I am not a literary giant

Chapter 163 It's always been this way, so it's correct (5k)

Zhao Peilin ignored Xiao Mengyin's sarcastic remarks and comforted her, "To be honest, I don't think 'Ancient City' is suitable for you. 'Ancient City' seems to be more liberal and has been promoting those kinds of sweet and sentimental articles, which doesn't match your style at all. I don't know why you would submit to this magazine."

The reason for submitting to this magazine was, of course, because of Shi Tonghe. But that's not something to say directly; Wang Zixu simply asked, "What is 'sweet talk'?"

"It's the kind of writing that's very bourgeois, very superficial, very trendy, and very much caters to the narrow-mindedness of the lower classes."

Prince Xu's gaze slowly shifted to Xiao Mengyin. Dressed in a black, semi-transparent, skin-hugging lace dress, Xiao Mengyin, a woman resembling a mountain maiden, clearly matched all the above descriptions. Xiao Mengyin noticed his gaze and immediately felt deeply humiliated.

Zhao Peilin glanced at Xiao Mengyin and immediately laughed, "Don't misunderstand, she doesn't write sweet, sentimental stories. Don't let her appearance fool you, her writing is actually incredibly hard, with a rusty, old industrial feel. The stories she writes are all horrific; after reading her work, no one would guess that she herself is like this."

"Heh." Xiao Mengyin sneered again, rolling her eyes.

The prince asked humbly, "If you're not afraid of offending anyone, could you give an example?"

Zhao Peilin said, "If I had to give an example... well, Shen Qingfeng."

Zhao Peilin added, "Don't misunderstand, 'Ancient City' has never published Shen Qingfeng's manuscripts. Although they haven't published them, they have promoted several authors who are similar to Shen Qingfeng, and some of them are not even as famous as Shen Qingfeng."

Prince Xu said, "Now that you put it that way, I understand."

Zhao Peilin laughed and said, "So it's okay to be rejected. Even great writers have been rejected. So what if we are rejected once or twice? We may be thinking reeds, but we should be tenacious and not break at the slightest touch."

Prince Xu said, "You can rest assured, I'm also tough as nails."

The two exchanged a smile, but before they could finish laughing, Xiao Mengyin said:

"To prevent anyone from comforting themselves, let me share a little-known fact: the common belief that great writers are often rejected many times before finally achieving great success is wrong. Gauss was already a mathematical prodigy in his teens, Mozart composed at age 4, performed at the royal palace at age 7, and wrote an opera at age 12. Picasso's paintings at age 13 were already enough to surpass those of many masters."

"Writing is no different from other disciplines in its fundamental nature; it's all a game for geniuses. Diligence can make up for lack of talent, but it can never make you a genius. Besides, geniuses work harder than you. If you've been rejected several times, don't comfort yourself by saying that there are always talented people who are not recognized. Those literary giants who shine in the sky, unless it's due to their personality, are all extremely... explosive from the very first time they produce something."

Wang Zixu was stunned. At first glance, he felt that she was humiliating him to the extreme. But when he heard the last word "bomb", he suddenly understood and decisively threw out a bomb, which stunned Chen Qingluo, the player above him.

Zhao Peilin, unable to contain himself any longer, retorted: "Who says diligence can't make up for lack of talent? Balzac was a literary giant who repeatedly failed to get published, wasn't he? And Proust, he even self-published! Besides, passing on information like this is against the rules! Wang Zixu, you're really out of line, where's your dignity?"

Wang Zixu said, "This was brilliantly done."

Xiao Mengyin covered her mouth with a card and chuckled, "I didn't tell him to 'bomb,' I just said that literary masters always make explosive moves. How he interprets it is his business."

Zhao Peilin said with a serious face: "Nanjing University's rule number thirteen: conversations during the game cannot involve playing cards, and you cannot use vague or suggestive words to hint at your teammates. If the opponent's questioning is effective, you can play an extra card."

After saying that, he elegantly passed over an extra card.

Xiao Mengyin waved her hand in astonishment: "Wait, wait, wait, where did you get this village rule from? I've never heard of it before!"

"This was decided by that woman; it's pinned to the top of the Nanjing University forum. You can see for yourself."

He immediately took out his phone, opened the page and showed it to Wang Zixu and Xiao Mengyin. It was indeed exactly as he said, word for word.

Moreover, the first rule of this document clearly states:

"All players of Guandan at Nanyang University must abide by this rule. Even if international Guandan tournaments are held at Nanyang University in the future, the Guandan rules of Nanyang University must still be followed."

