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, pushing his bicycle through the bushes of kumquat trees to his side. The bicycle chain made a faint sound to announce his arrival.
When ordinary people encounter this kind of situation, they will pretend that they have not said such words just now, so as to reduce the embarrassment; Ji Shaofei is not an ordinary person, he directly pretended that Shi Shuqiu did not hear, and smiled at him, but this time Shi Shuqiu did not.
"Teacher Fang," Shi Shuqiu suppressed his anger and tried to be polite, "Are you leaving now? My dad also wants you to stay and reminisce about the past."
He emphasized the word "you" and excluded Ji Shaofei without leaving any trace. On the whole, Shi Shuqiu is a knowledgeable and open-minded man. Only this word reflects that he is only in his early 20s.
“No, your father is still busy, so I won’t stay and bother you.”
“Okay, then I won’t force you to stay. Thank you for your high praise of my work at the seminar. I would like to ask you to correct me when I have new works in the future.” Fang Hanlin said: “That’s right.”
Having said that, he and Ji Shaofei watched Shi Shuqiu get on the bike and ride away. Fang Hanlin squinted for a long time, and waited until the figure disappeared before saying:
"Years ago, Shi Tonghe did the same thing. He got on his bicycle and disappeared at the end of Binjiang Road. - Our editorial office used to be on Binjiang Road - this moment is so similar to that time, but it's a pity that things have changed. "
Ji Shaofei ignored Fang Hanlin's sorrow for spring and autumn. He was still young and did not have so many regrets, so he did not miss the past.
“Teacher Fang, if Shi Tonghe and Wang Zixu get into a fight, who will we side with?”
“Tsk.”
Fang Hanlin showed great contempt for him: "We don't stand for anyone. We are editors, and we only care about the beauty of others, not the evil of others."
"The evil of others." Ji Shaofei murmured and repeated.
Fang Hanlin nodded: "This is the last lesson I teach you."
"It means that no one is allowed to offend."
“Tsk!”
Fang Hanlin was very stern and very angry. He was so angry that even though he didn’t know how to criticize Ji Shaofei, Ji Shaofei was too scared 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 old people, and Shi Tonghe will not be stupid enough to fight with young people."
Ji Shaofei wanted to say something vulgar again, but he held back.
“We editors are not a tool for writers to fight 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. We are not the ones who ignite the war, and we cannot extinguish the war. We are just witnesses."
Ji Shaofei felt touched for the first time in a long time.
He rarely talks to people his age. He actually liked talking to Fang Hanlin. He felt that there was something in him that was rarely seen in people nowadays.
“Well, Teacher Fang,” he said, “If Wang Zixu insists on competing with Shi Shuqiu for the Fei Shi Literary Award, the scene may be quite miserable. Can we only witness it?”
“If Wang Zixu knew that Shi Shuqiu knew that Qiu is Shi Tonghe’s son, and he wants to snatch the Feishi Literary Award from Shi Shuqiu’s mouth. That’s not miserable,” Fang Hanlin looked at him and said,
“That’s tragic.”
…
Shi Shuqiu did not try to persuade Fang Hanlin to stay, not only because he was just being polite. He has more important things to do.
He held the handle of the car with one hand and held his mobile phone in the other. He stared at the mobile phone to locate it. He drove dangerously for nearly a kilometer before he saw the figure in the distance.
He stopped the car next to the man.
"Sister Mengmeng, what are you doing? Why didn't you go to my seminar?"
Shi Shuqiu asked, making the cuckoo cry, but Xiao Mengyin just looked up at him numbly.
“Sorry, I have something to do.”
"What's wrong with you? What were you doing during those two hours?"
"I was thinking."
"..."
Suddenly a bird on the high tree called "Quak, quack, quack" at an inappropriate time. Shi Shuqiu was so suppressed that his face turned red, and it took him a long time to speak.
“I thought it was a very important thing! You even ignored my seminar!”
“Isn’t thinking important?” Xiao Mengyin said, "For writers, thinking is more important than life."
Shi Shuqiu said in a suppressed voice: "But can't we wait until the seminar is over before we think about it?"
Xiao Mengyin apologized slightly, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Calm down, it's my fault, but I think there are so many heavyweight writers there, and I am the only one, isn't there Yanzi Mountain?"
"I didn't go to Yanzi Mountain either!"
Xiao Mengyin raised her eyebrows slightly, showing a surprised expression: "He didn't go either? How could he not go? How dare he not go?"
Shi Shuqiu nodded bitterly. His slightly messy bangs said everything. For someone who pays so much attention to his hairstyle, he would be so embarrassed, which means that the matter is serious to a certain extent.
