Speaking of 'The Peony Pavilion', there's a story behind its creation that must be told.
During the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, Tang Xianzu offended powerful officials by submitting a memorial to the throne and was ultimately demoted to serve as a minor official in Xuwen. When he left, he did not bring his family with him due to the long journey. Along the way, he fell ill, and both the demotion and his sickness left him increasingly despondent. One night, unable to sleep, Tang Xianzu put on a robe and went out to sit by the well in the courtyard. Drinking to drown his sorrows, he gazed at the moon reflected in the water. Before he knew it, he fell asleep.
After falling asleep, Tang Xianzu had a dream unlike anything he had ever heard of or seen before, incredibly strange and fantastical. It wasn't until noon the next day that he woke up. Upon waking, he immediately took up paper and brush to record everything he had seen and felt in the dream. Six years later, after resigning from his post and returning to his hometown, he revisited the story he had written years before and refined it slightly. Thus, the astonishing 'The Peony Pavilion' came into existence.
Because Tang Xianzu was from Linchuan, later generations referred to his four works as the "Four Dreams of Linchuan."
And 'The Peony Pavilion' was the first of these dreams.
However, although he had decided to use this work, Huang Yifan did not copy it down directly.
'The Peony Pavilion' was not a novel, but a piece of opera.
Therefore, when publishing it, Huang Yifan needed to adapt it into novel form.
Fortunately, with the opera as a reference, the adaptation process went smoothly.
In just over two hours, Huang Yifan had written two chapters.
Compared to 'The School Belle's Bodyguard', writing two chapters in two hours was already slow. But after all, 'School Belle' was copied, while 'The Peony Pavilion' required adaptation, so the workload couldn't be compared. Moreover, through the process of adaptation, Huang Yifan was able to better absorb the essence of 'The Peony Pavilion'.
At the same time, during the adaptation, Huang Yifan came to understand even more clearly why 'The Peony Pavilion' was called one of the "Four Dreams of Linchuan."
A classic is called a classic because no matter how many years pass, or even if placed in another world, it can still radiate its unique charm.
Just like the concept of love expressed in 'The Peony Pavilion': when love reaches its deepest point, it becomes unwavering and profound. The living may die for love, and the dead may live again. Such a bold pursuit of love moved even Huang Yifan, a man.
Because of this, after writing two chapters of 'The Peony Pavilion', all of Huang Yifan's previous concerns disappeared.
He knew that with such an absolute masterpiece, no matter where it was placed, it would shine with its own brilliance.
By the time he finished writing the two chapters, it was already 9 p.m. Suddenly realizing something was wrong, he had completely forgotten about the recitation competition.
Of course, Huang Yifan wasn't particularly interested in the competition. The only reason he had planned to go was that Zhang Huiping had invited him.
Since he had already agreed, he hurried out.
Unfortunately, by the time Huang Yifan arrived at the county cinema, which was serving as the venue for the competition, it was already nearly over. It was a bit of a pity, but when he saw that Zhang Huiping had won first place, he nodded and headed back.
…
"What's wrong? In a bad mood?"
The next day, as usual, he went to the cafeteria with Zhang Huiping for lunch. But today, she seemed low-spirited, leaving her food untouched.
Noticing her mood, Huang Yifan pretended not to care and said while eating, "Congratulations on winning first place in the county recitation competition."
"How did you know?"
Zhang Huiping's eyes lit up, but then she seemed to realize something and said shyly, picking up her lunchbox, "I thought you didn't come last night."
"Well… I did come, just a bit late."
"It's fine, it's fine. You're a busy man. It's already great that you showed up."
"Heh, I originally wanted to treat you to a meal to celebrate, but I waited for a while, and you didn't come out, so I went back."
"Ah, you waited for me outside? I'm sorry, Huang Yifan. The school celebrated the award-winning students. If I had known you were waiting, I wouldn't have gone with them."
"Come on, it's just a meal, not that serious. You can treat me next time. Honestly, I wanted to eat too. The cafeteria food is terrible."
"I think it's pretty good. You're just picky."
The two chatted as they ate. Suddenly, Zhang Huiping remembered something. "Huang Yifan, I need to apologize to you."
"What now? We're classmates. Don't keep apologizing all the time. If you say sorry again, I won't eat with you anymore. Go on, what did you do this time? I'm pretty generous, I'll forgive you."
"The essay you wrote for me last time… the Chinese teacher saw it. Today, Teacher Su asked who wrote it."
"You didn't tell him it was me, did you?"
Huang Yifan was startled.
If that got out, his next three years of high school would be a hassle.
"No, no, I didn't say anything."
Zhang Huiping hurried to explain. "But… but…"
"As long as you didn't say anything, it's fine. What's the 'but'?"
"But Teacher Su seemed to already know it was you. He asked me if you wrote it."
"What? How would she know? Are you sure you didn't accidentally let it slip?"
Huang Yifan was puzzled.
"I don't know what happened. Huang Yifan, I swear, I didn't tell anyone. And I wouldn't. You have to believe me."
At this point, Zhang Huiping was on the verge of tears.
Seeing this, Huang Yifan felt a headache coming on. "Alright, alright, don't cry. I'm not blaming you. Maybe Teacher Su just guessed. It's fine, I'm experienced with this kind of thing. I know how to handle it."
After some comforting words, Zhang Huiping finally felt a bit better.
But she still seemed uneasy and glanced at him cautiously. "Huang Yifan, am I really stupid?"
"Seriously, what's wrong with you? Who said you're stupid?"
"Because I feel like I am. I can't really help you with anything, and I always end up causing you trouble."
"Don't overthink it. You're going to become a PhD someday. Your intelligence will surpass everyone."
"Really?"
"Really."
…
Xu Qin was feeling troubled as she reviewed the website she had founded, Songjiang Net.
As the largest female-oriented platform in Huaguo, Songjiang Net had recently received a lot of media attention. But as its founder, Xu Qin knew the site had reached a bottleneck.
Clicking into a random novel, she saw nothing but CEO romances, fujoshi stories, yuri, and boys' love. It gave her a headache. She began to wonder whether Songjiang Net had gone down the wrong path.
She knew this was the natural trend of female-oriented fiction, just like how male-oriented platforms favored fast-paced wish-fulfillment stories. For female readers, CEO romances, yuri, and similar genres were their form of "wish fulfillment."
But Xu Qin shook her head.
These novels might be popular, but they lack legitimacy.
Could you proudly tell the media that a yuri novel on your site had surpassed 10.000 subscriptions? Could you announce that a boys' love novel had reached ten million views? Could you take one of these works and publish it in print?
No, you couldn't.
Aside from CEO romances, most of these genres, like yuri and boys' love, were subject to censorship. Continuing to promote them carried a constant risk.
Xu Qin had previously tried to transform Songjiang Net by promoting more traditional romance novels that could reach a broader market.
But for various reasons, those attempts had all failed.
Even now, Xu Qin felt lost.
Could it be that female readers were naturally drawn to yuri and boys love?
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