Chapter 79 "I...I really want to become a writer..."
Chapter 79
Li Cheng is still a sophomore in college. His schedule is full, and he only has no classes on Tuesday evenings and Friday afternoons. If he wants to meet up at other times, he can only do so on the weekend.
Yu Pan, on the other hand, has a lot of free time on weekdays and wants to make the most of her weekends. Therefore, they can only meet on Saturday or Sunday mornings, with Yu Pan spending two hours at the film academy and returning home promptly at noon.
He has to accompany Shen Yanzhou; he's very busy.
This arrangement lasted for two weeks. On the weekend of the third week, Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou had just finished lunch and were taking a nap together when their cell phone, which was on the bedside table, rang.
Shen Yanzhou was woken up first. He reached for his phone, glanced at the screen, and shook Yu Pan in his arms: "Panpan, wake up, it's Li Cheng calling."
Yu Pan was fast asleep when her peaceful dream was disturbed. She frowned and grumbled a few times in dissatisfaction, without even opening her eyes, and mumbled, "Brother, can you answer it..."
Shen Yanzhou had no choice but to answer the phone, "Hello?"
Li Cheng, who was about to speak on the other end of the phone, paused when he heard Shen Yanzhou's voice. He then cleared his throat and his tone became exceptionally gentle: "Brother Shen? Is Yu Pan there?"
"He's resting. Is there something wrong?" Shen Yanzhou asked.
Li Cheng glanced at the group members who were looking at him and explained, "Um, it's like this, we have some urgent matters about the script that we want to discuss with Yu Pan in person. We're at the entrance of your residential area right now, but the security guards aren't letting outsiders in according to the rules..."
“Okay, I understand.” Shen Yanzhou said succinctly, “Wait a moment, Yu Pan and I will come down to meet you.”
After hanging up the phone, Shen Yanzhou helped Yu Pan, whose face was flushed from sleep, sit up and pinched his chin to wake him up: "Panpan, get up, your classmate is here to see you."
Yu Pan hummed a few times before opening her eyes, complaining sleepily, "Who is it? I didn't invite any classmates over..."
Yu Pan rarely invites classmates and friends to his home. When Shen Yanzhou suggested inviting his roommates to dinner, they always met at a restaurant.
In Yu Pan's view, this home belongs to him and Shen Yanzhou. Apart from the Tan brothers and the housekeeper who comes regularly to clean and cook, he never brings anyone else back.
“It’s Li Cheng and the others.” Shen Yanzhou smoothed Yu Pan’s slightly messy bangs from sleeping. “They said they have something urgent to discuss with you, and they’re waiting at the entrance of the residential area.”
After hearing this, Yu Pan sighed reluctantly and rubbed her eyes: "Couldn't you have said something urgent over the phone... that you had to come to our house..."
"Alright," Shen Yanzhou coaxed Yu Pan gently, glancing at the time. It was already three in the afternoon, and she had slept for almost three hours. "It's time to get up. If you sleep any longer, you won't be able to sleep tonight."
"I won't have trouble sleeping," Yu Pan retorted, but slowly followed Shen Yanzhou out of bed.
Shen Yanzhou went to the bathroom, dampened a towel with warm water, and came back to wipe Yu Pan's face: "Okay, I know you won't."
With a cool towel on her face, Yu Pan sighed comfortably, finally fully awake.
-
When Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou finished changing their clothes and walked to the entrance of the residential area, Li Cheng and his five classmates from the short film group had been waiting under the shade of the trees for nearly fifteen minutes.
Those who can study art-related majors mostly come from well-off families and were spoiled growing up. Now, after standing in the sun for so long, they all have obvious impatience and resentment on their faces.
Some people opened their mouths to complain, but when they saw Shen Yanzhou next to Yu Pan, they inexplicably swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
However, compared to them, Yu Pan felt that he harbored more resentment. He just didn't like to lose his temper with others, which didn't mean he didn't have a temper.
After swiping the access card and letting them in, Yu Pan asked directly, "What's so important that you have to come all the way to my house to tell me now?"
Li Cheng smiled and chuckled, "The sun is too strong outside, it's not convenient to talk standing up. Let's talk slowly inside."
As soon as they entered the house, everyone was comforted by the cool air conditioning, which was much more comfortable than the unbearably hot cultural corridor at school.
The expressions on their faces immediately softened, and the resentment in their hearts dissipated somewhat.
