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

"what?"

Ning Ning was stunned.

The four judges who had reached the door stopped and turned around to look at Lu Ran, who had just handed in his paper, in astonishment.

Is that all?

Fu Jun had a strong impression of this young man—the top scorer in the South China regional auditions, and a minor celebrity in the international poetry scene with a love letter.

Logically, papers should be graded collectively after the exam, but those who submit their papers early can be graded first.

Ning Ning smiled and said, "Alright, we'll review your article first."

Since the examiner had said so, the judges moved back to their seats and waited for the staff to make a copy of Lu Ran's paper.

Lu Ran pointed to the next room: "Teachers, can I go eat now?"

Ning Ning was taken aback for a moment, then smiled even more gently: "Go ahead."

Lu Ran blinked at Zhao Yishuang and strode out of the examination room.

Sure enough, the study room next door was well-prepared with a sumptuous feast, including fruits, cold dishes, rice, noodles, and both Chinese and Western dishes.

He was the only one in the huge study room, and he began to enjoy the food as if he were at a buffet.

In the solemn examination hall.

At this point, the staff brought up the snacks and distributed them to the test takers.

The examinees had different thoughts about Lu Ran's pretentious behavior and let out small sneers.

Leaving aside the idea, how many words can you write in just over two hours?

3000 words? 4000 words? At most, that's the length of a short story; it's a huge disadvantage in terms of length.

Submitting a paper hastily risks appearing as a mere attempt to grab attention.

The judges likely shared these doubts, and upon receiving the copy, they each read it carefully.

Ning Ning put on a pair of round-framed glasses and began to examine Lu Ran's original manuscript.

The word is like its person.

The handwriting is slightly messy, with each stroke unconventional, yet it possesses a chaotic beauty.

"This is a student who doesn't follow the rules very well," Ning Ning thought to herself.

Then I saw the genre of this article, which was actually a play—let alone writing a play, how many students have ever watched a play in its entirety?

The first scene of Parasite shows a family of four crammed into a damp basement, with socks drying in front of the window, cockroaches scurrying around, and even the toilet in the bathroom built on a stool.

The younger brother, Ki-taek, held up his phone and went around trying to find Wi-Fi, revealing a metaphor: parasitism.

With Min-hyuk delivering the landscape stone, and Ki-taek impersonating a wealthy family to work as a tutor, the real "parasitic drama" begins...

From successful parasitism to double parasitism, the ingenious and rich narrative satirizes the rich and poor classes to the fullest extent.

The story unfolds in waves of climax, yet progresses layer by layer, with a well-structured narrative.

Phoenix head, pig's belly, leopard's tail.

I watched it all in one go, and it was so enjoyable, like watching a real and vivid stage play!

Coming to her senses, Ning Ning was taken aback.

While reading it, she completely forgot that it was a student's work written by a sixteen-year-old, and instead regarded it as a concise and powerful piece by a master playwright.

The most outrageous thing is that it is in no way inferior to that of a master!

"What do you think?" Ning Ning asked, only to see that all four judges had solemn expressions.

Fu Jun's face darkened: "This, is this really the work of a student? I see the shadow of Ibsen in this..."

Henrik Ibsen, the father of modern drama.

It established serious realist drama, exposing the hypocrisy, repression, and alienation of the bourgeoisie, and holds an extremely high historical status.

Comparing Lu Ran, a high school student, to Ibsen?

The three judges gasped in shock.

"What the hell!" Xing Zhaohui, editor-in-chief of Harvest, the most authoritative magazine in China, smiled bitterly. "The structure of this piece, 'Parasite,' is too meticulous, to the point of being obsessive-compulsive. You could say there are parallels everywhere, and every sentence echoes the previous one... And this is a work that Lu Ran completed in less than three hours!"

"I don't know what to say..." The first-rate poet Qiaomai spread his hands. "His writing is like flowing poetry when it is slow, and like beans being poured out when it is fast. It's so beautiful... At this age, with this kind of creation, I can only think of Wang Bo, who climbed the Tengwang Pavilion 1,300 years ago."

Ning Ning thought for a moment and said, "What amazed me the most was a line where the rich woman cut Zeki's tutoring fees, but said, 'Considering rising prices, I voluntarily increased the hourly wage,' which perfectly captured the hypocrisy of the rich."

