Age of Legends

Chapter 350: Taking the Head Start
Beside the flowerbeds on Yude Campus, Wang Jin, a reporter from the Metropolitan Daily, had already started communicating with Zhang Chen.

"Zhang Chen, I'm going to interview you about some things in your daily life later. Don't be nervous, just relax, okay?"

Wang Jin is a veteran reporter. Every year during the college entrance examination or middle school entrance examination season, there are always some outstanding students, either with excellent essays or outstanding academic achievements. Most of the time, the interviewees are either a bit reserved or just recite some prepared clichés. So she needs to guide Zhang Chen in advance.

"Ok."

“If you’d like, I can tell you a few questions in advance, which will make it easier to answer. Or you can tell me what you want to express, such as inspiration when writing an essay, or what you want to show. Feel free to speak your mind,” Wang Jin continued to guide him. She had an interview outline, which might be enough to complete the interview smoothly if she handed it to Zhang Chen, but she still hoped to get him talking and discuss the “unusual” aspects he wanted to showcase. These were often the highlights of an interview. Simply submitting an outline wouldn’t be in line with the creative and engaging style of a star metropolitan newspaper like the West China City Daily.

Zhang Chen's words surprised Wang Jin again.

"I don't really want to prepare in advance. I'll just talk as the thoughts come to me. That way, the conversation will feel more natural."

Isn't it... this relaxed?
Wang Jin suddenly felt that she might have made a mistake in telling the other person to "relax," perhaps she had been too lenient. Was this just an ordinary high school graduate?

Or perhaps people who can write good articles have more unique and unconventional minds?
"Okay, then let's begin."

Wang Jin softened his tone, nodded, and then became curious to see how this arrogant student would handle his attack as a veteran.

If things go wrong, I'll give him a way out so that this "young man" understands that all reporters are skilled writers, and even if they write well, they still need to know that there are always people better than them.

With the camera recording nearby, reporter Wang Jin's interview began.

Wang Jin: "Hello Zhang Chen. We all know that the national exam essay topic is 'Integrity.' There are many topics that can be written about integrity, so why did you title your essay 'The Void in My Backpack'?"

Zhang Chen: "Because after losing integrity, the backpack becomes lighter, but the person also feels empty. That 'lightness' scares me."

Wang Jin was clearly taken aback. Zhang Chen's opening remarks alone were quite striking, giving her a strong feeling that this interview might be very interesting.

"I felt empty inside," and "that lightness frightened me."

Listen to this! What kind of words are these?
Is this a normal high school student? If you didn't tell me, she would have thought she was interviewing some eccentric writer!
In normal conversation, this is called not speaking properly, but if it happens in an interview or conversation, it's different. It makes the interview seem "deep," or in professional jargon, "thought-provoking!"

This confrontational structure...it seemed familiar. Like something she'd seen somewhere before on Phoenix TV's "A Date with Luyu" this year!
Wang Jin: "Scared?"

Zhang Chen: "A person cannot stand without integrity. Credit is the ballast stone. If you lose this, your baggage will become lighter, and you will feel like you are running faster. Then you will lose more and more things, and your weight will become lighter and lighter. Finally, you will hit a wall and be shattered to pieces. I am actually afraid that this will happen. I am reminding myself while writing this."

Wang Jin: "Broken Windows Theory".

Zhang Chen: "Yes, the broken windows theory."

Wang Jin: "What's the first thing that comes to mind when you're writing?"

Zhang Chen paused for a moment: "It's the wind and waves."

Wang Jin: "Wind and waves?"

Zhang Chen: "The storm is the voice of that young man's heart. He's justifying himself, saying 'the boat is too heavy' only when people want to lose something. It's like this era of reform and opening up, with the rise of the market economy and the lack of integrity. People fall into a kind of fantasy: desperately wanting to lose something, feeling that it will make them rise faster!" Wang Jin's mind was in turmoil. She thought, "Stop! Stop! You just finished your college entrance exams! How can you be discussing the market economy and the reform and opening-up ideology?" But Wang Jin also knew that if these things came from this high school graduate's mouth during the interview, there would likely be two kinds of opinions. One would be that he was very insightful at such a young age, observing society and understanding critical thinking. The other would be the opposite, saying he was precocious, inexperienced, and lacked a solid foundation, his words were all castles in the air, and he was just imitating others.

