It was just a love letter; I'm really no great writer!

Liangran Literature Club (3)

After Xia Liang created the group, Lu Ran posted the manuscript in the group.

"You two are getting a little ambiguous..." Li Xingping thought to herself, secretly criticizing the group name.

She downloaded the manuscript to her laptop, opened it with Word, and read it word by word:

"When I was ten years younger than I am now, I had a leisurely job collecting folk songs in the countryside..."

One of the characteristics of serious literature is that it is written as if it really happened.

The opening of "To Live" uses such a technique.

While collecting folk songs in the countryside, "I" met an old farmer in the fields who was calling out to an old ox to plow the field: "Erxi, Youqing, don't be lazy; Jiazhen, Fengxia is plowing well; Kugen is doing well too."

How can a cow have so many names?

I asked the old man out of curiosity and learned that the cow actually only had one name, which was Fugui.

The reason for using multiple names was to deceive Fugui into believing that other oxen were also plowing the fields.

The old man and I sat under the tree, and on that sunny afternoon, he told me about himself...

It turns out that the old man's name was also Fugui.

As a boy, Fugui was the son of a landlord. In his youth, he became a dissolute, riding around on prostitutes to greet his father-in-law. He was inseparable from whoring and gambling. After becoming addicted to gambling, he became even more outrageous. When he got carried away with gambling, he even had his pregnant wife dragged out when she came to persuade him to stop.

As a result, he lost all his family fortune.

"That Fugui is a real beast, a complete bastard!"

Upon reading this, Xia Liang gritted her teeth, her thin cheeks turning bright red with anger.

Even a gentle girl like Li Xingping blushed: "He even angered my own father to death."

"What happens next?"

Xia Liang stopped abruptly after seeing Jia Zhen, who was pregnant, being taken away, leaving only her daughter Fengxia with Fugui. "What happened next?"

"To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode," Lu Ran said.

Li Xingping was still fuming. "Lu Ran, you must give Fugui a bad ending!"

"Right!" Xia Liang suddenly snapped out of her daze. "Hey, wait a minute..."

She had read the synopsis; Fugui's fate was full of ups and downs, as tragic as could be...

At the time, she felt it was too tragic and asked Lu Ran to give Fugui a happy ending.

Now it seems, "We absolutely mustn't let him get away!"

"Okay," Lu Ran replied with a smile.

Judging from the beginning alone, Fugui certainly deserved to suffer retribution.

However, the characters in serious literature are not simply black and white.

Fugui's complexity lies precisely in the bitter consequences he sowed in his youth—if he had been a good person from beginning to end, the ensuing tragedy would have been unrealistic.

"Then let's settle on this as the grand finale," Lu Ran said.

"Hmm." Xia Liang's gaze was complicated. Although it was just the beginning, the plain language of "To Live" brought a profound and powerful sense of strength.

Writing poetry can also be explained by talent.

But to write pure literature this well... what kind of god is this?

"It's so well written!" Li Xingping said happily. "It's enough to make up for all the hardships in life!"

The last novel published before Huaizhong Pictorial was "Life is Bitter".

Lu Ran had also read it. "Life is Bitter" had the style of a master and supported the reputation and sales of Huaizhong Pictorial.

But compared to "To Live", it is clearly still too immature...

As for Xia Liang and Li Xingping...

They only read the beginning and didn't realize the true value of "To Live".

So they simply felt that it was enough for "To Live" to replace "Life is Bitter" and become the mainstay of the publication.

Xia Liang clasped her hands together, her eyes earnest: "Lu Ran, could you write a poem as the foreword?"

Do you have a pen?

Li Xingping asked in surprise, "You...you just came like that?"

Lu Ran said seriously, "I just had an inspiration."

Xia Liang brought him paper and pen.

As dusk fell, Lu Ran entered the room, picked up his pen, and remained silent for a long time.

As a publication for high school students, its main target audience is naturally teenagers, who are energetic and always full of enthusiasm.

"You've come to this world, you should see the sun."

"Walk down the street with your sweetheart."

……

……

After giving them Hai Zi's famous quote, Lu Ran had nothing else to do, so he said goodbye and went home.

Inside the activity room, two girls were busy.

The most tedious part of publishing a school magazine is arranging each section and column.

Fortunately, the Huaizhong Pictorial had already paved the way.

The remaining task is mainly reviewing manuscripts. Students from Huaizhong High School are very enthusiastic about submitting manuscripts, but selecting suitable manuscripts is not an easy task.

Li Xingping flexed her aching wrists: "Sister Liang, let's find someone else to proofread the manuscript."

"Who are you looking for?" Xia Liang asked without looking up, meticulously calculating the publication's page numbers and layout.

"Uh..." Li Xingping was speechless.

Their literary society is unlike ordinary clubs; it's a community of shared ideals and destiny, making it extremely difficult to find suitable members...

What happened in that activity room is still vivid in my mind.

When Zhao Yishuang said she wanted to leave the literary society, and Xia Liang tried her best to dissuade her, Zuo Hanzhi said she wasn't happy at all. Thus, the publication, which had been the culmination of everyone's hard work, instantly fell apart.

Because of that incident, Xia Liang harbored deep resentment towards both Zhao Yishuang and Zuo Hanzhi.

But no one can deny that Huaizhong Pictorial was able to be published.

It requires the efforts of everyone.

But Zhao Yishuang's articles are the mainstay of the magazine;

Zuo Hanzhi's poetry is the soul of the literary society.

With both key figures resigning, the publication naturally couldn't continue...

Li Xingping believed that the literary society would never be able to reunite.

Unexpectedly, the all-around king Lu Ran suddenly appeared.

He can not only write poetry, but also pure literature, and he single-handedly took on a major role!

Li Xingping secretly wondered if it was possible that after Huaizhong Pictorial republished, it would call everyone back... and everyone would return to the beginning.

Xia Liang suddenly spoke up, "Xing Ping, come and take a look at me."

Li Xingping leaned forward, stunned: "This is...?"

"Comics aren't very popular lately, so I'm thinking of starting a comics section," Xia Liang said.

"You want to draw comics?"

"We can't rely on Lu Ran for everything; we have to contribute too," Xia Liang said. "I've already come up with the story. You can be my assistant and help me draw the background."

"Waaah! I still have to proofread the manuscript..." Li Xingping lost her composure.

Xia Liang thought for a moment, "Then, let's find another person to review the manuscript."

"Let's call Xiao Di back!" Li Xingping's eyes lit up; this was the perfect opportunity...

"...Di Lingyan?" Xia Liang asked hesitantly.

"She's very familiar with pictorials, so she can get to work as soon as she arrives. Art students have a lot of free time, so she's perfect for reviewing manuscripts."

Seeing Xia Liang's eyes gradually wavering, Li Xingping coaxed, "Moreover, she's enthusiastic, capable, hardworking, diligent, conscientious, simple-minded, and physically strong..."

"How can you talk about someone like that?"

Xia Liang wasn't averse to the straightforward and guileless Xiao Di, but hesitated and said, "I'm just worried that she and Zhao Yishuang have a very good relationship..."

"That's all in the past," Li Xingping said firmly.

"Okay, I'll go talk to Xiao Di tomorrow!" Xia Liang said, reassuringly.

Li Xingping smiled broadly, her heart filled with joy.

Great! We're one step closer to a joyful reunion!