Chapter 40: Choosing a School [Super Large Chapter Welcomes Miss Yan]

The next morning, the principal of No. 10 High School personally came to the door.

A very cute bald man, with a slick, dazzlingly smooth center, tall and broad, holding the short and stout Liu Dashan, spoke with immediate domineering flair.

"Student Fang, our No. 10 High School offers 150,000 in cash!"

Not only was the price the highest currently available, but they were also generous in other aspects.

"I know you have many matters, and may continue to compete in the future, or do other things; No. 10 High School will not only not stand in your way, but is willing to provide you with every convenience!

As for studies, the school's top teachers will serve you with all their might; private tutoring during winter and summer breaks, extra lessons during the term, reducing homework burdens—all can be negotiated.

In daily life, No. 10 High School will also provide you with meticulous care: a single dormitory plus access to the teachers' cafeteria; treat the school as your home, and all fees will be waived!

Our principle is to care for you, warm you, and nurture you with the mindset of giving you a new home!"

Good heavens, so you are a poet as well?

To speak the plain truth, Fang Xinghe was truly startled.

He could only respond politely: "You truly make me feel overwhelmed with honor; I am extremely, extremely grateful for your regard, but as this matter is of great importance, please forgive me for needing to consider it further."

"Good, good, good, that is only right; then you get on with your business, and we shall stay in touch anytime! Oh, by the way!"

The principal of No. 10 High School suddenly slapped his shiny bald head, pulled a red envelope from his bag, and placed it on the table.

"This is a small token of my personal appreciation; congratulations on securing the first top scorer in the high school entrance exam for our Nong'an. Take it, take it, do not push it away!"

Without waiting for Fang Xinghe to decline three times and then accept, the bald principal left in a rush.

Little Fang couldn't help but sigh: "Tsk tsk, is this really necessary?"

"How could it not be necessary?"

Old Fang sighed with deep sympathy, remarking: "You don't know how fiercely the high schools in the city are fighting for students; the pressure down here is too great..."

"Is that so? Then I truly must take a good look."

Fang Xinghe grew interested, intending to experience the wealth and boldness of the provincial capital.

Then, in less than half an hour, the Affiliated Middle School of Jilin University arrived.

Three people came from the Affiliated School: a stunning senior sister responsible for gazing at Fang Xinghe with admiring eyes and asking for his signature, a team-leading teacher speaking endlessly about the various advantages of the Affiliated School, and the admissions office director setting the terms.

Once again, the senior sister was truly beautiful.

She was the type of fresh, tender little cabbage, wearing a ponytail, a simple T-shirt and long skirt; coincidentally, white below and green above.

This Miss was surely the white moonlight of many boys.

Yet, she used a little gaze of "all the starry sky is you," secretly glancing at Fang Xinghe, thinking she was being discreet.

Those tightly clasped hands, those lips pressed firmly shut, that neck and earlobes slightly flushed red... it truly did not seem like acting, unless her talent surpassed Brother Xun's.

"Could you possibly..."

The senior sister spoke in a soft, quiet voice, her tone trembling slightly, both soft and sticky.

"Trouble you... to sign my name?"

Fang Xinghe nodded coolly and silently accepted the brand-new notebook from her hands.

It is not that Brother Fang loves to pretend; actually, this is a form of professional ethics.

Because no idol can possibly understand exactly what fans like about them—note, any!

There are too many fans, a thousand people with a thousand faces; you can never possibly understand what she is thinking, what her perfect version of you in her heart looks like, or what kind of scene and atmosphere her imagined meeting entails...

Therefore, a good idol will not do anything superfluous; whatever image is presented to the outside world, that is what must be maintained.

Do not make jokes that think themselves humorous but are actually greasy, do not show excessive concern, do not reveal your private side, do not engage in any unnecessary physical contact—

The above comes from the "Code of Conduct for Idols (President Fang's Personal Edition)."

Unless you want to stir-fry fans like a Canadian electric eel, that is a different matter; crispy Little Fang actually has more to say on this...