Wang Jin: "So you think that integrity is a virtue, and that it is more important than money or honor, as mentioned in the article."

Zhang Chen: "It's less a virtue and more a bottom line of self-discipline. A person without integrity isn't bad, but empty. They lose not only the possibility of others trusting them, but also their own belief in their own abilities. Once a person can't even believe in themselves, how can they have a foundation for doing anything?"

Wang Jin was somewhat stunned. She had interviewed many writers, poets, and high-scoring essayists, but this was the first time she felt that this child was not answering questions, but rather responding to the times.

Wang Jin already has a title for this interview: "The Brilliance of Eighteen: Answering the Void of the Times with an Essay"

The interview was almost over, but Wang Jin still dug a hole for us: "Many people say your writing is rational and warm, contrasting with the coldness of 'The Death of Red Hare.' What do you think of that?"

Creating conflict is obviously an interesting thing, but the boy in front of me is very "slippery".

Zhang Chen: "I read 'The Death of Red Hare' as soon as it was published, and I was deeply moved. We were just answering the same question in different ways. I didn't intend to compete; I was just writing down my own answer."

Wang Jin: "..." If it weren't for a colleague holding a camera, the principal of Yude School being there, and Zhang Chen's parents watching from a distance, she would have directly asked, "Do you want to take the civil service exam?"

So far, Wang Jin, a veteran reporter who seems to have been led by Zhang Chen, is quite unhappy: "After the article was published, it caused a great stir. Are you nervous now?"

She saw the boy in front of her smile: "A little. But more than that, I feel that with so many people seeing my thoughts, and my words becoming law, I have to hold myself to higher standards. It's like digging a hole for myself."

Wang Jin was still somewhat unwilling to give up: "The author of 'The Death of Red Hare' might be admitted through a special exception. Do you regret not applying to a better school now?"

Zhang Chen: "I don't regret it. I'm very satisfied with my score. It's high enough for me to get into my ideal university."

Wang Jin: "Well then, that concludes the interview. Congratulations, Zhang Chen! I hope you can put your words into practice and achieve your goals in your university life."

Zhang Chen: "Thank you. Saying it is one thing, but actually doing it is another. I will strive to put my knowledge into practice."

After that, Wang Jin interviewed other people. Zhang Chen's Chinese teacher, Qin Guimei, commented: "This child is not the kind of student who can do well in writing assigned essays. He doesn't read many literary books, but he just loves to think and has been smart since he was a child!"

Yu-Te Principal Chen Qiu-Shi said, "Zhang Chen is actually very shy, but I think he understands the 'responsibility of words.' College entrance exam essays reflect the times, and at this age, having this awareness is already very rare!"

After the West China City Daily published its report, it attracted considerable attention, receiving over 500 letters from readers in just three days. It was also reprinted by several media outlets, making Zhang Chen, the examinee, known to more and more people, and sparking much discussion about his remarks.

Throughout late July and August, public opinion was divided on this matter. One point of contention was that the author of "The Death of Red Hare" was admitted to a university in the south despite not meeting the required score for science subjects. In contrast, many believed that Tsinghua and Peking Universities should also have given Zhang Chen a special admission.

In a panic, the Sichuan University Publicity Department issued a statement: We have been paying close attention to the discussions surrounding this year's essay competition. Zhang Chen's essay and interviews embody the spirit of independent thinking among contemporary youth, which is also something our university admires. His choice of Sichuan University is a result of mutual effort, and Sichuan University will always open its doors to such thinkers!

And so, Zhang Chen seemed to have already made a name for himself at his future university even before he started college.

How hateful they are!

(End of this chapter)