Volume One: Our Own League 155: The Great Literary Scholar of Class 1-11

Watching Li Liying leave, Xu He realized it was too late to call her back, so he had no choice but to let it go.

Suddenly, Li Jie said with a sarcastic tone, "What? Sad to see her go?"

Seeing the undisguised, gossipy expression on Li Jie's face, Xu He was utterly speechless and retorted directly, "What on earth are you thinking? I just wanted to ask about Muyang's situation."

Hearing this, Li Jie fell silent as well.

To be honest, he was also filled with doubts about the entire matter.

Why would Muyang suddenly withdraw from the tryouts?

Sighing, Li Jie said, "It's such a terrible shame about Muyang!"

Li Jie also believed that Muyang's withdrawal was a massive loss for the No. 17 High School soccer team of Jinguancheng, and he desperately wanted to figure out what was going on.

Xu He said, "It looks like we'll just have to wait for the school-wide assembly later."

Li Jie nodded slightly and replied, "Yeah, I suppose so."

Today was Monday, the day for the school-wide assembly, so Muyang would definitely show up.

Having made up their minds, the two of them returned to their classroom for the remaining lessons.

There was one more Chinese literature class left before the school-wide assembly would begin.

They planned to patiently get through this Chinese class and then head straight to the playground to find Muyang and find out what was really happening.

Right at that moment, Xia Yu, the Chinese teacher for Class 11, walked into the classroom.

Xia Yu was still dressed in a traditional Tang suit, holding a folding fan in his hand, which made him look distinctly unique.

However, the weather had already turned chilly and cold, yet he was still carrying a folding fan—something that constantly gave Xu He and his classmates much to whisper and gossip about.

Xia Yu didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it, and he held that folding fan with him during every single class.

Moreover, according to the upperclassmen, Teacher Xia Yu had always been like this. Regardless of scorching summer or freezing winter, he always gripped that folding fan in his hand, and the handle had even developed a smooth, glossy patina from all the handling.

Xia Yu placed his textbook on the podium and said, "Today we won't be lecturing from the book. Instead, we are going to discuss the essays on the theme of 'Family Affection' that you all wrote recently!"

Hearing this, Xu He and the others wore expressions of pleasant surprise.

Because discussing essays meant the learning workload wouldn't be as heavy and it would be much more relaxed, which naturally made them happy.

Xia Yu continued, "All the students in our class wrote an essay based on the preliminary selection prompt for the National High School New Concept Composition Competition. Among them, some were written exceptionally well. Later on, I will read a few out loud to you all so you can see how those students approached this topic, and you should all learn from them."

Xu He and his classmates nodded successively, indicating they understood.

Observing the students' reactions, Xia Yu nodded slightly; these little rascals were reacting quite well.

Xia Yu said, "The topic itself is actually very clear and simple; there's really no need to overanalyze the prompt. Everyone should be able to understand it, and I suppose no one would write off-topic or wander away from the prompt, right?"

Everyone shook their heads one after another. Indeed, it was quite hard to go off-topic with this one.

Xia Yu was very satisfied and continued, "So, I won't waste time talking about how to analyze the prompt. Let's talk about other aspects. For a prompt like this, figuring out the theme and introducing it is easy—everyone can write that much. But making an essay like this truly excellent and brilliant is extremely difficult..."

Xu He listened to the lecture very attentively and carefully; after all, he was a good student who took his studies seriously.

Xia Yu explained, "Writing similar essays usually involves reflecting the magnificent through the mundane—finding the extraordinary in everyday trivia. Such pieces demand meticulous attention to detail and exceptionally delicate emotions... Essays of this kind actually don't require overly ornate vocabulary for decoration; as long as you convey genuine and heartfelt emotions, it's a good essay..."

To be honest, Xia Yu had explained it thoroughly and very simply, but some people still looked bewildered and failed to grasp it completely.

Of course, Xia Yu also knew that while this sounded easy, actually writing it was quite difficult.

Even for them as Chinese teachers or professional writers, writing well and brilliantly on the theme of "Family Affection" was immensely challenging, let alone for these junior high school students.

Even so, there were quite a few brilliant pieces among this batch of essays.

Of course, this brilliance was relative to the standards of junior high school students.

Xia Yu stated, "There are several people who wrote quite well in this assignment, such as Zhou Zheng, Lin Xinya, Yang Juan, and Xu He..."

Upon hearing his own name, Xu He widened his eyes in disbelief, never expecting to be included.

To be honest, Xu He felt that he shouldn't be able to get a high score.

Because when he wrote the essay, he didn't use ornate vocabulary, nor did he use overwhelming parallel sentences, nor did he constantly circle back to echo the prompt. What he wrote about were simply the trivial everyday occurrences between himself and his mother, Tang Qian, especially the extremely strict demands she placed on his studies.

He felt that his writing was a bit cluttered and trivial, and figured it wouldn't score high. He never expected Teacher Xia Yu to think so highly of it, which came as a total surprise to him.

Teacher Xia Yu continued, "Among them, Xu He's essay was written quite differently from everyone else's, yet it turned out to be exceptionally brilliant!"

Xu He widened his eyes even further, even more astonished that Teacher Xia Yu had singled him out for praise.

At this moment, Li Jie turned his head to look at Xu He and gave him a thumbs-up. Naturally, the other classmates also turned their gazes toward Xu He, their eyes filled with envy and shock, as none of them had anticipated that Xu He's essay would turn out so brilliantly.

