Chapter 164 Ordinary World

Chapter 164 Ordinary World

Chapter 164 Ordinary World

"Because I said so." Chen Qingluo said.

If arrogance is divided into levels, Wang Zixu can only barely tie with Admiral Pan Feng; but Chen Qingluo said it as a matter of course, her thin lips slightly curled and her eyes flashing, full of the domineering aura of "Wang Zixu and Luo are the only heroes in the world", and is the most arrogant person in the world.

Cao Cao had psychologically sentenced Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Liu Biao and Liu Zhang to death when they were still alive; Chen Qingluo, sitting on a small mahjong table in Nanjing University, could remotely control "Get", a magazine with the most influence in the country, and her arrogance could rival that of Cao Cao.

Why? Because I said so.

It seems that there is no need to say who “I” am. Anyway, “I” has already said so. Because it is “I” who said it, there is no need to doubt it, just believe it.

Wang Zixu recalled that she was like this many years ago. When she introduced herself in class, she said in front of the whole class: I am the best high school student in Xihe who writes essays. It's not because I have high scores, but because according to my observation, no one writes better than me.

After saying that, she walked down the platform and walked towards Wang Zixu without even looking at him. There are many things worth remembering in life, but Wang Zixu can't forget this scene.

At this moment, Chen Qingluo's figure was projected into his eyes, evoking memories lurking deep in his memory. The distant figure and the figure in front of him were stirred together. Wang Zixu's emotions also boiled up.

Wang Zixu was a rookie back then, and he had scanned all the Nobel Prize-winning works. That was his most arrogant time. Even then, he didn't dare to submit his work to Get. But today, he suddenly believed that he could get it. There was no other reason, just because she said so.

Everyone was shocked.

The reason why people were shocked was not because Chen Qingluo's body shook and exuded a domineering aura, but because Shi Shuqiu, who was sitting next to the table, did not dare to say that he could get "Get" to publish the article. They saw that Chen Qingluo had a dignified appearance and a good temperament, and they began to speculate about her identity, whether she was from the Donghai consortium or the little princess of the Beijing circle.

Xiao Mengyin was more rational. She dared to speak and asked, "Who are you?"

"It's not important who I am. What's important is that if there is only one place in the literary world that is not the kind of inbreeding place that Shi Shuqiu talked about, that place should be the editorial office of De Dao. I am not sure that De Dao will publish his manuscript because of who I am. I am sure that no matter who I am, whether De Dao accepts his manuscript or not will not be affected by me. That's why I said that De Dao will definitely accept his manuscript. Do you understand?

"Xiao Mengyin, you just said that talented writers must rarely have their manuscripts rejected. This is wrong. There are too many talented writers who have had their manuscripts rejected. If you count the writers who have never had their manuscripts rejected, they either have a father who is a professor or a mother who is a literary editor. Everyone has their likes and dislikes for literature, and editors are no exception. If you submit too many manuscripts and run into an editor whose brainwaves don't match, it is easy to have your manuscripts rejected. This is the same for even the greatest writers.

"Submitting a manuscript is a process of trial and error. How can an author test his or her quality without being rejected once or twice? Unless you are extremely talented and have studied the preferences of editors of major journals and magazines thoroughly, like me, you will not have your manuscript rejected. But how many people like me are there in the world?

"It's not scary to have your manuscript rejected. What's scary is to run into a system that is distorted by inbreeding. Yes, I'm talking about you, Shi Shuqiu. You may not be surprised that Yangtze River has to be rejected because Ancient City was rejected. But have you ever thought that not all authors have a father who is a writer? If domestic magazines are all run like such deformed species like conjoined twins, how can ordinary authors protect their works? How many detours do they have to take to get proper respect?
"Twenty years ago, literary magazines enjoyed their heyday, with circulation exceeding one million copies. What about now? All magazine publishers are barely surviving on subscriptions from government agencies and universities. A circulation of 20 or is considered enough to make ends meet. Some time ago, an internet celebrity promoted a product and the circulation of one issue exceeded , and the entire magazine publisher was celebrating.

"Yes, you people say it's because of the impact of the Internet and new media, but they are also facing the impact, so why are the paper publishing in neighboring countries such as Japan and South Korea so successful? Literature has become something for a small group of people to entertain themselves, and they are also engaging in inbreeding. It would be surprising if the market did not shrink.

