School Beauty's Invincible Martial Expert

"Ah?!" Liu Jinmei panicked upon hearing this, "Why cross-check?"

"There's only one reason!" Teacher Zhang smiled mysteriously, "During the preliminary evaluation, Xiao Han's essay must have been awarded full marks. That's why there's a cross-checking procedure. I've participated in the gaokao marking before, so I know some of these insider details."

Whooosh...

Suddenly, there was an uproar in the private room. Everyone was stunned.

Full marks on the gaokao essay!!

This news shocked everyone on the spot. It is difficult enough to score high on a gaokao essay, but for Xiao Han to have received full marks was nothing short of a miracle. It was truly shocking.

"Impossible!" Xiao Han shook his head awkwardly, "My gaokao essay would be lucky to even pass."

"Hehe..." Teacher Zhang laughed, "Xiao Han, don't be too modest now."

"Not being modest!" Xiao Han shook his head and then said, "I'm speaking the truth, my essay was somewhat too pessimistic. I would be thankful if the grader gave me a passing score."

"That can't be." Teacher Zhang was taken aback for a moment and said, "Is there another Xiao Han at Linjiang No.1 Middle School?"

"No, there isn't!" Liu Jinmei immediately shook her head.

"Then it must be you," Teacher Zhang said right away.

Xiao Han thought it unlikely, shaking his head, "Maybe there's a mistake. Let's wait for the results to come out."

"The results will be announced in about half a month," Liu Jinmei reminded with a smile.

This dinner gathering was truly a bittersweet farewell. Everyone cried as if they were made of tears.

Before long, the dinner ended, and Liu Jinmei paid the bill. Three tables cost over seven thousand yuan. The class fund only had a bit over six thousand, so Liu Jinmei covered the extra thousand-plus herself. She didn't mind these little details.

As long as everyone is happy, that's all that matters.

......

The gaokao has come to an end.

But the news about the gaokao never ended. On the third day after the gaokao was over, Xiao Han finished a day's work. As he returned to Fuxing Community, he suddenly found several people standing at his doorstep. They seemed to be important figures.

"Xiao Han!" Someone in the crowd called out to him.

"Auntie Zhou?" Xiao Han was taken aback, looking at her with a look of bewilderment, and then asked, "What... what's going on?"

"Hehe..." Auntie Zhou hurried over and excitedly said, "I'll tell you, they're all here to see you."

"Xiao Han, I am a journalist from Southern Weekly!" said a girl in a white T-shirt.

"I'm a journalist from Provincial Daily."

"I'm from Southern Metropolis Daily."

The crowd was full of journalists, editors from major publishers, or reporters from major newspapers, which puzzled Xiao Han. How did these people find their way to his house? He was suddenly bewildered. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

"What... what do you want with me?" Xiao Han asked, confused.

"Xiao Han, here's the thing," the girl from Southern Weekly began, "We learned from internal sources that your gaokao essay scored full marks, so we would like you to grant us the rights to publish it in Southern Weekly. We'll pay you the corresponding remuneration. How about it?"

"Authorize us!" said a journalist from Provincial Daily urgently.

The other reporters also spoke up, hoping Xiao Han would grant them the publication rights to his gaokao essay.

Xiao Han was overwhelmed and hurriedly asked, "Are you sure there's no mistake? How could my gaokao essay possibly score full marks?"

"It's true!" The journalist from Provincial Daily quickly handed Xiao Han a photocopy of the essay, saying, "Take a look, is this what you wrote?"

Xiao Han hastily took the paper and glanced over it. He immediately recognized it as his own writing. Xiao Han was dumbfounded; it seemed there was no mistake. However, he could not believe that such a pessimistic essay could have gotten a full score. His Chinese teacher had said that content that was negative, focused on love and emotions... such essays were likely to be judged as low-scoring.

Therefore, Xiao Han had believed his essay could not score highly.

Unexpectedly, it had received full marks. Xiao Han was astounded and even found himself at a loss for words.

"Xiao Han, here's five thousand yuan as your remuneration," said Provincial Daily, with its generous budget, presenting a check for five thousand yuan on the spot, "As long as you sign the authorization form, this five thousand is yours."

"We'll offer six thousand!"

"Ten thousand!"

Facing the first full-score essay to be revealed, they couldn't let such an opportunity slip by. This was the first essay to be awarded full marks in the gaokao and was something major media outlets were vying to report on. Hence, they spared no effort to secure the rights to publish it.

At this moment, Xiao Han paused and then said, "Well, I don't want the money. My essay can be authorized to any of your media outlets."

