I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Although Jin Yong and Gu Long's works are popular in China, they will never win the Nobel Prize in Literature!

While everyone was in shock, Liu Chenmin was the first to notice something was wrong.

"That's not right!" Liu Chenmin exclaimed. "China only has one Nobel laureate in literature, Professor Mo Yu, that's common knowledge. Could your teacher be Mo Yu?"

These words shocked everyone present once again.

Teacher Mo Yu is already in his seventies or eighties. He is living his own life in Gaomi Township. How could he possibly be Liu Ruyan's teacher?

Besides, her age doesn't match what she said.

Liu Chenmin reached out and said, "Bring that over here so I can see it. Is it fake?"

Faced with Liu Chenmin's words, even Qin Yunchu and the others were somewhat shaken.

It's possible to say that Chen Ya is Jin Yong and Gu Long, but to say that he is a Nobel Prize winner in Literature is a bit far-fetched.

There is only one Nobel laureate with native-born Chinese citizenship; this is something everyone on Earth knows.

How could Chen Ya possibly have won the Nobel Prize in Literature?

At this moment, the live stream comments also became noisy:

"Damn, I almost got scammed. This can't possibly be her teacher's."

"Yeah, my heart almost jumped out of my chest just now."

"If her teacher is really Mo Yu, then it's really an eyesore."

"This is obviously fake. I could make a whole bunch of these certificates if I wanted to forge them."

In the studio, Gao Xiaobai waved his fan vigorously: "Teacher Yu Hua, you must be mistaken. This certificate is most likely a forgery. It's the only one of its kind in China, and it's in Gaomi Township."

Yu Hua waved his hand and said loudly, "There's no mistake!"

At this point, even though Yu Hua held a superior position, viewers of the show couldn't help but feel that Yu Hua was being a bit stubborn.

Yu Hua said, "I've seen Mo Yu's certificate before, but this one isn't his. Look closely—"

The camera focused on the certificate again, and everyone crowded around the screen, staring intently at it.

Yu Hua pointed to the top and said, "This is in Swedish. The blue text at the top says Alfred Nobel, the name of the founder of the Nobel Prize."

Everyone looked over and found that it was indeed as he said. Liu Chenmin was about to say that this did not mean the certificate was not forged when Yu Hua spoke up again:

"Look again, that line of red text below says the winner's name, doesn't it? García Borges!"

"García Borges?"

Upon hearing the name, Liu Ruyan took a small breath.

She thought of the copy of "Love in the Time of Cholera" that she had just been holding not long ago.

At the same time, Gu Yuanzhen and Qin Yunchu exchanged a glance.

Gabriel García Borges.

They just mentioned that name.

Chen Ya gave Liu Ruyan a copy of "Love in the Time of Cholera" and wrote a note on the title page:

"Love is an instinct, but creation is not."

I'm not good at romance, and you're not good at writing.

Let's practice separately. If one day your book's sales surpass this one, I will sincerely tell you how much I love you.

—Chen Ya

When Qin Yun Chu saw this passage, she naively asked, "Was this book written by Chen Ya?"

Gu Yuanzhen, on the other hand, naively belittled her and went on to talk at length about how amazing Gabriel García Borges and his book were.

At this moment, recalling what had just happened, both of their faces turned pale.

In the studio, Jupiter frowned and repeated, then asked, "Professor Yu, who is Gabriel García Borges?"

Yu Hua glared at him and said, "You don't know?"

"I don't know." Jupiter shook his head like a rattle.

Gao Xiaobai waved his fan rapidly and said, "Sister Jupiter, I'm sorry, but in the literary world, we all say, 'Not knowing García Borges is equivalent to being illiterate.' No offense intended, but that's just how he is in the literary world."

Jupiter felt mocked for no reason and leaned over to ask Yu Hua, "Teacher Yu, is that so?"

Yu Hua said in a deep voice, "Anyway, Borges's novels have had a great influence on my writing."

"Has it had a significant impact on you?"

Jupiter was momentarily speechless.

In the eyes of many, Yu Hua is a national-level veteran writer who has been famous for many years and is one of the supreme figures in the literary world.

Yu Hua actually said that Borges had a great influence on him?

Is he serious?

Yu Hua added, “After reading Borges’s novels, I finally understood what true avant-garde is, what true philosophical literature is, and what true magical realism is. It was after reading his novels that I realized, wow, novels can be written like this!”

As he spoke in increasingly fantastical terms, Jupiter became even more astonished.

At the same time, the comments section has become more polarized.

"Is it that famous? How come I've never heard of it?"

"If you haven't heard of him, it just means you're uncultured! Our literary history textbooks dedicate two whole articles to discussing García Borges!"

"The publication of Gabriel García Borges's novels in China has had a tremendous impact on the entire Chinese literary world! He is incredibly talented!"

On the forum, a post popularizing Gabriel García Borges is rapidly gaining likes:

A brief introduction to Gabriel García Borges's masterpieces:

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Evil Hour, The Garden of Forking Paths, The Book of Sand, The Circular Ruins, The Green House…

Yu Hua said, "Don't say that I was influenced by him. There are very few writers in our country who were not influenced by him! Mo Yu was deeply influenced by him. You can ask him yourselves."

"It can be said that Gabriel García Borges taught many of us how to write. That's a very true statement."

Jupiter stood there, stunned.

