postscript
I have finally written the postscript. Just think of it as me rambling here, chatting with you, and talking about whatever comes to my mind.
From July 12, 2023 to January 27, 2024, I spent half a year writing "Good Boys". I was overwhelmed with emotions and couldn't bear to leave my little ones behind.
Let me first talk about the process of creating this novel:
At first, I wanted to write a BL campus novel, but I didn’t know what kind of story to write. A few days later, a picture inexplicably appeared in my mind.
A well-behaved and good student was holding a band-aid in his hand and was carefully putting it on the wrist of a cool school bully. Suddenly, the school bully grabbed the wrist of the well-behaved student and looked at him with complicated eyes. The well-behaved student kept shyly dodging his eyes.
Of course, this was the initial inspiration, but when I actually wrote it, the good student didn't shy away from the scene. Instead, he took the lead and openly put a band-aid on the school bully, flirting with him intentionally or unintentionally, which actually made the school bully's heart beat faster and shy (I always love this kind of contrast!)
The story began to unfold in my mind: a hot-tempered, straight male school bully and a pure, well-behaved, top student. What kind of sparks would they create when they collided? Their personalities were quite complementary, like the extremes of black and white.
I wanted to add some cute contrast to their personalities. If I were going to do something big, I'd do something fancy! (Wrong)
Finally, I concluded that the bad-tempered school bully was actually just a big boy with a tough mouth but a soft heart. He would protect the weak. After a fight, he turned around and rescued a stray kitten abandoned by its mother cat, even though he was still covered in blood.
He loves sports and does fitness to keep himself strong so that others can't bully him easily and he can also protect his grandmother.
He will be very narcissistic, very satisfied with his face and figure, and think he is very attractive, but at the same time, he will feel very inferior because of his family background and having a neurotic mother-in-law...
And the good boy who is well-behaved and polite, has excellent grades, comes from a wealthy family and looks like a winner in life in everyone's eyes is actually a bad guy with a twisted, dark, depressed heart who enjoys toying with others. In short, he is a crazy, perverted and yandere.
However, this bad boy who never failed in his pursuit of fun suffered a major setback at the hands of the school bully.
While he was pretending to be nice to the school bully, he gradually developed real love for her. So he went along with it and just stayed with the school bully. If someone hadn't exposed his true thoughts later, the school bully might never know that the good boy was actually playing with him before.
The yandere has a strong desire for control and is extremely hostile to anyone who covets the school bully. He wants to keep the school bully by his side forever. No matter if the school bully is willing or forced... he will never be able to escape from his palm...
It’s so exciting. I still feel it as I write this. It’s like I’m dancing on my XP.
After thinking of the general outline of the content, I started to name the characters. I think the names of the characters are really important. I am always very satisfied with the names of my children, as they are very consistent with their personalities.
The process of picking a name for the school bully was relatively easy. Ren Yi Zi means to do whatever one wants and without restraint. It sounds like there is a sense of freedom, ease and relaxation.
The process of choosing a name for the academic god was not so easy. I listed more than a dozen names on paper, but I was not satisfied with any of them. I also asked my family and friends, and they all chose one of the names tacitly. However, I felt that the name did not represent the character and personality of the academic god, so I did not consult their opinions and chose "Wen Si Ru" on my own initiative.
Some of my friends would raise questions, saying: The word "ru" sounds weak and too bookish.
When I heard them say this, I was so excited that my eyes lit up and I clapped my hands and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! That's exactly what it means. The name of the top is meant to make everyone think he's a little weak, like a bottom, but he's actually the top. And in fact, he's not weak at all, but a powerful attacker who can cut through the darkness. This contrast is so exciting."
The more I thought about it, the happier I felt. Anyway, I could use my friends' opinions as a reference, but the final decision was made by me. I gave birth to my son, and I was the one who knew the tone of this article best. I firmly decided on "Wen Si Ru", a name that none of my family and friends had chosen, as the name of the attacker.
Looking back now, from the time I finalized the name to the time the main story was finished, and I've also written several side stories, I've never wavered in wanting to change the attacker's name. I don't regret choosing the name Wen Si Ru at all. I personally think it sounds nice and fits the character (even my keyboard recognizes them, haha. When I type the abbreviation "wsr", "Wen Si Ru" comes first, and when I type "ryz", "Ren Yi Zi" comes first)
When I was writing the main text, the outline went smoothly overall. When I was halfway through writing Chapter 55, I had a vague feeling that the rest of the text would not be written that way, so I drastically cut out all the plot after Zi Ge and Ru Zai broke up, and hurriedly wrote a new outline for the second half. Except for this little episode, both the old and new outlines went smoothly, and I wrote most of the content I wanted to write.
Of course, when writing, there are always times when I feel anxious and stuck. When I was writing, I would question my writing skills countless times, and always felt that I had not presented the best of them to you.
The more I wrote, the more excited I felt. I also said in the preface that I was very excited to write because the plot was concluded and the truth was revealed. Moreover, after the two broke up, there were many ups and downs of emotions. I personally like to write such intense emotional conflicts, but this is a pure campus novel (most of the text is about the two people's life on campus), so writing about the ups and downs of emotions really tests my writing skills. Pure campus novels can easily become boring diaries. When I was writing, I tried my best to make the plot not boring, and I also paid attention to the rhythm and other things not being dragged out.