Ahem, in short, Fang Xinghe simply asked: "Name?"

"My name is Huang Jinghe!" the girl replied quickly, "Jing as in quiet, He as in peace!"

She finished speaking in one breath, only then remembering to breathe, panting twice, huff and puff.

A true fan, 99%.

Fang Xinghe knew in his heart; his peripheral vision caught the admissions office director, and he felt another chuckle rise within.

That Director Liu, though he did not speak, kept his eyes fixed on Huang Jinghe without a moment's break, his brow revealing a strain of tension and worry.

But the relationship between the two did not seem like that of relatives, so that means... the child of an important figure?

That makes sense; in these days, to use official business to chase stars, one must at least be from a very wealthy family.

Fang Xinghe did not think much more; she was merely a tool providing Starlight Value, not worth wasting too much thought on.

But what to write in the signature still needed thought; the cool factor could not drop.

After a moment's consideration, Fang Xinghe wrote a line of poetry, then signed his own name, all in one fluid motion.

【Receive harmony and quiet the will, extend ritual restraint to sustain oneself. Wish for quiet and harmony, ritual and sustenance. To Miss Huang Jinghe — Fang Xinghe】

"Good, good, good!"

Old Fang suddenly clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

Unhurried, he turned to ask Fang Xinghe: "Xinghe, it seems you have never neglected your studies; to adapt a sentence from the Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River in such a short time, the teacher is very gratified."

"..."

For a moment, Fang Xinghe could not distinguish whether Old Fang wanted to help drum up support, or if he simply couldn't resist showing off himself...

Fang Zi: Sigh, isn't this just a side benefit?

But it had to be admitted, the effect was very good.

The team-leading teacher and the admissions office director from Jilin University were not from a Chinese literature background; seeing the signed sentence, they only knew it was clever, but did not know where the excellence lay.

With Old Fang's praise, Fang Xinghe's cool factor instantly rose another notch, again and again.

Actually, Little Fang himself was quite satisfied; he showed off, but without anyone to play the straight man, how annoying would that be?

Now it's perfect — someone else does the work, a win-win!

At this moment, the admissions office director's emotional intelligence finally returned to its proper place. He humbly asked for guidance: "Teacher Fang, I don't understand poetry, I just feel it's very beautiful. Could you explain exactly what's so good about this line?"

With one sentence, everyone in the room was satisfied.

Only the senior girl was so shy she kept twisting her fingers, but she didn't say anything, just stood to the side carefully continuing to sneak peeks at Fang Xinghe's profile.

Fang the Dog noticed, but didn't show it, only slightly raising the corners of his gentle eyes…

Cool~~~

On the other side, Old Fang happily started showing off.

"'Shou he yan' — gather a gentle and pleasant expression; 'jing zhi' — steady the will; 'shen li fang' — the phrase break is shen / li fang, meaning to display propriety and great restraint; 'zi chi' — self-discipline.

So the meaning of the whole line is — Cao Zhi saw the ravishingly beautiful Goddess of Luo, immediately composed his bearing, calm and self-controlled, admiring without overstepping, praising without exaggeration.

Used here as a signature, Xiao Fang both praised Jing He's beauty and conveyed beautiful wishes to her.

According to my understanding, it can roughly be interpreted as: May you always maintain a tranquil, gentle, and graceful temperament, and may everyone who meets you in the future be reverent and courteous…"

"Good!"

The lead teacher let out a great shout and clapped enthusiastically — clap clap clap — what a show of support.

"Truly worthy of being a great talent, so quick-witted!"

"Amazing! Xiao Fang, come to our Jilin University Affiliated High School. A genius like you deserves the most careful, the most thorough, the most perfect cultivation!"

The two of them entered compliment mode, looking at Fang Xinghe the way a wolf looks at meat, a dog looks at… ahem.

But the effect, well…

Actually, none of it could compare to one shy, soft-spoken sentence from the senior girl.

"F-Fang Xinghe, our school is really great, come join us. All the girls in our literature club really, really admire you…"

You think you can test a cadre with this?

