I am not a literary giant

Chapter 109 Making a Scene at Mount Wutai (Thanks to the Alliance Leader and reader 2021022718194211)

Diao Yiwen swayed as she walked in, wearing a light blue long dress. Her straight, black hair cascaded down her back, gleaming as if she had just stepped out of a bath. She had never worn high heels before, but this time she wore a pair of silver chunky Mary Janes. Her entire demeanor seemed to have undergone a dramatic transformation, leaving Song Yinglian speechless.

Guo Ranran laughed and said, "Xiao Diao looks so beautiful today! Wearing this, people might mistake her for a female host, about to present awards to the contestants!"

Song Yinglian glanced at the outspoken Guo Ranran and calmly said, "Xiao Diao isn't here to present an award; she's here to receive one."

Diao Yiwen smiled slightly and said, "I can't say for sure that I'll receive the award."

Because of her sophisticated attire, even her demeanor seemed different from before, as if she were exceptionally aloof.

Song Yinglian said, "We've already entered the final round, right? As long as we make it to the final round, we'll all win a prize."

Guo Ranran asked, "How are the awards distributed? Is there any prize money?"

Diao Yiwen nodded: "Yes, but not many."

Song Yinglian raised his eyebrows: "As expected of Miss Diao, the prize money is a total of 20!"

Guo Ranran was surprised by the number and became envious: "So many? How much is the first prize?"

"First place: 10; second place: 5; third place: 3; fourth and fifth place: 1; the rest: none. Total: 20."

Guo Ranran pounded her hands, her eyes glazed over: "Ah, so many! I wish I had gone too."

Song Yinglian laughed and said, "If you participate, you won't get a single penny of the prize money, and you'll even have to pay for electricity and printing."

"Tch, you look down on me!"

Diao Yiwen watched her two friends bickering with a gentle smile, as if she were watching two innocent children.

She was determined to be among the top 5 in this essay contest, and it wasn't for the prize money.

If we're talking about money, she vividly remembers her father's hospitality at Yanzishan. Although he didn't disclose the exact cost, she was present at every meal, drinking with him. Yanzishan loves seafood, so expensive ingredients like Boston lobster, shark fin, and abalone were served without restraint, as if afraid he wouldn't enjoy a single meal. The wines they drank were also incredibly diverse, ranging from XO to Bordeaux; they used at least a case of wines, some she could recognize and some she couldn't. The food expenses for just a few days were equivalent to the prize money for second place in an essay contest.

Not to mention the after-dinner activities they enjoyed: bathing, foot massages, and sightseeing. Diao Yiwen didn't accompany them on these trips, but it's likely they spent a considerable amount of money. Yet, her father always returned home looking radiant. He did these things without considering the cost; as long as the purpose was achieved, the money spent was worthwhile.

Diao Yiwen had no doubt that she could win a prize in the essay contest. Of course, she hadn't even considered first place. Yan Zishan had emphasized this to her—his writing was limited to modifying Diao Yiwen's original framework, but he hadn't changed the entire framework, so at best he could only get second place, not first.

The implication is that no matter how Diao Yiwen rewrites her manuscript, she can only get second place; to get first place, she would have to completely rewrite it.

Yan Zishan spoke with absolute certainty, his prediction of the outcome as confident as if the literary gathering were his own private affair. But Diao Yiwen, through her interactions with this literary giant over the past few days, had come to truly admire his experience and expertise; he possessed his own system of value judgments. He said that if he could only get second place at best, then there was an eight or nine out of ten chance he wouldn't get first.

Although she was unhappy about the criticism of her article, there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, she was already quite satisfied with getting second place.

Zhang Cangnian walked over with a smile, looked Diao Yiwen up and down, and said, "Little Diao, are you already prepared to win an award? Dressed up so beautifully in advance, you'll definitely look great on the news."

Diao Yiwen tossed her hair and said calmly, "I didn't dress up just to receive an award. After all, I'm already firmly in the top ten. My father insisted that I dress more formally because I might be meeting with a leader."

