Chapter 238: Bad Girl's Prank
Chapter 238: Bad Girl's Prank
"I like you! Can't you see that? I've made it so obvious that I like you!"
Wang Zixu had a blank look on his face, as if he had absolutely no idea what she was saying, which made An Younan even more furious.
"Did you hear me? After I said that, shouldn't you have some reaction? Or are you so hard-hearted that you plan to continue pretending you don't know?"
It took Wang Zixu a long time to take a deep breath: "No, I just didn't expect this reason."
An Younan said angrily: "If it's not this reason, what other reason do you think there is for me to spend so much time playing with you? Is the little prince so great?"
Wang Zixu still looked bewildered, like an actor who couldn't get into the role. He was acting in a bitter and vengeful stage play one second, and the next second he became the protagonist of a melodramatic romance drama.
He really didn't expect it.
He thought it might be a prank by a bad girl, or Cai Yuan's unique hobby, or An Younan's weird personality, so she kept pestering him.
The only reason he never thought of was "she likes him".
Because...she clearly had no reason to like him.
Wang Zixu said: “I feel that I am 30 years old, I have average ability, I have been married, I have no status, and I am poor. I have to rack my brains to publish a book.
"The only thing that interests you is the identity of the little prince. And the identity of the little prince is nothing special. I really can't think of why you like me."
An Younan suddenly became very angry, raised his fist and punched him in the chest several times:
"Idiot! The little prince is amazing! You are a popular lover on the Internet. I have been looking for you, and you suddenly come to me to cheer me up. Do you know how much impact this has on a 20-year-old girl? Why can't I like you?"
……
The waitress in cheongsam brought a soft chair covered with brocade embroidery, which looked very solemn. Chen Qingluo thanked her and sat on it.
After the waitress left, she quietly took off her shoes, leaned forward and rubbed her ankles.
She was still at the Gu Xuan Reading Salon. The waves that Wang Zixu had stirred up just now gradually subsided after the person involved ran away, leaving only the lingering aftertaste.
Wang Zixu left, and the reporters couldn't catch up with him, so they had to settle for the next best thing and interview Zhuang Die.
Zhuang Die originally intended to take this opportunity to save face in front of his friends in the media, at least to deconstruct the previous battle from his own perspective, making it look like "the opponent was okay, and I didn't lose either." In short, it was also a way to win.
Unexpectedly, the reporters from the local TV station were more capable than expected. They were professionals with sharp words. With just a few questions, they made Zhuang Die stutter and unable to save face. Meng Xin, who saw that the situation was not good, pulled Zhuang Die away and persuaded her to leave. Zhuang Die dared not accept any more interviews.
There are no large-scale gatherings now, and the salons have returned to normal, with writers forming small groups of two or three, gathering together to discuss in low voices.
If you delve deeper into the topics of these groups, you will find that everyone is still talking about Wang Zixu.
At the discussion meeting just now, quite a few authors were criticized or attacked by Wang Zixu by name. When everyone talked about it privately, they naturally had complaints about this person, and others echoed them.
But people always admire the strong. From the perspective of an outsider, no matter how Wang Zixu offends others, he has traffic. Therefore, the consolation for those writers who are resentful is mostly perfunctory.
Everything a winner does will be interpreted by someone, and everything a loser says is just an excuse.
Speaking of which, Chen Qingluo's ankle can also be considered the aftermath of this incident.
As soon as the discussion ended, Chen Qingluo went downstairs and rushed to the center of the venue, wanting to meet him, but Wang Zixu was taken away by An Younan. The two walked side by side very quickly and were out the door in a flash.
When she chased to the door, she saw the two of them got into the car and drove away. She was in a trance and sprained her ankle on the steps at the door.
She's still not very good at walking in heels.
"Miss Chen."
Chen Qingluo raised her head and saw that the host of the discussion had come to her side at some point and was looking at her with a smile on his face, rubbing his hands.
"Ms. Chen, we will have a 'Rising Star Author' award ceremony later. Can you be our notary?"
Chen Qingluo said: "I don't understand anything."
