The literary era since 1979

Chapter 290: Committing a crime against the odds
The next day, early in the morning.

Yu Hua yawned continuously, opened the door, and ran into Fangyan who was carrying an aluminum lunch box.

"Morning, Teacher Fang."

"Look at you, did you not sleep last night?"

Fangyan looked him up and down and saw that his hair was messy, his eyes were dark, and his face was tired, as if he had stayed up all night.

Yu Hua did not hide the fact that he forgot the time when he read Selected Novels of Kafka and ended up staying awake all night.

"This is not okay."

Fangyan held up the aluminum lunch box, which contained breakfast for two people, and said, "After you finish eating, go back and have a good sleep."

"Thank you, Teacher Fang."

"No need to thank me for such a small thing."

"Not only this, but also your recommendation of Kafka's novels to me. How can I describe it? It's really amazing!"

"It seems that you have gained a lot of insights from Kafka."

"Yes, yes, yes. I didn't realize it before I saw it, but after I saw it, I realized that I was trapped by Kawabata Yasunari."

Yu Hua was very excited, "It was Kafka who liberated my mind! It was you who saved my literary life!"

"No, not really."

Fangyan waved his hand, then went to his room and put the aluminum lunch box on the table.

One box contains scallion stew, one box contains pot stickers, and two boxes contain tofu pudding.

Yu Hua said as he ate, "Teacher Fang, I finally understand why you said that if you read Kafka a few more times, you will know that his magical realism fits the Chinese writing and narrative." After tasting the tofu brain, he asked, "Is it because Kafka is good at writing about dreams?"

You passed!
The dialect reveals a smiling face that means "this young boy is teachable".

"Many of Kafka's novels, if you read them carefully, are actually huge dreams, including his "A Country Doctor" and "The Metamorphosis", which are like imitations of dreams. In the narrative of gods, demons, and fantasy in our Chinese classical literature, dreams are used to describe them. Dream of the Red Chamber, The Yellow Millet Dream, and even Peach Blossom Spring are all dreams of Tao Yuanming."

Yu Hua readily agreed that Peach Blossom Spring was indeed a magical dream.

"Generally speaking, any literary genre or trend is the product of a special background and cultural soil."

Fangyan said seriously: "The same is true for magic realism. When we absorb these imported techniques, once they are separated from the long-standing cultural traditions, life experiences, and aesthetic standards of our local area, these seemingly avant-garde techniques of Western literature will easily fail to adapt to the local environment and will not be accepted by readers."

Yu Hua suddenly realized: "No wonder you asked me to read Kafka instead of Marquez."

Fang Yan smiled and said, “So, what do you think about The Seventh Night now?”

Yu Hua said that he wanted to see the world from the perspective of a dead soul, and changed it into a dream of a living person before death, just like the soul leaving the body.

"A revolving lantern before death, right?"

According to the dialect, we can refer to the mythological novels such as "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" and use the concepts of reincarnation, the underworld, and samsara.

Yu Hua blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Let me give you an example. A firefighter died while trying to rescue a girl during a firefighting incident."

"So, his soul was invited to the underworld, and the Black and White Impermanence explained to him the rules of reincarnation on the way."

Fangyan slowly said that he would review his life in hell and accept the judgment of the King of Hell.

Each level of hell has specific judgment standards. Only by passing the judgment of the King of Hell can the dead have the opportunity to be reborn innocently.

For example, the first level, the Hell of Tongue-Pulling, is where anyone who uses his mouth to sow discord among people, uses lies to achieve his own goals, or even uses lies to deceive others, will have his tongue clamped with iron pliers if he fails to pass the trial.

This firefighter has been writing letters to the daughter of his deceased colleague, pretending to be a father and pretending to be still alive in order to deceive the little girl.

But because it was a white lie, he passed the trial.

Then there is the Mirror of Sin Hell and the Pool of Blood Hell...

There are seven levels in total, which means you will be reborn after seven nights.

"That is, this absurd and magical trial is used to write about the life of this firefighter!" Yu Hua's eyes lit up, "and the real world when this firefighter was alive!"

"The initial trial makes the readers think that he is a kind and filial son, but there are actually many unknown secrets hidden behind it."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "As for how to write next, it depends on you."

Can I take control of it by myself?

Yu Hua was stunned. Teacher Fang, the water is too deep here. I can’t grasp it!

"It depends on what kind of story you want to write in the end? Tragedy? Comedy? Tragicomedy?"

Teaching in dialect, "Do you want to continue with your usual violence, or add a ray of warmth and sunshine to this cold world..."

“It has to be a tragedy!”

Yu Hua said firmly: "Hehe, just like you said, leave the sadness to the readers and keep the happiness for yourself."

"You've made progress, kid."

Fangyan said that he would take advantage of the few days he was in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to help him think about the new outline of "The Seventh Night".

