It was just a love letter; I'm really no great writer!

"Yes." Xia Liang turned her head and smiled. "You haven't given up on her yet?"

"Hmm." Lu Ran's feelings were complicated.

Because the principal fanned the flames, his love letter inadvertently went viral.

He was unexpectedly featured in "World Poetry," which caused a stir in the poetry world.

His fondness for Zuo Hanzhi was well-known throughout Huaizhong.

Many students from other classes were curious about how beautiful Zuo Hanzhi was, and came to Class 6 to watch her in groups.

A graceful young woman, admired by her young lover, became a popular topic of conversation.

As for the truth, not many people seem to care...

"Actually, we've always been quite curious as to why you like Hanzhi?" Xia Liang asked.

This has been discussed quite a few times privately among girls.

"Charm," Lu Ran said.

"Oh." Xia Liang smiled politely. I could understand if you said you were lusting after her body, but what the hell is this "elegance" thing?!

Actually, girls are more sensitive to other girls' appearances.

The girls in the class had long noticed that Zuo Hanzhi had a very good foundation.

However, she was like a gloomy otaku girl from the world of anime, who didn't like to dress up or communicate with others. Her loose school uniform covered her figure, so her stunning beauty was never seen by others.

Lu Ran originally wanted to ask Xia Liang for her secrets to pursuing girls, but then he thought that they weren't that close yet, so he gave up.

Xia Liang assumed that Lu Ran was interested in the predecessor of the literary society, so she took the initiative to explain it to him.

The two chatted and strolled around until they returned home.

Lu Ran roughly figured out what had happened:

At the beginning of the last semester, Zhao Yishuang planned to start a school magazine, so she recruited four literary girls who were not yet familiar with each other and formed the Huaizhong Literature Society.

My mentor is Huang Haitang, because he teaches Chinese to both Class 6 and Class 7.

At that time, the Huaizhong Pictorial was just something I did out of interest.

It was distributed free of charge on campus and received a good response.

Zhao Yishuang felt that she should set her sights on the national stage, so she obtained a national unified publication number—which required approval from the State Press and Publication Administration—and everyone was very excited.

Then came the cold water hitting him head-on.

Relying solely on the quality of submissions from our own students, we simply cannot compete with well-known magazines such as Reader and Yilin.

It's Zhao Yishuang who's selling it again.

She drastically redesigned the magazine, establishing the framework for "Huaizhong Pictorial" and making it more relevant to the local customs and culture of Huaizhong.

He also personally conceived the literary work "Life is Bitter".

He also encouraged Zuo Hanzhi to write poetry and gain fame through poetry competitions in the city.

This led to the revival of sales for "Huaizhong Pictorial," gradually increasing from 300 copies to 800 copies, and at its peak, 1,500 copies, becoming the main platform for youth literature in Huaicheng.

—Lu Ran felt ashamed. While he was pursuing Zhao Yishuang intensely, he never expected that she had done something so amazing behind the scenes.

Then, that day came, and glory covered the gloom.

Zhao Yishuang suddenly announced her withdrawal from the Huaizhong Literary Society, and without its backbone, the Huaizhong Pictorial came to an abrupt end.

Only today, thanks to Xia Liang's efforts, has the magazine been relaunched.

Because the original structure was intact, the process of resuming publication was not complicated.

However, for a weekly magazine with such a high time sensitivity, it is difficult to return to its peak sales.

"Good night."

As they went home and stepped into their rooms, she turned back and waved.

"Good night." Lu Ran was taken aback.

He went back to his room to get a towel, took a shower, but he was still a little confused.

He had previously thought that Zuo Hanzhi rejected him because she wasn't interested in poetry.

But since Zuo Hanzhi also writes poetry, why is she unmoved by my love letters?

And the most puzzling thing is that Zhao Yishuang founded the Huaizhong Literature Society, but why did she withdraw from it halfway through without saying a word?

This approach reminded Lu Ran of the legendary anime "MY GO!!!!!", where Teacher Da Xiang made a shocking departure from the group.

But Zhao Yishuang is a young lady from a prominent Chinese family, not some petty Japanese chaebol. Bankruptcy is out of the question; perhaps there's another reason?