Because of some personal matter, Yan Zishan and Shi Tonghe asked for leave but did not come. Shi Shuqiu didn't know what it was, but it was a very legitimate thing and a very legitimate reason. Even after Shi Tonghe heard this, he would say with a serious and concerned look on his face: "Go and do your business. It's okay if you don't come. Your business is important."
But it’s still quite serious if he doesn’t come. Yanzishan and Shi Tonghe are from the same hometown. In the Literary and Art Association, fellow villagers should support each other and be allies.
You can use a very correct reason not to come today, but I don’t have to go if I encounter something related to your future in the future. Your matter may be 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 need to care about your future.
This is the underlying logic that everyone in this circle must be aware of. You may not understand, but if you suffer and cry later, someone will naturally tell you this logic.
Shi Shuqiu was about to cry. Xiao Mengyin patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, okay, it doesn't matter if he doesn't come. This seminar is not a clarion call for charge, but a song of victory. As long as it is held, you have already won."
Shi Shuqiu sniffed: "But you don't come, which makes me feel very boring."
"Stop being childish!"
She reached out and touched Shi Shuqiu's hair, and Shi Shuqiu felt much better.
Xiao Mengyin is that kind of woman: if you imagine the most indifferent woman you have ever seen in your life, the kind who never talks to you, and the few conversations she has, they are just mocking you who are not familiar with her - if you think about it, she is almost weird.
So it’s no wonder that people who know her call her “Skate” behind her back.
She only had this "sister feeling" in front of Shi Shuqiu. Shi Shuqiu felt that this was not the real her, but he also felt that she was special to him, and she was very greedy in her heart.
Shi Shuqiu said: "Sister Mengmeng, what Wang Zixu wrote was published in "Get", what do you think?"
"I don't want to discuss this issue now." Xiao Mengyin was uncharacteristically cold, and his tone suddenly became cold and hard, so cold that he did not dare to ask again.
“Okay.”
Xiao Mengyin said that she would continue to think about it. She would be walking alone in Nanda for a long time today. If she saw her again, she hoped not to disturb her. So Shi Shuqiu said goodbye to her, pushed the bicycle for a while, and suddenly felt very tired.
He sat on the stone bench in front of the canteen and stared at the passers-by in a daze. He likes to observe girls, girls wearing all kinds of different clothes. Clothing can reflect a person's personality, so he can tell which girls are easy to get along with and which girls are not worth messing with.
Based on this, he has a rating scale, from 1 to 5, level 5 is the easiest to get started with and can be dated almost immediately, while level 1 is the hardest to get started with. Xiao Mengyin thought it was level 5 at first, but after getting closer, he found that it was level 0, and he even fell into it.
So since then, he has been improving his scoring system. He sat on the stone bench and stared at the girls passing by to rate them. They came and went. This one was a level 4 in flesh-colored stockings, that was a level 3 in a plaid skirt, and this was a level 3 in black leggings... No, level 4, her leggings were fake.
Shi Tonghe did not call. He thought he was going to call, but he didn't. This shows that Shi Tonghe is very disappointed, quite disappointed, and in a very bad mood.
But he was happy instead. Because he was in a bad mood too. If Shi Tonghe called again, he felt like he would cry.
A girl with a level 3 long skirt and a level 5 black stocking came over. The girl’s voice rang in her ears: "Senior Shi, what a coincidence! I see you here!"
Shi Shuqiu habitually said Qing Yang raised his head brightly: "Hello."
"Wow, isn't it a seminar today? Why are you sitting here?"
"The seminar is over."
The Level 5 girl stomped up and screamed in an infatuated voice: "Wow, Senior Shi is so handsome, he looks so handsome up close! Senior, I heard that your work has become a sensation in the literary world this time, it's so amazing!"
Shi Shuqiuwen He smiled softly: "Absolutely."
At this moment, he suddenly realized that for him, Yan Zishan and Xiao Mengyin's failure to attend the seminar was as big a deal as the earth falling apart, but in the eyes of outsiders, it was not important.
He is still the leading writer of the younger generation. No one can shake this result. Even if Wang Zixu is 10 years younger, he cannot shake his status, not to mention that he is already too old to be on the track?
Shi Shuqiu regained some confidence.
……
Wang Zixu squatted on the roadside and watched people.
He has the habit of observing human beings.
Originally, this is not a habit, but a training: Chekhov taught a writing training technique in the book, observe human beings extensively and with all your strength, and use the most concise, shortest and most vivid sentences to describe them in your mind.
Observe the details on them and imagine the story behind them, so that the characters can stand in the story.
For example, Wang Zixu saw a woman wearing macaron blue high heels. The woman is not a young woman, at least she must be over forty years old, and the high heels are not brand new. The uppers are so old that they have turned black, and the pearls on the uppers have drooped down, like the ears of an old dog.
