Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 45 Optimism and Pessimism

The original plan was to leave in the morning, but since Chen Hong was moving in, Zhang Yan changed his ticket to the afternoon, planning to help Chen Hong move first before heading to Beijing.

As luck would have it, the next morning, while he was busy with the work, he suddenly received a notification that the royalties had been approved and that he should go to the magazine office to complete the formalities.

This morning was truly a double celebration.

After depositing the money in the bank, Zhang Yan felt his kidneys harden even more, and he wished he could travel directly to three days later and execute Chen Hong on the spot.

Speaking of time travel, as "The Great Detective of the Red Chamber" gradually comes to an end, time travel novels have become rampant in the market, and have even evolved into a genre where characters physically travel with modern weapons.

The popular novel newspaper that led this trend also reaped the biggest benefits, with monthly sales now stable at 120 million copies, putting enormous pressure on the ancient and modern legends.

In order to consolidate this favorable situation, editor-in-chief Feng Jingyuan approached Zhang Yan several times, trying to get him to start another full-length novel as soon as possible.

But Zhang Yan didn't have that idea for the time being.

The main problem was that the magazine's payment for his articles was strictly limited and did not match the revenue he brought to "Popular Fiction Newspaper," so he wanted to delay and see if the editorial department of "Popular Fiction Newspaper" was willing to break the rules for him.

He had heard that the royalties offered by "Story Club" to some well-known authors had now far exceeded the 30 yuan limit.

One of the reasons Zhang Yan accepted the invitation to write a novella for "Juvenile Novel" was to shut Feng Jingyuan up.

…………

Speechless all the way.

When they contacted each other earlier, Dou Wei said he would pick them up at the station. After getting off the train, Zhang Yan looked around but couldn't find Dou Wei on the platform.

Could it be that they forgot?

Zhang Yan left the West Railway Station full of doubts. Just as he was about to find a public phone to contact Dou Wei and find out what was going on, a Santana started honking its horn behind him.

Zhang Yan stopped and looked back in confusion, only to see the Santana's window slowly roll down, revealing Dou Wei's familiar face.

"Get on the bus!"

As Dou Wei spoke, he pressed the horn again forcefully.

Zhang Yan opened the passenger door and got in the car. He looked around, touched this and that, and casually took off Dou Wei's sunglasses, put them on his own face, and said sarcastically, "This isn't a convertible, why are you wearing sunglasses?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter came from the back seat. Zhang Yan turned around and saw that Wang Fei and Jiang Xin were sitting in the back.

Zhang Yan asked, puzzled, "Wang Fei, didn't you go to the United States to study?"

"That's just a gimmick created by the record company."

Wang Fei explained with some annoyance, "Don't the music critics in Hong Kong say I'm unsophisticated? The company wants me to learn some Western things, saying that people in Hong Kong will like this kind of thing—but actually I'm just a figurehead there, I don't really attend any classes."

At this point, she became excited again: "But it was only during this trip to the United States that I realized that many of the so-called masters who are making a big fuss in Hong Kong are actually imitating or even plagiarizing music from Japan and Europe."

Dou Wei scoffed, "There aren't many respectable musicians in Hong Kong."

Wang Fei reached out and slapped the back of his head, playfully scolding, "Am I not a proper musician?"

Jiang Xin laughed heartily beside her.

Zhang Yan has recently become more perceptive and vaguely senses that something is amiss between the two of them, so he hesitates about whether to remind Jiang Xin.

However, even if you want to give a reminder, you have to find a suitable opportunity.

So he subtly changed the subject and asked Dou Wei, "Did you just buy this car?"

“Yeah, less than 25 yuan after landing, how about that, not bad, right?” Dou Wei tilted his head, one eye looking ahead and the other looking at Zhang Yan: “Want me to take you for a drive?”

"If you want to drag someone down with you, just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Zhang Yan was genuinely a little envious. He had been feeling quite smug after receiving 50,000 yuan in royalties, but then Dou Wei shattered that vanity with a Santana crash.

Singing is definitely the most lucrative profession!

At this moment, Jiang Xin leaned against the back of Zhang Yan's seat and complained, "Great writer, you've kept this a secret for a long time. Our sister has been in Beijing for almost three months, and you haven't introduced her to us at all."

No wonder she didn't notice anything amiss; this girl herself has no sense of propriety.

“My sister is very quiet and wouldn’t fit in with you guys who go crazy and have fun.” Zhang Yan casually made up a story: “If she hadn’t gone back to her hometown after her exams the day after tomorrow, I would never have let you know she was in Beijing.”

To prevent the three from following him home, when they arrived at the alley entrance near the rented house, Zhang Yan got out of the car at the alley entrance, claiming that it was too narrow to turn around.

Carrying his meager luggage, he walked down the alley. When he reached the door of the rented room, he was about to knock when he saw Zhang Fang hopping and skipping across from him, holding a candied hawthorn in one hand and two plastic bags hanging from her elbow.

