Chapter 184 Modernity and Meaninglessness

Chapter 184 Modernity and Meaninglessness

Chapter 184 Modernity and Meaninglessness

When Shi Shuqiu found Fang Hanlin and Ji Shaofei, Ji Shaofei had just blurted out such a disrespectful remark.

After Ji Shaofei finished speaking, he saw Shi Shuqiu, who was pushing a bicycle and coming to his side through the bushes of kumquat trees. The sound of the bicycle chain announced his arrival.

Most people in this situation would pretend that they had not said such words just now, so as to reduce the embarrassment; Ji Shaofei was not an ordinary person. He simply pretended that Shi Shuqiu did not hear it and even smiled at him. Now Shi Shuqiu would not do that.

"Teacher Fang," Shi Shuqiu suppressed his anger and tried to be polite, "Are you leaving now? My dad wants you to stay and reminisce about the past."

He emphasized the word "you" and excluded Ji Shaofei without leaving any trace. Overall, Shi Shuqiu was a well-educated and open-minded young man, but only this one word showed that he was only in his early 20s.

"No, your father will be busy next, so I won't stay and bother you."

"Okay, I won't keep you here. Thank you for your high evaluation of my work at the seminar. I'd like to ask for your comments on my new work in the future."

Fang Hanlin said: "That's what we should do."

After that, he and Ji Shaofei watched Shi Shuqiu ride away. Fang Hanlin squinted his eyes and watched for a long time, and when the back figure disappeared, he said:
"Many years ago, Shi Tonghe did the same thing, riding his bicycle and disappearing at the end of Binjiang Road - our editorial office used to be on Binjiang Road - this moment is so similar to that moment, but it's a pity that things and people have changed."

Ji Shaofei ignored Fang Hanlin's sadness. He was still young and did not have so many regrets. He did not miss the past.

"Teacher Fang, if Shi Tonghe and Wang Zixu start fighting, who should we stand with?"

"Tsk."

Fang Hanlin showed great contempt for him: "We don't take sides with anyone. We are editors, we only support the good in people, not the evil in people."

"Don't do evil to others." Ji Shaofei murmured again.

Fang Hanlin nodded: "This is the last lesson I will teach you."

"It means that you don't offend anyone."

"Tsk!"

Fang Hanlin was very strict and very angry. He was so angry that even he didn't know how to criticize Ji Shaofei, and Ji Shaofei was so scared that he didn't dare to speak.

After a while, he said, "Your interpretation is very vulgar!"

"Good teacher."

Fang Hanlin said: "First of all, Wang Zixu and Shi Tonghe will not fight. Wang Zixu is not the kind of person who beats up the elderly, and Shi Tonghe is not stupid enough to fight with young people."

Ji Shaofei wanted to say something very vulgar again, but he held back.

"We editors are not tools for writers to fight with each other. We have our own professional vision and aesthetics. We select, we comment, and we treasure."

Fang Hanlin looked at Ji Shaofei and said:

"Writers will fight each other. We are not the ones who start the war, nor can we put it out. We are just witnesses."

Ji Shaofei felt touched for the first time in a long time.

He rarely talks to people of his age. In fact, he likes talking to Fang Hanlin very much. He feels that he has something that is rarely seen in people nowadays.

"Well, Mr. Fang," he said, "if Wang Zixu insists on competing with Shi Shuqiu for the Feishi Literature Prize, the scene will probably be quite tragic. Are we just going to have to witness it?"

"If Wang Zixu knew that Shi Shuqiu was Shi Tonghe's son and still tried to snatch the Feishi Literature Award from Shi Shuqiu, that wouldn't be miserable," Fang Hanlin said, looking at him.

"That's tragic."

……

Shi Shuqiu did not try to persuade Fang Hanlin to stay, not only because he was just being polite. He had more important things to do.

He held the handlebars with one hand and held his mobile phone with the other, staring at the phone's location. He drove dangerously for nearly a kilometer before he saw the figure in the distance.

He braked the car next to the man.

"Sister Mengmeng, what are you doing? Why didn't you go to my seminar?"

Shi Shuqiu's question was so exciting that it made Dujuan cry blood, but Xiao Mengyin just looked up at him blankly.

"Sorry, I have something to do."

"What's wrong with you? What were you doing for those two hours?"

"I'm thinking."

"..."

Suddenly, a bird on a tall tree chirped inappropriately. Shi Shuqiu's face turned red from holding back his breath, and it took him a long time to speak.

"I thought it was something important! You even canceled my seminar!"

"Isn't thinking important?" Xiao Mengyin said, "For writers, thinking is more important than life."

Shi Shuqiu suppressed his voice and said, "But can't we wait until the seminar is over before thinking about it?"

Xiao Mengyin was apologetic, patted his shoulder and said, "Calm down, it's my fault, but I think you have so many heavyweight writers over there, and you don't need one more. Don't you still have Yanzi Mountain?"

"I haven't been to Yanzi Mountain either!"

Xiao Mengyin raised her eyebrows slightly, revealing a surprised expression: "He didn't go either? How could he not go? How dare he not go?"

