I am not a literary giant

Chapter 182 Father and Son 2

The door was wide open, and sunlight poured in from outside. Chen Qingluo and Ning Chunyan stood in the light, as if they had torn a rift in this small world.

Suede ankle boots, long, straight legs, flowing skirts, and cascading hair—the two women exuded disdain and contempt, women who could easily ignite a man's lion-like desire to conquer. Shi Tonghe and Fang Hanlin simultaneously raised their eyebrows.

Just then, Wang Zixu appeared peeking out from behind the two of them, like a discordant note suddenly appearing in a symphony. It turned out that the lousy saxophonist had ruined the entire performance. Shi Tonghe quickly lowered his face and his eyebrows twitched.

As the seminar was about to begin, many industry professionals were present. Chen Qingluo was the kind of writer who rarely went out, and Ning Chunyan had exclusive information about The Little Prince. Both of them were rare and unusual. The next second, many editors refreshed the page, and the crowd swarmed around them like bleating gazelles on the grassland.

"Ms. Chen Qingluo, have you had any new works recently?"

"Professor Chen, could we commission an article from you for our magazine?"

"Miss Ning Chunyan, are you free after the meeting? Would you be willing to go out for a chat?"

"Editor Ning, would it be convenient for us to talk about the Little Prince?"

The human wall was towering high, and for a moment, iron cavalry charged out, swords and spears clashing. Chen Qingluo and Ning Chunyan, however, seemed to be in the know. Ning Chunyan greeted and saw off people with a smile, while Chen Qingluo, in her usual style, silently cut through the crowd like waves.

Prince Xu obediently followed behind her.

"So you're not at all shy in these kinds of situations," Wang Zixu whispered to Chen Qingluo, only to be met with a fierce glare from Miss Luo.

I'm still angry.

The secrecy measures have been extended to Miss Luo, which is even more absurd than Waiting for Godot. What's the difference between this and investigating an undercover agent and finding out about the Godfather?

Prince Xu pretended to be dead, always looking gloomy and worried. He was so concerned about this that he didn't dance for at least three days (which, according to Nietzsche, was equivalent to wasting three days of his life), and he felt like a fool.

As the two walked out of the crowd, their eyes met Shi Tonghe's. Then, Chen Qingluo and Wang Zixu caught sight of Hao Chengliang.

Wang Zixu silently looked away; while Chen Qingluo gave a cold laugh.

Hao Chengliang's forehead immediately broke out in a fine sweat.

Enemy road is narrow.

This person was the direct perpetrator of Wang Zixu's misfortune. In the end, he caused "Stone Fire" to be published in a higher-level magazine and reach the threshold of the literary hall of fame. But that was because he survived. If he had not survived, Hao Chengliang would have been the abortion pill that caused "Stone Fire" to die in the womb.

He wasn't the kind of person who held grudges. Apart from feeling a little bad about the cost of the meal he treated Hao Chengliang to on Binhai Road, he only saw Hao Chengliang as a stumbling block on his path to advancement. He didn't think it was necessary to step over him once he had passed by.

But Chen Qingluo was different. She didn't like to spoil others.

She walked straight toward Hao Chengliang.

Ji Shaofei was the first to stand up and greet her:

"Teacher Chen Qingluo!"

Chen Qingluo nodded to him, then looked directly at Hao Chengliang, bypassing Shi Tonghe's gaze, and said:

"Editor Hao, what a coincidence, we meet again."

Fang Hanlin stared at her with interest and asked, "Qingluo, do you know him?"

Fang Hanlin had published Chen Qingluo's work when he was an editor at Modern Times, so his tone was quite familiar with her.

"Two months ago, I had a heated phone conversation with him."

"Oh? You submitted your novel to 'Ancient City'?"

"It wasn't me, it was this Prince Xu."

After Chen Qingluo finished speaking, the expressions of the people present varied. Shi Tonghe's face became even more unpleasant, Hao Chengliang's hands trembled slightly, while Ji Shaofei's face showed a smile.

