I am not a literary giant

Chapter 119 A Little Punch to Your Chest

Despite all the things that had happened in the past, Wang Zixu did not have much ill will toward Diao Yiwen—nor did he have any goodwill toward her.

But he knew that the power of jealousy could fill a person with malice, a malice strong enough to distort everything. So when Diao Yiwen walked towards him, Wang Zixu mustered his attention to prepare.

"I never expected you to be number one," Diao Yiwen said. "Did you really write your own article?"

Wang Zixu was taken aback and asked in return, "Did you write your own manuscript?"

Diao Yiwen froze.

Wang Zixu sensed her strange reaction and continued, "You're also involved in literature, you should know how impolite it is to ask that question. I refuse to answer it. Think whatever you want."

Diao Yiwen's eyes dimmed.

Lin Feng walked in from outside and said loudly, "Brother Wang, you kept this from me for so long! Your manuscript was clearly shortlisted, why didn't you tell me? Do you know how embarrassed I was on stage just now?"

He had always thought that Prince Xu had underperformed and failed to qualify, and had even comforted him before. Now, looking back, he realized that his behavior had made him look like a clown—a third-prize winner comforting a first-prize winner not to be sad.

Wang Zixu patted him on the shoulder: "I'm sorry, I had no choice. My situation was a bit special, and I couldn't tell you the reason at the time."

Raymond Lam's disappointment was palpable: "What reason could there be? Don't I trust you?"

Just then, Wang Zixu saw Zhang Qian's figure walking towards them from outside the door, and his heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and said:

"My manuscript was not shortlisted because someone interfered in the preliminary round and kicked it out. In order to prevent that person from targeting me again, I did not publicize that my manuscript was shortlisted again."

Lin Feng's expression turned serious: "Have you raised this issue with the judging panel?"

Wang Zixu gave a wry smile: "The people targeting me are from the judging panel. Do you think it would be useful for me to complain to them?"

Zhang Qian walked in, having overheard their conversation. Her tone was aggressive: "Wang Zixu, if you have objections to the judging panel's results, you should raise them through the proper channels! Your manuscript, which was shortlisted but rejected by us, was resubmitted through connections, securing a spot as an invited manuscript at Nanjing University. This violates the rules!"

Wang Zixu sneered: "If we follow the rules, shouldn't my manuscript have been eliminated as soon as it was shortlisted?"

Zhang Qian raised her voice slightly: "If we follow your logic, every shortlisted and eliminated manuscript will feel they shouldn't have been eliminated. If they all try to use connections like you, what kind of system will our writing become?"

Zhang Qian's loud voice attracted the attention of many bystanders, who pricked up their ears to listen to the argument.

Wang Zixu suddenly realized that he had fallen into Zhang Qian's trap. She repeatedly emphasized that she was "pulling strings" in order to pin the blame on him.

To those unaware of the inside story, they would think that Wang Zixu's achievements were all obtained through connections.

Having figured this out, Wang Zixu was both angry and couldn't help but want to sneer. After all these years, Zhang Qian's cleverness was still only used for playing pranks.

"Zhang Qian, are you saying that Wang got first place through connections? And you, who don't even know about the Oath of the Peach Garden, rejected my manuscript with a single sentence—is that fair judgment?"

Zhang Qian pointed her finger at Wang Zixu's face: "Don't make false accusations. Your manuscript was rejected by our preliminary review committee as a whole. How can you make it sound like I was the only one who rejected it? Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes, I have!"

Ning Chunyan and Chen Qingluo walked in hand in hand from outside, and said loudly, "Wang Zixu and I went to see you, and you admitted to yourself that you were the one who rejected his manuscript. You are his ex-girlfriend, and you held a grudge after the breakup, so you used your position to deliberately reject his manuscript. Not a single word you said is credible."

Zhang Qian panicked. What started as a confrontation with Wang Zixu turned into a collective attack on her. She shouted, "Who's holding a grudge? This is ancient history, what do I have to hate him for? Besides, Ning Cai Nu, you only stood up for him because you were dating him. Now that you're a judge, who knows how much of your boyfriend's favoritism you showed? What right do you have to criticize me?"

Ning Chunyan, who was usually defensive and focused on the high ground, blushed deeply upon hearing this and stammered, "Who's dating him? That prince is already married, okay? Don't spread rumors here, or I'll sue you for defamation!"

"He has a wife?" Zhang Qian's face first showed a puzzled expression, then she sneered, "Then can you swear that you didn't give him a high score in the final evaluation stage?"

"I dare! Anyway, I didn't give him the highest score of the night. But can you swear you didn't bypass the judging panel and personally reject his manuscript?"

The argument between the two veered more and more towards their private lives. Lin Feng looked at Wang Zixu helplessly, his eyes seeming to say, "Brother, your love life is quite exciting."