Yu Pan was angry, but he still had basic hospitality. Seeing that Shen Yanzhou went to the kitchen to boil water and make tea, he sat down on the sofa in the living room and waited for them to speak.
After sitting for a while, seeing that they were just curiously looking around the house and had no intention of discussing anything serious, Yu Pan decided to get up and go to the kitchen to check.
He had just stood up and hadn't even taken a step when someone pressed down on his shoulder from behind. Yu Pan turned his head and saw that it was Li Cheng.
"I'll go to the kitchen and get you some fruit..." Yu Pan explained.
“It’s okay, I’ll go with you,” Li Cheng said with a smile. “It would be too embarrassing to just sit and wait to eat.”
As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Although Yu Pan was quite unhappy about his uninvited visit and the fact that he brought a group of people to her home, she suppressed her displeasure and nodded, "...Whatever you want."
As Yu Pan entered the kitchen, she saw Shen Yanzhou dismantling a thick, large tea cake. "Brother, where did you put the plums you brought back yesterday?"
“It’s in the refrigerator.” Shen Yanzhou freed one hand and handed the wicker fruit basket on the kitchen counter to Yu Pan. “There should still be a lot of fruit inside. Take them out, wash them, and give them some to eat.”
Yu Pan took the fruit basket, opened the refrigerator and looked inside. Goodness, usually Shen Yanzhou would wash and cut the fruit and bring it to him. He only needed to eat it and rarely had to look for it himself.
Looking at it now, the refrigerator is packed full of plums, cherries, nectarines, and mangoes.
The kitchen wasn't big to begin with, and with three men standing inside, it felt even more cramped when the refrigerator door was open. Yu Pan handed the empty fruit basket to Li Cheng, and then began taking fruit out of the refrigerator herself.
The fruit basket in Li Cheng's hands grew heavier and heavier, and he couldn't help but say, "Yu Pan, isn't this... a bit too much?"
Yu Pan glanced down at the nearly overflowing fruit basket, then casually stuffed three golden plums in, saying confidently, "Not much, not at all. Let me tell you, these plums are especially delicious. I guarantee you'll want more after you eat them. It's simply not enough."
Li Cheng glanced at Yu Pan, who was looking serious, and then at Shen Yanzhou, who was focused on making tea and looked perfectly normal. Seeing that Shen Yanzhou didn't say anything, Li Cheng shut up and obediently carried the heavy fruit basket.
Yu Pan took the fruit to the sink to wash it. Shen Yanzhou glanced at it and reminded her, "Panpan, look at the top shelf of the freezer. There should be a box of frozen lychees in there."
"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Yu Pan immediately opened the refrigerator, rummaged through the freezer, and sure enough, pulled out a plastic box covered in white frost, inside which were lychees frozen solid.
He turned his head and accused him: "Brother, you lied to me! You clearly told me before that the lychees were gone!"
Shen Yanzhou leaned over for a look, a smile in his eyes: "When did I say there wasn't any left? There's still some left, isn't there?"
"You said it before!" Yu Pan said angrily in a low voice, "Why did you say it was gone? You lied to me!"
"You really don't know why I said it's gone?" Shen Yanzhou raised an eyebrow and teased.
"I...I..." Yu Pan stammered "I" twice, then, remembering the reason, immediately deflated and muttered dejectedly, "...Of course I know."
As children who grew up in the south, Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou used to eat lychees by the basketful when they were young, until they were sick of them.
However, since they arrived in Lanzhou, they have eaten lychees much less often, to the point that they hardly eat them at all.
Later, when Shen Yanzhou's business improved, he was able to buy lychees again. However, those lychees, which had undergone long-distance transportation, were no longer fresh by the time they arrived in Lanzhou. They often had a strange, rotten smell, and the flesh was soft and mushy.
This was unbearable for Yu Pan, who was used to eating freshly picked lychees, so he simply stopped eating them.
It wasn't until they arrived in Beijing that they discovered a new method of preservation: flash-freezing the lychees before transporting them.
Although frozen lychees lose the crisp and chewy texture of fresh fruit, their sweetness is preserved, giving them a unique flavor. They're delicious like shaved ice or peeled and added to iced soda.
Yu Pan thus rediscovered her love for lychees and consumes a considerable amount every summer.
But for some reason last year, Yu Pan would get a sore throat and cough every time she ate lychees. According to the local dialect, this was called "false heat" and eating more lychees would help.
