Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 67 Embarrassed Han Han

Zhang Chao had to admit that this kid was indeed outstanding in terms of appearance. If his long hair wasn't so greasy and his skin wasn't so dark, he should have no problem making his debut in the entertainment industry in this era.

Lu Jinbo stood up and walked to the door, welcomed him in, and introduced him: "Han Han, now playing racing in Yanjing."

Han Han seemed rather shy. He nodded to everyone and sat down at the table.

Several people at the table immediately looked back and forth between Zhang Chao and Han Han with playful eyes, obviously knowing the "grudge" between them.

In fact, if it hadn't happened today, Zhang Chao himself would have almost forgotten the confrontation between him and Han Han half a year ago. Afterwards, both of them were very busy, Han Han was busy racing, and Zhang Chao was busy writing books, and neither of them mentioned each other in the media again.

Lu Jinbo personally filled Han Han's cup with tea - he and Zhang Chao were the only two people at the table who didn't drink - then raised his own glass, gestured to Han Han and Zhang Chao, and said:

"Han Han, this is Zhang Chao."

Han Han was stunned for a moment. He had never seen Zhang Chao before, so he looked up and found that Zhang Chao was looking at him with a smile, so he felt a little embarrassed.

Obviously he never thought that one day he would be sitting at the same table with someone he had scolded, and he didn't know how to respond.

Lu Jinbo continued, "You two are the closest in age at the table. I know you had some misunderstandings before, but I don't think it's an unsolvable grudge.

I am a little older than you, and we are all friends. I am doing this just to hope that you can give me some face. It is better to resolve the grudges than to create them. Drink this glass of wine and forget the grudges with a smile. "

Han Han seemed to be a little moved, and had already put his hand on the cup. The other people sitting around also began to smile and prepared to say some polite words.

At this time, Zhang Chao spoke up. He turned to Lu Jinbo and asked seriously, "Editor-in-Chief Lu, do you think I look like a dog?"

After hearing this, Lu Jinbo and Han Han's faces changed. Han Han's words to the media, saying Zhang Chao was a "dog under the exam-oriented education", were still fresh in their minds.

Zhang Chao continued, "'A smile wipes out all grudges'... If I remember correctly, the complete sentence is 'After going through all the hardships, brothers are still here, and when we meet, a smile wipes out all grudges'. As far as I can remember, Mr. Han and I don't seem to have any brotherly love, nor have we ever gone through hardships together."

Shi Kang was a good friend of Lu Jinbo. When he saw that Zhang Chao had offended Lu Jinbo, he frowned and said, "Little Lu meant well - you young man, don't be so arrogant!"

Zhang Chao asked, "If you're not full of energy, can you still call yourself a young man?"

After that, he stood up and said goodbye: "I have to report to Luyuan early tomorrow morning, so I will go back first. Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Lu, for your hospitality. I will give you the manuscript as soon as possible."

When passing by Han Han's seat, Zhang Chao saw the embarrassment written all over the young man's face. He said disappointedly but politely: "Mr. Han, I actually hope that your personality is as good as your writing. What a pity, what a pity." Then he left the room.

Shi Kang said indignantly: "This kid is too arrogant..."

Qingshan next to him said, "He is only 19 years old, right? When I was at this age... well, I wasn't as crazy as him." Everyone laughed, and the awkward atmosphere eased a little.

Lu Jinbo sighed, did not chase after him, and sat back dejectedly.

Han Han gripped the cup tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Zhang Chao left Fengze Garden, but did not take a taxi back to the hotel. Instead, he walked slowly along the street.

Lu Jinbo has always wanted to build a publishing empire that monopolizes the youth literature market. In the original time and space, Han Han was one of the most important cornerstones of his career. Now that Zhang Chao has appeared, he certainly hopes to form a "double carriage".