Shi Shuqiu nodded with a bitter expression, his slightly messy bangs told it all. For someone who paid so much attention to his hairstyle to look so disheveled, it meant that the matter was serious to some extent.

Yan Zishan asked Shi Tonghe for leave for some personal matter and didn't come. Shi Shuqiu didn't know what it was, but it was a very legitimate matter anyway, a very legitimate reason. Even if Shi Tonghe heard it, he would say with a serious and caring face, "Then go and do your thing. It's okay if you don't come. Your thing is more important."

But his absence is still quite serious. Yanzishan and Shi Tonghe are from the same hometown, and in the Literary Association, fellow villagers should support each other and be allies.

You can use a very valid reason not to come today, but in the future, if something related to your future comes up, I can also not go. Your matter may be very important, but if you don't come, it means that you think that matter is more important than your future, so naturally I don't have to care about your future.

This is the underlying logic that everyone in this circle must be aware of. You may not understand it, but if you suffer and complain later, someone will naturally tell you this logic.

Shi Shuqiu was about to cry. Xiao Mengyin patted his shoulder and said, "Okay, okay, it doesn't matter if he doesn't come. This seminar is not a clarion call for a charge, but a song of victory. As long as it is held, you have already won."

Shi Shuqiu sniffed and said, "But if you don't come, I feel really bored."

"Don't be childish!"

She reached out and touched Shi Shuqiu's hair, and Shi Shuqiu felt much better.

Xiao Mengyin is that kind of woman: you imagine the coldest woman you have ever met in your life, the kind who never talks to you, and the only few conversations you have, are just mocking you for not being familiar with her - if you think of it, she will be about 70% weird.

So it’s no wonder that people who know her call her “Ice Blade” behind her back.

She only has this "sister feeling" in front of Shi Shuqiu. Shi Shuqiu feels that this is not the real her, but he also feels that she is special to him and is very greedy in his heart.

Shi Shuqiu said, "Sister Mengmeng, what Wang Zixu wrote was published in Obtain. What do you think?"

"I don't want to discuss this issue now." Xiao Mengyin's tone suddenly became cold and hard, contrary to his usual behavior, so cold and hard that he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"Ok."

Xiao Mengyin said that she still needed to think and would walk alone in Nanjing University for a long time today. If she saw her again, she hoped not to disturb her. So Shi Shuqiu said goodbye to her, pushed his bicycle for a while, and suddenly felt very tired.

He sat on the stone bench in front of the cafeteria, staring at the passers-by in a daze. He liked to observe girls, girls wearing different kinds of clothes. Clothing can reflect a person's personality, so he can tell which girl is easy to get along with and which one is not worth messing with. Based on this, he has a scoring standard from 1 to 5. Level 5 is the easiest to get along with, and you can almost get a date with it at once, and level 1 is the most difficult to get along with. At first, he thought Xiao Mengyin was level 5, but when he got close, he found that it was level 0, and he even fell into it.

So since then, he has been perfecting his scoring system. He sat on a stone bench, staring at the girls passing by and scoring them. This one was wearing flesh-colored stockings, level 4, that one was wearing a plaid skirt, level 3, and this one was wearing black leggings, level 3... No, level 4, her leggings were fake and see-through.

Shi Tonghe didn't call. He thought he would call, but he didn't. This shows that Shi Tonghe was very disappointed, very disappointed, and in a bad mood.

But he was glad because he was not in a good mood. If Shi Tonghe called him again, he would cry.

A level 3 long skirt girl and a level 5 black stockings walked over, and the girl's voice rang in my ears: "Senior Shi, what a coincidence! I actually see you here!"

Shi Shuqiu raised his head with a sunny expression as usual: "Hello."

"Wow, isn't today a seminar? Why are you sitting here?"

"The seminar is over."

The Level 5 girl stomped her feet and screamed like a fangirl: "Wow, Senior Shi is so handsome. He looks so handsome up close! Senior, I heard that your work has caused a sensation in the literary world this time. It's amazing!"

Shi Shuqiu smiled gently: "It's normal."

At this moment, he suddenly realized that for him, the fact that Yan Zishan and Xiao Mengyin did not attend the seminar was a huge event, but in the eyes of outsiders, it was not important.

He is still the leading writer of the younger generation, and no one can shake this result. Even if Wang Zixu were 10 years younger, he could not shake his position, not to mention that he is already old enough to be out of track?
Shi Shuqiu regained some confidence.

……

Wang Zixu squatted on the side of the road and watched people.

He has a habit of observing humans.

Originally this was not a habit, but a training: Chekhov taught a technique for training writing in his book, which was to observe human beings extensively and with all one's strength, and to describe them in one's mind in the most refined, concise and vivid sentences.

Observe the details about them and imagine the stories behind them, so that the characters can stand out in the story.

For example, Wang Zixu saw a woman wearing macaron blue high heels. The woman was not young, at least over 40 years old, and the high heels were not brand new, but old, with the uppers turning black and the pearls on the uppers drooping like the ears of an old dog.