Shen Yanzhou initially thought so too, so he let Yu Pan eat as much as she wanted. As a result, her symptoms not only did not improve, but became more severe, and she coughed for almost half a month before she recovered.
So this year, Shen Yanzhou strictly controlled the consumption of fruits like lychees that are considered "heaty" and only washed about ten for Yu Pan to enjoy each time.
After eating it a few times, Shen Yanzhou said "it's all gone." Yu Pan, being a simple-minded child, never doubted it and believed him when he said it was gone, never even glancing at the refrigerator.
…
Li Cheng stood aside, watching Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou interact. He felt a little strange, but he quickly reassured himself that he was overthinking it.
They're brothers, they grew up together, so their bond is naturally deep. It's normal for their conversation to be different from others.
After serving the tea to the guests, Shen Yanzhou said to Yu Pan, "You two talk about serious matters, I won't disturb you any longer."
After saying that, he took his laptop and went back to his bedroom to work.
As soon as Shen Yanzhou left, the tense atmosphere in the living room immediately relaxed, and the people sitting in the living room breathed a sigh of relief.
For some reason, they felt that Yu Pan's brother's aura was even more intimidating than when the old professors at the school threatened to fail their course.
Yu Pan and Li Cheng packed the washed fruit into several fruit platters and took them out. When the students sitting outside saw the plentiful fruit, they immediately exclaimed in delight, forgetting their earlier unpleasantness.
The long-haired girl who had asked Yu Pan why she hadn't eaten dinner earlier picked up a golden plum, took a bite, and widened her eyes in surprise: "Wow, this is a plum? It's so sweet! There's not a hint of sourness."
Yu Pan said from the side, "Yes, this is Golden Nali plum, it's a sweet variety."
"I've got it, I'll buy some to try next time I go to the fruit shop." The girl nodded repeatedly.
After everyone had eaten some fruit for a while, Yu Pan felt that was enough, so she asked again, "So, what did you all want to talk to me about today?"
"Oh, is that so?" A bespectacled boy in the group chimed in, "Didn't we discuss before that we wanted to give Fang Ming and Cheng Fuhua, the two main characters, a romantic storyline each, to enrich their characters?"
Yu Pan nodded: "I remember that setting."
“Well…” the boy pushed up his glasses and continued, “we want to use this as a comparison? Like a positive and negative example, you know what I mean?”
"Heads and tails?" A bad feeling rose in Yu Pan's heart.
“Yes, it’s about the characters Fang Ming and Cheng Fuhua.” Li Cheng took over and explained in detail, “Our current idea is to have Fang Ming represent the positive side and Cheng Fuhua represent the negative side.”
"The story unfolds like this: Fang Ming and Cheng Fuhua work hard together, achieve success, and start a family. Fang Ming knows how to be content with what he has and is happy with his hard-won career and family; while Cheng Fuhua's desires swell and he can't stop himself. He goes further and further astray in his pursuit of wealth, and his methods become more and more aggressive and risky. In the end, he is betrayed by everyone, his wife and children are separated, which can be considered a kind of... warning."
As Yu Pan listened, his brows furrowed more and more. The story had completely deviated from his original vision, and the core of Cheng Fuhua's character that he had given him when he started writing was not someone who would be blinded by greed and lose himself.
"Don't you feel that this direction is a bit... contrary to Cheng Fuhua's original character design?" Li Cheng observed his expression and asked tentatively.
“It’s not just a little, it’s completely contrary.” Yu Pan answered without hesitation, even with a hint of barely perceptible anger.
In his mind, Cheng Fuhua may have flaws, but he is a person who values loyalty and has a bottom line, and would never go down such a path.
Unexpectedly, after Yu Pan clearly expressed her opposition, the people next to her exchanged glances, their faces showing expressions of "I knew it" and "I expected it."
The bespectacled boy said somewhat perfunctorily, "It's okay, character settings can all be adjusted. We can make Cheng Fuhua's childhood experiences more tragic, highlighting his extreme desire for money and success, and increasing the plausibility of his descent into darkness."
"If necessary, some of his more likable traits could even be transferred to Fang Ming, thus creating a stronger contrast and greater dramatic conflict..."
"I disagree." Yu Pan's brows were furrowed, and he suppressed his anger. "If you continue to change it like this, apart from the protagonist's name being the same, what does this have to do with the story I originally wrote?"
"And wasn't the core message you initially wanted to convey 'that hard work, cooperation, and striving are the keys to creating a better life'? Now, with so much dark and distorted stuff added in, the theme has completely changed!"
