Chapter 196 My Life Has Another Me
Liu Jiazhen couldn't help but laugh.
Liu Jiazhen said, "When I was writing novels at home before, my parents said the same thing, saying that I never went out and had no friends, and wondered if I had depression."
Mingyin sighed: "So we've all encountered this problem before."
Liu Jiazhen: "People who engage in this kind of creative work will more or less encounter this situation."
Mingyin turned to look at Lu Yanhe, smiled, and said, "Big star, do you find it hard to understand us in this matter?"
Lu Yanhe nodded honestly, "I've never had this kind of experience before."
“But I can still understand that feeling,” Lu Yanhe said. “When I was reading ‘Star Orbit,’ there was an illustrator who spent most of her time alone. Even though she worked and drew every day, her family saw her as someone who did nothing at home and was lazy. They didn’t understand her work and even thought she didn’t need to live in a big city and could go home. When I read that part, I wondered if it reflected your feelings, Mingyin.”
Mingyin nodded in surprise and said, "You really did read my novel carefully."
“I really like it,” Lu Yanhe said.
"I thought you preferred crime thrillers."
“I like crime thrillers, and I also really like other well-written novels,” Lu Yanhe said. “I like all kinds of stories. I loved listening to stories when I was a child, and now that I’m older, I look for stories myself, stories that I like.”
The three of them stood at the door chatting for a while, when Xu Xiaoyin came over again.
She saw the three of them standing together again and laughed.
“Perfect timing, since all three of you are here, I don’t need to ask each of you individually. Our publishing house is planning to film a documentary about this book fair. The original plan was to just record the event without interviews, but the editor-in-chief just decided to include some interview segments. I wonder if you could arrange that? This documentary will only be shown as behind-the-scenes footage on some of our Jiangyin Publishing House’s media accounts, without any other promotion.”
Lu Yanhe glanced at the two writers, smiled, nodded, and said, "I have no problem."
As an artist, he naturally needs exposure of all sizes at this stage.
Liu Jiazhen and Mingyin hesitated instead.
“I feel extremely nervous in front of the camera,” Mingyin said. “I was very nervous last time I was in Lu Yanhe’s live broadcast room.”
Liu Jiazhen nodded, "Me too."
Xu Xiaoyin clearly knows her two "socially awkward" authors very well. She said with a smile, "How about we give it a try first? If it really doesn't work, we won't let this interview segment appear in the final cut, okay? The main thing is that many of your readers are also looking forward to seeing you."
Mingyin: "Alright then."
"Yes." Liu Jiazhen nodded as well.
-
The book fair opened promptly at 9:30 a.m.
In the lobby on the first floor, there is information about the event schedules of various publishing houses, writers, and celebrity guests.
Li Pengfei squeezed through the crowd and quickly found information about Jiangyin Publishing House.
"On the fifth floor! Lao Lu has a presentation at ten o'clock," Li Pengfei said, turning to everyone.
As soon as he finished speaking, a girl next to him exclaimed in surprise, "Lu Yanhe is actually here today!"
Her companion immediately asked with delight, "Really? Where is he? I want to see him!"
"On the fifth floor, in half an hour."
"Let's go to the fifth floor first!"
"Uh-huh."
The two girls chatted happily as they squeezed through the crowd and went upstairs.
"Oh my, that celebrity who scored over 600 on the college entrance exam is here today too." A mother who brought her child saw Lu Yanhe's name and her eyes lit up instantly. "He has a sharing session at ten o'clock. Come on, let's go listen to his speech first. He got such good grades, you should listen carefully!"
The child's face instantly scrunched up like a bitter gourd.
"No! I'm going to see Jiangshan!"
"Jiang Shan's book signing lasts two hours, we have enough time! Let's go to Lu Yanhe's first!" Mom dragged her away without saying another word.
Similar conversations are happening simultaneously.
...
Li Pengfei blinked in surprise and turned to Lin Yu and the others, saying, "It seems that Lao Lu doesn't need us to back him up at all."
Chen Qin rolled his eyes and said, "I told you long ago, he's very famous now, he doesn't need us to support him at all."
Li Pengfei: "Why don't you increase your old classmate's popularity a bit?"
