dozens of eyes stared over, waiting for an explanation.

Lin Que shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression unchanging.

"It's no secret. I've been preparing for a literary project for the 'Qinglan Project' and simply couldn't get away."

As the words 'Qinglan Project' landed, the atmosphere in the classroom underwent a subtle shift.

The students present immediately didn't dare ask more, only nodding dryly and saying that serious business came first.

Lin Que's expression remained neutral as he nodded casually along with their words.

Wu Di, however, leaned in with a mischievous wink:

"Brother Que, now that the affairs of state are finished, shall we meet in the Summoner's Rift tonight? Be there or be square?"

Lin Que glanced at him and said slowly:

"Depends. I'm afraid you won't be able to keep up with my current rank."

Wu Di wouldn't give up, and several boys from the back rows also gathered around to pat his shoulder and chat.

Some complained that the summer homework was ridiculously excessive, while others denounced the math teacher for starting online supplementary classes early.

Lin Que was buried in the crowd, responding half-heartedly.

A sound came from the end of the corridor.

Tap, tap, tap.

Crisp, sharp, and with an extremely steady rhythm.

The sound of high heels.

The clamor in the classroom came to a screeching halt.

The forty people who had been rowdy just a second ago completed a mode switch from herding sheep to military training in the blink of an eye.

The proficiency of the movement was enough to make one's heart ache.

The crowd around Lin Que quickly dispersed, each person slipping back to their seat.

Backpacks that hadn't been put in drawers were shoved directly under desks. Mobile phones held in hands were tucked under buttocks.

Wu Di slid back to his seat in one motion, flipping open his Chinese textbook with incredible hand speed and sitting upright.

The movement was seamless.

Page 47, Classical Chinese reading.

The book was upside down.

Lin Que caught sight of this, suppressed a smile, and walked back to his position in the back corner.

The sound of high heels stopped at the door.

Shen Qingqiu pushed the door open and entered.

A very slight commotion arose in the classroom. Not a sound, but a collective widening of eyes.

Shen Qingqiu had cut her hair into a shoulder-length bob with sharp ends, paired with a light grey shirt and high-waisted trousers.

Every step she took toward the podium exuded a sharp 'do not approach' energy.

Wu Di whispered under his breath:

"Has Old Shen returned from special forces training?"

Lin Que chuckled softly but didn't respond.

Shen Qingqiu walked up to the podium, placed her folder on the desk, and looked up to scan the room.

As her gaze swept over them, the backs of those below involuntarily straightened a bit more.

Her gaze finally landed on the corner of the classroom.

Lin Que was looking down, flipping through a book; sensing the gaze, he lifted his eyelids.

Shen Qingqiu looked at him—more accurately, at his face, which was two shades darker than it had been before the summer break.

A very faint smile flashed through her eyes, gone in an instant.

"School has started. Everyone, reel in your wild hearts."

Shen Qingqiu curled her knuckles and tapped the blackboard, emphasizing every word.

"There is no transition period for the third year of high school. Every day is a sprint."

The classroom was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

She paused for two seconds to let the weight of her words sink in. Shen Qingqiu turned, pulled a printed sheet from her folder, and held it up.

"Before we officially start class, I'll report on our school's college admissions results from last year's graduating class."

She slapped the paper onto the blackboard with magnetic clips.

"Undergraduate admission rate: ninety-seven percent."

A wave of gasps came from below.

Shen Qingqiu's finger moved down: "First-tier university admission rate: seventy-two percent."

Wu Di sucked in a breath of cold air, Li Bowen subconsciously straightened his glasses, and his back became bolt upright.

These two statistics were enough to make any high school in the city green with envy.

Shen Qingqiu didn't present these figures to make people envious; she did it to light a fire under them.

She raised her voice.

"The most prideful achievement is that Senior Zhao Zichen, who once represented our school in the 'Jieyou Cup', has become this year's top scorer in the Liberal Arts for Jiang City!"

Thunderous applause erupted.

