I am not a literary giant

Chapter 141 A Sunny and Cheerful Young Man

Lu Qingxuan tugged at the sleeve of the girl next to Wang Zixu: "Sister, what are you doing here? Do you know them?"

The Lolita girl slowly placed her cards face down on the table, resting her hands on her knees: "I don't know them. We're just playing cards together by chance."

Lu Qingxuan glanced at Wang Zixu: "I thought you two knew each other!"

The Lolita girl looked up at her: "You know her?"

Zhao Peilin only then realized what was happening and glared at him, saying, "Lu Qingxuan, you have an older sister?"

Lu Qingxuan said, "Yes, this is my cousin."

Zhao Peilin quickly moved over: "Come, sit down. What a coincidence! I just randomly picked a partner for the prince, and it turns out to be your cousin. The universe is so small!"

Lu Qingxuan sat down across the table from Wang Zixu, staring at him intently.

Wang Zixu felt a little uneasy under his gaze, so he turned his head and said, "Miss Lu, do you know how to play Guandan? How about I give you my seat so you and your cousin can play together? I'm not particularly good at it, so I can just watch from the sidelines."

Unexpectedly, the girl beside him firmly refused: "How can we do that? It's already match point. We've finally built up some chemistry. If we switch hands now, won't the opponents turn the game around?"

Wang Zixu said, "My understanding with you is not necessarily better than that with your sister."

The girl beside him chuckled softly: "Be confident. You may be a bit bad at the game, but at least in this match, you're starting to develop a sense of the big picture. You have to believe in yourself."

Prince Xu sensed a hidden meaning in her words. After a moment's thought, he understood immediately and decisively defeated the opponent. He then passed her a card, and the girl beside him seized the opportunity to play several cards.

Zhao Peilin panicked: "Hey, hey, hey! This isn't the strategic phase! What you're discussing is against the rules!"

The Lolita girl said, "How is that a foul? I think it's a tacit understanding."

Lu Qingxuan said quietly, "As expected of Sister Mengmeng, she has developed a good rapport with strangers so quickly. I can't even get her WeChat ID."

Continuing this topic would put him in a very passive position, so Wang Zixu looked at Zhao Peilin with pleading eyes. Zhao Peilin tactfully covered for him: "What does your cousin Lu Qingxuan do? We chatted for a while, and she seemed to know a lot about the Fei Shi Literary Award."

Lu Qingxuan looked slightly speechless: "Of course she knows a lot. Don't you guys know who she is?"

Zhao Peilin was taken aback, then cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask your esteemed name?"

The Lolita girl covered her mouth and laughed: "I'm a seasoned veteran of the Chinese Literature Department, my name is not worth mentioning."

Zhao Peilin shook his head: "No, no, no. Based on your understanding of Fei Shi, his background is definitely not simple. My junior brother and I both want to challenge Fei Shi this time, and we'd like to learn from you."

The Lolita girl smiled faintly: "You guys aren't going to win this time! If you're really good enough, you might have a chance at a nomination. But being nominated this time will be a debuff for the next award."

Zhao Peilin and Wang Zixu were both stunned after hearing this. Both of them were easygoing on the surface but secretly proud, and they were unconvinced by her assertion that they would not win the first prize.

Zhao Peilin said, "You haven't even seen our work, how can you be sure we won't win an award?"

The Lolita girl chuckled, "It's not that you guys aren't good enough, but there's a really good guy who's already taken the top prize. You can't possibly beat him! I came here specifically to meet him."

"Who?"

"Do you know Shi Shuqiu?"

Zhao Peilin and Wang Zixu looked at each other in bewilderment.

"It's not a matter of whether we know each other or not; we were talking about him before we came here."

Lu Qingxuan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear: "I just shook him off, but he kept pestering me to chat."

The girl said, "Oh, so you've set your sights on my cousin."

Xu Rongrong slammed her hand on the table: "See? I told you before that Fei Shi was determined to win this time. This junior's talent is extraordinary."

Zhao Peilin puffed out his chest and said proudly, "We'll only know who's truly determined to win once we see their work."

The girl lowered her head, her bangs obscuring her eyes: "My professional eye tells me there's no need to look. This time, you're destined not to win the top prize at Fei Shi."

Zhao Peilin asked, "Are you an employee of Feishi?"

Hearing this, Lu Qingxuan finally couldn't hold back any longer. She cleared her throat and said in a low voice:

My cousin has a pen name, Xiao Mengyin.

