I am not a literary giant

Chapter 143 A Great Friendship

Ning Chunyan was immediately captivated.

Wang Zixu's writing is as solid as ice and as fiery as fire; just reading the words is enough to captivate the eye. After reading the first paragraph, Ning Chunyan felt as if she had returned to the time when she first read Gabriel García Márquez's *One Hundred Years of Solitude*.

But his writing style is unlike that of Márquez. His style is more like a combination of Lu Xun and Wang Zengqi: cold, shrewd, meticulous in sentence structure and rhythm, and with a touch of wit.

Wang Zixu had already given her a spoiler, but his summary was obviously an extremely abstract one, giving a completely different impression from the story itself.

Reading a story shouldn't be limited to just reading the synopsis. If you were to lay out all the synopses of famous historical works in a row, you would only see a bunch of melodramatic plots.

The "melodramatic" plots are precisely derived from "classics." Reading too many "classics" becomes "melodramatic." In more academic terms, "classics" are essentially a story framework that all of humanity can empathize with. If one follows this framework too closely and lacks the original charm and details of the masterpiece, it will turn into "melodramatic."

Take, for example, the classic literary motif of "twins." Two brothers, due to their differing personalities, ultimately embark on drastically different paths in life—this is true of Yu Hua's *Brothers*, and also of *Ordinary World*. Guo Jing and Yang Kang in *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, and Xiao Yu'er and Hua Wuque in *The Legendary Twins*, are all extensions of this motif. In essence, however brief, they are all the same.

Reading the synopsis is like gazing at a vast ocean from afar; on the surface, it's just a boundless expanse of blue. But reading the full text is like diving to the ocean's depths, seeing vibrant corals, migrating schools of fish, rugged continental shelves, and sea turtles suddenly appearing from the deep darkness in the distance—these magnificent sights cannot be summarized by a simple phrase like "a vast blue sea." The novel's value lies here, not in the blue expanse itself.

Wang Zixu's novel gave Ning Chunyan the illusion of diving: marine life emerged one after another, dazzling her eyes, and all of them were species she did not recognize.

The characters in his novels are very special, yet they feel very familiar to her; they are flesh and blood, as if she had seen people around her, but she can't quite match them with any specific person.

Not only the first generation of male and female protagonists, but also other characters who appeared, such as the private tutor, farmhands, parents, and cowherds, were all impressive. Even after reading the first chapter, Ning Chunyan couldn't figure out how the story progressed to the anti-Japanese war, war, and espionage plot that followed.

Therefore, even though she had already been spoiled, it did not affect her desire to read at all; the more she read, the more she wanted to read.

Lu Qingxuan sat beside her with a focused expression, her two dark eyes fixed on the manuscript paper, just like a student in high school sharing the same article with her deskmate. Sometimes, if Ning Chunyan turned the pages too quickly, she would take the paper and look down at it backwards.

...Prince Xu walked outside and lit a cigarette.

This was the first time he had shown this work to someone else. Because he had read his own work so many times, he had lost the ability to judge whether it was good or bad. At this moment, he was also influenced by Xiao Mengyin's mindset and was eager to hear the readers' evaluation.

But he was also afraid of hearing readers' opinions. If Ning Chunyan had a negative opinion of his work after reading it, he would likely make major cuts, even removing the four generations of protagonists and leaving only one generation—that might be more to the judges' liking, and would also be shorter.

Prince Xu stood nervously outside the door for a long time before Ning Chunyan and Lu Qingxuan finally finished reading the manuscript inside.

As soon as he stepped inside, Ning Chunyan looked up and stared intently at him: "Only 8 words? What about the rest?"

Wang Zixu said, "This part is the revised draft, which has been revised 12 times. The rest hasn't been revised much yet. It's saved on my computer, but I haven't printed it out."

Ning Chunyan blinked: "Revised 12 times?? No wonder it felt so concise to read! How many times do you plan to revise it in total?"

"At least 20 times."

"Don't change it, don't change it, I'm afraid you'll lose the essence."

The prince asked humbly, "What do you think of this part?"

Ning Chunyan took a sip of water, opened the manuscript to the first page, and spoke quickly:

"This part alone is perfect. Not a single word can be deleted, the plot is intricately linked, the characters don't utter a single superfluous line, and the story maintains tension throughout. I really don't know how else I could have changed it."

"That's where the problem lies."

Prince Xu sighed and sat down: "Writing about four generations over 120 years is actually a bit sparse. I originally planned to write about five generations. The fourth generation actually consists of two sons who become rivals for love, and it's not until the fifth generation that they finally come together. This would provide a more comprehensive view of this 120-year history and make the plot more compact, always conveying a vibrant and youthful hope..."

