Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 322 After all, it was Lin Chaoyang
Ye Zhaoyan felt like he was floating on the boundless ocean. The water was azure blue and the stars were shining brightly above his head. It was as beautiful and gorgeous as a fairy tale.

Suddenly, he remembered something and turned his head abruptly, only to see a tiger staring at him fiercely.

The huge feeling of fear made him retreat again and again involuntarily, until he seemed to step on something hard. He looked down and saw a human skull.

Ye Zhaoyan didn't know why he was not afraid, and he actually picked up the skull and knocked on it.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

How could a knock on the skull make such a loud noise?
When this thought popped into his mind, Ye Zhaoyan suddenly woke up. It turned out to be a dream.

Without time to recall the dream, he walked to the door and opened it. The person knocking on the door was Fan Xiaotian, the editor of Zhongshan.

The two graduated in the same year. Fan Xiaotian graduated from Yenching Normal University. After graduation last summer, he was assigned to be an editor of Zhongshan. He became familiar with Ye Zhaoyan because of manuscript compilation.

"Why are you coming here so early?" Ye Zhaoyan asked with a yawn.

"I just didn't want to go to work after the Chinese New Year. I told the editor-in-chief that I was going to collect manuscripts." Fan Xiaotian said lazily, sat down without any courtesy, and asked, "What time is it? Why haven't you woken up yet?"

"Huacheng" was bought the day before yesterday. Ye Zhaoyan read the novel for two whole days. He had almost no appetite for tea or food, and he just ate a bite at every meal.

Fan Xiaotian looked at his expression and asked, "What have you written these two days? You are so tired."

"No, I was reading a novel."

"Forget about sleep and food?"

Ye Zhaoyan couldn't help but yawn again, "That's about it."

Fan Xiaotian glanced at the surroundings. There was a pile of books at the head of the bed. That was where Ye Zhaoyan always kept his books.

He found a book placed alone on the windowsill, out of place with the surrounding environment.

He couldn't help but walk over and pick it up, "'Flower City', isn't this what you're looking at?"

"Ah."

"What good works are there in this issue that fascinate you so much?"

Ye Zhaoyan looked at his friend's relaxed and calm face, and for some reason he felt an urge to play a mischief.

"This issue contains Xu Lingjun's new novel "Crossing the Boat"."

"Lin Chaoyang published a novel?"

When Fan Xiaotian heard this, he immediately became interested. He graduated from Yanshi University, but he was in the class of 78, one year later than Tao Yushu, and graduated in July last year.

He was not familiar with Tao Yushu, but Tao Yushu was very famous among their two classes of students.

On the one hand, it is because this senior sister is both excellent in character and academic performance, and has outstanding appearance and temperament, and is a goddess in the minds of many people; on the other hand, it is also because this senior sister has a good husband.

In 79, Lin Chaoyang made Yenching Normal University famous among many universities and cultural circles in Yenching with the play "The Best Restaurant in the World", which left a deep impression on these students.

Because of this potential connection, when Fan Xiaotian heard Ye Zhaoyan say "Xu Lingjun", his first reaction was to call out Lin Chaoyang's real name.

He was flipping through a magazine and asked, "What's it about?"

"Have you read Robinson Crusoe?"

When Fan Xiaotian heard this, he nodded quickly, "I've seen it! There aren't many works of this kind!"

"Yes, it is indeed rare and very well written!" Ye Zhaoyan said meaningfully.

"Then I'll take a look at it for a while. Hey, do you have anything new to write? It doesn't matter if it's a scrap. I'll deal with the editor later."

"Just look at it first, I'll find it for you later."

Time passed quickly and most of the day had passed. Fan Xiaotian was so absorbed in reading the novel that he refused to leave at night and wanted to share a bed with Ye Zhaoyan.

They cooked some noodles for dinner. Fan Xiaotian said to Ye Zhaoyan excitedly while eating, "The novel is indeed well written. The subject of drifting on the sea is not easy to write. If it is not handled well, it will be bland and tasteless.

