340: Chapter 340 You're Famous, You Know?

On a Monday morning, the street outside the gates of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was filled with students in a hurry.

The preparatory bell for the morning self-study session had already rung, and the teacher on duty at the school gate was preparing to close the iron gate.

Lin Que sat in a breakfast shop on the street corner,

leisurely picking up the last small steamed bun from the steamer.

He knew all too well how much of a storm the book signing in Shanghai over the weekend had caused.

The S-level reprint order of 100,000 copies, combined with the overwhelming trending discussions across the internet,

had long since pushed the name "Lin Que" into the eye of the storm.

If he arrived at school at the normal time, he would definitely be blocked at the gate and stared at like a rare animal.

To avoid this hype, he deliberately lingered outside for an extra half hour,

waiting until the bell for the end of morning self-study rang before pressing down the brim of his baseball cap and paying to leave the breakfast shop.

Just as he stepped through the gates of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, Lin Que's footsteps paused for a moment.

The glass display cases on both sides of the main road had been completely overhauled overnight.

Where the honor roll of previous outstanding graduates and various school rules and regulations used to be, they were now occupied by giant posters in cold grey tones.

The center of the poster featured the cover of folding beijing, accompanied by extremely prominent bold characters:

[Our school's Grade 12 Student Lin Que, his first physical masterpiece!]

Not only that, even the electronic banners on the outer walls of the teaching building were scrolling the same content in a loop.

This level of fanfare was something even a top scorer of the College Entrance Examination in the city had never received, let alone a high school student.

Lin Que looked at those exaggerated slogans,

shook his head somewhat helplessly, and walked along the tree-lined path toward the Grade 12 teaching building.

As he passed through the corridor of the teaching building, the clamor of the break time hit him.

Lin Que lowered his cap, trying his best to minimize his presence.

But he soon discovered that almost all the voices filling his ears revolved around the "Signing Event of the Century" that had clashed dates over the weekend.

"Did you see the news from the weekend? Senior Lin Que's line 'daring to unsheathe before the highest peak' was absolutely electrifying!"

A Grade 10 boy stood in the corridor, gesturing wildly to his companions.

"I heard the Shanghai Book City was almost crushed yesterday; so many delivery drivers and construction workers lined up to buy his book.

Something written by a high school student could actually make those adults cry? That's just too incredible, isn't it?"

Hearing these fanatical discussions, Lin Que kept his head down and quickened his pace through the corridor.

He knew his plan had been a complete success,

but at this moment, he only wanted to spend his school life in peace.

Lin Que walked to the back door of Grade 12 Class 3, which was currently as noisy as a wet market.

He reached out and pushed open the wooden door.

The door hinge let out a soft creak as it turned.

The moment Lin Que stepped into the classroom, the noise that was about to lift the ceiling came to an abrupt halt.

Over forty pairs of eyes projected onto him simultaneously,

and even the two boys in the back row who were scuffling with each other froze in place.

The next second.

Wu Di was the first to break the silence.

He suddenly pushed back his chair, lunged over in a few steps, grabbed Lin Que's neck in a headlock, and howled at the top of his lungs:

"Brother Que! You're famous, you know! You're famous!"

On a screen, the order page of a certain book-buying platform was displayed, with the red words "Out of Stock" looking extremely piercing.

Wu Di's eyes were red, and his voice stuttered with excitement:

"Brother Que! Last night, all my aunts and uncles saw us on the news!

They're all chasing after me for your signature!"

Just as Wu Di finished speaking, Li Bowen pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and walked over from his seat.

He didn't shout like Wu Di; instead, he held a copy of folding beijing with both hands, its edges already frayed from flipping.

That was one of the three hundred copies he had personally lugged back from Shanghai over the weekend.

He walked up to Lin Que and handed the book over with great solemnity.

"Lin Que, going to Shanghai to support the launch was the most hot-blooded decision I've ever made in my science stream career."

Li Bowen's voice carried a hint of a tremble, and his eyes were full of awe.

"I read this book three times last night. The logical loop and the class setting are so rigorous it's frightening.

After my grandfather read it, he said he wanted to find a time to chat with you in person."

"There will be an opportunity."

Lin Que nodded.

Professor Li Yuanchao had helped him a lot from the beginning, and since they didn't usually have much chance to meet, he definitely had to thank him in person when he found the chance.

Lin Que thought to himself.

As the two of them spoke, the seal on the entire class seemed to be lifted, and in an instant, everyone swarmed around, surrounding Lin Que.

"Brother Que, that book you wrote is too brutal. The part where Old Knife crawls through the trash chute made my heart almost stop!"

Fang Zhiyuan squeezed in beside him, his face full of relief as if he had just escaped death:

"Brother Que, you definitely timed your arrival perfectly, didn't you?

During morning self-study, Old Shen walked straight to the podium with your book. She didn't even make us recite Classical Chinese; she read the setting of the Third Space in front of the whole class.

I swear, her voice was even gentler than usual when she was reading it!"

Hearing this, the corner of Lin Que's mouth twitched very slightly.

He secretly felt lucky that he had waited outside for a while longer this morning, perfectly avoiding this wave of public execution.

Just as the atmosphere in the classroom was about to spiral out of control, the crisp sound of high heels hitting the floor tiles came from the front door.

The class teacher, Shen Qingqiu, appeared at the door holding her lesson plans.

The boys surrounding Lin Que shuddered, their previous frenzy instantly dissipating.

Everyone looked down and focused, scurrying back to their seats with extreme efficiency.

The classroom returned to a state where a pin could be heard dropping.

Shen Qingqiu didn't scold them about discipline with a stern face as she usually did.

She placed her lesson plans on the podium and walked straight to Lin Que's desk.

Her gaze lingered on this composed young man before her.

She looked for a long time, so long that the entire class began to hold their breath, thinking Old Shen was about to blow up.

But to everyone's surprise, Shen Qingqiu revealed a very faint smile.

This was the first time she had shown such a gentle expression in the classroom since she started leading this Grade 12 class.

"The topic for Fu Zhi Yao Competition finals was: Wall."

"With folding beijing, you wrote this wall as the night sky that fifty million people above cannot share."

She paused for a moment, her tone carrying undisguised admiration.

"You brought the wall of social classes to life."

The whole class gasped.

Lin Que stood in place, meeting his class teacher's gaze.

He didn't become complacent because of this high praise, nor did he show any hypocritical humility.

He simply smiled and replied:

"Thank you, Teacher Shen."

She nodded and turned to walk back to the podium to start the lesson.

Just as Lin Que was about to pull out his chair and sit down, a series of hurried yet steady footsteps came from the corridor.

Principal Jiang, wearing a sharp suit, was followed by the Dean of Students Fei Yuncheng; the two appeared outside the front door of Grade 12 Class 3.

Fei Yuncheng glanced into the classroom and directly beckoned to Lin Que.

"Lin Que, come here for a moment."

Fei Yuncheng's voice betrayed an irrepressible excitement, and even his usually stern face was now covered in smiles.

The classroom fell silent again. Lin Que put down his backpack and walked out of the classroom.

As soon as he stood still, Principal Jiang immediately came forward, beaming with smiles.

"Student Lin Que, come with me to the meeting room."

Principal Jiang patted Lin Que on the shoulder.

"Several guests came to our school early this morning, and they are all waiting for you right now."

Lin Que nodded in response.

He noticed that Principal Jiang, who usually walked like the wind through the school,

was not only adjusting his tie for the second time, but even the corners of his eyes showed obvious nervousness.

In this key high school of a third-tier city,

guests who could make the top leader put on such a welcoming posture were definitely of no small consequence.

...