Ning Chunyan was taken aback: "Then why not write it like this? It feels more interesting and reasonable that way."

"It's too long," Wang Zixu said. "When I got to the third generation, I knew I couldn't stop. By the fifth generation, the word count was probably approaching 60. So I had to cut out the first generation."

"Don't delete it!" Ning Chunyan slammed her hand on the table. "What a great idea! It would be such a waste to delete it! How can you bear to make such a wonderful piece of work imperfect?"

Wang Zixu said, "But if it's too long, the Fei Shi Literary Award..."

Forget about the Fei Shi Literary Prize!

Ning Chunyan waved her hand, took his hand, and said sincerely, "The Fei Shi Literary Award is given out every year, and there are winners every year, but your idea can only appear once in all of history. Once you've written it, it's finalized. Many years later, even if you want to rewrite it, you may not have the ambition and energy you have today. If you don't perfect this idea now, you'll never be able to make up for this shortcoming."

Wang Zixu fell into deep thought. After a long while, he said, "In that case, if I write another 10 words, it will be close to 60 words, which is more than twice the length of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'."

Ning Chunyan said, "It's okay. Think of it this way: even if you write 60 words, it will only be enough for one-fifth of a copy of 'In Search of Lost Time'."

"What I mean is, if I write 60 words, is there anyone who can publish them?"

Ning Chunyan puffed out her chest and patted it: "Have you forgotten what I do for a living?"

Wang Zixu said, "You mean, publish it in the magazine 'New Appreciation'? I've thought about it, but it won't work. You see, as the editor here, if I publish my own article, people will gossip."

Ning Chunyan said, "The quality of your work speaks for itself; who can criticize it?"

Wang Zixu sighed, lamenting that she was still young and lacked sensitivity to the treacherous nature of the world: "If people really want to make things difficult for you, they don't need the facts; they'll only believe the little essays online. No matter how well I write my novel, no one will read it. Even if they do, they'll just say, 'This person writes very well, but their character is terrible.' You can't even defend yourself; the more you defend yourself, the worse your character seems."

Lu Qingxuan said quietly from the side, "Sister Xiaochun, the inaugural issue of 'New Appreciation' magazine is actually very important. No matter what, publishing a 60-word serial is too risky, not only for your magazine, but also for this work."

Ning Chunyan became melancholy: "That's true. It's still a question whether my 'New Appreciation' can even get into a top-tier magazine. If it flops, its reputation might be ruined, and it might even drag your novel down with it."

Wang Zixu laughed: "I wasn't worried about that. Your magazine will definitely become top-notch. Didn't you hire Chen Qingluo as editor-in-chief?"

When he mentioned "Chen Qingluo," his voice trembled almost imperceptibly, but he concealed it well. Then, he asked casually:

"Why isn't Chen Qingluo here?"

Ning Chunyan didn't even look up: "She's in seclusion again. She won't be able to come to work for a while, so she'll just be listed as a guest. We'll cover for the first two months of the magazine's publication."

Lu Qingxuan glanced at her sideways. Just a moment ago she was so aggressive about the interview, and now she's using "we" all the time. Sister Xiaochun really has no guile at all.

Wang Zixu didn't ask any more questions. Ning Chunyan then said, "60 words does sound a bit too much. Why don't you try to reduce it? Even if you reduce it to 59 words or 49 words, it will give people a different feeling."

Wang Zixu looked troubled: "Actually, my first version was already quite concise, with very few deletions. Following this revision method of 80,000 words, it can be reduced from over 600,000 to 600,000 words at most."

Ning Chunyan said, "Then don't worry about the publication issue. Don't you have the phone number of the editor of 'Yangtze River' magazine? It would be best to publish in 'Yangtze River'; they will treat you like a writer they have nurtured. If you can't publish there, I will help you contact other magazines."

Ning Chunyan spoke with absolute certainty, assuring Wang Zixu that everything was alright. But Wang Zixu couldn't be at ease. This was a problem he couldn't dwell on, yet he couldn't ignore it either. Thinking too much would cloud his judgment, causing hesitation when typing, and these small hesitations would accumulate into each word, eventually leading to disaster and lowering the quality of the entire novel.

Ning Chunyan is right. This idea is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him, a final decision. If he doesn't write it well now, he won't be able to make up for it later.

There is currently no polyphonic novel in the history of Chinese literature of such a large scale: geographically, it ranges from the eastern coast to the northwestern desert, from cities to rural areas; in terms of time, it ranges from the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance a century ago to dancing in JK uniforms at anime conventions a century later; on a micro level, it includes stories of people getting rich by delivering cows and selling screws, and getting trapped in A-share speculation; on a macro level, it includes stories of patriotism, self-sacrifice, and innovation.

