"No, I just want to confirm the time. In half an hour, I think I can deliver a good piece of work," Kevin remained confident.
However, Kevin's confidence was seen by other classmates as nothing more than stubbornness and overestimation of his abilities. Some even believed that his current abnormal behavior was a result of the blow from yesterday's failed confession. This was the opinion shared by his best friend, Kovani.
"What a boast, you should know that literary genius like Augustine takes a long time to polish an article, let alone him."
"I have to admire his confidence, but this kind of blind confidence seems very ignorant. To participate in this type of literary competition, naturally, one must submit a very strong piece of writing, but how could he possibly write a good article within half an hour."
"Perhaps he was feeling down after being rejected in a confession of love. After all, Augustine is his love rival."
No one would bet on Kevin to write a good piece within half an hour, because even their favorite Augustine can't do it.
"Kevin, I'm glad you have such confidence. But do you know? Augustine took a full twenty-three days from registration to submitting his work, which means he only handed in his entry the day before yesterday. Are you sure you can complete a piece in just half an hour?"
Collison is a kind teacher who didn't want to say too many harsh words to Kevin, so he could only express it in a gentle way.
Yes, everyone participating in this literary competition dreams of making it to the next round and becoming famous in the literary world. Therefore, they have very high standards for their works, always revising and editing them repeatedly.
Augustine has always been considered the pride of the University of Edinburgh because of his father's connections, and the teachers and principals of the school generally believe that his future will be linked to literary giants, and he may even win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
In other words, this supposed literary genius has to revise his work a dozen times before submitting it. So, imagine Kevin, whose literary skills are so poor, trying to complete a good piece in just half an hour; it's simply wishful thinking.
"Dear Teacher Collison, I believe I can do it. However, I'm sorry to say that I might not have been paying attention in your class," Kevin said.
"This is the University of Edinburgh, where freedom is the motto of this school. You can do whatever you want, even in my classroom. I just hope you can hand in a piece of work within half an hour," Collison said generously.
This time, Collison decided to give Kevin a break, as he didn't want to further damage the other party. He wanted to prevent Kevin from making rash decisions.
And so, Kevin sat down and began to recall which literary giant from England in his past life on Earth he should plagiarize.
The current time is only half an hour, so he naturally cannot go and transcribe those long essays, otherwise he would just be writing, and time would not be enough. So Kevin thought of poetry.
In England on Earth, there are quite a few poets, among whom Shelley and Yeats are relatively famous.
So, after much thought, Kevin decided to use Shelley's "The Rose of Love" as his entry for the competition.
"The Rose of Love" can be said to be one of Shelley's representative romantic poems, divided into three short sections, each line is profoundly romantic, especially the "third" part which elevates the entire poem.
Time may ravage everything, but it can never destroy love
But being heartless and unfaithful will cause the flower of love to wither
Even as it blooms in the fantasy of green shade,
Sometimes it will suddenly wither, catching you off guard.
Time cannot destroy love
But being heartless and unfaithful will only devastate love
It will destroy the god or demon shining with a crimson light.
In a world where literary works are as abundant as hairs on a cow, such a simple poem can cause a sensation, let alone in the current blank parallel world of literature in England. Therefore, Kevin is very confident that if this piece of work reaches the hands of the judges, he will definitely make it to the next round. Because classics are always classics, no matter the era or the starry sky.
"The Rose of Love" is not very long, Kevin neatly wrote it on paper in just over ten minutes.
After Collison finished his class, he handed over his work and his materials to Collison. Collison glanced at Kevin in surprise, then took his manuscript. However, he did not carefully read the articles inside.
Collison taught Kevin for three years, and he was very clear about Kevin's literary level, which could be described as how bad it was.
"Not bad, you actually completed a contest entry in just half an hour. Alright, I'll help you submit it to the organization. Hopefully, you can advance to the next round," Collison said kindly before leaving the classroom.
At this moment, the classmates were also surprised that Kevin could complete a whole piece of work in such a short time, but they didn't have high hopes for him to advance to the finals. Being able to write something doesn't necessarily mean being able to write well.
Kovani was the first to walk up to Kevin, still wearing that bright, beaming smile on his face.
"Hey, buddy, you're amazing. But you really don't need to do this."
"What?" Kevin asked suspiciously.
"Dear Kevin, we are best friends, don't I know you well enough? You are just upset that the woman you like has fallen for Augustine, who is a writer. His pride lies in his literary abilities. Perhaps your participation in this competition is to prove to Linda that you also have this ability. But..." Kovani hesitated, unable to continue.
"No, Kovani, I think you're wrong. I won't do anything for a woman who worships money. She's not worth it. The reason I'm participating in this literary contest is because I truly love literature, and I plan to pursue a career in it in the future," Kevin said earnestly to Kovani.
After listening, Kovani extended his dark hand and placed it on Kevin's forehead, making sure that Kevin wasn't delirious from a fever before speaking. "Kevin, you're acting quite unusual today. You know, I've known you for so many years and I've never seen you interested in any literary master's works, let alone writing," he said. Yes, in his past life, Kevin didn't have extra money to buy literary works due to his family's poverty, which also contributed to his poor literary skills. "Don't worry, the lazy Kevin Stephen from before is no more. Oh, Kovani, I'm sorry, but I have some matters to attend to at home. I think I need to take my leave."
"Alright, buddy, remember to stay cheerful," Kovani continued to pat his shoulder encouragingly.
Kevin's home was in an apartment in Edinburgh, not too far from school. So, every day after class, he would choose to go home and reunite with his family.
At this moment, Kevin's parents were at work, so when he got back home, the room was empty with only Kevin in it. It was a two-bedroom apartment, and Kevin had one room all to himself.
In between, another room was left for Kevin's parents to stay. Although the room was not very big, it cost around 700 pounds per month.
Kevin returned home early for a reason. Having figured everything out, he planned to make a difference in this ordinary world of England by fulfilling his dreams on Earth.
When he was on Earth, Kevin's dream was to become a great writer. Unfortunately, due to his bad luck, he was a complete failure until he was reborn.
Now, fate has brought him to this literary blank canvas in England, and he must fulfill his dream. Besides, this is a poor family, perhaps writing a book will change something in all of this.
So he had to quickly write a masterpiece like a literary master's work, and then submit it to a publishing house.
After Kevin drank a glass of water in the living room, he was about to turn and walk into the room to write. But then, there was a knocking sound at the door.
"Hi, is your father home?" Kevin walked over to open the door, only to find it was the landlord, Jobs.
The landlord, Jobs, a sixty-year-old man who is divorced. Occasionally, he would bring one or two beautiful women back to spend the night with him. Kevin once saw him with two big-bottomed women going into his room, and they didn't leave until the next day.
"I'm very sorry, my father has gone to work and won't be back until tonight," Kevin spoke truthfully.
Although he was reborn into the body of Kevin Stephen, he still retained all the memories of this person in his mind, and he was clear about everything in all parallel worlds.
"Oh, then please tell him tonight that he's already three days behind on rent. It needs to be paid," Jobs said helplessly.
Kevin suddenly remembered that his father hadn't received his salary yet, so the rent for this month hadn't been paid.
"Okay, thank you. Mr. Jobs, respected sir."
After returning to the room, Kevin's heart couldn't calm down for a long time. This was a poor family, and he had actually been reborn here, he must change something.
"Such bad luck, in a developed country like the UK, there are already very few poor people. Why did I have to be so unlucky and be reborn into such a poor family?" Kevin couldn't help but sigh.
Sighing doesn't solve all problems. Once back in his room, Kevin started thinking about whose masterpiece should be the subject of his first book.