“I didn’t say it was impossible. I just said you underestimated Lu Yanhe,” Chen Qin said, spreading his hands.
Lin Yu: "Let's go up. It looks like there will be a lot of people at the Jiangyin Publishing House booth later. Let's hurry up and grab a good spot, otherwise we might not be able to see Lu Yanhe."
Li Pengfei: "Have Chen Qin pick you up and let you sit on Chen Qin's shoulders to look at it."
Lin Yu: "..."
Chen Qin: "..."
Chen Siqi found Li Pengfei's words amusing, but she was too embarrassed to laugh out loud, so she turned her head away and looked to the other side.
-
The exhibition hall of Jiangyin Publishing House is very large, occupying nearly half of the fifth floor.
There were both book booths and a book signing table.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing is the stage placed in the middle.
This small stage is backed by a high wall, and a large electronic screen is displayed on it, showing the schedule of Jiangyin Publishing House's activities for today.
The site is already operational.
The area responsible for selling books at the book fair gradually attracted a large number of people.
People also gathered around the stage.
Five rows of seats were placed in front of the stage, each with a nameplate. These seats were for the publisher, as well as invited media and partners.
When Lu Yanhe arrived at the scene, led by Xu Mingyue, it immediately caused a burst of cheers and screams.
He didn't style himself at all today, dressed a little more formally, in black trousers and a white shirt, looking fresh and sunny.
However, this scene sparked discussion among some media professionals.
He wasn't wearing any makeup today.
"Yeah, but he's still handsome. It's good to be young; he's handsome even without makeup."
Nineteen years old, what a memorable age.
We're almost thirty.
"However, isn't Lu Yanhe's collaboration with Jiangyin Publishing House a bit too close? I was already surprised when he helped two authors from Jiangyin Publishing House sell their books before, and now he's even here at the book fair."
"People are now taking this cultural route, it's a win-win situation."
Why are you making people sound so materialistic? Couldn't they just genuinely love reading?
"Why would someone who loves reading go to a live stream to read? Isn't it just to let others see that they're reading?"
...
These discussions reached Lu Yanhe's ears intermittently.
He was sitting in the front row and heard these voices, but he kept his expression unchanged.
As an artist, he found himself hearing these kinds of comments more and more often.
Everyone has their own interpretation of everything he does, and they firmly believe in their own interpretation.
The cultural figure route?
Lu Yanhe really wanted to make it clear to these people that he had never considered taking this route.
How could a nineteen-year-old boy choose such a path for himself?
But thinking about it, there's not much to explain.
Explanations are useless.
Chen Ziyan had already told him this.
He himself didn't know.
It's not like they really don't understand the entertainment industry.
"Yan He, are you okay?" Mingyin, who was sitting to his right, suddenly asked.
Lu Yanhe snapped out of his daze, looked at Mingyin and smiled, "Hmm?"
"Did you hear those people talking about you behind you?" Mingyin asked softly.
A look of worry appeared on her face.
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "It's nothing."
"It seems your job involves many difficult situations that we haven't experienced," Mingyin said with a soft laugh. "Do we often hear similar comments in your work environment?"
"I wouldn't say often, just occasionally, but that's nothing. I do a job where I have to face a lot of people's opinions and judgments." Lu Yanhe said this, actually trying to comfort himself, "I have to convince myself to accept it."
Liu Jiazhen heard the two of them whispering, peeked over, and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Mingyin shook her head. "It's nothing."
At this moment, the host walked onto the stage and reminded everyone that the book fair activities were about to begin.
-
"It's about to start!" Chen Qin turned around and glanced at the host who appeared on the stage, and said to Lin Yu, who was still browsing the book market. Upon hearing this, Lin Yu tugged at Chen Siqi and said, "Let's go over there."
Li Pengfei had already secured the best spot for them, closest to the stage.
Seeing the three of them approach, Li Pengfei complained, "Where did you guys go? You were so slow."
Lin Yu said, "We just browsed around the bookstalls over there. Didn't Yan He recommend a few books before? I'm planning to buy some and take them home to read."
"Do you have time to read now? You seemed to have a hard time coming out today, weren't you preparing for your competition?"
