Literature is the beacon of the times and the torch of the soul.

The purpose of this competition is to discover promising new literary talents with insightful ideas and positive energy…

The long and rambling opening remarks made the students below drowsy.

Lin Que was so bored that he started studying the structure of the chandelier on the ceiling.

Finally, after more than ten minutes, Wang Shouyi got to the point.

"...Upholding our consistent principles, we hope that students can use their pens to write about light and depict beauty."

Therefore, the essay topic for this semi-final is—”

He paused, picked up a calligraphy brush, and wrote two large characters on the bright red paper behind him in a flowing, elegant style.

"hope."

Upon seeing this question, a small commotion arose in the examination room.

Most of the students looked relieved.

This topic is too conventional and too easy to write.

Singing praises to the motherland, singing praises to the times, praising struggle, and looking forward to the future...

No matter which angle you approach it from, you can write a solid, well-rounded "excellent essay".

Zhang Ya revealed a confident smile, and she had already begun to outline her points on the draft paper.

Only Lin Que frowned slightly as he looked at the two glaringly red characters.

hope?

This question is really...

There's no challenge at all.

In his past life, he wrote suspense scripts, and his greatest skill was creating despair and crushing hope.

Now, asking him to write his hopes in reverse is quite a challenge.

but……

Who says hope is always light?

A slow smile crept onto Lin Que's lips.

He had come up with a brilliant idea.

A story that could overturn everyone's understanding of the word "hope".

He picked up a pen, but instead of rushing to write an outline like the others, he closed his eyes and began to visualize the entire story in his mind.

...

Time passed by, second by second.

The only sound in the examination room was the soft scratching of writing.

On the judges' panel, several judges were idly drinking tea.

They've been judging these on-the-spot essays for over a decade, and every year they see pretty much the same thing; they're already tired of it.

"Sigh, it's hope again, Lao Wang. Can't we come up with a more novel topic?"

A judge wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a relatively refined demeanor, whispered to Wang Shouyi.

He is a professor in the Department of Literature at Jiangcheng University, and his name is Li Yuanchao.

Wang Shouyi took a sip of tea and said dismissively:

"Professor Li, you don't understand. The grander the theme, the more it tests a student's depth of thought and writing skills."

Those fancy, overly complicated topics will only lead students astray, resulting in writing sensationalist or attention-grabbing content.

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Shen Qingqiu, who was sitting in the corner of the audience.

He read the article "Back to Back" that Shen Qingqiu posted in the Writers Association group a few days ago.

His assessment was: "Nonsense, it's a bad influence on students!"

So today he specifically chose the topic of hope, hoping to set things right and guide students back to the right path.

Li Yuanchao smiled and said nothing more.

He knew Wang Shouyi's temperament; he was very stubborn.

He picked up a list of participating students and looked at it, his eyes landing on one name.

"Lin Que, Jiangcheng No.1 High School...you're the student Teacher Shen recommended, right? I wonder how he'll answer this question."

Wang Shouyi gave a soft snort.

He slowly blew away the tea foam, but his gaze was sharp.

“Yuan Chao, you know, literature needs to be corrected.”

Look at some young people these days, they always like to stuff sensational gimmicks into their writing, thinking that this is innovation.

A truly good article is not defined by its form, but by whether it possesses inner integrity and character.

Take that student named Lin Que, for example. He even relies on that sensationalist writing style to express his hope.

"Hmph, in my opinion, he can't even solve the problem!"

Wang Shouyi's gaze slowly swept across the entire room, where most students were writing furiously, their expressions focused.

His gaze stopped when it swept over the representatives from No. 1 Middle School.

The student named Lin Que was leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.

He leisurely twirled the pen between his fingers, showing no sign of the tension of being on the field.

Wang Shouyi's brows furrowed into a knot.

He put down his teacup, making a soft but clear clinking sound.

He didn't look at Lin Que, but turned to Li Yuanchao, his tone calm but revealing an unconcealable disappointment:

“Look at the young people these days, Yuan Chao.”

Is this the genius that Professor Shen Qingqiu highly recommended?

In my opinion, they lack even the most basic respect for the competition. How can one write if their mind is not at peace?

No, I'm going to kick him out of the exam room!

Li Yuanchao glanced at Lin Que and quickly stopped him.

"Old Wang, don't rush. The competition time isn't even halfway over yet, maybe they're still brainstorming?"

We often say that good writing is a gift from nature, and a stroke of genius is often a matter of chance. Good inspiration takes time.

I'll go check it out first!

Wang Shouyi snorted heavily, wanting to say something, but he held back.

He wanted to see what this kid named Lin Que could come up with!

At this moment, a complete story had been constructed in Lin Que's mind.

He opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

He picked up his pen and wrote two words in the title bar of his composition book.

Fireflies.