Chapter 167 Infernal Affairs

Chapter 167 Infernal Affairs

Chapter 167 Infernal Affairs (6000 words)
A week had passed since Ning Chunyan issued the strictest gag order to Lu Qingxuan, and the day of the postgraduate examination had arrived as scheduled.

The examination center of Nanjing University is in the Chongwen Building of our school. Because of her status as the president of the Student Union, Lu Qingxuan was hired as an invigilator (invigilators can receive a daily allowance of 480 yuan).

But at this time she was worried about another thing.

Let’s not talk about that incident for now, and let’s talk about the so-called “strictest gag order” first: Ever since they witnessed the miserable conditions of contemporary novelists when they were creating, in line with the principle of not airing family disgrace in public, Ning Chunyan respectfully warned her colleagues who went with her not to tell this matter to anyone, and everyone should keep their mouths shut and not pass on the secret.

Chen Qingluo naturally couldn't tell anyone, so the gag order was only for Lu Qingxuan. Lu Qingxuan naturally didn't want to mention it, she even wanted time to wash away her memory like a waterfall.

However, when she woke up in the middle of the night, the image of a naked man wearing adult diapers would often appear in front of her eyes. She would always get up and sit on the bed for a long time, unable to calm down.

However, what was bothering her at the moment was something else, something about Du Kezhu.

Du Kezhu is quite well-known, and his popularity in the literature academy is roughly between Haruki Murakami and Bob Dylan.

Her most famous experience was that she gave a speech as a representative of outstanding students at the opening ceremony of her freshman year with a head of pink hair. After that, according to incomplete statistics, more than 26 boys publicly confessed their love to her, and countless others did so privately.

Lu Qingxuan has always regarded her as a rival.

This rival is not a love rival, nor does it involve competition in any specific aspect. "Regarding someone as a rival" is a way of survival for Lu Qingxuan.

She regarded Du Kezhu as a rival worth surpassing in a broad sense of "excellence". She had been spurring herself on in this way since junior high school. In other words, Du Kezhu was her whetstone.

Her attitude towards her opponents is very subtle: she doesn’t want her opponents to be too good, so that she can’t catch up; nor does she want her opponents to collapse at the first touch, so that she loses the fun of catching up. She always maintains an ambiguous relationship with her opponents, like flying birds and green fish, spring trees and evening clouds.

The most important thing is: once you decide on your opponent, you cannot change it at will.

Changing opponents is like cheating in a game, which will destroy all the rules and fun of the game and make her past persistence a meaningless obsession. She will only change opponents after "beating" them.

Du Kezhu, her eighth opponent, had a tendency to disappoint her recently. First, he lost his attitude towards learning, and then he took a long leave for unknown reasons. Just when she thought that the shelf life of this opponent was almost over, a bolt from the blue brought her game to the brink of collapse.

A few days ago, she met Duan Xiaosang through Zhao Peilin's introduction.

Duan Xiaosang is a well-known book editor and planning marketer. She is equally notorious for her fame and infamy. Her ability to create hot topics and provoke conflict is equally amazing. She has always maintained a good relationship with Lu Qingxuan's cousin.

When Zhao Peilin found her, he told her that Duan Xiaosang had proposed something very tempting to him but he was unwilling to do it, so he recommended someone who was capable of doing it - that is, her - to Duan Xiaosang.

Lu Qingxuan was shocked after hearing Duan Xiaosang's opening remarks:
"Du Kezhu is not the emperor?!"

She used to read Fei Tianzi's book with great fascination and had imagined what kind of person the author was. She never expected that it was her classmate, and Du Kezhu at that.

"The key point is the name at the end." Duan Xiaosang tapped the table with his fingers. "The Innocent Poet, this is the ID she uses in Wenmi."

Lu Qingxuan frowned: "Wen Ai? As far as I remember, isn't that a software for... flirting?"

"Yes."

"Girls can do this too?"

"Why not?"

Lu Qingxuan added nervously, "Don't let any of the students in school know about this."

Duan Xiaosang smiled and said, "I am not interested in ruining a student's reputation. What I care about is the person behind her, the little prince."