Then the two horses should not bite each other. According to Zhang Chao's 20-year-old psychological age, he should have drunk the cup of tea tonight, and the ending would be a happy one. He knew that Lu Jinbo had always been kind to the writers he worked with, and later it was even rumored that he had given Han Han % of the royalties.

But when his hand was about to reach for the cup, he suddenly decided to say what he had just said - in this life, since he has come to this day, why should he accept Lu Jinbo's "training" and join any "front"?

Han Han's performance did disappoint him.

Zhang Chao remembered that in a few years, Han Han would debate with an old literary critic named Bai Ye, and wrote an article full of foul language titled "The literary world is shit, no one should pretend to be cool", which triggered a multi-party melee.

Among them was an old writer named Lu Tianming who joined the battle. He was scolded by Han Han, which made his son Lu Chuan so angry that he also joined the battle and directly called Han Han a "fool" and a "idiot".

What is dramatic is that a few years later, Han Han and Lu Chuan were drinking and chatting happily again.

In this life, Zhang Chao doesn't want to be like Han Han, living as a "personality". The life experience of 40 years old should bring him experience and mentality, rather than completely smoothing out the edges of youth in advance, leaving only smoothness and greasiness.

As for whether this would offend Lu Jinbo, he didn't care. He was not the only publisher in the world.

After returning to the hotel, Zhang Chao had calmed down. He called home and went to bed early.

The next morning, Zhang Chao checked out of the hotel, took his luggage and went to Luyuan to report.

At that time, Luyuan had not yet moved to Yuhui South Road in the Asian Games Village in Chaoyang District, and was still using the old campus, which was divided into two parts. On the south side was a two-story building with offices upstairs and a cafeteria, library and school history exhibition room downstairs; on the north side was a five-story main teaching building, which also had dormitories, lecture halls and entertainment rooms.

The entire campus is only about 8 acres, small and exquisite, with a lawn and a small courtyard, and a statue of the great master standing. The overall environment is very quiet.

When Zhang Chao came to report, there were already quite a few people there. When they saw Zhang Chao, they couldn't help but gather around to watch.

Zhang Chao had long been accustomed to this, and after completing the formalities, the staff took him to the dormitory, which was a 4-person room with a private bathroom and a ceiling fan. The staff said, "The conditions are average, but we are all adults, and you can also apply to live outside. Just come to class on time every day."

Zhang Chao nodded. He didn’t want to appear to be so unsociable for the time being, so he started to make the bed.

Soon, the other three roommates arrived. One was Pang Yuliang, from Jiangsu, a fairy tale writer and poet; one was Hu Xuewen, from Hebei, a novelist; and the other was Zhang Hongjie, a history PhD who was currently engaged in non-fiction writing.

Zhang Chao took a look and found that it was just as Cao Wenxuan said. The youngest of the three students, Zhang Hongjie, was 32 years old, and the other two were both 37 years old. Zhang Chao, who was not even 20 years old, looked out of place among them.

But since they were both writers, there wasn't much of a gap between them. Zhang Hongjie was the most lively, and smiled and said to Zhang Chao: "You are our 'child soldier' ​​Zhang Chao, right?"

Zhang Chao smiled and replied, "It's all because of Lu Yuan's kindness, otherwise how could I be classmates with all of you seniors."

Pang Yuliang was also very cheerful and said, "In writing, the first priority is to be able to express oneself. I have read your novels. They are both vulgar and elegant. It is amazing!"

Hu Xuewen also smiled and said, "You were able to publish your novel in Huacheng Magazine when you were 19. When I published my first novel, I was almost 30."

Zhang Chao couldn't help but sigh that these traditional writers may not be able to write a book that sells a million copies in their lifetime, but they have a clarity and purity that is rare among writers born in the 90s. After all, in the s, when literature was at its most declining, the economic returns from creation were minimal. If it wasn't for pure passion, they wouldn't have persisted until now.

Young writers like him are more or less driven by utilitarianism.

(End of this chapter)