“We always need to rest; we can’t keep preparing for competitions all the time,” Chen Qin said immediately.
Lin Yu: "Yes, we always need to rest."
Li Pengfei was a little disappointed that Xu Zijun couldn't attend the book fair today because she had to tutor a student.
Otherwise, Xu Zijun should really like this place.
She is also a person who loves reading.
Li Pengfei decided to buy her a few books.
Among the authors who came for book signings today, besides relatively new writers like Liu Jiazhen and Mingyin, there were also several nationally renowned authors. Xu Zijun prefers reading traditional literary works, and Li Pengfei plans to buy a signed set of books by these renowned authors to take home today.
"Where is Lu Yanhe?" Chen Qin asked.
Li Pengfei pointed to a spot on the right side of the first row, "It's over there."
“Oh, I see.” Chen Qin sighed. “Right after graduating from high school, it felt like he and we were from two different worlds. We were still waiting for our college admission notices and curious about our future college life, but Lu Yanhe had already stepped into the adult world.”
Lin Yu smiled calmly and said, "We all have to enter the adult world. He entered it a little earlier, and we entered it a little later, but we are still in the same world. We shouldn't feel like we are separated from him by a world just because of a temporary difference."
"Look at your girlfriend, her awareness and magnanimity are amazing. Then look at you." Li Pengfei gave Chen Qin a disdainful look. "Have some self-respect, Chen Qin."
Chen Qin took a deep breath in anger.
Chen Siqi glanced at Lin Yu thoughtfully.
The words Lin Yu just said were calm and mature, unlike what people their age would say.
Lin Yu is the top liberal arts student at No. 13 Middle School this year, and also ranks among the top ten in Yuming City. She was previously the class monitor and has always had excellent grades. She is a star student at school and receives a lot of attention.
Chen Siqi had heard of Lin Yu's calmness and composure beyond her years, but hearing these words in person today still surprised her.
Compared to her, Chen Siqi felt that her feigned maturity seemed much more "pretentious."
That's not true maturity.
At this point, after the publisher's introduction, the person on the stage began to introduce Lu Yanhe.
"Reading is an indispensable part of everyone's life. This summer, we all got to know a young man named Lu Yanhe. He has many identities. Before June this year, he was a senior high school student. Before that, he was an idol artist who debuted at the age of fifteen. After the college entrance examination, he became an actor and just finished filming a new movie directed by Luo Yuzhong. Under his multiple identities, he is also a reader who loves reading. Many people know that because of his recommendation in his live broadcast, the two books we published, 'Nineteen Years of Crime Records' and 'Star Orbit,' entered various bestseller lists. He once said in his live broadcast that reading is a kind of rest for him. Today, we are very happy to invite him to the scene to share with everyone about reading. Please welcome Lu Yanhe."
"Whoa—" Li Pengfei suddenly clasped his hands together, put them in front of his mouth, and cheered loudly.
There were many people applauding, but his shout was so loud, even shocking, that many people turned their attention away from Lu Yanhe, who had stood up, and looked at Li Pengfei instead.
Lu Yanhe also looked over in surprise.
When he saw that it was Li Pengfei and his group, he showed a surprised expression and waved to them.
Li Pengfei also waved back excitedly.
With so many eyes on him, Chen Qin felt so embarrassed he wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.
Chen Siqi felt the same way.
She glanced at Lin Yu and saw that beneath Lin Yu's feigned composure, a hint of embarrassment was hard to hide, so Chen Siqi breathed a sigh of relief.
-
Lu Yanhe walked onto the stage and took the microphone from the host.
"Hi everyone, good morning. I'm Lu Yanhe. It's a pleasure to meet you all here today."
Lu Yanhe greeted everyone with a smile, but belatedly realized he was a little nervous in front of hundreds of people.
“Those people were my high school classmates. I didn’t know they would come today, so it was a pleasant surprise. Don’t sneak away, I’ll come find you later,” Lu Yanhe said to Li Pengfei and the others.
The others looked at them again.
Li Pengfei smiled broadly (foolishly).