Lu Qingxuan looked puzzled. Duan Xiaosang said, "The Little Prince is the script writer behind Wen Ai. In other words, Du Kezhu, as Wen Ai's head speech therapist, must know the Little Prince."

Lu Qingxuan asked: "What do you want to do?"

"I would like to meet the little prince."

Lu Qingxuan tilted her head and thought for a while, thinking, no wonder Zhao Peilin was unwilling to intervene in this matter. It was very difficult to confess Wen Mi's matter to Du Kezhu, let alone ask her to give out the little prince.

"If you want to arrange an interview with the little prince or something, you can contact our magazine. Our editor-in-chief Ning Chunyan knows him, and our magazine's editor Wang Zixu can also contact him."

Duan Xiaosang laughed at her naivety: "How can I reveal such a thing to your magazine? You are Xiao Mengyin's cousin, so I will be frank with you. I want to bring the little prince to our company and make him a new generation of best-selling author."

"Isn't this bad? The little prince himself doesn't want to reveal his true identity."

"It doesn't matter. This setting is good, and we can also create a number of hot spots around it. The key is that we have to connect with him, sign a contract, and make an agreement. Once the cooperation is established, how to package it specifically is a matter for the future."

Lu Qingxuan added: "Do we have to find the little prince to cooperate with? Why go to the faraway place and cooperate directly with the non-emperor?"

Duan Xiaosang said: "She is indeed a talent worth exploring, but I have met her personally. The copyright of her past works is in the hands of the platform. Her writing style is not suitable for physical publishing. Her potential is limited. The real big fish is still the little prince."

Lu Qingxuan's heart rate accelerated a little. She asked cautiously, "I heard that the copyright of Fei Tianzi's book was sold for 80. Is that true?"

Duan Xiaosang smiled. "What's 80? If the little prince signs a contract with our company, it won't be a problem to sell the copyright for 800 million. Have you seen his "The Lost Sky Slash"? No less than three producers have asked me about the copyright."

Lu Qingxuan said: "The copyright of "Shikongzhan" belongs to the little prince himself, and our magazine is only responsible for publishing it."

"I know. Otherwise, Ning Chunyan would be sitting in your seat." Duan Xiaosang finished speaking and lowered his voice, "We estimate that the copyright of "Shikongzhan" can be sold for 150 million."

"That's just a short story of less than 3 words!"

"Yes, this short story. That's what someone offered for it."

Lu Qingxuan suddenly felt like he was looking up to a mountain.

Duan Xiaosang added: "I heard from Xiaomeng that you also want to go the publishing route?"

Lu Qingxuan looked a little sad and angry. Who among those who study literature doesn't have a dream of publishing? Of course she wanted to do that too. But after learning that Du Kezhu was Fei Tianzi, she suddenly felt that her dream was a joke.

Her rivals have already become famous and wealthy through writing, but her dream is still just a dream. Duan Xiaosang's question is like a humiliation to her.

Duan Xiaosang saw her expression and understood what was going on. He smiled and said, "If you help me this time, I can recommend your future works to magazines for publication."

A figure wearing adult diapers flashed through Lu Qingxuan's mind: "Really? There is an editor in our magazine. Shi Tonghe recommended magazines for him, but all his manuscripts were rejected."

Duan Xiaosang smiled: "Are you talking about the author surnamed Wang? He was cheated and offended someone he shouldn't have offended. My promise to you is to ensure that you won't be in such an embarrassing situation. You see, how hurtful it is to have your manuscript rejected twice? It directly led to the fact that there is no hope for Fei Shi this year, and he can't even find a magazine to publish in."

Lu Qingxuan said stubbornly out of the principle of protecting her own people: "That may not be the case."

Duan Xiaosang added, "Sister Sang, I have some connections in the industry, so my guarantee is very valuable. As long as you can help me with this, whether it succeeds or not, I can guarantee that you can publish an article in a core journal. If I can contact the Little Prince, I can also guarantee that you can publish an article in a top-notch core journal."

After saying that, she winked at her again: "Besides, are you really not curious about the identity of the little prince at all?"

Lu Qingxuan was silent.

The answer to that question is curiosity. She is very curious.

Although she always behaved as aloof as ice plum, cold moon against frost and snow, and as unchanging as the jade dragon on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, her inner curiosity was like a raging fire.

