I am not a literary giant

Chapter 136 Batman and the Joker

People change. Take the once sunny and cheerful Sakura-chan, for example. Recently, she changed her online name to "Melancholy and Dejected Sakura-chan." She said that writing papers is too mentally taxing, and now she's no longer sunny and cheerful, nor is she clever and witty; all that's left for her is melancholy.

The poet changed too. Not only did she become a poet of eternal sin, but her hair also changed from pink to green. She said it would make her look more sunny and healthy.

People say that it is indeed very healthy, but if you want it to be sunny, it would be better to add some bright yellow to it, so that it would look more like a sunflower.

The poet got angry and scolded everyone.

The poet's hair wasn't entirely the green of willow branches; it was highlighted green. Amidst a large expanse of silver hair, a few wisps of green, seemingly unspoken, swayed and flamboyantly.

In addition, she drives a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which makes her even more ostentatious. No wonder she attracts guys who openly hold confession events outside her building.

However flamboyant it may be, her running away with Wang Zixu by the arm in front of everyone would still cause a public uproar. When the poet dragged Wang Zixu away, a clamor erupted behind them, as if they had been bombed.

A boy stumbled out of the crowd, shouting hoarsely at the two figures as they walked away:

"Don't you even have the patience to say a single word to me? Du Kezhu, you have no heart!"

He looked up and gazed into the distance, but all he could see were the backs of a man and a woman, their steps swift and their movements so fast they left afterimages. They disappeared around the corner with quick, light steps, leaving only half a carpet of yellow leaves swirling in the wind.

The boy blushed and said, "Du Kezhu, I like you! No matter what you do, I want you to know that I like you! I just wanted to tell you this!"

A boy next to him reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Stop shouting, or you'll summon Batman."

Someone nearby asked curiously, "Why did Batman come?"

"Because I think he looks like a clown."

Another boy suddenly noticed the blind spot and put his hands on his hips:

"Wait a minute, He Yangyuxiao, why did you bring someone with you and kidnap Du Kezhu? What are you trying to do?"

The sudden accusation caught the three girls off guard, but the onlookers were immediately outraged and supported the guy for speaking out for justice.

The girl with long eyelashes was dizzy.

"They weren't the people I brought!"

"How could you not have brought it? You were the one who brought it, everyone saw it!"

"Yes, yes, we all saw it!" Everyone agreed. The eyes of the masses are discerning.

He Yangyuxiao felt wronged and quickly explained, "We did bring him here, but we didn't bring him here to steal the bride. We just showed him the way!"

A girl exclaimed indignantly, "Fine, you traitors! Don't traitors bear any responsibility? They're guilty of even greater crimes!"

"We guide the way, but we don't guide the way you want!"

Another girl leaned over and asked curiously, "What department is that person in? I've never seen him before."

The girl in the polka-dot dress with large breasts said, "That person isn't from our school. He came to register. We don't know him."

Everyone was shocked; he was a member of the underworld.

"Are you sure it was someone from outside the school and you weren't scammed? Du Kezhu doesn't know that person, so why would she pull him along? We all saw it with our own eyes!"

The students were talking intensely, and the three girls were feeling overwhelmed. The girl with the long eyelashes stretched out her hand and said in a leader's manner, "Everyone, calm down and don't be agitated. We don't know the situation yet either. Why Du Kezhu left with that person is still under investigation."

The dormitory building erupted in chaos again as three girls talked at once, explaining what had just happened over and over again, though it was unclear whether they had cleared up any misunderstandings.

But regardless, the boy's confession ultimately failed. Six months later, he realized the true meaning of "confessing your feelings is not a battle cry, but a victory bell." Of course, that's a story for later; right now, he's being led away for drinks by a group of people.

As the crowd dispersed, the story spread like wildfire across the Nanjing University campus, quickly spawning seven or eight different versions.

……

Prince Xu and the poet had walked nearly eight hundred meters when the poet finally spoke, asking, "What are you doing here?"

Prince Xu said, "That's what I wanted to ask you too."

"I go to school here."

"I also want to study here."

Wang Zixu thought that since he would be studying for his master's degree at Nanjing University, he would definitely have many opportunities to see her, so he simply told her that he wanted to study for his master's degree there.

The poet blinked, his dark, deep eyes fixed on him: "Does the little prince still need to go to school?"

