A widower's entertainment

Chapter 393 [A Different Kind of Tragedy] (Please Subscribe)
Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

The children in the courtyard were either out playing or watching cartoons on TV; each had their own world.

As autumn deepens, the weather in Beijing gradually turns colder, with the autumn wind carrying a chill that seems to foreshadow the approaching winter.

After the seminar on the works concluded, Lin Youcheng began writing a new manuscript.

As Lin Youcheng wrote his new manuscript, the cold wind howled fiercely in the courtyard, making a chilling sound like knives, icy and piercing, sending shivers down one's spine.

Xie Shuhua saw Lin Youcheng sitting in front of the computer, seemingly writing something, and didn't disturb him.

Lin Youcheng was indeed writing a manuscript, but it wasn't just a novel; it could also be described as a low-budget story suitable for being made into a movie. Of course, in another timeline, the original version was also a movie. However, Lin Youcheng was well aware that the original movie was actually based on some materials, or rather, on real events.

Lin Youcheng would write the manuscript and naturally show it to Xie Shuhua as a form of communication.

""hunting"?"

Xie Shuhua was somewhat surprised by the title of Lin Youcheng's novel. She thought it would be like "The Heavenly Dog," a story about a forest ranger and a real hunt. However, as she read on, she was stunned and speechless.

She never expected that Lin Youcheng's "Hunting" would be such a story.

Lin Youcheng saw Xie Shuhua reading the manuscript but did not disturb her. He especially noticed that Xie Shuhua's brows were furrowed and she seemed a little different. He knew very well how impactful the story "The Hunt" was.

That's right, it's the impact.

The story written by Lin Youcheng, which is also the film "The Hunt" in another time and space, was originally written by a Danish psychiatrist who visited him and gave him a bag of documents, entrusting him with the story to be made into a film. However, the director put it aside at that time. It wasn't until ten years later that he rediscovered the documents left by the doctor by chance, and was so shocked after reading them that he finally made it into a film.

The original film tells the story of Lucas, who is in his forties, divorced and unemployed. In order to rebuild his life, he finds a new job and a girlfriend, and also prepares to repair his relationship with his teenage son, Marcus. However, on Christmas Eve, rumors about him spread rapidly in the small town, causing panic. The story follows Lucas as he fights back against the rumors to save his reputation.

The film was later selected for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where Mads Mikkelsen won the Best Actor award. It also received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The story revolves around Lucas, a newly divorced man working at a daycare center. His kind heart and gentle nature quickly endear him to his colleagues and the children, especially a precocious girl named Carla who becomes particularly fond of him. Faced with the girl's naive and innocent advances, Lucas politely declines, but this action unexpectedly thrusts his life into turmoil. Carla's retaliatory lies frame Lucas for allegedly harming a young girl, making this kind man the target of ostracism and oppression throughout the town. The anger of his friends, the distrust of his ex-wife, the death of his beloved dog, and the malice of strangers drive Lucas to the brink of collapse. Even after little Carla reveals the truth, the malice doesn't end with Lucas's exoneration.

The story seems simple, but it is anything but simple; in fact, it is quite dangerous and sensitive.

Just like the love story between a boy and a middle-aged woman that Lin Youcheng wrote in "The Reader," his new work "The Hunt" is an even more dangerous one.

When Lin Youcheng wrote this story, he naturally had to adapt it to the local context based on the original version. However, this seemingly simple but actually depressing story is quite cruel.

Xie Shuhua felt exactly that way. She truly felt the bone-chilling cold. The seemingly calm and rational narrative and writing had brewed an almost desperate sense of oppression, mania, and coldness. The whole story was as cold as winter in Yanjing, no, it should be said that it was even colder than winter.

This kind of coldness is a merciless, bone-deep cut to humanity and social morality, delivered while you shiver.

Xie Shuhua, having read half of the story, felt a deep sense of oppression. She put down her manuscript, stared blankly at Lin Youcheng, and said, "Youcheng, your story—"

"Too cruel!"

She felt very uncomfortable reading the manuscript. The cold and almost desperate atmosphere brewing in the novel made the plot full of tension, and the resentment that was so pent up that it was almost violent seemed to fill her chest. She really felt a deep sense of oppression.

She had been pondering the same question over and over: if you occupy the moral high ground to hunt down others, then your hands will be stained with blood.

Although Xie Shuhua felt the story was too harsh and made her feel very uncomfortable, she drank a cup of tea and continued reading.

Upon hearing Xie Shuhua's words, Lin Youcheng naturally understood just how cruel the story of "The Hunt" truly was.

Although it's often said that "three men can make a tiger," this story is actually more than just that. The most dangerous element here is the children. These seemingly innocent children are caught between the roles of angel and demon in this story, making the "three men can make a tiger" tale all the more profound and chilling.

It is important to understand that children's words are often innocent and unintentional, but if these unintentional "children's words" are tainted by social moral taboos and misunderstood, then innocence can turn into a deadly poison.

The novel *The Hunt* is a potent poison, and the protagonist is an unfortunate victim. Children, naturally, can shirk responsibility for their words; their limited life experience leaves them destitute in society. Children are a particularly vulnerable group, immature both physically and psychologically, with weak self-protection abilities. Therefore, when something is suspected of harming a child, society invariably sides with the child unconditionally, launching a collective attack. However, when this unconditional support is misinterpreted and misused, children transform from angels into devils. Their underdeveloped personalities and limited discernment render conventional and reasonable solutions ineffective, leading to the destructive power of their words.
For an adult, a place in society can be almost everything. When this is destroyed, it means that their social identity is erased. For a rational adult, this is a form of murder.

