I am not a literary giant

Chapter 93 is basically harmless.

Chen Qingluo once said that Wang Zixu was smart in some ways, but overall he was a fool.

Being a fool doesn't mean you're not smart. A fool's mind can be quite sharp, but things that others can easily understand might take a fool half a lifetime to grasp. By the time they figure it out, they've already suffered half a lifetime of regrets. What else is that but being a fool?

Wang Zixu was such a fool. He only understood things Chen Qingluo grasped when she was in high school, even at 30. After finally understanding, he had a profound realization and felt he had wasted his life before.

He used to think that one should have integrity as a person, and one should also have an attitude in writing. For example, when he was asked to come up with an essay on "dreams," he could only think of the conflict between a father's will and a son's dream, because this conflict was the purest and best reflected the theme.

If Chen Qingluo, Ning Chunyan, or even Shen Qingfeng were to write this story, it would never be this simple.

Chen Qingluo will have the little boy get hit by a car and become disabled, then win a championship at the Paralympic Games after getting a prosthetic leg; Ning Chunyan will have the little boy experience the extravagance of high society and be confused for a while before he suddenly realizes his mistakes; Shen Qingfeng will write that the little boy later dated many girls, met many impressive people, and finally revealed the mystery: the little boy was himself.

The stories they wrote not only ran within their areas of expertise, but also contained some extremely stimulating emotional elements. Chen Qingluo was bitter, Ning Chunyan was noble, and Shen Qingfeng was arrogant, all of which were very eye-catching.

Wang Zixu's writing lacks appeal. Everything he writes seems ordinary; you have to carefully savor it to appreciate its meaning. This is a disadvantage.

If Yu Hua were to write this story, the little boy would undoubtedly be exceptionally gifted at running, the first to run to donate blood, and then be brutally beaten to death by an unscrupulous doctor. This is his novel, *To Live*.

If Márquez had written this story, the little boy would have become an underground boxer, getting beaten black and blue and still unable to earn money. Hungry, he would try to steal something to eat and be shot dead by an old woman with a revolver. This is "Tuesday Afternoon".

Depending on the author, this story could become "The Catcher in the Rye," "To Kill a Mockingbird," or even "Dragon Raja." There are countless stories in this world that feature a hapless child with boundless dreams for the future.

Writers are an extremely cunning group of people, and Wang Zixu lacked that cunning. The most cunning thing he ever did was to put Dafengshou's cigarettes into Xuanhemen's box.

On the second floor, a door was opened, and warm yellow light poured out. A head peeked out from the crack in the door—it was the poet. Then another head peeked out—it was Ye Lan.

"He's still writing?"

"It seems so."

The two women sighed. Ye Lan said, "He's probably worked 12 hours today, hasn't he?"

"Seventeen hours," the poet said. "He got up at 6:50 in the morning, and not counting the time he spent running, he worked for 17 hours. He didn't take a nap."

Ye Lan said, "Should we try to persuade him? What if he ruins his health by overworking himself?"

The poet said, "It's best not to disturb him now. He's going through a tribulation."

Ye Lan stared at the poet: "Tribulation?"

The poet nodded: "He's getting stronger. Can you tell? Serious men usually become very handsome. He suddenly became handsome just now."

After she finished speaking, both women found her words hilarious, and they both laughed foolishly at the same time.

After laughing, Ye Lan asked curiously, "He could already increase the retention rate from 6% to 16% before he became stronger. If he gets even stronger, what kind of industry legend will he create?"

"I don't know, myths always have to be created by someone. Of course, he might collapse from exhaustion tomorrow and never recover."

Ye Lan sighed sadly and said, "Let him sleep all tomorrow. It's not that I feel sorry for him, but there are still 19 days to go."

The poet said, "I don't have any objections. I earned 100,000 today, and even after taxes, I still have 70,000 to 80,000. For the next few days, I'd be happy to pay rent, let alone eat and stay for free."

The two men ducked their heads inside the room. The warm light filtering through the crack in the second-floor door disappeared. Wang Zixu, still engrossed in his work in the living room, remained completely unaware of what was happening upstairs.

The poet didn't ask Ye Lan why she sobered up so quickly, and Ye Lan didn't ask the poet why she hadn't exposed her. Women are all born writers, even more cunning than writers.

……

Lin Feng didn't know why he had come to Shen Qingfeng's guesthouse. It had an elegant name, "Qingfeng Residence." This was actually his second time there.

The first time he was invited was by Shen Qingfeng himself—at that time, Shen Qingfeng had just joined the Writers' Association and invited everyone in the association to be guests, including Lin Feng. Later, Lin Feng became his rival, and he was no longer qualified to come here.

Although Raymond Lam disliked Shen Qingfeng's opportunistic and two-faced nature, he had to admit that Shen Qingfeng had a good business sense.

