I am not a literary giant

Ye Lan was very efficient. The next day, she brought Wang Zixu to the "base" she had found for the "Wen Ai Club." She even changed into a new pair of stockings.

The so-called "base" is a loft-style apartment building located in the suburbs. The suburbs of Xihe is a very broad concept, and this place is one of the most remote and isolated areas, even in the suburbs.

Wang Zixu sat in the passenger seat of Ye Lan's Audi. It took a full 40 minutes to reach their destination. As soon as he got out, he felt the wind, carrying sand and gravel, blowing against his face. He stood on a concrete road that seemed to have carved out a world, with endless yellow earth on both sides. The distant city was shrunken into a mass at the edge of his vision. The tall buckets of cranes were the only embellishment on the skyline.

To the left of the road was an unattended strawberry greenhouse, its surface reflecting a pale white light, the plastic sheeting trembling in the wind. The strawberry season was over; only drooping grass stalks remained on the field ridges. Further away stood a solitary, dilapidated-looking outhouse, the words "Male" and "Female" written in chalk on its crumbling red brick walls.

The apartment is hidden in this desolate area. Its sophisticated light green walls, Baroque columns, and bourgeois courtyard make it look high-class and out of place with its surroundings.

Ye Lan said, "This place is the product of a failed investment. There were rumors that this area was going to be connected to the East China Sea and developed into some kind of digital industrial park. Someone planned ahead and built this thing here, but the plan was delayed and never approved, so it just fell apart here. Come in."

Wang Zixu followed her into the house. The apartment was a pseudo-duplex structure, with eight single rooms on the upper floor and a large living room downstairs that could be used as an office. The decoration style was industrial and minimalist (like a bare shell), but the soft furnishings were very sophisticated. The living room was fully equipped with a sofa, coffee table, bookshelves, and even a widescreen TV on the wall.

Prince Xu was very satisfied.

"How is it?" Ye Lan asked. "The monthly rent here is only a little over a thousand, and the area is so big. You can move in with just your suitcase. It's a great deal, right? I also hired a housekeeper who cooks three meals a day, does grocery shopping, cooking, washing dishes, and mopping the floor. It only costs two thousand. The only problem is that it's too far from the city center. It's in the middle of nowhere, and there isn't even a 24-hour convenience store."

Wang Zixu said, "That's even better. Without the glitz and glamour of the world, we can reduce the messy desires in our hearts and focus more on literature."

Ye Lan said, "The main problem is that it's not very convenient to go home."

Wang Zixu said, "I'm not going home. I'm here and not going home at all. These past 20 days haven't given me any time to go home. Otherwise, why would I have asked for room and board to be provided?"

Ye Lan was a little surprised: "You haven't been home for 20 days? Doesn't your wife mind?"

Wang Zixu said, "I told her that my company organized a group of people to go to Hongzhou for a 20-day Party spirit training course, which is usually required for those who are about to be promoted. She happily agreed. My mother-in-law will come to my house to take care of her. So I don't need to go home."

Ye Lan crossed her arms, disagreeing with the prince's act of lying to his wife.

"I feel there's something strange about how you and your wife get along."

The prince asked tentatively, "Is that strange?"

Ye Lan nodded: "Why not just say it directly? It's all about making money, it's not like it's shameful. Why hide it from her? Normal couples usually support each other, but it feels like you two are just draining each other's energy."

The prince asked casually, "Are you married?"

He meant that he thought Ye Lan had insightful views on marriage, so he asked the question subconsciously. But Ye Lan instantly lost her composure, stomped her foot, and said:

"So what if I'm not married? Does that mean I can't express my opinions on marriage? I have married friends too! I've seen all sorts of marriages! Never mind, I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm leaving!"

Her way of breaking down was very similar to that of a certain talented woman Wang Zixu knew. Ye Lan went out, then returned a while later, this time with a calmer tone:

"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to mention. I've already contacted Cheng Xing."

The prince asked humbly, "What did he say?"

Ye Lan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear: "He said he's quite interested in the literary and artistic club you're going to start. He wants to join."