Clearly this woman was not wealthy, and the worn state of her high heels contrasted poorly with their bright and lively color, making them look even uglier.

But the prince imagined. He could imagine the scene when the woman first bought the shoes: the shoes looked noble at that time, and he could imagine the joy and love the woman felt when she brought them home.

Time can cover everything with dust. He could imagine the woman carefully putting on the shoes in front of the door, perhaps out of numbness to life, or perhaps out of resistance to life, or perhaps just out of the inertia of life.

When he thought of this, he suddenly felt very sad and couldn't help crying. The woman's joy when she bought the shoes and the numbness of wearing dirty shoes overlapped in his imagination. She walked towards him and looked at him, feeling a little strange, wondering if he was crying for her.

He also saw another woman walking towards him, whose attire was in stark contrast to this woman. From her hair to her clothes, everything was meticulously done. Even her figure was impeccable, with a spectacular mountain range on her slender waist.

After taking a closer look, Wang Zixu stopped crying and became depressed: It turned out to be Xiao Mengyin.

He was very curious why Xiao Mengyin didn't attend the seminar. He saw that she looked thoughtful. But he didn't plan to greet Xiao Mengyin.

But Xiao Mengyin walked straight towards him, so he had to stand up and put the cigarette butt in the soil of the flower bed.

"Did you come out early?" Xiao Mengyin asked.

"You didn't attend?"

"I'm thinking."

"I came out to think about something. But it's probably over now."

"How about it?"

"Fortunately, these are all ambiguous words, not very nutritious."

Xiao Mengyin curled her lips and said, "You are being picky. I'm afraid you won't even have the chance to receive such meaningless comments."

Wang Zixu stretched lazily. "I don't know why they invited those famous writers, the kind that can be seen on TV and in newspapers, everywhere. Whenever something happens, you can see them commenting on it, but I can't even think of a single one of their works. But they are just famous. Isn't that strange?"

Xiao Mengyin did not answer his question, but said with a blunt turn: "I have been thinking about you."

"what?"

"I think you are probably a very talented person." Xiao Mengyin said.

"Oh..." Wang Zixu didn't know how to answer. He felt that it was not a good thing to receive praise from this woman, and it smelled like a conspiracy.

Xiao Mengyin said: "Because I haven't seen your work yet, what I said is just an approximation. I can make a judgment after I have seen it. So don't worry, I will definitely read it."

"Well...I..."

"You don't need to express your opinion. Just listen to me." Xiao Mengyin said in a domineering tone, "I admit that I was a little defensive before because I thought it was impossible for you to be on Get. I didn't appear on Get. This is not arrogance. Just listen..."

Wang Zixu wanted to show his expression, but Xiao Mengyin scolded him back. She continued:

"Because I think the reason I didn't appear on Get is because I didn't have enough qualifications. Your qualifications are even less than mine, but you appeared on it. That means things are not what I thought, so I was a little upset."

Wang Zixu understood and nodded deeply.

"So it's not because I hate you or I'm not happy with you that I broke down. It's because of my own internal reasons, because of my own problems." Xiao Mengyin concluded, "It's not because of you."

Wang Zixu said, "I see."

"But you should understand it through this seminar," Xiao Mengyin said.

"Understand what?"

"Understand that no one will announce your victory." Xiao Mengyin said, "You may be expecting that after appearing on "Get", you can sit there and use your success to prove Shi Shuqiu's failure."

Wang Zixu said: "To be honest, I went there just to prove that I didn't disappear."

"You succeeded in not disappearing, and you are still alive in a disgusting manner - to those two people from the Shi family - they are really disgusted by you." Xiao Mengyin said.

“That’s a pity.”

"It's a pity, but what's even more regrettable is that in the eyes of outsiders, you didn't exist from the beginning." Xiao Mengyin said, "Our world is not a novel. It doesn't have those dramatic conflicts, good people live and bad people die, and everyone is happy. Our reality is modern."

"Modernity." Wang Zixu repeated.

"Shi Shuqiu will announce his victory next. No one announces your victory, or it is meaningless." Xiao Mengyin said.

Wang Zixu was depressed by what she said: "So it is meaningless for you to come and declare my victory."

"Yes, just like I thought that my mother would become a winner in life after dumping that cheating father, but she could only feel the echo of a failed life for a long time, watching how a person licked his wounds repeatedly, causing everything to deteriorate to an uncontrollable level. There is always someone who brings bad news to people like a crow, ending the unnecessary fantasy."

"..."

She suddenly said something very heavy, so heavy that Wang Zixu couldn't catch it. He just watched the words fall to the ground in silence.

It seemed that Xiao Mengyin had a different side from what he had imagined.

Xiao Mengyin looked behind him and whispered, "Come to Renzhi Bridge in the evening and I'll talk to you again."

Before Wang Zixu could react, he turned around and saw Ning Chunyan and Chen Qingluo rushing towards him. When he turned back again, he could only see Xiao Mengyin's back.

(End of this chapter)