Xiao Mengyin's eyes widened: "Unbelievable! Our school actually pinned the rules of Guandan to the top of the list, and they're such bizarre rules! And you actually memorized them!"

"Hmph, these are all traditions left behind by that woman. How could a cunning player like you understand?"

That woman? Wang Zixu looked up at Chen Qingluo and was startled to see that her face was terribly dark.

Having played an extra useless card, Zhao Peilin's advantage was fully apparent. While playing, he asked, "Continuing our previous topic, have you submitted your manuscript elsewhere?"

Wang Zixu said in a low voice, "The Yangtze River."

"Yangtze River is great, let's submit to Yangtze River." Zhao Peilin also lowered his voice, "You know, the first prize winner of the last Fei Shi Literary Award was published in Yangtze River."

Wang Zixu said, "The previous year? Wasn't that Xiao Mengyin?"

"Who else could it be besides her?"

"I'm sitting here, can you please not talk about other people in front of me?" Xiao Mengyin played a card, "I submitted 'Yangtze River' to get it approved quickly, but the upper limit of my novel is not Yangtze River. Considering that you won't win the first prize, I suggest you don't rush, look for more."

Xiao Mengyin kept saying she "won't win the prize," which finally angered Zhao Peilin. He angrily retorted, "Just you wait, I'll definitely win the first prize."

There can only be one grand prize.

"If my junior brother is even slightly inferior to me, then I'm sorry to him; I can only blame it on my inferior skills."

"Excuse my bluntness, but neither of you has a chance."

"Sister Mengmeng?"

A soft shout came from not far away. Everyone looked over and saw Shi Shuqiu and a group of his buddies looking for seats.

Xiao Mengyin whispered, "The opportunity has arrived."

When Shi Shuqiu saw Wang Zixu, the memory of being drunk instantly returned, and her expression became somewhat stiff, as if she was still shaken.

Then, his gaze fell on Chen Qingluo's face, and his eyes lit up. But seeing her expression, he felt that she was unapproachable and distant. He sat down in a seat a meter away.

"Last time at the table, I made a mistake and misjudged the situation. I looked up that couplet later, and there are plenty of them online. I didn't expect anyone would bother to memorize it."

Shi Shuqiu was still brooding over the matter, and Wang Zixu noticed his childishness. Because of the "Ancient City" incident, he didn't want to continue entertaining the young master, and simply said:

"I didn't specifically memorize them, I just glanced at them. As long as you follow the pattern, it's quite easy to come up with the answer on the spot. Of course, the result is the same, so you can think however you like."

Shi Shuqiu's second least favorite type of person was someone who was pretentious, and his least favorite was someone who was even more pretentious than him. So his expression instantly turned sour.

His two buddies exchanged a glance and sat down beside him. One of them said, "I heard that Shi Shuqiu recommended you to 'Ancient City,' but you got rejected?"

Zhao Peilin frowned: "Recommended by Shi Shuqiu?"

Wang Zixu frowned as well: "How did you know my manuscript was rejected?"

……

For ten minutes after Editor-in-Chief Wu entered the editorial office, Editor Yang spent those ten minutes in a state of anxiety.

During this period, he kept urging his fellow editors to review the manuscript quickly, wishing that the manuscript could be reviewed and approved before Chief Editor Wu came out.

Of course, that's impossible. Wang Zixu's manuscript is 60 words long, which would be considered a huge book anywhere. It might take a week to read it, let alone have it reviewed.

The editor in the same group read it with a sigh, turning around and remarking:

"Damn, that's impressive, Editor Yang. This Prince Xu is something else."

Another editor joined the conversation: "His last piece, 'Wild Grasses,' was really good. I heard he submitted it to other magazines but no one wanted it, so he turned to us and stumbled upon a gem. I never expected him to have such amazing work. Editor Yang, I sometimes really envy your good luck."

One of the editors asked, "Which magazine did he submit to that got rejected?"

"He was a newcomer at the time and didn't know the rules, so he went and submitted his work to 'Get' and 'Modern'."

The editor stuck out his tongue: "That's definitely a rookie's move. Luckily, it was submitted to these two magazines; if it had been a less prestigious one, we wouldn't have been able to accept it."

"So you've really struck gold!"

Editor Yang said in a low voice, "If you know it's a lucky find, hurry up and review it, lest things get complicated and we might not even be able to get this manuscript approved."

His colleague, holding his draft, said, "Just looking at this beginning, you can already see the signs. What, is there resistance from within the department?"

