He Qingshan, 18 years old, was the top scorer in the county, with 0 points in four subjects, and was live broadcast to the public.
The Education Bureau called him to "groom" him at night and stuffed his draft paper into the shredder. On the back of the page clamped by the machine's mouth was the outline of his essay, which was also the only homework his mother had corrected during her lifetime.
If the retrieval fails, he must decide within 24 hours: surrender or let his mother's handwriting turn into pulp forever.