The prince exclaimed in alarm, "How can this be?"

Ye Lan slightly opened her eyes, her dark eyes widening:

"Why not? High readership, strong writing skills, and understanding of literary innuendo—doesn't that meet all your requirements? Authors who run physical publishing are coming to write literary innuendo scripts for you; what more could you want?"

She finished counting on her fingers, and Wang Zixu remained silent. Ye Lan's words seemed irrefutable, yet something felt off.

Wang Zixu said, "I'm afraid we can't keep an author with his talent. What I want is not just a momentary passion, but a long-term commitment."

Ye Lan said, "Who isn't someone else's consumable? Who can stay together for life? Stay as long as you can, and the longer you stay, the longer you'll produce."

Wang Zixu said, "I never expected you could say something so philosophical."

Ye Lan tossed her hair haughtily: "Making a fuss over nothing. You just don't understand me."

"Okay, okay."

Prince Xu laughed from the bottom of his heart. Only after he finished laughing did he realize that he hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

Later, he suddenly realized that in the past few years, he had been like Watanabe in "Norwegian Wood." There were always many forces around him dragging him toward "death." But fortunately, there were people like Midori around him. Midori represents the power of "life." And after he surfaced, he was able to cherish the beauty of "life" even more.

This is also the call of libido. It is thanks to literature.

Ye Lan said, "Then that's settled. He's received a ton of business plans about you. Everyone's like dogs squatting at the door of traffic, trying to grab a piece of the pie. When he comes, you can discuss it with him yourself and see how to turn this wave of traffic into real money."

Prince Xu nodded. He pointed to the bookshelf: "I need your help to buy some books."

Ye Lan said, "Okay, you tell me what to write, and I'll find a pen."

Wang Zixu sat down on the sofa: "The complete works of Borges, Vargas Llosa's *Conversation in the Cathedral*, Saramago's *Blindness*, Camus's notebooks, the complete works of Eileen Chang, Wang Zengqi's *The Story of Da Nao*, Zhang Xianliang's *Half of Man is Woman*, Su Tong's *The Sparrow*, Yan Lianke's *They*..."

Ye Lan carefully wrote these down on the paper, asking Wang Zixu for help whenever she encountered a word she didn't know. After finishing, she asked, "Have you read all of these books?"

Wang Zixu struggled internally for a moment, then decided to tell the truth: "These are all books I wanted to buy before, and books I couldn't afford."

Ye Lan looked up at him with a troubled expression: "You've already learned how to fleece the company as soon as you became a shareholder, haven't you?"

Wang Zixu said, "I'll call Lalamove to have all my books delivered. I've made a schedule; I'll spend about half of the next 20 days reading. So I need to prepare a lot of books."

Ye Lan didn't dwell on his exploitation of customers until the Lalamove truck that Wang Zixu had mentioned came storming down that lonely highway. Only then did Ye Lan realize how honest Wang Zixu was—his truck's cargo hold was almost completely filled with books. It took the driver half an hour to unload them all.

The bookshelves covering one entire wall were crammed full, and many more books were on the floor. Ye Lan wondered how all these books ended up in Wang Zixu's house; had he robbed a library?

Wang Zixu didn't think he had a lot of books, but he knew he did. The fact that he paid 70 yuan out of his own pocket to have the driver unload the goods already showed that he was fully aware of the weight of these books.

In the half hour that the 70 yuan had bought him, he was adjusting the living room speakers, trying to play "Norwegian Wood" on music software—the Beatles version, not the Wu Bai version. Although the Wu Bai version was also on his playlist.

He did this clumsy thing because he remembered an interesting anecdote—the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood" was originally titled "I Know She Would," but the record company thought it was too vulgar, so they changed the name to a homophone, from "Knowing She Would" to "Norweigian wood," which suddenly became more artistic.

This incident seemed like a metaphor, alluding to a certain aspect of Wen Ai's core spirit. Wang Zixu found it quite interesting to himself, but he figured Ye Lan wouldn't understand if he explained it aloud.