I am not a literary giant

Chapter 111 The Little Horse Crossing the River

In Wang Zixu's memory, Ning Chunyan had always been seen as a literary muse. Her first appearance was so stunning that even when she wore denim shorts, plaid skirts, and knee-high socks, she didn't lose the aura of scholarly elegance that had captivated him at their first meeting. The charm and grace in her eyes were vividly present even with his eyes closed.

However, upon meeting her today, her scholarly air was even more tangible through her attire: she wore an elegant and dignified Hanfu, with a golden hairpin adorning her hair, a light silk fan in her hand, and her skirt fluttering gracefully, displaying a slender yet voluptuous figure.

Seeing Wang Zixu's gaze, Ning Chunyan smiled, her eyes narrowing, and waved her small fan at his face: "Is he really that good-looking?"

Prince Xu honestly replied, "It suits you very well."

Hanfu is no longer considered outrageous or unorthodox clothing these days. Wang Zixu has seen many girls wear Hanfu. But he must admit that Hanfu doesn't suit everyone. Hanfu doesn't accentuate the waist, and some girls with larger figures don't look good in it. However, Ning Chunyan has a slender figure, so it suits her perfectly.

Ning Chunyan's slender figure is different from the sickly beauty described by the ancients as "a willow swaying in the breeze." Her beauty is very healthy. Even her makeup is not entirely bound by antiquity; she organically integrates modern confidence, self-reliance, and poise into this ancient-style attire, and the effect is surprisingly excellent, even reminiscent of the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty.

Ning Chunyan smiled and said, "When we attended this literary gathering, Teacher Li Tingfang specifically told us that those of us who could should wear Hanfu as much as possible. Teacher Li Tingfang herself also wore Hanfu, which was quite interesting. You'll see her when the awards are presented. In addition, there is a great beauty among the guests this time, so you'll be able to feast your eyes on her."

Prince Xu shook his head: "Just looking at you is enough to satisfy me."

"What nonsense are you spouting? You married prince! By the way, do you know your novel was published in *Yangtze River* magazine?"

Wang Zixu nodded: "I know, I just came to buy a copy of 'Yangtze River'."

"See? I told you you could get on 'Yangtze River' magazine."

Prince Xu sincerely said, "Thank you. You've helped me so much."

"That's right. They owe me a hundred meals in total."

Diao Yiwen squeezed her way to the front from behind Wang Zixu, her tone humble but her eyes eager: "Excuse me, are you the talented Ms. Ning?"

"It's me. And you are?"

Diao Yiwen smiled shyly: "I'm your fan, could you sign an autograph for me?"

She handed over a copy of "When Black Hair Turns Snowy, We Say Goodbye Again," which she had taken from the bookshelf at some point. Ning Chunyan didn't publish many books; this was her debut physical book, a collection of short stories. The fact that Diao Yiwen happened to have this book so soon after her public appearance showed that she was truly a fan.

Ning Chunyan raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a very business-like smile, and asked, "You're all together?"

Wang Zixu said, "They weren't together."

He paused for a moment, then added, "They are my colleagues."

Ning Chunyan looked like she suddenly understood (it's unclear what she understood), and asked, "What should I sign for you?"

Diao Yiwen said, "You can sign whichever you like."

Diao Yiwen stood awkwardly beside Wang Zixu, her hands clasped together in front of her, not turning to look at him, her expression somewhat embarrassed. Behind her, Song Yinglian and Guo Ranran exchanged a surprised glance.

Having worked in Xihe for so long, they all knew who Ning Cai Nu was. Even if they didn't know what she looked like, Diao Yiwen's description made it clear. What surprised them was why Ning Chunyan and Wang Zixu acted so familiar with each other? Or rather, why was Wang Zixu qualified to be so familiar with her?

Their impression of Wang Zixu was still from 20 days ago: the Wang Zixu who was criticized in the meeting but dared not utter a word, the Wang Zixu who could only slam his fist on the table in fury and had nowhere to turn. 20 days later, this Wang Zixu suddenly drove a car they couldn't afford and chatted with people they couldn't imagine, acting like old friends.

Twenty days is less than a month, barely enough to pay wages once, let alone in a government office where the same routine has been going on for years, where people have no sense of time. The difference between Wang Zixu before and after this was so great that it was as if several years had been squeezed into these extremely short 20 days, secretly rushing away from him.

Ning Chunyan returned the book to Diao Yiwen. Diao Yiwen hugged the book, thanked her, and finally couldn't help but ask, "You...knew each other before?"

"Cough cough, uh..." Ning Chunyan cleared her throat, her eyes constantly glancing at Wang Zixu.

Because she was unsure of their relationship, she didn't know how to answer, or even if she should answer at all. Wang Zixu noticed her predicament and said, "Yes, Ning Cai Nu and I have known each other for almost two months; we're old acquaintances."

"We've only known each other for less than two months, who's going to call you an old acquaintance?"

After saying this, Diao Yiwen and the other two were even more confused about their relationship. Wang Zixu didn't care what they thought, and simply handed the magazine to Ning Chunyan, saying:

"Keep this magazine; it has sentimental value."

Ning Chunyan glared at him: "So you've switched careers to become a salesman, huh?"

She glanced down at the book cover, where the words "The Little Prince" stood out prominently. She exclaimed in surprise, "It really is! How did you know I admire The Little Prince?"

Prince Xu didn't know how to answer, so he could only give her a silent, mysterious smile. Ning Chunyan said, "I'll accept this, but come here, let me show you this..."

She led Wang Zixu around the paths formed between the bookshelves, her steps never faltering. If Wang Zixu were to comment, the route would be incredibly intricate, but Ning Chunyan seemed to have memorized it perfectly, knowing it by heart. Diao Yiwen and the others followed closely behind, barely managing not to lose them.

"arrive."

Ning Chunyan suddenly stopped at a corner, solemnly and slowly turned around, and like a TV presenter, slowly backed away, stretching out her hand and pointing behind her, out of Wang Zixu's sight:

"Ta-da! Enjoy!"

Prince Xu looked over and saw a large group of people gathered around a square table. Needless to say, there were books on the table. As for what kind of books they were, because there was such a large group of people that the table was completely surrounded, the contents of the books could not be seen at all.

He said, "I've seen a lot of crowds today."

Ning Chunyan was somewhat discouraged: "I'm not asking you to look at people, you'll know once you squeeze in and take a look."

Finally, she added, "There weren't this many people here just now."

Her tone was somewhat reproachful, but she wasn't complaining about Wang Zixu, nor about the onlookers.

As Prince Xu approached the dense crowd, he noticed a characteristic of this group: the vast majority of them were women.

The few men present, judging from their appearance, were also there with their female companions. They stood with their hands in their sleeves, neither too close nor too far, unwilling to squeeze into the crowd, showing no enthusiasm for reaching out. Besides them, there was only himself. His pretense of pushing his way in seemed rather lewd.

In fact, upon seeing this scene, Wang Zixu already had a guess in his mind. Seeing that the table was full of the same book, he made up his mind immediately. He grabbed one and left, unlike the other customers who were engrossed in reading it.

Wang Zixu turned to Ning Chunyan, raised the book in his hand, and said, "After all this time, this is what you want me to see?"

The book was printed with a title that Prince Xu was very familiar with, in gold lettering: The Little Prince's Love Letters to the World.

Ning Chunyan, with her hands behind her back, said, "How about it? Isn't this quite a memorable item? Let me tell you, whoever came up with the idea of ​​filling an entire exhibition stand with this book must be a sales genius."

Diao Yiwen leaned closer: "Is this little prince... is he the little prince who's been so famous lately?"

Ning Chunyan nodded: "Yes. He's finally published a book, and I heard the first print run was 10 copies!"

She interlaced her fingers to make a "ten". She really wanted to say, 100,000 copies, what does that even mean?

In the industry, this number can only mean three things: either the author has gone mad, the publisher has gone mad, or a publishing legend is about to be born.

The logic of the physical book industry doesn't involve the data explosion of the internet age. Even many celebrities only print a token 500 copies of their books. For a newcomer, printing 1 copies in the first print run is considered quite good. When Harry Potter was first introduced to China, the first print run was only 1000 copies; it was only because of its popularity that it was continuously reprinted.

The Little Prince's very first book has already sold so many copies; the publisher may have already mortgaged their underwear. But even a small publisher like Xihe Books can achieve such a success, so the publisher must be overjoyed.

Unfortunately, among everyone present, she was the only one who was well-versed in the ways of the publishing industry and did not show the slightest surprise at the number of 10 copies.

Seeing that Diao Yiwen was eager to go over there, Wang Zixu casually shoved the book in his hand into her hands: "Take this one, you don't need to squeeze over there."

Diao Yiwen blushed and whispered, "Thank you."

Ning Chunyan was greatly disappointed: "You're not going to buy a copy? Buy one, learn from other people's writing style, and you can become a sensation too, I'm telling you."

Prince Xu said, "I'll pass."

He has a huge collection at home. Keep a few as souvenirs. The rest are for signing.

He then casually remarked, "I heard this book doesn't have very good reviews."

Ning Chunyan rolled her eyes: "To paraphrase Premier Zhou, 'What the people love to see and hear, who do you think you are?' I wasn't talking about you. Whether a book is good or not doesn't depend on others' opinions."

"Reading is a very personal thing, like the story of the little horse crossing the river. If you find it beneficial, then it's good for you. In this age of information overload, we no longer need spiritual mentors to educate us. There are so many writers; what would happen if they were all spiritual mentors?"

"Besides, the masses don't need educators to teach them. They're all watching short videos now, who cares about reading text? If there's any educational obligation, it shouldn't be educators. As for physical books, we'll keep as many readers as possible. Look at this booth, do you know how many years it's been since we've seen so many people going crazy for words?"

Prince Xu was actually quite pleased with what he was being told, but he had to pretend to be worried, frowning and saying in a trembling voice, "Things are really going downhill, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be!"

Ning Chunyan stomped her foot in anger: "We have nothing in common."

After saying that, she suddenly remembered something, cleared her throat, and whispered, "Oh right, there's something I forgot to tell you. You still need to go to the Nanjing University delegation."

Prince Xu Zhen looked genuinely worried: "Hmm?"

Ning Chunyan licked her lips, feeling a little guilty: "Well, after all, it's because of that matter... right? Anyway, Professor Zhong took such a big risk for you... right? It would be really inappropriate for you not to go to his place."

After saying that, she ran off like a butterfly, leaving only the words, "You'd better hurry up, or don't blame me for not warning you."

Wang Zixu thought for a moment, then turned to Diao Yiwen and said, "When you return to our volunteer station later, if you encounter Director Gou or anyone else asking, please say that I have to go to another delegation to handle reception matters and cannot return."

Diao Yiwen asked, "Handling reception duties?"

What puzzled her was why Wang Zixu was being asked to handle the reception? And what did Ning Cai Nu mean by what she just said?

But she didn't have time to ask, because Wang Zixu had no intention of explaining to them. He took the last copy of "Yangtze River" from Guo Ranran, tucked it together with "Literary World," paid for it, and then disappeared into the bright sunlight outside.

(End of this chapter)