But this "The Ferryman" handles it very well, with the thrilling confrontation with the tiger and the magnificence of various wonders on the sea. In such an environment, the protagonist constantly tests his inner self and gradually clarifies his understanding of the meaning of life and faith. "

As Ye Zhaoyan listened to his words, the feeling of a successful prank in his heart grew even stronger.

"It's more exciting later, just take your time to watch it."

Hearing him say this, Fan Xiaotian became even more excited. He stuffed the noodles into his stomach in two or three mouthfuls, and eagerly picked up the book again and began to read while lying on the bed.

After nightfall, Ye Zhaoyan fell asleep early. He had stayed up late reading novels in the past two days and was seriously sleep deprived.

In the second half of the night, a howl suddenly rang through the room, startling him so much that he sat up in bed.

Fan Xiaotian, who was lying beside him, sat up at some point, threw the magazine in his hand aside, and looked shocked and unbelievable.

"Why are you going crazy in the middle of the night?" Ye Zhaoyan complained.

Fan Xiaotian turned around, still with a lingering fear on his face, "You knew it a long time ago, right? You deliberately tricked me, didn't you?"

Ye Zhaoyan couldn't help but smile triumphantly when listening to his words, "Have you finished reading the novel? You read it pretty fast!"

Fan Xiaotian has always been a quick-witted person and he can even see things much faster than most people. When he saw Ye Zhaoyan's performance, how could he not understand what this guy was thinking?

He kicked him and said, "You are full of bad intentions!"

Ye Zhaoyan dodged Fan Xiaotian's foot lightly and shouted, "I'm recommending you a work out of kindness, why are you hitting me?"

After they played around for a while, the fear that Fan Xiaotian had felt because of the novel faded a lot, and he finally looked serious.

"Hey, do you think Du Sanjiang really ate his mother?"

Ye Zhaoyan was smiling at first, but when he heard his question, the smile on his face disappeared, and the fear dominated by the plot came over him again, especially now it was the late night.

He twisted his body uncomfortably. "I don't know. If you look closely at the details, this possibility is very high, because it has to conform to the logic of reality. But the author didn't write it directly, probably leaving some room for our imagination."

Fan Xiaotian nodded slightly when he heard this. "Lin Chaoyang's final blank is amazing! When I saw Du Sanjiang tell the second story at the end, I was a little shocked. It was only after I finished reading the novel that I started to feel scared."

Ye Zhaoyan echoed: "Yes, I feel the same way."

The two of them were a little excited while talking. Fan Xiaotian began to analyze the novel from the perspective of an editor. "The structure of "The Boat Crossing" is very ingenious! It seems that Du Sanjiang is telling the story alone, but because the character of the writer is added, we readers can put ourselves in the writer's perspective.

This forms a two-layer structure, one surface and one inside. As the writer continues to question, he throws out the other side of the story, but this is still not the whole picture of the story.

The truth of the story is just floating there, like a ghost on the sea.”

Ye Zhaoyan praised: "This metaphor is good, it is indeed like a ghost on the sea. The suspenseful atmosphere of his previous work was very strong, but that kind of suspense aroused your curiosity and desire to explore, but this time "The Boat" is different.

He did not create suspense from the beginning, but instead told a positive and challenging story, until the very end when he suddenly threw out a terrifying ending that caught people off guard.

To be honest, I had a dream after reading the novel last night."

Fan Xiaotian asked, "What did you dream about?"

Ye Zhaoyan recounted the content of the dream. Fan Xiaotian imagined it for a while and suddenly said, "In fact, it is not impossible that the cook threw my mother's body into the sea. After all, there were sharks next to the lifeboat coveting them."

Ye Zhaoyan immediately understood what he meant. Du Sanjiang only told two stories in the novel.

As for the last story, it was all guessed by the readers based on the details and blank spaces in the novel.

If his mother's body was really thrown into the sea, then Du Sanjiang naturally did not eat his mother's body?
Ye Zhaoyan suddenly remembered the question Du Sanjiang asked the writer at the end of the novel: Which story do you want to believe?
This is not only a question for writers, but also a question for readers.