Yang said in a low voice, "It's too long."

My colleague glanced down again and lowered his voice, "Length is indeed a problem, but we can't always stay in our comfort zone. Rejecting such a good manuscript just because it's long is too conservative, isn't it?"

"That's right!"

The voice of Editor-in-Chief Shen suddenly rang out behind them, startling them. They turned around and found Editor-in-Chief Shen with a furrowed brow.

"Our magazine used to be known as the 'literary vanguard,' discovering so many new talents, but because of that incident, it has become increasingly conservative."

Yang Yin and his colleagues remained silent. The incident that Editor-in-Chief Shen mentioned almost caused the downfall of a writer at the height of his career and made the magazine's style increasingly conservative, so it remained a sore spot in the department and was rarely mentioned.

Finally, the door to the editor-in-chief's office opened, and Editor-in-Chief Wu walked out arrogantly.

He was expressionless, but his eyes were darting around. Yang Yin had a feeling that he was up to no good, and he felt a little uneasy.

"Editor-in-Chief Shen, and Yang Yin, the editor-in-chief invites you in," said Editor-in-Chief Wu as he walked over.

Yang Yin followed Editor-in-Chief Shen nervously into the editor-in-chief's office. Editor-in-Chief Wu didn't enter but closed the door for them. As soon as they stood still, the editor-in-chief said:

"Take that manuscript back from the editorial process and withdraw it from another editor. Do not distribute it."

"Why?" Editor-in-Chief Shen exclaimed. He knew that with the editor-in-chief's words, the chances of this article being published had decreased by eight out of ten.

The editor-in-chief said, "Editor-in-Chief Wu just received news that this article was not the first one submitted to us. It was first submitted to 'Ancient City' and rejected, so it was submitted to us."

Yang Yin remained silent, while Editor-in-Chief Shen spread his hands: "Isn't this normal?"

The editor-in-chief said, "It's normal for authors to submit their work to various magazines. We're not a feudal dictatorship, and we don't practice personal dependence. But you have to understand that 'Ancient City' is a magazine of the same level as ours. They must have had their reasons for rejecting this manuscript."

Editor-in-Chief Shen asked, "What's the reason?"

The editor-in-chief shook his head. Rejecting manuscripts is something that shouldn't be spread; it's a taboo subject in the literary magazine industry. Just knowing about it is already considered going too far.

Editor-in-Chief Shen said, "I have worked as an editor for 20 years and have personally experienced several rejection storms. Many later famous works were rejected, which was not a good outcome for either the editor or the author. Not to mention the tragic endings of Lu Yao and 'Ordinary World'."

"Editor-in-chief, regardless of whether other journals reject manuscripts or not, if we also reject them, it's equivalent to rejecting both the initial submission and our own journal. If that gets out, it will be a huge blow to the author and the manuscript, and it might even bury the work. Just think about it, this is a 60-word manuscript; how much effort did the author put in?"

The editor-in-chief, somewhat impatient, said, "You're an idealist, always naively hoping for a win-win situation for everyone. But the reality is, this manuscript was first submitted to *Ancient City*, and then it was rejected. You were so sincere in wanting it accepted, you didn't even finish reading it, you should have considered the impact!"

Editor-in-Chief Shen said, "I don't know what kind of impact it will have. I only know that if we don't accept this manuscript, and we repeat the fate of 'Ordinary World' back then, it will be very bad."

The editor-in-chief said, "Who wants to repeat Lu Yao's tragedy? Who doesn't know that rejection is a huge blow to an author? But can we blame that new editor for the tragedy back then? Rejection is every editor's right; which writer hasn't been rejected? Was there any personal reason why Lu Yao suffered after his manuscript was rejected?"

Editor-in-Chief Shen finally couldn't take it anymore: "But our reason for rejecting the manuscript shouldn't be 'Ancient City also rejected it'! Then let's just stop reviewing manuscripts and hand them over to the editors of Ancient City!"

The editor-in-chief slammed his fist on the table in fury: "Shen Minxing, you've overstepped your bounds!"

After his outburst, he realized he had lost his temper and lowered his voice: "I didn't say we were going to return it. I said, you should take the manuscript back first, don't let too many people review it, don't let it escalate. This is better for us, and better for the author, understand?"

Editor-in-Chief Shen apologized with a livid face, turned and left the editor-in-chief's office. Only after walking a distance did he shake his head and say to Yang Yin, "This is ridiculous."

Yang Yin lowered his head and said, "When accepting manuscripts, each magazine will refer to the rejection history of other magazines; this is a common practice."

