I am not a literary giant

After Wang Zixu left, only Zuo Ziliang and Ye Lan remained in the private room.

Ye Lan turned to look at Zuo Ziliang: "Do you think he can do it?"

Zuo Ziliang said, "He's the Little Prince. How could he not be capable?"

Ye Lan said, "You know, the most crucial part of your plan isn't that the other person believes he's the Little Prince. It's that while they believe he's the Little Prince, they haven't yet become disillusioned."

She blinked. She was a woman, so she knew that women were easily disappointed.

For example, she was disappointed when she learned that Prince Xu was a spineless clerk who always considered his wife's feelings. The little prince she imagined was much cooler than that.

Zuo Ziliang said, "He is the Little Prince."

Ye Lan said, "But he doesn't even dare to meet women."

Zuo Ziliang said, "He is the Little Prince."

Ye Lan said, "Aren't you afraid that he'll tell the other person during a chat that he has a wife? As soon as the other person finds out, the Little Prince's charm will instantly drop to zero, no matter how talented he is."

Zuo Ziliang looked at her: "He is the Little Prince."

……

Prince Xu knew that the difficulties he faced were nothing compared to the real challenge: defeating the bandits in the mountains was easy, but defeating the bandits in his own heart was difficult.

That evening, when he returned home, his wife was lying in bed applying a face mask. He tiptoed over, wanting to lie down on the bed, but his wife kicked him away.

"Don't come up here, you haven't showered, you're filthy."

"I just want to go to bed and say something to you."

"Can't you wash first?"

"I just want to say this now, but I don't want to say anything more after I've washed up."

"Isn't that perfect?"

Prince Xu leaned against the wall and said, "Then I'll stand here and say it."

His wife didn't look at him: "Whatever."

The prince opened his mouth, but suddenly his mind went blank. He felt like he was standing in front of a large white wall, like someone in a period drama confessing to a crime of hooliganism, his emotions, which had been building up for a long time, were suddenly interrupted.

Finally, he could only ask, rather eloquently, "If I had a project that could make a lot of money, and all I had to do was write about it, would I do it?"

Upon hearing "a lot of money," the wife immediately jumped out of bed and said, "Go ahead and do it! Why not?"

"What if that matter isn't very respectable?"

"Does being broke mean you're respectable?"

His wife said something hurtful, and still seemed unsatisfied, so she grabbed a pillow and threw it at the prince. The pillow hit the white wall and fell to the floor.

"Prince Xu, let me ask you this: your wife works hard every day at the flower shop to earn money. You've been married for over five years, and you're so poor that you can't even afford to have a child. People are starting to wonder if you're impotent. Do you think that's respectable? What era are we living in? You're still thinking about respectability. Are you out of your mind?"

Wang Zixu's eyes darted around: "It's not only undignified, it's also a bit immoral."

His wife's anger subsided a little, and she asked, "Did you run a casino? Pimp? Or were you swindling and robbing banks?"

Prince Xu said, "It's not that bad."

"Did you harm or deceive anyone?"

"No, it was all voluntary and not illegal."

"That settles it, doesn't it?" His wife lay back down. "That guy downstairs, he cheated on his wife, his mistress had a son, and he immediately kicked his wife and daughter out to live in the basement. Everyone knows about it. Have you heard anyone say anything about him? Ever since he paid to fix the elevator, everyone's been praising him as a good man. You, stop thinking about all that nonsense. Make money. In this day and age, money equals morality."

Prince Xu seemed to be deep in thought.

That evening, he sat on the living room sofa. The living room lights were off, only the television emitted a dim glow. Outside the window, the road, illuminated by streetlights, formed a golden river, and the tires of passing vehicles made a soft, white noise. The television was silent, playing "Animal World."

The wolves ran across the grassland, their steps light and agile, their grey-black fur fluttering in the wind. One wolf turned its head, its deep green eyes gleaming, staring intently into Prince Xu's eyes.

"I am a fluid," Zuo Ziliang said.

A wise man changes his appearance like a leopard. This is what the Book of Changes says.

Those who wish to remain clean among men must know that even dirty water can be used for washing. Thus said Zarathustra.

All animal instincts are geared towards survival, and these instincts are unrelated to morality. It should be understood that humans are also a type of animal. This is what Zhao Zhongxiang said.

Wang Zixu felt that he should fully open himself up and accept the real world. He needed to accept the animalistic side of himself.