Who could hold out?

Fang Xinghe was about to ask about the specific conditions, but before he could speak, a sudden angry shout rang out: "Wait!"

Everyone froze, turned to look, and saw a group of people swarming into the courtyard.

Liu Dashan led the way at the front; the rest were unfamiliar, seemingly split into two groups.

Then the one who had just spoken, trembling with rage, pointed at Director Liu, his finger shaking with anger.

"Liu Aiguo!"

He didn't finish cursing, but Fang Xinghe could guess—

You dirty dog, I knew you liked to play dirty, but I never thought you could play it this filthy!

"Have you no manners?!" Director Liu's face was ashen, hating the one who came to spoil things. "What are you butting in for? Does your Normal University Affiliated High School have the ability to cultivate literary geniuses?"

"Our Normal University may not have much else, but we have plenty of artistic resources!"

"Ha! Singing? Dancing? Piano performance?" Director Liu sneered without stopping. "Is there a single thing even tangentially related to literature?"

"How could there not? Our Northeast Normal University Publishing House…"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Director Liu picked at his ear, cutting the other off, then began counting: "Besides children's books and teaching materials and study guides, what great works have you published? Oh right, your literary editing office was only just established this year, wasn't it?"

"You…"

"I'm not going!" Director Liu immediately waved his hand, then sneered. "If Fang Xinghe joined you, he could serve as your chief editor — where do you get the nerve to even mention literature?"

Goodness, Director Liu's combat ability was something else — in one word: fierce!

Not only were Xiao Fang and Old Fang watching in awe, but the two admissions teachers from the county high schools beside them were also left shivering in his wake.

But the Normal University director wasn't stupid — if I can't beat you, why not just stop fighting?

He'd already ruined the other's underhanded move; next up, compete with money!

"What's the point of all your rambling? In the end, doesn't it still come down to conditions?"

He then turned his head, and when facing Fang Xinghe, his face was once again kindly: "Student Fang, we sincerely invite you to join Normal University Affiliated High School. As for the school selection fee, no matter how much the other side offers, I'll add twenty thousand more!"

Good!

I just love your style of brazenly throwing money around!

Fang Xinghe smiled and thanked them, then said nothing more.

A quick glance from his eyes, and Old Fang immediately took over the baton.

Next? Next there was nothing left for him to do — the two opponents up top would automatically raise their offers.

But they still had their pride, and didn't make it so brazen as to go back and forth adding money sentence by sentence; instead, each privately messaged Fang Xinghe, scheming behind the scenes.

Before leaving, Director Liu left behind an additional letter handwritten by the chief editor of Times Literature and Art Publishing House.

The general content was a promise to fully cultivate Fang Xinghe into a young writer, hoping to join hands and move forward, along with some commitments about resource allocation.

Times Literature and Art is quite strong — Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy copybooks are their exclusive publication.

Two years earlier, Times Literature and Art even dared to publish the "World Destruction Banned Book Series" — just hearing the name tells you, banned books, and they published them without caring.

And Jilin University is Times Literature and Art's big brother, so Jilin University Affiliated High School was indeed very eager for Fang Xinghe.

Huh? Right, what about the senior girl?

Fang Xinghe belatedly realized he hadn't said goodbye to Huang Jing and the pretty girl. He didn't really feel regret, just a little bad about it — ignoring them the whole time, and not even a goodbye at the end, how hurtful to his fans?

But what he didn't know was that the moment Huang Jing and Yi got back in the car, she immediately pulled out her phone and started typing furiously, pouring out her excitement and thrill to her best friend in a torrent.

"Do you know? Fang Xinghe in person is super handsome, super nice, super talented, super charismatic!"

"He even wrote me a poem!"

"Without even thinking, he just took that line from the Ode to the Goddess of Luo and wrote it based on my name!"

"Which line? I'm not telling you — that's my secret alone!"

"How handsome? I can't describe it, but I swear, he looks ten thousand times better in person than in photos!"