Editor-in-Chief Shen turned to look at him: "Just because it's always been this way, does that make it right?"

Yang Yin was speechless.

Editor-in-Chief Shen added, "It sounds noble, but in reality, it's nothing more than the feeling that since we're all magazines of the same caliber, it would be beneath me to accept your returned items. That kind of thinking is ridiculous."

Yang Yin said, "No one would dare to say that."

"Yes, it's something we're embarrassed to say openly, but everyone does it this way. Isn't that ridiculous?"

……

"I grew up in a scholarly family, where I was surrounded by literary figures and seniors. This wasn't my choice, but rather something I had no choice but to do. So, I inevitably got to know many writers and editors. I called the editors of many well-known magazines, such as Modern and September, 'uncle' and 'elder brother,' so, you know, I was always the first to know some news."

Shi Shuqiu shrugged at Wang Zixu, as if to say, "So what if I know your manuscript was rejected?"

Prince Xu really couldn't do anything. He lowered his head and said, "Your helplessness is someone else's dream."

At this moment, the offering was being made. Chen Qingluo stared at her hand of cards for a long time. Upon hearing this, she raised an eyebrow, casually picked up a card, and handed it to him.

Zhao Peilin asked in surprise, "Is this also an implication?" Then he turned to Chen Qingluo and asked, "Have you defected to the enemy?"

Chen Qingluo said, "It's ridiculous, not even worth refuting. The questioning failed, and I have one more card to play."

"I object!" Xiao Mengyin immediately slammed her hand on the table. "What kind of rule is this on your team?!"

"Oh, so we're on the same team."

Shi Shuqiu then asked, "After your manuscript was rejected, where did you submit it to?"

Wang Zixu and Zhao Peilin exchanged a glance and, in perfect unison, remained silent. Xiao Mengyin, standing to the side, spoke for him: "The Yangtze River."

Shi Shuqiu slapped his thigh: "Oh dear, then it'll probably be returned too."

Prince Xu suddenly had the idea of ​​strangling him, so he used Xiao Mengyin's neck ring.

Shi Shuqiu said, "Let me make this clear beforehand, I'm not trying to cause trouble, so you won't misunderstand and blame me for interfering later. 'Yangtze River' and 'Ancient City' are magazines from the same series and exchange a lot with each other. Your manuscript was just rejected by 'Ancient City,' and if 'Yangtze River' finds out, it will probably reject it as well."

Zhao Peilin stared wide-eyed: "Why is that?"

"There's no reason why, it's just the usual practice, you can think of it as an unspoken rule." Shi Shuqiu took a sip of tea.

Why do these unspoken rules exist?

"Of course there's a reason. I don't know the specific reason, but there must be one."

After Shi Shuqiu finished speaking, she looked at Wang Zixu and shook her head: "What a pity."

"If you quit, just re-enter; it's not a big deal."

After saying that, Wang Zixu threw a bomb on the table, and Chen Qingluo was startled by the blast.

Shi Shuqiu smiled, his eyes narrowed: "You're quite open-minded. Fine, I thought you liked to show off and be pretentious, but I was narrow-minded. You also have a scholarly side. What happened at the dinner table last time is in the past. We became friends after our fight, and we've made up."

Wang Zixu held the cards in both hands, looking at the outstretched hand, and began to have doubts: Was the sordid matter of the rejection of "Ancient City" Shi Tonghe's personal act or his idea? Did he even know about it? Did he not know how much trouble the rejection had caused him, or did he simply not care? Was the hand he extended genuinely meant to reconcile, or did it carry a hint of charity?

Regardless, he felt slightly nauseous.

"Sorry, you shouldn't have offered a settlement while a poker player was playing."

The smile on Shi Shuqiu's face gradually disappeared.

"If your manuscript gets rejected, where will you submit it next time?" Shi Shuqiu asked casually.

No one spoke; the room was silent.

Zhao Peilin secretly glanced at Wang Zixu and Shi Shuqiu. Even though he was usually very oblivious, he realized something was amiss.

In the silence, Chen Qingluo suddenly spoke up: "Submit to 'Winning'."

"Wow!" Shi Shuqiu exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "Little sister, do you know what kind of magazine 'Get' is?"

"I know."

Shi Shuqiu said, "Then why did you say you'd submit to 'Get'? 'Ancient City' rejected your manuscript, how could you possibly get it accepted?"

"Because it was me who said it," Chen Qingluo said.

(End of this chapter)