A brief silence fell over the living room. Apart from Yu Pan, the other five people exchanged glances and communicated silently.
In the end, Li Cheng stepped in again to smooth things over, "That's true, we wanted too much. We mainly felt that the previous setting didn't have enough conflict, and we were afraid that the filming would be too bland and not eye-catching enough, so we thought of adding some more dramatic plots. Since you, the original author, are determined to disagree, then forget it. Let's stick to the direction we agreed on before and not change the core setting."
"That's right, we were just making a suggestion. If you don't like it, then forget it..."
"It's normal to have disagreements when discussing the script, don't get so worked up..."
Looking at their nonchalant expressions, Yu Pan even wondered for a moment if she had overreacted and made a mountain out of a molehill.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, but his attitude remained firm: "Anyway, I will absolutely not agree to change it according to your idea. If you insist on filming it that way, then I may have to reconsider this authorization."
"Okay, okay, we understand your stance," the long-haired girl quickly said. "Let's stick to the original plan and not change it."
Their main purpose in coming here was actually to test Yu Pan's level of acceptance of this dark side of the script.
If Yu Pan had agreed, there would have been many details to discuss. Now that the original author has clearly objected, this path is not feasible, so we can only continue to move forward according to the previously agreed framework.
The business conversation broke down, but they didn't leave immediately. Instead, they stayed in the living room as if they were old friends, sitting on the sofa with their legs crossed, watching TV.
Some were eating sunflower seeds, others were eating fruit. Yu Pan was getting a little annoyed by them and thought of getting up to go back to her bedroom to find some peace and quiet with Chen Yanzhou.
He had just stood up and hadn't taken two steps when Li Cheng grabbed his elbow from behind.
"Yu Pan, where are you going?" Li Cheng asked.
For some reason, Yu Pan, who was originally going to go back to the bedroom, turned around and went to the study instead. "The living room is too noisy. I'm going to the study to read for a while."
“Oh,” Li Cheng replied, “Let’s go together. I also need to find a quiet place.”
Upon entering the study, Li Cheng was astonished by the entire wall of bookshelves. "Yu Pan, you have... so many books."
“It’s alright,” Yu Pan said calmly, “this is only part of it.”
Most of their books are in Lanzhou's house, where Tan Bai always says the study is like a bookstore.
Yu Pan sat in her chair, picked up the book she had been reading halfway through last night, and continued flipping through it, clearly not wanting to talk any more.
“Hey, Yu Pan,” Li Cheng said, oblivious to the situation, pressing a button on the small single bed by the window that looked like a temporary resting place. “I see you only have two bedrooms. Do you usually sleep here?”
Yu Pan didn't even look up, and gave a perfunctory reply: "Yeah."
"This is way too small," Li Cheng said, looking at the bed, which was indeed not spacious for an adult male. "It's even narrower than a bed in a school dormitory. Can you even lie down comfortably?"
"Yes." Yu Pan's answer was still concise and to the point; not only could she do it, but she could even lie down with two people.
Yu Pan stayed in the study for an hour, during which Li Cheng and several other classmates went in and out several times as if they were visiting a tourist attraction.
However, whenever they were about to step in, Yu Pan would tell them directly that they were not allowed to touch the books in his study.
While he was eating sunflower seeds and fruit, Yu Pan didn't hear any water running, so he definitely hadn't washed his hands! He couldn't stand having his books touched by hands like that!
When the others heard him say that, they wandered around the study for a while, found it boring, and went back to the living room to watch TV after only a few minutes.
I don't know if they were too familiar with the place, but they really treated it like their own home, eating, drinking and playing, making so much noise that Yu Pan's head was throbbing and she couldn't concentrate on her book.
"Yu Pan?"
Yu Pan was in a headache when Li Cheng pushed the door open and came in again. "Your brother has been in his bedroom for a long time and hasn't come out. Could something be wrong? Should we go check on him?"
"What could possibly happen to him in his own home?" Even though Yu Pan was somewhat slow to understand interpersonal relationships, he could clearly sense Li Cheng's attention towards his brother, which made him very uncomfortable, and his voice turned cold.
Fortunately, not long afterward, as darkness fell, they finally asked to return to school. Yu Pan had no reason to ask them to stay for dinner. Seeing the clock on the wall pointing to seven o'clock, she immediately got up with a sigh of relief and saw them off.