"I can't describe it! I'm out of words!"

"You don't get it. He's really, really, really special. Those eyes are simply mysteriously dead!"

"A group photo? Oh no! I forgot, wuwuwuwu!"

"Go back and find him? Forget it, forget it, I don't dare. Actually, I didn't even dare speak to him; time just slipped by in a muddle..."

Blah blah, all the way blah, until they returned to CC city center, she was still not satisfied, with endless thoughts left to share.

Before today, she was just a level-two core fan, liking him, but unable to articulate just how much she liked him.

But now, she was like she'd been injected with chicken blood, with too many feelings she wanted to share with others.

Male succubi are like this: before seeing him, you think it's just so-so; after seeing him, you wonder, does such a man even exist in this world?

Q: How is a Fang Xinghe chicken-blood die-hard fan forged?

A: Look at him face-to-face once.

Then what about the next level up, the fanatical toxic solo stan?

Fight another battle for him.

Huang Jinghe felt a sudden urge to act, suddenly wanting to clear out the campus atmosphere of elevating Han Han and belittling Fang Xinghe.

Actually, the Normal University Affiliated High School was not lagging behind in setting conditions, offering a package of artistic training resources.

Vocal music, instrumental music, fine arts, photography, dance...

Backed by Northeast Normal University, their artistic resources were extremely rich, able to provide students with the province's top-tier artistic guidance, incredibly tempting.

After all the school representatives had talked things through and sent them off, Teacher Fang sighed heavily.

"See? How can our county's country bumpkins compete?"

Fang Xinghe smiled and shook his head: "All that fluff, nothing of real significance."

"They must have offered quite a bit of money, right?"

"No, mainly the privileges offered were too few."

Teacher Fang chuckled: "Their school rules are definitely stricter; even the children of high-ranking provincial officials can't get special treatment once they're in, so of course they won't make an exception for you."

Actually, strict management is a good thing; high school students' personalities are not yet set. If you don't manage and spur them to the death, but instead indulge them, they will surely grow crooked in the end.

But Fang Xinghe's situation is special; he doesn't need restraint or spurting. He can manage himself better than anyone else.

"Forget it, let the county make another offer."

"Decided? You're really staying in the county?"

"Mm."

Fang Xinghe nodded.

He didn't lack artistic resources, didn't lack publishing resources, and didn't even lack money much; he only needed greater freedom, which matched the county high school perfectly.

"What a pity. Even without mentioning external resources, both affiliated high schools are the best in our province, competing for the top scholar every year..."

Old Fang sighed deeply, feeling very unwilling.

"What are you thinking?" Fang Xinghe let out a soft "Ha" laugh, unable to hold back his amusement. "You don't think that in high school I still have to keep battling those freaks for grades and sprint for the provincial top scholar in the Gaokao, do you?"

"Ah?" Old Fang was stunned. "Isn't that so?"

"Of course not. Do you really think I'm an unparalleled genius?"

Fang Xinghe gave a helpless smile and joked, "Marketing hype designed to fool outsiders, and you got fooled first?"

Old Fang didn't understand and was a bit anxious: "But with your IQ, if you grind solidly for three years, there's a great chance you could get into Qingbei..."

"What level is my IQ exactly? And I don't have three years; I can only give high school two years."

Fang Xinghe was clear-headed and self-aware, with a very clear plan for his future path.

In studies, he truly wasn't that kind of super genius who learns everything at a glance; he was just disciplined enough and utilized time very efficiently.

Middle school knowledge isn't hard; essentially, it's about competing on discipline, methods, and maturity of mind.

But in high school, it starts to compete on talent; those real freaks won't spoil him anymore.

The best ones go for competitions; the next tier grind for the Gaokao. Who isn't working hard?

Big Dad still hasn't triggered any skills related to academic performance; if he just grinds head-on like this, how can Fang Xinghe win against those academic overachievers and god-tier students?

His self-perception was very clear: top among ordinary people, but far from being a god like Wei Dongyi who lives above the mundane world; he's nowhere near that level.

