I am not a literary giant

Chapter 181 A Small, Prominent Scene, Bamboo Groves Leaning Against Each Other in Green

"What did he say to you?"

"She didn't say anything," Han Fei said, her watery eyes wide open, professionally covering for Shi Shuqiu.

"Why are you being so mysterious if you haven't said anything?" Xu Rongrong asked suspiciously.

"Everyone needs to have a little secret, right?"

"Shi Shuqiu and your little secret?"

"That sounds really weird!"

The three walked out of the coffee shop. Taking advantage of Xu Rongrong's inattention, Zhao Peilin pulled Han Fei aside and whispered:

"What exactly does Shi Shuqiu want from you?"

Han Fei, her eyes wide, sipped her coffee: "Nothing happened, didn't I just say so?"

"A cup of milk tea."

Two cups.

"Okay," Zhao Peilin readily agreed.

"He asked me to retract a manuscript."

After Han Fei finished explaining Shi Shuqiu's purpose, Zhao Peilin sneered, a chilling laugh that made Han Fei shudder.

"This kid's scared now, he doesn't dare to mess with Prince Xu anymore."

Han Fei blinked: "Why is he afraid of Prince Xu?"

Zhao Peilin didn't answer her, but only said, "Send me a copy of his manuscript."

Han Fei said, "How can that be?"

"10 cups of milk tea."

"A month's worth of milk tea."

"Fine, put it in Prince Xu's account." Zhao Peilin gritted his teeth. "You journalism students are really ruthless!"

Han Fei scoffed: "So you literature students are all innocent and pure? Don't laugh at a bald man if you have a mange."

As the two were chatting, a travel-worn man approached from behind: "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the Cultural Research Center?"

Han Fei and Zhao Peilin exchanged a glance. The man in front of them was wearing a gray corduroy suit, his hair was combed up, and he looked both stern and cynical, somewhat like a special agent from an underground transportation station.

"Oh, it's right next to the main activity center. Just go out the side door of the library and walk 800 meters along the mountain path. We're going there later too. What are you going there for?"

The man said, "I'm going to a seminar. Are you going to a seminar too?"

Zhao Peilin said, "We are students, we just went to join in the fun, we are not qualified to go in."

Hearing the commotion behind her, Xu Rongrong turned around and said enthusiastically, "The people you're discussing with at the seminar are our classmates!"

"Yes, I heard he's a student, very promising at such a young age."

Zhao Peilin extended his hand proactively: "You must be a famous writer. As a literature student, I admire your world very much. May I ask your surname?"

The man quickly shook hands with him: "Not at all, I'm just a junior editor, Ji Shaofei, an editor at the 'Flower Garden' magazine."

Just as Zhao Peilin was about to ask for his contact information, Ji Shaofei suddenly turned around, said "Excuse me," and ran off to the side.

"Old Hao! Wait for me! Hao Chengliang!"

A slick-haired man in front of him suddenly turned around, saw it was him, and quickened his pace to leave.

Ji Shaofei chased after him, shouting, "Old Hao, don't go! Did you withdraw from 'Stone Fire'?"

As the sound faded into the distance, the person disappeared without a trace.

Xu Rongrong looked bewildered: "What's going on?"

Zhao Peilin's face was contorted in a grimace, every muscle in his face strained, as he spoke in a dramatic, inflectional tone: "Does the whole world know now?~"

"What do you know? Your tone is so strange."

"It's nothing."

Ji Shaofei lost track of them, but he saw the "Big Activity Center" that the students had just mentioned. The "Big Activity Center" is a place that an ordinary college student might only visit once or twice in their entire life.

Ji Shaofei had just found the side gate and was walking along the mountain path with great difficulty when he arrived at a parking lot. A black sedan suddenly appeared from behind and stopped next to him. A familiar face got out of the car.

"Professor Fang, you're here too?... Oh, Mr. Shi, you're here as well?"

Shi Tonghe and Fang Hanlin got out of the car together. Meeting Shi Tonghe's questioning gaze, Fang Hanlin introduced him: "This is Ji Shaofei, the editor of 'Huajian' magazine. I used to mentor him."

Ji Shaofei nodded: "Teacher Fang is my mentor who brought me into this industry."

"That's enough," Fang Hanlin said with a smile, waving his hand. "Are you here for the seminar too?"

"Yes."

Seeing that he was young, Shi Tonghe nodded to him as a greeting, straightened his suit, and strode inside with practiced ease.

Fang Hanlin asked, "Tonghe, are you coming in with us?"

"I think I'll pass. It would be a bit sensitive for someone like me to go in. It would make it seem like I'm here to pressure you, and I wouldn't even be able to offer normal criticism," Shi Tonghe said with a smile.

Although that's what he said, his purpose in coming here was to get more praise at the seminar. However, since he was already here, it would be a bit too blatant for him to go in.

