"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"

He pointed at Li Yuanchao and others.

"You are misleading our children and ruining our next generation! I disagree!"

As long as I remain the chairman of the Writers' Association, this essay will absolutely never win an award!

After saying that, he slammed the pen down on the table and stormed off.

The entire judging panel fell into an awkward, deathly silence.

...

Lin Que had no idea that the judges' panel was already in an uproar.

After handing in his paper, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the Cultural Palace.

For him, the game was over.

As for the outcome, he didn't care at all.

From Wang Shouyi's rambling, official-sounding opening remarks, he knew what kind of person the other party was.

He wrote "Fireflies" purely to disgust those hypocritical old fogies.

Winning an award would be ideal, but not winning it wouldn't matter; at least he had achieved his goal.

Just as they reached the entrance of the Cultural Palace, Shen Qingqiu quickly caught up with them.

"Lin Que, wait a minute!"

Her expression was strange, a mixture of worry and barely concealed curiosity.

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

"What...what did you write today?"

Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but ask.

She was far away in the audience and only saw the judges arguing fiercely.

Wang Shouyi was so angry that she left the scene immediately, guessing that all of this must be related to Lin Que.

"It's nothing, I just wrote something down."

Lin Que said it casually.

"Could something written casually really make Chairman Wang so angry?"

Shen Qingqiu glared at him, annoyed.

Those eyes, which were always clear and cool, were now filled with reproach.

It softened her usual aloofness and added a rare touch of warmth and humanity.

She lowered her voice and leaned closer, a faint scent of shampoo wafting into Lin Que's nose.

"Tell me honestly, did you write those... scary things again?"

Lin Que looked at her nervous expression and suddenly found it a little funny.

"Teacher, the topic is hope, why would I write something scary?"

He looked completely innocent.

"What I wrote is a story full of positive energy about pursuing dreams."

"real?"

Shen Qingqiu was skeptical.

"real."

Lin Que nodded earnestly.

"I use fireflies as a metaphor for dream chasers; the process of rushing towards the light is arduous."

But ultimately, it realized its value and illuminated the whole world. Isn't that inspiring?

He shamelessly altered the ending of the story.

Shen Qingqiu stared at him for a long time, and finally just sighed helplessly.

"You..."

She shook her head and didn't ask any further questions.

She knew the boy was lying, but his expression was perfectly straight, and she couldn't get any information out of him.

"Forget it, whatever you wrote, the competition is over. We'll wait for the results. But I guess... it's unlikely."

With Wang Shouyi around, even if Li Yuanchao and his group wanted to protect him, it would probably be very difficult.

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Que shrugged.

He's concerned with something else now.

He took out his phone and glanced at the text message he had just received from the bank.

[Dear customer, your account ending in 3101 received 1,855,000 Huaxia Coins at 15:55 on December 22nd. Your current account balance is 2,000,002.67 yuan.]

Adding the 145,000 that arrived yesterday, the total is two million.

Hongguo.com is very efficient; the advance payment for the Jinfan contract, plus the revenue share from the tips over the past few days, has been transferred so quickly.

However, looking at that long string of zeros, Lin Que's mood was not as excited as he had imagined.

On the contrary, it gives a profound sense of security and comfort.

Two million.

This money is enough for my parents, who have worked hard all their lives, to find an easier job and leave that factory filled with the smell of engine oil.

That would also be enough for him to rent a real studio instead of being crammed into a small bedroom.

More importantly, this was the first lever he used to reshape the world's cultural landscape.

In his mind, those classic works, dormant deep within the memories of his past life...

They are no longer unattainable illusions.

Rather, it is the cornerstone of a vast entertainment empire that he will soon build with his own hands.

A grander and more timeless plan than "Humanity is a Prison" is beginning to grow wildly with the injection of this funding.

"Teacher, I'm going back now."

Lin Que put away his phone and said to Shen Qingqiu.

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Watching Lin Que's departing figure, Shen Qingqiu felt a mix of emotions.

She felt that she was increasingly unable to understand this student.

He seemed shrouded in a thick fog.

Just then, her phone rang.

It was Professor Li Yuanchao from the Writers Association who called.

"Hello, Professor Li."

"Little Shen."

On the other end of the phone, Li Yuanchao's voice carried a mixture of exhaustion and barely perceptible excitement.

"That student you recommended... Lin Que. He's a prodigy!"