The three of them turned to look at her at the same time.

Xiao Mengyin pouted: "Why say it so early? I want to play a little longer."

She reached out and placed her cards on the table—a straight.

"I'm running away. Hurry up, there are still some bombs left, right?"

Prince Xu silently threw out a bomb, then placed the last card on the table.

The rules of Guandan require teammates to be ranked first and second in the match point round; otherwise, it doesn't count as a win. Xiao Mengyin stood up, raised her face, and announced, "I won. No, we won."

Zhao Peilin slumped down, looking lost, as if he had lost more than one game.

Xiao Mengyin turned to look at her cousin: "What are your plans next? I'm going to visit Shi Shuqiu, do you want to come along?"

Lu Qingxuan shook her head.

"Xiao Mengyin," Prince Xu suddenly said.

"What's wrong?"

"I believe there's no such thing as destiny in this world. It's like playing cards; having a good hand doesn't guarantee you'll go first."

Xiao Mengyin shrugged: "Maybe so, but I have to go now. I need to see my junior."

"There's one more thing."

A hint of impatience flashed across Xiao Mengyin's face. Wang Zixu said, "Do you really think your despair is greater than the Little Prince's despair?"

Xiao Mengyin widened her eyes, looking somewhat surprised: Wang Zixu's question was the topic of the previous promotional article from the publishing house, and it was also the opportunity when Wang Zixu first heard her name.

"Have you read that report? I don't like it. I don't think I should be compared to the Little Prince."

After saying that, she added, "That's all I can say for now. If we have the chance to meet again in the future, we can talk more."

……

The girl in the black dress walked into the sunlight, opened her parasol, and her shadow stretched long in the sunlight, resembling a strangely shaped butterfly. She strolled for a long time before encountering Shi Shuqiu, who stood like a tree.

The boy had his hands in his pockets, and just smiled at her—a warm and gentle smile.

What a sunny and cheerful young man!

"Sister Mengmeng, it's been a long time."

Xiao Mengyin stretched out her hand, touched his forehead to her own head, and exclaimed, "You've grown so much taller!"

Shi Shuqiu, hands in his pockets, said, "How can I pursue you if I don't grow taller?"

Xiao Mengyin pouted: "Forget it, you're not going to pursue my cousin anymore?"

"Let's chase them!"

"Is this how you pursue girls? Anyone who gets won over by a scumbag like you must be out of their mind."

Shi Shuqiu laughed: "There are quite a few girls with brain problems."

Xiao Mengyin said with a serious face, "The deadline for Fei Shi's essay contest is approaching. Have you found a platform to publish your work yet?"

Shi Shuqiu said, "I wanted to publish in 'Get,' but 'Get' felt it was too long."

Xiao Mengyin scolded, "Are you out of your mind? What kind of magazine is 'Get'? If you can publish more than 100,000 words in it, you don't need to compete for the Fei Shi Literary Award."

Shi Shuqiu said, "So I plan to publish in 'New Wind' magazine. My dad has a good relationship with the editor-in-chief there, and they've already agreed."

Xiao Mengyin nodded: "New Wind is also good."

Shi Shuqiu said smugly, "Publishing 200,000 words in 'New Wind' should be enough to establish my position in the literary world, shouldn't it?"

Xiao Mengyin scoffed: "Don't overthink it."

After saying that, she added, "Did you show your manuscript to your father? Did he say anything?"

Shi Shuqiu said, "He's busy and hasn't looked at it, and I don't want to show it to him either. Everything I show him is just 'good, good, good,' without offering any useful advice. I've shown it to Uncle Weng and Uncle Liu."

He didn't mention any specific names, but Xiao Mengyin's eyes brightened. She knew he was referring to some of the most famous people in the literary world.

"What did they say?"

They described it as: perfect.

Seeing his smug smile, Xiao Mengyin tried to lower his expectations:

"Don't think you've won it just like that. You have no idea how fierce the competition is. I walked around Nanjing University, and at least eight out of ten people wanted to compete for this award."

Shi Shuqiu laughed dismissively: "You're all literature majors, right? Don't worry, looking around the current Chinese department, I regret to say I haven't seen anyone whose level of ability surpasses mine."

Xiao Mengyin felt that his words had too much of a villainous undertone, but she knew that his confidence was justified, and besides, his confidence was quite endearing: "We can polish it up a bit more when we have time."

Shi Shuqiu said, "How do you polish an already perfect work?"

Xiao Mengyin turned and walked in the opposite direction. Shi Shuqiu followed.

"Sister Mengmeng, where are you going?"

"I'm leaving now," Xiao Mengyin said. "I came to see you, and now I should leave."

Shi Shuqiu said, "We've finally managed to meet, why don't we sit down, have a cup of tea, and chat?"

Xiao Mengyin said, "I only do one thing at a time. I don't like to drag things out. If you want to have tea with me, make an appointment earlier next time."

……

After Xiao Mengyin left, the atmosphere at the banquet inexplicably became somewhat melancholic.

Eighty percent of this melancholy was amplified by Xu Rongrong. Because this woman felt they should feel melancholy. After all, both of them were ambitious enough to compete for the Fei Shi Literary Prize, only to have their fate so decisively decided by the previous year's first prize winner; they couldn't help but feel melancholy.

Wang Zixu actually felt alright. His main concern was that his former rival for the Nobel Prize was actually a lolita girl in black lace.

As for the Fei Shi Literary Award, Xiao Mengyin's few words were not enough to dampen his confidence. At least in his opinion, his work was better than the previous year's winner.

But the most unexpected thing in this world is when someone with no emotional intelligence pretends to be gentle. Zhao Peilin was fine at first, but after being comforted by Xu Rongrong, he felt terrible. He ordered two bottles of beer, his eyes started to redden, and he said to them, "Let's go for a walk."

So everyone went outside to a sunny spot, and Zhao Peilin began to talk about how he used to have a girlfriend.

"I was so stupid, really," Zhao Peilin said, her face flushed. "Your fervent persistence was nothing more than a sign of a lack of sexual attraction to her. You foolishly hoped that your tireless care and concern every day would make her feel safe, but it was just a drop in the ocean. There are naturally warm embraces for her to lean on on a cold night. Women are best at finding reasons for their infidelity, but you desperately convinced yourself to stay. You deserve to lose so miserably."

Xu Rongrong, standing nearby, became anxious: "What do you mean by saying women are the best at finding excuses for their infidelity? Aren't there plenty of men who cheat? Are there more women keeping mistresses or keeping gigolos in the world? How can you generalize and slander all women just because you encountered a bad woman?"

Zhao Peilin said, "Then you can only blame all women for not being supportive enough! How come I've only ever encountered women who cheated and never encountered virtuous women?"

Xu Rongrong asked, "How many relationships have you had?"

"once."

Xu Rongrong said, "Isn't that your own fault for not recognizing good people? Who told you to like dating scumbag women? I'm a woman too, how come I didn't cheat?"

Zhao Peilin chuckled and took a sip of beer: "I've never considered you a woman."

Xu Rongrong got impatient and pinched his arm hard: "Who are you calling not like a woman? Say it again!!"

The two were chatting excitedly, and Wang Zixu and Lu Qingxuan both fell behind. Lu Qingxuan tugged at Wang Zixu's sleeve and whispered:

"Don't you think there's something going on between them?"

Wang Zixu said, "It is a bit like that."

"Wouldn't we look like two third wheels?"

"A little."

"Shall we go then?"

"it is good."

The two of them secretly slipped away.

Then the situation took a sudden turn, and unexpectedly, it became a walk between Prince Xu and Lu Qingxuan.

The young woman, barely an adult, had a supple waist and delicate skin. Her gait was as graceful as a willow swaying in the breeze. Wang Zixu, walking beside her, felt like a goose. He was uncomfortable no matter what and wanted to find another excuse to slip away.

But Lu Qingxuan spoke first, her voice soft: "My cousin is an extremely confident person, or rather, overly confident. Sometimes she's a bit arrogant. You don't need to blindly trust her judgment. She's not always right."

Wang Zixu didn't know what topic she was talking about for a moment, and just said "Oh".

Lu Qingxuan turned to look at him: "Are you planning to participate in the Fei Shi Literary Award?"

Wang Zixu said "Oh" again, indicating he knew what topic they were talking about. Then he said, "Yes, I've finished writing my 500,000-word manuscript."

Lu Qingxuan asked, "Have you read many books?"

Wang Zixu said, "Compared to most people, it's quite a lot."

Lu Qingxuan frowned and repeated his words: "'Compared to most people, it's a lot,' you know, you and my cousin are like the same kind of people, you both speak with great arrogance."

