Afterwards, Joo Chuan carried Chu Li into the bathroom tenderly and comfortably, and was just about to carry out the image of a gentle and kind man to the end, when the person hanging on his neck asked him a question that made him want to throw her into the bathtub and drown her: "Teacher, do you think your father will show up and give his son some love encouragement on the day of the Flower and Branch Awards ceremony?"
Zhuchuan: “…”
Zhuochuan bent down and not so gently pushed Chuli into the bathtub: "Thank you for asking. If you asked me that, I might as well take a sick leave that day..."
Chu Li was originally aching all over, and now that he fell into the bathtub, his entire body seemed to be relaxed. He squinted his eyes lazily: "Look at what you have achieved. You are almost 30 years old, and when your dad is mentioned, you are like a mouse seeing a cat..."
Zhuo Chuan opened the shower and pouted at Chu Li's face twice with an expressionless face.
Chu Li spat out a mouthful of water and said, "If you can't argue, then use force!"
Zhuo Chuan threw away the showerhead, bent down, put his hands on the side of the bathtub, and moved a little closer to Chu Li: "I'm very gentle by not pushing your head into the water."
"You weren't like this just now in bed. You opened your legs to coax me and called me baby."
"You can trust what a man says in bed. Even sows climb trees." The man reached out and tapped Chu Li's nose. He said shamelessly and unscrupulously, "I'll teach you a lesson. It's free."
Chu Li: "..."
Crouching in the bathtub, Chu Li seriously thought about the difference between her and Chu Chuan before and after they were together. However, after thinking about it, her answer was "It seems there is no difference"... The only difference is that they can be honest with each other in a righteous way -
Well.
While Chu Li was thinking about this, the man behind her was busy tying her loose hair into a small bun with some beef tendon he got from somewhere. Then he rubbed her arm with a bath ball filled with foam. When Chu Li grimaced, he reached out and pulled the small braid at the back of her head and said in a rough voice, "Turn around and rub your back."
Chu Li closed her eyes and turned around. When the man was rubbing her back vigorously, she rubbed his face twice with her backhand.
Then her hand was grabbed by a big hand covered with bubbles and still warm. The man turned her hand over and kissed her palm, and said in a vicious tone: "Don't move, don't you see what time it is!"
Chu Li, who was sitting with her back to him, raised her lips and grinned at an angle where he couldn't see. She didn't even know what she was happy about, but she was just laughing by herself - as if having a boyfriend who threatened to put her head in the bathtub was something to be proud of.
"Zhuchuan."
"Um."
"It's Chu Chuan."
"Um……"
"Zhuchuan, Zhuchuan?"
"Um?"
The tone rose slightly, carrying an impatient warning.
His back was burning from being bruised, Chu Li narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I'll go with you on Sunday? To the Flower and Blossom Awards, the awards ceremony."
"Of course you have to go." Zhuo Chuan patted her head. "Isn't he the editor-in-chief of Luohe Divine Book?"
"Not only because of this, whether you win the award or not, I want to be by your side and witness something with my own eyes - your success, or the road you have yet to complete."
The big hand pressing on her head paused for a moment, and then the man ruffled her hair: "I know, I know, just wait and see... your husband's highlight moment, and then you will cherish my favor even more."
“…”
…
A few days later.
Sunday finally arrived amid Chu Li's anticipation and Chu Chuan's rejection.
Chu Li still remembers that it was September 2014, an early autumn morning, the weather was clear and the wind was blowing. She and Zhu Chuan were arguing at the door of their house about whether a suit could be paired with running shoes.
Zhaochuan thought that sitting together with a bunch of old guys and listening to those clichés was boring enough, but when the camera swept over, the only thing to see was a man wearing a suit and leather shoes and acting like an old man. Isn't that despairing?
Chu Li believes that, looking at the writing circle, there is no more formal occasion than the "Flower Branch Awards Ceremony". Let's not talk about whether you will win the award or not. Suppose you really win the award, and when you go up to receive the award, a row of people in formal suits are lined up, and you are the only one wearing a pair of running shoes. Think about it, isn't it embarrassing?
Er Gouzi thought, it’s already so late, can you two still leave?
The whole argument lasted for half an hour.
