Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 15, the cover of "The Record of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty"

The latest issue of "Tales of the Tang Dynasty" has been released, and I heard that it includes many winning entries from essay competitions.

Cui Hao was not happy to hear that.

It's not that he can't stand good suspense—who wouldn't want to read more exciting stories?

But having been in the suspense genre for so many years, he knows all too well that this type of writing relies heavily on established authors. If space were made for the submissions from newcomers, then the works of veteran authors he's been following for years would have to be significantly reduced!

Those up-and-coming writers may have a promising start, but when it comes to the completeness of their work, none of them can compare to the veteran writers.

However, he paused for a moment when he touched the latest issue of the magazine, which was noticeably thicker.

A staff member from the bookstore next door kindly added:

"The latest issue of 'Tales of the Tang Dynasty' is available with more content at the same price."

More for the same price?

In other words, the magazine not only included excellent submissions from newcomers, but also didn't cut a single article from the main body. How can this magazine publisher be so shrewd!

Cui Haobao is a master of changing faces.

Many loyal fans of "The Great Tang Dynasty Tales of Ghosts" share the same thoughts as Cui Hao, but after witnessing the magazine's handling of the situation, they all praised it highly.

This is also the result of a consensus among the magazine editors—they welcome new friends and warmly welcome old friends.

"Old Cui? Buying 'The Chronicles of Ghosts' again? I really don't know what's so interesting about suspense. Life is already messed up enough, I'd rather watch some science fiction with you."

"Let me tell you, Tang, those of us who like suspense are the most conscientious people in the world..."

Then Cui Hao shared the story of "more content for the same price" for "The Record of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty" with his friends.

Old Tang is Cui Hao's old friend. They both love reading popular works, but their tastes are completely different.

Cui Hao is obsessed with suspense, while Lao Tang prefers the feeling of slowly reading science fiction while brewing a pot of tea every day.

"Is it really that good? I think this essay contest is just a way to fill in a bunch of mediocre works by new authors. The magazine probably did this because they're afraid of not being able to sell their work."

I say this because a few years ago, the science fiction magazine that Lao Tang likes to read held a competition that was organized in this way.

The submissions that were finally published in the magazine were a bunch of indescribable things, including some that disguised science fiction as a love story between Nan and Tong.

"You're just spouting nonsense!"

Despite his words, Cui Hao himself was not really confident, since newcomers in any industry are mostly not necessarily "good at their jobs".

"Anyway, you've bought this magazine today, so you can read it when you get home. I don't believe you can resist falling in love with suspense after reading one of your favorite suspense stories."

Even if the entries in the essay contest are truly subpar, Cui Hao is certain that with other veteran authors involved, it's impossible for all the entries in this issue of "The Record of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty" to be such a complete flop.

Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!

Old Tang's lips curled up; he loved seeing the old rascal jump up and down in anger.

"Okay." He casually took the magazine from his friend, but his eyes were immediately drawn to the chilling cover:

A withered old woman lies on a white hospital bed, looking terrifying. The scene thoughtfully guides the reader to empathize with the perspective of the small, frail little girl beside her.

Below, in several lines of blood-red text, lay a chilling message:

"grandmother".

Special First Prize in Essay Contest.

Tea in early spring [wearing].

There was no so-called "golden editor" from Chiabei who defied public opinion and awarded this work a special "first prize".

In fact, this decision was made collectively by all the editors after reading the full text of "Grandma".

This is roughly what online novel enthusiasts like to say every day: "Good writing can overcome many limitations"—as long as the writing is good enough, many industry restrictions are irrelevant to you.

"Don't look at this! It's a new author's work!"

"It's precisely because these are works by newcomers that we can see the depth of your category."

Old Tang smiled sideways, ignoring all advice, and turned straight to the main text of "Grandma".

"Alright, alright, I'll read this one with you first."

Cui Hao complied. He was actually quite curious about the significance of the special first prize in this essay competition.

The film "Grandma" begins with an elderly woman lying in a hospital bed, nearing her death, while her children reluctantly come to visit.

Only the little granddaughter genuinely wanted to visit her grandmother.

Let's talk about the social problem of unfilial children.

Old Tang said that those who write suspense novels, once they put their pens down, their feet are firmly planted in real life; they can't escape it even if they want to—the mundane details of daily life, human relationships, everything has to be incorporated. That's why he likes to read science fiction; in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, he follows the author's pen as they fly out of Earth and into the universe.

Once you've witnessed that kind of grandeur, when you look back at the little things in life, you'll feel that they're unimportant and nothing matters anymore.