When people talk about her job, they often ask enviously, "You work at New Appreciation magazine, so you must be able to meet the Little Prince, right?"

She always answered with a faint smile, "No." Not only could she not, she couldn't even say a word.

"But at least you have a chance to communicate the manuscript with the other party," people said.

People envy her for working in the place closest to the little prince in the world, and admire her calmness about this privilege. In fact, how could she not be curious at all?
As the president of the Student Union of the Faculty of Arts at Nanjing University, she could easily get internship opportunities at September or Modern magazine, but she chose New Appreciation, in part because of The Little Prince.

Lu Qingxuan promised Duan Xiaosang to consider it, and Duan Xiaosang asked her to think about it quickly, otherwise she would have to look for someone else.

This decision was very difficult for Lu Qingxuan.

She always felt that it was a bit unfair to Ning Chunyan to reveal the news about the little prince. After all, the little prince was the top author of the company. If he was poached by someone, her energy to provide articles for the company might be reduced.

Duan Xiaosang also knew this, so he would rather bypass Ning Chunyan and start with Du Kezhu.

But she finally convinced herself: if she succeeded, she could contact the little prince harmlessly. She could tell the little prince that Duan Xiaosang was offering him an olive branch, and it would be up to him to decide whether to accept it.

She would never sell out his contact information if he didn't want to.

After waiting for several days, she finally got a good opportunity. Graduate examinations are usually held in the school, with three examiners in one classroom. If the number of faculty and staff in the school is not enough, students can take over. She has several vacancies.

She lobbied for Du Kezhu to get an opportunity to be an invigilator in the academy (which was not easy, after all, the teachers still remembered the pink on her head), and in the name of the academy, she forced Du Kezhu to participate in the invigilation (which was also not easy, after all, she had a very rebellious personality).

After some work, it worked. She deliberately arranged for Du Kezhu to be in the same examination room as herself. By creating an opportunity for them to be alone, she would be more confident in getting something out of her.

The day before the exam, Diao Yiwen called her:
"Xiao Lu, are you in school? Can you help me check the exam room?"

Lu Qingxuan responded enthusiastically: "Okay, I'll help you and Brother Wang Zixu take a look."

Diao Yiwen said: "Thank you for your help. But can you contact Wang Zixu?"

"Uh..." Lu Qingxuan was speechless.

She really couldn't. Everyone was even worried that he would die, but Chen Qingluo didn't let anyone disturb his retreat.

She said that this is the writer's nirvana. According to Prajna Paramita, the mind is free from worries, and without worries, there is no fear. Stay away from upside-down dreams and achieve nirvana. Amitabha Amitabha.

Lu Qingxuan didn’t quite understand.

Diao Yiwen complained a little, "He's crazy. The situation this year is already so bad, why not just give up and wait until next year? Why does he have to send out the manuscript this year? If he doesn't review well and fails the exam, I wonder what he'll do."

Lu Qingxuan said weakly: "The editor-in-chief trusts him very much."

"Of course Chen Qingluo believes him. I have always suspected him..." Diao Yiwen's mind flashed back to the scene of Chen Qingluo standing in front of Wang Zixu during the Xihe Literary Gathering. "Forget it. It's nothing."

Lu Qingxuan said: "I think he will pass the exam. Although he is a cross-examination candidate, he has a good foundation and knows more about literature than I do."

Diao Yiwen said: "I hope everything goes well for him."

This is just a polite remark.

Even Lu Qingxuan's Border Collie could hear the perfunctory tone in her voice.

Anyway, she felt that Wang Zixu would not be able to have a smooth life from now on. She could imagine his situation in the future:
If he failed the exam, he would become a laughing stock among Shi Shuqiu and his gang in the academy; if he passed the exam, he would also become a laughing stock because his manuscript was rejected twice and failed to be nominated by Feishi. Since ancient times, the top winner of Xihe Literary Society has never suffered such humiliation.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Qingxuan went out to help Diao Yiwen check the examination room. In front of the seat number plate at the entrance of Chongwen Building, she saw a green head floating over.

"Du...Du Kezhu." Lu Qingxuan greeted her awkwardly, "What a coincidence."

"Ah."