Wang Zixu felt utterly innocent. "What's so exciting about my love life? How come I didn't know?"

This is the government office; those present are either civil servants or prominent figures in the arts and culture world. They're all listening intently to the news about Wang Zixu's private life. The award winners, Diao Yiwen and Cui Xian, all have expressions of utter fascination.

Wang Zixu realized that if things continued this way, his reputation would deteriorate further, eventually plummeting to rock bottom, potentially affecting his family life and even tarnishing Ning Chunyan's reputation. He quickly spoke up:

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Zhang Qian, I have no evidence that you rejected my manuscript during the shortlisting process, and I don't intend to sue you. If you have objections to my inclusion in the shortlist as an invited paper from Nanjing University, you can appeal through proper channels instead of making trouble here."

Zhang Qian was about to retort when she reconsidered. There were more people on the other side, and she might not gain the upper hand in an argument. The boss was arriving soon, and continuing the argument could damage her image in his eyes. It was better to back down and let things settle. Later, she could find a group of people dissatisfied with Wang Zixu's award, and then she could denounce him.

After Zhang Qian fell silent, Wang Zixu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere at the scene eased. The oblivious Cui Xian grinned, "Looks like there's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on in this selection! I thought writers only needed to write well."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zixu felt a pang of bitterness. Hadn't he always thought the same way? Even now, he still thought so. But why had he become the "insider" in other people's eyes?

Just then, Chen Qingluo suddenly broke free from Ning Chunyan's arm and walked towards him.

Prince's heart began to race.

From the moment Chen Qingluo entered the room, he avoided eye contact with her. He was afraid that if he saw her eyes, he would lose his composure again. But Chen Qingluo walked straight towards him, her goal clear, and finally stopped in front of him, raising her fist high, and then…

"ha!"

Chen Qingluo's fist pierced straight into Wang Zixu's chest.

She was only 1.6 meters tall and very thin, with slender wrists. Her posture looked very serious, and from her eyes, it was clear that she really wanted to give the prince a punch. However, the difference in height and weight between the two made this serious punch seem less serious and more like "a little punch to your chest."

However, her sudden punch still stunned everyone present. Even Prince Xu was frozen in place.

Chen Qingluo looked up at him: "Why did you shrink back?"

"I...I didn't?"

"You're just backing down. She treated you like that, and you're not even angry?"

"I..." Prince Xu first gave a wry smile, then composed himself, "There's nothing I can do about her."

"Who said that?" Chen Qingluo said. "You can curse her."

"It's not a good idea to swear..."

Chen Qinglu shook her head vigorously, as if she had heard a completely wrong academic viewpoint: "Swearing is good."

Wang Zixu turned to look at Zhang Qian, whose mouth was slightly open. He moved his lips, as if considering what to say, and finally, as if making up his mind, said:

"You filthy bitch."

"That's right." Chen Qingluo put away her little fists, and the expression on her face showed that she was finally satisfied.

Encouraged, Wang Zixu mustered his courage and said, "You filthy bitch."

"No matter how eloquently you speak or how much nonsense you spout, you're still a filthy bitch. That's what I've always wanted to say."

After saying that, Prince Xu felt much better.

Zhang Qian's face turned as red as a boiling kettle, from bottom to top. She finally couldn't bear the humiliation and hysterically rushed towards Chen Qingluo. Wang Zixu, naturally, couldn't let Chen Qingluo be attacked, so he stood between the two of them.

As for Chen Qingluo, she was already prepared to run away when she noticed Zhang Qian's unusual mood, and she had already slipped away by the time Zhang Qian rushed over.

Shen Jianqiu stood outside the reception room door with a playful expression. A group of people followed behind him, with Li Tingfang and Zhong Junmin standing beside him. However, he stood motionless with his hands behind his back, and no one was going to move before him.

"It seems that another unique individual has joined our Xihe literary scene," Li Tingfang said.

The secretary asked, "Should I go in and maintain order?"

Shen Jianqiu said, "What's the point of maintaining order? Are they going to tear the houses down?"

After speaking, he strode inside.

……

The entertainment at the literary gathering came to an end, and the audience began to leave. Of course, many people chose to stay, drink beer, eat barbecue, and chat about things in the literary world.

Gou Yingbiao called Shen Qingfeng several times, but the line was always busy. Worried, he left first. But putting aside the leadership factor, their unit was the biggest winner in the literary competition. With one unit producing both the champion and runner-up, people from other units kept coming to congratulate them.

My old colleagues at work all know how to enjoy life. They organized a gathering, where we basked in the moonlight and had a barbecue in the square. When we ran into acquaintances, we bragged about how we swept the championship and runner-up titles at the literary competition.