Once these people left, the chaotic living room immediately became more noticeable.
They had only been there for three or four hours. The floor was littered with sunflower seed shells and fruit peels, fruit pits and used tissues were carelessly thrown on the coffee table, which also had shoe prints on it!
Yu Pan wanted to turn off the TV with the remote, but as soon as her finger touched it, she was disgusted by some sticky liquid on it and immediately withdrew her hand.
He couldn't take it anymore, rushed into the bathroom to wash his hands, and then went straight to the bedroom.
In the bedroom, Shen Yanzhou was sitting at a small table, using a laptop to review the meeting materials sent by his assistant for Monday.
Without saying a word, Yu Pan walked over and hugged Shen Yanzhou tightly from behind, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
"What's wrong?" Shen Yanzhou put down his computer, turned his head, and touched the head buried in his shoulder.
Yu Pan sniffed hard, her voice muffled, "Brother, I regret it so much."
Shen Yanzhou chuckled and patted his cheek: "What are you regretting?"
"I regret getting involved with Li Cheng and his gang," Yu Pan raised her head, punched Shen Yanzhou's shoulder, and vented her frustration. "They're driving me crazy, they're so annoying!"
Throughout his life, apart from the incident where he was robbed in high school, most of the people he's met since then have been relatively normal, at least people he can communicate with and reason with.
If Yu Pan hadn't known that the people who came today were university students, he would have thought they were some kind of scoundrels.
Shen Yanzhou reached out and pulled the person onto his lap, hugging him tightly. "Panpan, there are many different kinds of people in this world, and you will meet many more in the future. If you feel uncomfortable or find it tiring to get along with someone, then it's okay to distance yourself, reduce contact, and protect yourself. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Mmm." Yu Pan nuzzled against his neck and nodded vigorously. "Once I finish the script for this short film, I'll never talk to them again."
Shen Yanzhou smiled and patted his back reassuringly; his Panpan had met too few people.
-
After those people came to his house, Yu Pan felt extremely disgusted with Li Cheng and his gang.
The thought of going to the film academy next week to continue discussing the script with them made his scalp tingle and his whole body feel uncomfortable.
But Yu Pan could only be patient for the time being. After all, he had personally agreed to provide the novel's authorization and promised to participate in the script adaptation. It was not his style to unilaterally break the contract halfway through because of personal likes and dislikes.
On Tuesday, Yu Pan felt dejected at the thought of going to the film academy in the evening. Just as she was feeling sad, her phone rang.
The caller was an editor from the magazine he regularly contributed to.
The other party first confirmed Yu Pan's identity before asking him if he was interested in compiling the articles he had published in their magazine over the past few years into a book.
If he is willing, he can go to Zhongzhou City, where the magazine is located, before the 5th of next month to discuss and sign a publishing contract in detail.
When Yu Pan heard the words "integrate into a book for publication" while holding her phone, she was stunned and her mind went blank.
It was compiled into a book and published.
Books, publications.
Is that what he meant?
Is his writing really going to become a real book?
Because of this incident, Yu Pan felt like he was floating on his way to the film academy in the evening. He didn't pay attention to what the people were saying, and when it was time to go home, he floated back home.
When Yu Pan got home and told Shen Yanzhou the news, she still felt uncertain, as if she were dreaming.
Shen Yanzhou carefully verified the phone number and magazine information first. After confirming that everything was correct, he looked into Yu Pan's eyes and nodded affirmatively, "Yes, that's what you mean."
"Ahhhhhh—!" Yu Pan excitedly hugged Shen Yanzhou's neck, kissing him wildly on the face like a happy puppy. "Published! It's published! Brother! It's really published!"
Shen Yanzhou let him kiss her, her face beaming with an undisguised smile. "Yes, it's about publishing. Our Panpan is going to publish a book."
"I'm so amazing! Shen Yanzhou! I'm so incredible!" Yu Pan was so excited that she couldn't speak coherently, only repeating the phrase, "I can publish a book too! My book!"
“Yes, you’re amazing. Our Panpan has always been amazing.” Shen Yanzhou put his arm around his waist and said with a smile, “Our Panpan is a real writer now.”
“Writer…” Yu Pan was stunned when he heard the word. That unreal feeling of happiness overwhelmed him again. He hugged Shen Yanzhou. “I…I’m really going to become a writer!”
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Author's Note: Panpan [Cat Head]: [Cat Head][Cat Head][Cat Head]
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