After learning about Du Kezhu's alias, Lu Qingxuan suddenly didn't know how to get along with her, but because of tomorrow's plan, she had to build a good relationship with her.

Du Kezhu didn't care about her strangeness, just nodded slightly, walked to the seat number notice board, looked up and stared at it.

"Are you here to help look after the examination room as well?" Lu Qingxuan asked with raised eyebrows.

"Ah."

"You also have friends taking the postgraduate entrance exam tomorrow?" Du Kezhu looked back at her with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Lu Qingxuan felt very strange about her look and didn't understand what she said wrong.

But in fact, Du Kezhu was just measuring his relationship with the little prince, whether they could be considered "friends".

How to define their relationship? Teacher and student? Superior and subordinate? Master and servant? ?
"I guess so." Du Kezhu said simply at last.

"You'll be in the same exam room with me tomorrow, so don't be late." Lu Qingxuan said, and then she turned back to look at the sign, "Ah, what a coincidence, Sister Yiwen and I will be in the same exam room..."

"...Ah, Wang Zixu is also in the examination room."

Du Kezhu turned around and stared at her with a strange look, which made her feel guilty.

"What, what happened?" Lu Qingxuan asked hesitantly.

Du Kezhu was just very confused: Why would Wang Zixu rather ask her to help him check the exam room instead of asking Lu Qingxuan who was so useful?

Du Kezhu asked directly: "How much do you know about Wang Zixu?"

"Well, I know a little bit... probably... to be exact, my understanding of him is limited to the surface. How superficial is it? Probably the layer below his clothes and above his adult diapers..."

Under Du Kezhu's aggressive gaze, Lu Qingxuan finally admitted: "It's probably somewhere between my understanding of Orhan Pamuk and Han Jiang."

“That’s a complete lack of understanding.”

"That's not the case... Well, it's almost the same." Lu Qingxuan said, "Why are you asking this?"

"I didn't even tell you."

"What?" Lu Qingxuan asked curiously.

Du Kezhu's dark eyes flashed with a strange light. She said nothing, but patted her shoulder.

She had read "Shikongzhan". She originally thought that since "Xin Shang" magazine published the little prince's work and Lu Qingxuan, the temporary editor, was in it (even sitting next to Wang Zixu himself), she should also be an insider.

But judging by her behavior, she seemed to be completely unaware.

How much self-control does it take for a person to stay in such a fanatical environment and hide the fact that he is the little prince?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the little prince was terribly tenacious.

At the same time, she was also very curious about what the scene would be like when the little prince's identity was exposed. Thinking of this, Du Kezhu smiled.

Amidst the puzzled gazes, she floated away.

……

the next day.

Postgraduate written examination day.

It was a deserted place inside the Xin Shang magazine office.

Ning Chunyan asked: "Today is the exam day."

"Hmm." Chen Qingluo snorted.

"Xiao Wang and Xiao Diao both went to take the exam."

"Ah."

"Xiao Lu went to invigilate the exam."

"Well."

"Should we hire a few more people?"

"Recruit." Chen Qingluo said concisely.

But this couldn't stop Ning Chunyan from talking. She asked again, "Do you think we should go see them?"

"Don't go."

Ning Chunyan said: "I mean to go and cheer him up. What if Wang Zixu fails the exam?"

"If he doesn't pass the exam, just fire him. You can't afford to lose this person."

Ning Chunyan was horrified and said, "He invested 80 yuan in me. How dare I quit him?"

"Give it back to him."

"I don't have any money!"

"Think of a way." Chen Qingluo said, "Anyway, if he fails the exam, I won't play with him anymore. I have to quit. I can't afford to lose this person."

After saying that, she drew a big cross on the manuscript paper with a pen.

Shi Shuqiu put away his pen, returned the notebook to the girl in front of him, and continued to stretch.

My roommate came over with his arms folded: "Lao Shi, today is said to be the day for the postgraduate entrance examination."

"I know, what's wrong?"

"Brother Chang, don't you have an exam today?"

Shi Shuqiu smiled after hearing this.

"Chang Ge" was the nickname they gave Wang Zixu. Because Wang Zixu had drunk Shi Shuqiu with a dozen couplets during the banquet that day, they called him "Duichuanchang", which was shortened to "Chang Ge" over time.