Fang Hanlin advised, "Since you're already here, why not go in and take a look, say hello to your old friends? If you don't say it yourself, no one will think that way. If you're really worried about the impact, you can always leave before the seminar officially starts."

Shi Tonghe thought for a moment and realized that what he said made sense. He nodded, and the three of them walked into the venue together.

As soon as I entered the venue, a man came up to me and greeted me warmly: "Professor Shi!..."

His voice stopped abruptly when he saw Ji Shaofei standing to the side.

This person was none other than Hao Chengliang. When Ji Shaofei saw him, his mouth quickly stretched into a wide grin, and a warm, genuine joy burst forth from him.

Shi Tonghe smiled gently, took Hao Chengliang's hand, and shook it tightly: "Editor Hao, it's been so long, I've missed you dearly!"

Fang Hanlin said, "Is this Editor Hao from 'Ancient City'? So Brother Tonghe is quite familiar with him?"

"Yes, Editor Hao and I have a good relationship, and he has helped me a lot."

Hao Chengliang said in a low voice, "Just call me Xiao Hao."

As they walked in talking, Hao Chengliang felt a chill run down his neck. When he turned around, he saw Ji Shaofei grinning like a clown, staring at him so intently that it sent shivers down his spine.

Seeing that Hao Chengliang was finally looking at him, Ji Shaofei began, "Fire in the Stone..."

"Shut up!"

Fang Hanlin and Shi Tonghe had just found their seats when they heard the two men's voices. Fang Hanlin raised an eyebrow, pointed at Ji Shaofei, and asked, "Ji, what did you just say? 'Fire in the Stone'? You're also interested in this work?"

Ji Shaofei quickly sat down next to him: "Yes, this issue of 'Get' has stolen the limelight from Gu Zao's headline novel. It published 20 words in one go, and everyone is discussing who the author is."

Just as Fang Hanlin was about to speak, a girl who looked like a student walked over and said, "Excuse me, this is the venue, and it's still in the setup stage. We'll have to trouble you..."

Before the girl could finish speaking, a woman pulled her aside: "Oh, what did you say? This is Teacher Shi Tonghe!"

Shi Tonghe raised his hand and said, "You're setting up the venue, right? Should we step aside for a bit?"

The woman said, "No need, no need. Teachers, you can rest here. Our setup won't affect this area."

"oh."

Shi Tonghe didn't even flinch. He hadn't intended to leave in the first place.

After the student left, he said, "Hanlin and I were discussing this work in the car just now. What's it called?... 'Fire in the Stone,' is it well-written? What is it about?"

"It has a particularly stunning beginning, starting from 1900. I initially thought it was a historical novel, like those by Er Yuehe, but then he suddenly introduced two families. Just when I thought it was 'White Deer Plain,' there was another twist later on. I flipped to the end and found that he had actually written all the way to the founding of the People's Republic of China, and he hadn't stopped writing yet. To be continued!"

Fang Hanlin said, "From what you've said, it's a grand epic?"

"It's undoubtedly a monumental work," Ji Shaofei said decisively. "The only question is just how monumental, and how much more there is to come."

"Have you finished reading?"

"I haven't finished reading it yet. I started reading it as soon as I got it. The other editors in our editorial department are also reading it. By the time I get back after the meeting, they should have read about a third of it."

Shi Tonghe asked, "Who is the author? How old is he?"

"The author is quite young. I heard he's the vice president of the Xihe Writers Association, but he hasn't published many works yet, so I can't find out much about him. It's like he's not even a household name in the literary world." After saying that, Ji Shaofei winked at Hao Chengliang. "Editor Hao definitely knows something. That's why I rushed over to ask him for information."

Fang Hanlin raised his eyebrows: "Editor Hao, you know him? You'd better introduce me to him. Our editorial department is looking for information about him."

Ji Shaofei exclaimed in surprise, "Even the teachers are trying to poach students?"

"This kid, how is this stealing someone? We're just getting to know another author, and the author is getting to know another editor. How is that stealing someone?"

Ji Shaofei pleaded, "Teacher, our magazine is currently lacking authors who can handle long-form novels. Our editor-in-chief is practically offering a high reward for a long story. Could you please be kind enough to let us have this author?"

Fang Hanlin sneered, thinking to himself, "Giving in is definitely out of the question. Their editorial department has already sent someone to contact that author, and they might have even secured a manuscript by now. Otherwise, would I be sitting here leisurely chatting with you? Little apprentice, you're still too green!"

Fang Hanlin said, "It's no use asking me to go easy on them. When a promising new author emerges, everyone wants to snatch them up. Besides, if I don't contact them, won't other magazines be eyeing them? Didn't you say you know Hao Chengliang? Why don't you ask him to go easy on them?"