"I'll put it this way. It's not shameful for his manuscript to be rejected. He should thank them for rejecting it because its quality is worthy of being published in Get. He should thank you for polishing and pushing for it. Not only does it want to be published in Get, but it also wants to win the first prize. Whoever has the manuscript rejected will be embarrassed. That's all I have to say."

After Chen Qingluo finished speaking, the scene suddenly became silent. After a while, Zhao Peilin wiped his sweat and whispered, "Damn it, you cursed so hard!"

Shi Shuqiu was covered in dirt. For the first time in his life, he experienced what it meant to be drenched in blood. Every word the woman in front of him cursed was about the literary world and magazines, but he felt that every word was a knife, stabbing at his heart, as if he was responsible for the current miserable situation in the literary world.

Xiao Mengyin said with great difficulty: "It is difficult for me to understand what you said. I am also an ordinary author from an ordinary family. I don't understand what you said. Oh, by the way, you may not know that I am the first prize winner of the last Feishi Literature Award. I said you can't win the first prize."

Chen Qingluo had a playful smile on her face: "I am not the winner of some bullshit first prize. I am Chen Qingluo, the winner of the 7th Emerging Literature Award, the National Excellent Short Story Award, the Lu Xun Literature Award, and the Outstanding Youth Award. I can get it."

After saying that, she tossed her hair and said, "Who doesn't know how to name the dishes?"

"Chen Qingluo?"

Amidst the slightly shocked and questioning voices, the second buddy next to him suddenly fell off his chair to the ground.

His upper body was lying on the table, his clothes were turned up to reveal his belly, like an old turtle with a terrified expression.

"Chen Qingluo?" Xiao Mengyin stood up, her tone gradually becoming excited, "Are you Chen Qingluo?"

This "Ah" startled many people in the restaurant. Chen Qingluo threw away the cards in her hand, grabbed Wang Zixu, and whispered, "Hurry up and leave."

So the two of them left in a hurry, without even taking time to look at the mess they left behind.

Wang Zixu asked in a low voice: "Is it appropriate to leave like this?"

"If you don't leave after pretending, are you waiting to be exposed?"

Wang Zixu looked at her doubtfully: "What you said is true. You have indeed won so many awards."

Chen Qingluo bit her lip lightly: "I'm talking about you! Do you really think you can be on the cover of Get?"

"Can't?" Wang Zixu was immediately disappointed.

"Of course not. If it were possible, why wouldn't I let you submit directly to Get?"

Wang Zixu was like a dehydrated cucumber, his whole body was wilted. He thought Chen Qingluo was serious just now, and was excited for a long time.

Chen Qingluo cleared her throat and said, "Not now, but if you start from now and revise the novel from beginning to end within a month, maybe you can."

"Is that so?"

Wang Zixu's expression suddenly became serious.

It sounds impossible to finish the revision within a month. But in a way, it is just what he wants. Wang Zixu has some self-destructive parts in his personality, and perhaps Chen Qingluo's request caters to this part.

But he had long wanted to improve the work. It would be a pity if it was not improved, but if it was improved, he would be satisfied even if it was not improved. It was such a simple and naive idea.

Wang Zixu suddenly asked: "By the way, did you know that my manuscript would be rejected by Yangtze River? Are the unspoken rules that Shi Shuqiu talked about true?" He recalled that when Chen Qingluo encouraged him to submit his manuscript to Yangtze River, she acted sneaky with Ning Chunyan and just urged him to submit it quickly. When asked why, she acted secretive. Thinking of the "custom" that Shi Shuqiu mentioned, Wang Zixu guessed that the two veterans were probably well aware of the industry rules and had anticipated the current situation.

Chen Qingluo's face fell: "I wasn't sure before. If I knew you couldn't vote, why would I let you vote?
"This kind of unspoken rule does exist in the industry, but now the more hidden unspoken rule is that you will never reveal whose submissions you have rejected, especially those from famous people."

After a pause, she continued, "Do you know about Lu Yao and Ordinary World?"

"I know, it was rejected." Wang Zixu nodded.

"Do you know who rejected the manuscript?"

Wang Zixu shook his head. He only knew that the road to becoming a god in "Ordinary World" was very difficult, but he was not sure how many times it was rejected or by whom.