"Learning is a lifelong endeavor, and also, don't call me by that name here."

The poet's expression changed, and then he said seriously, "Don't mention the name of the poet of eternal sin here either."

"I didn't mention it, didn't you bring it up yourself?"

"I know. I just wanted to say it once, it sounds cool."

The poet used to hang out with that bunch of freaks without seeming too strange, but now Prince Xu realizes that she's actually just as sick as the mechanical fire-breathing Godzilla.

Prince Xu asked, "Why did you drag me here?"

The poet pointed ahead: "I saw you upstairs, so I'll take advantage of the situation. They've been waiting for me downstairs all morning; I'm starving. I'm starving."

Wang Zixu looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a cafeteria ahead.

"You saw me as soon as I arrived?"

"Actually, I saw it when you and my three roommates walked down that road. I stayed upstairs the whole time, watching to see when that person would leave."

Wang Zixu asked in surprise, "Are those three your roommates?"

The poet sighed softly: "Yes, it's my roommate who's the only one who doesn't include me when we do group research projects."

Prince Xu sensed there was a profound story behind this, but he didn't intend to ask.

"Do you often get confessed to?"

"Not often, maybe once or twice a month."

"..."

Once or twice a month, she's already broken through the ranks of the most popular girls Wang Zixu has ever seen, entering the realm of "proud and arrogant" romance novels. But will a "proud and arrogant" hero be cornered upstairs by someone confessing their love until he's starving?

The poet sensed his skepticism and explained, "It's not always this grand. Most confessions are just passing a note or sending a text message. I can easily reject those half-hearted confessions without anyone saying anything. But in a situation like today, if I reject someone, people will talk about me behind my back for a long time."

Wang Zixu said, "I don't really understand."

"That guy is in the student council and is very popular. If you go downstairs and reject him, you have to give a reason, right? If you're too perfunctory, people will think you're disrespectful. If you're too formal, people will think you're pretentious. In short, it's a lot of trouble."

Wang Zixu nodded in understanding. But he couldn't empathize. He realized that girls her age would worry about such trivial things; Wang Zixu felt old, as if he had lost his youth.

The two walked along a path covered with yellow leaves. Sunlight occasionally peeked through the foliage, briefly stinging their eyes before quickly hiding behind the leaves. The air was filled with the scent of hibiscus blossoms and freshly cut grass.

The poet said, "The original plan was that I would take you away, and if anyone asked afterward, I would say that I was showing the Little Prince around our school. That way, no one would have anything to say."

Prince Xu's face turned ashen: "No..."

"I can't mention that name here, right? I know." The poet casually tossed his hair aside. "So it was the original plan, huh? Now I have to come up with another excuse to explain why I ended up walking away with a strange man."

Prince Xu asked, "What's the difference?"

The poet stared in surprise: "Is that even a question?"

Prince Xu was greatly puzzled.

The poet said, "You're the Little Prince, a literary pioneer, a cultural legend, a teen idol, and a heartthrob. If you don't know you at Nanjing University, you'd be embarrassed to even say hello. If I say I'm with you, who would dare object? Maybe no one will dare confess their feelings to me anymore."

The prince opened his mouth slightly and stood still.

The poet stopped and stared at him earnestly, saying, "This is Nanjing University, the Little Prince's headquarters. If there were only 300 square kilometers of land left in the world to support the Little Prince, it would definitely be here. Why do you think I would skip class for 20 days and run to a small city over 100 kilometers away to live with a bunch of grown men? Of course, it's because of the name 'The Little Prince.'"

Just then, a group of boys arguing heatedly passed by, and one sentence in particular caught their attention: "The Little Prince said..."

The poet looked at him, shrugged, and his expression seemed to say, "Look."

Prince Xu was silent for a while, then the poet said, "Actually, my three roommates still talk about the Little Prince every day. I wonder how they would feel if they knew they had been on the same path as you for so long."

Prince Xu looked up at the sky and said, "Well, Thomas Pynchon doesn't know, but he does know the Little Prince."

The poet said, "Judging from your expression, you didn't know? I thought you knew this, which is why you chose Nanjing University."

Wang Zixu said, "No one had ever told me before that I had such a strong... enchantment at Nanjing University."

