A widower's entertainment

Chapter 316 [An Uncertain Work] (Please Subscribe)
"This is a novel I might write in the future!"

Undoubtedly, everyone present was stunned the moment Lin Youcheng uttered those words.

They never imagined that the novel "Love" that Lin Youcheng mentioned on "The Reader" would actually be a novel that Lin Youcheng might write in the future.

This means that the novel "Love" has not been published at all. Lin Youcheng only mentioned this non-existent novel in the program "The Reader" through a recording of Jiang Xia reading it.

Everyone was very surprised, staring wide-eyed at Lin Youcheng.

There was no way anyone would have expected Lin Youcheng to leave such a plot in "The Reader." After all, the last novel, "Love," was only a few sentences long. Perhaps no one would have noticed anything wrong with a different novel, let alone the fact that the novel was also called "Love," which perfectly matched the book-within-a-book plot in "The Reader," just like the story "The Woman with the Dog" that Jiang Xia read aloud to Yang Ju in prison.

The novel "Love" has now appeared as if it were inevitable, yet also as if it had been published without warning.

"Youcheng, do you mean to say that the novel 'Love' is your own work?"

Wang Xiaobo thought about it for a moment and understood, but he was also very puzzled. He asked, "Why is it a novel that might be written?"

Yes, why is it a novel that might be written in the future?
Xie Shuhua looked at Lin Youcheng with the same puzzled expression, filled with curiosity.

She could understand the foreshadowing that Lin Youcheng had planted in the novel. After all, the subtle foreshadowing in his previous novel, "Strange Tales of the Human World," had amazed countless readers.

Before, who could have imagined that brushing shoulders with those people in Lynch's fantastical life of rejuvenation would make the entire "Human Wonders" even more fantastical yet real, full of captivating charm?

Xie Shuhua still remembers hearing later that "The Message" appeared in "Strange Tales of the Human World." Looking back at the simple scene in "Strange Tales of the Human World" where Lin Qi and Gu Xiaomeng meet by chance, it's like discovering a new continent—a memory that's vivid and astonishing. "In the dead of night, with a bright moon and sparse stars, five people are traveling in a car… a dwarf is leading a short old man, very strange… Through the car window, Lin Qi looks at the five people inside, each with a different expression. Lin Qi's curious gaze meets that of the woman speaking… The woman named Xiaomeng has a calm gaze, even as she looks at the old man's aged face, which resembles an old ghost…"

The scene was still vivid in Xie Shuhua's mind. Although it was just a few lines of text, the fact that Lin Qi and Gu Xiaomeng brushed past each other was truly unforgettable. After all, who could have imagined that Gu Xiaomeng and Lin Qi would have a chance encounter? It was simply too incredible and unforgettable.

The key lies in Lin Youcheng's novel *Human Tales*, where Lin Qi's turbulent and fantastical life, aside from his near-miss with Gu Xiaomeng from *The Message*, also includes the imposter regimental commander Long Wenzhang from *My Chief and My Regiment*, who didn't just appear out of nowhere. This lieutenant in charge of supplies had already appeared in *Human Tales* and was Lin Qi's comrade-in-arms. Furthermore, the nurse from Beiping who joined the Eighth Army in *The Meridian of War* was the same nurse Lin Qi met on the train to battle when he enlisted. And then there's the fourth war novel, *Bright Sword*…

Lin Youcheng's four war stories were all foreshadowed in "Strange Tales of the Human World," which is truly astonishing.

It's worth noting that even now, some readers are still searching for clues in "Strange Tales of the Human World" that foreshadow a war after the war in "The Heavenly Dog."

Most importantly, Lin Youcheng's foreshadowing in "Strange Tales of the Human World" is so subtle and understated that it makes the already fantastical novel even more captivating. After all, no one expected that the author, Lin Youcheng, would actually hide four stories within the story, starting from the day Lin Qi was born on May Fourth Movement Day, and continuing through the long river of time. The foreshadowing, as silent as the night, is even more fantastical and moving.

