Chapter 17

The long article of more than 2,000 words was read in one breath, and no one interrupted in the middle.

But when the last syllable fell, the room was immediately drowned in chaos.

New Concept essays are different from science competitions; there is no fixed standard, so whose article is good and who is not qualified to win an award depends entirely on the judges arguing for their reasons; in other words... arguing.

It was not the first time they had argued in the conference room, and it was not the first time they had competed, but this time it was particularly intense.

Yu Hua rushed to Teacher Cao at the first opportunity: "Give me the manuscript; what kind of Mandarin is that vague Beijing accent of yours! I'll take a closer look."

Cao Wenxuan's face fell, and he handed the manuscript to Su Tong.

Su Tong took the manuscript with a grin, then turned away to avoid Yu Hua: "You don't know how to read, wait!"

Han Shaoyuan watched them make a scene and sighed: "This is not a middle school student's essay."

Fudan mentor Chen Sihe humorously answered: "It's not a college student's essay either; I know best what level my students are at."

Zhao Changtian sighed: "One *Youth*, one semi-final apple, one continuous line, it simply writes out the wildness and rebellion of teenagers..."

"That's not just rebellion."

Ye Zhaoyan immediately opposed: "That is the echo formed by being squeezed by family and society in many aspects! From the child's perspective, everything is real; I even feel that he is describing a universal phenomenon."

"Yes, this is definitely not moaning without an illness; it is very real and very heavy."

Teacher Tie Ning had a serious expression and even began to reflect on herself: "My son is in his adolescence, and I feel that my education for him is not caring and respectful enough; many times it is too rough, so he often confronts me. Now, seeing Little Fang's article, I am really touched."

The female writers suddenly had a thousand words, one after another.

"Children nowadays are indeed hard to manage; you can criticize him, but you must have a clear and correct reason. If it is just for the sake of criticism, the situation in the article will definitely occur."

"The one in my family is even more worrying; he doesn't resist, but he doesn't communicate either; he doesn't tell us anything, it's tiring!"

"Then don't think about it; it must be that you hurt his self-esteem at some point, and you didn't notice it and ignored it."

"Actually, we had self-esteem back then too. When I was a child, I was beaten severely for lying, but I really didn't lie; it's just that they wouldn't listen to my explanation. Decades have passed, and only this thing in my childhood makes me remember it vividly..."

"Childhood deficiency, how did Fang Xinghe's brain grow? It's summarized so well."

"Alas, educating children is too difficult; you really have to be careful in the future, otherwise you will raise him crooked and not even know how he became crooked."

Old Zhao frowned tightly, very displeased: "Too alarmist! Could it be that parents beating their children completely kills his spirituality? Which one of us didn't grow up under the sticks of our parents? The article is very good and very inflammatory, but this child is too extreme and too utilitarian!"

"Stop, stop, stop, don't rise to the author himself."

Chairman Wang Meng controlled the situation so that several older editors could not continue to use the topic to play.

He commented: "Although there is indeed a bit of extreme incitement to confrontation and encouragement of revenge, what we want for the New Concept is this real, natural, and vivid reaction. Seeing this article, I am personally very, very happy."

Ye Xin immediately agreed: "Cai Yuanpei proposed that literature should have humanistic and aesthetic functions, should be able to shape people's souls, cultivate people's spirits, and nurture humanistic sentiments."

Fang Xinghe's small exam essay actually achieved all of this; I think this is a very remarkable thing, and he is also a very remarkable teenager."

Old Xing pursed his lips and insisted: "I don't like it; this kind of article will spoil teenagers."

Li Qigang immediately smoothed things over and changed the subject: "This child is really strange; how come he has even read *Baopuzi*? Which of you has read that thing?"

A burst of light laughter sounded in the room, and everyone shook their heads one after another.

"I haven't."

"Neither have I."

"I'm the worst; I don't even know who Wen Kang is."

"Hahahaha!"

"Alright, let's talk about business; who wants to write a review for his article?"

"Me, me, me!"

"I'll do it, it must be me!"

When Wang Yali and the others returned to the office, what they saw was exactly such a scene.

A group of great writers and professors were crowding together, making a noise, none of them letting anyone else.

"What's going on?"

Tie Ning looked helpless: "They are all fighting to comment on Little Fang's essay... look at Yu Hua!"

Yu Hua pulled Su Tong's arm and acted shamelessly, while Su Tong wouldn't let go no matter what, holding Fang Xinghe's manuscript high and scolding: "Have you ever written a preface for someone? Do you know what a comment is? Let go, let go, let me come first!"

