I'm not a literary giant

Chapter 252 A Warm Hug

Ning Chunyan scooped up some hot spring water and washed her face. When she looked up again, her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed, like a winter plum blossom revealing its true color after the snow has been brushed away.

The story told by Wang Zixu blended popular and melodramatic elements such as ethics, love, unexpected coincidences, family feuds, and dysfunctional families, but Ning Chunyan believed it instantly.

The reason was simple: they had a long talk in the car that day, and Wang Zixu seemed downcast and hesitant to speak, which coincided perfectly with the timing of this unexpected reunion. He would never go to such lengths to lay the groundwork for a lie.

Ning Chunyan recalled her previous attitude towards him, and a wave of guilt surged through her heart.

This person possesses delicate writing skills and exceptional talent, yet unlike some in the industry who are womanizers and fawn over wealthy women, he, like the characters he creates, has a clumsy, stubborn, but sincere and bright heart.

Those scheming insiders who only know how to scheme and plot, portraying Wang Zixu as a treacherous and deceitful villain, are simply judging others by their own standards. Ning Chunyan looks down on these people, but in terms of judging others by their own standards, she's not much better than them.

Thinking about this, she felt so ashamed that she wanted to disappear.

After the shame comes heartache. It's like thinking you beat up your pet dog for destroying the house, only to find out from the security footage that it was protecting you. The more you disliked it before, the more you feel sorry for it now.

“I was wrong,” Ning Chunyan said, her face flushed as she walked to Wang Zixu’s side. “After knowing you for so long, I actually doubted you. I have to say, I’ve failed as a friend.”

Wang Zixu said, "It's alright, I don't mind..."

An Younan scoffed from the side, "You and I have known each other for quite some time now. Are you judging people with prejudice, or are you just prone to projecting your own biases onto others?"

Ning Chunyan pretended not to hear these words, and then said to Wang Zixu, "I will definitely make it up to you. If you have anything you want to talk to me about in the future, or if you feel emo and want a hug, just come to me."

Her eyes were very sincere, neither looking away nor flinching, which made Wang Zixu's shyness seem like he was guilty of something he had done wrong.

However, to others, it didn't sound so virtuous. An Younan was extremely anxious: "What nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to seduce my brother?"

Ning Chunyan turned her head abruptly, her face flushed even more than before: "What do you mean by 'seduction'? You have such lewd thoughts! This was purely friendly concern. Besides, it's not like we haven't hugged before..."

After she finished speaking, she turned her face away. An Younan became even more anxious upon hearing this and chased after her, repeatedly asking:

“I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that! What do you mean by ‘it’s not like we haven’t hugged before’? You’ve hugged before? When? Where? How? Is this ‘hug’ the literal meaning or does it have a deeper connotation…”

"This is between him and me, it's none of your business~ It's none of your business~"

Faced with An Younan's persistent questioning, Ning Chunyan swam lightly to the side and began humming a little tune. The more anxious An Younan became, the happier she was.

She was happy, while Prince Xu was completely panicked.

He had a heart-to-heart talk with Ning Chunyan in the car before they parted, and she gave him a warm hug.

Wang Zixu thought this would remain a secret between the two of them forever, but he never expected it to be revealed so easily, especially in front of Chen Qingluo. Wang Zixu was so ashamed that he felt like he was about to die.

He turned his head again and suddenly found that Chen Qingluo had been standing in front of him at some point, her eyes staring intently at him, as if she wanted to burn him.

"When did you hug? Where did you hug? Why did you hug? Does this hug have a literal meaning or a deeper connotation?"

"Uh, ah... uh uh..." Prince Xu seemed to be choked, unable to utter a single word.

"Uh... what is it? Why are you afraid to say?" Chen Qingluo moved even closer.

An Younan shouted from behind, "Wang Zixu, I thought you only had me as your sister, but I didn't expect you to be so lucky with women, leaving your mark everywhere! No wonder you can... well, old habits die hard!"

She had originally intended to say that it was no wonder the prince could use the pseudonym "Little Prince" and make such a success of his voice chat business, but she suddenly realized that she couldn't reveal his identity, so she swallowed the rest of her words.

Ning Chunyan, however, sensed something was off and pressed for an answer: "What can you do?"

"nothing."

"What could it be? Who else did he attack?" Ning Chunyan's thoughts had indeed wandered to the wrong level. "Another expert?"

An Younan changed the subject, following her words: "Who knows? Look, we don't even know about you two. Who knows how many female friends he has outside!"

After saying that, she gave Wang Zixu a pretentious glare. Wang Zixu felt utterly innocent.

Ning Chunyan waved her hand with a smile: "Oh, I was just joking. It was a very clean and pure hug, like hugging a golden retriever. Don't get the wrong idea."

The prince pointed at himself and asked, "Am I a golden retriever or are you a golden retriever?"

"What do you think?"

Chen Qingluo suddenly said, "I want a hug too."

Ning Chunyan waved his hand in front of her eyes: "Qingluo, you should look me in the eye when you say this. If you stare at him, he might misunderstand!"

An Younan said, "Is it possible that she said this to Wang Zixu?"

Chen Qingluo said, "Everyone else hugged, but I didn't."

Why do you have such a competitive spirit about this?

Prince raised his hands. Although Chen Qingluo's request was not exactly what he wanted, but rather a stroke of good fortune, he felt that, to be realistic, there was something he had to clarify: "I have never hugged An Younan."

An Younan said, "You've never hugged me, but you've given me a massage, hehe."

"What exactly is massage? When was it done? Where was it done? Does 'massage' mean exactly what it sounds like, or does it have a figurative meaning?"

Ning Chunyan's eyes widened, and she turned to glare at Wang Zixu like an aggressive cat.

Prince Xu couldn't bear this public execution for even a second longer. He immediately decided to escape by water, turning around and climbing towards the shore: "I can't take it anymore, I'll faint if I stay in the water any longer."

Chen Qingluo raised her hand and grabbed his swimming trunks: "You can't leave. I haven't finished talking."

The suddenness of the attack nearly caused Wang Zixu's pants to be pulled down. In his panic, he slipped and fell headfirst into the water, splashing water everywhere.

Ning Chunyan exclaimed, "Oh my God! Qingluo! Can you please not do something so outrageous all of a sudden? This is dangerous! What if you pull it off? Then I'll have to gouge my own eyes out!"

An Younan said, "She definitely did it on purpose."

Chen Qingluo said, "I'm sorry, it's just a habit."

"?"

"?"

Chen Qingluo said, "I used to pull his clothes a lot. Back in high school. But he wasn't wearing any clothes today."

"so?"

"So I pulled down my pants."

“You don’t have to be so arrogant,” Ning Chunyan said calmly.

“I told you she did it on purpose,” An Younan said firmly.

……

Prince Xu coughed up the water from his lungs, and the women's playful banter ended. The topic finally moved away from the dangerous waters. Prince Xu stood with his back to the women, watching the wisps of steam rise from the hot spring.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you earlier that the list of judges for the Fei Shi Literary Award was announced today," Ning Chunyan's voice rang out from behind.

Prince Xu was startled.

He's become somewhat sensitive to the word "Feishe" (翡仕). He's been suffering a lot lately because of this award; he's developed some PTSD.

"Weren't the judges already decided?" Wang Zixu asked.

Ning Chunyan immediately said, "That was the preliminary selection committee. Today's announcement is for the final selection judges. Seriously? You don't even know the selection process? Didn't you say that An Younan was helping you plan the award? What were you planning?"

After saying that, she looked at An Younan, who raised her face and said, "I know a lot about business, but I'm a novice when it comes to literary matters, so don't expect me to take the blame."

Wang Zixu asked, "What is the specific procedure?"

"The Fei Shi Award process is divided into three steps. First, there is a preliminary selection, in which the preliminary selection committee forms a long list, which is now available and consists of 12 books. Then there is a final selection, in which 5 books are selected from the 12 books to form a short list. Finally, a grand award ceremony will be held on March 14 to announce the first prize winner."

“Oh—” Prince nodded. He knew these procedures, but his understanding of them was rather vague before.

Ning Chunyan continued, "Now that 'Fire in the Stone' has made it onto the longlist, it's already a remarkable achievement for a new author. But for publishers and the media, it's far from enough. At least it needs to make it onto the shortlist to have something to promote."

An Younan interrupted her and asked, "Is there a bonus for the shortlist?"

"Have."

"How many?"

"2."

An Younan curled her lip: "Only 20,000?"

"The first prize is 50 yuan," Ning Chunyan said. "That's the characteristic of Feishi: the winner takes all."

Wang Zixu asked, "Do the judges have any preferences in their judging style?"

Ning Chunyan replied: "Yes. The aesthetic tastes and personal preferences of the final judges will have a decisive influence on the results. The judges are different every year, so the award preferences will also change."

"But since the Fei Shi Award is sponsored by luxury brands, it needs to create a brand image of 'refined,' 'intellectual,' and 'urban,' so the winning works will more or less conform to this aesthetic tendency and have an intellectual quality, in other words..."