Now that we've heard that Lin Youcheng's work on "The Reader" includes the title of his future work, how could Xie Shuhua and others not be shocked? This also means that it might be a foreshadowing of his next novel.

Of course, just as Wang Xiaobo asked, why is it that the novel "Love" mentioned by Lin Youcheng is a novel that might be written?

If he might write it, then it also means that Lin Youcheng might not write the story of "Love" in the future.

When Lin Youcheng heard Wang Xiaobo ask this question, his gaze turned to Xie Shuhua.

Their eyes met, and the young Xie Shuhua's eyes were filled with curiosity and doubt.

Lin Youcheng knew very well what kind of story his novel "Love" was, which he might or might not write. There are many literary works and film adaptations with a simple and direct title like "Love," but only one has actually won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In another timeline, in 2012, a film called "Amour" won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Lin Youcheng himself doesn't know if he will write the story "Love" in the future, because the story is about an elderly couple in their eighties, both retired and cultured music teachers. Their daughter is also a musician, living abroad. But one day, the elderly wife suddenly suffers a stroke, subsequently becoming hemiplegic and bedridden. Thus, the love between this elderly couple begins to be tested in some way.

The couple, already quite elderly, faced a difficult situation. After the wife suffered a stroke and lost her ability to live independently, the husband struggled to walk and still had to care for her, maintaining a clean and refined daily life. He had to keep himself presentable when his musician students visited and preserve his dignity when his daughter showed concern.

Initially, the elderly husband helped his wife with her rehabilitation every day, but he walked unsteadily, as if he might fall at any moment. He could only hire hourly caregivers to assist him.

My wife is becoming increasingly sluggish, and has even started exhibiting undignified bedwetting behaviors. Her mind is sometimes clear and sometimes confused. When she is clear-headed, she refuses to eat, and no matter how much we try to coax her, she keeps her mouth tightly shut. This seems to be the last vestige of dignity she can maintain.

In a moment of panic, the husband suddenly slapped his wife across the face. The story is just like that. The husband was stunned because it hurt him even more than if he had slapped himself.

As for the wife's desire to end her suffering and the torment of her pride, the elderly husband ultimately smothered herself with a pillow—

He killed his own wife!
This film is remarkably realistic, even incorporating many of director Haneke's own experiences. He once saved his 92-year-old aunt from attempting suicide due to rheumatism, causing her immense suffering. Two years later, she successfully committed suicide while he was attending a film festival, leaving him behind.

Of course, the film even features a story similar to André Gorz's book, "To D," which uses simple yet deeply moving language to depict the unforgettable love story of the two men. The year after the book was published, André Gorz and his wife committed suicide together.

Thinking of the classic film "Amour," Lin Youcheng felt a heaviness in his heart. It was so real, so incredibly real. Marriage, to the end, is not just about sharing life and supporting each other; it's also about accepting physical decline, cherishing each other, and rationally accompanying each other towards death. Perhaps one day, even if Yang Ju and Jiang Xia, the women in "The Reader," enter into marriage, they too will eventually grow old, suffer strokes, and become seriously ill. How will the aging Yang Ju and Jiang Xia, who still crave dignity, face that reality?
Or rather, how will he face it?

These things are too real, too heavy, like things I've never dared to face—murder and bloodshed, etched into my very soul.

Without giving it much thought, Lin Youcheng turned to look at Wang Xiaobo and said, "Because I don't know if I'll be able to write this story."

"Brother Lin, you must have already had this story in your mind, right?"

Cha Hai-sheng was naturally very curious about the novel "Love" that Lin You-cheng had in mind. There was no content about it in the novel "The Reader," so he had no idea what kind of story it was. However, he was also very clear that the story was definitely about love, just like the title of the novel.

Cha Hai-sheng pressed on, "What kind of story is it? Can you tell us about it?"

Yu Hua, Cheng Hong, and the others also turned their gazes to Lin Youcheng. Clearly, they were all very curious and wanted to know what this novel, "Love," which Lin Youcheng was talking about and who might not even write it, was about.

