I am not a literary giant

Wang Zixu took a bite of food, thought for a moment, and said, "If I had to choose only from his works, my favorite would be 'Ninety-Three'."

Lin Feng said, "I think I've heard of this book before. What exactly is it about?"

Wang Zixu is the type who isn't interested in talking about anything else, but when he starts talking about something he's interested in, he can talk about it all day long. When Lin Feng asked about this topic, he immediately started talking about why the book was titled in 1993, then about the French Revolution and the royalists, then about the Marquis de Lantenac and the Vendée rebellion, and he talked for three minutes before finally stopping.

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent. Prince Xu was slightly startled, realizing that he had fallen into his old habit again and had made the situation awkward once more.

As he was pondering how to salvage the situation, Lin Feng stroked his chin and said, "So, this novel is mainly about the revolutionary spirit of the French during wartime, right?"

Just as Wang Zixu was about to say that was not all, the leader suddenly clapped his hands and gave Lin Feng a thumbs up: "Great! President Lin is truly insightful. In just a few words, you have summarized such profound thoughts. Come, let me toast you."

Lin Feng smiled broadly and waved repeatedly. The two drank a glass, and the atmosphere at the table became lively again.

Guo Ranran, resting her chin on her hand, said, "Brother Wang, if I may ask, did you deliberately mention a very obscure novel to show off your knowledge?"

Wang Zixu was speechless. He looked at her and said, "Ninety-Three is not an obscure book. It was the last novel Hugo wrote when he was 73 years old. It is his masterpiece. It's just that it's not well-known in China."

Guo Ranran stuck out her tongue and said, "So it's because I'm ignorant? Come on, Brother Wang, let me toast you."

Prince Xu had no choice but to raise his cup and drink with her. During the meal, everyone stood up and toasted each other.

The leader turned around across the seat and said to Wang Zixu, "Xiao Wang, your knowledge is indeed very extensive, but you also need to cultivate your character. It's not just about having knowledge, but also about having good manners. Don't be too arrogant. Be more humble, listen more, and speak less."

Wang Zixu was speechless with frustration at those words. He knew his boss was referring to him, annoyed that he was talking too much and stealing Lin Feng's thunder. This table should now be the center of attention for Lin Feng.

Zhang Cangnian, who was standing next to him, said with a smile, "Boss, you're asking too much of Xiao Wang. He's already quiet at work. If you make him talk even less, he'll be completely silent when he comes to work."

Perhaps due to the alcohol, the leader's face was slightly flushed, and he said, "We can't just stay silent all the time and only talk about things at the table, can we?"

Zhang Cangnian chuckled and said, "It's because I haven't taken him out for drinks enough. He's not used to it. Right, Xiao Wang? I think you should have a drink with President Lin. You two have really made our table feel your refined manners today. If you two have a drink together, you'll definitely resonate with each other more."

The leader said, "Yes, you two should quickly find common ground so we can learn more."

Prince raised his glass slightly and said, "President Lin, I'd like to toast you."

Raymond Lam also raised his glass: "No, I should toast you too. Let's drink together, let's resonate with each other."

After they finished their drinks, Wang Zixu had already drunk three cups, and his head was buzzing. Lin Feng put down his cup and said, "Brother Wang, you have a vast knowledge base. Just how many books have you read?"

Wang Zixu looked up and saw his leader frantically winking at him, seemingly trying to convey something.

He then saw Guo Ranran's eyes flicker, staring at him like needles, before looking away again.

Then I saw Zhang Cangnian's receding hairline and his potbelly sitting there, casually serving himself food.

In a daze, he seemed to see his wife putting pressure on him, telling him to "perform well".

He said, "I've seen them all."

"Hmm?" Lin Feng raised his eyebrows.

"I've read all of your major works, as long as you can name them," Wang Zixu said.

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence at the table.

The leader slammed his glass on the table: "Xiao Wang, what did I just say?"

Lin Feng waved his hand to stop his leader from losing his temper: "No."

He then turned to Prince Xu and asked, "Brother Wang, are you really that confident?"

Wang Zixu said, "It's alright, just average confidence."

Guo Ranran said quietly, "If you blow your own horn, it will be a disgrace to our unit."

"It can't be blown away," Prince Xu said, while looking down at his food, trying to suppress his drunkenness.

Lin Feng said, "Okay, then let me test you."

How is the exam conducted?

Lin Feng said, "I'll name an author, and you name their works. I'll have Xiao Guo search for them on Baidu. If you can name one of their works, I'll drink a glass. If you can't, you drink a glass, how about that?"

Wang Zixu put down his chopsticks: "This is too easy. You name an author, and I'll name all of his novels. If I get them all right, you drink; if I get one wrong, I drink."

The leader next to him immediately agreed: "Great! That's a good suggestion. It'll be a good opportunity for us to broaden our horizons, right?"

His purpose in hosting Raymond Lam this time was simply to get him drunk. As for how he got drunk, that didn't matter.

This guessing game sounded fun, and Raymond Lam was in high spirits. It was another opportunity for him to show off his readership, and from his perspective, he would definitely welcome it.

If Prince Xu loses face and can't answer, it will be exactly what he wants—it's good that Prince Xu is drunk and doesn't say much.

A colleague next to me said, "Isn't this more exciting than rock-paper-scissors?"

"Yes, it would be quite a story if word got out."

"If General Manager Lin drinks, we'll have a drink with him. If Comrade Wang drinks, everyone from your unit will have a drink with him, how about that?"

The leader beckoned and said, "Xiao Mao, write down who drank how many cups today. We'll have to settle this at the end."

The others at the table cheered enthusiastically.

Prince Xu's lips curled into a slight smile, and he said, "Alright, shall we begin?"

Lin Feng crossed his arms and said, "Let's begin. We've already talked about Hugo, but we're not going to start with Hugo. You can start with another French writer—Balzac."

……

Inside the KTV, Zuo Ziliang's investigation was still ongoing.

Cheng Xing watched him silently. He was quite confident in his script, so he wasn't nervous at all.

After a long while, Zuo Ziliang suddenly looked up, took a deep breath, and said:

"This level is still a bit lacking. Although it has its own style and characteristics, it is still some distance from our previous scriptwriters."

Cheng Xing suddenly became a little agitated, took back his manuscript, and said, "Really?"

Ye Lan immediately objected: "How could that be? Cheng Xing has published books, how could he be worse than a scriptwriter you just picked? Zuo Ziliang, everyone has their own preferences, you can't just subjectively say you don't like it and reject him outright, can you?"

Zuo Ziliang frowned and said, "The level of skill is a very objective thing. I can't give you specific reasons, but I can only say that this script is not enough to replace The Little Prince."

Cheng Xing didn't say anything and drank another glass of water, but anyone could tell he was unconvinced. After all, he was still a college student, and he couldn't hide his feelings on his face.

Ye Lan slapped the sofa and said, "Zuo Ziliang, if you keep nitpicking like this, then we can't talk about this."

Zuo Ziliang pursed his lips, a little impatient. Ye Lan was adept at managing the student affairs office, but frankly speaking, she lacked literary appreciation skills. He found it difficult to discuss literary appreciation with her.

"Ye Lan, have you shown him the script for The Little Prince?"

Ye Lan shook her head: "No!"

Zuo Ziliang took out his phone, scrolled through it for a while, then handed it over and said:

"This is our original scriptwriter's script. You can see how he wrote it."