A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

When Lao Chen got home on Monday night, it was almost seven o'clock.

He pushed open the door. The living room lights were on, the TV was on, and cartoons were playing. A little boy was lying on the sofa with his head on a cushion, his legs dangling back and forth, holding a Transformer toy and gesturing at the TV.

"Dad's home!" Chen Xu jumped off the sofa and ran over barefoot, still clutching the Transformer in his hand.

"Have you finished your homework?" Old Chen changed his shoes and put his briefcase on the sofa.

"I'm done! I've finished math, and I've finished Chinese too. I copied the new words three times! Today the teacher praised me, saying my handwriting is better than before!"

"That's good." Old Chen patted his head.

Zhao Min poked her head out from the kitchen: "Wash your hands, dinner's ready."

During the meal, Chen Xu sat in a chair, unable to reach the table, with a pillow under his bottom. He used a spoon to scoop rice, spilling grains all over the table. Zhao Min stood beside him wiping it up with a tissue, muttering, "Eat slowly, don't spill it."

"Mom, the school food wasn't good today, I'm hungry."

"What kind of food?"

"That...that dish was too salty, I didn't finish it."

Zhao Min sighed and put another piece of pork rib on his plate.

Old Chen didn't say much. After he finished eating, he put down his chopsticks, took something out of his briefcase, and placed it on the table.

It was a book with a light green cover, on which was drawn a spider and a pig.

Chen Xu was gnawing on ribs when he saw the book, and his eyes lit up immediately: "What's this?"

Old Chen pushed the book over, saying, "It's a book written by an older boy in my class. He gave it to me today, saying it's for you to read."

Chen Xu put down the ribs, wiped his hands on his clothes, then picked up the book. The book was a bit heavy, so he held it and flipped through it.

"Big brother? A high school student?"

"Yes, first year of high school."

"To be able to write a book in the first year of high school, that's amazing!" Chen Xu's voice rose several octaves, his mouth agape.

Zhao Min was clearing away the dishes when she glanced at the book, then at Old Chen: "Written by one of your students? Is it that Lin Shubai you mentioned before?"

"Yes, that's him."

Chen Xu leaned over the dining table and read the words one by one. He wasn't particularly fast at recognizing characters, so he had to pronounce some words one by one. When he read the part where the little girl snatched the piglet from her father's hands, he suddenly smiled.

"Daddy, this little girl is amazing."

"What makes it so impressive?"

"She told her dad 'This isn't fair,' and her dad stopped killing the pig. I said 'This isn't fair' last time, so why are you still making me do my homework?"

Old Chen was taken aback. "That's because you were watching TV while doing your homework, which is wrong to begin with."

"But I also said, 'This is not fair.'"

Chen Xu lay on the table, continuing to read. He read about how the little pig was sent to the barn and met various animals, including geese, mice, and spiders.

His eyes widened when he read that the spider had woven words into its web.

"Dad! Dad, come quick!"

Old Chen came out of the kitchen: "What's wrong?"

"This spider can write on its web! Look!" Chen Xu held up the book and pointed to that page.

Old Chen walked over, glanced at it, and nodded: "I saw it."

"How did it do that? How can a spider write?"

"Because this is a fairy tale. In fairy tales, animals can talk, they can write, anything is possible."

He chuckled when he read about Templeton the rat's appearance.

"That rat is so greedy! It goes to the garbage dump to find food and even says something like 'life is all about eating,' just like Liu Yuhao!"

Who is Liu Yuhao?

"He's in my class. He brings a lot of snacks every day and secretly eats them during class. He's been caught by the teacher three times already."

Old Chen couldn't help but chuckle: "So, are you a little mouse or a little pig?"

Chen Xu answered without hesitation, "I'm the little pig! The little pig is the protagonist, and I'm the protagonist."

"Okay, you're the main character."

Charlotte is going to die.

As Chen Xu read that passage, his mouth slowly agape.

In the book, Charlotte says, "I've lived a very happy life. I've spun webs, caught bugs, and saved your life. You're my best friend, and that's enough."

Chen Xu looked up and glanced in the direction of the kitchen. Zhao Min was washing dishes, and the water was running. He then glanced at the living room, where Old Chen was watching the news, and someone was talking on the TV.

He lowered his head, stared at the pages, and blinked twice.

"dad."

"Um?"

Charlotte is dead.

Old Chen turned to look at his son, "Keep reading, there's more to come."

Chen Xu lowered his head and continued turning the pages. He read about how the little pig brought Charlotte's egg sac back to the pigpen and guarded it all winter. He read about how spring came, the spiderlings hatched, and one by one they crawled out of the egg sac and drifted away in the wind.

Where did they go?

"They went somewhere else."

"What about the little pig?"

Three of them stayed.

Chen Xu read to the last page, closed the book, and placed his hands on the cover.

He stared at the large gray spider for a long time.

"dad."

"Um."

"Brother Lin Shubai is so amazing," Chen Xu said earnestly. "He can write such a wonderful book."

Chen Xu jumped off the chair, grabbed the book, ran to the sofa, and squeezed down next to Old Chen. "Dad, tell me about this older brother."

"What did you say?"

"He can do anything, how is he so amazing? Was he a good storyteller even when he was a child?"

Old Chen thought for a moment: "How would I know about what happened when he was a child? But he loves reading now."

"I love reading too, so why can't I write?"

"You're only nine years old, and he's sixteen. There's a difference of several years."

Chen Xu counted on his fingers: "Seven years. Seven years from now, I'll be sixteen. Will I still be able to write a book then?"

Looking at his son's serious expression, Old Chen couldn't help but smile: "Maybe."

"Then I'm going to write something even better than this book."

"Okay, I'll wait until you write it down."

Zhao Min came out of the kitchen and saw the father and son huddled on the sofa, the son still holding the book in his arms. She walked over and patted Chen Xu's head: "Finished reading?"

"I've finished reading it." Chen Xu looked up. "Mom, this book is really good."

"What were they talking about?"

"The story is about a spider and a pig. The spider wove words on its web, saving the pig's life. Then the spider died, but its babies hatched."

Zhao Min listened to the gist of the story and nodded: "That's really good."

"Mom, do you think I can write books someday?"

Zhao Min paused for a moment, then looked at Old Chen. Old Chen shook his head slightly, meaning something like, "Don't discourage him." Zhao Min squatted down and looked into Chen Xu's eyes: "Write if you want to, Mom supports you."

Chen Xu smiled, grabbed the book, and ran back to his room.