Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 140 Hallucination, it must be an hallucination!

My name is Wang Chongkai. I’m from Taiwan and I’m currently in the United States participating in the “International Writing Program”.

I have been the strongest new generation of literary writers in Taiwan since my student days, and have won the Taipei Literature Award and the Taiwan Student Composition Award.

I published my own collection of short stories at the age of 30 and won the "Wu Zhuoliu Literature Award".

I have been praised as the most imaginative young writer in Taiwan in the past decade. Critics have commented that I "interweave reality and fiction, picking up and polishing the most beautiful fragments of Taiwan's history."

I was selected by Ms. Nie Hualing as a young Taiwanese writer to participate in IWP in 2005, and I was the youngest Taiwanese writer ever invited.

I was called "the light of Chinese literature" by the Taiwanese media, and some media even predicted that I would win the Nobel Prize in Literature in the future.

When I came to the University of Iowa, I had great ambitions. I wanted to let writers from all over the world see the unique charm of Taiwanese literature.

I never expected that Carlson, the deputy director of IWP, would arrange a mainland writer for me as my roommate. His name is Zhang Chao. He is a dozen years younger than me.

I have heard of his name but have not read his works; I know he is the hottest writer on the other side of the strait, but he is definitely just a satellite.

But why did Carlson personally send him to the dormitory? He also said that he came here in first class and asked IWP to book him a first class ticket when he returned - it must be an illusion.

Why was Zhang Chao the first Chinese writer invited by Ms. Nie Hualing, and not me, who is from Taiwan like her? It must have been an illusion.

I went to see Zhang Chao's first speech. He was indeed good, but it was not enough for a columnist from the New York Review of Books to interview him, right? -- It must be an illusion.

Carlson came to the dormitory again and invited him to attend the "Art Night" salon in Iowa and reimbursed him for his clothing expenses - this illusion was terrible!

During this period, from morning to night, there were people knocking on the door of this dormitory, all looking for Zhang Chao. Even Professor Merrill, the director of IWP and president of the University of Iowa, came to chat with him for a while - why this illusion had not dissipated.

Last night, I was sitting in the living room while he was on the phone in his room. His voice was quite loud. He kept saying things like, "The first print run cannot be less than 50 copies," "The royalties will be negotiated from 15% upwards," and "The script for a single episode must be no less than 20."
Then it was “Honey, which scene have you filmed yet?” and “Remember to tell me when the crew has finished work” - it was indeed an illusion, he was only 20 years old, how could it be possible? I must have written too many novels and have really intertwined reality and fiction.

Just now he passed by me and I sighed, "If we have Yu, why do we have Liang..." Why did he say such a strange thing - is he also trapped in hallucinations and unable to extricate himself?
……

Zhang Chao had no time to understand his roommate's complicated mental state. He originally thought that there would be some friction between him and Wang Chongkai. But since the gears of fate began to turn, he almost forgot that he had such a roommate.

For example, today, Zhang Chao was about to go out to the IWP office to discuss the new book contract with the publishing editor brought by Carlson.

When he was about to leave, he seemed to hear Wang Chongkai mutter something about "fish" and "raw", so he declined: "Sorry, I'm not used to eating Japanese cuisine. You go by yourself. Thank you."

Then he left in a hurry.

As soon as Zhang Chao entered Carlson's office, he saw a middle-aged white woman with a very tight and high golden ponytail and a serious expression sitting on the sofa.

Seeing Zhang Chao coming in, Carlson quickly introduced: "Zhang Chao, this is Madeline Murphy, a senior editor at Random House. Madeline, this is Zhang Chao."

After a brief greeting, Madeline Murphy said bluntly: "Although we have a long-term cooperative relationship with...IWP, if the quality of the novel is not good, we can refuse to publish it even if we sign an agreement."

Zhang Chao said: "Very reasonable. As a writer, I will not tolerate myself writing bad works and circulating them in the market. But at the same time, if I write a satisfactory work, I will not tolerate anyone obstructing its publication."

Madeline's expression softened a little, and she said, "Actually, I've heard of you a long time ago. Mr. Windward thinks very highly of you."

