I'm not a literary giant

Chapter 62 Wild Weeds
Chen Qiaosheng said, "Four months? That long? Wait a minute, I'll check which issue your manuscript has been scheduled for. What's the title? 'Wild Creepers', right?"

Lin Feng turned around and asked Wang Zixu: "'There are creeping grasses in the wild', is it from the Book of Songs?"

Wang Zixu nodded: "Yes, it's from the National Wind. There are creeping grasses in the wild, dripping with dew. There is a beautiful person, clear and graceful."

Lin Feng gave a thumbs up: "Brother Wang's memory has always been so amazing. Why did you choose this allusion?"

Wang Zixu thought about how to explain it, but he found it difficult. Finally, he said, "You will understand when you see it."

Ning Chunyan read the manuscript carefully. This novel tells a story from love to marriage.

The protagonist of the story is a college student at a prestigious university. When he returned to his hometown during the summer vacation, he met a beautiful female employee in a flower shop. Her thoughts and conversation were highly consistent with his, as if they were in sync with each other, and he fell in love with her in an instant.

After experiencing love-hate entanglement, crazy pursuit, and overcoming the resistance of both parents, they finally got together. But after marriage, he found that under the pressure of life, his wife became a vulgar housewife, and in his wife's eyes, he became a loser in life. Marriage tore apart all the halos of the two people, exhausted the passion, and dissolved the beauty.

At the end, the protagonist still sees his wife as beautiful, but she is no longer the graceful and elegant image surrounded by flowers when he first saw her. The flowers have withered, thorns have begun to grow, withered branches and leaves, and weeds. He also feels that he is ugly and a failure in life, and is not worthy of her.

When Ning Chunyan first started reading, her expectations had been lowered to an extremely low level by the works of the two previous authors, so she read this work with a relaxed and cautious attitude, but after reading the beginning, her attention was already hooked.

Wang Zixu's writing style is fresh, concise and clear. Although it seems that there are no aphorisms or golden sentences, each word is refined very precisely, and it is easy to read. It brings out a strong visual sense in the mind, and it is the kind of writing that makes it difficult to say specifically what is good about it.

His writing style reminded her of many famous writers, such as Hemingway, Nabokov, Su Tong and the early Yu Hua. But when she looked closely, he was unlike any of them, and different from any literary work she had read.

In short, after reading this story, she had a new respect for Wang Zixu. She had previously thought that he was just an unsuccessful intellectual, but she didn't expect that appearances are not the best indicator of a person's character, and that he actually had real kung fu skills.

However, this made her feel even more bizarre. A work of this level was going to be published in a magazine like Xihe Literature and Art, which was like a boxer going to a kindergarten to find an opponent.

Ning Chunyan patted the manuscript on Wang Zixu's chest and said, "It's well written! Have you written anything else?"

Wang Zixu said: “I have written a lot, but I have only submitted a few. And none of them were published.”

Ning Chunyan said: "Put it in one more vote. Why not put it in one more vote after you've written it?"

Wang Zixu said: "I only submit the best ones to magazines. If they are not good, I delete them and don't keep the draft. I didn't keep the draft of this one either."

Ning Chunyan said, "You are a bit of a perfectionist. Which literary magazines did you submit your papers to before?"

Wang Zixu said: "Get, September, Xihe Literature and Art."

Ning Chunyan said: "Puff..."

She understood why Wang Zixu seemed to have such a sense of being unappreciated and born at the wrong time when she first met him.

Ning Chunyan patiently explained: "De Dao and September are both top literary magazines. As a newcomer like you, it will be difficult for them to accept your article. You can revise it and submit it again."

Wang Zixu shook his head: "Every article I wrote is perfect in my hands. There is no room for change. Instead of asking me to change it, why not let me write a new one?"

Ning Chunyan covered his forehead and said, "That's why you couldn't get it up."

Wang Zixu remained silent.

He didn't know how the editors who reviewed his manuscripts thought, but every novel he wrote with all his heart (excluding Wen Ai's scripts) was a work he created with all his soul. No one knew how much he paid to write those works.

If his works are not recognized, it means his soul is not recognized. If his hairstyle is laughed at, he can change a barber; if his clothes are criticized, he can return them and buy new ones. If his soul is not recognized, he can do nothing. Because the soul cannot be changed. A soul that is not liked by others can only wait. Wait for someone who can appreciate it.

Chen Qiaosheng came over, holding a handwritten notebook:
"Found it. Your novel has been scheduled for next month's issue."

Wang Zixu took his notebook and stared at his name on it, feeling a little confused.

Ning Chunyan raised his voice: "This article is so well written, why did the queue take so long?"

Chen Qiaosheng said: "Of course this is a special case. You see, our magazine only has space for three to four articles in each issue in the novel section, and everyone else's article is a short story of a few thousand words. Only his article is 30,000 words long, almost the length of a novella, and it's not easy to layout."

Ning Chunyan said: "Then add a few pages."

Chen Qiaosheng said awkwardly: "Our budget is limited. It will be troublesome to add a few pages."

Raymond Lam said, "You still haven't explained why he waited so long."

Chen Qiaosheng said, "Hey, if you want to get in line, come and tell me earlier! You don't know how hard this job is. Everyone comes to say hello, just like playing poker. In the end, it becomes a game of kings and queens. It's hard for us to do it too!"

Chen Qiaosheng was full of resentment when he spoke. Lin Feng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, okay, Lao Chen, it's hard for you too. I know that."

Chen Qiaosheng frowned and said, "Right, it's hard for everyone these days, but I promise, since you're here, I'll give you this position without further ado, and no one can move you."

Ning Chunyan frowned and stared at him. She didn't like this man very much. He had no respect for literature at all.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Chen Qiaosheng looked up at Wang Zixu: "What?"

"Why didn't you tell me that my manuscript was accepted?" Wang Zixu raised his head from the notebook, "You should have told me!"

Chen Qiaosheng was a little overwhelmed: "If the manuscript is not rejected, doesn't that mean it has been published? This has been the practice for many years."

Wang Zixu said: "But it would be great if you told me."

Chen Qiaosheng picked up the teacup and glared at Wang Zixu. He felt that this man might have something wrong with him.

What he didn't know was that the failure of Xihe Literature and Art to accept his manuscript was the final bullet that broke through Wang Zixu's psychological defenses. It was only natural that his manuscripts were not accepted by Dedao and Jiuyue, and he would continue to work hard. It was the failure of Xihe Literature and Art to accept his manuscripts that completely broke his defenses.

It can be said that Wang Zixu's life was changed by his few small acts of power. If someone had told him at that time that "you have been accepted by Xihe Literature and Art", he would not have gone to write scripts, nor would he have become the little prince.

Lin Feng patted his shoulder and said, "Brother Wang, forget it. What's past is past. Today is actually a happy occasion for everyone. Let's go out for a midnight snack tonight."

Wang Zixu swallowed the sob in his throat, sniffed, and returned the notebook to Chen Qiaosheng.

"Talented Lady Ning! So you are here!"

A frivolous voice came from the door. Wang Zixu looked up and saw Shen Qingfeng.

Shen Qingfeng walked in and saw Wang Zixu with a sidelong glance. He smiled and said, "Isn't this Lin Feng and Brother Caiming? Why, Vice President Lin, you want to bring Brother Caiming to the Literary Association to register your name and show off your literary skills, right?"

(End of this chapter)