My era, 1979!

Chapter 160 "The Tide"! "The Tide"!
the next day.

Alice learns that Xu Chengjun has obtained a signed original copy of "The Tin Drum".

They immediately located Xu Chengjun.

"Xu! Wait a minute!"

Alice ran up to him, still breathless, her high breasts swaying.

She dressed more daringly than Chinese women of that era.

A tight-fitting orange-red spaghetti strap dress, the thin straps hanging precariously on her rounded shoulders, sliding gently with her breath, revealing a large expanse of fair collarbone and delicate shoulder lines.

The deep V-neckline perfectly outlines the full bust, and as you run, your chest rises and falls with your rapid breathing. The fabric clings tightly to your skin, and even the subtle undulations between your waist and abdomen are clearly visible.

The curves between her waist and hips are particularly pronounced.

Her buttocks were tightly wrapped in fabric, and they perked up slightly with each step. The skirt hem only reached mid-thigh, and there was a slanted slit on the side, revealing the fair skin of her inner thighs with a delicate sheen when she ran.

She wore a pair of off-white stiletto heels, with heels about 7 centimeters high, which made her already tall figure appear even more slender. A thin silver chain was tied around her ankle, which shimmered with light as she walked, creating a striking contrast with her orange-red dress.

Her hair wasn't tied up as usual, but loosely tied back, with two strands of golden hair hanging down beside her cheeks, brushing against her reddened ear tips in the wind.

She had a light brown eyeliner drawn at the outer corner of her eyes, which made her blue eyes look like sapphires soaked in honey. Her nose was high and straight, and she wore a layer of glossy coral lipstick that shimmered with a moist sheen in the morning light.

Students passing by couldn't help but stop and linger on her for a few more seconds.

Lin Yimin curled his lip: 'Foreign girls, they're fucking hot!'

The others glanced at it and quickly looked away politely, but then secretly continued to peek sideways.

Zhou Haibo, however, was different; he looked on boldly.

The hell they dare to show off is just for the men, isn't it?

I have to say, her breasts are fucking huge!

Watch more today!
Bring glory to the country!

Xu Chengjun looked at her suspiciously.

The agreement had been reached, and he didn't feel there was any point in having any further interaction with this white woman.

"What's up?"

Xu Chengjun stopped and subconsciously moved his canvas bag behind him.

Alice, oblivious to his aloofness, excitedly waved the poetry collection in her hand: "I heard Grass signed your copy of 'The Tin Drum'! That's a treasure for German literature fans!"
"Look, how about I trade you this copy of Ginsberg's *Howl*? It's a first edition I brought from America; you can't find it anywhere in China!"

"Howl" is a long poem written in 1955 by Allen Ginsberg, a representative poet of the American "Beat Generation". It is a landmark work in the history of 20th-century American literature that rebelled against mainstream culture and challenged social norms.

There is a saying that many American Gen Z youths have adopted as their motto.

"I see the brightest minds of this generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked, dragging themselves through the black streets at dawn in search of a deadly dose."

what is this?
The Bible of Black Americans~
Even if this book isn't published now, it would still be very valuable in China, given how difficult cultural exchange has been at that time.

She handed the poetry collection to Xu Chengjun; the cover had some marks on it, indicating that it was a book she read frequently.

Xu Chengjun simply shook his head, his tone decisive: "Sorry, I won't exchange this book. Mr. Glass signed it 'To Xu Chengjun,' so it's not just an ordinary book to me; it's a memento of a literary dialogue, and it can't be used for exchange."

I'll give you the book as soon as Glass leaves.

During the lecture, he also spoke passionately for a long time about national righteousness.

Do I, Xu, care about saving face?

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Alice's head. The smile on her face froze instantly, and her brows furrowed: "It's just a book! You can always get Glass to sign it again later, but my 'Howl' is one of a kind!"

She leaned forward, her voice tinged with urgency, "Or do you want something else? I can bring you American records, or the latest English novels?"

She was naturally good at using her figure and looks.

In the United States, few men would refuse her requests.

Whether it's white or black, or white plus black.

After coming to China, she was successful in everything she did, and the people here never refused her.

"It's not a problem with the things themselves."

Xu Chengjun's tone remained calm: "The significance of this book is not measured by its 'rarity.' We should all respect what we cherish, rather than defining its value by 'exchange.'"

Alice stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly seemed to remember something, and a strange smile appeared on her lips.

She stepped forward, almost touching Xu Chengjun, her voice slightly suggestive: "Hey, Xu, I know why you won't switch."

You feel it's not 'special' enough, right?

Her already revealing breasts swayed and half of the fabric fell down.

She reached up and brushed her blonde hair aside, her eyes gleaming with a self-assured confidence: "How about this, I'll give you a chance. Go on a date with me, just once! We can go to a Western restaurant on the Bund, or stroll around Yu Garden. If you agree, you can give me this book, 'The Tin Drum,' right now, how about it?"

Xu Chengjun was stunned, then his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with astonishment and disgust.

Damn it, who the hell are you, a prostitute?

Oh dear! What a mess!

He took a half step back, creating some distance, and his tone turned cold: "Alice, what do you mean by this? Tying a signed book to a date, do you think I'm the kind of person who would trade a memento for an 'opportunity'?"
Or do you think all Chinese people would accept such absurd conditions for a foreign book?

"Hey, Xu, don't get excited, the Chinese won't refuse my terms!"

Xu Chengjun felt a little helpless and took a step back.

But there was a barely perceptible anger in his voice: "I respect your love for German literature, but you shouldn't use such a frivolous invitation to trample on what others cherish. And don't label Chinese people as 'foreign worshippers.' I, Xu Chengjun, haven't fallen so low that I have to exchange a book for a 'date.'"

"you!"

Alice's face flushed red and then turned pale as he spoke, but she couldn't find any words to refute him. She could only stand there biting her lip, her eyes filled with frustration and embarrassment.

Isn't that how Chinese people are?

Just then, Lin Yimin, who had been watching from the side, no longer tried to avoid the situation.

He leaned closer, glanced at Alice's unpleasant expression, then at Xu Chengjun's tense face, and immediately understood most of it. He deliberately raised his voice to tease, "Hey, Chengjun, is this a foreign friend trying to 'make friends through books' with you? But judging from this, it looks more like 'trading books for a date'?"

Xu Chengjun didn't reply, but Alice glared at Lin Yimin fiercely, turned around and left. Her high heels made a "thump-thump" sound on the stone pavement, and she almost twisted her ankle after taking only a few steps.

Lin Yimin watched her retreating figure and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "This blond-haired brat is too outrageous! Does she think she can control people just by signing a book? A date to exchange books, does she think this is a Hollywood movie?"

"Would you change if I went on a date with you?"

"Exchange it! I don't have any books~"

Xu Chengjun rolled his eyes at him and was about to walk towards the dormitory when he heard familiar laughter behind him again.

He turned around and saw Su Manshu walking over with a cloth bag in her hand, a smile on her lips, clearly having overheard the conversation.

"The great writer Xu is quite charming."

Su Manshu walked to his side, reached out and straightened the strap of his canvas bag, her eyes full of teasing, "Even American exchange students are willing to trade dates for your autographed book, what, weren't you tempted just now?"

Xu Chengjun sighed helplessly and briefly recounted what had just happened: "Absurd!"

"That's outrageous!"

I am a revolutionary cadre!
Here it comes!
"Oh, is my chest not pretty?"

"..." Su Manshu laughed, tiptoed closer to his ear, and said softly, "I know you won't. But—"

She paused deliberately, then reached out and poked his chest. "You were quite handsome when you said, 'I, Xu Chengjun, don't do such things.'"

Xu Chengjun was so amused by her that he lost his temper. "You're so good at talking nonsense."

As a result, Su Manshu quietly whispered in his ear: "Brother, my chest is pretty too~!"

What did you say
Xu Chengjun froze instantly.

He glanced down at his girlfriend's full, high breasts.

Damn puberty!

Lin Yimin followed behind, deliberately exaggerating his sigh, "Alright, alright, you've forgotten your friends for the sake of a pretty girl, haven't you? With Teacher Su around, you don't even care about your buddies anymore!"

Glass's lecture was only three days ago.

The atmosphere on Fudan University's campus has changed.

Xu Chengjun suddenly became the target of widespread condemnation.

Even he himself was completely baffled?
Is the Joker really going to stay like this?

First, on the bulletin board downstairs in the Songzhuang dormitory building, someone posted an anonymous poster. The calligraphy was crooked but conveyed a fierce edge: "Xu Chengjun has no respect for elders! He spoke rudely to Nobel laureate Grass, called Western modernists 'rootless trees,' and refused to communicate with an arrogant attitude. He is a disgrace to Fudan University!"

The signature was a crooked drawing of "Patriot," but no real name was left.

Against the backdrop of controversy sparked by the publication of "Death on the Nile" in the journal *Yilin*, and public criticism by scholars such as Feng Zhi of the "overabundance of Western popular literature".

This argument actually held up at the time.

You "conservative" Xu Chengjun, you're something else!
The news spread like wildfire, quickly covering the entire campus within half a day.

In the corridor of the Chinese department, someone deliberately lowered their voice to discuss: "I heard that Xu Chengjun got into a fight with Glass, saying that Glass's 'The Tin Drum' was 'absurd and nonsensical,' and even belittling Western literature—isn't this undermining Sino-foreign exchanges?"

I've disliked you for a long time, why are you so angry?
What's with this "Wave" thing, acting all high and mighty?

Do you think you're Cao Zijian?
Of all the literary talents in the world, you alone possess eight-tenths of the best?

Some students in the foreign language department were even more excited.

They witnessed Xu Chengjun's lecture. One girl, clutching a translated copy of "The Tin Drum," said to her classmate with tears in her eyes, "Mr. Glass is so sincere, how could he be so harsh? He even said that our study of Western literature is 'worshiping foreign things and fawning on foreigners.' Isn't this a slap in our face?"

One student asked in confusion, "How did he slap him in the face?"

"Xu Chengjun is mean-spirited and ungrateful! A Nobel laureate came to China to popularize advanced Western theories, and he still plays the nationalistic card! He spoiled Glass's mood! Even Mr. Zhang Weilian refused to translate her dialogue!"

Even more outrageous rumors are brewing in the shadows.

Some say that Xu Chengjun "held a grudge against the West because he was rejected by Alice, an American student studying abroad," and exaggeratedly described how he "verbally abused Alice on the spot and even thought her skirt was 'indecent'."

Even more so, it suggests that the Western "Angela" Alice should have received everyone's respect and love.

This is an envoy for exchange between China and the West!
They were treated rudely by Xu Chengjun and his roommate! This is indecent assault!

Some people even dug up his essays on Song Dynasty literature, saying that he was "full of old papers and could not tolerate any modern ideas, and would be eliminated by the times sooner or later."

Students from other universities even wrote to the Chinese Department of Fudan University, questioning "why tolerate such 'conservatives' who hinder dialogue between Chinese and foreign literature."

When Xu Chengjun heard this, he sighed helplessly.

These bastards are pulling this stunt now?

It's still not quite there.
Practice some more.

Learn from stories like "Qingdao's century-old German underground engineering project," "America's domineering passport," and "Japanese children's summer camp" to manipulate a generation.

Are public intellectuals still not very knowledgeable?
They haven't quite mastered the art of "praising everything Western and criticizing everything Chinese" yet!
This trend quickly spread from the campus and into the meeting room of the Shanghai Writers Association.

Ru Zhijuan held the reader's letter she had just received, her face full of astonishment: "This letter says that Xu Chengjun is 'closed off from the world' and that he 'criticized Grass as a cultural aggressor'—this is completely different from what I saw the other day! Chengjun was clearly saying that 'literature should preserve its roots,' so how did it become 'hostility towards the West'?"

Luo Luo, standing to the side, helplessly shrugged.

"There are enemies here~ I heard that Fudan University has even put up big-character posters."

"Did Xu Chengjun really say that at the time?"

"of course not!"

"Then why say that about him?"

"Someone is deliberately misinterpreting it. Look at this sentence, 'Refusing to embrace Western techniques,' which has been changed to 'Refusing to communicate with the West'; he said 'Chinese literature should follow its own path,' which has become 'Staying stuck in the past and confronting the world.' This is not a discussion, it's clearly labeling!"

"The beeping's all over, and you're still playing this game?"

However, the dissenting voices were quickly drowned out by the even stronger public opinion.

Among the older generation of scholars in Shanghai's literary circles, some already harbored resentment towards Xu Chengjun's "young age and great fame," and now they took advantage of the rumors to speak out: "Young people are too arrogant! Glass is a Nobel laureate. Even if there are differences in opinion, one should listen humbly. How can one refute in public? Isn't that just being arrogant?"

Some people privately said, "His fame is all due to his 'rural themes' to grab attention. Compared to world literature, he's far behind—he doesn't even have the sincerity to engage in exchanges now, what future can he have?"

On the morning of November 20, the printed words of the commentary section of Wenhui Daily dealt the most severe blow to this rumor.

An article by a university lecturer, titled "Can Literary Exchange Be Stagnant? — On the 'Roots' and 'Release' of Chinese Literature: A Lecture at Fudan University," occupied half a page. The title was printed in bold and eye-catching font, and the article was full of veiled criticisms.

“At a recent lecture at Fudan University, a young scholar, instead of humbly accepting the well-intentioned advice of Nobel laureate Grass, used ‘local tradition’ as a shield to denounce Western modernist techniques as ‘rootless trees’ and even questioned the necessity of dialogue between Chinese and foreign literature… Such a self-imposed isolation is an obstacle to Chinese literature’s journey to the world!”

The article deliberately misinterprets Xu Chengjun's words, twisting "Chinese literature should go out with its roots" into "rejecting all Western influences and clinging to the dregs of feudal literature".

To portray "respecting local narrative traditions" as "fearing the impact of modern thought and being content to be a frog in a well" is misinterpreted.

The essay concludes by directly criticizing Xu Chengjun: "If young scholars are all so arrogant, viewing exchange as provocation and learning from others as a disgrace, Chinese literature will likely be forever trapped in the cage of 'localization,' unable to see the vastness of the world!"

The newspaper was delivered to Fudan University and was immediately eagerly passed around among the students.

Lin Yimin was so angry that his hands were shaking: "Is he blind? 'Staying stuck in the old ways'? Cheng Jun was clearly saying 'preserving the roots is not being conservative,' why didn't he write the whole thing?"

Zhou Haibo even tried to rush to the editorial department of Wenhui Daily to argue his point, but Xu Chengjun held him back tightly.

"Chengjun, don't hold it in!" Lin Yimin patted his shoulder, his eyes full of indignation. "Let's go to the school leaders and explain things clearly, let's go to Wenhui Daily and demand an explanation! We can't let them slander you like this!"

Xu Chengjun slowly shook his head: "No need to rush."

Rumors will fade away, but printed words will remain.

What's the rush?

Putting everything else aside, he took Wenhui Daily to heart.

Very good!

11 month 22 day.

The turmoil escalated.

Xu Chengjun has not made a public appearance to respond.

Many people think that Xu Chengjun's approach was clever, avoiding direct confrontation.

Some people think this is fear.

Was Xu Chengjun really scared?
11 month 23 day.

The inaugural issue of "The Wave" has a first print run of 3000 copies and has been officially published!
(End of this chapter)