I am not a literary giant

Chapter 183 Telepathic Understanding

"Oh, I'm just an observer." Prince Xu stood up frankly.

The female teacher pushed up her glasses and nodded: "Oh, oh..."

She nodded, but didn't quite understand what she had heard.

Attending as an observer? Didn't he seem quite popular with the editors just now? These literary editors aren't the kind of enthusiastic, friendly people who call out to their friends in the marketplace. They'd go to great lengths to win over either well-known authors or sponsors—why would he just be an observer?

Those in attendance had no opportunity to speak; they were ostensibly there to listen in and learn about the latest developments in the literary world, but in reality, they were just there to show their support. Usually, it's media reporters or tabloid editors sitting here; what respectable writer would come to listen in? Are they just bored?

But Wang Zixu, looking refreshed, strode confidently toward the back row, intending to find an inconspicuous spot to crouch down, when Ji Shaofei and Fang Hanlin called him over.

"If it weren't for the publication of 'Fire in Stone' in 'Get' and my attendance at this seminar, I wouldn't really know much about you, this up-and-coming author. May I ask, Professor Wang, where did you work before? And where did you primarily publish your work?"

"I can't call myself a rising star, I'm just an ordinary author, still struggling in the manuscript approval stage." Wang Zixu has been dealing with writers for a long time, and now he's become quite humble, with a whole repertoire of nice-sounding platitudes.

Fang Hanlin chatted with Wang Zixu, asking about his well-being, and Wang Zixu humbly and cautiously explained his situation to them. Fang Hanlin listened with a smile, seemingly increasingly satisfied with this author.

Ji Shaofei didn't have a chance to interject. After anxiously waiting for a long time, he finally found an opportunity to ask:

"Professor Wang Zixu, I just heard Professor Chen Qingluo say that your work was initially recommended to Hao Chengliang by Professor Shi Tonghe. Is that true?"

Hao Chengliang had been annoyed by Ji Shaofei's questions, so he deliberately found a seat two rows away from them. When he heard Ji Shaofei ask this question, he immediately got up and found a seat further away.

If you don't listen, you won't be bothered. If you don't hear it, you won't be bothered.

Prince Xu remained silent for a long while before saying, "That's true."

"Huh? Then why...?"

"Shi Tonghe probably hasn't seen my work," Wang Zixu said.

Fang Hanlin and Ji Shaofei exchanged a glance and said, "No wonder he didn't react when I mentioned 'Fire in the Stone' to him before."

Ji Shaofei asked, "Then why did he recommend it?"

Prince Xu was momentarily at a loss for words. Of course, he couldn't directly say that Shi Tonghe disliked him.

He had no evidence that Shi Tonghe disliked him, and if he said so, he would easily be accused of judging others by his own petty standards; but if he said nothing, he would feel a little resentful.

Just then, Ning Chunyan finally broke free from the entanglement and walked over, placing her delicate hand on Wang Zixu's shoulder:

"Teacher Fang and Teacher Ji, what are you chatting about with our Prince?"

"Our family?" Ji Shaofei raised his eyebrows high.

"Yes, didn't you know? Wang Zixu is the editor of our family's magazine, 'New Appreciation'."

Ji Shaofei, thinking he'd been stuffed with melon seeds again, patted his chest and said, "Oh, I see."

Fang Hanlin laughed and said, "No wonder the magazine 'New Appreciation' has been doing so well lately. Our editors also said that 'New Appreciation' has a unique eye for selecting articles. It turns out that not only are the two talented women, Chen and Ning, in charge, but there is also a rising star in charge."

Ning Chunyan said seriously, "You can ask him to write articles, but don't try to poach him!"

Fang Hanlin said with a smile, "We editors are all born knowing how to help others achieve their goals and not to take away what others love. We were just talking to him about how 'Stone Fire' had such a bumpy journey, being rejected twice before finally being published in 'Get'. We're quite puzzled..."

Hearing this, Ning Chunyan deliberately sighed heavily and said, "Speaking of this will offend people!"

Fang Hanlin's ear twitched—not a figure of speech, Wang Zixu genuinely saw his left ear twitch—and he said, "Offended whom? How could I have offended anyone?"

Ji Shaofei glanced at Hao Chengliang: "Editors aren't afraid of offending people. They've had plenty of rejections, so they don't feel guilty about it."

Ning Chunyan looked up at the sky and sighed, "In China today, you can offend people no matter what you do. Make money and people will criticize you, become famous and people will criticize you, even donate money and people will criticize you, let alone running a magazine?"

