The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

How should I begin to talk about myself?

Xu Xi's mind went blank.

After writing the title "Talking About Myself" on the composition paper, Xu Xi paused again and again at the beginning of the main text.

Her beautiful eyes dimmed, and her thoughts drifted back to the past.

From as far back as she can remember, she was constantly beaten and abused by her father in a cold place that could not be called "home".

Her only protector, her mother, flew to heaven when she was still a fledgling.

Wandering and drifting, enduring cold stares and suffering wounds all over his body.

I don't know how I spent yesterday, nor do I know where I'll go tomorrow.

How can a wild child, adrift like duckweed, even begin to talk about himself?

If it weren't for my brother giving me a home and providing me with a sky where I could fly freely...

Where would I ever have the chance to sit in this spacious and bright examination room and "talk about myself"?

The word "I" at the beginning was crossed out and rewritten, written and crossed out again.

Time ticked by, and many candidates had already finished the entire exam paper and were using the remaining time to do their final checks.

"Are you feeling unwell, student?"

The proctor patrolling the examination room noticed that Xu Xi, who had been writing rapidly, had stopped writing for a long time, so he walked over to her and asked her with concern.

Xu Xi shook her head.

"It's okay."

Gradually, her eyes changed from confusion to determination, as if she had made an important decision.

She crossed out the title at the top of the roll and quickly wrote two words in the center of the next line.

"Young bird"

"On a stormy night, a baby bird was born into this world."

"The icy rain lashed its body, and the fierce winds instantly overturned its nest."

"It opened its eyes and looked around. There were no large birds with gentle wings to shelter it from the wind and rain, nor a single branch for it to perch on."

"A flood came, and it was forced to spread its tender wings, flapping them desperately, and wobbling as it flew into the unfamiliar sky."

"In spring, it flies over Spring Dawn Lake, a hunting ground for griffins and vultures. It dares not land there, for if it does, it will become their meal."

"In summer, it gallops along the shore of Summer Flower Lake, where fierce winds and torrential rains relentlessly beat its tender wings, making its already difficult flight even more precarious."

"In autumn, it flew over the top of Qiuyue Lake, imitating other large birds, wanting to return to the south where it is spring all year round. However, it was not familiar with the route and lost its way as it flew."

"In winter, on the shore of the snowy lake, it uses its still-hardened beak to painstakingly dig in the ground frozen by the winter rain, trying to create a shelter for itself from the wind and snow before the heavy snow arrives."

"But it overestimated itself, and even after its beak broke off, it only left a shallow mark on this cruel land."

"It closed its eyes, praying that God would grant it a bit of luck and protect it through this cold winter."

Scattered snowflakes drifted in the air, the pitch-black night sky swallowing everything.

"It was unfortunate that it encountered a blizzard that is rare in this land in a century."

"The snow quickly covered its small body, and it was forced to spread its wings and fly again."

"While it flew shivering in the cold sky, the other chicks were able to stay in their nests and safely spend the winter under the protection of their parents' wings."

"But when it looked down, there wasn't a single tree hole left for it in this vast land, and not a single large bird was willing to spread its wings for it."

"Soon, its strength gradually gave out, it became increasingly difficult to fly, and the amplitude of its wing flapping became more and more unstable."

"A huge hailstone came down and hit it squarely on the wing."

"With its wings broken and unable to fly, it closed its eyes and awaited its fate."

"The expected pain of falling to the ground did not come; instead, I felt a warmth I had never experienced before."

"It opened its eyes in disbelief and found itself on the back of a lost, footless bird."

"Come with me," it said, "my arms should be able to carry you."

"The wings of that footless bird were also tender, but they possessed extraordinary strength, enough to carry itself and the fledgling on its back through difficult flight, flying over towering mountains and through rain and snow."

"The poor bird without feet, it soars through the air from birth, and sleeps in the wind when it is tired, its body covered with scars left by the wind and rain."

"But the fledgling on its back, under the protection of those equally tender wings, grew new feathers and gained the opportunity to enjoy the blue sky like other fledglings..."

A faint tear stain remained on the corner of the answer sheet.

......

"Damn, I can finally hand in my paper!"

Upon learning that it was time to hand in the exam early, Xu Bowen, who had only slept for half an hour, was immediately wide awake.

He handed in his paper very quickly, as if being even a second late would be disrespectful to his luck when guessing the multiple-choice and true/false questions.

Most importantly, sitting behind that female demon Wen Yao was incredibly stressful for him.

As soon as I stepped out of the school gate, a large group of reporters swarmed around me.

"Excuse me, I'm from XX TV station. As the first candidate to step out of the exam room, do you have anything to say?"

The scene immediately descended into chaos, with one reporter even stuffing a microphone into Xu Bowen's mouth.

Facing numerous dark cameras, Xu Bowen chuckled.

"I want to say that when I have money in the future, I'll open an internet cafe across from the school, where students can get half-price admission with their student IDs, and free internet access during the college entrance examination period with their exam admission tickets."

After saying that, he ran off without looking back.

The reporters carrying cameras and microphones couldn't keep up with him, a sports student.

.....

A few days later, two news items about the college entrance examination sparked heated discussions.

One story involves a high school graduate in Yuncheng who claims he wants an internet cafe to open across from his school, offering free internet access to anyone with their college entrance exam admission ticket.

The other one is about the zero-score essay in the college entrance examination, titled "Young Bird".

"No way! This essay was really well-written, why did it get zero?"

"With the same tender wings, they support the sky for the fledglings on their backs. This story, 'The Fledglings,' brought tears to my eyes. Using animals to symbolize humanity, it reminded me of the recently popular movie 'Wild Child.'"

"An essay of this caliber didn't get a high score, but instead got zero? There must be something fishy going on. Where is the fairness in the college entrance examination? It's terrifying to think that such a fair exam can have inside stories."

"Everyone, pay attention to the prompt! This is a set topic essay. You must use the title given in the prompt, and the content cannot deviate from the main theme. This essay not only didn't use the given title, but it also went off-topic. It was supposed to talk about yourself, but it talked about animals. Who else would get zero points if not this one?"

"Am I the only one who's curious about which student wrote this essay?"

"I'm curious too, but it's a pity they don't reveal the candidates' identities, not even which city they're from, sigh..."

......