Song Yinglian spoke up for her, saying, "It's a pity that Xiao Diao usually lives a very frugal and simple life. It would be great if she could dress this nicely every day."

A strong gust of wind blew by, and everyone turned around to look. They saw that a high-powered electric fan had been set up at the reception point of the government office next door, and the tail of the strong wind swept towards them.

Guo Ranran said enviously, "I wish our workplace had an electric fan like that."

Zhang Cangnian smiled and said, "Only strong organizations receive such treatment; our organization isn't quite there yet."

Xu Shichao's voice came from behind the group: "If Xiao Diao makes it into the top five this time, our unit will also have a lot of face, after all..."

At this point, he lowered his voice: "...I heard that none of the government's staff made it into the top ten this time."

The crowd gathered around and asked in hushed tones, "How come the government office doesn't have a single person in the top ten?"

Xu Shichao said, "To avoid suspicion, none of the people in Director Mei's office participated in the competition, and as a result, the few who did participate did not achieve very good results."

Zhang Cangnian waved his hand to signal him to be quiet, and said in a low voice, "Keep your voice down, don't let others hear us. Our unit can't afford to offend the government office!"

Xu Shichao smiled, put his index finger to his lips, made a "whisper" gesture, and whispered, "Believe it or not, they're talking about us right now, maybe even about Xiao Diao."

Zhang Cangnian said, "Xiao Diao, you're practically our company's star now. You should stay at our service point a little longer today so everyone who comes by can see you and give our company some face."

Guo Ranran, standing to the side, felt a sense of pride and puffed out her chest: "It's a beautiful signboard."

Just then, Xu Shichao suddenly stood up straight and strode through the crowd to greet a black sedan parked by the roadside. Everyone quickly understood why he was so eager—the car door opened, and Director Gou got out of the car.

Everyone quickly adopted a serious and orderly demeanor, straightening their backs and standing guard under the shade. Director Gou walked over with his hands behind his back, scanned the group, and said:

"Comrades, you've all worked hard. It's too hot and the conditions are limited, so please bear with it."

Xu Shichao hurriedly said, "The comrades have no complaints and are sticking to their posts."

"Comrade Shichao can go and buy some chilled watermelon and drinks to treat the comrades. Our funds are what they are, and we have to spend them as needed. We can't fill the square with air conditioners, but we can help the comrades cool off."

The comrades praised the leader's wisdom in unison, and some were even amused by the leader's words, creating a particularly relaxed and lively atmosphere.

Gou Yingbiao looked at Diao Yiwen, who was dressed in her finest attire, and said with a hint of approval in his eyes, "Little Diao is really good. She's made it into the top ten. I've mentioned you to the leaders of several other units. Sure enough, I was right about you. You're young, promising, talented, and humble."

After saying that, he sighed with his hands behind his back and said, "It's fortunate that you all came to our unit this year. If you young comrades hadn't come, then we would only have Wang Zixu left to participate in the competition this year, and he was eliminated after making the final round. Don't you think that's embarrassing?"

Zhang Cangnian and Xu Shichao remained silent, carefully avoiding any response to the frequent reprimands from their superiors. Guo Ranran, on the other hand, was quite excited, but unsure how to respond.

Director Gou turned his head and asked, "Where's Wang Zixu? Hasn't he arrived yet?"

Xu Shichao whispered, "He probably won't come today."

"Hmph, this Prince Xu."

Gou Yingbiao's face was very unpleasant. He put his hands behind his back and said, "Where is his leave slip? Go back and check. As far as I remember, he only asked for leave until yesterday. Today should be counted as an absence."

Xu Shichao nodded to himself. Gou Yingbiao walked to the chair in the middle of the pavilion, sat down, and picked up a folding fan from the table to fan himself.

With the leader present, everyone felt somewhat awkward, like students in a self-study class with their homeroom teacher in the classroom.

