I am not a literary giant

Prince Xu narrowed his eyes and began to drift off into his own thoughts. Suddenly, he was called out by name, which jolted him awake and made him instantly conscious.

The leader said, "Our Comrade Wang Zixu, ah, last time he drank with us, ah, he performed exceptionally well. Although he may not be considered by the true literary circles, ah, he is still quite good among enthusiasts. We should all encourage him and learn from him, ah, read more books."

After the leader finished speaking, his colleagues began to applaud, and he clapped along with them. All eyes turned to Wang Zixu, and they applauded him in sympathy. Whether they were willing or not, following the leader's rhythm, the applause was continuous, like waves crashing against the rocks, surging intensely towards Wang Zixu in the center.

"Congratulations, Comrade Xiao Wang," said Director Gou.

What's the congratulations? Are you congratulating me on being officially recognized as a "literature enthusiast"?

Prince Xu's hands hovered in the air, seemingly grasping at thin air. He didn't know whether to accept the applause to show confidence or to clap along with them to show humility. The former would make him seem arrogant, the latter would make him seem pathetic. So he was very uncomfortable.

The applause lasted for a minute, and Prince Xu endured that minute of torment. He sensed a profound absurdity hidden beneath the surface of this scene.

Just like the ending of *Neon Genesis Evangelion*, everyone is applauding Shinji Ikari. What are you all clapping for? He'd wanted to ask that question since he was a kid watching the anime. And he still wants to ask it now.

A middle-aged white man with thick lips quietly approached him from behind, placed his hand on his shoulder, and whispered to him:

"You need to understand, you are not what they call a literature enthusiast. You embarked on this path of no return through free will and free choice. You are not a literature enthusiast; you are a martyr for literature. Today you are a literature enthusiast in their eyes, but tomorrow you will be a madman, a rogue, a scoundrel, an idiot. But you are you. You should not succumb to their gaze. Otherwise, why would hell need a pot? The eyes of others are your hell."

Prince Xu turned to look at him: "I know who you are, you are Sartre."

The man smiled: "That's right, I am Jean-Paul Sartre."

Prince Xu said, "You are really ugly."

"It's okay, but you have to become the freest person on this earth."

The man's figure disappeared. Behind him, Guo Ranran's furious face appeared.

Ah oh.

Years later, when Wang Zixu won a literary award and stood on the stage, facing the thunderous applause of hundreds of people below, he suddenly thought of this scene today.

It was only then that he realized the collective applause was a ceremony held by his colleagues, a way to forcibly bestow upon him the title of "literature enthusiast." This wasn't a congratulation; it was a coronation, the grand ceremony of "literature enthusiast's" coronation.

What he later tried to do was, like Napoleon, snatch the crown from the Pope and put it on himself. You have no right to crown me. Only I have that right.

……

That evening, Wang Zixu received a call from Zuo Ziliang. Zuo sounded very flustered and breathless, telling him to meet at their usual coffee shop.

He came up with a plan to fool his wife and sneaked out of the house. When he arrived at the location, he quickly saw Zuo Ziliang's distinctive bald head. When he saw his face clearly, he was really shocked.

Zuo Ziliang looked haggard, like a homeless man who hadn't slept for three days, and even the oil spots on his bald head spoke of his exhaustion.

"What's wrong with you?" Prince Xu sat down opposite him.

"Calm down first," Zuo Ziliang said.

Wang Zixu said, "I'm very calm."

Zuo Ziliang said, "You won't be calm later."

"What's wrong?"

"First, make sure you stay calm."

"I need to know what happened first, right?"

"Damn it, you're not calm at all!"

"You're the one who's not calm!"

Zuo Ziliang sighed, finally accepting reality, and said, "Your script has been leaked."

Prince Xu asked, "What do you mean by 'leaked'?"

"Literal meaning."

Prince Xu was a little confused. Even the literal meaning of the words didn't explain what they meant.

His scripts were sent to Zuo Ziliang on a regular schedule, and Zuo Ziliang then distributed them to the speech therapists. To be honest, there was no intention to keep it secret from the beginning. It was only a matter of time before someone saw it. He didn't understand what Zuo Ziliang was anxious about.

Zuo Ziliang explained to him, "It's not just a leak, it's a systematic leak. All your scripts from last month, they've all been leaked. They've been put online. And they're pretty damn popular."

"They were put online in their entirety?" Prince Xu straightened up.

Zuo Ziliang pushed the phone towards him: "Look."

Zuo Ziliang showed him the Red Pepper Forum. Wang Zixu fiddled with his phone for a while, watching and listening to Zuo Ziliang's explanation. After he understood the meaning of every piece of data and every piece of feedback on the page, he finally started to get anxious.

His script was titled "40 Love Letters from the Little Prince to the World," posted online, and became a hit.

Currently, over 200,000 people have read his scripts, more than 10,000 have shared them, and several thousand have sent him virtual flowers.

Flowers are virtual gifts that can only be purchased with real money on this forum. Wang Zixu calculated that the cost of flowers alone would be around 12,000 yuan.

He was dumbfounded.

"Doesn't that mean this person made over ten thousand yuan using my manuscript?"

Zuo Ziliang took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the sweat from his head and face, and said:

"No, money is a small matter..."

"Over ten thousand! That's nothing!" Wang Zixu said, somewhat agitated. "I've been writing like crazy for over a month, and I only got twenty thousand!"

Zuo Ziliang reached out to try and soothe him, whispering, "Keep your voice down... Okay, it's true that this is a lot of money for you, but there's something worse out there."

"How can I get my money back? Can I sue him?"

The more Zuo Ziliang wiped the sweat from his brow, the more sweat poured down his face. "Alright, alright, that's secondary. The money isn't important. What's important is..."

"Shut up! This money is very important!"

Zuo Ziliang was stunned.

"Ten thousand yuan is equivalent to three thousand boxes of 'Big Harvest' instant noodles, seven hundred boxes of duck leg rice, one hundred and sixty boxes of calcium carbonate, fifty cans of milk powder, and a genuine Porsche headlight. Do you care? You don't care at all; you only care about yourself!"

After a long pause, Zuo Ziliang finally said, "Why did you buy Porsche headlights?"

"Who said I was going to buy it?"

Zuo Ziliang composed himself and said, "Don't worry about the money. If you want it, you can definitely get it back. I'm just worried that you don't want it, but there's an even more pressing problem right in front of us."

"explain."

"We have a user who wants to see you," Zuo Ziliang said, looking up.