I am not a literary giant

Chapter 140 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

The white ALibra sneakers made a triumphant sound as they stepped onto the basketball court, as if they were conquering their own territory. A girl nearby, upon seeing the owner of the shoes, frantically slapped her friend and covered her mouth.

The sneaker net shows two hairy legs with dark skin, slender calves, and visible muscle definition indicating training. Above them are size 23 black athletic shorts with red trim.

Everyone probably had a guy like this during their school days: whenever he appeared, he would always steal the spotlight like the main character. Girls would swoon and shout how handsome he was, and even teachers would smile when they mentioned his name.

If you focus solely on your studies and ignore everything else, you might find yourself missing out on a lot of drama at your class reunion years later. The girls will spend an entire day discussing the love-hate relationships between a group of people and that particular individual, with twists and turns comparable to the most melodramatic romantic comedies of the last century.

You can't help but start to wonder if you really shared the same youth as them? Then you see the crowd erupt in uproar, and some girls begin to shed tears. Years later, the same scene is playing out again—it turns out that guy finally appears, pushes open the door with a confident smile on his face, and says, "Sorry I'm late."

That's the kind of guy.

Her long hair hung down, tied in a small braid at the back of her head, giving her an artistic air. Her arms, exposed outside her basketball jersey, deliberately displayed their muscle definition.

"Qingxuan, I heard that you had a little competition with a graduate school applicant today, and you even lost?"

Lu Qingxuan glanced at him sideways: "What's it to you?"

The boy placed his hand on her desk, then lightly jumped up and sat on it: "I saw it on the forum. It said you two had a competition. What was it about?"

Lu Qingxuan said, "Are you here to desecrate a corpse?"

The boy laughed: "How could you think so badly of me? Do you think I'm that kind of person? I'm definitely here to comfort you."

Lu Qingxuan said, "Thanks, but no need. I'm an adult, I can manage on my own, I don't need your comfort."

"Look at you, always so cold. Don't be so quick to shut people out. Let me finish explaining before you refuse. That person's name is Wang Zixu, right?"

The boy pulled a slip of paper from his pocket: "Wang Zixu, male, 30 years old, member of the Xihe Writers Association, currently published works..."

Lu Qingxuan became interested and straightened up, saying, "Go ahead and tell me."

The boy smiled and said, "See? I told you you'd be interested."

"Speak up!"

"So far, I've published one short story in 'Yangtze River' and one novella in the Xihe Literary Society. That's two articles in total." The boy put away the note.

Lu Qingxuan said, "Then how did he get into the Writers' Association? It seems that the basic requirement for writers' associations in various regions is at least 10 words of publicly published material, right?"

The boy said, "Because he won first place in the Xihe Literary Association, according to their local literary association rules, he can enter the association regardless of the number of words published."

After saying that, the boy jumped off the table: "Look, actually the other person is also quite incompetent, they don't even have a long story to back them up, they're just putting on an act. Think about it, is it not worth getting angry with them? — That's what I was originally going to say, but now that it seems you're not angry, there's no need."

Lu Qingxuan rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "Didn't you already say that?"

After Lu Qingxuan finished speaking, she asked, "Where did you get all this information from?"

The boy's tone turned deep and somber: "Well, I'm a member of the National Literary Association, so I should have some information channels..."

……

"What? He's a member of the Literary Association?"

Xu Rongrong turned around, glanced at Wang Zixu, and looked at him with some surprise in her eyes.

Zhao Peilin said, "Yeah, so what? Does the top prize winner of the Xihe Literary Association not deserve to be a member of the association?"

Zhao Peilin was chatting with Xu Rongrong in front of them, and somehow the conversation turned to Wang Zixu. Zhao Peilin then casually brought up this news, giving Wang Zixu a little boost in his image.

Xu Rongrong had wanted to join the Writers' Association for a long time, but she hadn't yet met the required number of published articles. Hearing that Wang Zixu, an engineering student, had already joined the Writers' Association before even entering university, she immediately felt a little resentful.

Is it the provincial-level literary association or the Donghai literary association?

Wang Zixu said, "It is the Xihe Literary Association."

Xu Rongrong patted her chest: "I was so scared! I thought it was the provincial literary association. It's easy to get into a local literary association."

Prince Xu nodded: "Indeed."

Wang Zixu could naturally see the slight imbalance in her heart, so he went along with what she said. Besides, the Xihe Literary Association was very easy for him to get into.

Unfortunately, Zhao Peilin immediately added insult to injury: "It is indeed easy to get into local literary associations, but he is the vice chairman of the Xihe Literary Association."

Xu Rongrong stopped in her tracks, frozen in place.

Her expression revealed that her worldview had been severely shaken. She stiffly turned to Wang Zixu: "You're the vice chairman of the Xihe Literary Association?"

The prince nodded with a hint of pity: "Yes, he was just elected."

After the leadership reshuffle, Lin Luo was disheartened, and the literary circles of Xihe, led by Li Tingfang, naturally pushed Wang Zixu into the position. Although Wang Zixu has yet to experience the usefulness of this vice-chairmanship, he is indeed the vice-chairman.

Xu Rongrong swallowed hard, forcing a smile as she asked, "The Xihe Literary Association doesn't have any particularly outstanding or famous figures, does it?"

Wang Zixu said, "The chairman is Teacher Li Tingfang."

Zhao Peilin said, "There's also Shen Qingfeng among the vice chairmen."

Xu Rongrong took a deep breath and it took her a while to mentally prepare herself: "Being the vice president of the Writers Association is nothing. You're already thirty. There's even a national-level member of the Writers Association in our graduating class."

The prestige of a national-level literary association is incomparable to that of a local one. Wang Zixu raised his eyebrows: "Who?"

……

Ning Chunyan asked, "Who exactly is this handsome and talented junior you're talking about?"

Xiao Mengyin rested the umbrella on her shoulder and said in a light tone, "You don't need to ask too many questions. Anyway, with my endorsement as a former winner, his work is definitely going to win the award this time."

Ning Chunyan raised her eyebrows. At first, she thought Xiao Mengyin was talking nonsense, but judging from her expression, she seemed to be serious.

"As the previous gold medal winner, you should know that anything can happen during the judging process, right? Xiao Bing was also a contestant in the same year. He's a well-established author, and his work this time wasn't bad either, but he ended up being used as a stepping stone for you. What makes you so confident in others this time?"

After saying that, Ning Chunyan's mind raced, and she said irritably, "Did you speak to one of the judges?"

Xiao Mengyin raised her eyebrows: "Who are these judges? How could I possibly be qualified to greet them? Besides, do they even need me to greet them?"

Ning Chunyan asked, "What do you mean?"

Xiao Mengyin asked, "Have you ever heard of the name Shi Shuqiu?"

……

Lu Qingxuan said, "Shi Shuqiu, I don't care if you're here to comfort me or to show off your achievements, get off my desk first."

Shi Shuqiu leaped off the table, his face still bearing the same faint smile: "Would you like me to help you avenge this arrow wound?"

Lu Qingxuan raised her eyebrows: "Didn't you claim to never read books? You probably don't know as many historical allusions as I do."

Shi Shuqiu laughed dismissively: "Who's comparing that stuff? Besides comparing who can memorize things and who's more stubborn, what else can that prove? If we're going to compare, let's compare whose work is better."

Lu Qingxuan listened with a hint of indignation: "Reading ten thousand books makes one's writing flow like a god's; Xin Qiji also liked to use allusions and erudition. Did he just memorize them by rote?"

Shi Shuqiu waved his hand: "Throughout history, there have been countless scholars who have read tens of thousands of books, but how many have achieved a place in history like Xin Qiji? Xin Qiji was often criticized for his pedantry, but if he hadn't been so bookish, his artistic achievements would probably have been even greater. Xin Qiji was a genius, but do you think that reading a lot makes someone a genius?"

Lu Qingxuan said, "Reading a lot of books doesn't necessarily make you a genius, but a genius definitely reads a lot."

Shi Shuqiu smiled and said, "I don't read books."

"Are you a genius?"

"Of course!" Shi Shuqiu raised his eyebrows. "I haven't found another genius as perfect as me in the entire Nanjing University."

After he finished speaking, many people in the audience laughed, which shows that everyone's attention was on the conversation between the two.

Lu Qingxuan scoffed: "Narcissistic."

Shi Shuqiu tapped his temple with his finger: "A writer's weapon is his brain. The brain isn't for rote memorization. Rote memorization only consumes brain cells. No matter how many questions a test-taker solves, it's not as good as asking the right question without taking any tests. Otherwise, why have I already published a collection of poems and joined the Chinese Writers Association, while others haven't?"

Lu Qingxuan feigned resentment, but inwardly she was convinced, given Shi Shuqiu's undeniable achievements. However, unwilling to admit defeat, she asked, "So, what do you think makes a genius?"

"I don't know how other geniuses are, but my creations come from a sudden burst of inspiration from my swollen soul, like the libido of the Little Prince. My creative inspiration also originates from the trickle in my lower body, flowing through my whole body and reaching my brain, where it has become the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. I love life, I love girls, and I consume hormones in a poetic way during my swollen years. That is my talent."

Lu Qingxuan was speechless, and it took her a long time to finally manage to utter, "The Little Prince's creations didn't originate from his lower body!"

Shi Shuqiu raised an eyebrow: "Who knows?"

The girl next to her whispered to another girl, "Shi Shuqiu is so cool."

"Cool? Don't you think he's lewd?"

"Great elegance is also great vulgarity; when one can face one's own vulgarity with equanimity, one becomes a shining example of nobility."

"I feel like you're only making that comment because of his looks. Would you say the same thing about a greasy middle-aged man?"

"The key point is that Shi Shuqiu's appearance is right there; it's an objective fact. We can't strip away his appearance to see his inner self, just like you can't remove the tails of a coin and only keep the heads!"

……

Ning Chunyan said, "Shi Shuqiu? It's not that I haven't heard of him, it's that I've never heard of him at all."

Xiao Mengyin looked surprised: "You've never heard of Shi Shuqiu? Have you heard of Shi Tonghe?"

Ning Chunyan rolled her eyes: "Who hasn't heard of Shi Tonghe? Are you looking down on me?"

Shi Tonghe is a winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, and one of the most senior winners in the early years, undisputed in his time. Now he is the chairman of a provincial literary association.

The most elite group in the Chinese literary world can be counted on one hand, and Shi Tonghe is one of them. That's why Ning Chunyan thinks Xiao Mengyin is sarcastic and unpleasant.

Xiao Mengyin smiled and said, "Still don't understand?"

Ning Chunyan gasped, "Shi Tonghe, Shi Shuqiu, you mean...?"

Xiao Mengyin said, "Shi Shuqiu is the junior I was talking about. So, now you know why I said he was a shoo-in for the Fei Shi Literary Award this year, right?"

"A second-generation intellectual?!"

Ning Chunyan realized her voice was a bit loud after she finished speaking, and whispered, "You're kidding me, right? Shi Tonghe is involved, and the judges are either his friends or his colleagues. How are the others supposed to compete? Isn't that unfair?"

Xiao Mengyin said, "We can't force other people's children not to write or submit their work, can we? It's not their fault that their father is Shi Tonghe. As for the others? We'll just have to ask them to come back next year. Gold will always shine."

After being shocked, Ning Chunyan silently wiped away a tear of sympathy for Prince Xu.

Prince Xu, your wife ran away, your luck is really bad.

Xiao Mengyin said, "By the way, who did you say you favored?"

"I told you you don't know him." Ning Chunyan's face turned slightly red.

Xiao Mengyin grinned mischievously: "Just say you don't know me and I'll know you! Are you also a junior? Don't be shy!"

Ning Chunyan remained silent, thinking to herself: Wang Zixu, why isn't your father a winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize? You've embarrassed me in front of my friends!

Xiao Mengyin opened her umbrella and turned around, her black lace-trimmed skirt fluttering in the breeze: "I'm leaving, I'm going to the restaurant at the end of the universe to relive my student days."

Ning Chunyan finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Can you please stop wearing Lolita fashion and trying to look young? This persona doesn't fit at all, and the promotional photos printed in the book aren't this style either!"

"You're just jealous."

"I'm jealous of your grandpa!"

……

"She was probably referring to Shi Shuqiu," Zhao Peilin said.

Wang Zixu was unfamiliar with this strange name, and after hearing it, he showed no expression, only softly saying "Oh".

Zhao Peilin turned his head and said, "Speaking of Shi Shuqiu reminds me. Wasn't Shi Shuqiu quite flamboyant when she entered school? Why didn't you criticize her then?"

Xu Rongrong said confidently, "Yes, everyone thought he was too flamboyant back then, but he proved himself, didn't he?"

Zhao Peilin turned to look at Wang Zixu: "Did you hear that? You'd better prove yourself too. Who can stand this?"

The restaurant at the end of the universe is located on the second floor of the cafeteria opposite the Nanjing University library. It's a privately owned restaurant serving small dishes and drinks.

