I am not a literary giant

Chapter 90 Wisteria Waterfall

Wang Zixu is actually not very good at writing assigned essays. The story he wants to write is often like a wildly growing wisteria vine, spreading to any sunny spot until it eventually covers your entire balcony.

The themes of novels are often complex and diverse, sometimes even ambiguous and vague. For example, Cervantes' "Don Quixote" is a great work that can be described as a satirical novel about chivalry, as a celebration of the last vestiges of chivalry, or as an expression of the contradiction between ideals and reality.

In short, what you read into it is what it expresses. In a sense, you're not reading a book; you're reading your own life. You're reinterpreting your life through Cervantes's lens.

This is why great works can remain timeless—there are no longer knights in the world, but there are still many Don Quixotes who bravely charge towards the windmills of fate—four hundred years later, this book still shines with the brilliance of romanticism.

But assigned essay topics are different. The assigned topic is like an invisible giant hand that firmly grips you; it's like giving you a stick, and you can only climb up the stick.

If a wisteria only has one vine, it is not a wisteria; it is a type of landscape plant.

For this topic, Wang Zixu wanted to write an absurd story: a little boy from a single-parent family, who was always beaten by his father, developed a long-distance running skill and eventually won a competition.

Of course, he could also choose not to write about long-distance running. The story could also be: a little boy from a single-parent family, who was always beaten by his father, developed excellent fighting skills and eventually won a championship in the boxing ring.

Of course, the little boy could also ride a bicycle, speed out of his house, ride all the way to the end of the city, and eventually become a cycling champion;

Even a little boy can practice stealth techniques. Although he is at home, his father cannot find him anywhere. In the end, he becomes the god of ninjas.

In short, how the story will ultimately unfold depends entirely on Prince Xu's mood.

In Prince Xu's eyes, these stories were all the same, without any difference. This was because they all defied the logic of reality. The only logical outcome in reality could be—

The little boy did nothing, and ended up becoming withdrawn and insecure, turning into the Prince Xu he is today. For over a decade, he has been tirelessly trying to prove that he is not an ordinary person.

No matter how Wang Zixu writes, Chen Qingluo always manages to appear in the novel, becoming the protagonist's biggest motivation and obstacle—she always seems to appear in his writing, he suddenly realizes it, and then deletes her. She will never exist in the final draft.

The first draft often needs to be revised more than 26 times to become the final draft. In the end, the text on the first draft will become unrecognizable. Chen Qingluo will never exist in it. She will only turn into a faint figure, gazing at the reader between the lines.

"What's wrong with Teacher Little Prince?"

"I don't know, let's observe further. If it gets really bad, let's take him to the hospital."

Ye Lan and the others sat around the dining table. Wang Zixu sat at the head of the table, holding chopsticks and staring blankly at a plate of tomatoes.

The poet laughed sarcastically: "Are you really into literature? Obviously, he's still working on his novel."

The believer said, "You people who work in literature, when you're working in literature, do you really do this...is it strange?"

The poet said, "No. For example, when I'm engrossed in something, I don't seem strange; I just seem adorable."

She shook her head, her pink hair swaying.

Cheng Xing said, "I do get immersed in writing, but usually I only do that when I'm writing. Mr. Little Prince's reaction shows that he has extremely strong concentration, which I really admire."

Cheng Xing spoke with utmost sincerity, his gaze towards Wang Zixu filled with admiration. He felt that the closer he got to this spark, the more he understood the reasons behind Wang Zixu's writing.

Ye Lan sat next to Prince Xu, her hands on her chin and her legs tightly together. She first waved her hand in front of his eyes, then brought her chopsticks close to his face, but did not poke him.

She was as excited as a child who had found a seashell: "He really didn't move at all. If he were a wildebeest from the African savanna, he would have been eaten long ago."

The poet said, "Unfortunately, he is not a wildebeest, and we are not lions."

Sakura patted her chest confidently: "With us protecting Teacher Little Prince, he'll be fine."

Ye Lan sighed: "It's a pity he's not a wildebeest—oh no, I mean, it's a good thing he's not a wildebeest."

After saying that, she looked at everyone and said, "Eat? What are you all standing there for? Why aren't you eating?"

"Teacher Little Prince hasn't even touched his chopsticks yet."

Ye Lan waved her hand: "It's alright, you guys eat. Could you get me a plate? I'll put a little bit of everything on his plate."

Ye Lan usually exudes an aura of unapproachability, and no one in the company dares to act presumptuously in her presence. Even the members of the Wen'ai Club knew she was not to be trifled with the first time they met her, and none dared to joke with her lightly. But at this moment, she acted very caring, and everyone watching her felt that Ye Lan, who was gently helping the little prince with his hair and serving him food, was radiating maternal warmth. Some people, however, had a slight misunderstanding because of this.

After finishing her food, Ye Lan waved, "Come on, you guys have things to do tonight, so we won't drink at dinner. We'll celebrate with a late-night snack."

Xiao Hachi asked timidly, "What are we celebrating?"

Ye Lan laughed: "I made a bet with the little prince. If our stats are exceptional today, we'll celebrate his win. If our stats are the same as yesterday, then I win."

The group exchanged bewildered glances: "Doesn't that depend on our script today?"

Ye Lan nodded: "Yes."

Sakura pointed to herself, then to the others: "So, all of us head speech therapists are just sitting here doing nothing, won't the data plummet?"

The believer patted him on the shoulder: "Dude, we're happy to hear that you value us so much, but I still have to say, we're not that important."

Xiao Ba suddenly hardened her stance: "Whether it's important or not, it's all about the data! How embarrassing would it be to lose?"

Fearing he might transform into a fire-breathing mechanical Godzilla, everyone quickly said, "Yes, yes, let's finish eating quickly and log on. We need to take on 10 orders at the same time today until we can't talk anymore."

Wang Zixu suddenly snapped out of his reverie and looked around for his chopsticks. Ye Lan pointed at him and said, "The chopsticks are in your hand."

Wang Zixu looked down at his food again, and Ye Lan pushed a plate over: "Eat what's in here."

Prince Xu buried his head in his food.

Ye Lan rested her cheek on her hand and smiled indulgently. She had never owned a dog before, but she felt she had found a kind of joy in owning one.

The speech therapists finished eating and hurriedly went to their assigned numbers, while Wang Zixu remained sitting in front of his computer, lost in thought. Ye Lan opened her phone and sent a message to Huang Da:

"Thank you for working overtime today. Let me know as soon as the data is available."

Huang Da immediately replied: "President Ye, you're amazing."

Ye Lan asked, "What's wrong? Are the data good?"

Huang Da said, "The data isn't clear yet, since the peak period hasn't arrived, but you know what? Today's retention rate is exceptionally high! And the number of orders placed per user per day has almost doubled!"

Ye Lan had a bad feeling, but at the same time, she felt a sense of wonder. She asked, "What's the reason?"

Huang Da said, "It's probably because there are more scripts now. Before, users would just place an order and leave, but today there are a lot more renewals. With more scripts, speech therapists can perform more effectively!"

Ye Lan gasped, then went to Zuo Ziliang: "Have you been keeping an eye on the data? Is it rising too much?"

Zuo Ziliang said, "All I know is that if I can maintain this performance, doubling my monthly earnings is a piece of cake."

"You're making that judgment already? You're still so arrogant."

Zuo Ziliang said, "I can only say that's a conservative estimate. I'll give you a number: 335 million, at least, okay?"

Ye Lan quickly calculated the profits in her mind, then bit her lip hard. Her body felt hot and her face flushed. She reached out and tugged at her stockings, which snapped back onto her legs with a "smack." Her soles itched, so she quietly took her feet out of her shoes and rubbed them together through the stockings.

"That confident?" Ye Lan replied.

"It's not confidence," Zuo Ziliang said, "it's believing in the Little Prince."

Ye Lan glanced back at Wang Zixu, who was standing there dumbfounded in front of the glowing light of the laptop, and still felt uncertain.

……

Diao Yiwen leaned against a seat on the terrace, holding a cup of milk tea in her hand, her cold phone resting on the cold tea table.

She turned her phone on, then off. The moment it lit up, the name "even羽" appeared. That was her nickname on the "Wen'ai app."

She had only recently heard of The Little Prince, but had never actually seen it. Later, she heard about the "Wen'ai app," found it interesting, and secretly downloaded it.

She never used to lock her phone, but now she not only has a password but also a hidden folder specifically for hiding this app. No matter what, a well-mannered, upright, and accomplished young woman like her must not be allowed to use such an app.

So she never dared to turn it on. Today, having nothing better to do, she secretly used it once. The other person was very enthusiastic from the start, so enthusiastic that it gave her goosebumps. She was so scared that she immediately turned it off.

She was now hesitating whether or not to delete it.

Your phone lights up; you have a new message notification.

"Hey Xiao Diao, wanna go out for drinks tonight?"

It was sent by Song Yinglian.

She picked up her phone, lazily opened the chat app, typed a polite refusal message, then deleted it all and replaced it with a cat shaking its head emoji.

She knew what Song Yinglian was thinking, but she really didn't want to have any more contact with him. She was definitely going to leave this company, and she was afraid that he would become entangled in the breakup, so she kept her distance from him.

But if she were to completely ignore him, she sometimes feels very empty. If she doesn't interact with her colleagues of the same age at work, she has no social circle. She's not someone who enjoys loneliness.

At this point, she began to regret not going to study abroad. None of her friends had returned to their hometowns, and she couldn't even find anyone to talk to.

As if possessed, she opened Wen Ai again...

...An hour later, she looked up from her phone screen.

It was completely dark.

She swore she wasn't obsessed; she just wanted to take a casual look.

As a result, she not only spent money on this, but also renewed her session.

It's a little scary. She's even a little afraid of herself.

She decided to delete the app.

After thinking for a moment, she clicked on the profile picture of the speech therapist "Innocent Poet" again, and donated all her remaining balance to him in the donation section next to it, leaving a message:

"Thank you for sharing this meaningful time."

These were the words the other person had just said. She felt they were very eloquent and liked them very much.

(End of this chapter)