Chapter 9

"Oh, right, what name do you plan to publish under? Just 'Wei Ming,' or will you take a pen name?" Lu Xiaoyan asks before they part.

Wei Ming feels it's best to separate children's works from other works. He thinks for a moment and says: "Let's call it 'Wei Shenme.' 'Wei' is my surname, and 'Shenme' is just that 'what'."

In his past life, he used this pen name when writing scripts.

"'Wei Shenme'~" Lu Xiaoyan recites it twice. "Easy to remember, catchy. Good, that's it!"

After entering the canteen, the three roommates are still waiting for him. Northern Qiao Feng didn't let them pry, so Mei Wenhua didn't ask again, but he hopes Wei Ming will confess on his own.

But after Wei Ming enters, he says nothing, just buries his head in eating; he needs to fill his body up as soon as possible.

Two steamed buns aren't enough, so he buys another one and eats it dipped in the pan-fried tofu broth.

After finishing his meal, he asks: "Brother Feng, what's the plan for the afternoon?"

Northern Qiao Feng: "Training, of course."

Training is a program for newcomers, with over a dozen people in total. Peking University actually doesn't need that many security guards; they are all temporary workers, a burden the government dumped on Peking University.

Brother Feng demands they meet standards stricter than university student military training, starting with standing in military posture for an hour.

As for the military training for Peking University freshmen, it's different from other schools; it waits until the summer vacation between freshman and sophomore year.

By the time training ends at six, everyone is tired and hungry. Wei Ming walks into the canteen almost entirely supported by Zhao Debiao.

"Seeing Biaozi, you truly deserve to have studied martial arts since childhood; you look like nothing happened." Wei Ming is full of admiration.

Zhao Debiao shows a confident smile: "What's this intensity? Our Coach Wu is much stricter than Captain Qiao."

"Coach Wu? Are you talking about Coach Wu Bin?"

"That's right. Even you have heard of his great name?!"

"Oh, I've seen it in the news," Wei Ming asks again, "Is there someone there named Li Lianjie who performed for the American President?"

"Yes, yes, yes, a small guy who went to America and met the one surnamed Ni. But whenever he sees me, he's always 'Brother Biao this, Brother Biao that.' At our Shichahai Sports School, that kind of small guy is popular. I grew too tall and strong later, so I wasn't suited for martial arts routines. Actually, I would have been better off switching to wrestling back then."

Speaking of his own martial arts path, Zhao Debiao is full of regret, so he urgently needs to seek comfort in the imaginary martial arts world.

He urges Wei Ming: "Right, Brother Ming, tell us another segment of 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils'."

"Where did I leave off?"

"Duan Zhengchun and Gan Baobao are having a secret meeting in Wanjie Valley..."

Mei Wenhua, who is trailing behind, hurriedly takes a few quick steps, not wanting to miss a single detail of this plot.

Only after hearing the later parts does he realize that Duan Yu is nothing; Duan Zhengchun is the true god!

Additionally, Brother Feng, who is leading in front, also slows his pace to walk in the same formation as them.

After dinner, everyone recovers, though their bodies are sticky.

Back in the dormitory, Zhao Debiao sees Wei Ming holding a washbasin: "Brother Ming, are you going to take a bath?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go together!"

"Sure. Wenhua, come along too." Wei Ming invites him sincerely.

Mei Wenhua shakes his head so hard it blurs, seemingly having some psychological barrier.

He wants to advise Wei Ming not to go, to avoid being crushed by this guy Zhao Debiao. He and Zhao Debiao joined on the same day, and on the first day, they showered together in the water room, only to be stimulated by Zhao Debiao.

However, he doesn't voice the warning. Instead, a minute later, he secretly runs to the water room, wanting to witness the moment Ma Xiaowei gets crushed.

As a result, he hears Zhao Debiao's heartfelt exclamation: "Brother Ming, you're too much of a beast!"

Wei Ming squints: "You're not bad yourself."

Zhao Debiao: "Haha, I thought I was invincible under heaven, but I didn't expect someone to be even more ferocious than me!" The two naked men, sympathizing with each other, pour water on themselves while talking about numbers like eighteen or twenty. Everyone else stays far away, and Mei Wenhua doesn't even shower; he just changes into casual clothes and leaves.

Too hurt!

After a cold shower, Wei Ming feels refreshed and prepares to go to Peking University's famous library to look around, while also thinking about what to write for his new work.

Fairy tales are just a small test of his skills; he ultimately hopes to write long novels, because the more words, the more manuscript fees.

As it turns out, although you can enter the library, you can barely see an empty seat.

After the '79 freshmen enrolled, the ratio of Peking University students to library seats reached 6:1, meaning one seat for every six students.

Peking University students are famously studious, and there is no entertainment nearby, so they all study and read at night, making seat-grabbing a major challenge.

As for the books inside, you can't borrow them without a library card; he isn't a student, so naturally, he doesn't have one.

So, beside a bookshelf, Wei Ming leans against the wall and starts reading this year's literary magazines. These cannot be borrowed and can only be read in the reading room.

Beside him are two other boys about his age, likely classmates; one holds "Contemporary," the other holds "October," discussing things from time to time.

These two journals are from Yanjing; "October" was founded last year and belongs to the Yanjing Publishing House, while "Contemporary" was founded this year and is under the People's Literature Publishing House.

!

What Wei Ming holds in his hand is also a new magazine called "Qingming," hosted by the Anhui Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

This first issue became a hit based on the representative work of reflection literature, "Legend of Tianyun Mountain." The magazine was published in July and was already worn out by September; later, it was adapted into a film by the great director Xie Jin.

Currently, the most popular genres in the literary world are reflection literature, scar literature, and educated youth literature. These are new schools of thought that emerged after the torrent, reflecting the preferences of literary enthusiasts during this period.

Wei Ming finishes reading Lu Yanzhou's "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" in its entirety and compares it with the film version by Director Xie in his memory, simply flipping through the other articles.

Standing for a while makes him tired, and it's getting late, so he simply returns to the dormitory, but there isn't a single person there.

Brother Feng went to find his wife, Seeing Biaozi went to play basketball, and he doesn't know where Mei Wenhua went.

Taking this opportunity, Wei Ming gets on the bed, preparing to write something, but before he can decide what to write, Northern Qiao Feng pushes the door open and enters.

"You're back, Ma Xiaowei."

"Yeah, just got back."

"What are you doing lying on the bed? Writing a letter home?"

"Yeah~"

Brother Feng wipes the sweat from his forehead. After a while, he hands something to Wei Ming.

"Ah? A desk lamp?"

Northern Qiao Feng tosses it to him: "It's better to have more light when writing."

Just after lending his desk lamp to Wei Ming, Northern Qiao Feng goes out again and brings him a low table from next door.

"Pair it with this; isn't it much more comfortable?"

Sitting on the bed to write is indeed much better than lying down. Wei Ming thanks him sincerely, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Brother Feng, actually, I wasn't writing a letter home."

"I knew it, you're writing a love letter, right!" Northern Qiao Feng says firmly. "It's not like there aren't tables in the room; I knew there was something strange about you hiding things."

Wei Ming laughs: "It's not a love letter either; I'm writing a novel."

"Writing a novel?" Northern Qiao Feng is stunned for a moment, then racks his brain to encourage him: "Good, you have ambition! I believe that one day you will definitely succeed. I'll be waiting to see your work in magazines and newspapers."

Wei Ming continues to confess: "Actually, I've already had some success. Auntie Xiaoyan came to see me today because my article was accepted by their magazine."

Under Brother Feng's dumbfounded expression, Wei Ming continues: "It will be published this month..."

(End of chapter)