Upon hearing this question, Wang Zixu said in his heart, here we come.

He thought about this question many times in his mind and rehearsed many decent ways to answer it, but in the end he couldn't convince himself.

In short, it’s not easy to answer, let alone not answer.

Pu Yuyang played with the stirring rod in the paper cup with his fingers and stared at him playfully.

"Others submit from high to low, but you submit from low to high. I think our magazine is much better than "Ancient City". The reputation and circulation are all slightly higher," Pu Yuyang said.

While gesturing, this book will lose the Korean market, "Why are you doing the opposite?"

Wang Zixu said: "I know it's a bit strange to do this."

"No, I'm not saying you're weird," Pu Yuyang said, "I just don't understand it. I'm just curious. I just want to have a chat. Can you...explain it?"

Pu Yuyang is an interesting person. She said she doesn’t think Wang Zixu is strange. But if Wang Zixu is not strange, then there is only one explanation for his behavior: he looks down on "Getting".

Wang Zixu waved his hands repeatedly: "I misunderstood. In fact, it is my dream to be able to publish a manuscript in "Get"."

"Then why didn't you give wings to your dreams from the beginning?"

"Because I... broke my wings."

"puff."

Pu Yuyang laughed out loud, then sat upright, placing his hands flat on the table like a primary school student:

"Be serious, my question is very serious. Depending on your answer, we may even withdraw yesterday's conditions."

"No," Wang Zixu said, "I thought "Acquisition" only looked at the quality of the manuscript."

"The quality of the manuscript is the first priority, but we also pay close attention to the author's own thoughts." After saying this, she may have realized that her statement was a bit official, so she simply made it clear:

"To tell you the truth, I heard that your manuscript had been submitted to "The Ancient City" in the middle of the night yesterday. No one else wanted it, so it was submitted to us. Let me describe my feelings at that time: cardiopulmonary arrest."

Wang Zixu pursed his lips and asked, "Who told you about this?"

Pu Yuyang's expression was slightly hesitant, and then he said: "Don't worry about it. We editors have our own communication channels. Normally we will not communicate with the author in this situation, but because I know you and know you a little bit,

That’s why I specifically wanted to talk about this matter openly and honestly.

"Do you remember? When we were talking about life and ideals, you said you wanted to be a pure writer. I still hear your words and admire them very much. But do you still have the sincerity you had back then?"

Wang Zixu pursed his lips.

Talking about the past is the exclusive right of middle-aged and elderly people, but talking about the future is the privilege of young people. Ten years ago, it was after Chen Qingluo left. He and several classmates gathered together in the study room and talked about the future.

The other students all talked about their favorite majors, universities, jobs, and even what kind of person they would marry and how many children they would have. Only Wang Zixu was particularly aloof.

He said, "In the back alleys, I have a basket of food and a ladle of drink, but no one knows where I am. I will not change my joy, but write novels for the rest of my life. That is my wish."

These words sounded so pretentious to some people that Xie Cong hated him so much that they forged a ten-year relationship. Pu Yuyang was also present at the time and said, "Wang Zixu, you are so awesome. You really have your own dream."

Okay, I don't know what I want to do.

Nowadays, people who don’t know what they want to do are sitting in the editorial office of "Acquisition", holding the power of life and death to "not change their joy". It is a bit ironic no matter how you say it.

Pu Yuyang tilted his head and asked, "Is it difficult to tell the reason?"

The prince shook his head.

"No matter what the reason is, at least give me an explanation," Pu Yuyang lowered his voice and said, "I came all the way here. You should believe that we attach great importance to you and don't want any disagreements to arise over this matter."

Wang Zixu knew that Pu Yuyang had traveled all the way south by train and had warmed up for a long time to heighten the atmosphere here, certainly not just to talk to him about life and ideals.

Their editorial department must have misunderstood him.

He didn't know what she thought of him, and he didn't want to know what she thought. There were always all kinds of hidden rules and thin red lines in submitting articles, and he was tired of it.

He decided to tell the truth.

"Actually," he said after considering the sentence for a moment, "the version I sent to "The Ancient City" is different from the current version and has been significantly revised."

Pu Yuyang drank coffee: "Well, a responsible author should indeed be like this. Your explanation is..."

"I revised it a total of 23 times."

"23 times?!" Pu Yuyang almost choked on a sip of coffee and coughed violently.

It took a long time for her cough to subside, and she clapped her chest and said, "You revised 600,000 words 23 times? It's not a full-text revision, right?"

"The full text has been revised 23 times, and there are countless partial revisions."

Pu Yuyang was stunned: "Is it the revision suggestions given to you by "The Ancient City"?"

Wang Zixu continued: "They didn't provide me with any revision suggestions. I had already revised it 14 times. After it was rejected by "The Ancient City", I revised it 6 more times, and then it was rejected by "Yangtze River". Then, I

After revising it three times, I submitted it to you. I have saved each version of the manuscript and can show you the differences."

"No, no, no, I believe you." Pu Yuyang said quickly, and then asked, "Why do you have to revise it so many times?"

