My Poverty Scholarship Was Stolen, So I, One of the Top Three Students in My Grade, Chose to Drop Out

Everyone else had connections. All I had were my grades. There were 42 students in our class, and eight of them received need-based scholarships. I was the only one left off the list, even though I was the one who was truly poor. Our homeroom teacher had crossed my name out, saying, "Your grades are too good. You don't need financial aid." But she had been the one to say that scholarships should go first to students who excelled both academically and morally. Then one day, I saw her son wearing a brand-new pair of AJ sneakers. In silence, I opened the education bureau's reporting website and submitted my application to withdraw from school. 1. September sunlight slanted through the windows and fell on the stack of pink application forms on the teacher's desk. "Need-based scholarships...