Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 48 Housewarming Banquet

"This Chinese writer's work is truly remarkable; I can read the style of an old-school science fiction writer in his writing."

"Oh my god, can anyone tell me what other works he has written? I absolutely love this piece, 'The Way of Dawn'."

"Are there any scholars of Chinese literature in the comments section? Could someone explain the origin of the name '朝闻道' (chaowendao)? That poem is too profound; I didn't understand it after only listening to it once."

"It turns out that it wasn't that I couldn't understand science fiction before, it was that the science fiction writers in our country wrote things that sounded like they were coughing up a lot, all shrouded in mystery."

The biggest benefit of the success of "The Way of Dawn" is that it has once again brought the powerful and virtuous sage Confucius from Luo Jinnian's hometown to the forefront of the eyes of blond-haired, blue-eyed Europeans and Americans.

They felt that the existence of such a masterpiece of color in China must be like Jesus.

In 2012, the two countries were still so far apart, and everyone's understanding of each other was based on stereotypes.

The surge in interest in learning Chinese is not something that can be achieved overnight; it is the result of the gradual improvement of national strength.

When Luo Jinnian learned of this, he was still acting, and his scenes were almost in their final stages.

Having matured considerably after his previous experiences, he subtly tricked the thugs who approached him by giving his clothes to their rivals, and the thugs indeed attacked the wrong person.

Gu Yanxi, who plays the kind and gentle older sister, asked him curiously, "How do you know they hit people based on their clothes?"

"They don't know me. The only proof of me is this piece of clothing I'm wearing. The people who sent them to beat me up don't have a picture of me."

Gu Yanxi's performance on camera was surprisingly good. Although in reality, the child ice skating star played by Luo Jinnian was already famous all over the world, and his fans, according to the script, could easily surpass many A-list celebrities.

This sounds like it has a lot of flaws, but if you think about it carefully, there are many so-called "top celebrities" walking on the street, without spending money to hire people to support them, and no one cares about them at all.

After this scene, it was break time. Gu Yanxi picked up her water glass and gulped it down.

"Be careful not to drown."

Luo Jinnian gave a cheeky reminder.

"Childish." Gu Yanxi pouted. "Do you know how popular your essay 'The Road to Dawn' was overseas?"

"The editors at Science Fiction Vision just called me; they want me to submit my next article soon."

The editors were naturally anxious. Their early spring tea was now their signature product, and they would feel at ease if they could get the next issue's article sooner.

"Actually, they didn't just want to increase the magazine's sales; they also wanted me to quickly gather enough manuscripts for a collection of my science fiction works to publish."

The royalties from selling books are much higher; for an author like Luo Jinnian who already has a personal brand, it's more than the fixed fees from submitting to publications.

"Are you publishing a book?"

Gu Yanxi's eyes widened in shock. Knowing that his brother was submitting manuscripts was a completely different level from knowing that he was publishing a book. It was currently a winter for book publishing.

Moreover, this is someone whose book publishers actively offer to help publish. Nowadays, everyone who can publish a book is an outstanding person—not counting those who self-publish.

"However, we need at least seven or eight articles, otherwise it will be difficult to compile them into a book. Right now we only have two, which is still a long way off."

Fortunately, Science Fiction Vision is a semi-monthly publication, with two issues released each month. If it were a pure literature journal like Harvest or People's Literature... it would be better for him to just publish the book online rather than put together enough.

The reason why Luo Jinnian was in such a hurry was because by 2014, the number of journals in the country, which had already shrunk to 200, would be further reduced to about 100. This would mark the end of the bronze age of pure literature and the beginning of the endless Dharma-ending Age.

To be honest, Luo Jinnian had no obsession with pure literature. The core reason why he transmigrated to write pure literature was always very simple: he didn't have a computer, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to use it.

He can only earn a little money in this era by typing by hand, and today happens to be the day when the manuscript fee for Science Fiction Vision is paid out.

He has indeed saved up some living expenses and is already considering decorating his own little home.

He took a day off in the afternoon.

Uncle Qin, Fei Yuxi's younger sister, and his assistant accompanied him as he looked at apartments. "Are you sure you want to come out and rent an apartment so early?"

"Ice Love Song" will be finished soon, and Director Mo will immediately start filming the next online movie with Luo Jinnian as the credit.

Now that living away from home has become the norm, the seed of wanting a home has taken root in his heart. He has been looking at houses every day recently in order to settle down in the city.

Although it's a pretty good apartment in the city, Langya City is indeed poor, and a one-bedroom, one-living room apartment of 50 square meters only rents for 500 yuan a month.

Let those developed regions be envious.

From then on, Luo Jinnian had a home in this world. Fei Yuxi and his assistant were playing around on the bed, while Uncle Qin and Luo Jinnian exchanged a smile.

"How about hot pot for our housewarming party tonight?"

Before Luo Jinnian could speak, his assistant and Yu Xi took the initiative to make the decision for him.

In truth, Luo Jinnian suffers from a severe case of decision-making difficulties; everyone present has witnessed the terrifying extent to which he deliberates before making each decision.

"Then let's just eat in my rented room."

When Luo Jinnian moved in, he bought all the cooking utensils and other equipment.

In the living room of the new house, there were still a few unopened cardboard boxes piled up, and a string of warm yellow lights hung in the corner. Two adults and two children sat around a folding table, on which an induction cooker was bubbling away at a pot of red oil, the steam creating a thin layer of fog on the glass windows.

"Come on, the first toast must be to your housewarming!" Uncle Qin raised his beer can and added, "We adults can drink beer, you kids can only have soft drinks."

Even without him saying it, Luo Jinnian didn't like drinking beer; the bitterness of beer had always made him lose interest in it.

The four clinked glasses, the crisp sound mingling with the bubbling of the hot pot, instantly warming up the atmosphere.

The assistant opened a thermal bag and magically produced three plates of hand-cut beef, a dish of fresh duck blood, and a bunch of greens: "I queued for half an hour to buy these, you have to cook them properly for us today."

"My hot pot skills are a family tradition." Uncle Qin picked up a slice of beef and put it into the pot, his chopsticks gently shaking in the red oil. "Back then, my dad won over my mom with just one hot pot meal."

Because he was the boss, the assistant only dared to mutter under his breath, "Come on, the tripe you cooked last time was harder than a shoe sole." As he spoke, he picked up a piece of duck blood and prepared to throw it into the pot—but his hand slipped, and the whole plate of duck blood "splattered" into the pot, splashing the big director with boiling red oil.

"You fucking did that on purpose, didn't you?"

The two bickering lovers are at it again.

Luo Jinnian pinched Fei Yuxi's cheek, and the two children sat together and chatted quietly. Because he hadn't been back to school for a long time, he felt quite regretful listening to the girl's stories about school. He really enjoyed the carefree time on campus after returning.

"After I finish filming this play, I'll go back to school and rest for a few days."

He made up his mind; he missed his former deskmate, Little Fatty, Brother Yang, and his classmates.