Zhang Chao thought for a long time before he remembered who Wendhua was. He was surprised and said, "Isn't he the president of Beitasman China?"

Madeline nodded and said, "Our Random House is now affiliated with the German publishing group, Baetasman. At the group's global conference at the end of last year, Windward specifically mentioned the cooperation with you. Your reader stickiness is very high, which directly increased the group's membership renewal rate in the Chinese region."

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Do you have confidence in Chinese writers writing American stories?" Madeline said, "Carlson's introduction is too general. I want to hear you tell the outline of the story again, and I hope this time the information will be richer."

Zhang Chao glanced at Carlson, who asked, "Is it inconvenient for me to listen?"

Zhang Chao said: "It's okay, it's okay to listen. The protagonists of the novel are a 'perfect couple' in the eyes of outsiders. The husband is a columnist and a writing teacher at a community college..."

Madeline smiled and said, "It seems that this inspiration came recently."

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Yes, if I hadn't come to Iowa, the 'City of Literature', and participated in IWP activities, I wouldn't have thought of such an identity setting - my wife graduated from an Ivy League university, and her parents are also well-known writers. They once wrote a children's book with her as the protagonist, which was a bestseller."

"But unfortunately, they encountered misfortune - the husband's column was closed by the newspaper, and the university no longer hired him as a teacher; the wife soon lost her job. They had to move away from New York in a hurry and return to the countryside of Iowa to take care of their elderly mother."

Carlson smiled a little proudly and said, "It seems that this journey from New York to Iowa has also brought you a lot of inspiration."

Zhang Chao did not deny it and continued, "At this time, a gap appeared between the couple. The wife was nostalgic for the life in the New York metropolis and blamed her husband for forcing her to move here. The husband thought that his wife could not see the dire financial situation of the family and that staying in New York would only cause their savings to run out quickly."

Madeline said: "A classic husband-wife conflict."

Zhang Chao continued: "The conflict between the two became more and more serious, and eventually the husband cheated on his wife. After the wife found out about this, she did not make it public, but suddenly disappeared one day."

"The disappearance of his wife made the husband the number one suspect in the eyes of the police..."

"In fact, my wife didn't run far. She was hiding in another city. But unfortunately, her money was robbed. As a last resort, she sought help from her high school ex-boyfriend, the son of a wealthy man..."

Hearing this, Carlson gave an ambiguous smile.

"Just when the husband was about to be arrested by the police as the murderer, he gave a tearful speech on TV, which moved many people."

"The wife saw her husband's confession in his lakeside villa and was deeply moved. She decided to return to her husband. After hard work, she finally got rid of the entanglement of her wealthy ex-boyfriend and returned to her family."

"Then the truth came out, the two reconciled, and the wife became pregnant with her husband's child. A family that was on the verge of breaking up once again became the 'perfect family' that everyone envied."

Zhang Chao looked at the two of them and said, "This is the outline of the story. Of course, there are many key characters and plots that I cannot reveal here. What do you think of this story?"

It is impossible for a writer to reveal all his writing secrets. American writers are even more stubborn and abnormal in protecting their creativity. It is already very extraordinary for someone like Zhang Chao to reveal his writing secrets.

Madeline thought for a moment and gave a relatively fair evaluation: "It's average in terms of novelty, but it's not without highlights. If the details are handled well, it may sell well. Especially since you are very popular now, the sooner this book is published, the better the sales will be."

Carlson said: "Young people in China may think that marriages in the United States are very casual, but in fact, we also attach great importance to family and love. I think this novel has a good entry point."

Seeing that neither of them had any other objections, Zhang Chao said, "Then let's sign the agreement. I expect to finish writing and translating this novel before the end of IWP in November."

Upon hearing this, Madeline took out a contract from her bag. The terms in the contract were quite good: the minimum print run was 2 copies, and the royalties would fluctuate from 13% to 15%, depending on the final quality of the novel.

Zhang Chao said that he would show the contract to a lawyer first, and if there were no problems, he would sign it.

Madeline asked a final question: "Have you thought of a title for the novel?"

Zhang Chao paused and said, "Let's call it 'The Vanishing Lover'."

(End of this chapter)