These aspects of life are so naturally woven into the same novel, with various ideologies, countless people, and a rapidly changing era. Without any pretense, it naturally exudes the flavor of magical realism, which is exciting to think about.

The older generation of writers couldn't write it; their vision couldn't see the present. The younger ones were too inexperienced. Only he could write it. If he did, he would be the first in the history of Chinese literature; all those who followed would be mere imitators. It couldn't be replicated.

Actually, he hadn't dared to start. The idea had been in his mind for a long time, but he always felt he lacked experience. If it weren't for the Fei Shi Literary Award, which motivated him to write 50 words, he wouldn't have dared to start for at least 10 years. Now that he had started, he couldn't back down; to back down meant defeat.

Wang Zixu withdrew his gaze and said, "Then I won't think about publishing it for now. There's always a way out. I'll focus on perfecting this work first."

Ning Chunyan was very excited. "That's right, that's how it should be. If we can't get the Jade Sword, let's get the Mao Dun."

Wanting to prolong the surge of enthusiasm he'd finally mustered, Wang Zixu deliberately changed the subject, asking, "How many short stories have you prepared for the inaugural issue? When are you planning to publish them?"

Ning Chunyan was quick to criticize others, but when it came to her own affairs, she became dejected, saying, "Not a single one."

"what?"

"No, there should be at least one," she said. "With my connections, I can at least get one manuscript from The Little Prince."

"Oh?" Lu Qingxuan sat up straight. "Sister Xiaochun, you know the Little Prince?"

"We've known each other for a long time," Ning Chunyan said, feigning profundity.

Wang Zixu thought to himself that she had used the wrong word. "Spiritual communion" means that two people know each other without communicating. She had even posted several of her private photos and reported on her daily life. He even knew the style of her stockings. What kind of spiritual communion was that?

To make his act more convincing, he said, feigning seriousness, "The Little Prince writes about speech therapy. What are you planning to publish? A collection of his witty remarks?"

Ning Chunyan was annoyed by his disdain and said indignantly, "What do you mean by 'flirting'? Your misunderstanding of the Little Prince should be severely criticized, but that doesn't fit the tone of our magazine. I started this magazine for the Little Prince, so don't influence my train of thought."

Wang Zixu inwardly sighed, realizing that celebrity fans were not to be trifled with. He said aloud, "So what kind of manuscript will he submit? Have you discussed it?"

Ning Chunyan neither said yes nor no, but simply said, "It depends on what he wants to write. It would be best if he could give me a proper novel, but if not, an essay would be fine too."

Wang Zixu said, "What if he just gives you a script and tells you to figure it out yourself?"

Ning Chunyan said firmly, "He won't."

……

She guessed correctly; Prince Xu indeed wouldn't.

He's the kind of person who, if someone does him a little kindness, will repay them tenfold or a hundredfold. But he won't say it aloud; he'll only show it through his actions. He wants to prove his sincerity through his deeds, much like the "great friendship" Wang Er speaks of in "The Golden Age."

If he says, "You treat me well first, and I'll repay you a hundredfold later," then it feels like an exchange of benefits. Is that still "great friendship"? Great friendship should be selfless. Great friendship stems from great understanding.

On his way to the lecture hall at Nanjing University, Wang Zixu's mind was full of ideas. What kind of novel should he write for Ning Chunyan? It had to be interesting, showcase his talent, and ideally, establish the overall style of the magazine.

"Prince Xu!"

He turned around and saw Xu Rongrong running towards him, panting.

"I've been calling you for ages, why didn't you answer? Have you seen Zhao Peilin?"

Wang Zixu said, "No."

"I had a fight with him, and he said it was all my fault for making you disappear, and that he went to look for you. Didn't you see?"

"He didn't bring his phone?"

"His phone died."

Wang Zixu glanced at his watch: "He has to go to the symposium. If you want to find him, just wait there."

Xu Rongrong frowned and said, "Who wants to see him? That guy has a foul mouth and no class. He asks girls for their contact information every day outside of school, but pretends to be a gentleman on campus. I don't even like hanging out with him. If it weren't for the fact that he helped me with my graduate school entrance exam preparation before, I wouldn't even want to talk to him."

Wang Zixu said, "Weren't you admitted through a special program?"

"But he helped me with my application before I was recommended for admission."

The prince thought to himself that this might be another form of "great friendship".

He glanced at his watch again: "Then I'll go by myself. Goodbye."

Xu Rongrong followed persistently, saying, "I want to go to the symposium too."

Are you also interested in contemporary literature?

"I'm also a Chinese literature major. I reckon the entire Chinese literature department will go. That's Yanzishan, after all. No Chinese literature major would dare to miss the opportunity to see Yanzishan."

(End of this chapter)