It is obvious that this woman is not a rich person. The state of the old high-heeled shoes and their bright and bright colors form a bad contrast, making it look even more ugly.
But the prince had only imagination. He could imagine the scene when the woman first bought this pair of shoes: the shoes had a noble appearance at that time, and he could imagine the woman's joy and love for it when she took it home.
Time can make everything dusty. He could imagine this woman carefully putting on these shoes in front of the door, perhaps out of numbness to life, perhaps out of struggle against life, or perhaps just the inertia of life.
When he thought of this, he suddenly felt very sad and couldn't help crying. The woman's joy in buying shoes and her numbness in wearing dirty shoes overlapped in his imagination. She walked towards him and looked at him feeling a little strange, not knowing that he was crying for her.
He saw another woman walking towards him in a sharp contrast to this woman's attire. From her hair to her clothes, she looked meticulous. Even her figure was impeccable. On her slender waist, there were spectacular mountains.
Looking carefully, Wang Zixu stopped crying and became depressed: It turned out to be Xiao Mengyin.
He was curious as to why Xiao Mengyin didn’t go to the seminar. He looked at her thoughtfully. But he didn't intend to say hello to Xiao Mengyin.
But Xiao Mengyin walked straight towards him. So he had to stand up and plant the cigarette butt in his hand into the soil of the flower bed.
“Did you come out early?” Xiao Mengyin asked.
“You didn’t go to participate?”
“I was thinking about something.”
“I also came out to think about something. But now it’s 80% finished.”
“How is it?”
“Fortunately, they are all ambiguous words and have little nutrition.”
Xiao Meng Yin curled his lips and said: "You are too picky. I'm afraid you will hardly have the chance to get such unworthy comments."
Wang Zixu stretched his body and said: "I don't know. Why do they invite famous literati who can be seen everywhere on TV and in newspapers, and you can see them commenting on anything, but you can't even think of one of their works. Isn't it strange that they are famous?" Xiao Mengyin did not answer his question, but said with a blunt twist: "I have been thinking about you."
“Huh?”
“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 get praise from this woman, it smelled of conspiracy.
Xiao Mengyin said: "Because I haven't read your work, so I said it is just a rough idea. I can't make a conclusion until I have read it. So don't worry, I will definitely read it."
"Well...I..."
"You don't have to express your opinion, I said, just listen." Xiao Mengyin was a bit overbearing, "I admit that I was a little defensive before, because I didn't think you could be on "Get", because I felt that I didn't get on "Get", this is not arrogance, you listen..."
Wang Zixu wanted to show his expression, but Xiao Mengyin gave him a hard time again. After going back, she continued:
"Because I feel that the reason why I did not get on "Get" is because I am not qualified enough. You are even less qualified than me, but you are on it, which means that things are not what I thought, so I am a little defensive."
Wang Zixu understood and nodded deeply.
"So I broke the defense not because I hate you or because I see you unhappy, but because of my own internal reasons, because of my own problems." Xiao Mengyin finally concluded, "It's not because of you."
“Understand what?”
“Understand that no one will announce your victory.” Xiao Mengyin said, “You may be looking forward to boarding the "Get" Then, sit there and use your success to prove Shi Shuqiu's failure. "
"Honestly, I'm just going to prove that I haven't disappeared."
"You succeeded in not disappearing, and you are still alive in a disgusting manner - for the two Shi family members - they were severely disgusted by you." Xiao Mengyin said.
“That’s really a pity.”
“It’s a pity. What’s even more pity is that in the eyes of the outside world, you never existed from the beginning.” Xiao Mengyin said, "Our world is not a novel, it does not have the kind of dramatic conflicts, good people live and bad people die, and everyone is happy. Our reality is modern."
"Modern." Wang Zixu repeated.
"Shi Shuqiu will declare his victory next. No one can declare your victory, or it is meaningless." Xiao Mengyin said.
Wang Zixu was depressed by what she said: "So you come to declare that my victory is meaningless."
"Yes, just like I originally thought that my mother would become a winner in life after getting rid of her cheating father, but I could only feel the echoes of a failed life for a long time and watch how a person licks his own lips repeatedly. The wound caused everything to deteriorate out of control. There is always someone who wants to bring bad news to people like a crow and put an end to unnecessary fantasies. "..."
She suddenly said something very heavy, so heavy that Wang Zixu couldn't catch it, so she silently watched the words fall to the ground.
Xiao Mengyin seemed to have a different side than he imagined.
Xiao Mengyin raised his eyes and looked behind him, and whispered: "Come to Renzhi Bridge in the evening, and I will talk to you again."
Before Wang Zixu could react, he turned around and saw Ning Chunyan and Chen Qingluo approaching fiercely. When he turned around again, he could only see Xiao Mengyin's back.
(End of this chapter)