Lu Yanhe withdrew his gaze. "Actually, I was quite apprehensive when I received this invitation, because I'm only nineteen years old. If it weren't for my status as an artist, I'm afraid no one would want to hear me talk about such a serious topic as reading."
Everyone laughed good-naturedly.
Including those in the media.
"However, after thinking about it, it's actually quite good. Some people ask me to sing, some ask me to act, and now some people even ask me to talk to people about how to study and how to do well on exams. You might find it hard to believe, but some tutoring institutions have even asked me to be their spokesperson," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Lu Yanhe waited two seconds until the laughter subsided before continuing, "But no one will ask me to talk about reading, which I regret because reading is a very important part of my life. I'm not saying this because it's a book fair, but because reading has special meaning for me. That's why I dared to come here and risk being ridiculed by many people for 'why are you standing here' to share the meaning of reading to me."
Lu Yanhe could see that everyone's expressions were gradually becoming serious.
"During my senior year of high school, I worked incredibly hard because my foundation was terrible. But I wanted to get into a good university, so I had to go all out and give it my all. In that state, I experienced many things I never expected, unrelated to the exam, but related to myself. When I was so sleepy that my eyelids felt like they couldn't stay open, I asked myself what the meaning of getting into a good university really was. When I was questioned and ridiculed, I asked myself why I couldn't give up and become mediocre. When facing many difficulties that I can't explain in detail now, I asked myself if I could achieve a good result through perseverance and not compromising. If not, what would I do?"
"This is the question I asked myself as a senior high school student. Others probably have similar questions for themselves?"
“But where can we find the answers? Not every question can be answered immediately,” Lu Yanhe said. “After the college entrance examination, one day, I went to a bookstore with a friend. I didn’t really know what books had been published recently or what books were worth reading. I just wandered around the bookstore aimlessly and picked out a few books based on my interests. One of them was ‘Nineteen Years of Criminal Records’.”
The live broadcast camera suddenly switched to Liujia Town at this moment.
Liu Jiazhen's face appeared on the large screen behind Lu Yanhe.
Liu Jiazhen saw his own face and looked surprised.
Lu Yanhe glanced back at the large screen and laughed, "Yes, it's the book written by this teacher from Liujia Town. Perhaps saying this will give you the wrong impression that I'm going to say that reading this book helped me find the answers to my questions, but actually, no, that's not the case."
“My mind was filled with too many questions, but at that moment, I started reading ‘Nineteen Years of Crime Records.’ I devoured it in one go, and then I completely entered another state. Simply put, I temporarily forgot about myself,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “It was as if I had another perspective. While reading ‘Nineteen Years of Crime Records,’ I looked back at myself over the past year in between reading. The frustration, depression, and unresolved emotions that I had experienced throughout my senior year of high school seemed to have been removed from me.”
"Reading is the key to entering a world that is unrelated to ourselves. We can boldly cast aside all our concerns and enter a new world."
"I'm not saying that reading can reduce our troubles. In fact, after entering a new world, perhaps like landing on the moon, everyone who has stepped from Earth to the moon can't help but look back at what Earth looks like. In every book, I feel like I've entered a new world, yet I repeatedly see my own life, the shadow of my past." Lu Yanhe gripped the microphone tightly. "Will you think I'm contradicting myself? One minute I say it allows me to temporarily forget myself, the next I say it allows me to see myself. Please believe me, this is the only description I can think of right now that truly expresses my feelings."
Xu Xiaoyin and Liu Cheng were both standing on the side of the stage.
They were initially focused on the subsequent work processes, but without realizing it, they stopped what they were doing and began listening to Lu Yanhe's sharing.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyin couldn't help but exclaim, "I never expected him to share such genuine feelings."
"Didn't that girl Xu Mingyue write an article for him?"
“Completely useless,” Xu Xiaoyin said. “I’ve read that manuscript; Lu Yanhe was completely ineffective.”
"What he said was too personal, and many people in the audience might not have understood it."
Xu Xiaoyin said, "But those who have read books will definitely understand what he is talking about."
Standing on the stage, Lu Yanhe continued, "From forgetting myself to seeing myself, reading is like a filter. It filters out the sorrow and bitterness that real life brings me, and leaves behind all the warmth and strength. Because it has been filtered, it is clearer."