So it still has to be science fiction.

It wasn't until he saw the grandmother on the hospital bed about to switch bodies with her granddaughter that Old Tang felt something was wrong; his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He visibly increased the speed at which he turned the pages.

Seeing his grandmother using her granddaughter's body to hopscotch and freely enjoying the feeling of youth, Old Tang felt a pang of unease. For some reason, he had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

When the story progressed to the point where Grandma finally saw her old flame, Old Tang was truly impressed by the author's level of hentai (perverted/perverted).

The way the old and young are misplaced is astonishing.

After seeing the person, the grandmother rushed to the hospital.

Old Tang regained his composure.

The little girl in the hospital who was replacing her grandmother was on her last breath.

He had to catch up, he had to catch up... He silently encouraged himself.

The "little girl" ran as fast as she could, without stopping even though her legs were scraped.

We made it!

I shuddered when I saw the electrocardiogram at the end, and I saw the grandmother and granddaughter's souls switch back at the end.

Old Tang just breathed a sigh of relief.

Wait, why is there more at the end? The same thought that popped into his head as the top editor's...

Watching the little girl, now a middle-aged woman, hopscotch and hum old folk songs, she seemed out of place in this era.

Old Tang understood perfectly well that at the end of the story, the grandmother and granddaughter's bodies were never switched back.

The book "Grandma" is not long. Cui Hao, who was sitting next to him, had actually finished reading it long ago, but he was so engrossed in the story that he couldn't tear himself away.

In the last half hour, he could only manage to utter two words:

"Awesome."

Is this a newbie? Cui Hao silently noted down the author's name—"Early Spring Tea".

Forgive his previous disrespect; the essay contest has truly revealed dazzling new talents with "remarkable abilities".

He didn't forget to show off his research on suspense, and started chatting with his friend:

"Actually, this grandma never intended to return her body in the first place."

"How did you figure that out?"

"Look, she used the excuse of 'seeing her brother one last time' to gain his trust, and the first thing she did after switching bodies was to indulge in her youth. And the person she went to see wasn't her brother at all, but her old lover. That exposes her desires, doesn't it?"

Cui Hao coughed and continued, "She deliberately delayed returning to the hospital, leaving her granddaughter on the verge of death in her hospital bed. In reality, she just wanted her granddaughter to die in her place."

Old Tang was shocked: "How did you figure that out?"

Yes, that expression really pleased Lao Cui.

"Then we have to start from the beginning. Grandma must have harbored resentment towards this unfilial daughter-in-law for a long time. She had selfish motives, wanting to use her granddaughter's young body to survive, and also wanting to watch her daughter-in-law meet a tragic end..."

Old Cui launched into a lengthy analysis of the plot of "Grandma" in front of his old friend.

"In short, this author is a genius." He concluded with that last sentence.

Even among all the suspense works Lao Cui has read over the years, this one is one of the best in terms of quality.

"Who would believe that the author is not even 20 years old? A very important young person has come to your suspense section."

The content of this story, "Grandma," truly shattered Lao Tang's stereotypes about suspense—the story's content had absolutely nothing to do with everyday life.

To be honest, after watching "Grandma," he was more engrossed than after watching many science fiction works. It's safe to say that for the next week, the impact of "Grandma" will be so strong that he won't be able to completely get over it.

"I admit defeat. The suspense was indeed quite good."

It's not easy to get the stubborn Old Tang to say "it's alright".

Cui Hao smiled.

This essay contest is really worth holding; it's a great idea.

After reading the latest issue of "The Record of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty," many people across the country who enjoy suspense share his thoughts.

The lights at the "Tales of the Tang Dynasty" magazine office were on all night. The entire company was in complete chaos.

Regardless of online reviews, all they know about this episode of "Tales of the Tang Dynasty" is that it sold out.

The magazine anticipated that this essay contest might have some impact, but they didn't expect... it would cause such a big fuss.

"It's fair to say that half the credit goes to this article, 'Grandma.' It's gone viral on the internet."

Jiabei was given the most important task in the entire company during a time of crisis.

The big boss, puffing on a cigar, patted him on the shoulder:

"Make sure to contact the author of this article and offer him our company's most attractive contract. You absolutely must sign it, understand?"

Jiabei nodded, knowing the weight of his responsibility.

"And don't underestimate someone just because they're old..."

How could a top-notch editor create a plot that even a third-rate writer couldn't write?

The top editor, who hadn't even stepped out the door yet, stumbled.