"Is he Wang Zixu? The author of 'Fire in the Stone'?"

Prince Xu nodded gently: "It's me."

Hello, hello!

Ji Shaofei stood up and shook hands with him.

Chen Qingluo said, "Two months ago, I called you and asked why you were withholding Wang Zixu's manuscript from publication. You said that the manuscript didn't meet your editorial department's expectations. Do you still think so now?"

Hao Chengliang was sweating profusely: "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and as an editor, it's inevitable that you'll misjudge one or two manuscripts."

"The manuscript was recommended to your editorial department by Shi Tonghe, and I also vouched for it with my own writing expertise. Yet you say you don't think it's good enough and insist on rejecting it. I doubt many editors would do that, would they?"

If possible, Hao Chengliang really wanted to beg her to stop talking in public, but at this moment he could only shut his mouth, look down at his nose and pretend he hadn't heard.

Chen Qingluo added, "I said at the time that this article was qualified to be published in 'Get,' and you said that if this article were published in 'Get,' you would quit being an editor."

Hao Chengliang opened his eyes in surprise: "I didn't say that, did I?!"

"Oh, then I remembered it wrong."

If Chen Qingluo remembered correctly, she deliberately made things up. Whether Hao Chengliang had said it or not was unimportant; how could she just say a few sarcastic remarks to him? She didn't feel satisfied at all. She didn't care about anything else; if you're going to hit someone, hit them in the face, kick them when they're down.

In short, she felt much better after saying all that, and even forgot much of the trauma caused by Wang Zixu's influence earlier. She ended the conversation decisively and gracefully went to her seat in front of her.

Ji Shaofei's face lit up with joy. He only knew that Hao Chengliang had rejected manuscripts, but he didn't know that the rejection was so dramatic—Hao Chengliang overruled everyone's objections, insisted on his own opinion, and resolutely rejected the manuscript, and then, bam, it was published in "Get".

It's going to be so entertaining; he plans to tell every editor he knows about it.

However, the most pressing matter at hand is to talk about the unexpected gain.

He had just shaken hands with Wang Zixu and was still holding on (Wang Zixu tried to break free several times but failed). Just as he was about to introduce himself, Fang Hanlin intervened again and put his arm around Wang Zixu's shoulder.

"You're Wang Zixu? Hmm, very young, even younger than I imagined. How did you manage to write such a heavyweight novel as *Spark in the Stone*? Oh, let me introduce myself first. I'm Fang Hanlin, former editor-in-chief of *Modern*, and currently editor-in-chief of *Song of the Ballad*. I have a small reputation in the industry. This Ji Shaofei is my apprentice..."

He put his arm around Wang Zixu's shoulder, intentionally or unintentionally twisting him outwards, using a Tai Chi-like rotation to try and pull Wang Zixu's hand away from Ji Shaofei's control. Ji Shaofei immediately cursed this old fox in his heart, calling him utterly disrespectful for his age. He refused to back down and quickly followed suit:

"I was indeed taught by Teacher Chengfang. Now that he has semi-retired, it is the younger generation like me who should carry on his legacy... oh, I misspoke, I meant his will. Our magazine, *Huajian*, is currently lacking a long-form serialized story slot. I wonder if you would be interested..."

Ji Shaofei and Fang Hanlin staged a scene of master and apprentice turning against each other on the spot, using all sorts of tricks, from open praise to veiled criticism, from sarcastic remarks to pushing and pulling, leaving Wang Zixu caught in the middle and suffering terribly.

Shi Tonghe found it rather boring, silently got up, and said, "I'll go out first. Good luck with your seminar."

Fang Hanlin greeted him and watched him leave. Looking at Shi Tonghe's back, he felt a little suspicious. He frowned and thought for a moment, then relaxed his brow.

His years of editing experience made him feel something was off when he heard Chen Qingluo say that "Shi Tonghe" was recommended, especially since the relationship between Wang Zixu and Shi Tonghe seemed very strange.