In the first year after Qingfeng Residence opened in Xihe, Shen Qingfeng invited all the important figures in Xihe to stay there for one night. Soon, Qingfeng Residence became very popular, and prices rose steadily, eventually becoming something that Lin Feng could no longer afford.

Qingfeng Residence is more than just a house; it has courtyards, pavilions, a restaurant, a pond, a bonfire, and a mahjong table. Sometimes, there are even young ladies dancing here. Not only can you see Shen Qingfeng, but you can also eat, play cards, fish, and if you're lucky, you might even meet some young ladies. That's why everyone loves coming here.

When people from Xihe talk about this place, they all feel that being able to come here is a very prestigious thing.

This does not include Lin Feng.

Sitting in the car, Lin Feng watched as Gou Yingbiao and Shen Qingfeng walked into Qingfeng Residence laughing loudly. He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the steering wheel: "What an insult to scholarship! What a disgrace to scholarship!"

After a while, he got out of the car furtively and strode into Qingfeng Residence. A hostess in a cheongsam immediately walked over gracefully, her long legs sticking out from under her skirt, dazzling Lin Feng so much that he could hardly open his eyes.

After looking at the price list, he could barely keep his eyes open. He paid the deposit with half-closed eyes, followed the hostess upstairs, made an excuse to slip away, and then wandered around the guesthouse, searching for Shen Qingfeng and his group.

Finally, he heard Shen Qingfeng's voice from inside the foot bath room. Pretending to be a customer who had lost his phone, he walked around the room, but no further sound came from inside. He went outside, and thankfully, Gou Yingbiao's booming voice came from the window. Overjoyed, he hid in the bushes. As soon as he crouched down, mosquitoes hidden in the shadows kissed him like enthusiastic streetwalkers, as if they wanted to suck him dry.

Lin Feng endured the pain, took out his phone, and started recording, capturing the intermittent sounds drifting from the window. Just then, he heard Gou Yingbiao solemnly reciting:

"The literary gathering at Xihe is bustling with people, a gathering of talented men and beautiful women."

"With unrestrained inspiration, I write splendid verses; with boundless talent, I compose magnificent chapters."

"His literary inspiration flows like a spring, his poetic and artistic sentiments resonate far and wide."

"This gathering is truly unparalleled throughout the ages, its glory will forever be remembered in Xihe!"

"Great! Awesome!"

"Director Gou is truly exceptionally talented! I'm deeply impressed!"

"I never imagined Director Gou had such talent! This small town of Xihe is truly full of hidden talents!"

A brief burst of applause erupted in the room, which Lin Feng could hear outside the window gritting his teeth.

Gou Yingbiao said, "After all, I worked under Director Mei, so I learned a thing or two. I'm usually too busy with work to have time to hone my creative skills. Some of the younger guys in my unit look down on me, but humph, I won't hold it against them."

Lin Luo said, "Gou Ju's poem is truly full of talent, especially the line 'With unrestrained inspiration, he writes splendid verses; with boundless talent, he composes magnificent chapters.' It is wonderful beyond words, and reading it makes one's mouth water. It is truly a fine poem."

Gou Yingbiao said, "Actually, it was Xiao Diao from my unit who helped me revise this sentence. I originally wrote, 'Leaders from all walks of life sit and watch, while everyone else writes articles.' What do you think? Which sentence is better?"

Director Gou looked at Lin Luo expectantly. Lin Luo hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"The original sentence is quite...magnificent. Although it is a fine sentence, it has too strong a personal style and may not be in line with the tone of our literary association, so we have to compromise on it."

Director Gou laughed and said, "Really? I also thought Xiao Diao's line was quite good, so I used it."

Shen Qingfeng said, "Director Gou has the talent of a general; he knows how to select and discard, and that's enough."

"Yes! Director Gou is magnanimous!" Lin Luo gave a thumbs up.

Listening outside the window, Raymond Lam was both angry and amused, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly, inwardly cursing, "This is an insult to culture."

Lin Luo was Lin Feng's junior from elementary school and quite talented. It was Lin Feng who recommended him to the Writers' Association. However, this kid was lured by Shen Qingfeng and switched sides, betraying Lin Feng and becoming Shen Qingfeng's lackey, serving him day and night and learning all sorts of slick and cunning skills from him.

Shen Qingfeng turned his head and said, "Lin Luo is a really good kid. To be honest, I want him to be the vice chairman this time."

Liu Rensong, a senior member of the Writers' Association who had been silent until now, spoke up while reclining in his chair:

"Sure, as long as Lin Luo makes a good impression on the big boss at this literary gathering, becoming the vice president will be a piece of cake, won't it?"

Shen Qingfeng leaned closer to him with a grin and said, "Isn't that all thanks to Teacher Liu's support?"

Liu Rensong said lazily, "The support of the top leader is more effective than anything else."