Half an hour ago, Chu Li could not have imagined that there would be such a boring moment in her life - arguing with a man over a pair of running shoes and a pair of leather shoes for half an hour without stopping... It was really as stupid as it could be.
Chu Li: "When I grow old and die, I will regret wasting half an hour of my meaningless life with you."
Zhu Chuan sneered: "Don't worry, by then you'll have Alzheimer's disease and won't be able to remember anything."
So even though time was wasted, Chu Li still couldn't persuade Zhu Chuan. Half an hour later, he watched him put on his running shoes, tugged at his tie and shirt collar, and then walked away with his head held high and his chest puffed out like a victorious golden peacock...
Chu Li was dragged into his sloppy sports car by force. The man climbed onto the driver's seat with his long legs, revealing a section of his ankle between his suit pants and running shoes. Chu Li frowned as he looked at him: "Take a look in the mirror. Look at yourself. You look like a gangster."
Zhuo Chuan skillfully fastened her seat belt: "Got it, Mom."
Chu Li reached out and hit him on the head.
... Fortunately, although the gangster looked lazy, he still had basic etiquette and punctuality. He stepped on the accelerator and drove all the way to the venue of the Flower and Blossom Awards at the maximum speed limit in the city.
It was in the business banquet hall of a high-end club. When Chu Li and the others arrived, bigwigs from various families had already arrived one after another... In Chu Li's opinion, the thing called literati temperament really existed. The older teachers dressed in formal attire and talked and laughed cheerfully. They were completely different from the sloppy guy next to her.
Chu Li glanced at Zhu Chuan.
Zhuo Chuan: "What do you dislike?"
Chu Li: “I haven’t said anything yet.”
Zhuo Chuan: "Even if you stick your butt out, I know what you want to do. It's like a rat falling into an oil tank."
Chu Li: "..."
Zhuochuan handed out the first gift and his own invitation, and the two entered the venue side by side.
After entering the venue, everyone had to take their seats in the prescribed order. Zhuchuan was a nominated author and Chuli was just a small editor, so the two of them would of course not sit together. Zhuchuan's seat was in the front row, with a table and a name tag on it.
Chu Li sat down in the back row where the spectators rested, and looked around carefully. He did not see Zhuo Guxuan appear.
In fact, this time, Chuan Guxuan did not enter any works in the competition, and the Flower Branch Award is an event jointly organized by the National Writers Association. As the vice chairman of the provincial writers association, he does not have to attend...
But.
It was not easy for my son to be nominated. As a novel mainly circulated on the Internet, the fact that "The Divine Book of Luo River" was nominated for the Huazhi Award is a milestone in history. Regardless of whether it wins or not, Chu Chuan will be honored...
On such an important occasion, why did Zhou Guxuan, the father who was traveling with him, not show up?
Chu Li sat in her seat, staring at the entrance until the second before the award ceremony began. When the entrance was confirmed to be closed, her phone vibrated. She lowered her head and saw a text message from Zhu Chuan.
【Actor Teacher: Stop looking around. That old man won't come. It has nothing to do with him.】
Chu Li hung up his phone and glanced in the direction of Zhuochuan... The tall young man sitting in the front, with broad shoulders and a straight back, seemed to be able to feel the worried gazes cast at him from behind. He raised his hand without looking back and made an "OK" gesture.
He was sitting in the first row among the traditional writers and teachers, and he did look a bit out of place.
It seems like I am particularly lonely.
Chu Li changed his sitting position. For the first time in such a long time, he felt as if he understood Zhuochuan's thoughts: they were in the same industry but different circles, and to break this awkward situation, it always needed a brave pioneer, and this pioneer must be lonely and great.
Right now, Chu Chuan is playing such a role.
[The Monkey’s Navy: Mr. Xizi, I suddenly changed my mind - at this moment, in my eyes, you are much better than other teachers. I am not referring to one person, I am referring to everyone here.]
After Chu Li finished replying to the message, she saw the man in the first row in front of her bending down and hiding his cell phone under the table to secretly read her text messages while the chairman of the National Writers Association and the director of this year's Flower Branch Awards jury was speaking on the stage, like a middle school student daydreaming in class.
Chu Li raised the corners of his lips.