"I can't figure it out," Lu Ran pondered.

Based on his understanding of Zhao Yishuang, this woman was aloof and proud, with extremely high standards.

They probably felt the literary society was useless and decided to discard it.

……

The stars twinkled.

After lying back in bed, Lu Ran was in high spirits. With 300,000 yuan, of course he had to buy! Buy! Buy!

I transferred 10,000 yuan to Teacher Xiaotian first.

My parents each transferred 50,000 yuan, with the note: "Let's look at houses soon."

Finally, I transferred two hundred to my sister.

The rest is up to you to spend; being good to yourself is the best policy.

Open a shopping website, upgrade your graphics card to a flagship model, then get a better keyboard, and add a secondary monitor—your productivity will be maximized.

I'll also get a new main phone.

Stock up on ten more pairs of cotton underwear; boys, of course, need to take good care of their genitals.

A total of 40,000 yuan is nothing, and seeing the next-day delivery order in the backend gives me a great sense of peace of mind.

What else should I buy...?

Lu Ran, being a student, didn't have many expenses, so he saved the money to buy a car for his family.

The immense material satisfaction made him somewhat complacent.

After careful consideration, he bought himself a xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute), believing that music could bring resonance to his spiritual world.

……

The following day, Saturday morning.

Today is a holiday, and also the day of the semi-finals of the South China Division of the National Essay Competition.

After being woken up by the alarm clock, Lu Ran changed his clothes and went out to wash up.

Tian Luojiao, wearing her pajamas, was making noodles in the kitchen when she turned around and said, "Lu Ran, you're participating in the semi-finals today, right? I specially made you a bowl of noodles for your departure."

"Thank you, Sister Tian."

Lu Ran didn't have much of an appetite in the morning, but the aroma of noodles made his mouth water.

"Ms. Oda is so beautiful and her noodles are so delicious, how come she's still single?"

"loquacious!"

Having provided enough emotional support, Lu Ran ate noodles while looking at his phone.

Lu's father sent three missed messages.

After calling back and pleading with his father, he finally convinced him that he had money.

This is thanks to the fame of the love letter; a simple online search will bring up Lu Ran's name.

After a while, Lu's mother sent another message: You're in a relationship?

Lu Ran: ...

After dawdling until eight o'clock in the morning, I asked Teacher Tian to keep an eye out for the package to be delivered to my door.

Lu Ran hurriedly went out and arrived at the main entrance.

On a fine day, the Mingde Building of Huaicheng No.1 Middle School is bathed in the morning light, its red bricks and gray tiles displaying a simple yet bright appearance.

According to Huang Haitang, he would pick people up at 8:30.

Lu Ran arrived half an hour early, which shows how much he valued it.

We can't ignore this; he's severely unbalanced in his subjects, and if he just takes the college entrance exam honestly, he'll at best get into an ordinary university.

If there's an opportunity for direct admission, of course you should seize it.

The semi-finals are conducted on-site, testing your fundamental knowledge; last-minute cramming won't work.

The judges are renowned writers in the literary world, and their scoring is rigorous, so you have to really compete.

This is going to be a tough battle!

While waiting.

Zhao Yishuang has arrived.

This stranger whom Lu Ran knew best.

She held a parasol, wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, yet she looked like a fairy descending to earth, her white skin glowing.

As she walked to Lu Ran's side, her slender shadow perfectly obscured his.

Lin Hao, another contestant selected for the semi-finals, is a senior in the second year of high school. He is not tall, but his features are quite delicate.

Although scholars often look down on each other, they also respect one another.

After Lin Hao introduced himself, he immediately launched into a barrage of flattery.

"Junior Lu Ran, your love letter is truly breathtaking. Especially that line—"

I've walked across many bridges, seen countless clouds, and drunk many kinds of wine, but I've only ever loved one person at the prime of their life.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"Not at all, Senior Lin, you flatter me." Lu Ran waved his hand repeatedly, stealing glances at the beautiful face of the girl under the umbrella beside him.

Yeah, as always, expressionless. I just love how cute that cold face is QAQ~

"Junior Brother Lu Ran," Lin Hao asked with a very sincere and enthusiastic look in his eyes, "How are things going between you and that junior girl?"

Are you together yet?