A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

Chapter 134 Bass

July 30th, London.

At 6:30, it was already light in London. Lin Shubai lay in bed, mentally reviewing the things he needed to do that day: check out, take a bus to Bath, check into the hotel, and then wait for tomorrow.

He packed his luggage, hung his suit in his pocket, neatly stacked the manuscript paper in his backpack, checked it twice to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, and then carried his suitcase downstairs.

Richard was already sitting behind the front desk.

"Check out?" Richard took off his reading glasses.

"Yes. Allen will be here in a bit."

Richard nodded, took an envelope from the drawer, and handed it to Lin Shubai. Lin Shubai opened it and found a handwritten card inside. The handwriting was neat but a little shaky—"Good luck, young man. Remember, you're only one night away from success."

He carefully tucked the card into the inside of his bag. "Thank you, Richard."

Richard waved his hand. "Go ahead, don't keep Allen waiting."

Allen's car stopped in front of the hotel at 7:00 a.m. sharp, and he looked much more formal than usual.

"Get in the car." Allen rolled down the window. "Did you bring everything?"

"I've brought everything."

""

The car drove out of London and onto the highway. The London street scenes receded from the car window. Lin Shubai leaned against the window, holding his phone in his hand. On the screen was a message from Wang Xiulan that night: "Make a call when you get to Bath."

"What are you thinking about?" Allen asked.

"I'm thinking about what to do when I get to Bath today."

"Check in first, then I'll show you around. Bath is quite small; a day is enough to see everything."

Are you nervous?

Allen glanced at him. "Why would I be nervous?"

You can't fool me.

Allen smiled and didn't deny it. "Okay, a little bit."

"Tell me about Bass," Lin Shubai changed the subject.

Allen cleared his throat. "Bath, a small city in southwest England with a population of less than 100,000, is most famous for its Roman Baths. Two thousand years ago, the Romans discovered hot springs here and built baths and temples. Later, Bath became a resort destination for the British upper class."

After driving for about an hour, Allen parked the car at a service area. The two of them got out, bought coffee and sandwiches, and ate them standing next to the car.

"The Bath Prize was founded in 2008," Allen said, taking a bite of his sandwich. "The founder was a literary agent named Caroline Ollie. She had been an agent for over a decade and noticed that many good manuscripts were rejected by publishers because the authors were not well-known. So she simply started her own award to discover new talent."

Lin Shubai crushed the coffee cup and threw it into the trash can. "Besides me, who else is on this year's shortlist?"

Allen glanced at him, seemingly hesitant to speak, but finally said, "Five people, including Americans, Irish, and British. One of them is Mark Hamilton, a British author, whom the media predicts will be a hot favorite."

"Popular?"

"Yes, but being popular doesn't guarantee a win. The judges for this award don't look at fame, they only look at the submission. Don't worry about what others think."

Lin Shubai nodded.

The car is back on the road.

Lin Shubai leaned against the car window, thinking about what Allen had just said—"Being popular doesn't mean you're guaranteed to win." He knew Allen was trying to comfort him, but he didn't need comfort. Whatever the outcome, he would accept it. He had already experienced the worst thing in his life. Transmigrating was a complete loss in itself, and everything after that was a gain.

This thought made him feel that he actually had nothing to be afraid of.

We've arrived in Bath.

Allen parked the car in a public parking lot. The two of them got out of the car. Bath was different from London. London was gray, big, and noisy, while Bath was yellow, small, and quiet. The buildings in the city were all built with the same beige stone, making the whole city look like one color. From a distance, it looked like a giant honey cake.

"Bas stone," Allen pointed to the buildings, "a local specialty. The law stipulates that all buildings in Bath must be made of this stone, so the whole city looks uniform."

Lin Shubai followed Allen through several streets and stopped in front of a building with beige stone walls, white window frames, two stone pillars at the entrance, and a bronze plaque above the door that read "Bath Novel Award Ceremony".

"Venue".

"This is it." Allen pushed open the door.

Inside was a small banquet hall that was being set up. Several long tables were covered with white tablecloths, and chairs were neatly arranged. The stage was small, with a podium and a screen. Several staff members were adjusting the lights and sound system.

A middle-aged woman in a black suit walked over. "Allen, you're here. Is this your author?"

"Yes, Lin Shubai."

The middle-aged woman extended her hand. "Welcome. I'm Catherine, the project manager for this award. Registration starts at 6 p.m. tomorrow, and the event officially begins at 7 p.m. Your seats are at the head table."

Lin Shubai shook her hand and said, "Thank you."

"You don't need to be nervous." Catherine glanced at his expression. "You are the youngest finalist I have ever seen. No matter the outcome, making it to the shortlist is already a great achievement."

Lin Shubai noticed that Allen's eyebrows furrowed slightly when Catherine said "no matter what the outcome."

After leaving the venue, Allen took him to the hotel to check in. The hotel was right next to the banquet hall, a three-story building with beige Bass stone exterior walls and black wrought iron flower racks hanging in the windows.

The receptionist, a young woman, handed Lin Shubai the key. "Room 208, the window faces the garden behind."

Lin Shubai went upstairs and pushed open the door to 208.

He opened his suitcase, took out his suit and hung it in the closet. The suit was a few days ago that Allen had taken him to buy; it was dark blue and single-breasted.

There was a knock on the door.

Allen stood in the doorway. "Come on, let me show you around. Don't stay cooped up in your room."

Lin Shubai packed his things and went out with Allen.

Bath is really small; you can walk around the whole place.

Allen took him to the Roman Baths. Inside, there was a sunken open-air bath with steaming green hot spring water.

“This place has a history of two thousand years.” Allen stood next to him. “After the Romans conquered Britain, they discovered hot springs here and built baths and temples. They called this place Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis).

After leaving the Roman Baths, Allen took him to Bath Abbey, which was right next to the baths. It was a Gothic building with angels climbing ladders carved on the front wall.

"This is 'Jacob's Ladder'," Allen said, pointing to the carvings. "In the Bible, Jacob dreamed that angels were going up and down a ladder, connecting heaven and earth."

Lin Shubai stood at the entrance of the monastery, looked up at the angels, and reached out to touch the old wall.

【Trigger Keywords】

[Gothic + Bath Abbey]

Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen)