573: Chapter 573 Tonight, I'll only toast my own manuscript.

Thirty green lights just lit up the screen.

Professor Liu Zuoqing's words, "Only ten spots left for the final expert review," had already set a countdown on everyone's excitement.

The next second, the Qinglan Program group chat exploded.

"We all passed!"

"Thirty people, not a single one left behind!"

"My public reading ranking is ninety-seventh; my palms were sweating!"

"I almost cried when the green light lit up."

"Group hug!"

Chen Jiahao held up his phone and gave Dan Yi a peace sign.

"Thirty green lights! We all made it to the final review!"

Dan Yi watched the messages scrolling rapidly in the group chat but didn't say anything.

However, the curve of his mouth changed slightly.

Xu Changge put his phone back on the desk, his tone calm.

"Not unexpected."

Chen Jiahao turned to look at him.

"How is it not unexpected? Thirty people all passed. Do you know how small that probability is?"

Xu Changge folded his hands in front of him.

"Those who can get into the Program have already gone through layers of screening. The training and field research after entering the camp filled in our respective shortcomings. Thirty people passing is a surprise, but it is by no means luck."

He paused.

"Plus the intensity after entering the camp. Professor Liu's structural deconstruction class, Elder Su's rural writing class, Elder Cui's interdisciplinary thinking training…"

He paused.

"Elder Xu's observation training."

Lin Que added at the right moment.

Chen Jiahao chimed in:

"Right! And that remote class by Jian Shen."

"Exactly."

Xu Changge nodded.

"Systematic training, combined with the underlying experience from field research, plus that class where Jian Shen deconstructed creative thinking. Every step for these thirty people to get to where we are today has a cause and effect."

He glanced at Chen Jiahao.

"Today's full pass rate is just converting the training since we entered the camp into data."

Chen Jiahao grinned:

"I'm just happy that Dean Dai's and the teachers' cultivation during this period didn't go to waste."

Dan Yi spoke up.

His voice was very soft, just one sentence:

"At least for this stage, what we submitted can stand up to the data."

The messages in the group were still scrolling.

But a few seconds later, another message from Professor Liu Zuoqing appeared.

This time it wasn't a screenshot.

It was a long text.

"Entering the expert review only means you have obtained the qualification to knock on the door. The people sitting on the judging panel will not lower their standards because of your age, will not make exceptions because you are a trainee of the Qinglan Program, and will certainly not give you bonus points because of the popularity during the public reading stage."

"Public data will be sealed at this moment. Final review manuscripts will be re-numbered. Once the judges enter the closed review area, they can only access the text and inquiry records; off-site articles and popularity data will all be isolated."

"Your works will now enter the final review library anonymously. The judges will only see the text itself; they won't see names, they won't see popularity curves, and they certainly won't see how much you suffered during the field research."

"Once in the final review library, the only thing that can speak for you is every word in the manuscript."

"So don't rush to celebrate. Tomorrow, everyone find the three long comments with the highest controversy in the background."

"The day after tomorrow, early in the morning, we will have cross-interrogations. Answer others first, and answer yourself first."

"Finally, everyone needs to know one thing."

"The eyes of the judges are far more critical than those of the readers."

The scrolling speed of the group chat dropped sharply.

After the last emoji disappeared, there were no new messages for a full fifteen seconds.

Then Tang He sent one:

"Received, Professor Liu. I'm going to check my manuscript."

Yuan Ningning followed with one:

"Me too."

Then came Zhong Hengyuan, Han Yi, and several trainees whose names Lin Que couldn't recall.

Soon, only short replies remained in the group:

"Received."

"Reviewing the original draft."

"Organizing controversial long comments."

The celebratory atmosphere was packed away within thirty seconds.

In Dormitory 303, Chen Jiahao also put away his phone.

He looked at the change in the group's atmosphere and rubbed his hands.

"Thirty people just walked through the door, and he immediately told us that there are only ten chairs inside."

Xu Changge returned to his seat and opened his work page.

"It's necessary."

"Popularity resets to zero here. Once in the anonymous library, structure, characters, language—every item must pass the test again."

"Winning the volume in the public reading stage means starting from scratch at the final review table."

Dan Yi also clicked on his original manuscript document.

Lin Que watched the backs of the three people in front of him from the upper bunk.

He picked up his phone and clicked on the group chat.

The message stream had stopped.

The last one was from a trainee three minutes ago:

"I'm going to go over the conclusion of Chapter 7 again."

Lin Que's thumb hovered over the input box.

He paused for two seconds.

Then he typed a line:

"The readers have already knocked on the door for us. Let the manuscript walk the rest of the way itself."

Sent.

The group was quiet for a few seconds.

Then a message popped up.

Sent by Tang He:

"Hmm."

Another one.

Yuan Ningning: "I saved that."

Chen Jiahao was secretly looking at his phone below, giving a thumbs up to the upper bunk.