After the short speech, the media camera, live broadcast and relay equipment at the scene turned to the direction of the authors - there are a total of 30 shortlisted authors, and there will be five finalists. At this time, all 30 shortlisted nominated authors are present, from the gray-haired to the young and strong.
The five winners were selected by the National Writers Association, who read the award citations one by one and presented the highest honor for domestic long-length novels to the winning authors.
The first nomination was announced to an elderly writer with gray hair. In the award speech, he was called "Shen Congwen's gravekeeper". He spent ten years creating a work, repeatedly polishing it, and finally became the successor of the pastoral work school with an article "The Night Sky of Daocheng". Bara bara bara'...
Time passes by.
It was nothing but torture for the authors and their relatives and friends present, and the same was true for Chu Li. She had no choice but to open the live broadcast platform to watch the award ceremony and watch the barrage to relax...
[It’s okay. If the first one doesn’t work, there are still four left. To be honest, I think the “Luohe Divine Book” should be stable.]
[Damn, I didn’t know there were only five spots for the Squid Award.]
[To be honest, I just want to see what Chu Chuan looks like. I hope you can give me a shot? ]
[hhhhhhhh looking forward to seeing Chu Chuan win the award. Finally I will have the chance to see his true face. ]
[…If it weren’t for Chu Chuan, I wouldn’t care about this kind of thing. Now that I’ve been nominated, I’ve been recommended a lot of books and I’m frantically stuffing books into my shopping cart! ]
[Wait for me upstairs, I am also stuffing books like crazy——]
[Ah, me too…]
Amid the laughter of the netizens watching the live broadcast, the second and third winners have already appeared. When they heard the names of their works being sung, they could not hide the joy on their faces. Ten years of hard work just for this day -
This is a lifelong honor and the best answer to the identity of "writer".
Before the fourth place was announced, Chu Li began to feel nervous, until the judges began to speak out their awards, the first sentence of which was "He has always been a supporter of the realist literary trend". Chu Li's stretched neck shrank, and he could not help but let out a sigh.
Not Chu Chuan.
At this moment, on the mobile phone in my hand, the live broadcast platform was filled with various [GG] [Gone] [Actually, the first one should be gone, after all, it’s a gimmick] [Then the last one is also a gimmick] barrages...
On Weibo, the topic of #Can Chu Chuan win the squid award# was also pushed to the top, with the discussion level rising steadily, and mixed praise and criticism. For a time, he was the most popular, indeed surpassing Jiang Yucheng...
But Chu Li was annoyed by what he saw, so he turned his phone over and hung it up, then raised his head to look at the man sitting in the front row - he was sitting motionless in the chair, with his legs crossed, his fingers bent, and tapping the table in front of him regularly...
Chu Li clenched the phone in her hand.
She hadn’t been this nervous for a long time since checking her college entrance exam results. The last time she felt this suffocating and nervous was the second before the online pre-sale of “Luohe Divine Book” opened—
The fourth winning author walked off the stage.
The teacher who was in charge of delivering the last award speech walked onto the stage and first smiled at the group of authors sitting in the audience and said, "The remaining 26 authors must be very nervous."
There was a harmonious laughter at the scene.
Chu Li thought angrily in his heart: Thank you so much for reminding me, I was so nervous that I almost died.
The teacher who was reading the award speech slowly opened the envelope in his hand and glanced at the name of the winner. He laughed mysteriously, making the atmosphere at the scene look like an Oscars Award Ceremony... Then, under the gaze of everyone, he slowly read out -
"He is an outstanding representative of contemporary young literary writers and a unique name for oriental fantasy and romantic novels... At the age of 16, he completed his first 300,000-word novel with draft paper and pen in the classroom, and published his first novel at the age of 17.
Along the way, I have received honors and been questioned;
I have seen the vastness of the blue sky, with flocks of birds flying;
I have seen the despair of endless purgatory, and the criticism of thousands of people who want to break the backbone of a scholar..."
Chu Li turned over the phone on her leg with trembling hands.
On the live streaming platform, all kinds of [666666666] were so densely populated that the live streaming screen and subtitles could hardly be seen.
The writer standing on the stage finished his long acceptance speech and then announced:
"The last winner of this year's Flower Branch Award is Chu Chuan, and his winning work is "The Divine Book of Luo River"."