"And..." the judges began one after another.

"Wait! I haven't finished reading yet!" Science fiction writer Liu Kang scratched his head anxiously. He almost got spoiled.

After a while.

Liu Kang felt no hunger at all, and sighed deeply, "Perfect score."

What else can I say but a perfect score?

Fu Jun smiled and said, "99 points, I'm afraid he'll get arrogant if I give him one less point."

Xing Zhaohui declared resolutely, "What kind of young person isn't spirited? I'll give you a hundred!"

Buckwheat said with a smug grin, "Let me state first that I had read Lu Ran's poems beforehand, and they were nothing but envy-inducing, a perfect score."

Ning Ning, holding Lu Ran's manuscript, said, "Don't just praise him; offer some criticism and suggestions as well."

Fu Jun chuckled: "How can you criticize a work like this produced at such a young age?"

Ning Ning shook her head: "Since it's a pre-review, we should use the strictest standards."

"Don't treat him like a student. Teachers, please treat Lu Ran as a writer who has already made his debut and judge him fairly."

After a moment's thought, the four judges gave their evaluations again:

Although Parasite is perfect in terms of dramatic structure, the excessive scene changes in the set design affect the narrative rhythm.

Furthermore, the dramatic conflict relies heavily on audiovisual elements; for example, the rainstorm scene significantly reduces the audience's sense of immersion.

The satire is spot-on, but the ideas and critical thinking are still not profound enough...

After listing all the shortcomings, the four judges gave scores of 88, 92, 90 and 95.

Ning Ning also gave herself a score: 80.

……

3 PM.

As the semi-finals drew to a close, the candidates handed in their papers one after another and went next door for lunch.

Once all the papers had been copied, the judges began to review them collectively, rarely exchanging ideas, except when there were controversial points.

Because it is a blind review, the scores will be tallied and then posted on the library's bulletin board for public review.

Lu Ran spent the whole afternoon reading in the library, waiting for Lin Hao and Zhao Yishuang to hand in their papers.

The three met up and sat in the cafe inside the building, waiting for the results to be announced.

"I answered quite well this time, using the theme of children parasitizing their parents." As soon as Lin Hao sat down, he couldn't wait to ask, "Junior Zhao, how did you do?"

Zhao Yishuang said indifferently, "So-so."

"Haha, that sounds just like a top student saying they didn't do well on a test." Lin Hao laughed, then turned to ask, "Junior Lu, why did you hand in your paper so early?"

"I'm done writing. It's boring to just sit here," Lu Ran said.

"Did you know what? When you went to eat next door, the judges looked at your paper and had a heated discussion!"

"Is...is that so?"

"Tsk, individual grading is definitely more rigorous; they'll find fault even in the smallest things." Lin Hao shook his head. "Those who submitted their papers early last year generally scored ten or twenty points lower."

Lu Ran's heart sank.

No way, is that even a saying?

"It's my fault for not telling you sooner," Lin Hao comforted you. "Writing requires accumulation. You're still young. You can always come back next year."

"Hmm." Lu Ran nodded dejectedly.

If I can't get into university through the guaranteed admission route, then I'll have to go back to writing online novels to make money. How boring...

I'd like to visit the university again.

"Lu Ran".

Huh? Lu Ran looked up and found that it was Zhao Yishuang talking to him.

She said calmly, "Ning Ning is fair and won't deliberately give you a low score. Whatever score you get, that's what you get... Don't worry."

"Oh...oh, thank you." Is this considered caring?

The afternoon sunset grew increasingly red.

The three chatted while drinking coffee, with Lin Hao doing most of the talking.

Lu Ran glanced at Zhao Yishuang, who was in a daze, wondering what she was thinking.

Suddenly I realized that I used to like her so much, but I didn't understand her at all...

A loud bang erupted at the notice board on the first floor, attracting a large crowd of parents and students, creating an uproar.

Lin Hao stood up excitedly. After finishing his writing, he felt that his article was simply divine. Even if it didn't top the list, it would definitely be a sure thing!

This time, carrying the glory of my senior—

Huang Haitang ran out excitedly: "The results are in! The results are in!"