Wang Yali and Chen Danya had not yet seen Fang Xinghe's semi-final work, and seeing this, they couldn't help but look at each other.

"Is it that good?"

"It will only be better than you imagine."

Wang Yali and the three became even more itchy, but they really couldn't squeeze in, so they had to ask for some details to satisfy their curiosity.

"So, what exactly did he write?"

Tie Ning handed over the draft paper before transcription, and the first look Chen Danya took down, she saw a magnificent spirit coming towards her—

*Knowing but Not Following, My Life Should Be Decided by Me, Not by Heaven—Reflections on Seeing an Apple with a Bite Taken Out of It*

"Hiss..."

Chen Danya took a deep breath, her whole body numb.

The next morning, Fang Xinghe received the expected notification.

He won an award and would go to the hotel conference room to receive it in the afternoon.

First-class award in Group B, easy.

He smoothed his clothes in front of the mirror, carefully buttoned the collar of his Zhongshan suit, revealing only the edge of the white shirt inside, and then grabbed his hair with hair wax, instantly becoming handsome like a red lightning bolt.

But the scheming boy still felt that the impact was not wild enough, so he put the carefully selected sterling silver ear stud on his left ear.

While putting it on, he cursed: "Damn *Young and Dangerous*, it spoiled so many children!"

Thanks to that small place in Nong'an, there were only shops for piercing ears, no good tattoo shops; otherwise, with Little Fang's arrogance at the time, he would have definitely invited the green dragon and white tiger onto his body long ago.

Can only say, very lucky.

Compared to tattoos, piercing ears is really just a small matter.

Actually, Fang Xinghe himself doesn't like wearing jewelry, but likes are likes, work is work; being responsible for his image is a star's professional ethics.

Since he decided to take the star path, there is no need to be coy; everything serves to attract fans.

So he cursed and ran through all the jewelry stores in the county, carefully and calmly picking out many sets of combinations.

This is called professional quality.

In the era of diversified aesthetics in later generations, ear ornaments as an important part of styling can still eat up a large piece of exclusive preference; put in the present, the power will only be stronger.

After all, the biggest rebellion of young people at this time is still stuck at the level of Haonan hair, cross necklaces, and bell-bottom pants, not as good as the next generation's non-mainstream.

And President Fang is at the next, next, next level.

When he finally packed up and went out, he happened to run into the girl in the opposite room; the little girl raised her head, her face flushed, she immediately lowered her head, and then walked forward against the wall, as if escaping.

Hehe, what a cute era~~~

Obviously, the effect is indeed outstanding.

The King of Showing Off raised his chin and walked toward the conference room with a beautiful mood.

Along the way, no matter who saw him, they would take a deep breath; the annual output of Xi'an was consumed by them in just a few minutes, followed by all kinds of whispers.

"He is so handsome!"

Too routine.

"He really doesn't look like a good person..."

You know too much.

"Look, he is Fang Xinghe!"

Eh? Has the name spread so widely?

"Mom, don't stand next to him when receiving the award later; I can't stand it."

Hehe, we are all buddies; why do men make things difficult for men?

Fang Xinghe tilted his head and looked at the guy who was muttering, deciding that if there was a choice later, he would stand next to him for a photo.

This is not making things difficult; this is tempering~

Arriving at the conference room on the second floor, the banners had already been hung, and the venue had been arranged.

The staff were busy, the judges were doing their jobs, and the only two reporters with cameras were beside Chen Danya.

The moment Fang Xinghe entered the door, female judges like Wang Yali, Chen Danya, and Yuan Min's eyes lit up.

But there were also a few older male judges who frowned.

This is called gains and losses; being flamboyant can get more attention, followed by more accusations.

But on the whole, the vast majority of judges were quite enthusiastic about him; many people smiled and nodded when they saw him, very kindly.

The award ceremony was unremarkable; many first-class awards were issued, and a group of people held the certificates, lined up in two or three rows under the banner, waiting for reporters to take pictures.

Fang Xinghe was "passively" stood in the middle.

He didn't grab the C position, but the reporter taking the photo specifically directed traffic: "Student Su, please stand in the middle!"

OK, cooperate.

Then when he walked to the middle, the two guys next to him moved to the side with horror, small steps, one step, two steps, like the devil's pace~~~

Click, click.

Accompanied by a burst of shutter sounds, the picture froze.