"Ah?" Everyone was stunned upon hearing this. Was there really a top-notch composition for the college entrance exam that cost nothing? Experience dictated that the first full-score essay from previous years was always a haggling matter. Students' families would negotiate with the media, and I remember last year's first full-score essay went for fifty thousand before it was secured.

And now, Xiao Han was actually not asking for a dime, which was quite surprising.

Xiao Han smiled faintly, "Yes, I authorize all of you to publish this essay."

"Wow, that's great." The crowd exclaimed suddenly.

With this, there was no longer a need for them to scramble for the authorization. Then, the group of media journalists hurriedly made calls to their newspaper headquarters.

That very night, more than a dozen newspaper media began printing the next day's papers.

After the journalists and media had left, Auntie Zhou sighed and said, "Xiao Han, why didn't you take the money? If they were willing to pay you, you should have just accepted it. You'll need money for university. How will you afford it without money?"

"Didn't I win fifty thousand from playing Chinese chess last time?" Xiao Han laughed, "That should be about enough."

"How could that be enough?" Auntie Zhou hastily replied, "Four years of university, just the tuition fees for one year will be a lot, right? And there's still a monthly living cost. Fifty thousand is barely enough to scrape by."

"It's fine, I can apply for financial aid and scholarships once I'm in university!" Xiao Han said earnestly.

"Hmm, you are such a determined kid." Auntie Zhou chuckled.

I had thought that after the college entrance exam, I would be able to settle down and work at Hanmen Catering every day, watching my own business grow slowly. Yet, the next day, things blew up.

The next morning came early.

Beep beep beep...

A series of urgent rings woke Xiao Han up, the caller was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello," Xiao Han answered, still in bed.

"Xiao Han, this is Teacher Zhang." Teacher Zhang spoke hurriedly on the other end of the phone, "Hurry, go buy a copy of this morning's newspaper, your essay looks like it scored full marks, claiming the first full-score essay of this year's college entrance exam. Amazing, you really know how to keep a low profile!"

"What?" Xiao Han was immediately shocked.

"Could there have been a mistake?" Xiao Han was astonished.

"Hehe, cut the act, kid." Teacher Zhang sighed, saying, "Having taught a student like you, I'm completely satisfied."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Han hung up the phone.

But before long, Liu Jinmei also called to congratulate him. Soon after, Big Fatty, Xiaoyan and others called one after another with congratulations. Xiao Han scoring a full-mark essay truly surprised everyone.

"Xiao Han, I know for whom you wrote that essay," Xiaoyan said softly.

"Chen Zihan, right?" Xiao Han smiled.

"Yes!" Xiaoyan nodded, saying, "Actually, I never planned to tell you, but after reading your essay today, I cried all morning. I've decided to tell you."

"What is it?" Xiao Han asked, puzzled.

"Chen Zihan came back from SH a few days ago," Xiaoyan sighed, "She might be flying to SH this morning and then catching an international flight to leave China tonight."

"What?!" Xiao Han exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

"Zi Han said she didn't want to upset you, so she asked me not to tell you," Xiaoyan spoke softly, "Besides, even if I told you, what could you do? You can't see her; she's pretty much under house arrest by her mom now. Her phone has been confiscated. It was only after I went to her house that I got to talk to her briefly."

"What time in the afternoon?" Xiao Han asked hastily.

"I don't know!" Xiaoyan shook her head, then said, "Just it's a morning flight. You'll have to figure it out yourself. I've told you everything I can; it's up to you to decide what to do!"

Whoosh...

Xiao Han immediately stood up and dashed outside, running madly while calling Big Fatty. After hearing the news, Big Fatty quickly drove to Fuxing Community to pick up Xiao Han.

"Xiao Han, what's the matter?" Big Fatty arrived looking disheveled and perplexed, as if he had just woken up.

"Nothing!" Xiao Han shook his head, then said, "To the airport, and make it fast, as fast as possible."

"Alright!" Big Fatty nodded immediately.

The accelerator was floored, and the van let out a series of crazy roars. The sound of the shock absorbers was almost deafening, and the high-pitched noise from the engine was excruciating.

Big Fatty's lips curled up into a mischievous smile. He grinned and said, "Xiao Han, why are you rushing to the airport so early in the morning?"

Xiao Han remained silent.

Once on the highway, they sped towards the airport.

Arriving at the terminal, Xiao Han quickly jumped out of the van and sprinted into the airport. Entering the airport, he looked around curiously, trying to get a feel for the surroundings. His eyes scanned rapidly like radar, his mind using captured images of female figures to compare with Chen Zihan's features and then filter through them.