After saying that, she lowered her head and said, "That day, Teacher Shi Tonghe organized a gathering, and I went to attend. During the meal, Young Master Shi kept trying to get me drunk, and Prince Xu tried to help me out..."

"Forget it, forget it, stop talking about it." Wang Zixu stopped her in time. "This has nothing to do with my manuscript being rejected."

Ning Chunyan said, "But..."

"No buts. I don't believe that Professor Shi Tonghe would have a problem with me because of this, or use any means to prevent the manuscript from being published... This is just baseless speculation, there's no need to say it out loud."

Ning Chunyan seemed to have given in, and said somewhat dejectedly, "Fine, if you won't let me say it, then I won't."

Fang Hanlin and Ji Shaofei exchanged a glance.

Oh! I understand!

It turns out that Wang Zixu offended Shi Tonghe by drinking on behalf of others at the banquet, which led to the manuscripts being rejected one after another!

Ning Chunyan said, "It's getting late, I'll take my seat."

The prince waved his hand dismissively: "Go ahead, go ahead."

Before she turned to leave, Prince Chong glanced at her with one eye half-closed, his gaze full of charm and sweetness.

The two worked together flawlessly this time; after knowing each other for so long, they've finally mastered the art of teamwork.

A teacher came over and said to Fang Hanlin, "Teacher Fang, it's about time to take a seat."

Fang Hanlin turned to look at Wang Zixu: "Shall we go?"

"No, you go ahead. I was invited to attend." Prince Xu waved his hand.

"You're attending?" Fang Hanlin asked, somewhat surprised.

Wang Zixu smiled and said, "After all, I'm nobody here, so I'm not qualified to speak."

Fang Hanlin frowned, understood, and immediately felt a little angry: "Fine then, I'll just chat with you downstairs."

He had been a little skeptical of whether Ning Chunyan was telling the truth, but now it seems that Shi Shuqiu and Wang Zixu are both authors at Nanjing University, yet he was only invited to attend as an observer. What kind of nonsense is this?

While it's not exactly wrong, it just makes me feel uneasy.

It seems there really is a contradiction.

Shi Shuqiu had already entered the room and had been secretly observing for a while. When she heard Fang Hanlin say that he was sitting downstairs, she broke out in a cold sweat and leaned over to say:

"Professor Fang, please go upstairs and sit down. You'll be giving a speech later, it'll be chaotic if you sit down here."

Fang Hanlin looked at him: "You are...?"

"Shi Shuqiu," Prince Xu said, pointing at him.

"Oh, so you're Shi Shuqiu. You're arranging your own seats for your seminar, haha." Fang Hanlin said kindly, but his words made Shi Shuqiu break out in a cold sweat again, which, combined with the cold sweat from before, made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Wang Zixu said from the side, "Teacher Fang, why don't you go up and sit down? If you don't go up, they'll have doubts and keep coming to ask, which is quite troublesome."

Fang Hanlin patted his arm and said, "Has anyone asked you why you're sitting down there?"

"No, I was supposed to be sitting down there."

Shi Shuqiu was at his wit's end. He turned to Wang Zixu and said, "Brother Wang, why don't you go up and sit down, and give your comments on my humble work later?"

The teacher standing nearby said, "That won't work, there are no seats left."

The prince waved his hand dismissively and simply smiled.

Fang Hanlin wasn't really there to sit down; he was just using the opportunity to gauge the situation and see how Shi Shuqiu would react. After the others offered a few more words of advice, he greeted Wang Zixu, exchanged contact information, and went upstairs to sit down.

Shi Shuqiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back and gave Wang Zixu a deep look. Her worries had not subsided, and she felt even more uneasy.

……

Two hours later.

The meeting is adjourned.

Fang Hanlin and Ji Shaofei hurriedly walked out the door, and after walking quite a distance, Ji Shaofei chuckled, "Shi Tonghe's plan backfired!"

"Well, the public's evaluation isn't as high as I expected."

Ji Shaofei blinked: "Teacher Fang, what's your opinion on Wang Zixu's matter?"

Fang Hanlin pointed in the air and said, "There's definitely something going on here!"

"Yes!" Ji Shaofei clapped his hands. "I didn't expect their conflict to be so big. Shi Tonghe is a veteran, yet he's competing with a junior like this. It's truly... unexpected!"

(End of this chapter)