If Shi Tonghe had recommended "Stone Fire," he wouldn't have acted completely ignorant upon hearing the name, much less have remained silent with Wang Zixu—it's one thing for Shi Tonghe not to speak to Wang Zixu, but Wang Zixu didn't even greet him—generally, a junior would be grateful for a mentor of this caliber for half a lifetime!

But what does this have to do with him, a semi-retired editor?

No matter how fiercely the writers fight, it's none of the editorial department's business. They don't get involved in the writers' feuds, but they're quite interested in making a little money off the conflict and getting more manuscripts.

Shi Tonghe walked out the door, looking somewhat forlorn. The driver was squatting by the flower bed smoking. When he saw him, he stubbed out his cigarette, clapped his hands, and walked over.

"Teacher, are we leaving already?"

"Let's go to the hotel and wait. We'll leave after the seminar."

"OK."

He was about to get into the car when two students rode up the mountain road. The one in the lead looked at Shi Tonghe and was taken aback: "Dad."

"Hmm." Shi Tonghe looked at Shi Shuqiu and gave a curt reply, his tone not very friendly.

Shi Shuqiu was rather perceptive; his eyes darted around for a moment before he asked, "Dad, that…"

"I know," Shi Tonghe interrupted him. "Do your best at the seminar and don't get distracted."

"Um."

The tacit understanding between father and son allowed them to exchange information without saying much or even uttering keywords.

Shi Shuqiu knew that he already knew, and he also knew that Shi Shuqiu knew.

Shi Shuqiu was in a bad mood. Neither he nor Shi Tonghe had ever considered Wang Zixu a rival. Even knowing that the other wanted to compete for the Fei Shi Literary Prize, they had never thought of it that way.

The matter of Wang Zixu's manuscript was originally just something he did casually. He was a little upset about losing face, and Shi Tonghe had only made two simple phone calls. To them, it was just one of countless trivial moments in their lives.

After that, Shi Tonghe was unaware of Wang Zixu's slander and mockery; he had only given it a slight nudge. Unexpectedly, overnight, the other party suddenly became someone who needed to be taken seriously.

If I had known this would happen, why would I have made enemies in the first place?

Shi Shuqiu was a little depressed.

After Shi Tonghe left, Zhang Chou approached from behind and asked, "Old Shi, what's wrong with Uncle? He seems a little unhappy."

Shi Shuqiu frowned and said impatiently, "Mind your own business."

After saying that, he sighed and said, "Go inside."

Zhang Chou was unaware that Prince Xu had been listed in "The Gain," and he didn't know how to remind his younger brother to be careful.

……

Wang Zixu finally managed to slip away from the editors and, seeing Chen Qingluo's retreating figure in the distance, ran over first, sat down beside her, and whispered:

"Isn't it a bad idea to offend Hao Chengliang like this?"

Chen Qingluo glanced at him sideways and said irritably, "Are you chickening out?"

"No, I mean, you had no grudge against him before, but you offended him because of me. Will that affect your future publications?"

After all, Hao Chengliang wasn't a novice editor. If you offend someone like that, he has connections everywhere, and you might unknowingly offend someone else as well.

He used to think that as long as he wrote good novels, that was enough. But after suffering this loss, he realized how troublesome it is to be targeted. He was genuinely worried about affecting Chen Qingluo and felt quite guilty.

Chen Qingluo gave a cold "humph," her tone softening considerably: "It's none of your business."

"I'm worried..."

"It's none of your business."

"..."

Suddenly, Wang Zixu felt that this scene seemed familiar.

Chen Qingluo was sitting to her right, in the same seat.

Chen Qingluo was just as stubborn and had a sour face, saying, "Mind your own business."

It's almost like...

It felt like I was back in high school.

"I'll take care of it," he blurted out.

"I don't need your help," Chen Qingluo retorted, not wanting to be outdone.

"I'll take care of it."

"It's none of your business."

"You two..." A female teacher walked over apologetically, interrupting the childish argument, and said to Wang Zixu, "Excuse me, is this your seat? I don't think I see your name on the list..."

(End of this chapter)