Prince Xu said, "Huh?"

Wang Zixu often found himself facing this situation: he believed he had a certain personality, but onlookers often thought he had the opposite.

For example, he thinks he is humble and cautious, but people who listen to him will say that he is really arrogant; in the past, he thought he was diligent and down-to-earth at work, but his superiors thought he had malicious intentions.

Later, he felt that he was devoted and single-minded, and several women said that he was a complete womanizer.

Wang Zixu's reading philosophy has the characteristics of an infinite series: it is both divergent and convergent. The divergent aspect is that he reads endlessly, reading any book he sees. The convergent aspect is that he always keeps his reading within the "general category of books with humanistic content." He won't read books that are obviously rubbish, such as "48 Little Tricks for Interpersonal Relationships in the Workplace" or "28 Good Ways to Control Your Boss."

Even so, the books he had read filled his house and e-reader tablet, and selling them for scrap several times still didn't solve the problem. So, it's an emotionless fact that he reads more books than most people. But from Lu Qingxuan's perspective, she only felt that he was arrogant.

Wang Zixu said, "Then let me put it another way. I don't know who has read more books than me."

Lu Qingxuan pouted: "You haven't seen those professors and senior students in the Chinese department. They read books by the shelf, they read like they're sweeping through them."

Wang Zixu said, "That's probably because I read a lot. Of course, there's nothing to be proud of in reading a lot. I'm just stating an objective fact."

This statement sounded arrogant to others, but Lu Qingxuan didn't dwell on it.

Someone once told me that true geniuses don't read much. Reading other people's books only confines one's own thinking. Do you agree?

Wang Zixu said, "In my experience, most people's minds are inherently impoverished and don't need to be deliberately confined. Reading exposes us to new ideas and broadens our thinking, rather than the other way around. As for whether geniuses need to read, I don't know, after all, I'm not a genius."

Lu Qingxuan said, "Why are you suddenly so humble?"

Wang Zixu said, "I have always been humble. I am indeed not a genius. That's why I keep reading."

Lu Qingxuan looked up at him with amusement: "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Wang Zixu smiled wryly: "That's how it is for me. I used to submit my work but it was always rejected. I don't know if it's because my writing is bad, because I don't understand the rules of the literary world, or because I don't have any connections."

"It's a terrible thing to fail and not know why you failed. You have to keep trying until you get it right, and before that you waste a lot of time and hit a wall countless times."

"At that time, all I knew was that as long as I wrote well enough, nothing else mattered. And the way to improve writing was to read and write more, so my goal was to read more than everyone else and write more than everyone else."

After listening, Lu Qingxuan seemed thoughtful and said, "You really aren't a genius. Actually, I've been hesitating lately about whether I should review my professional knowledge or broaden my reading. So I'd like to find someone who reads a lot to learn from. Do you think reading is very helpful for improving your writing?"

Prince Xu looked ahead: "I don't know. I feel like I'm a basket, and the books are water. After I finished reading them, the water flowed through the basket and away."

Lu Qingxuan raised her eyebrows: "You didn't leave anything behind?"

"No," said Prince Xu, "only one thing remained: cleanliness. The dust has been washed away."

Lu Qingxuan remained silent.

Wang Zixu said, "From my own experience, this is probably the only benefit of reading."

The two remained silent for a while, when applause rang out from not far away.

"How can it be said that constantly immersing oneself in the world's finest freshwater, continuously cleansing one's heart, is without effect?"

The two turned to look, and under the shade of the tree, a white pleated skirt resembled a lotus flower, beneath which her long, white legs were like jade lotus roots. The girl stood there, her features exquisite, yet her lively face was full of mockery.

"But Prince Xu, who's not good at socializing, you're quite something. How come every time I see you, you're always surrounded by different beautiful girls?"

Wang Zixu smiled when he saw her, quickly walked up to her, and waved: "Ning Chunyan, long time no see."

"Hehe, it has been quite a long time."

As Wang Zixu approached, Ning Chunyan secretly rolled her eyes at him and whispered, "My magazine office is almost finished with renovations. Come with me to take a look later, and we can also do an interview while we're at it."

Wang Zixu pointed to himself: "Do I even need an interview?"

"We weren't going to use it before, but we are now." Ning Chunyan glanced at Lu Qingxuan.

(End of this chapter)