"Because...I am as timid as a mouse."

"ah?"

"Pu Yuyang, I have to admit to you that I did not just eat and drink in the back alleys and just write. In fact, like ordinary people, I found a stable job, fell in love, got married, and assumed social responsibilities.

"I don't dare to live a life that is different from most people. The huge uncertainty of survival surrounds me. I only dare to live along the path of my parents and the people around me, because I am as timid as a mouse.

"But why am I so timid? Because my efforts are not rewarded. Do you still remember the essay competition held by our school in the second year of high school? I stayed up for three all-nighters, and the essay I wrote did not win any awards, but finally won the first prize.

He is the son of the grade director.

"I have submitted articles to "Get" before, and I have submitted articles to many well-known magazines, but I have not heard back. I can only attribute it to my lack of hard work, so I read more books and stayed up all night.

If 3 revisions are not enough, revise it 5 times; if 5 revisions are not enough, revise it 10 times. While I am as timid as a mouse, I am also as stubborn as a donkey."

Pu Yuyang was silent for a long time and said: "Zizixu, believe me, I understand your mood very, completely and thoroughly. Every writer has more or less similar thoughts. The most important thing about literature is persistence. Wait until later..."

Wang Zixu said: "So Shi Tonghe recommended me to contribute to "The Ancient City", so I submitted to them."

"Ah?" Pu Yuyang was stunned again, "Did Shi Tonghe recommend you to go?"

Wang Zixu took the risk and said: "I confess, I may have offended Shi Tonghe. He used some small tricks, which caused my manuscript to hit a wall in "The Ancient City", and "Yangtze River" also did not accept it. I'm worried

You took into account Shi Tonghe's influence and refused to accept my manuscript, so you didn't want to say it before. This is the situation. I have told the truth, and you can reconsider my manuscript."

"You underestimated our "Acquisition". Even Shi Tonghe will not affect our manuscript selection." A voice came from behind.

…

When Lu Qingxuan saw Duan Xiaosang the next day, there seemed to be a delicate despair on his face that could not be modified by fairy water or concealer.

"So it's a failure?"

"Um."

"After waiting for two or three days, it failed so simply?"

"What else should we do?" Lu Qingxuan Xiaoxiong spread his hands.

Duan Xiaosang rubbed his forehead: "You are classmates and there is still a chance to meet, so don't give up so easily, right?"

"I've already had a showdown with her. Now that she's on guard, it will be difficult to get anything out of her in the future." Lu Qingxuan lied.

Last night, she tentatively sent a message to Du Kezhu. She thought she wouldn't get a reply, but she didn't expect that not only did she reply to her, but she also talked for a long time. It seems that their friendship has not been affected at all, and even their relationship has not been affected.

We are even slightly closer.

Lu Qingxuan said this just because she didn't want Duan Xiaosang to start from Du Kezhu again and make it difficult for her. Duan Xiaosang sighed: "Then it seems that we can only start from another direction. Some time ago, "Shuya Rantan"

" published an exclusive interview with the Little Prince. The account owner is Zhang Wei, who is quite famous in the publishing circle. Starting from him, we may be able to find some clues."

Hearing the word "exclusive interview", Lu Qingxuan seemed to be touched by certain memories, but she couldn't recall the details.

She asked: "Sister Xiao Sang, why are you so persistent in looking for the little prince? There are so many excellent authors in the world, and you will definitely be able to discover a lot with your discerning eye. Why do you have to look for the illusory little prince?"

Duan Xiaosang sighed: "You're still asking me? In the final analysis, it's not for your cousin."

"My cousin? Xiao Mengyin? Aren't she and the little prince indifferent?"

Lu Qingxuan tilted her head and expressed confusion. After Xiao Mengyin’s last popular article that compared herself with The Little Prince hit the screen, her response was neither salty nor bland, which meant that she didn’t want to be compared. The evaluation in the literary circle was actually

It's quite beneficial to her.

In people's eyes, no matter how popular Little Prince is, he will always be kitsch and cannot compare to Xiao Mengyin who writes pure literature. Therefore, although Little Prince has many fans, his support for Xiao Mengyin in terms of public opinion is far inferior.

This situation is relatively sensitive, and the fans of Little Prince must be holding their breath. If the two fans quarrel, it may cause some trouble. Xiao Mengyin should avoid Little Prince, maintain the aloofness of his personality, and try his best to avoid Little Prince.

Don't get involved, don't touch the powder keg.

Duan Xiaosang said: "On the surface, I really don't deal with it, but in fact, it is precisely because I don't deal with it that I want to establish a personal relationship, so as not to... forget it, this is an adult matter, you don't have to worry about it as a child.

.”

Lu Qingxuan pouted.

Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration and said: "I remembered, why don't you go to Wang Zixu?"

"who?"

"Zizixu, Wang Zixu from our magazine." Lu Qingxuan said, "I remembered that last time someone asked him for the little prince's contact information and wanted to schedule an exclusive interview. He readily agreed. Although I don't know if he fulfilled it later.

, but he may indeed have the little prince’s contact information.”
To be continued...