But soon everyone understood why Director Gou was willing to brave the heat to stand guard, because not far away, a group of imposing leaders in suits patrolled over from the other side of the square and soon arrived in front of their sunshade.

The person in charge was none other than Mei Rucheng.

This group consisted of leaders from multiple units, responsible for supervising the volunteer service during the cultural event to prevent any passive resistance or neglect of the public. Director Gou had apparently received inside information that they were coming to inspect the site, so he drove here in advance to oversee things and demonstrate his diligence and conscientiousness.

Mei Rucheng walked to the front of the pavilion and said loudly, "What, Director Gou, are you personally overseeing the operation?"

"Director Mei!" Gou Yingbiao stood up with a beaming smile, placing his hands in front of him as if he were listening attentively to a sacred instruction.

Director Mei pointed at Diao Yiwen and said to the people from other units behind her, "This little Diao has made it into the top ten this time."

A chorus of admiration rippled through the crowd. One person remarked, "Throughout the journey, the top ten have almost all come from the Writers' Association, or from submissions by the general public. Very few are from our administrative units."

"Not bad, a promising talent. So talented at such a young age. It would be even better if you could get into the top five. The Writers' Association would probably be scrambling to invite you to join."

Diao Yiwen quickly said modestly, "What talent do I have? It's all thanks to Director Gou's excellent training."

Someone said, "Director Gou definitely has a keen eye for talent. Hmm, a very good young man. Director Gou should nurture him well. He might even be able to take over your position in the future."

Director Gou was overjoyed by the praise. After a brief exchange of compliments, he saw the leaders off.

Mei Rucheng maintained a cold expression throughout, showing neither joy nor displeasure. Gou Yingbiao, however, was secretly pleased, because Director Mei hadn't mentioned Wang Zixu at all.

In his view, the two had such a harmonious relationship, and Director Mei seemed to be Wang Zixu's backer, so he couldn't possibly not mention it. Since he didn't mention it, it was obvious that the useless Wang Zixu had greatly disappointed him, and he was too embarrassed to even bring it up.

After Director Mei's group had completely disappeared from sight, Gou Yingbiao turned around and said, "The young comrades did a good job; they can go and have some fun at the literary gathering. We'll have a few colleagues from our unit take turns guarding this place. Xiao Diao, you can go and visit the bookstores and newsstands more often. There are a lot of people from the literary association there."

Diao Yiwen originally wanted to emphasize her determination to hold her ground, but then she thought that it would be more beneficial for her to travel to other places and expand her popularity, so she nodded slightly.

Just as Director Gou was about to leave, a red Audi made a sharp turn and pulled up right next to his black sedan on the side of the road.

The car door opened, and a figure wearing sunglasses and a white T-shirt got out of the car, put his hands in his pockets, closed the car door, looked around, and then walked towards their awning.

Upon seeing this person, Gou Yingbiao's face immediately darkened, becoming quite grim.

When Diao Yiwen, Song Yinglian, and the others saw this person, they all raised their eyebrows slightly, seemingly not believing that he would appear here.

Guo Ranran's eyes widened immediately, and she stared at him intently.

Zhang Cangnian closed his eyes with regret, sighing inwardly that he had still come.

And it came at the worst possible time.

Even if it were a little later, after Director Gou had left, it would have been fine. But he just had to come now.

The person striding towards them was none other than Prince Xu, whom everyone hadn't seen for a long time.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, he showed no disappointment or self-consciousness after being shortlisted but not selected. Even his previously easy-going and bullied nature at work seemed to have changed.

He was chewing gum and walked over with an indifferent, even arrogant, expression.

As he approached, people could see his attire clearly: a T-shirt without any logo and a pair of drab gray work pants. Reaching the shade, he pushed his sunglasses up and let them hang in his hair. His clothing was utterly out of place, not only compared to Diao Yiwen, but also to everyone else. If you didn't know him, you'd definitely mistake him for a tourist.

Gou Yingbiao immediately wrinkled his nose and said in the coldest tone, "Wang Zixu, why are you only arriving now? Although today is the opening day of the literary conference, we still have to follow the work hours."

Wang Zixu said, "I was at work just now, dealing with some unfinished business."

His words contained a double entendre, but Gou Yingbiao didn't notice it, only thinking he was referring to things left over from before he took the long leave, and then criticized him:

"What else is there? What's more important than the literary gathering? Today's literary gathering is the most important thing. Don't take today lightly just because your own manuscript was shortlisted but not selected."

After saying that, Guo Ranran laughed silently and covered her mouth. Wang Zixu's expression, however, remained unchanged as he continued chewing his gum.

Gou Yingbiao turned his head and glanced at the Audi that had driven up. He held back his question, though he was actually very curious.

In fact, after Wang Zixu arrived, many people noticed his car. Those in the know understood that the car cost at least 30 yuan; even those unfamiliar with the market could tell that, judging by its appearance alone, it was not a car that working-class people like them could afford.

Gou Yingbiao really wanted to ask Wang Zixu if he had suddenly become rich or what, and how he could suddenly afford such a high-end car, but because it was too far off-topic, he ultimately didn't ask. Instead, he continued to press on:

"Wang Zixu, do you know that during your absence, we held a special study session and specifically criticized you? Don't be resentful. Look at our Xiao Diao, do you know? Her article made it into the top ten in the essay contest. Director Mei just came over to praise her, and many leaders have been full of praise for her, but she hasn't gotten arrogant at all; she's remained humble throughout. You need to learn from that attitude..."

Wang Zixu, of course, wouldn't listen to his lecture and quickly drifted into a reverie. He could have poured the opened bottle of mineral water from the nearby table onto Gou Yingbiao's face, but he didn't need to. With his hands in his pockets, he gazed at the literary gathering arrangements in the distance, where a banner bore a rather intriguing verse:

"Throughout my life, I have never cultivated good deeds, only loved killing and arson. Suddenly, the golden rope is broken, and the jade lock is shattered. Ah! The tide of the Qiantang River is coming, and only today do I realize who I am."

He was very curious about the leaders of the literary association's mindset in arranging this verse on such a occasion. He didn't know Li Tingfang liked Lu Zhishen; if he had, he would have guessed it was the work of Lin Feng's teacher. But in any case, he found it extremely interesting. Murder and arson, good for you.

However, compared to real life, once the golden rope is broken, a silver rope will appear; once the jade lock is broken, a bronze lock will appear. There is never an end to it.

However, this time, whether he likes it or not, he'll probably have to cause a huge scene like Lu Zhishen.

As he pondered this, Wang Zixu smiled. Gou Yingbiao, however, interpreted this smile as a provocation and roared, "Are you even listening to me?"

"Brother Wang."

A familiar voice sounded from behind. Wang Zixu turned around and saw Lin Feng, dressed in a suit and sweating profusely, walking towards him step by step.

Upon seeing Lin Feng, Gou Yingbiao quickly stood up, his expression shifting briefly before returning to its cold and hard demeanor. Previously, during the inspection, he had been extremely obsequious to Lin Feng, but now that he had connected with a more powerful figure, his relationship with Lin Feng had cooled.

"Why did General Manager Lin come here?" Gou Yingbiao asked.

Lin Feng walked over, panting, entered the pavilion, patted Wang Zixu on the shoulder, and said after catching his breath:

"I received the news as soon as possible and rushed over. Brother Wang, you are qualified to apply for membership in the Literary Association. You must let me be your recommender."

Everyone was taken aback. The words of a leader from another unit, who had "come running to invite you to join the association," were still ringing in their ears, except that the person they were referring to had changed slightly.

Wang Zixu asked, "Have I had any articles published in magazines? Which one?"

Raymond Lam said, "Wild Grasses" is actually a poem by the author of "The Yangtze River"!

(End of this chapter)