She took a deep breath and said, "It's not good for a rural work like 'Fire in the Stone'."

After listening, Wang Zixu remained silent for a moment, then said, "There are also some urban elements later on..."

“Yes, the later part of the story enters a new era and has a strong urban feel,” Ning Chunyan walked over to his side and lay down with him on the edge of the pool. “But your book has a rural label, which will have some impact.”

This conclusion left Wang Zixu somewhat disheartened, but he was still unwilling to give up. He then asked, "Who are the judges this year?"

Ning Chunyan said, "The first one is Lu Qinghou, a senior professor in the College of Arts at National Central University. He is highly respected and his students are all over the country. He is an academic godfather."

"The good news is that someone of his stature won't be swayed by Shi Tonghe's opinions; the bad news is that he greatly admires Shi Tonghe's work."

Prince Xu asked, "How do you know he admires it?"

“He has published several important papers on Shi Tonghe and is an expert on Shi Tonghe’s works.” Ning Chunyan gave a helpless smile.

Prince Xu licked his lips: "Anything else?"

"The second one is Hu Yezhou."

“Hu Yezhou?” Wang Zixu was quite familiar with this name. “Isn’t he a lecturer for ‘Master’s Lectures’?”

“That’s right,” Ning Chunyan said. “A star lecturer and a star scholar, whose work ‘Those Things of the Late Tang Dynasty’ is still a top-selling book on the history books list. With him around, this year’s viewership will be high.”

"I remember he had a lot of outrageous opinions on literature, didn't he?" Wang Zixu frowned.

“Yes, saying Li Bai couldn’t write poetry, Du Fu was too poor and pretentious… those are all his famous quotes.” Ning Chunyan sighed. “Actually, there has always been such a controversial figure in every election. As for the traffic, it’s not shameful.”

Wang Zixu expressed his understanding. Although Hu Yezhou is relatively far removed from literature, he is very close to the market. From a commercial perspective, choosing him is understandable.

"The third is Jia Siming, a renowned director who has won numerous Golden Horse and Golden Flower Awards."

The name was widely known, and Prince Xu immediately nodded in respect.

"He may seem to be a crossover figure, but his status in the literary circle is not low, and—and this is bad news for you—his most famous work is a remake of Shi Tonghe's novel, Quan Shan."

Wang Zixu said, "I've had enough lice that I don't itch anymore."

“The fourth is Cheng Wu, a well-known female writer,” Ning Chunyan said. “She is a young writer and translator who has won numerous international awards. Her style is austere, avant-garde, and full of modernity. She values ​​the linguistic innovation, narrative structure, and exploration of literary ontology in her works, while also paying attention to gender narratives.”

After a pause, Ning Chunyan continued, "Based on my understanding of her, she will almost certainly vote for a female author. Fortunately, neither you nor Shi Shuqiu are women."

Prince Xu nodded.

"The last one is Yanzishan, which we are all familiar with, so I won't introduce it," Ning Chunyan said. "What do you think of this list?"

Wang Zixu shook his head: "My mind is completely blank right now."

An Younan shoved the back of his head and said, "What could he possibly think? Let me answer for him: make plans early."

She counted on her fingers, "That professor and that director will definitely vote for Shi Shuqiu, that's two votes. That Hu is also an internet celebrity, and his personality clashes with yours, so he definitely won't vote for you. You won't get a vote from that female writer either... That's it, isn't it?"

Ning Chunyan said, "Actually, no one can say for sure before the results are in. Professor Lü and Director Jia may not necessarily vote for Shi Shuqiu. But the final vote mainly depends on whether the judges support you. If they do, there is still room for discussion, and the outcome is still uncertain..."

An Younan countered, "Then do you think anyone will stubbornly defend Prince Xu?"

"I can only say that the possibility is slim..."

"Isn't it over then?"

Ning Chunyan said, "So what I mean is, Wang Zixu, you can't put all your eggs in one basket with the Fei Shi Literary Award. You have to be prepared for the possibility of not winning the top prize."

"With your current fame and popularity, even if you make it to the finals but don't win the first prize, you'll be overwhelmed by the backlash and become the only loser. What's more, you might not even make it to the finals."

An Younan said, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?"

Ning Chunyan said, "Bad news."

“Let me tell you the good news first,” An Younan said. “The publishing plan I arranged for Wang Zixu does not require him to win the first prize.”

"What about the bad news?"

"The bad news is, I didn't consider the possibility that he might not make it to the finals," An Younan answered through gritted teeth. "You absolutely have to make it to the finals! Otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to my mom!"

Prince Xu asked curiously, "How does this relate to you... to your mother again?"

(End of this chapter)