A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

Monday, December 5th.

During the second break, Lin Shubai went to the restroom. When he came back, he found several students from other classes standing at the back door of the classroom, peeking inside. He recognized one of them; it was Chen Hao from the next class, the one he had chatted with in the cafeteria last time.

"Lin Shubai!" Chen Hao waved.

Lin Shubai walked over. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I was just passing by. I heard you're having a book signing on Saturday? Which bookstore? What time?"

"Xinhua Bookstore on Nanjing Road, 2 PM."

Chen Hao nodded, "Okay, I'll go then. My sister wants to read 'Charlotte's Web,' I'll buy her a copy so she can see what you look like."

"Just read the book, you don't need to look at people."

"That won't do. I told her the author is my schoolmate, but she didn't believe me. I have to take a picture to prove it. My sister is in fifth grade this year, and she's very stubborn. Last time I said I'd met you, she said I was bragging. This time I have to shut her up."

Lin Shubai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but felt that saying anything would be useless, so he could only nod.

Back in her seat, Su Wan glanced at him. "What did Chen Hao want with you?"

"He said he's going to a book signing on Saturday to take pictures of his sister."

"Then you need to smile more nicely, not like you did on the awards stage last time. That photo of you with your eyes closed is still posted on the bulletin board, and the whole school saw it."

Lin Shubai touched his face. "That photo wasn't taken with my eyes closed; the photographer just didn't get the timing right."

"Anyway, just be careful on Saturday, there will definitely be people taking pictures then."

At lunchtime, Liu Yang came over with his tray. He put the tray on the table, sat down, and said, "Shubai, I just ran into a senior from the second year of high school at the cafeteria entrance. He said he's taking his whole class to your book signing."

"The whole class?"

"Yes, he said that their class's Chinese language representative recommended your book to the whole class, saying that it was very well written. After their Chinese language teacher heard about it, he said that they could go and support it on Saturday as a kind of social practice activity."

Su Wan picked up a piece of tofu from beside her. "Social practice? Going to a book signing counts as social practice?"

"The teacher said this is called 'getting closer to literature and writers.' It's basically just a different excuse to go out and have fun."

Lin Shubai didn't know what to say, so he lowered his head and shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

During the last self-study period in the afternoon, Old Chen came to the classroom for a walk. He walked to Lin Shubai's desk and paused for a moment.

"The book signing on Saturday won't be officially organized by the school, but teachers can attend on their own." Old Chen's voice wasn't loud, and only Lin Shubai could hear it.

Lin Shubai looked up at him. "Teacher Chen, are you coming?"

Old Chen didn't answer directly. Instead, he took out a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, and found a bookmark inside. He said with a wry smile, "My son Chen Xu asked me to ask you if you could sign a book for him. He really likes 'Charlotte's Web,' and said he almost cried when Charlotte died."

Lin Shubai took the bookmark. "Okay, I'll sign it for him."

Old Chen nodded, took the bookmark back, turned and walked away, but stopped after a couple of steps. "Um, when you sign it, could you write 'Wishing Chen Xu academic progress'? He didn't do very well on his Chinese test recently."

"it is good."

Old Chen didn't say anything else this time and left, but Lin Shubai noticed that he walked a little faster than usual.

Su Wan heard everything from the side, and only after Old Chen had walked away did she whisper, "I didn't expect that hitting Old Chen would elicit such an expression."

"Maybe he's a little embarrassed." Lin Shubai closed his textbook and put it in the drawer.

Wednesday, December 7th.

When Lin Shubai returned home from school, Wang Xiulan peeked out from the kitchen.

"Shubai, I put a package on your desk today. It came from Sichuan Province and it's quite thick."

Lin Shubai paused for a moment, then walked into his room. Sure enough, there was a brown paper bag on his desk with a courier slip attached. The sender's address was "Science Fiction World Magazine, No. 11, Section 4, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan Province".

He opened the seal and poured out two magazines.

The magazine's cover was printed with the four large characters "Science Fiction World". In the December 2010 issue, he flipped to the table of contents and found his own name in it: "Dinosaurs in the Afternoon" - Lin Shubai and "Artificial Beauty" - Lin Shubai, the two articles were less than ten pages apart.

He picked up his phone and sent Zhou Hang a text message: "Professor Zhou, I received the sample copy, thank you."

The reply came quickly: "Thank you for receiving it. Looking forward to your new work."

Lin Shubai smiled and put his phone down.

Wang Xiulan called out from the living room, "Shubai, come out for dinner!"

At the dinner table, Wang Xiulan picked up the copy of "Science Fiction World" and flipped through it. "I've heard of this magazine; it's quite famous. What kind of content do you write about?"

"Two short science fiction stories, one about dinosaurs coming back to life, and the other about a robot bar."

Lin Jianguo, standing nearby, asked curiously, "When did you submit your work to another magazine?"

"I forgot to mention what happened last month."

Lin Jianguo fell silent, probably calculating just how many things his son was writing at the same time—one for *Story Club*, another for *October*, another for *People's Literature*, and now another for *Science Fiction World*. After a few seconds, he swallowed his food and said, "Can you manage all that?"

"It's alright, each one is short, only a few thousand words."

Wang Xiulan glared at Lin Jianguo, "Why do you care if your son is busy or not? As long as he can write it, that's fine." Then she turned to Lin Shubai, "But you really need to take care of yourself and get some rest. Don't stay up late."

"understood."

That evening, Chen Yuanshan sent a text message: "The release of 'October' and your book signing are on the same day. I probably won't be going. Make sure your book signing goes well."

Lin Shubai stared at the text message for a few seconds and replied, "Thank you, Teacher Chen."

Friday, December 9th.

This was the last day before the book signing event. Classes were held as usual during the day, and everything was normal.

When school let out in the afternoon, Su Wan called out to Lin Shubai in the corridor.

What time are you going to the bookstore tomorrow?

"The publisher said I should arrive at 1:30, and the event will start at 2:00, so I'll probably have to leave at 1:00."

"Then I'll go with you. I'll wait for you downstairs."

"it is good."

Su Wan nodded, turned around and took two steps, then turned back again, "Go to bed early tonight, don't write until midnight again."

"it is good."

Lin Shubai lay in bed. There wasn't much to prepare for tomorrow; the publishing house had already arranged everything—pens, nameplates, water. Zhou Mingyuan said, "You just need to come."

He reached under the pillow and touched the Hello Kitty mirror. It was cold. He had this thing with him for three months, from the first time he met Lü Jia, to the competition in Beijing, and now to the autograph session tomorrow. Su Wan had given it to him every time, as if carrying it made him feel like he wasn't alone.

He glanced at it and put it back.