Seeing her eating as she walked, humming a tune and mumbling to herself, Zhang Yan flicked her on the forehead and said irritably, "You have your art exam tomorrow, aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache!"

"Brother~!"

Zhang Fang excitedly opened her arms to hug him, but Zhang Yan dodged her with a look of disgust. Then she remembered that she was carrying candied hawthorns. So she quickly handed him one, saying with a grin, "My stomach is fine—it's just that I've been under a lot of pressure lately, so Mom gave me some money to buy some snacks."

Zhang Yan squinted and stared down at her: "Is it because you're really under a lot of pressure, or are you trying to use the excuse of being under pressure to make money?"

He then added, "Your parents are saving money for your tuition. If you have any expenses in the future, just ask me for it."

"Brother~"

Zhang Fang's eyes lit up: "Did the royalties come through? Now you're a tycoon, and I'm the rich girl..."

"Money my ass!"

Zhang Yan flicked her on the forehead again: "With this little money, we can only buy a few car wheels—let's go, call Mom and let's go out to eat. Let's finish eating early, because I still have to visit Teacher Shi Tiesheng tonight."

…………

Zhang Yan arrived at Shi Tiesheng's house around 7 p.m.

Upon entering, he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "Professor Shi, your book 'Me and the Temple of Earth' is absolutely amazing! How come I never heard you mention it when I came here before the New Year?"

"Me and the Temple of Earth" was published in Shanghai Literature at the end of January. These days, news doesn't spread that fast, so Zhang Yan didn't hear about and read this masterpiece until after the New Year.

"Haha~"

Shi Tiesheng pushed the wheelchair, leading him towards the study, and said with a smile, "Aren't you allergic to my novels? That's why I didn't mention it."

“I was too young then, but I’m much more resilient now.” Zhang Yan didn’t wait for Chen Ximi to greet him and poured tea for the two of them. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Your writing is absolutely superb.”

"Are you envious? You traded two legs and a kidney for it."

"No, you..."

This is imitating a line from "The Detective of the Red Chamber," indicating that Shi Tiesheng has been following the later episodes.

However, Zhang Yan was at a loss for words when it came to the Shi Tiesheng joke.

After exchanging a few jokes, Zhang Yan took out the draft of "Little Mischief's Dreamy Internet Adventure"—when they had called earlier, Shi Tiesheng had specifically asked him to bring it over to take a look after hearing that Zhang Yan had a new work.

This novel is essentially a personification of some collective ideologies on the future internet, turning them into various 'internet tribes'.

Then, through the protagonist's journey through various tribes, a bizarre and fantastical virtual world is presented, while also briefly touching upon some social issues.

To avoid seeming too abrupt, he even went to Tianjin University to check relevant information and confirm that the concept of the modern Internet had already been born before writing this 'children's' science fiction novel.

Shi Tiesheng had already heard him mention it on the phone. He took the lamp, turned it on, and said to Zhang Yan, "If you feel bored, you can go to the living room and watch TV for a while."

"No need, I'll just pick any book to read."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he picked up a copy of Wang Shuo's "Playing with Heartbeats" from the bookshelf. He had read part of this book in a magazine before, but had not been able to read the whole thing.

In the past, when he read novels, his attention was entirely focused on the plot. Now, however, he can't help but ponder the author's writing style, guessing what this passage alludes to and what metaphors that passage contains.

This greatly reduces the speed and enjoyment of reading.

While he was still struggling with Wang Shuo's writing, Shi Tiesheng had already finished reading his novel.

Zhang Yan hurriedly put "Playing with Heartbeats" back on the bookshelf and waited for Shi Tiesheng to give his evaluation.

Shi Tiesheng first asked him about the basic concepts of the Internet before slowly saying, "What your novel presents is collective optimism, individual pessimism, and a bit of magical realism."

For example, the "losing at the starting line tribe" accuses their poor fathers of giving birth to them without consulting them, forcing them to suffer.

For example…

Shi Tiesheng gave several examples in succession, and finally asked: "So in your opinion, even in a future with incredibly advanced technology and abundant resources, these social contradictions still cannot be resolved?"

Zhang Yan spread his hands and said, "As the saying goes, 'It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality.' I have confidence in the future development of the country, but I think these problems are almost unsolvable, and they will most likely deepen as the gap between the rich and the poor widens."

Shi Tiesheng sighed and said, "If we could expand on that..."

Zhang Yan hurriedly said, "Please don't make things difficult for me. At most, I can only write fairy tales. I don't have that kind of ability or experience."

Just kidding, many people can foresee these social problems, but if you were to elaborate on them in detail, you'd really be a 'prophet'.

"Pity."

Shi Tiesheng returned the draft to Zhang Yan and said, "When the article is published in 'Juvenile Literature,' remember to let me know so I can recommend it to other magazines for reprint."

[PS: The prototype of the modern internet was born in the late 80s, and 91 was the first year that the internet attempted to be commercialized.]

(End of this chapter)