This is why the story is titled "The Hunt." The protagonist is like the deer being hunted in the forest of society, defenseless and even grateful, exposed to the darkness. Countless hunters lurking in the shadows can harm him, and the final, chilling shot can be seen as both a malicious attack and a well-intentioned warning. The child's role as the catalyst cannot be ignored, but the most despicable are not the child, but the hypocritical, prejudiced, preconceived, self-righteous, arrogant adults. That final shot shattered all illusions and beautiful visions.

Lin Youcheng was well aware of this.

Of course, this is also what makes the story of "The Hunt" so captivating.

Lin Youcheng decided to write this story for two reasons. First, the story is quite classic. Second, he didn't just intend to publish it as a novel; he also thought about adapting it into a screenplay and selling it to Hollywood.

While the idea of ​​adapting the novel "The Hunt" into a film might be sensitive in China, it's a different story in Hollywood. The story itself is so compelling that it's not only attractive to film companies and directors, but also a must-see script for male actors looking to challenge themselves and win awards.

Interestingly, the male lead in the original film "The Hunt," like the male lead in the film "To Live," also won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.

In fact, after the work seminar, Lin Youcheng was thinking about new works. After thinking about the tragic story of Yu Hua's "To Live", he also thought about the tragedy of "Hunting".

In Lin Youcheng's view, "The Hunt" is also a tragedy, or rather, a sadomasochistic film. It doesn't have blood and violence, but it is heart-wrenching. The characters' experiences in the whole story give people a strong shock that feels like being hit in the heart.

This tragedy is completely different from "To Live".

Of course, more importantly, this novel is also suitable for being adapted into a movie, and Hollywood film companies that want to win awards will naturally not refuse such a script.

Although the original film "The Hunt" was only nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, such awards require public relations and behind-the-scenes maneuvering. Now that Lin Youcheng has provided a film script like "The Hunt" at this time, Hollywood film companies may well win Oscars if they make a good film, and possibly more than one.

As for the fact that Hollywood companies didn't take a liking to the script "The Hunt," Lin Youcheng hadn't thought about it. After all, there were so many film and television companies and producers in Hollywood who wanted to work with him, and he didn't think anyone would reject the story, especially since it was written by him, Lin Youcheng.

This story is in no way inferior to the previous ones, especially since the script is not expensive to produce, which will undoubtedly be more attractive to film and television companies.

Low-budget award-winning scripts are quite rare, and Lin Youcheng believes that any producer with a discerning eye would not miss such a script.

Even Lin Youcheng believed that if the price offered by the United States did not meet his expectations, he might not necessarily sell it. After all, once the novel was published, the copyright would naturally be in his hands, and he was not in a hurry to make it into a movie.

Xie Shuhua stared at Lin Youcheng, still deeply shaken. She didn't know how to describe her complex feelings at that moment. She only felt that by the end, the pent-up anger in her heart was frozen into ice by the sudden gunshot, and a bone-chilling coldness spread throughout her body.

Xie Shuhua put down the manuscript in her hand and stared straight at Lin Youcheng. She didn't know what to say, and her heart was filled with complicated feelings. Her hands were even trembling slightly, and the hairs on her body stood on end.

Although Xie Shuhua knew that the theme of "The Hunt" was not uncommon—a traditional case of a good person being wronged—she was still shocked by the story. The solution in "The Hunt" wasn't empty talk about moral persuasion. To be precise, unseen morality acted as an accomplice in this story. People often say that the eyes of the masses are discerning, and that the truth lies in the majority prevailing over the minority. But Lin Youcheng's "The Hunt" goes against this; the eyes of the masses might be filled with cow dung and dog excrement. The so-called truth is a disgusting scene imagined by a kindergarten teacher, an unyielding argument between former friends, and a beating by innocent bystanders.

"Youcheng, your story..."

Xie Shuhua really didn't know what to say. It was a very simple story, but Lin Youcheng made it incredibly impactful. Although people say that life is really cruel and that kind people will be bullied, this kind of bullying is just too heavy.

The male protagonist in the story is a complete tragedy. He is like a tree in the wilderness, lonely and unable to escape any blows from the sky, because he has lost even the right to feel hatred and resentment.

Xie Shuhua could hardly believe that Lin Youcheng would write such a story, especially one that calmly tells the story of how a kind man was besieged. She wanted to find a way to alleviate the psychological impact she felt in the story, but Lin Youcheng's writing clearly did not give her that opportunity. From beginning to end, she was on the verge of physical collapse, feeling cold, chilled, contemptuous, and angry, with no outlet for her emotions. It was so chilling.

This is reality. Everyone speaks with absolute certainty, and there's no escaping this predicament of being besieged and hunted. Human emotions and perceptions are naturally accompanied by personal biases, with each person's interests and stance subtly infiltrating. When emotions overcome reason, there is no such thing as truth or restraint; the truth becomes the mantra in one's heart, and no one cares about those who are lost or distorted.

This is why, in many cases, the truth is not important to onlookers; all they need is a foothold to stand on a false moral high ground, to be smug for a while, since they will forget about it in a few days and let the truth be drowned out by new sensationalism.

Xie Shuhua kept thinking about the story written by Lin Youcheng, and her feelings were very complicated.

Seeing Xie Shuhua's expression, Lin Youcheng knew that Xie Shuhua was truly shocked by the story, and couldn't help but say to himself, "This story is dangerous."

Danger?

Xie Shuhua paused for a moment, then nodded. Indeed, as Lin Youcheng said, this story was very dangerous. She also said, "I don't know if People's Literature magazine will accept your manuscript."

Upon hearing Xie Shuhua's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "If People's Literature really won't accept it, aren't there other magazines?"

(End of this chapter)