Studying wholeheartedly and bitterly for three years would definitely give him a shot at Qingbei, but how could the head of the water army choose such a cost-ineffective strategy?

Marketing, essentially, is telling a story.

A good story must avoid and hide all its own flaws while fully highlighting all its strengths.

Fang Xinghe had already told the middle school story to its end: an orphan battered and played by fate who had to rely on his fists to protect himself, yet whose heart was constantly filled with anger toward the world and a thirst for power, so after reaching the peak of the school bully path, the prodigal son returned, won the First Prize in the New Concept Composition Contest with his literary talent, and proved he was good at everything by securing the provincial first-place certificate in the high school entrance exam.

Next, how should the high school story be told?

No longer full-scale advancement, wanting everything and needing everything; instead, there must be focus.

For example, the upcoming interview by the Beijing Youth Daily; being comprehensive means having no absolute focus; having no absolute focus means being comprehensively mediocre; ultimately, you only deserve to be watched for fun and forgotten the moment you turn away.

This is a cardinal sin of marketing.

The best case study is "YOLO"; it eliminated everything useless, covered up all flaws, and focused entirely on marketing successful weight loss.

As an audience member, you can curse if you want, but as a peer, you still have to learn.

Fang Xinghe, who had long lain on a hospital bed, never envied anyone; he just silently learned from others' strengths, turned them to his own use, and earned money to struggle to live a bit longer.

So, how exactly should the new story be told?

Whatever story best triggers fans' expectations and fantasies, dig deep in that direction.

But always maintain the initiative.

Guide the fans' anticipation and fantasy, rather than fully satisfying them.

Always show them only half, hide the other half, use a flickering sense of presence to hook each restless heart, then use a firm sense of self to weed out the harmful and useless impurities, and finally use wave after wave of surprises to push the fans to level up…

Teacher Fang naturally couldn't understand — in this world, no one can fully understand Fang Xinghe; he stands alone on another level.

And this is precisely the root of the sense of mystery, and the sole true core that lets fans stay pumped for a long time.

……

"Sigh, I really don't get what you're rushing for."

Old Fang muttered to himself with a sigh: "Then I'll sound them out, see who can put up the most money."

Though he doesn't understand, he's willing to respect it.

Fang Xinghe has always had his own ideas; Old Fang can nag all he wants, but he won't force him to do things one way or another.

This mode of getting along is the key to the harmonious bond between teacher and student.

Old Fang pulled out his phone to send a message, laboriously typing with one hand while casually asking: "Once the money lands, shouldn't you buy a phone too?"

Fang Xinghe gave a disdainful glance at the Nokia brick in his hand, then nodded glumly: "I'll get one to make do with… what a piece of junk!"

Old Fang didn't catch the tone and proudly bragged: "Don't look at the price — it's worth every penny! You can make calls and send Chinese SMS, super convenient, really!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right."

Fang Xinghe nodded perfunctorily, unable to muster the slightest interest in the first phone of his new life.

A couple of days ago, the tech world also had a big event — newspapers everywhere were plastered with news of the Motorola V998's stunning launch.

To buy a V998, you'd need over thirteen thousand big ones — absolutely mad.

A bowl of noodles on the street is 1.20, Old Fang's monthly salary is 340, a Motorola is 13,000, and Fang Xinghe's school-selection fee is at least 150,000.

The magic of the times stirred something in Fang Xinghe; he turned and went inside to write.

"The Added Value of Reading — From a Bowl of Hand-Pulled Noodles on the Street to a Motorola"

He wrote with flair in one sitting, and by the time he finished, Old Fang had already been standing beside him watching for quite a while.

"You have a real problem with the recent 'reading is useless' theory?"

"Obviously — it deserves a good scolding."

"I knew you were a good kid."

Old Fang was very gratified, nodding repeatedly: "Mm, not only is the article sharp, your handwriting has improved a lot too — but why didn't you put me in? I did inspire you a little, didn't I?"