"This is not a spell, it is fame," the poet said. "Welcome back to planet B-612, Your Highness."

A sudden gust of wind stirred, causing the leaves to rustle. The poet, employing ornate language, anticipated a dashing response from Prince Xu, but after gazing up at the sky for a few seconds, Prince Xu looked down and asked:

Do you know where Chongwen Building is?

The poet pointed and said, "To get to Chongwen Building, you can go to the dormitory building in front, then walk forward, then turn right and then left, or you can take the small path on the left, go through the grove of trees, then turn right and then left... Never mind, there isn't a straight road in Nanjing University. You'll definitely get lost if you try to find your way blindly. How about I take you there on an empty stomach?"

Already hungry, Wang Zixu felt embarrassed to trouble her and humbly declined. But the poet seemed determined to make him accept the favor, leading him to Chongwen Tower while her stomach rumbled. Wang Zixu declined repeatedly, finally deciding to wait for the poet to have breakfast. However, the poet returned, only to find that the cafeteria no longer served breakfast, leaving her to lead the way on an empty stomach.

The two chatted casually as they walked side by side, passing many students from Nanjing University along the way, who frequently glanced at them.

Wang Zixu dressed rather formally today, wearing a suit jacket and new leather shoes. Although he looked quite stylish, it didn't fit the campus style. He was accompanied by a girl with fair skin and delicate features, which was already a bit inappropriate, especially since she was quite a celebrity on campus.

Wang Zixu said, "You talk more than before."

"Do you hate it?"

"No. I'm just stating a fact."

After a pause, Wang Zixu added, "He's also more lively than before."

This is also stating a fact. What Wang Zixu meant was that the poet's image was different now. If she were still the same person at the Wen'ai Club base, she would be coldly chewing gum, scoffing, and remaining silent, but now she had a warm smile and rosy cheeks.

"Of course, at school it's normal student mode. Before, at the base, there were too many strangers around, so I always had to be more vigilant. Now I can relax a little."

Hearing this, Wang Zixu felt somewhat apologetic. From the poet's perspective—she was 1.65 meters tall—she was surrounded by a group of burly men in the base, including muscular weightlifters, lecherous nerds, a fire-breathing mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a heartbreaker—that is, Wang Zixu herself. Of course, she should be more vigilant.

After saying that, the poet turned to ask, "What image did I have in your mind before?"

Wang Zixu said, "He's rather aloof."

The poet chuckled. He was very happy.

Fortunately, they didn't run into the group that had just confessed their love, and they arrived at Chongwen Building without any major incidents.

This is said to be one of the oldest buildings at Nanjing University. It's a square building, just like a matchbox, and the first floor leads to an indoor basketball court. There's a white sign at the entrance that reads "Graduate Student Registration Point Entrance".

The poet glanced inside, then turned back and said, "I won't go in; Lu Qingxuan is inside."

"Who?"

"All you need to know is that she's a rich girl from a completely unknown family."

Wang Zixu was completely confused. Just then, a boy who had been looking around came out of the building and ran over to him, saying:

"Du Kezhu, Lu Qingxuan wants you to come in."

The poet rolled his eyes at the boy, ignored him completely, and walked away.

Prince Xu sighed, "That's the attitude I like."

The boy scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed at Wang Zixu, and whispered, "Are you with Du Kezhu? If Lu Qingxuan asks later, can you explain?"

Prince Xu patted him on the shoulder and said, "People can be used as tools by others, but they must never use themselves as tools."

Then, amidst the boy's dazed gaze, she walked into Chongwen Building.

The basketball court on the first floor was divided in two by several huge cardboard boxes. Outside were people queuing up, and inside were staff members in charge of graduate student registration. They were called staff members, but in reality, they were all college students who were hired to help, mainly student union members, natural free labor. Wang Zixu had done this job before, so he knew what it was like.

Upon entering the room, a pretty girl sat in the center, her jet-black hair flowing like clouds. She wore a Letmoe jacket on top and a pleated skirt paired with Balenciaga sheer, thick black tights on the bottom. Her eyes were cold and sharp, her gaze chilling.

"Where's Du Kezhu? Didn't Du Kezhu come?"

The girl stared at Wang Zixu, who shook his head. The girl then beckoned him in and said, "Then come in first, I'll check you out first."

(End of this chapter)