The host quickly said, "This doesn't require any technical skills. We'll just keep score and you can just supervise from the side."
Chen Qingluo said: "Just sit there."
"...It can also be understood this way."
Chen Qingluo asked: "You won't cheat, right?"
The host laughed and said, “That’s exactly what you need to pay attention to.”
Chen Qingluo agreed, nodded, stood up, put on her high heels by pinching the thin straps of her toes, and followed the host, dragging her legs.
“This selection is based on the writers’ overall performance over the past year, and one of the awards is also combined with public voting.
"Because you were the 'Best of the Year' author last year and are not participating in this year's selection, we asked you to notarize it."
The host introduced everyone to Chen Qingluo as they walked. The two of them walked to the preparation room, where Chen Qingluo was arranged to sit in a corner and was handed tea.
Chen Qingluo drank tea and admired the busy scene of the staff preparing the room. She felt that she was a little dispensable.
It was said that they were counting points and votes, but now it was all paperless office work, and all the data was in the computer. Chen Qingluo didn't quite understand, so she could only stare at those people with her dark eyes, trying to put psychological pressure on them.
After finishing the work, the staff lined up in front of her, and the leader held the list and read out in front of her:
“The results of the 2024 Guxuansha Salon Star Writer Selection are as follows:
"Best author of the year, Gu Zao. Expert score 96 points, public score 85 points, comprehensive score 92.7 points."
Chen Qingluo nodded. This result was reasonable.
Apart from her, the strongest contender for this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize is Gu Zao.
If Wang Zixu's Fire in the Stone had been published, it would have been a good candidate for the award, but unfortunately it was not. Apart from Gu Zao, there seemed to be no other candidate.
"The Rising Star Writer of the Year, Shi Shuqiu. Expert score 84 points, public score 99 points, comprehensive score 88.5 points."
Chen Qingluo frowned.
"Let me ask, what are the criteria for selecting this new star writer?"
The announcer put down the list and said politely, "New star writers must be under 25 years old and have published their first work."
"Oh, and who are the other candidates?"
"There are not many candidates this time. Apart from Shi Shuqiu, there are only Zhang Huaifang and Li Yan..."
Chen Qingluo listened to a few names and nodded. In fact, she had never heard of these people's names.
Although she was not very satisfied with the selection of this award, as a notary public and not a judge, she could not overturn the result that had already been made.
And Shi Shuqiu was indeed the only familiar name among the candidates. So she had no objection. "Next is the 'Most Charming Writer' Award," the announcer continued after seeing that she had no objection.
"'Most Charming Writer' Wang Zixu received 137 votes from the public. He ranked first."
"Puff!" Chen Qingluo spat out a mouthful of tea.
……
"I'm really not attractive."
Wang Zixu let out a breath, and after saying this, he felt not only inferiority but also sigh.
Love Saint? He didn't know when he got that title. Even if he was, it was just a disguise he made up with the mask of the Little Prince. He always felt that it had nothing to do with him.
An Younan didn't seem to agree. She held his face with both hands and rubbed it into the shape of a hairtail:
"Put your head on straight. I don't want the person I like to be an idiot with no confidence."
"Isn't it a bit too much to call him stupid?"
"You can't even see your own charm, what are you if not an idiot?"
An Younan raised his face and said, "I've thought about it. We can meet in private. As long as we don't appear together in public, my mother won't know.
"And even if she knew, she wouldn't dare to say anything. She would definitely think it's a shameful thing and would help us cover it up. We could date secretly, which is actually quite exciting to think about..."
Wang Zixu interrupted her fantasy: "You are not still thinking about falling in love, are you?"
An Younan glared at him: "I came to the car just to talk about this."
"Liar," she said.
"Didn't you say that writers should be sincere? Tell me honestly, if it weren't for what happened today, you would never, ever fall in love with me?"
"I told you, I'm married."
"I'm asking about your feelings. Why are you trying to change the subject? You feel guilty."
"No," Wang Zixu said, "For you, your feelings and moods may be more important, but for me, the most important thing in life is responsibility."
An Younan still sneered: "So, because you have a wife, you will never like me, right?"
