: Making Friends
“I’ve heard about your great name, Teacher Ou! It’s my honor to receive your praise. I still remember when I once watched your ‘Winter’s Journey’ at a cinema. I couldn’t move my eyes away from the screen throughout the two hours. That unexpected ending was something I’ve never experienced in other movies!” Zhao Youyue kept the praises piling up.
Although she seemed earnest, her tone barely fluctuated. Only she knew whether she truly liked Ou Yang’s work.
But, without a doubt, such compliment, or a ‘mutual commercial extolling’[1] between Ou Yang and Zhao Youyue brought their meeting to a great start.
Zhao Youyue’s ability to communicate according to different people came particularly handy here. After all, not many people were too stubborn to listen to anyone. How could any guy withstand such exaltations from Zhao Youyue? Her elder cousin, Zhao Hao for instance, would turn entirely smug at a flap of her tongue
After all, most beauties and talented females in this world were extremely arrogant. They insist that men must sweet-talk them, yet they would not take the initiative to sweet-talk men, as if that very act was a degradation of their own worth. Therefore, when sweet-talked by a girl endowed with both beauty and talent like Zhao Youyue, the ‘damage’ would be doubly critical.
Zhao Youyue seemed to be sweet-talking earnestly on the surface, her heart skips no beats. It was no loss for her to have a sweet mouth. She might even be able to reel in a new contact by this method.
Treating people nicely was one of her specialties.
Ou Yang had been admiring Zhao Youyue’s music talent, youth, and beauty. She was a junior who he could even treat her as his daughter. Now that he had been buttered up by her, his heart started leaping about.
It was not easy for one to regard fame and gain as more than just tools for attention and wealth. “Winter’s Journey” was not one of Ou Yang’s proudest works. He had not earned much money from the movie adaptation. However, the movie did make him extremely famous.
After all, there would always be more movie-watchers than original novel-readers. Still, audiences who wanted a deeper insight of the novel due to the movie, would be led to purchase the novel.
The elite scholar Zhao Youyue and the famous writer Ou Yang had good chat that night. Zhao Youyue expressed her desire to get involved with the traditional literary scene. She hoped to be introduced to more best-selling writers and scenarist within TV, film, etc. through Ou Yang. What plan was this? Only Zhao Youyue, who owned the “Two Dimensional Gate” knew her own intentions.
Ou Yang totally had no idea what he was getting into. He thought that she was a gem of a young girl who truly loved literature!
Zhao Youyue even let it slip that Wang Hua, her mother was also a writer, even being a member of Chinese Writers Association, on top of that. She had been brought up around the written word and literature since birth
If Wang Hua heard her Little Sloth lying through her teeth so blatantly, she would certainly bare her teeth and set her offspring straight!
If Little Sloth liked literature, the Sun would rise from the west!
Ou Yang was a middle-aged man who had fought tooth and nail to reach where he was today. He was indeed an honest man. He was extremely addicted to writing. In his work, he could easily write up characters with high IQ. In reality, he was rather obtuse.
Ou Yang knew Wang Hua. After all, they were both members of the China Writers Association. Wang Hua was a beautiful writer and a famous university professor. Thus, he felt relieved. “No wonder this student Zhao Youyue is so pretty as well, and likes literature so much. Looks like it runs in the family,” he thought.
Ou Yang’s impression towards Zhao Youyue improved drastically once again. He initially had believed that a beautiful girl endowed with both beauty and talent like Zhao Youyue had to be unapproachable. She might be off-putting and arrogant because of her beauty and talent. After exchanging a few lines, only did he notice that Zhao Youyue had a very good nature. If he was a high school student, he would definitely pursue her!
Yet, Ou Yang did not know how disastrous it was for boys who liked Zhao Youyue. She never gave anyone any chances, even if she seemed approachable from the surface. She was not exactly cold, and she was rather courteous.
She would not shy away from communicating with the opposite sex. Females had their own interesting points, but so did males. Getting to know more people would be helpful in creating iconic characters as well.
Han Leng’s love letters were rather interesting to Zhao Youyue. She wanted to see how many non-repeating love letters could be produced from the Great Scholar Han’s pen. She kept a full collection of his letters and took great care of them.
When you’re alive, you should not stop searching for happy things. If you think that being an eye-catching protagonist can make you happy, then put effort into becoming one. If you think that being a passerby and watching the clowns performing from your silent corner would give you happiness, then be a passerby.
Zhao Youyue considered herself open-minded. Nothing could make her unhappy. Yet, she had been able to bring happiness to others through her live streams and music.
By the time Zhao Youyue and the great writer Ou Yang parted ways, she was already calling him “Uncle Ou.” That really pleased the middle-aged man who lived by his lonesome. He used to hate naughty kids. He considered them the primary cause of him remaining unmarried.
Zhao Youyue made Ou Yang looked at children more favorably now. In Ou Yang’s eyes, Zhao Youyue was still a high school student. She was certainly a child.
Only later did he realize that the primary cause of him not able to find his other half, was because he had placed too much in his pursuit of perfection. He was the odd one out. Those times when he got along with women on blind dates, he would always get straight to the point. He would first admit that he was a virgin. Then he would ask the woman if she was a virgin. He would only be interested in pursuing a relationship if the answer was ‘yes.’
His logic was flawless. He was already in his 30s, and he had kept himself chaste. Why would he not deserve to get a virgin as his wife?
However, the woman would consider Ou Yang neurotic. What era was this guy living in? Go search at a nearby kindergarten, then! This guy’s still a virgin in his 30s, he had to be bad with women! He had to be abnormal!
Back then, Ou Yang had barely picked up as a writer. He was in a tough situation. He had no car, no house. Everything about him was tragic.
Of course, he did not see it that way. As long as he adheres to writing for a lifetime, he would eventually find success.
Now, Ou Yang looked at Zhao Youyue as if she was his own daughter. Such a good girl. She was so respectful to him, so beautiful and intelligent. She even had such great musical talent, and had a deeply ingrained passion for literature....
And so it was. Lady Zhao had successfully built a good relationship with an abnormal uncle writer who did not appear abnormal during this New Year’s Eve.
Ou Yang was not abnormal indeed. His long years of remaining a virgin had entirely killed off his libido. It was because of this that he was able to write such extremely cold, rational characters who never let emotions get in the way.
If such a character appeared in reality, everyone would only consider him abnormal
Ou Yang actually wanted all his readers to judge his situation. What wrong is there for a male virgin to search for a virgin wife?
If they weren’t, of course they would no longer reserve the rights to ask for virgins as their other halves.
Translation Note:
[1] Mutual commercial extolling – It refers to a kind of social etiquette and way by extolling between good friends, while also praising the things the other likes. It can bring forth a win-win effect, where one can make both others and oneself happy. It is a necessary skill between friends.
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