Fang Xinghe shot him a look of pure filial piety, and vowed solemnly: "Don't worry, when I get to the part about Fang Fang Yuting throwing herself at me, you'll definitely get your screen time."

"Good, good, good!"

Old Fang gritted his teeth and went looking for a broom around the house — he'd been itching to lay hands on Fang Xinghe for far too long…

Before the beating could land, the county's three key high schools sent in their final offers, like a ray of light saving the brat.

Fang Xinghe looked them over one by one, and quickly made up his mind.

"Ten High it is. I like an alma mater with deep pockets — that balding principal looks pretty cute too."

The other conditions had all been pushed to the limit; Ten High's reward was 220,000 — so why hesitate?

These days, even a beast who scores full marks on the middle-school entrance exam can't necessarily get a 50,000 school-selection fee; being any greedier would be rude.

Old Fang was about to call them back, but his phone rang first.

"Mm, mm, huh?! Alright then, I'll wait for you."

Fang Xinghe looked over in puzzlement; Old Fang shook his head: "Principal Dashan says don't rush, he's coming over right now."

Before long, Liu Dashan burst into the room drenched in sweat, gulped down a ladle of water, and only then steadied his breathing.

Then, staring fixedly at Fang Xinghe, he suddenly said: "Come to the Experimental school!"

Teacher Fang froze: "Huh?"

Liu Dashan didn't play coy, and spoke bluntly: "The principal of the Experimental school is about to retire. If I can bring you over, he's promised to go all-out helping me take the position."

"Mm."

Fang Xinghe looked at him quietly, not pressing for details.

Liu Dashan understood what that meant, and laid out his case with clear logic.

"The Experimental school can't give you a higher price — it's just not possible.

After I take office, I probably can't top up your reward either — the procedure won't allow it.

But we have an old saying: when one person ascends, even his chickens and dogs rise to heaven.

Now you've ascended, and I'm the chicken and dog.

This may not necessarily work out, but if you're willing to pull me along, the odds are definitely better.

If I really do succeed, then besides being able to support you with everything I've got, after next year's middle-school entrance exam, all your good friends will surely have a different situation too…"

Holy crap!

Teacher Fang was stunned speechless — you old fox, you really know how to lower yourself and play the game…

Fang Xinghe also realized that Brother Dashan had probably started preparing the very day the results came out; otherwise he could never have been this timely.

It's just that he still underestimated himself — putting it so plainly and bluntly robbed it of its flavor.

But it didn't matter.

Dashan's proposal was indeed better, and that was enough.

"188,000?"

Fang Xinghe confirmed softly.

Liu Dashan held back his excitement and nodded hard: "Yes!"

"Alright, then that's that."

YES!

Liu Daji... ah, pfft pfft, Liu Daquan... uh, that someone couldn't help but clench his fist tightly, as if he had finally grasped the spring he would never have been able to wait for.

And Fang Xinghe, too, couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

Compared to the tens of thousands of yuan lost, clearly having a principal who was one of his own better served his interests.

At the very least, he now began to look forward to high school life.

With the most important matter settled, in the afternoon, a crowd of people came rushing over again.

The County Education Bureau, the County Propaganda Department, the County Television Station, the old principal of the Experimental School who had hurriedly arrived upon hearing the news, Liu Dashan wearing a new suit, and various miscellaneous people.

Fang Xinghe counted: some came to give money, some to give fame, some to give certificates of merit, some to...

Huh?

Comrade Dashan, what are you here for again? You've been coming back and forth four or five times already; aren't you tired?

Liu Dashan wasn't tired at all; he served tea and poured water, and even directed staff to set off a string of firecrackers at Fang Xinghe's doorstep.

Ten thousand crackers of the "Great Earth Red" brand crackled and popped, spewing out sounds of celebration; watching his dilapidated small courtyard covered in a layer of red paper, Fang Xinghe's thoughts gradually drifted away.

Little Fang, do you see it?

Our mother, at this moment, should be able to put down some of her worries and smile with relief, right?