"What happened to his exam?"

"I can go check who the invigilator is in the exam room. Maybe I can say hello and ask him to keep a closer eye on the exam."

"Come on." Shi Shuqiu said, "Even if you don't tell me, the examiner won't stare at me?"

"Isn't this to prevent Brother Chang from cheating?"

Shi Shuqiu shook his head. First, he was not worried about Wang Zixu cheating. Second, even if he passed the exam, what would it matter?

His manuscript has been published in "Modern" and has received a very good response, and he has almost secured a nomination.

Everyone knew that Prince had lost his face, but on the one hand he was nominated and even won the first prize by Fei Shi, and on the other hand his manuscript was rejected twice in a row and was not shortlisted.

He even hoped that the prince would fake his way in. The more successful he became and the further he went, the more the other party would appear to be a clown.

"It's almost time."

Lu Qingxuan glanced at her watch, checked her hairstyle in the mirror one last time, hesitated for a moment, and finally tied her hair into a ponytail.

I greeted countless people along the way, and when I arrived downstairs of the dormitory building, I bumped into the sleepy Du Kezhu.

"Hi!"

She extended her hand to say hello, and then walked side by side with her. They were in the same examination room, so there was no reason not to walk together. But Du Kezhu looked uncomfortable and awkward.

After a long silence, Lu Qingxuan thought that he had to say something to open up the situation, so he cleared his throat and said in a chatty tone:
"Have you read The Lost Sky Slash by the Little Prince?"

Du Kezhu was stunned and said, "I have read it."

"It's well written, right?" Lu Qingxuan said with a smile, "The sales of our first issue of the magazine have now reached 25, ranking first in the national magazine circulation for the month. It's all thanks to the little prince."

"Congratulations." Du Kezhu said indifferently.

"Are you familiar with the little prince?" Lu Qingxuan asked suddenly.

Du Kezhu was startled and turned to look at her for a while before asking, "Did he tell you?"

"he?"

Lu Qingxuan was stunned and quickly shook her head: "No, no, I have no right to talk to the little prince."

After saying this, she raised a barely perceptible smile. Good boy, she finally let the cat out of the bag, didn't she?

What she didn't know was that the "he" she thought was referring to the little prince, but in fact, the "he" Du Kezhu was talking about was Wang Zixu.

Du Kezhu frowned, doubtful, and subconsciously kept a certain distance from her. When he arrived in front of Chongwen Building, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

"Wang Zixu!" Lu Qingxuan stretched out her hand to greet him.

That back view was unforgettable, and had been immortalized like the diaper, shining brightly in Lu Qingxuan's memory, so she recognized it at a glance, even though there were slight changes - the weather was cooler, the clothes were not changed, but the hair was a lot longer, and the body was a lot thinner.

The figure turned around slowly, and Lu Qingxuan was shocked. Wang Zixu looked emaciated. He was much thinner than he was a month ago.

Wang Zixu, who stood on the campus of Nanjing University again, had a much calmer temperament. The black iron sword that seemed to have its edge smoothed out before now looked like a black iron sword returned to its sheath. His face was very gentle, with a faint smile on his face, and only a gleam of light flashed in his eyes from time to time.

"Are you okay?" Lu Qingxuan asked cautiously.

Wang Zixu nodded: "Not bad. The manuscript was just sent out this morning."

Lu Qingxuan took a breath and said, "Is it "Get"?"

Wang Zixu nodded.

At this point, the familiar feeling returned. Lu Qingxuan shook her head vigorously and said, "I'm not talking about the manuscript. What day is it today? Are you having trouble reviewing?"

"should be no problem."

"Okay, I'll supervise you."

"You can still invigilate the exam?" The prince opened his mouth in surprise.

"You are being a bit rude. I am the president of the Student Union. Why can't I be the invigilator?" Lu Qingxuan was very dissatisfied.

After saying that, she urged Wang Zixu to wait at the entrance of the examination room as she was going to prepare to be the invigilator.

Before leaving, she keenly noticed that Wang Zixu and Du Kezhu greeted each other.

"Do you know each other?" Lu Qingxuan asked, then frowned, "How do you know each other?"

(End of this chapter)