Chen Qingluo said: "Many people think that The Ordinary World is Lu Yao's debut work, but it is not. Lu Yao had written Life before that and was already a literary giant. He was the vice chairman of the local writers' association at the time, and he and Jia Pingwa each held up half the sky. He was not the poor little author that the public had in mind, but a popular big writer."

Wang Zixu didn't know this. He opened his eyes wide and asked, "So his manuscript will be rejected too?"

"Yes," Chen Qingluo nodded seriously, "At that time, Modern magazine sent a young intern editor to collect manuscripts from them. It was reasonable for him not to have access to an author of Lu Yao's level.

“Well-known authors never hand over their manuscripts to magazines easily. They will call the magazines directly to ask if they are interested and only hand over the manuscripts after they are sure of their intention.

"The intern editor was the son of a miner. Lu Yao might have been impressed by his background and thought that he would appreciate his work, so he gave the manuscript to him. But the intern editor rejected the manuscript without even reading it.

"It stands to reason that an intern should not have his manuscript rejected by an author of Lu Yao's caliber, but he did, and Lu Yao and the magazine accepted it. This incident dealt a heavy blow to Lu Yao, and later at a literary review meeting, critics had many harsh words for the book. Lu Yao's status plummeted as a result.

"Later, none of his three volumes of Ordinary World were published in full. It was only after China National Radio discovered the book and broadcast it that it became a hit and later won the Mao Dun Literature Prize.

“In terms of sales, The Ordinary World is on the same level as To Live. It is conceivable that if it had not been discovered and broadcasted by a radio station by chance, this book would most likely never have seen the light of day.

"The Ordinary World has returned to its rightful place, but Lu Yao himself has not. He was always poor and had to spend money on medical treatment. After winning the Mao Dun Literature Prize, he even had trouble paying for the prize and had to borrow money from others."

Chen Qingluo looked at Wang Zixu: "The incident of his manuscript being rejected caused a lot of controversy, and people still talk about it today. Before Lu Yao won the award, people praised the trainee editor for his sharp vision and courage to challenge authority; after Lu Yao won the award, everyone laughed at the magazine for being blind."

Wang Zixu was silent for a while.

Chen Qingluo seemed to want to hint at him, but she didn't say the key words. Wang Zixu had no time to think about it at this time.

"So, if the rejection is made public, it means that the magazine and the writer are on opposite sides. The success of one party means the failure of the other party, and vice versa," Wang Zixu said, "So they don't reject the manuscript publicly?"

"Yes. This is one of the reasons." Chen Qingluo nodded and smiled suddenly, "You are quite smart."

"Haven't I always been smart?"

"Did not see it."

The two walked for a while, and Chen Qingluo restrained her smile: "It's difficult to get 100% of your score published in Get in one month, right? You still have to take the postgraduate entrance examination."

"Then sleep less." After saying that, Wang Zixu suddenly became eager to try. He likes challenges.

"Come on." She turned her face away, so her expression couldn't be seen.

Wang Zixu suddenly stopped.

“What should I do if I fail to submit my revisions to Get or miss the Feishi Literary Prize?”

"How to do?"

Chen Qingluo turned her head and stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled brightly: "Then I failed in pretending to be awesome! What else can I do?"

"Haha."

Prince Xu felt relieved.

If one has the ability to achieve something but fails to do so, he will be ridiculed by others and will regret it himself; if one has done his best but still cannot achieve his goal, then he will have no regrets, for who can ridicule him?

If he fails in the end, it is certain that someone will laugh at him, and Chen Qingluo will be laughed at too. But until he was thirty years old, he had never been laughed at less, and he was still moving forward clumsily and laboriously. What could he do?
"Hey," Chen Qingluo suddenly called him, "Don't let me fail in my pretense."

She used a commanding tone.

Wang Zixu nodded.

……

Two days later, Yang Bian and Wang Zixu made an appointment to meet. Yang took a taxi from a long distance and also invited him to dinner.

This made him feel flattered: he had previously treated the editor to a meal, but he never thought that one day he would be the opposite, and the editor would treat him to a meal. Later, the editor said that it was used for the manuscript collection fund, and he accepted it with peace of mind.

The place was found by Yang Yin. It was far inferior to the luxurious restaurants on Binhai Road, but the food tasted good and light, and the waiters were friendly. When they met, Yang Yin seemed a little unhappy. He ordered two bottles of beer, but drank two glasses himself without saying anything.

(End of this chapter)