Gao Xiaobai's hand, which was fanning himself, suddenly stopped: "There's only one question. García Borges is from South America. I need to ask Miss Ruyan, is your teacher also a foreigner?"

Upon hearing his words, Liu's father became agitated again.

He could not allow his daughter to marry a foreigner.

Liu Ruyan shook her head: "The teacher is Chinese."

Gao Xiaobo shook his head: "That's not right. García Borges wrote about the customs and culture of South America. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a national writer of South America. How could he possibly be Chinese?"

Yu Hua crossed his hands and said, "No, García Borges could very well be Chinese."

Chapter 37 Love is an Instinct

Gao Xiaobai smiled.

A very forgiving smile.

"Teacher Yu, I know there have been rumors online about why García Borges might be Chinese, and they've listed a whole bunch of reasons, right? I just want to say one thing: it's impossible."

Yu Hua turned to him and asked, "Why is it impossible?"

Gao Xiaobai waved his fan, his expression calm:

"The reasons given online that he might be Chinese are nothing more than two: first, his novels are all published in Chinese first, and then in other languages; second, he has never appeared in public, not even to receive an award."

He continued, "However, upon closer analysis, we realize that these arguments are fundamentally untenable."

Yu Hua adopted a look of being all ears.

"Publishing the Chinese version first only shows that he has a deep affection for China. In fact, his Western version is more delicate and fluent in terms of writing style. The Nobel Prize in Literature is based on the Western version, not the Chinese version."

"Besides, there are plenty of anonymous writers who never show their faces, like Hemingway, Faulkner, and Kawabata Haruki. They are all elusive and never went to accept awards. This doesn't prove anything."

Gao Xiaobo spoke eloquently to the camera: "Also, perhaps many people are not aware of this, so let me give you a brief introduction to just how highly regarded Gabriel García Borges is in Latin America."

"Macondo appears in many of his novels, including One Hundred Years of Solitude. Based on the content of the book, it is speculated that this is a seaside village in Colombia."

"But in Colombia, there is no place called Macondo; there are only some places that are very similar."

"In the struggle for the title of the authentic Macondo, several villages changed their names one after another, and overnight, Colombia had three more Macondos."

“These places all claim to be the setting of ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ or even ‘the hometown of Gabriel García Borges’ in order to prove that they are the real Macondo.”

"There was another village that took out huge debts and spent a fortune building a full-body statue of García Borges."

"Based on the village's previous income, it would take the entire village 50 years' worth of revenue to pay off this statue."

"As a result, after the statue was erected, the village's tourism industry exploded, and it paid off all its debts in just five years and is still thriving."

"Of course, since García Borges never appeared in public, the statue was imagined and sculpted based on the image of the sculptor."

Jupiter covered her mouth and said, "Oh my god, Teacher Gao, what you said is so funny."

Gao Xiaobo said seriously, "It's all true, there's not a single fabricated element. I went to Colombia years ago and saw that statue with my own eyes."

"Most tourists go to Macondo with a pilgrimage mentality, and there are a lot of Americans among them. There are many souvenir pendants on the roadside, such as Gypsy magnets and insomnia sticky notes, which cost $5 each and sell very well."

Jupiter asked, "Do Americans really like García Borges?"

Gao Xiaobo said, "Americans especially like it. In America, if a wealthy family doesn't have a book by García Borges, they're considered nouveau riche, and they're looked down upon."

He added with a laugh, "Hasn't South America always been considered America's backyard? But in the case of García Borges, it's a case of culture being reversed."

Jupiter laughed: "The Americans have finally met their match."

Gao Xiaobo waved his fan and said, "This is just the impact in Colombia; the impact is even greater elsewhere!"

"In fact, Argentinians believe that García Borges belongs to them, to the Argentinians."

"In Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, there is a National Museum of Argentina."

"This contains all of Argentina's literature, art, history, and artifacts to date... all the best of it is gathered here."

"In the hearts of Argentinians, this museum symbolizes their country and nation; it is their pride and guiding light."

"And at the entrance of this museum, there are two half-sculptures."

"The one on the left is José Hernández, a well-known poet in Argentina. If we were to draw a comparison, he would be equivalent to Li Bai in Argentina."

"The one on the right is Domingo Fustino Sarmiento, the first civilian president in Argentine history. He was deeply loved by the Argentinians and was also a writer."

“In the middle stands an empty stone pier, without any statues, and on the pier is carved only a name—García Borges.”

"The reason it's empty is because García Borges never showed his face."

"Although he never stated his nationality, his writing is as if it were naturally boiling in the blood of Argentinians."

"Argentinians firmly believe that he is an Argentinian!"

"Once García Borges officially appears, they will place his portrait between Argentina's greatest poet and most famous president, so that he will stand there forever."

Everyone watching the show was listening when Gao Xiaobai said this. Liu Ruyan was listening too.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, but Liu Ruyan was in a daze, recalling all that had happened in the past.

Chen Ya said that love is an instinct, but creation is not.

This is a paraphrase of a line from "Love in the Time of Cholera".

The original quote in the book is:

"Love is an instinct; you're either born with it or you never will."

If he truly believes this, if he truly believes that love is an instinct that cannot be learned, then why would he say, "Let's practice it ourselves"?

Unlike others, Liu Ruyan believed it instantly: García Borges was Chen Ya.

Love in the Time of Cholera was written by him.

This made her proud.

It also made her feel distressed, annoyed, and want to cry.

Gao Xiaobo continued speaking: