"Fanchen, you know what? My favorite piece of yours is 'Back View.' When I first read that essay, I cried for days. I even went home and spent several days with my dad afterward, to the point where he thought something was wrong with me. But today, after meeting you, something feels a bit strange. The events in 'Back View' should be set in the Republican era or immediately after the country's founding, correct? Your age… uh, Fanchen, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I'm not doubting you…"
The two chatted as they ate.
Lu Qing was clearly too excited, firing off one question after another without pause.
But the moment she asked that last question, she regretted it.
Wasn't that basically questioning his identity?
That was incredibly rude.
Even if it did seem odd, how could you compare literature directly with real-life facts? Even she herself had written plenty of essays from a male perspective. If someone questioned her, saying, "You're a woman, how can you write from a man's perspective?" it would feel uncomfortable too. Thinking about it now, although the timeline in 'Back View' was a bit strange, asking it out loud still carried a tone of doubt.
Full of regret, she put down her chopsticks and kept apologizing.
"It's fine. Actually, I've wanted to explain this before."
Huang Yifan didn't mind. He had already anticipated that once his identity was revealed, someone would eventually ask this question. Now that Lu Qing had brought it up, he simply explained it in advance.
"The father in 'Back View' isn't my own father. The father in that essay is someone I heard about from an old gentleman. After the old gentleman passed away, I organized what he had told me, polished it a little, and wrote 'Back View'. Of course, even though the father in the essay isn't mine, the story itself is true, and the emotions are genuine. That's why it resonates so deeply when people read it."
"So that's how it is."
Lu Qing nodded, finally understanding.
"I wonder what that old gentleman's name was."
"His surname was Zhu, given name Ziqing."
"I didn't expect there to be such a great figure. It's a pity I never had the chance to meet him."
She felt a little disappointed, but soon smiled again. "Still, I guess I'm quite lucky to have met you, Fanchen. You know, even now, sitting here eating with you, I feel like I'm dreaming. Fanchen, pinch me so I can see if it hurts. Actually… no, don't. I'm afraid you'll shatter the dream, and then I won't be able to see you anymore."
"…."
Huang Yifan was speechless. "Don't worry, it's not a dream. Oh right, I wanted to ask you something. You mentioned there's a literary event this afternoon?"
"Yeah, look around, there are a lot of people in the cafeteria today. Besides those from our Writers Association, there are also people from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, like the Music Association, Fine Arts Association, Calligraphy Association… they're all here."
"What I really want to know is, how many points do you get for participating in these events?"
"Fanchen, is that all you care about?"
"What else would it be?"
"…Alright then. For city or county-level events, you get around 50 points. Provincial-level events usually give about 500 points, and national-level events give 1000 points."
Feeling a bit defeated by Huang Yifan, Lu Qing explained.
"500 points… that actually sounds like quite a lot."
Huang Yifan suddenly became very interested in the event.
"Heh, it's a lot for others, but for you…"
"For me what?"
"Don't you know? To advance to 6-star, you need 5 million points."
"5 million points?"
This time, Huang Yifan was completely stunned.
"Good heavens, 5 million points. If one event gives 500 points, I'd need to attend 10,000 events to level up. 10,000 events… even at one per day, that's 30 years. I… I…"
"Heh, exactly. So relying on events to level up is impossible. Most of the time, it depends on the influence of your published works and the number of books you sell."
"I suddenly don't feel like attending anymore."
"Fanchen, how can you say that? You promised me!"
"I'm kidding. Let's eat. Even if it's just 500 points, every little bit counts. Since we're here, might as well check it out."
"Exactly, exactly."
Lu Qing nodded repeatedly in agreement.
…
"Feng Yi, why did you run off again? I told you to wait for me in the cafeteria so we could eat together."
After being thoroughly humiliated by Huang Yifan, Feng Yi had fled the cafeteria in panic.
"What's wrong with your leg? Why are you limping?"
"It's nothing, nothing. Cousin, I won't be eating in the cafeteria. You go ahead."
"What, you're not going again? Didn't we agree earlier?"
"I'm just not going. Cousin, let's eat outside."
"You really are picky. Fine, fine, I'll take you out."
Following his cousin, the two went to a small restaurant near the Writers Association.
"Feng Yi, tell me what happened just now. Did someone bully you? Who was it? That's outrageous. You come to my turf, and someone dares to bully you? Do they have a death wish? Tell me, who did it?"
"Well… it's nothing really."
Feeling embarrassed, but seeing his cousin's anger, Feng Yi suddenly had an idea. "Cousin, do you know any 5-star authors around my age?"
"A 5-star author around your age? You mean Guo Cheng or Han Jin? But they're already 6-star now. And they're older than you. Someone your age, around 18… I don't think anyone has reached 5-star."
"That's not right. I just saw one. He's about my age, but he's a 5-star author. I even saw the badge on his chest. A five-pointed star. Definitely a 5-star author."
"How is that possible?"
Feng Yi's cousin scoffed. "Feng Yi, let me tell you. Not just in Xijiang Province, but in the entire country, there's no 5-star author your age. Are you sure you weren't seeing things? Do you think just anyone can be a 5-star author? Take your cousin here as an example. I've only just reached the threshold of 5-star myself. And that's thanks to holding a small position in the Writers Association. Without it, I might never have made it in my lifetime. Even so, I've basically hit my ceiling. Advancing further is nearly impossible."
"So… that means I got played by that guy?"
"What do you mean, played?"
"That's it, I must've been tricked. Cousin, you have to help me get revenge later. That guy deliberately wore a fake five-star badge to show off and then humiliated me. Think about it, your cousin here is only 3-star. Compared to 5-star, that's like heaven and earth. After he talked me down like that, I couldn't even say a word back. Look, even my leg got messed up because of him."
"What the hell, someone's pretending to be a 5-star author? That's ridiculous. Who is it? I'll stand up for you."
"His surname is Huang… I forgot his full name. But cousin, let's head back to the cafeteria now. They probably haven't finished eating yet. We can definitely catch him."
"Alright. Boss, the bill."
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