Shen Qingfeng cursed inwardly, thinking to himself, "Damn it, this Liu Rensong is such a pretentious, affected scholar. He accepted my gift but was still all coy and wouldn't even say a word of thanks. I wasted my time inviting him and having such a young and beautiful technician serve him—he should have had the oldest and ugliest auntie massage his feet."

He turned to Lin Luo and said in a cold tone, "Lin Luo, did you hear that? You must win first place in this essay contest to prove yourself!"

Lin Luo said calmly, "Don't worry, Brother Feng. Since Ning Chunyan and Chen Qingluo aren't participating this time, there are basically no strong opponents left. The rest of Xihe are just mediocre and nothing to worry about."

Shen Qingfeng said, "It's good to be confident. But don't forget, your goal is to get first place, not just to make it to the finals. Are you confident you can beat your senior, Lin Feng?"

Lin Luo scoffed: "I know his skills better than anyone. What could he possibly write? Nothing more than a rural kid going to the city to work, the boss being a good man, and the boss's wife ending up a widow..."

Loud laughter came from the room.

Lin Feng crouched outside the window, his teeth chattering. The person who understands you best always hurts you the most. Now he realized just how well Lin Luo understood him, and how terrifying a ferocious enemy he was.

It's true that he wrote about rural children going to the city to work, but he swore that the landlady didn't end up a widow.

Shen Qingfeng added, "There's another person worth noting this time. Come to think of it, Director Gou knows this person."

"Oh? Who is it?" Director Gou asked.

Shen Qingfeng said, "He has a performative personality; he's very good at self-promotion and marketing. Last time Raymond Lam came to your workplace for an inspection, didn't that guy take the opportunity to make a name for himself?"

Gou Yingbiao's tone gradually turned cold: "Oh, you're talking about Prince Xu."

"Yes, that's him."

Outside the window, Lin Feng's body gradually grew cold.

He understood why Gou Yingbiao was there. This small gathering wasn't just for him, but also for Wang Zixu.

He began to blame himself. If it weren't for him, Wang Zixu wouldn't have been dragged into this undeserved disaster. His palms were sweating as he eavesdropped on Shen Qingfeng's plans to deal with Wang Zixu.

"Let me be frank, this Prince Xu is acting very strangely," Gou Yingbiao said. "He's even dared to slam his fist on the table in front of me lately."

Shen Qingfeng raised his voice eight octaves: "He actually dared to slam his fist on the table with you?"

"Yeah. It's really weird, this Prince Xu..." Gou Yingbiao sat up and adjusted his posture. "If I had to describe him, Prince Xu used to be honest and quiet, never saying a word, never uttering a sound, and never getting into conflicts with anyone. But ever since Lin Feng came over last time and showed him his skills, he's become arrogant."

Lin Luo said, "What's that saying? 'When a petty person gains power, he becomes arrogant and unruly.'"

"Um."

Although Gou Yingbiao nodded, he was still puzzled. After all, Lin Feng's trip alone could not explain why Wang Zixu had changed so much. He had not "gained his power."

Besides, Shen Qingfeng and the others had a very arrogant first impression of Wang Zixu, but Gou Yingbiao knew him well. Wang Zixu used to be too honest, as honest as he is now possessed.

If Prince Xu were to appear on Baidu Baike (Baidu Encyclopedia), then the entry about him could be summarized in just one sentence: "He was basically harmless."

They don't have the ability to harm anyone, nor are they worth paying attention to. If you're not careful, you might easily overlook their entire life, as if they never existed. Basically, they're harmless.

I don't know what got into him, he suddenly went from harmless to a pest, and such a disgusting one at that. Gou Yingbiao was completely baffled.

Shen Qingfeng said, "Director Gou, he's really pushing his luck. Aren't you going to deal with him?"

Gou Yingbiao felt a little embarrassed, scratched his nose and said, "I won't stoop to his level."

Shen Qingfeng said, "You are too magnanimous."

Director Gou said he wouldn't stoop to Wang Zixu's level, but the real reason was that he didn't know Wang Zixu's background. Why would Director Mei support him? And why did the high-ranking leader know his name? He couldn't take action against Wang Zixu until he figured these things out.

But he didn't plan to confide these things to Shen Qingfeng. Otherwise, it would make him seem particularly incompetent.

Gou Yingbiao said, "Although his personal character is despicable and low-class, at least he hasn't made any mistakes at work. For the time being, we can't find any fault with him. We're just handling things officially, so it's difficult for me to deal with him."

Shen Qingfeng threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Director Gou, you're really too kind-hearted. As his superior—I'm not from the system, so I'm just saying—it's not hard for you to get rid of him, is it?"

Gou Yingbiao was somewhat embarrassed and asked, "What do you mean?"

Shen Qingfeng asked, "I'm asking you, is this Prince Xu married?"

(End of this chapter)