"Teacher Fang."

Yu Hua was stunned. "You want to leave Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

"Yes, in a few days, I will go to Shanghai with the crew of Dream of Red Mansions to select actors."

Fang Yan asked, "But if you want to come, you can go together. It depends on whether you are willing or not."

………………

During their stay in Hangzhou, the crew of Dream of Red Mansions visited Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Art Academy and other institutions.

He Saifei who played "Yang Jiuhong", Tao Huimin who played "Xiao Baicai", He Qing who played "Xiao Qiao", Ru Ping who played "Shangguan Wan'er"...

All were recorded on video and put on the candidate list.

Afterwards, everyone had to rush to Shanghai without any delay.

After Fang Yan settled Yu Hua down, he immediately used the guesthouse's phone to call the Shanghai Film Studio, specifically asking for Gong Xing.

The two still exchanged secret codes as "cousin" and "cousin" and agreed to meet at Huangpu Park. At this time, although it was during the crackdown period and the social environment was tense, love could still bloom in the corner.

Bold couples dating can be seen everywhere, even a woman lying on a boulder with a man snuggling up to her.

If they were caught by the auxiliary management officers and the police, they would be taken back to the police station and interrogated to determine whether they were having an improper relationship between a man and a woman.

Fang Yan and Gong Xing hid in the grove and talked to each other from the bottom of their hearts.

"Here's the movie ticket for Under the Bridge. Keep it here."

"Is my seat next to yours?"

"You'll know when you go there."

"I will be there on time!"

"That's pretty much it."

Gong Xing quickly dodged his hand and glared at him, "Don't mess around, or I'll catch you as a hooligan."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "I haven't done anything more outrageous yet."

Gong Xing spat in shame, but his hands remained obedient and he allowed himself to be held, with their fingers intertwined.

"Did you listen to the tape I gave you?"

Fangyan asked, "Do you like it?"

Gong Xing turned his head away and said, "Don't think that a tape can make me forget that you haven't written to me for so long!"

Then he whispered, "Don't you miss me?"

Fang Yan sighed: "Oh, how could that be? I miss you when I'm busy, and I only think of you when I'm free."

"A man's mouth is a liar."

"Why did I lie to you?"

"In the past, people would give away handwritten poems, but now they only give away songs sung by others. What do you think?"

"So, you want to hear what I write, right?"

"do you have?"

"Of course, but first you must tell me what the answer to my letter is."

"..."

Gong Xing snorted and turned his head back.

The moment their eyes met, their lips moved faster and lasted for a very long time, as if to make up for the time they had spent apart.

Gong Xing's mind was blank. He was confused by the many varieties of the dialect and was deeply absorbed in it.

Then, he emptied his internal organs one by one.

The breeze blew gently, ruffling the leaves, making a rustling sound in the grove, and shielding the couple under the tree.

"You, you're going to die!"

Gong Xing was frightened like a little deer, looking around, fearing that someone would discover Fang Yan's rash behavior.

Fang Yan stared at her and said, "Now you should know whether I lied to you or not, right?"

Seeing him hugging her boldly, Gong Xing gave up resisting, "If you do this again in public, I'll be angry."

Fang Yan jokingly said, “That means just close the door and it will be fine, hehehe.”

"Bah bah bah!"

Gong Xing bumped his head against his shoulder, slowly calmed down, and asked about his life in Hong Kong and the United States.

Fangyan hid nothing and told everyone, including the matter of buying a house in Hong Kong.

"Money-grubber!" Gong Xing said softly.

Fang Yan smiled and said, "Just tell me if it's stylish enough?"

Gong Xing buried his head in his chest, "Enough!"

Just as the two were being affectionate, suddenly, the screams of pairs of star-crossed mandarin ducks were heard in the park.

"The police are here!"

"What are you yelling about? Come out and stop hiding."

"Put your hands up!"

"What's your relationship? Do you have your ID?"

A group of police officers and management assistants swarmed in and caught all the couples dating in Huangpu Park.

The same thing happened to Fang Yan and Gong Xing. When the flashlights shone on them, they reluctantly separated.

The leading police officer frowned, "What are you doing here, a man and a woman alone?"

Fang Yan said: "Don't get me wrong, we are dating."

The middle-aged man looked left and right, and exclaimed, "Aren't you the actor 'Gong Xing'?"

"it's me!"

In front of everyone, Gong Xing said firmly: "Comrade police officer, this is my partner!"

Everyone present widened their eyes, as if they had discovered something incredible!
Fang Yan and Gong Xing looked at each other and took out their ID cards.

"I'm Fangyan, and I'm her boyfriend!"

"Are you Teacher Fang?!"

When everyone saw his ID, they just found it weird and interesting.

Oh my goodness! This is incredible, big news!

(End of this chapter)