When "Good Boy" ended, I had a mixture of emotions: a sense of accomplishment, a sense of satisfaction, but also a touch of loss and sadness. I wondered why it ended so quickly? Did their story end here? Not really. I believe their story continues in another dimension, or in a parallel world, and they will live out their lives in happiness and well-being.
Regarding the extra chapters, if I have inspiration later, I will probably write more, for example: going to Xuexiang (it doesn't snow in Guangdong, Ren Yizi has never seen it, and even if it does, it melts quickly, haha, which is a regret in life, so Wen Siru took him there), and the wedding (I haven't decided whether it should be Chinese or Western style), but I just haven't figured out how to write it yet...
Some exclusive gossips from Zige Ruzai:
*Their personalities are one extreme on the outside and another on the inside. Sometimes when I was writing about them, I felt like they were causing me to have a split personality.
Wen Siru is much more difficult to write about than Ren Yizi. As his creator, I felt a little afraid of him inexplicably in the later stages of writing. I have no idea what is going on in his mind.
In other words, I am watching the character taking action, and I am just the one recording his behavior. I am no longer the dominant party controlling him or influencing his thoughts, but he has his own consciousness and behavioral actions.
*By the way, Wen Siru’s birthday is November 7 (Scorpio), and Ren Yizi’s birthday is August 9 (Leo). I wonder if I have captured the feeling in my writing?
*Who is better in terms of appearance?
The text describes that Wen Siru is very well-behaved and very fair-skinned, with a harmless face. Everyone thinks he is very elegant and gentle (although he is pretending), and he is very knowledgeable (the top scorer in the joint entrance examination of eight provinces), and his family is extremely wealthy, so his classmates and teachers like him even more, and voting for the school idol will favor him.
Ren Yizi is also very handsome, and was very famous when he first entered high school (otherwise how would Wen Siru know him, he was too famous, and a big shot). But after a few weeks, he won the fight with the previous school bully. After he got the title of the new school bully, everyone was a little afraid of him. Many girls and some Xiao Ling were afraid of conflicts with him even if they liked him, and then being beaten by him when they were in a relationship, and they all whispered behind his back that he was a potential domestic violence man, hahahaha. His ex-girlfriends were one of the few who were not afraid of him.
Moreover, his appearance is not the kind of well-behaved one. He looks like a cool guy who doesn't want anyone to approach him. He has a pair of very beautiful upturned almond-shaped eyes. If he doesn't speak and has no expression, his aura will be extremely oppressive, but when he smiles, his eyes turn into seductive fox eyes (when he smiles, he has the upper hand over Wen Si Ru).
Then he speaks in a rather vulgar, materialistic and vulgar way, often mixing in traditional Chinese idioms, which makes him seem very irritating and difficult to deal with, and his impression score will be silently deducted. So no matter how good-looking he is, he will miss the throne of being the school hunk. However, he also knows his faults, but he won't change them. He holds the idea that "dirty words can cleanse the heart", and he is used to doing as he pleases.
Before the start of his senior year, Ren Yizi still expressed dissatisfaction with this. But since he's been with Wen Siru, he's been boasting: "So what if I'm not the school hunk? Little hunk, get him!" (Wen Siru gives him a funny look) (Ren Yizi senses that look is more than just a joke) (Immediately retorts: "Big hunk, get him—!")
*Who has the better fighting power?
Wen Si Ru received special training in fighting skills when he was a child, but Ren Yi Zi did not. However, he had fought in many fights and had extremely rich practical experience. He often played against the rules, so the two had similar fighting skills.
If a fight breaks out, I don't know who will win. We'll both be hurt anyway. Why fight? Let's go to bed. (Ah hey!——)
*What is the significance of this novel?
I personally think that "Good Boy" is a sweet story about pure campus life with a little bit of melodrama. Its core is refreshing and sweet. Even the abuse, I designed it so that the two protagonists will understand each other better and love each other deeply after a little abuse.
It makes the author and the readers happy. This is the meaning of this novel. Happiness is so simple.
Finally, let me say something hypocritical:
I love my son very much. When I type, I wish I had three heads and six arms to quickly type out the scenes of their interactions in my mind, but I type very slowly. It often takes me six to nine hours to write a chapter. Sometimes I even get stuck and have to write for a whole day.
I am very satisfied and like my sons very much. I like those pure, enthusiastic and high-spirited young people. They have extremely strong and fresh vitality, as dazzling as the first day. During the days of typing, my sons spent more time with me than my friends and family.
But I am not very satisfied with myself. When I write, I often feel powerless and feel that I do not have the writing skills to express the best of them in my mind. Whenever I am at a loss for words, I want to dive into the Chinese dictionary and pull out the best and most beautiful words and sentences to describe the best kids.
This is because I hope that they can stay in your memory longer and longer, and that in the future, you can occasionally think of the characters, small details, sweet candies, etc. in this article. I feel that the pain of getting stuck, the doubts about one's own abilities and self-questioning are not worth mentioning, and everything is worth it.
Thank you to my sons, they healed me and they are the brightest light in my life.
Special thanks to all the readers who liked this article. You are all little angels. I am very happy every time I see your messages. Meeting you is a blessing. It is my honor to meet you in the sea of books. If we are destined to meet again, we will see you again.
April 5, 2024
byNian Zi Zhu
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