However, the look Zhou Zheng gave Xu He was filled with jealousy and suspicion.

Ignoring these gazes, Xu He raised his head to look at Xia Yu.

Picking up Xu He's essay, Xia Yu read through it while saying, "There is no fancy vocabulary in Xu He's essay, nor does it employ excessive rhetorical devices. It is mostly a straightforward narrative, describing trivial interactions he usually has with his mother. However, the specific incidents he selected are quite representative, touching upon current hot topics in mother-son relationships and education. More importantly, these events and details are precious for their authenticity. You can clearly feel genuine emotions rushing at you straight from between the lines; you feel as though these things are happening right before your eyes, and similar events might have even occurred in your own lives. His ordinary words evoke deep resonance and empathy from the readers... and that is exceedingly difficult to achieve..."

At this point, Xia Yu even raised his head to look at Xu He, his eyes full of encouragement and praise.

To be frank, he truly hadn't expected a junior high school student to write such a fine piece of work. The sincerity and genuine emotion literally leaped off the page.

The rustic and raw quality within those words was also very intense, making it all the more touching.

This piece was definitely the best-written one in their class this time around, and he personally had given it a perfect score. In fact, he even asked other Chinese teachers in the staff office to review it together, and the other teachers wholeheartedly agreed to award Xu He a perfect score.

Of course, this didn't mean Xu He's essay was entirely flawless.

In fact, Xu He's essay still had some obvious problems—there were issues with phrasing and word choice, as well as a few typos. Logically speaking, such an essay wouldn't be awarded a perfect score. But for someone of Xu He's age to be able to write with such genuine emotion, touching the reader and evoking deep resonance and empathy, was truly, truly rare and well worth nurturing.

Therefore, a lot of bonus points for encouragement and appreciation were factored in, leading them to give Xu He full marks.

After all, issues with phrasing and typos are very easy to correct, but the ability to write with true emotion is truly not something easily cultivated. Making the written work evoke resonance and empathy in readers is even rarer; it is purely a matter of innate talent.

Xia Yu continued, "Xu He's essay is the best-written one in our class this time, the only full-score essay in our class, and also the only full-score essay for the entire first-year grade in our school. Student Xu He studies with exceptional diligence and hard work, and everyone should learn from him."

Everyone turned their heads to look at Xu He once more, as if they were seeing him for the very first time.

Stunned by everyone's stares, Xu He felt a bit embarrassed.

If Xu He had attracted this kind of attention for playing soccer, he would undoubtedly have acted cocky and proudly looked down on the whole field. But in this academic domain, he really didn't dare; he felt rather shy.

He truly hadn't expected his essay to turn out this brilliantly, and even wondered if Teacher Xia Yu and the others had misread it.

Xia Yu added, "I won't read this essay out loud to you all, because it will be published in our school newspaper. You will be able to read the article there when it comes out. Of course, if you can't wait, you can also borrow the essay from Student Xu He after class to read it. You all need to learn a thing or two from him..."

Instantly, the way his classmates looked at Xu He changed once again, as if Xu He's status had elevated significantly in a split second.

Was he the first person in their class to be published in the school newspaper?

No one had imagined that the first person from their class to make it into the school newspaper would actually be Xu He, which felt unbelievable to many, especially Zhou Zheng. In fact, Zhou Zheng could no longer conceal the envy, jealousy, and hatred in his eyes, and his glare toward Xu He was anything but friendly.

Xu He didn't notice any of this; he was utterly shocked himself.

My article is going to be published in the school newspaper just like that?

Whoa!

I never knew I was actually this awesome?

Xu He, you are truly amazing, and you usually keep such a low profile too!

Li Jie stared at Xu He with wide eyes for a long moment before finally saying, "Old Xu, should I call you a great writer now? Oh wait, I should probably call you a great literary master!"

Giving Li Jie a speechless glare, Xu He said, "If you stop talking in that sarcastic tone, we can still be good friends!"

On the podium, Xia Yu said, "Alright, everyone stop discussing! Listen to me now. Aside from Xu He's piece, Student Lin Xinya's essay was also written quite well. Her style is completely different from Xu He's; her essay uses much more ornate vocabulary and much more delicate phrasing, clearly bearing a girl's touch. It also conveys a certain degree of genuine emotion and is very good. You can all read and study it as well. Later on, I'll read this essay out to you..."

Everyone turned to look at Lin Xinya, their eyes filled with intense envy.

Xia Yu went on, "The people who passed the preliminary selection of the National High School New Concept Composition Competition this time are... Xu He, Lin Xinya, Zhou Zheng, and Yang Juan. You few will participate in the upcoming secondary rounds. I hope you will prepare diligently, bring out your absolute best, and showcase your style and skill..."

Hearing this, Xu He actually thought for a moment that he was being sent out for a soccer tournament.

Li Jie immediately congratulated Xu He, saying, "Great literary master, congratulations! Keep up the hard work, strive to win the championship of the New Concept Composition Competition, and become the next Muhai!"

Completely speechless, Xu He stared at Li Jie and said, "Can you talk normally for once?"

With a cheeky grin, Li Jie replied, "Don't you want me to have a great literary master as a friend? That way, my own writing skills will improve too! Besides, I'll have more material to flex with when talking to others in the future!"