"It can also be understood that way."
"Then tell me, if Chen Qingluo also said she liked you, would you agree to her?"
The prince was stunned for half a second, and it was during this half second that An Younan seized the opportunity and pointed at him and said:
"Look! You hesitated! What a bullshit responsibility! You just don't want to face reality!"
Wang Zixu suddenly felt flustered, not only because of his half-second hesitation, but also because An Younan actually mentioned Chen Qingluo's name at this time.
Could it be that his thoughts have become so obvious?
If even An Younan could see what he was thinking, how could he have the right to say that he had a clear conscience?
"I know what you are thinking now," An Younan said, "You are thinking, 'How did she know that I have a crush on Chen Qingluo? Is she a god?' Hum, yes, I am a god."
She straightened up, held his shoulders and said, "Look, you've already cheated on me mentally, it doesn't matter if it happens once or twice, and maybe your wife will divorce you after dating for a while. If you reject me now, you may regret it in the future."
The prince sighed.
"I just don't want you to regret wasting your time on me when you think of me in the future. You were just impulsive. After your hormone levels subside, you will get tired of it and use your past feelings to temper your current feelings. Rather than getting tired of each other by then, it's better to forget each other."
"Humph, you're speaking like an old man."
An Younan sneered: "What do you mean by impulse? What love is not impulse? Human life is short, why should we use eternity as an excuse to erase our current wishes?"
“It is precisely because life is short that humans pursue eternity.”
"Even if I pursue eternity, a thrilling first love that I can treasure for a lifetime is my eternity. What is your eternity?"
Wang Zixu paused for a long time, then said, "Literature."
"literature?"
"Literature." Wang Zixu nodded.
"Ah."
An Younan lifted her hair and said, "You have taken other people's characters so seriously that you really think of yourself as a literary knight? Even if you are a literary knight, you still need love, sex, food and sleep, right?"
Wang Zixu said: "I am not a person who does not eat food, nor do I regard writers as saints with high moral character. After reading so many books and meeting so many people, I have also realized that no matter how high a person's status is, he is still a flesh and blood person with desires. Some people's desires are even stronger than those of ordinary people.
"What I care about is the knot in my heart."
"Heart knot?" An Younan repeated his words.
"Heart knot." Wang Zixu said, "My writing method is experiential, and emotions will affect the text. If there is a stain on the spirit, there will be a heart knot, and I will hesitate to write.
"I don't want to think of things that make me feel guilty when I write about my sister, family, and kinship in the future. I don't have as strong a subjectivity as you do, and reflection will make me unable to write."
An Younan stared down at him for a long time, then turned over, got off him, and returned to the co-pilot seat.
"You go."
"Hmm?" The prince looked at her.
"Let's go." An Younan said, "Once you leave, it's goodbye forever. When you walk out of this door, we will never meet again in this life."
Wang Zixu sat in the car in silence for a while, with a heavy air floating between the two of them.
Finally, before An Younan regretted it, Wang Zixu pushed open the car door.
"I'm really sorry that your sister is a woman like me and has polluted your life experience." An Younan said quietly in the car.
"No." Wang Zixu walked out.
Before closing the car door, he turned around and said, "I'm very happy to meet you. In fact, when I learned that I have a sister, and that this sister is such an excellent person like you, I was actually very happy in my heart. This makes me feel less lonely in this world."
After saying that, Wang Zixu closed the car door.
In the luxury car that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, An Younan burst into tears through the dark window coating.
Walking along the path in the villa area, through the small hills shaded by green plants, and walking 200 meters, you will reach Binjiang Avenue. There are not many cars here, and it is seven or eight kilometers away from the city center. Wang Zixu actually forgot that he could call a taxi.
In fact, he was in a state of confusion. What happened today had as much of an impact on him as it had on An Younan. Distracting himself and consoling An Younan helped him get through the stressful period.
After parting with An Younan, a feeling of sadness came over me again and I felt depressed.
He turned a corner and saw a man in a yellow suit. He stretched out his hand and greeted him, as if he had been waiting for him and motioned for him to come over.
(End of this chapter)