As Cha Haisheng spoke, he picked up the People's Literature magazine from the table again, turned to the passage in the novel *The Reader* where Jiang Xia sent Yang Ju his last audio recording of the reading, and began to read it aloud, word by word: "...I also made some preparations for Yang Ju's release from prison. I furnished the room I arranged for her with some old furniture, placed books on the bookshelves, hung paintings on the walls, and bought food supplies. I sent Yang Ju the audio recording of the last reading, without considering whether she would be sufficiently interested in *Love*, a novel that discusses love and marriage. While doing these things, I was particularly busy and stubborn, and all of this felt like a heavy burden. However, it kept me so busy that I didn't have time to think about that visit to Yang Ju..."

"The novel is about love and marriage."

Clearly, everyone present heard Cha Hai-sheng's reading and the phrase "a novel about love and marriage."

About marriage?

Clearly, Wang Xiaobo and the others were quite surprised. They hadn't paid much attention to Lin Youcheng's few strokes of the pen before, and wouldn't have cared about the novel "Love" at all, because it seemed insignificant. But now they never expected that Lin Youcheng's novel "Love" was actually a work that Lin Youcheng hadn't written yet, and that it would be a work about marriage.

It's worth noting that Lin Youcheng's novels have historically rarely discussed marriage.

Lin Youcheng didn't say that this about marriage meant reaching the true final stage of marriage, that is, growing old together. Perhaps young lovers would say, "Let's grow old together," but in reality, as life slowly departs from the body of the one you deeply love, there is no romance to speak of. Aging is a cruel and concrete thing, and ironically, it seems that only death can barely withstand it.

The aging, death, illness, and loneliness of the real world—the things people least want to experience in life, the hidden pains that are known but kept silent—are far more cruel than those in literature, perhaps even more so.

Lin Youcheng knew perfectly well that the cruelty of the award-winning film *Love* lay in its factual account, not in its allegory. In a loving marriage, life and death are like that dove—you can neither grasp it nor hold onto it. While it's said that only love that lasts a lifetime is eternal, perhaps—

Helping a loved one fulfill their wish to die is also a form of love.

Cha Hai-cheng looked at Lin You-cheng and asked, "Then why might you not write this story?"

“Brother Lin, if you write this novel, ‘Love,’ readers will know about this special work in ‘The Reader.’ Otherwise, readers won’t know that you and your colleagues mentioned the novel you were going to write later in ‘The Reader.’”

Lin Youcheng smiled upon hearing Cha Haisheng's words and said, "That's not important."

Just as no one knows that the work "Love," which is only briefly mentioned, is actually a work that Lin Youcheng has not yet written, this has no impact on the novel "The Reader." Even if someone notices the novel "Love," they will only think that it is a novel they do not know.

"Not important? Why not?"

Cha Haisheng was very confused. Since Lin Youcheng already had an idea for this story and even put the title of the novel in "The Reader", it meant that Lin Youcheng was capable of writing it.

Lin Youcheng knew that Cha Haisheng and the others were very puzzled, but in his opinion, he himself was unsure whether he would write the novel "Love" in the future. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's not important anyway. You see, if Cheng Hong hadn't asked about this novel today, you wouldn't have even noticed it."

Lin Youcheng really hadn't decided whether to write this story, and in his opinion, if he were to write it, it would probably be a long, long time from now.

At least for now, he doesn't have that idea.

Lin Youcheng's answer left Cha Haisheng and the others speechless, because Lin Youcheng was right. If Cheng Hong hadn't asked about the work "Love", they wouldn't have paid any attention to that line.

Yu Hua smiled and then casually asked, "Youcheng, your film 'Love' isn't going to be a tragedy, is it?"

Lin Youcheng smiled. He knew Yu Hua was just joking. After thinking for a moment, he also said in a joking tone, "If a husband kills his wife with his own hands, wouldn't that be considered a tragedy?"

Did the husband kill his wife with his own hands?
"..."

In an instant, everyone present froze.

(End of this chapter)