“I still remember the story in Teacher Mingyin’s ‘Star Orbit’, about the girl who silently supported her autistic son. After his mother’s death, the son learned that his current friends had all been asked by his mother to try to be his friends. At that moment, so many emotions—heartache, sadness, warmth, happiness, and reluctance—all came rushing in at once. I was touched by the story and by these emotions,” Lu Yanhe said. “I don’t have autism, I’ve never had difficulty making friends, and I’ve never experienced such support and care from a mother. Logically, I shouldn’t have had similar experiences and shouldn’t have been so moved. But I must honestly admit that I cried buckets at that moment, and I couldn’t help but wonder why.”
“I was thinking that it was because I saw myself, and I saw another possible version of myself. In some world, I have autism, and I have been silently supported by a mother like that for many years. I have such a group of happy friends. I put myself into that world, and so, another version of myself appeared in my life. So, when I came out of the book and looked at myself in reality, I gained a perspective to re-examine myself.”
"When I read adventure stories, I am the brave, indomitable, and resourceful version of myself."
"When reading fantasy stories, I am the one with a magic wand in my left hand and a magic stone in my right."
"When reading mystery stories, I am quick-witted and have amazing insight."
“Every time I read, I see a new version of myself. Reading doesn’t require similar experiences to empathize with; it gives us more experiences, allowing us to gain more feelings and insights.”
"So, when you have nothing to do, go to a bookstore, buy a book or two, and find some time when you are alone to meet the self in the book," Lu Yanhe said. "When you think you are reading someone else's story, you probably don't realize that in your subconscious, that other person is yourself. In another part of your life, the questions and answers about your life often seem less important."
"Thanks."
After Lu Yanhe finished sharing, he bowed to everyone.
There was a two-second silence, followed by applause.
Lu Yanhe returned the microphone to the host and stepped off the stage.
Many people are filming him with their phones and cameras.
Lu Yanhe stopped as he passed Li Pengfei and looked at them with a smile.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Lu Yanhe said.
“It’s none of your business to tell us what to do beforehand,” Li Pengfei said. “Old Lu, your sharing just now confused me. There were many parts I didn’t understand, but I could still feel what you were saying.”
Lu Yanhe smiled and looked at Chen Siqi, who was standing at the very back.
Chen Siqi also glanced at him.
"Let's have lunch together later," Lu Yanhe said.
"I can't, I have to go pick up Xu Zijun, you guys eat," Li Pengfei said immediately.
Chen Qin also said, "Lin Yu and I have something to do later. She made an appointment with a teacher to prepare for next month's competition."
Lu Yanhe: "You're all so busy, okay, it's been a while since we ate together."
"Let's make an appointment another time." After Li Pengfei finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something, "Chen Siqi is still here, why don't you eat with her?"
Chen Siqi instinctively wanted to say that she also had something to do, but Lu Yanhe immediately nodded, "Then it's settled. Wait for me a moment, I'll be done here soon."
The ceremony wasn't over yet, so Lu Yanhe couldn't just leave now.
He especially plans to go to the autograph session with Liu Jiazhen and Mingyin later to ask them for autographs.
Lu Yanhe nodded to Chen Siqi, then turned and went back to his seat.
Chen Qin remarked, "Lu Yanhe looks completely different now compared to a year ago."
"Are you envious?" Li Pengfei asked.
"I admire you." Chen Qin shook his head. "Such a complete transformation must have required tremendous effort."
“That’s true.” Li Pengfei, unusually, didn’t argue with Chen Qin and nodded in agreement.
As the young people were talking, a young man suddenly approached them with a smile and said, "Are you Lu Yanhe's classmates? I'm a reporter from the 'Arts Newspaper.' May I interview you about Lu Yanhe?"
Several people shook their heads at the same time.
Lin Yu said, "Sorry, we will not answer any questions about Lu Yanhe."
She shook her head slightly.
"It's just a few very simple questions. We can find a place to sit down and chat. We can also pay you."
"Thank you, but no, thank you." Lin Yu firmly refused. "Please don't bother us."
(End of this chapter)
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