However, Guo Ranran and Song Yinglian's small group were devastated. Compared to Diao Yiwen's victory, the success of their imagined enemy was even more frustrating for them.

Xu Shichao slammed the "Xihe Literature Special Issue" on the table and sat down with an air of authority: "I bought the special issue. I looked at it for a while in the bookstore. Wang Zixu's writing is indeed good, clearly a level above the other articles."

Hu Xiaoping teased, "Old Xu, you've become a literary critic? You can even appreciate literary works now?"

Xu Shichao tilted his head back and said, "He has basic Chinese language education. Look at his writing style; it's clearly not on the same level as the others."

After saying that, he quickly added, "Of course, Xiao Diao's work is also very good."

Zhang Cangnian laughed: "Since neither of them is here, you don't need to worry about fetching water."

Hu Xiaoping ate peanuts: "I have to say, you really can't tell that Xiao Wang has this talent. He's a bit of a hidden gem. Actually, I know he writes novels in his spare time, but he always keeps it a secret. He's such a shy kid."

Xu Shichao said, "Everyone should know about his writing novels. He's submitted them for so many years without success, and people still bring it up. He definitely needs to keep a low profile, which is understandable."

Hu Xiaoping added, "I thought he wasn't very talkative and was usually quiet. I didn't expect him to be so eloquent during the interview, speaking so fluently in front of so many people. He's quite impressive."

Some people said, "It seems that he doesn't dislike talking, but rather he doesn't like talking to us."

After chatting for a while, everyone generally felt that Wang Zixu was a bit too aloof. Xu Shichao sighed. His thoughts were different from the others, but he couldn't quite put his finger on them.

He recalled Wang Zixu's words, "Literature belongs to the losers," and suddenly felt there was some truth to them. Some things couldn't be said aloud at work, so they had to be written down. Connecting Wang Zixu's personal experiences with his fragmented remarks, he began to understand somewhat.

Perhaps some people are destined to be alone. Wang Zixu was one of those people. In other words, he was destined to be a writer.

Seeing Song Yinglian's unhappy expression, Zhang Cangnian patted him on the back and said, "Xiao Diao got second place, you should be happy, right? Why do you look so dejected?"

Song Yinglian forced a smile: "I'm not really disappointed, I'm just a little confused. Didn't they say that Brother Wang didn't make it to the finals? How come he suddenly made it to the finals and even won first place?"

Zhang Cangnian changed the subject, asking, "Do you know what Xiao Diao's father does?"

Song Yinglian was taken aback: "I don't know."

"Her father is the deputy county head of the neighboring Changle County. He's very powerful," Zhang Cangnian said.

Song Yinglian said, "How do you know so much about this?"

Zhang Cangnian said, "Your parents must be teachers, right?"

"right……"

Zhang Cangnian laughed and said, "At my age, I can actually see a lot of things. Xiao Diao's speech, behavior, and way of dealing with people are clearly those of a typical civil servant family. He's very authentic."

Song Yinglian asked, "Did you also figure out about my family's situation?"

Zhang Cangnian said, "Hmm. You have that distinct air about you that comes from a teacher's family."

Song Yinglian felt it was amazing. He really wanted Zhang Cangnian to teach him, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Zhang Cangnian seemed to see through his thoughts: "Once you've been in administration for a while, you'll learn by watching without anyone teaching you. But you need to know one thing: everyone's family background and ability level are vastly different. Never be arrogant or judge others by your own standards."

After saying that, Zhang Cangnian sighed: "Not judging others by one's own standards—that's easy to say, but how easy is it to do? No one in this world doesn't judge others by their own standards."

Song Yinglian finally came to his senses and raised his beer: "Section Chief Zhang, I'd like to toast you."

After the two finished drinking, Zhang Cangnian said again:

"You don't need to feel that Xiao Diao got second place or that Wang Zixu got first place. Second place is enough for Xiao Diao. Getting first place might not even be good for her. You don't need to be surprised that Wang Zixu got first place. They're not on the same level. You don't need to compare yourself to them."

Song Yinglian found these words quite intriguing and tilted his head, lost in thought.

Some things can't be resolved with just a few words; he simply had to get them off his chest. Actually, Zhang Cangnian had something else he was holding back: Wang Zixu was clearly no ordinary person. To consider him a rival was to have chosen the wrong target.

This wasn't a place he should have been working at.

……

The farce in the reception room finally subsided, and the award recipients, including Wang Zixu, were finally able to sit down quietly.

Shen Jianqiu also sat on the sofa, legs crossed. His presence put immense pressure on everyone in the room. Several heads of the organizing committee departments stood to the side, while Director Mei went outside to smoke.

Shen Jianqiu stared at Wang Zixu for a long time with a half-smile before finally saying, "Wang Zixu, I've heard of you before."

(End of this chapter)