Xu Changge didn't look at the group.

But he heard the notification sound of Lin Que's phone sending a message. A moment later, his own phone also vibrated.

He glanced at it, didn't reply, turned his phone over, and placed it face down on the corner of the table.

Then he continued looking at his manuscript.

Chen Jiahao closed his laptop.

"I'm hungry."

He stood up and turned around in place.

"I was too nervous in the evening to eat anything, and now I feel my stomach protesting."

He looked at his phone.

12:26 AM.

"How about we find a place to celebrate?"

Chen Jiahao looked at the other three.

"Doesn't have to be anything grand, just find a place to eat something. After all, we all passed."

Lin Que climbed down from the upper bunk and landed on the floor.

"The cafeteria closed long ago, and the nearby eateries aren't taking customers at this hour."

Chen Jiahao's face fell.

"Then what do we do?"

Lin Que picked up his phone and opened a delivery app.

"Two hundred meters east of the school's north gate, there's a Jiangcheng street barbecue stall. I saw it when Song Yuan was showing me around the area. It has a 4.9 online rating and doesn't close until 2:00 AM."

He turned the phone screen to show Chen Jiahao.

The shop was named "Old Peng Jiangcheng Barbecue," and the page showed a row of photos of oily, glistening skewers.

"Can they still deliver at this time?"

"It's just within the delivery range."

Chen Jiahao's eyes lit up.

"Master Que! You order, you order! My treat!"

"No need."

Lin Que had already started scrolling through the menu.

"Wait until we get into the final ten, then it will be your turn."

Chen Jiahao opened his mouth, then finally nodded happily.

"Alright! Master Que is generous!"

Lin Que ordered meat skewers, cartilage, chicken wings, and grilled bread according to the four people's tastes, paid, and flipped the delivery page face down on the table.

While waiting for the food, Chen Jiahao couldn't help but open the Kunpeng Award page.

He searched for Shen Jiangping's name.

Gray icon, promotion suspended.

His mouth opened, and he turned the screen to the person next to him.

The dormitory was quiet for two seconds.

Lin Que reached out and closed the page.

"The win or loss is already written in the data. Tonight, we toast only to our own manuscripts."

Chen Jiahao's hand holding the cup froze.

Xu Changge turned his head to look at Lin Que, with a very slight curve at the corner of his mouth.

He picked up his cup and took another sip.

Dan Yi looked down at the remaining soda in his paper cup.

His lips moved, but he didn't make a sound.

But he pressed his phone screen off.

Chen Jiahao's hand holding the phone paused, then he placed the screen back down on the table:

"You're right, we won't look at him tonight."

The delivery arrived.

Chen Jiahao went downstairs to get it.

When he returned, he was carrying two oil-paper bags, and the aroma of barbecue wafted out from the openings.

The whole corridor could smell the scent of cumin and chili powder.

The door of the adjacent Dormitory 304 opened a crack, and half a head poked out.

It was Han Yi.

He sniffed twice.

"You ordered delivery? Whose is so fragrant?"

"If you want to eat, order it yourself."

Chen Jiahao waved at him.

"Master Que is treating, spots are limited."

Han Yi retreated.

From the crack in the door came a sentence:

"It smells so good."

The four sat on the floor of the dormitory.

The table was too small to hold so many skewers, so Lin Que opened two clean paper bags and spread them on the floor, placing the food containers on top.

The beef and lamb skewers glistened with oil, the cartilage was grilled to a crispy texture, the chicken wings were golden brown, and the grilled mantou slices absorbed the grease and minced garlic.

Chen Jiahao grabbed two beef skewers with one hand. With the first bite, the oil and chili powder mixed with the meat's aroma exploded in his mouth.

"Authentic!"

He said indistinctly.

"Is this the taste of Jiangcheng?!"

Dan Yi took a skewer of cartilage.

He took a bite, chewed a few times, didn't say anything, but reached for the second skewer.

Xu Changge used a tissue to cushion his hand and picked up a chicken wing.

His movements were precise and elegant.

He took a bite, and his brows relaxed slightly.

"Indeed, not bad."

Lin Que sat in the corner, his back against the bed leg, with a piece of grilled mantou and two skewers of cartilage in front of him.

He didn't eat fast, occasionally picking up his cup to take a sip of soda.

The four of them sat on the floor of Dormitory 303 like this, eating barbecue delivery at 1:00 AM.

The folds of the oil-paper bags, disposable gloves, scattered bamboo sticks, and the bottom of four paper cups with orange soda.

No alcohol, no pomp, not even a proper table.

Four paper cups rested beside the manuscript paper, leaving shallow watermarks on the bottom of the cups.

No one clicked on the leaderboard again.

The phone vibrated.

Lin Que wiped his hands and took it out to look.

WeChat message.

