A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

Chapter 125 Three Forums (Combined)

Saturday, May 11th.

Banyan Tree Forum.

At 8:58 AM, the moderator "Pen and Ink Memories" posted a pinned thread titled: "Interview with Lin Shu-bai by the Shanghai Culture Daily: At Sixteen, Fairy Tales, the War of Resistance Against Japan, Science Fiction, Mystery, and English—How Did He Do It?"

The main post was brief: "Today, the *Shanghai Culture Daily* published an interview with Lin Shu-bai, which contained a lot of information. I'll highlight a few key points for you:"

1. "Four Generations Under One Roof" sold over 50,000 copies, priced at 50 yuan, and generated over 2.5 million yuan in sales.

2. He's writing a picture book novel called "Hugo in the Clock Tower," set in the old North Railway Station of Shanghai in the 1930s. The illustrations were drawn by one of his high school classmates.

3. He wrote a mystery novel, "The Astrological Murders," which is about to be published as a standalone book.

4. He is writing a novella in English, preparing to submit it to the British Bath Fiction Prize.

5. He has a British agent named Alan Carter, who discovered "The Little Prince" in a secondhand bookstore in London and then contacted him.

What do you all think?

On the first floor, "Deep Sea Fish" grabbed the sofa: "I'll reserve this spot first, and comment after I've read it."

On the third floor, "Night Ship": "The amount of information is indeed substantial, but what surprised me most was his English writing. He actually wrote a novella in English to compete in the UK? This is no joke. I checked the Bath Prize for Fiction; last year there were over two thousand submissions, and only thirty made the longlist. He said he was confident—where does that confidence come from?"

Fifth floor, "Bookworm A-Qiang": "Replying to the third floor, which of his previous works wasn't high-quality? I believe in him."

23rd Floor: "I'm still curious about the content of his English manuscript. Does anyone know?"

The 24th floor replied to the 23rd floor: "The interview didn't mention the specific content, but it did mention the title, 'Hell is Where God Is Not.' It sounds like a science fiction story with a religious theme."

25th floor: "Religious subject matter? A sixteen-year-old Chinese student writing about religion for the British? I have to admire that line of thinking."

26th Floor: "Don't you guys think his agent's story is even more legendary? Finding 'The Little Prince' in a London used bookstore and then flying over to sign a contract, it's like something out of a novel."

The 27th floor replied to the 26th floor: "Some people's luck is just unrealistically good."

The 28th floor replied to the 27th floor: "Luck favors the prepared. He wrote 'The Little Prince' first, and then people discovered it."

Floor 29: "I'm more interested in that mystery novel. 'The Astrological Murders'—the title alone sounds hardcore. Does anyone know anything about it?"

The 30th floor replied to the 29th floor: "I searched it up and found that it was published by 'The Years of Mystery'. I heard that the core trick is very clever. After reading it, the editor decided to publish it as a standalone book instead of serializing it in the magazine."

Floor 31: "That must be really impressive. Usually, mystery novels are serialized in magazines first to test the waters before being published as standalone books. Publishing it as a standalone book directly shows that the editor has confidence in it."

Thirty-second floor: "You guys are having such a heated discussion, but I just want to ask one question—when will his English manuscript be released?"

I want to see it.

The 33rd floor replied to the 32nd floor: "Let's wait for him to finish writing and wait for the Bass Prize results. We should then know whether he made the longlist or not."

At 10 p.m., the number of online users on the Rongshuxia Forum still hadn't decreased.

A netizen named "Data Party" posted an analysis titled "Looking at Lin Shu-pai through Data: Who are his readers really?"

"Today I've compiled some publicly available data about Lin Shu-pai and I'd like to share it with you."

Charlotte's Web: Total sales to date are approximately 80,000 copies. Reader profile: 60% are parents buying for their children, 30% are young women, and 10% are others.

The Little Prince: Sales exceeded 120,000 copies. The reader profile is similar to that of Charlotte's Web, but the proportion of "adult men" has increased significantly, from less than 5% to about 15%.

"Four Generations Under One Roof": In just over a month since its release, sales have exceeded 50,000 copies. Priced at 50 yuan, the reader profile is completely different from the previous two books. Most of the readers are new readers, and the proportion of men over 30 years old has increased significantly.

This means that Lin Shubai's readership is undergoing a structural change; he is transitioning from a children's book author to a mainstream writer. Whether this change will be successful depends on the quality of his subsequent works.

After the post was pinned by the moderator, dozens more replies appeared below it.

"I'm a new reader who was drawn to *Four Generations Under One Roof*. I hadn't read his fairy tales before, but *Four Generations Under One Roof*..."

After finishing it, I went back and read *The Little Prince* and *Charlotte's Web*. I found that everything he writes is good.

"Me too. I read 'Four Generations Under One Roof' first, and then I found out that he had also written fairy tales."

"I think his greatest strength isn't that he writes well, but that he writes well in every genre. Many people can write fairy tales well, but their writing in other genres falls apart. He doesn't do that."

"I agree with everything you said. But I'm still most looking forward to his mystery novel, 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders'—the title alone is very appealing to me."

"+1. Mystery novels have never been very popular in China. I hope he can bring something different."

"They're very different. Look at the short science fiction stories he writes; they're completely different from traditional science fiction in China."

"If his English manuscript makes the longlist for the Bath Prize, do you think the domestic media will report on it?"

"Definitely, it will generate another wave of buzz."

"I don't care about popularity; I just want to read what he writes."

"Me too."

+1.

""

+1.

""

The Sky City forum also exploded.

It wasn't the interview—the only sentence about science fiction in the interview was "He wrote a science fiction novella in English for a competition"—that really sparked the discussion. What truly ignited the discussion was a new book announcement released by Science Fiction World last Friday.

The announcement is simple: Lin Shubai's science fiction short story collection is about to be published, containing twenty-one works, including previously published works such as "Dinosaurs in the Afternoon," "Artificial Beauty," "Communication of Love," and "A Long Life," as well as more than ten new works that have never been published before. The title is taken from the environmental fable he wrote in the National Essay Competition, "Feed—Out."

The moderator of the "Galaxy Book Review" section, "Starry Sea Raft," immediately shared this news with the title: "Lin Shubai's science fiction short story collection 'Feed—Out' is about to be published, containing twenty-one stories, including more than ten unpublished new works."

The replies came even faster than those under the banyan tree.

The first comment from "Quantum Cat" read: "Twenty-one articles? Where did he get so many drafts? I remember him in *Science Fiction World*..."

You've only published less than ten articles so far, right?

"Red Mars" replied to him: "People don't necessarily have to submit their work immediately. Some writers have manuscripts that they've kept in reserve for several years."

"Starry Sky Raft" added another point: "I did the math, from last November to now, 21 articles. This output is unparalleled in the domestic science fiction circle."

The topic quickly shifted from output to style.

"Gravitational Lens" published a long review: "Lin Shubai's science fiction is different from others."

Most domestic science fiction authors write about "big" settings, big universes, big disasters, and big salvation.

Lin Shubai writes about "small things"—the predicaments of ordinary people, the conflicts in small scenes, and the human nature through small perspectives.

"Artificial Beauty" is about a bar robot, "Love Communication" is about two lonely people sending electric waves across the distance, and "A Long Life" is about the loneliness of an immortal. These stories don't require a grand worldview, but they have a lasting impact.

"Pulsar" added, "And he dares to write tragedies. In 'Dinosaurs in the Afternoon,' humans calmly embrace each other as the apocalypse approaches. In 'A Long Life,' the protagonist eventually discovers that longevity is not happiness. Such endings are rare in domestic science fiction. Most authors would give a happy ending, but he doesn't."

"Floating Raft in the Starry Sea" reappeared: "You're all right. But I think his most impressive thing is that his science fiction doesn't require any science fiction knowledge to read."

It's not the kind of hardcore writing filled with relativity, quantum mechanics, and faster-than-light travel. Instead, it uses science fiction as a backdrop to draw human stories, which lowers the reading threshold without compromising the depth of thought.

"Red Mars" asked, "What's the content of that article, 'Feed—Out'? The title sounds familiar."

"Starry Sky Raft" replied: "It's the environmental fable he wrote in the national essay competition. There's a bottomless hole where humans dump all their garbage, and eventually the hole starts spewing things out. It's a brilliant idea. Putting it as the first story is probably to set the tone for this collection—not hard science fiction, but science fiction fable."

The discussion lasted a long time, with some analyzing the published works one by one, some guessing the content of the unpublished new works based on the titles, and some discussing the competitiveness of this collection of short stories in science fiction awards.