His question is not so much about which story writers and readers are willing to believe as it is about: Are you still willing to believe in human nature?

The sudden flash of inspiration made Ye Zhaoyan feel a shudder from the soul.

Animality, humanity, divinity...

In an instant, Ye Zhaoyan seemed to understand what the novel "Crossing the Boat" really wanted to express.

He eagerly grabbed the magazine and flipped through the novel quickly.

Fan Xiaotian looked puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Ye Zhaoyan didn't answer. He kept flipping for a long time before he finally stopped. The expression on his face changed from anxious to frustrated.

"What are you looking at?" Fan Xiaotian asked again.

Ye Zhaoyan looked at him and said, "We all guessed wrong!"

"What do you mean?"

“I thought Lin Chaoyang was giving us a puzzle, throwing out stories layer by layer, allowing us to gradually get closer to the truth.

But in fact, he wrote three stories in their own systems, reflecting divinity, humanity and animality respectively.

There is no so-called truth or falsehood in the whole novel, and there is no real truth. What we see depends entirely on what we are willing to believe. "

As Fan Xiaotian listened to Ye Zhaoyan's words, the expression on his face became even more confused.

The creepy feeling of fear he had just felt after watching "The Crossing" still lingered in his mind. However, Ye Zhaoyan now said that what they believed to be the truth was only one of the possibilities, which made Fan Xiaotian find it difficult to accept.

He repeated Ye Zhaoyan's actions and read the novel word by word.

After a long time, he sat down somewhat dejectedly and smiled bitterly.

"Too clever for his own good! This Lin Chaoyang is really hiding something! How could someone design a novel so ingeniously?"

Fan Xiaotian's words aroused Ye Zhaoyan's deep inner recognition.

After reading "The Crossing" for the first time, I was shocked by the hidden ending and the truth, and I couldn't help but feel proud that I had seen through the author's thoughts.

As a fellow creator, Ye Zhaoyan could not help but look up to Lin Chaoyang at that time. He admired Lin Chaoyang's powerful writing skills and ingenious ideas, and felt that he could not compare with him.

But when he truly understood "The Crossing of the Boat", he was left with only confusion in his heart.

Sending mayflies to heaven and earth is like a drop in the ocean.

In the face of such works, how could he be qualified to talk about creation?
Not to mention catching up with the other party, he didn't even have a direction.

While I was still preparing for the 100-meter race, others had already boarded a rocket to outer space.

The higher you look, the higher it is; the harder you dig, the stronger it becomes!

Ye Zhaoyan sighed dejectedly. He had read hundreds of literary masterpieces from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, since he was a child. He never thought that one day he would be discouraged and depressed because of a novel.

Fan Xiaotian saw his disappointment and understood the pain that the creator felt after seeing and understanding such a work.

He comforted her, "Zhao Yan, don't add unnecessary pressure to yourself. After all, that's Lin Chaoyang!"

His words seemed like nonsense, but they attracted Ye Zhaoyan's attention.

Yes, that was Lin Chaoyang after all!
Every work he wrote would create a huge wave when it came out, with countless readers flocking to it and the literary world praising him highly. He won all the authoritative literary awards in the country when he was only in his twenties.

People like him are born to be known and famous throughout the world.

All writers of his time were overshadowed by his brilliance.

After feeling lost for a moment, Ye Zhaoyan calmed down after hearing Fan Xiaotian's seemingly nonsense words of consolation.

He thought about it, then walked to the desk and spread out the manuscript paper.

"What? You need to write something at this time?"

"Well, I want to write down my thoughts on The Ferryman. Didn't you ask for the manuscript? I can bring it back to you!"

Fan Xiaotian was delighted when he heard this, "That's a good idea! Write it quickly and give it to me tomorrow morning."

After he finished speaking, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

Late at night, the lamp on the desk was on, and Ye Zhaoyan was full of inspiration and wrote calmly.

——"The interweaving of divinity, humanity and animality - Thoughts after reading "The Crossing of the Boat"."

(End of this chapter)