Kindness is a virtue of humans. Ferocity is a virtue of animals.

The phone on the sofa next to me kept ringing; messages from Zuo Ziliang kept coming in:

Your speech therapist account is now created.

The name should be The Little Prince. It's a good name.

Remember, forget you're married, forget everything, cast aside the burdens, and become fluid.

From this moment forward, for this very day, you belong to all the women in the world.

Uproot them all, all the baobab trees in your heart.

Wang Zixu picked up his phone.

……

Ning Chunyan put down her phone.

She collapsed onto the bed as if all her strength had left her, her hair disheveled, like she was sleeping in a field of blooming flowers.

She agreed to Boss Wen'ai's request. She didn't know if she had done the right thing.

All she knew was that after reading the script for The Little Prince, the thought in her mind became clearer and clearer: this matter needed to be put to rest.

Meeting the Little Prince could be the end, or it could be the beginning. But she couldn't control that. All she knew was that she urgently needed to meet him.

It's like in "Kafka on the Shore," where Satoshi Nakata suddenly feels he needs to find the "Entrance Stone." There's no particularly clear reason. You can only understand it as destiny.

She showed no emotion. Even when threatening to report him, she remained emotionless. She simply analyzed the situation rationally, realizing it would give her more leverage, so she made the threat. She didn't actually want to report him.

But she needs to talk to the Little Prince. It's a place that's an "entrance" to her life.

So she looks forward to tomorrow.

……

Tomorrow is here.

When Wang Zixu got off work, he covered his phone in his arms, just like Vanka secretly covering the letter he was going to give to his grandfather.

Zuo Ziliang and Ye Lan both sent him a lot of messages. One told him not to be too nervous, and the other asked him if he wanted to see the chat history of other speech therapists.

He ignored them. He went back to the yard, walked around the piles of dog poop, sat down in his usual spot in the exercise equipment area, lit a Big Harvest cigarette, took two deep drags, filling his lungs, and gently pressed the butt against the tip of the long Stegosaurus tail. The butt slid smoothly up into the air.

Time is up.

He opened his phone, opened the Wen'ai app, and saw an order request on the screen. He clicked "confirm".

Almost simultaneously, the message came from the other side.

Qiu Ge: [Hello, I'm Qiu Ge.]

He reached out and began to scribble the words.

I am the Little Prince.

How can you prove you are the Little Prince?

I cannot prove myself. Because it's easy for anyone to impersonate someone else, but difficult to be themselves.

I believe you are the Little Prince.

Prince leaned against the squatting machine and let out a soft sigh of relief.

For many, many years after his marriage, he had no contact with any women, let alone such a heart-to-heart talk. He even never displayed his masculine side in front of other women, to avoid getting into trouble.

Qiu Ge: [I'm a little sorry to talk to you this way. But I want to understand you. I want to know what you do, what you like to eat, what hairstyle you have, what clothes you wear, and what books you read. I want to get closer to your world.]

The Little Prince: [I'm sorry. This is not within the scope of our agreement. I cannot tell you who I am.]

Qiu Ge: [Then what's the point of us chatting like this? We talk, then leave, forget, and never see each other again.]

The Little Prince: [You can start getting to know me now, from every word I say.]

After saying that, he remembered Zuo Ziliang's words and added:

I will also try to understand you. From every word you say.

Qiu Ge: [Okay, I'll take it seriously. I'm so happy. Really.]

Qiu Ge: [I'm a literary charlatan. I write some pretentious and sentimental pieces, and it's easy for me to get high marks, receive praise, be used as model essays, and then appear in the newspaper. People expect me to write more brilliant pieces.]

Wang Zixu's hand trembled slightly: "You're not a slacker. That means you're excellent."

Qiu Ge: [I'm not good. Only I know I'm a slacker. I only produce a drop or two of my juice each year; it might look impressive at first glance, but it's only a drop or two.]

Wang Zixu: [Then let one or two drops flow out every year.]

Autumn Song: [Don't you despise me? You always have such abundant fluid—no, you're not fluid, you're a river. Endless and flowing.]

Prince Xu: [What do I have to despise? Even a drop or two is precious to you.]

Qiu Ge: [You're so gentle. Just talking to you makes me wet. But it feels so good, so warm.]

Wang Zixu said, "That's good. I like you when you're moist."