Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

First, the exam questions were drafted by leaders from the Municipal Education Bureau and department heads, with 10 themes proposed. These topics did not involve religion or political science, and there were no restrictions on style (first-year students don't know much to begin with, and this was an experimental and reform-oriented project, so the requirements were relaxed to allow for free expression). The topics were drawn on-site, and whichever theme was drawn would be used for the current exam, so there was no possibility of guessing or cheating.

2. The creation period is 3 days. On the first day, the lyrics are written on site. After the lyrics are written, they are sealed and stamped before leaving the site. Even if you eat during the period, it must be done in the classroom. You may not leave the classroom until the lyrics are finished.

III. The music composition will be completed on the second day, with the same requirements as above;

Fourth, the requirements for the third day of rehearsal are the same as above.

V. Day Four – The Competition.

VI. The entire process will be supervised and executed by the Security Department and the Student Union. The main focus is on on-site creation, and no one may write on behalf of others or cheat. Leaving the classroom during the process will be considered as forfeiting the competition. (Even going to the toilet will be supervised by the Student Union, similar to the proctoring of the CET-4 and CET-6 exams in later generations.)

This is a fair, just, and transparent competition open to the entire school!

To this end, a separate three-story logistics building was cleared out to serve as an examination site, demonstrating the college's high regard for this educational reform!

Zhao Weiguo and the others were dumbfounded. They didn't know the answer to the question, couldn't ask their elders for help, and their teacher's grade only accounted for 30 points...

And they're only freshmen, doing music composition...

Then I really have no confidence.

However, considering that Zhang Dabiao was an art student and Mu Wanqing had worked in a factory for a year drawing blackboard newspapers, it had even less to do with music studies.

If it's difficult for us, then it's even more difficult for them.

Moreover, things have already gotten this big, so they have no choice but to back down—not participating means a zero on the exam. This is a school curriculum reform, not a place for them to bargain—they have to agree whether they want to or not!

Mu Wanqing was quite interested, because once these conditions were set, everyone would be on the same starting line.

Even if your parents are great musicians, they can't help if the topic is drawn by lot on the morning of the first day of the competition.

If you really lose in this situation, it means you are truly talented, and Mu Wanqing will accept the defeat wholeheartedly.

When I get home tonight, I'll tell Da Biao!

Zhang Dabiao, on the other hand, went to Hong Kong during the day to deal with matters related to Mixue Ice Cream and the two newspapers because he had to prepare for the competition.

------------

In Hong Kong, at the editorial office of "Martial Arts World," Luo Bing sat in the editor-in-chief's room, looking at two front-page proofs, the ashtray filling and emptying repeatedly.

Downstairs, the printing presses were constantly roaring.

The magazine's sales have recently climbed due to the serialization of "Liancheng Jue," which surprised and delighted him. He never expected that the young man "Zhang Yaoyang" would bring him such a big surprise. According to the survey of other editors, the sales have completely surpassed those of "Ming Pao." He is also a good friend of Teacher Jin, and he has been showing off in front of him recently. He has also treated Teacher Jin to coffee several times, and he is very happy.

I heard that Mr. Jin is under a lot of pressure lately and is preparing to start a new serialization. However, he also has a novel called "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" in the works. When the novels are serialized at the same time, "A Deadly Secret" will once again overshadow Mr. Jin. I don't even want to think about that scene. I really don't want to think about it.

He was humming a little tune when Zhang Yaoyang came to the editorial department and handed him a huge pile of handwritten manuscripts.

"Luo, I probably won't be coming over for the next few days. I'm going to go out and gather some inspiration. I'll leave the editorial department to you."

After saying that, Zhang Yaoyang ran away without looking back.

As for how the editorial department was operating, he didn't care at all.

Luo Bing was extremely helpless. This boss was good in every way, except that he trusted her too much. The boss didn't care about his own business at all...

What a terrible boss he is...

Luo Bing shook her head.

"Oh dear, I forgot to tell him that Ni Kuang has been poached. We need him to review and approve our new work."

When I looked out the window, I saw that Roy Cheung had already gone downstairs and left.

Luo Bing had no choice. He had originally planned to arrange a dinner so that he could get to know Ni Kuang and Teacher Jin, since they were all in the same circle.

It seems we'll have to talk about it another time.

------------

Meanwhile, the Asia magazine office was equally busy, with Henry Steiner standing in the printing press, personally overseeing the printing of the supplement.

He revised the cover design eleven times before finally settling on a final version—a deep blue night sky with stars arranged in a vortex and a golden lightning bolt in the center. Simple, mysterious, and completely different from all previous covers of *Asia* magazine.

The printer presses down the first sheet.

Steiner lifted the paper and examined it against the light for three seconds.

"That's enough." He nodded. "Three thousand copies, keep working on it."

The foreman responded and the printing press started running at full speed.

As Steiner left the workshop and passed by the editor-in-chief's office, he saw the new boss, Zhang Yaoyang, sitting alone inside, with a thick stack of readers' letters spread out in front of him.

Yes, Roy Cheung left Wuxia World and came here to see how Harry Potter readers reacted.

Those letters were all about Harry Potter.

Among the letters were family members of British soldiers, church school teachers, HSBC employees, and a letter from Government House—signed by Sir John P. Brooke, the Governor's private secretary.

Steiner stood in the doorway and knocked on the open door.

Zhang Yaoyang looked up.

"Boss, you're here so early?"

"Well, I had some time today, so I came to check on the letters from my readers." Zhang Yaoyang gathered the letters together, smiled, and said, "It seems the response to 'Harry Potter' is quite good."

Steiner nodded and didn't leave.

He stood in the doorway and spoke in a gentle tone that he himself was unaware of:

"My daughter Lucy is six years old. Her mother was from Guangdong and passed away five years ago. Lucy doesn't speak English, only Cantonese. I read fairy tales to her every night in German, English, and French, but she doesn't understand them; she just looks at the pictures."

He paused.

Last night I read the Chinese version of Harry Potter to her. For the first time, she kept asking, "And then what?"

Cheung Yiu-yeung didn't say anything, but he understood what Steiner meant: this work had been a success!

Absolutely! Newsstands throughout Hong Kong were packed with people buying "Martial Arts World" and "Asia" magazines, all for the sake of "A Deadly Secret" and "Harry Potter." The factories kept printing more and more, but they simply couldn't keep up with the demand!

Both works became a huge hit.

As a result, Ming Pao's sales have plummeted. Of course, if people buy two other copies and then buy this one, wouldn't they have too much money to burn?

With both newspapers (magazines) completely stabilized, Zhang Yaoyang only needed to wait for next month's profit calculation and the addition of royalties. Everything else was handled by the editors and chief editors of both organizations, so he didn't need to worry about it.

Zhang Yaoyang left enough handwritten manuscripts for half a month of updates and printing on both sides. He also went to "Mixue Ice Cream" to take a look. Apart from paying the monthly protection fee to the police and gangs, there was nothing else going on for the time being. The two Jin brothers and Qin Mancang were doing well at work, but there were no major highlights.

After inspecting the area, Zhang Yaoyang returned to Beijing.

He will now focus on music composition competitions.

Those little karaomis must be extinguished all at once!

The next morning, Zhang Dabiao and Mu Wanqing arrived at the Sijiu City Art Academy together, and the competition officially began!