Professors and students at Nanjing University enjoy hanging out in bars at night, somewhat similar to the pub culture in Germany. Restaurants at the ends of the earth become a common choice for everyone.

This restaurant's unique advantage lies in its spaciousness and the availability of board games, making it a popular spot for faculty, staff, and even PhD and Master's students. While the intention is supposedly to exchange ideas, it's really more about playing cards.

The restaurant owner is a science fiction enthusiast, and he decorated the restaurant in a space-themed style. No one who isn't a science fiction fan would name their restaurant this way—the name comes from the second book in Douglas Adams's five-book series, *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, titled *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*.

Wang Zixu asked Zhao Peilin in a low voice why this science fiction fan boss thought Nanjing University was the "end of the universe".

Zhao Peilin stamped his foot and said, "Nanjing University isn't it, this is. Earth is the end of the universe. Have you heard of the Fermi Paradox? We haven't encountered any aliens yet, which means Earth is the end of the universe. Otherwise, why wouldn't we encounter aliens?"

Prince Xu pondered for a long time and found the theory impeccable, nodding and saying, "That makes sense." However, wouldn't that mean all restaurants on Earth could be called restaurants at the end of the universe?

Zhao Peilin didn't answer. The three of them went inside together.

As soon as he entered, Zhao Peilin's enthusiasm shifted entirely to playing Guandan (a card game).

"Guandan is a card game played by four or six people, in pairs. Four people play with two decks of cards, and six people play with three decks of cards. It's usually played by four people, so we'll only explain the rules for four people here."

After Zhao Peilin led the two to sit down, he disassembled two new decks of cards, explaining the rules as he did so:

"You'll have a partner at the table, who will be your closest companion in the game. Your cooperation and understanding will directly affect the outcome. A good partner is hard to find. As the saying goes, it's easy to find a lover, but hard to find a true 'Guandan' partner."

Prince Xu was taken aback: "Are you sure you meant 'Guandan' and not bridge?"

Zhao Peilin said, "Although they are different games, the partnership is equally important."

Wang Zixu said, "We're one short for the three of us, how do we team up?"

Zhao Peilin said, "Isn't that easy? Everyone here is a potential player. Just watch me pick one up at random."

After saying that, he disappeared for a minute, and then returned with a girl.

Prince Xu looked up at the girl, who was wearing a black Lolita-style tulle dress, holding a small black lace-trimmed parasol, with elaborate headdress and heavy makeup.

He was utterly shocked. Zhao Peilin was always begging him to introduce girls to him. He thought Zhao Peilin was the kind of innocent, straight guy who would blush all day if he talked to a girl, but it turned out that Zhao Peilin could bring a girl back so easily. Did Zhao Peilin even need him to introduce girls to him?

Later, he mentioned this to Zhao Peilin, who was shocked and said, "Have you ever thought about why rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows? The more you interact with each other in life, the more you feel like you're in love with yourself. All the people I meet are my own kind, how could I possibly develop romantic feelings for them?"

Another thing that shocked Wang Zixu was that when he saw the girl, he felt as if he had seen her somewhere before; she looked very familiar.

It wasn't like Jia Baoyu had a predestined encounter in a past life; rather, he genuinely felt that he had seen him somewhere before.

The girl sat down, holding her skirt: "Four people?"

Zhao Peilin cuts the cards: "Yeah, how good are you at Guandan?"

The girl said, "You're an expert."

Zhao Peilin pointed at Wang Zixu: "He's a complete newbie, my skill level is average, and Xu Rongrong has played three or four games with him. So, we'll have the experienced players mentor the newbies. I'll team up with Xu Rongrong, and you can team up with him."

The girl readily agreed: "Okay."

Zhao Peilin said to the other two, "I just picked this girl up randomly over there. I saw she was alone, so I invited her over to hang out with us."

Xu Rongrong said with a smile, "We got to know each other after playing one game."

The girl nodded politely: "Yes."

Wang Zixu was puzzled. The girl glanced at him but didn't react. If he had really seen her before, the girl should have seen him too. He began to wonder if he was mistaken.

Zhao Peilin said, "See? What did I tell you? Even the dogs on the side of Nanda Road can play card games. Anyone can play card games. Girl, what year are you in?"

The girl smiled slightly: "I'm a tourist, just here for a visit."

Zhao Peilin was somewhat caught off guard: "Tourists all play Guandan?"

"How can you survive in society if you don't know how to play Guandan?" the girl laughed.