Wu Di clapped the hardest, muttering "Senior Zhao is awesome." Zhang Ya's eyes were full of respect, and Li Bowen clapped so hard his glasses went crooked.

Exclamations and applause intertwined; the classroom was in a complete frenzy.

Sitting in the corner, Lin Que clapped only twice before stopping.

He leaned against the back of his chair, his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

Zhao Zichen.

Liberal Arts Top Scorer.

Memories of his past life flipped rapidly through his mind.

He remembered that year's Jiang City Liberal Arts top scorer very clearly.

It wasn't a student from No. 1 High School, but a girl named Fang Qing from No. 2 High School.

She came from a background as a 'left-behind' child and had even been featured on the provincial news at the time.

As for Zhao Zichen.

In his past life, Zhao Zichen's grades were top-tier, but he was still a step away from being the top scorer.

According to the original trajectory, he should have been third in the city and gone to the Chinese Department at Zhejiang University.

Now, he had become the top scorer.

Lin Que's index finger unconsciously traced patterns on the desk.

The change in Zhao Zichen had a traceable cause.

Last year's 'Jieyou Cup'.

In that competition, he had been partnered with Zhao Zichen.

The clashes before and after the match, and the statements he had thrown out regarding the 'boundaries of literature', had impacted Zhao Zichen far more than expected.

A proud youth who only recognized orthodox methods had been forcefully steered in a new direction.

On the surface, it was a softening of concepts, but once a crack appeared at the cognitive level,

the chain reaction would permeate every aspect of learning, thinking, and problem-solving.

A butterfly flaps its wings.

The storm changes its path.

Lin Que stopped his hand movements.

In the year or so since he had crossed over, he had been busy managing his aliases, stirring up the literary world, and exerting influence in the virtual world.

It wasn't until this moment that he truly realized the wind stirred by his butterfly wings didn't just stay on the other side of the internet cable.

It had tangibly altered the life trajectory of a living, breathing person.

The gears of Zhao Zichen's fate had been shifted by a notch because of him.

What about the future?

How many more people's trajectories would deviate because of him?

While he was lost in thought, Shen Qingqiu on the podium changed the subject.

"Some rely on their strength to take the exams, others rely on their ability to get recommended for admission."

Her tone was casual, but her eyes were sharp.

"However, no matter which kind you are, as long as you are still in school, you must follow the rules. Classes that should be attended must be attended, and exams that should be taken must be taken."

Her volume increased.

"Students with recommended admission spots, don't think that just because you have a 'death-exemption gold medal', you can sleep in class or skip out."

Swish.

Dozens of eyes in the class turned toward the corner in unison.

Wu Di turned his head the fastest, his face full of schadenfreude.

Zhang Ya pursed her lips, her eyes showing thirty percent sympathy and seventy percent amusement.

Li Bowen sent a 'take care, brother' look.

Lin Que rubbed his nose and gave a bitter smile.

On the first day of school, the whole class had reached a consensus: keep a close eye on him.

Shen Qingqiu retracted her gaze from the podium, her expression changing.

The corners of her lips curled into an arc.

Old Shen smiled?

This was even rarer than Zhao Zichen becoming the top scorer.

The air in the classroom tightened, and everyone subconsciously sat even straighter.

The more Old Shen smiled, the more dangerous it was—this was a lesson of blood and tears passed down through the grades.

But this time was different.

Shen Qingqiu lowered her voice and slowed her speech.

"Before we get to official business, I'll share some news."

She paused.

"As a member of the Jiang City Writers Association, I received an advance notice from the association."

"Of course, it's not exactly a secret."

"The collection of winning works from the national finals of 'Fu Zhi Yao Competition', published to the highest official specifications, has been finalized!"

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath instantly sounded below.

"And—"

Shen Qingqiu's voice suddenly rose, carrying a piercing quality that made the whole class's scalps tingle:

"It's next week!

Beijing, Shanghai, Guang City, and Shenzhen—the four major first-tier cities,

will have a simultaneous release!"

...