Ji Shaofei was initially bitter, regretting that he had let slip the information, but upon hearing Fang Hanlin say this, he laughed again. He glanced back at Hao Chengliang and said, "Him? He doesn't need it. Editor Hao has already been lenient."

Hao Chengliang looked at him with a bitter face, muttering "Don't say it" under his breath, and shook his head rapidly and in small movements, but Ji Shaofei still couldn't hold it in.

"Didn't you know? This manuscript was initially submitted to him, but he rejected it!"

Fang Hanlin was taken aback: "Is that so?"

"Yeah! Ask him, it's all over the editorial staff. I was just about to ask him for the details!"

Fang Hanlin turned to look at Hao Chengliang: "Really?"

The thing Hao Chengliang had been worried about for so long finally happened. He forced a smile, which looked worse than crying.

"Ahem... His manuscript was indeed initially submitted to me, but later I read the version he submitted to 'Get,' and it was different from the original..."

Ji Shaofei slapped his thigh and immediately burst into laughter: "So it really was you who withdrew? Wow, that's awesome! Lao Hao, you're amazing!"

He gave Hao Chengliang a big thumbs-up, but Hao Chengliang felt that each thumbs-up was pressing against the bottom of his lungs, making him want to vomit.

Fang Hanlin frowned and said, "Aren't people more cautious about rejecting manuscripts these days? How do you know it was him who rejected it? Did the author say so himself?"

He's a veteran editor and considers things carefully. If the author said it himself, it means that the author has a rather boisterous and vindictive personality, making him difficult to work with in the future.

Ji Shaofei shook his head: "No, I heard it from Yang Yin. We have a small group chat, and Yang Yin complained in the group that he lost a manuscript, which made the front page of 'Get' magazine, so we went to check it out."

Fang Hanlin asked, "Who is Yang Yin?"

"He is an editor at Yangtze River."

"What, is this about the Yangtze River again?"

Shi Tonghe sat to the side, listening intently, and the more he listened, the more uneasy he felt, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"This manuscript was first submitted to *Ancient City*, but it was rejected by Editor Hao. Then it was submitted to *Yangtze River*, but because *Ancient City* rejected it, *Yangtze River*, under pressure, also rejected it. Unexpectedly, *Get*, without any pressure, published it. Right, Editor Hao, is that how it went?"

Hao Chengliang was practically curled up in a ball, mumbling, "...There have been changes, quite significant changes...the original wasn't..."

After hearing this, Fang Hanlin also laughed. Anyone who hears about rejecting such a sensational manuscript would be amused, especially if it was rejected by another editorial department.

Shi Tonghe interrupted them, asking, "Who wrote this 'Fire in the Stone'? What's the author's name?"

"Call him Prince Xu."

The world suddenly spun around Shi Tonghe.

He looked at Hao Chengliang again in a daze and found that the other man's watery, camel-like eyes were also staring at him. When they looked at each other, he finally understood the other man's eyes—they were pleading for help.

He hadn't understood it before.

Shi Tonghe swallowed hard, sat up straight, and said, "You haven't even finished reading the work, isn't it premature to say it's good? Ji Shaofei, are you always this careless when reviewing manuscripts?"

Suddenly being labeled, Ji Shaofei's anger subsided considerably. He said, "This...this work, 'The Acquisition,' even made the front page, it must be very..."

"If 'Get' publishes it, that's 'Get's' business. Are you professional editors just going to parrot what others say? Does 'Get' never make a mistake?"

Fang Hanlin, speaking carefully from the side, said, "Xiao Ji is indeed a bit careless. To evaluate a work, you have to look at it as a whole, at least finish reading it. However, 'The Gain' is indeed rarely wrong when it comes to such a long serialized work..."

Shi Tonghe realized he had gone a bit too far, straightened up, and said, "I will also look for this work and see it. I hope it is as good as you say. There are many young people today who can write good works, but the environment is different from what it was back then. There are also many deformed ones, and it is easy to miss the general direction."

Ji Shaofei looked at him, inwardly grumbling. He had said he would only comment after reading it, but this old guy hadn't even read it yet and was already commenting.

Shi Tonghe then said to Hao Chengliang, "Xiao Hao, don't blame yourself. Rejecting a manuscript is every editor's right. Once it's rejected, it's rejected. Don't worry about it too much."

Hao Chengliang looked up at Shi Tonghe with gratitude, only to find his gaze icy and devoid of warmth, even unusually cold, which made his scalp tingle and his heart pound for a moment.

Only then did he realize that Shi Tonghe's meaning was not only to help him out of a predicament, but also to warn him not to drag him into the mess.

Just then, he heard voices coming from the doorway. He looked towards the door and was startled again: two beautiful women entered one after another, and then Wang Zixu began to show his talent at the door.

(End of this chapter)