59: The Ghost Doctor (Part 2) – Bonus Edition Sponsored by <Missing a Tomato and Scrambled Eggs>

Friday, afternoon.

The autumn sun was unusually generous,

illuminating the century-old ginkgo tree at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School until it shone golden and bright.

Outside the school gate, a brand new coach bus had been waiting for a long time.

The four large characters "Jiangcheng Education" on the side of the bus glittered brilliantly under the sun,

signifying the official nature of this trip.

Dean of Students Fei Yuncheng was holding a large megaphone,

giving a final, impassioned motivational speech.

"...Remember! You don't represent yourselves; you represent Jiangcheng No. 1 High School and the reputation of tens of thousands of students in Jiangcheng!

The province highly values this Jieyou Cup,

and the television station is providing full coverage. This is a major review of Jiangcheng's educational achievements!"

His eyes, burning with intensity, swept over the three students standing rigidly straight before him.

Zhao Zichen, the Top Student of Grade 12, looked solemn,

still clutching a copy of the collection of ancient prose in his hand.

Zhang Ya, the Class Committee Member of Grade 11,

was wearing a brand new tracksuit, nervously clutching the corner of her shirt, her lips pressed together until they were white.

And finally, standing at the very end of the line, was

Lin Que, who was yawning and looked completely unrested.

Fei Yuncheng's eye twitched when he saw Lin Que's appearance,

but remembering the essay that could make people weep,

he swallowed the reprimand that was about to escape his lips.

Geniuses always have their eccentricities.

"Teacher Shen."

Fei Yuncheng turned to Shen Qingqiu, who was also dressed formally and maintained a cool, aloof expression.

"I'll leave the journey to you. These three are promising students, especially Lin Que.

Keep a close eye on him; don't let him pull any stunts during the competition."

Shen Qingqiu nodded, her gaze lingering on Lin Que for two seconds.

"Don't worry, Director. I will keep an eye on him."

Her tone sounded like she was saying,

"I will watch over my Hachimi who is always ready to tear the house apart."

Following Fei Yuncheng's command, the three students boarded the bus one by one.

The coach bus slowly started moving,

and drove away from the campus under the expectant gaze of the entire faculty and student body.

Shortly after reaching the main road, the bus stopped at an intersection.

Soon, three other identical coach buses converged,

carrying the competing teams from Jiangcheng Experimental Middle School, Jiangcheng No. 2 High School, and the Foreign Language Middle School Division.

The four vehicles formed a small convoy,

and majestically headed toward the highway entrance.

"They're making quite a scene."

Lin Que leaned against the window, watching the vehicles driving alongside them, and commented lazily.

Zhao Zichen, sitting in the front row, pushed up his glasses and spoke without turning around:

"Naturally.

This isn't just a literary competition; it's also a covert contest between the various schools."

As he spoke, he opened the collection of ancient prose in his hand and muttered to himself:

"In ancient times, scholars certainly had teachers. A teacher is one who transmits the Way, imparts knowledge, and resolves doubts...,

The topic this time might focus on 'Inheritance,' so I need to prepare more material."

Lin Que looked at his serious, ready-for-battle demeanor,

and silently turned his head away.

Too competitive, far too competitive.

The journey from Jiangcheng to Jinling takes a total of five hours.

After two hours of driving, the convoy stopped briefly at a service area.

As soon as the convoy stopped, the door of the neighboring Experimental Middle School bus opened,

and a middle-aged man with slicked-back, shiny hair stepped out.

He walked over to the Jiangcheng No. 1 High School bus,

and tapped on the window near where Shen Qingqiu was sitting.

Shen Qingqiu recognized the person,

it was Liu Yi, the Chinese Language Group Leader from Experimental Middle School,

a character who loved stealing the spotlight at every teaching and research conference.

She lowered the window and gave a polite nod:

"Teacher Liu, is something the matter?"

"Teacher Shen, long time no see. You're looking more beautiful than ever."

Liu Yi offered a quick pleasantry, then immediately glanced into the bus.

"Nothing much. I just heard that your No. 1 High School produced an Internet celebrity student."

Liu Yi's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

"Is he here this time?"

Shen Qingqiu immediately understood his implication.

"Teacher Liu, our school's competition slots were selected through formal evaluation..."

"I know, I know."

Liu Yi interrupted her, quickly explaining.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just saw that child online last time,

and I thought he seemed quite inspired. I just wanted to meet him."

His gaze landed on Lin Que,

"He is the student Lin Que who wrote 'firefly,' right?

I wonder how he plans to 'play the victim' again in this final round to earn the judges' tears?"

As soon as he said this, the air inside the bus instantly froze.

Zhao Zichen slammed his book shut, his face flushed red, and abruptly turned his head to look out the window.

Although he looked down on Lin Que's "unorthodox methods,"

Liu Yi's words were undoubtedly demeaning to the entire Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

Zhang Ya was so angry that she was trembling all over.

Lin Que himself didn't react much, even letting out a light chuckle.

Instead of looking at Liu Yi outside the window, he turned his head sideways,

his gaze landing with interest on the tense back of Shen Qingqiu in front of him,

his expression seeming to say:

"Teacher, it's your turn to perform."

Shen Qingqiu's expression visibly turned cold.

She looked at Liu Yi:

"Teacher Liu, you jest.

In the temple of literature, a hundred flowers bloom.

If a gardener only knows how to grow Chinese cabbage, don't be surprised when someone else's roses have thorns.

And certainly don't mistake the fragrance of a rose for the sour smell of rotting Chinese cabbage."

The smile on Liu Yi's face froze.

He hadn't expected the usually cool and aloof Shen Qingqiu to have such a sharp tongue.

"Teacher Shen, what are you trying to..."

"Our students at No. 1 High School understand the courage required to rip open a wound, and the gentleness required to stitch it closed."

Shen Qingqiu didn't give him a chance to retort.

"There's no need for Teacher Liu to worry about it."

Having said that, she immediately rolled up the window, cutting off Liu Yi's face, which had turned from red to green.

Silence reigned inside the bus.

Zhao Zichen looked at Shen Qingqiu's back,

genuine admiration appearing in his eyes for the first time.

Zhang Ya also quietly loosened her tightly clenched fists.

Shen Qingqiu leaned back against the seat,

took a deep breath, her chest still rising and falling slightly.

She instantly understood why she was so agitated.

That dismissive phrase, "playing the victim,"

was not only insulting a student,

but also desecrating the profound and heavy sincerity she had personally felt within that essay.

What she found even more absurd was that

she was defending a style that she herself had recently criticized as extreme and dangerous.

This contradiction made her chest feel tight,

mixing annoyance with... a sense of pride she wasn't even willing to admit to herself.

Just then, an untimely notification sound came from her phone.

She took out her phone, hoping to distract herself.

A push notification abruptly appeared at the top of the screen.

[The author you follow, "Hell Dream Weaver," has updated "the human world is like a prison"!]

Shen Qingqiu's heart felt as if it had been clenched.

Updated again?

Reason ultimately failed to conquer the impulse mixed with fear and curiosity,

and after a moment of hesitation,

her fingertip lightly tapped the screen.

The novel's main page loaded.

The title of the latest chapter, like words written in fresh blood, was fiercely branded onto her retina.

[Ghost Doctor (Part 2)]

...