While explaining the rules to Wang Zixu, Zhao Peilin played a round. This was the most complex poker game Wang Zixu had ever seen. Many of the rules felt familiar, and at the same time, they were extremely complicated. Scoring, upgrading, trump cards, tributes... just memorizing the terms was a brain drain, but it was surprisingly easy to learn.

After two rounds, Prince Xu was able to smoothly integrate into the game.

While playing cards, Zhao Peilin started chatting casually: "Junior brother, speaking of which, what exactly are your responsibilities as the vice chairman of the Writers' Association?"

The girl next to him looked up at Wang Zixu, then looked down at the cards in her hand.

Wang Zixu said, "The main thing is to organize some activities and serve the members... Of course, that's the official way of putting it. I've been focusing on writing lately and haven't participated in any of the Writers' Association's activities. Fortunately, the senior members have been quite considerate of me and have told me to focus on my writing without making things difficult for me."

Zhao Peilin said, "Your new work is intended for the Fei Shi Literary Award, right? Have you decided where to publish it?"

The girl next to him looked up at Wang Zixu again, and this time she stared at him without moving.

Wang Zixu said, "Isn't the Fei Shi Literary Award a writing competition?"

Zhao Peilin laughed: "Yes, the Fei Shi Literary Award selects published works, not unpublished works."

Xu Rongrong interjected, "I know that. The Fei Shi Literary Award accepts submissions of works published in magazines, books, and online; anything published this year is eligible. You didn't know?"

Wang Zixu pressed his forehead: "I really didn't read the submission guidelines carefully. But even if I had, I can't submit now, I haven't finalized my draft yet."

Zhao Peilin laughed and said, "It's alright, there are still a few months left. You just need to finish the serialization before then. How many words have you written?"

Wang Zixu said, "I've written 500,000 so far."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent, and everyone stopped playing cards.

Xu Rongrong complained, "Five hundred thousand? No novel that has ever won an award in recent years has exceeded three hundred thousand words. Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to submit it or get it published if you write so much?"

Wang Zixu said, "I plan to reduce it as much as possible in the final draft..."

The Lolita girl who had been silent all along spoke up: "The Fiesta Literary Prize never rejects long works. The reason why there are no winning works of 50 words is not because the rules do not allow it, but mainly because being too long will have several disadvantages in the selection process, making it difficult to compete with slightly shorter works."

Prince Xu turned his head and asked, "What disadvantages?"

"Firstly, the length is too long. Unless you are an established writer, it is difficult to find a platform willing to serialize and publish your work. Although the Fei Shi Literary Award does not care about the publication, there is still a threshold. If other people's works are published in first-class literary magazines, and you publish yours in an eighth-rate local magazine, it will give the judges a bad first impression."

Wang Zixu nodded, and the girl continued, "Secondly, the reading process for long novels is too lengthy. Just finishing them takes a long time, and during that time, the judges have other works to read. If you can't leave a lasting impression, you're likely to be eliminated. Moreover, novels are difficult to control once they become long."

Wang Zixu nodded again. Zhao Peilin said, "Girl, you seem pretty professional."

The girl nodded: "I only know a little bit. I participated in the last year's Fei Shi Literary Award."

Zhao Peilin asked in surprise, "Did they make it into the nominations?"

The girl seemed unwilling to answer the question. She raised her pale wrist, glanced at her watch, and said, "Let's speed things up. I have something to do in an hour, and I might not be able to finish this game."

Zhao Peilin, full of energy, replied: "Great!"

A game of Guandan can be played in several smaller rounds, and the conditions for determining the final winner are very strict. Sometimes, the two sides are evenly matched, and they may not be able to finish a single game even after fighting all night.

After hearing what the girl said, Prince Xu became anxious and made mistakes repeatedly, leaving the girl struggling to save the day. She would often look up at him with a reproachful gaze.

After a few rounds, Wang Zixu caught a glimpse of a familiar face out of the corner of his eye—Diao Yiwen was sitting at the next table. He didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she might have already seen him.

He didn't plan to say hello. But because of this, he started to lose focus when playing his cards.

Just then, a person walked in through the door. Their eyes met, and both of them were startled.

It was Lu Qingxuan.

The girl hesitated for a moment, as if she had made up her mind, and finally walked over.

Just as Wang Zixu was about to think she wanted to greet him, Lu Qingxuan tugged at the sleeve of the Lolita girl next to him and whispered:

"Sis, what are you doing here?"

The three of them looked up at the same time.

(End of this chapter)