"Fugitive Beethoven": "Congratulations, Master Lin. I just finished practicing and returned to the hotel. The first thing I saw when I opened my phone was that you were dominating the list."

"Fugitive Beethoven": "So are you feeling very puffed up now? [Squinting smile]"

Lin Que let out a laugh.

He picked up his phone and aimed the camera at the "spectacle" of the barbecue on the ground.

Oil-paper bags, bamboo sticks, paper cups, three roommates eating.

Pressed the shutter.

Sent it over.

"Mu Xia": "The celebration scene of the public reading champion, exposed in advance."

Three seconds later, Ye Xi replied.

"Fugitive Beethoven": "... Are you serious?"

"Fugitive Beethoven": "Four first places, just sitting on the floor gnawing on skewers? [Shocked]"

"Fugitive Beethoven": "I thought it would at least be champagne and steak."

Lin Que typed:

"Mu Xia": "Good articles and skewers are the same principle. No need for plating; you know if it's worth it the moment it enters your mouth."

Ye Xi's message came five seconds later.

"Fugitive Beethoven": "With that mouth of yours, can you turn any topic into literature?"

"Fugitive Beethoven": "But about getting first place..."

"Fugitive Beethoven": "I'm not surprised at all."

Lin Que stared at this message for two seconds.

He typed three words, deleted them, and re-entered:

"Mu Xia": "How was your piano practice today?"

Ye Xi replied instantly:

"Fugitive Beethoven": "The repertoire for the tour is basically set. I can go on stage and rehearse with the band next week."

"Fugitive Beethoven": "By the time your final review is over, I should have the tour dates set too."

"Fugitive Beethoven": "Writer Lin, shall we exchange homework then?"

The curve of Lin Que's mouth arched up a little.

"Mu Xia": "Deal."

"Mu Xia": "You submit your tour repertoire, I submit my final review results. Whoever is late treats the other to barbecue; even the champion can't go back on their word."

"Fugitive Beethoven": "Then I'm going to go re-check the tour sheet music now. I'm definitely going to eat that barbecue of yours (Smug.jpg)"

"Mu Xia": "The sheet music won't run away, don't practice too late."

"Fugitive Beethoven": "Got it, good night, Master Lin."

There was no emoji after the last message.

Clean, which was heavier than all the emojis.

Lin Que put his phone back in his pocket.

Chen Jiahao looked over with a skewer in his mouth.

"Who is it? Smiling so happily."

"A friend."

"Ah, is it that birthday..."

"Jiahao."

Dan Yi interrupted him, then took a tissue to wipe his fingers.

Chen Jiahao chuckled twice and didn't ask further.

He returned to the meat skewers in front of him.

Time passed 1:30 AM.

The skewers were mostly finished.

Chen Jiahao leaned against the table leg, rubbing his stomach.

Dan Yi tidied up the bamboo sticks in front of him with clean and efficient movements.

Xu Changge folded the tissue and put it into the trash bag.

Lin Que stood up and gathered the newspaper and oil-paper bags. The dormitory returned to its proper state.

"Time to sleep."

Lin Que tied up the trash bag and threw it by the door.

"There are still manuscripts to look at tomorrow."

"Professor Liu's words are right."

Xu Changge also stood up.

"Passing the public reading is just the start; the expert review is the real hurdle. Only after passing this hurdle are we qualified to talk about awards."

Chen Jiahao yawned, pulling Dan Yi toward the door.

"I know, I know. I'll just be happy for one night. Starting tomorrow, I'll go over the manuscript again too."

Dan Yi nodded and walked out the door with him.

The light was turned off.

Dormitory 303 sank into darkness.

Only a line of the city's night light came in through the gap in the curtains, orange, leaving a small patch on the floor.

Lin Que turned over and lay on his side facing the wall.

Everything that could be done had been done.

Auntie Song's seven opera arias, Old Zhao's pacing, those auditory gaps...

If they were meant to be discovered, they would be discovered. If they couldn't be discovered, they should have done their job in the rhythm of the reading.

The rest of the road,

Let the manuscript walk it itself.

...

Third floor of the China Writers Association headquarters, Data Monitoring Center.

2:17 AM.

He Yuanda, the section chief of the Information Division, pressed the final confirmation key at the master control console.

The screen popped up a full-screen prompt:

"Kunpeng Youth Literature Award · Final Review Code Washing Procedure has started."

"All shortlisted works have completed number resetting."

"Author information, public reading data, and off-site comments have all been isolated."

"The judges' closed review area will be activated tomorrow at 08:00."

He Yuanda stared at the line of green text and pushed the keyboard forward two centimeters.

Then he turned off the screen and got up to leave.

At the end of the corridor, the door lock indicator light of the closed review area glowed with a cold white light.

Tomorrow at 8:00 AM, that door would open.

More than a dozen literary titans would walk inside.

And those one hundred anonymous manuscripts were already waiting inside.

...