At noon, "Red Mars" posted a summary: "Lin Shubai's collection of science fiction short stories is the Chinese science fiction work I am most looking forward to this year. His writing style provides a new path for domestic science fiction - it does not need to pile up settings or write a cosmic epic. It can be very good by simply telling a story about people."

Compared to the lively discussions on Rongshuxia and the technical discussions on Sky City, the discussions on the Deduction Gate forum appear more subdued.

The style of Reasoning Gate has always been like this: it doesn't chase trends, it doesn't engage in fluff, its users are mainly seasoned mystery fans, and its discussions tend to be hardcore.

Founded in 2000, the forum is one of the earliest mystery novel-themed communities in China.

In its early years, it mainly translated and introduced Japanese and European and American mystery novels, but later it gradually developed into a gathering place for original mystery novel authors and readers.

Many domestic mystery writers received their initial feedback here for their debut novels.

The forum is divided into many sections: "Original Mystery," "Overseas Translations," "Trick Design," "Puzzle Release," "Author Zone," etc.

The moderator, "Lao Cai," is a well-known figure in the circle. He is said to be a professor of logic at a university. He doesn't post much, but every word he says carries weight.

A user with the ID "King of Escape Rooms" posted a thread.

"I just saw the news that Lin Shubai's 'The Astrological Murder Magic' is going to be released as a standalone book, based on 'The Deduction of Time.' It's been revealed that the core plot involves astrology and dismemberment. The specifics are still unclear, but the editor's decision to release it as a standalone book instead of serializing it speaks volumes. Does anyone know anything about this?"

On the third floor, "Nameless Detective" replied: "I know an editor of 'The Deduction of Time'. We talked about the book when we had dinner last week. He said he didn't sleep well the night he finished reading the manuscript."

Fourth floor: "Didn't sleep well? That's an exaggeration!"

The fifth floor replied to the fourth floor: "It wasn't fear, it was excitement. He said that trick was the first he had ever seen in all his years as an editor."

On the sixth floor, the "logic enthusiast" pressed on: "What kind of trick is it? Can you reveal a little bit?"

The seventh floor replied to the sixth floor: "The editor didn't say the specifics, only one sentence—you'll feel like you've been tricked, but you'll feel comfortable being tricked."

Eighth Floor: "That's a very high compliment. The highest praise for a mystery novel is 'I was fooled, but I did it willingly.'"

The discussion gradually heated up, and some people began to speculate on the type of trick based on the limited public information. Some guessed it was an identity swap, some guessed it was a time difference, and some guessed it was a twin trick, but no one was sure.

The forum moderator, "Old Cai," appeared at noon. He posted a short message: "I've already read 'The Astrological Murder Case.' Don't judge it based on your age (16). The quality of a mystery novel has nothing to do with the author's age. Read it for yourselves when it's released."

Underneath this post, someone asked, "Old Cai, are you implying it's worth reading?"

Lao Cai did not reply.

In the afternoon, the focus of the discussion shifted from the book itself to Lin Shubai as a person. A user with the ID "Passerby Detective" posted a very interesting question: "Have you ever thought about what it means that Lin Shubai writes mystery novels? Mystery novels have always been a niche genre in China. Most so-called original mystery novels are either copied from Japanese plots or have such big logical flaws that they are unreadable. Readers would rather read translated works than read local original works."

If Lin Shubai can write good mystery novels, he might bring a new group of readers to this genre. He has a large readership, including those who read fairy tales, pure literature, and novels about the War of Resistance Against Japan. These people might buy a mystery novel because of his name.

"After buying it, I discovered that mystery novels could be so entertaining, and then I started looking for other mystery works. That's what it means to break into the mainstream; he single-handedly made the market huge."

This post was featured by the moderator, and the title was changed to "The Industry Significance of Lin Shubai's Mystery Writing".

The replies below were almost all in agreement.

"Domestic mystery fiction desperately needs to break out of its niche."

The question is, can he write it well?

"You'll know when the book comes out."

As night deepened, the activity on the three forums continued. Some people were discussing Lin Shubai's picture book novel on Banyan Tree, some were analyzing his unpublished science fiction work on Sky City, and some were waiting for the standalone volume that had not yet arrived on Gate of Deduction.