Otaku Translation: Literary Genius: This Kid Was Born Smart C40

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His first thought was that finishing too fast might not be ideal, and his second thought was whether he could submit early. Would raising his hand now disturb others? Gu Lu’s mind wandered through these questions before settling on gratitude—grateful that even though his previous life had been a failure, he’d always enjoyed reading articles, accumulating plenty of material along the way.

Director Jian noticed one of the contestants had stopped writing and was quietly surprised. So soon? Curiosity piqued, he wanted to take a look at Gu Lu’s work.

“Can participants submit their essays early?” Director Jian asked softly.

“Early?” Xiao Yi, as a staff member of the Secretariat of the Contemporary Chinese Literature Research Association, had supervised exams for three years and never heard of anyone submitting ahead of time.

“Gu Lu, you mean? According to the rules, as long as the essay is complete, participants can leave based on their preference,” Xiao Yi replied, his gaze landing on the slight figure in the fourth row—it was indeed him.

Xiao Yi announced, “If any contestant has completed their essay and wishes to submit early, they may leave quietly after placing their paper on the desk.”

The other participants continued writing without pause, focused on their own tasks.

Gu Lu hesitated for a few seconds, then rose silently and exited the classroom. He moved quietly, careful not to disturb those still working.

Once the first contestant left, the two proctors began circulating around the room—first Director Jian, then Xiao Yi.

Not wanting to appear overly eager to read the submissions, Xiao Yi only gave Gu Lu’s essay a quick glance. What caught his eye immediately was a striking series of parallel sentences:

[I’ve walked the mountain trails where Xu Xiake once rested,

I’ve crossed the passes that once halted six kingdoms in fear,

I’ve gazed upon the watchtowers Yu Qian once steadfastly defended,

I’ve galloped freely across the northwest grasslands where Huo Qubing fought valiantly,

I’ve savored the braised pork Su Shi couldn’t put down his chopsticks for,

I’ve sipped the fine wine Li Bai toasted under the moonlight…]

“This candidate has excellent writing skills and historical knowledge!” Xiao Yi thought to himself, then quietly returned to his seat.

“Director Jian, who exactly is this contestant?” Xiao Yi whispered, low enough for only the two of them to hear. All he knew was that a major publishing house director had come specifically for this student.

“He scored 97 points in the preliminary round—the highest in the history of the Ye Shengtao Cup,” Director Jian murmured back.

The two shared an unspoken understanding; if other contestants overheard, it might shatter their confidence.

“It’s truly well-written,” Xiao Yi nodded. Even without reading the full text, just that excerpt alone surpassed what a twenty-seven-year-old could produce on the spot.

“I skimmed through it during my rounds earlier,” Director Jian shook his head. “His final round essay isn’t as strong as his preliminaries.”

“?” Xiao Yi couldn’t hide his astonishment.

This essay already made him feel inferior as an adult—and now he was being told it wasn’t even as good as the preliminary submission? Were today’s teenagers really this extraordinary?

“The flow isn’t quite there—it feels patched together. But ‘patched’ isn’t the right word because he wrote so quickly,” Director Jian explained. “It’s clear he has a wealth of ideas stored up, so he pieced together something perfectly suited for the competition. Of course, the lack of flow is relative to his earlier work.”

Director Jian left one thing unsaid: Gu Lu’s grasp of history remained impeccable, much like before.

“Something perfectly suited for the competition…” Xiao Yi understood the weight of that statement. Most students would pour everything into crafting their best possible essay. But according to Director Jian, this slender boy operated on another level entirely.

“And Gu Lu also has a submitted article in my magazine, Young Literature,” Director Jian added, dropping another bombshell.

Give adults a break, will you?

If it were 2022, Xiao Yi would have respectfully called him “young master.”

It was Saturday, so the Experimental Foreign Language School was eerily quiet, save for the occasional patrol by a security guard.

Without students, the school felt like a body missing its soul—empty and somehow aged, despite the buildings being brand new.

“You’re done already?” Mr. Li spotted his student approaching and hastily stubbed out his cigarette.

Mr. Li smoked? Gu Lu had never seen his teacher light up at school.

“Inspiration struck, and I just breezed through it,” Gu Lu replied.

Remembering the excellent essay he had completed in a day in the past, which had similarly been born of inspiration, Mr. Li nodded approvingly.

“We’ve got tickets for the 8 PM train,” Mr. Li said. “We’ve got a few hours to kill—how about we go explore?”

Mr. Li had planned this outing because Gu Lu hadn’t signed up for any class trips in the past two years—not even the spring or autumn outings.

Though Mr. Li had overheard Gu Lu saying, “Staying home alone is so much fun,” he’d been teaching long enough to know no child could resist the allure of a class trip.

“What kind of hardships has this considerate child endured?” Mr. Li wondered silently.

Rongcheng—Gu Lu hummed a tune from his past life.

Their destination was the Rongcheng Polar Ocean Park, opened two years ago. It was some distance from the school, so they took the bus, walking to the Erduan West Road station to catch the T208.

They arrived in less than half an hour. As Mr. Li prepared to buy tickets, he noticed Gu Lu pulling out money.

“Let me pay—I’ve got cash,” Gu Lu said, whipping out a red bill. Everyone knew men gained charm points when paying, so he’d brought five hundred yuan just for the occasion.

“No need to spend your money,” Mr. Li insisted. “The school reimburses all expenses.”

Gu Lu wasn’t fifteen anymore—or rather, his mind certainly wasn’t! He trusted that the school covered food, lodging, and transportation.

But visiting an amusement park like this? There was no way the school would cover it; Mr. Li was likely footing the bill himself.

“Mr. Li, I really do have money,” Gu Lu insisted.

Before Mr. Li could respond, his phone rang. The caller ID showed Shanghai. Leading Gu Lu to the side so as not to block the ticket counter, Mr. Li answered.

“Hello, may I ask who’s calling?” Mr. Li asked cautiously.

“Teacher Li Riyao, hello. I’m one of the judges for the Ye Shengtao Cup and also served as an examiner in the Sichuan-Chongqing region,” the voice on the other end said. “I found your number listed as the contact for the finals registration form.”

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