mijobooks Chapter 92 The Need for Children's Literature
Chapter 92 The Need for Children's Literature
While "Seven Deadly Sins" was going viral online, Luo Jinnian was copying math problems from the blackboard in the classroom.
Chalk dust drifted slowly in the sunlight. Someone in the back row was yawning, while someone in the front row was passing notes. Gu Yanxi was asleep, her hair scattered all over the table, which Luo Jinnian pushed aside in disgust.
Chu Qingning was drawing with her head down. She was drawing a smiling cat squatting on the classroom windowsill watching everyone do their homework. The cat's tail was curled into a question mark, and its eyes were narrowed into slits, as if it was laughing or sighing.
Luo Jinnian finished copying the last question, put down his pen, and glanced at the mango tree outside the window. It was the end of September; the green mangoes on the tree were already turning yellow, and they would be ready to eat in another month. He thought back to this time in his previous life, his carefree junior high school days…
"Luo Jinnian".
The math teacher stood on the podium and called his name.
He stood up.
"You explain this question."
He glanced at the problem on the blackboard—the discriminant of a quadratic equation. He quickly calculated the answer in his mind, but still wanted to go up to the stage to answer it carefully.
Gu Yanxi, who was sitting in the audience, woke up at some point. She looked up and squinted at the blackboard writing, then looked down at her own notebook and found that the answers were exactly the same. She then buried her head back in her arms and continued to sleep.
During recess, the whole school lines up on the playground when the music for the broadcast gymnastics begins.
The students nearby moved limply, like a bunch of bean sprouts wilted by the sun. Luo Jinnian stood in the third row of the boys' line, only making sure his movements were correct.
The student in front, whose name is unknown, was different. He made very large movements when he did the exercises, with each movement having a very large range of motion. He raised his arms and legs with the momentum of trying to throw himself out.
At lunchtime, the cafeteria was packed. Luo Jinnian was carrying her tray, looking for a seat, when Chu Qingning grabbed her backpack strap from behind and dragged her to her table. There were already three people sitting at the table—Gu Yanxi, Chu Qingning, and Li Meng, Chu Qingning's elementary school classmate, the girl who was gossiping on registration day.
When Li Meng saw Luo Jinnian sit down, her eyes lit up, and then she quickly scanned the three people, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.
"You're eating so little." Chu Qingning glanced at Luo Jinnian's plate; it was a small portion of rice with green peppers and shredded pork.
That's enough.
"Did you stay up late again last night?" Gu Yanxi asked.
Luo Jinnian looked up at her. "Didn't you say you didn't know?"
Chu Qingning smiled across from her, her eyes crinkling with laughter. Li Meng watched this scene from the side, head down, contentedly eating her rice.
The last period in the afternoon was PE. The teacher gave everyone free time; the boys went to play basketball, and the girls chatted under the shade of the trees. Luo Jinnian leaned against the basketball hoop, drinking water and watching his male classmates run on the court. He neither knew how to play nor really wanted to.
After sending out "Seven," he spent two hours studying the narrative structure of "Fight Club," and while lying in bed, his mind was filled with Brad Pitt's face.
David really loves Pete to death, Luo Jinnian thought to herself with a bittersweet smile.
I didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m., and I almost didn't hear my alarm this morning.
Gu Yanxi walked over and sat down on the steps next to him.
Are you tired?
"good."
"You're lying." She glanced at his dark circles. "You were writing again last night?"
Luo Jinnian didn't say anything, screwed the cap on the water bottle, and placed it at his feet.
"Everyone online is talking about 'Seven'," Gu Yanxi said. "I checked the forums at noon and someone said that the last delivery box was the most dramatic twist in history."
After a moment of silence, she said, "But I still like your 'Laughing Cat Diary'."
Which one do you like?
"Where are you, Tiger-striped Cat?" Gu Yanxi said. "She said that the tiger-striped cat was very brave and traveled a long way for the person it liked."
Luo Jinnian nodded. He remembered that his sister also liked that story very much, and even cried while reading it.
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the school term.
When Luo Jinnian came out of the school gate with his schoolbag on his back, Chu Qingning was already waiting for him. She was holding two bottles of yogurt and handed him one.
"Are you going home today?" she asked.
"Return."
"Dad said he made pork ribs tonight."
The two walked side by side on their way home. The setting sun cast long shadows of them, one tall and one short.
"younger brother."
"Um?"
You look exhausted from school today.
Luo Jinnian neither admitted nor denied it, took a sip of yogurt, and continued walking. Chu Qingning walked beside him for a while, then suddenly said, "I read your novel, 'Seven Deadly Sins'."
Luo Jinnian: "I don't recommend you watch that."
Chu Qingning smiled and said softly, "I'm not a child anymore."
Luo Jinnian didn't reply. They turned a corner at the intersection and walked into the old street lined with banyan trees. The setting sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting shimmering gold patterns on the ground.
"Does that John Du think he's doing the right thing?"
Luo Jinnian thought for a moment and said, "He doesn't think he did anything wrong."
"So you think you're right?"
"No, not exactly," Luo Jinnian said. "He thinks the world is wrong; he's just the one who points it out."
Chu Qingning was quiet for a while, then finished her yogurt and threw the empty bottle into the roadside trash can.
"Do you feel comfortable writing this kind of thing?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because my dad told me that writing this kind of thing too much makes me feel really bad."
Ever since learning that Luo Jinnian was a writer, Chu Xiang had come to love his works, even buying and reading the fold-out pages of Luo Jinnian's early works.
Luo Jinnian glanced at her. Chu Qingning's expression was very serious. I'm talking about something very important, but I don't know how to say it seriously.
"Okay," he said.
Chu Qingning glanced at him, seemingly wanting to confirm whether this "good" was truly good, but in the end she didn't ask any further questions. She simply smiled and quickened her pace to walk ahead.
Luo Jinnian followed behind her, his backpack strap bouncing on his shoulder. He thought to himself: Of course, he'd write *Seven*, *Fight Club*, and *Zodiac*. These things all had to be written. But before that, he could write something else. Like a sequel to *Laughing Cat Diary*.
Children's artwork will always have a large market in China. If Luo Jinnian can acquire some of it, not only can he sell it now, but the returns for his child when he grows up can also be considered an advance payment.
Although Luo Jinnian is only in the first year of junior high school, he has already made the decision to plant seeds in his peers... If they fall in love with his work when they are young, will he have to worry about selling it when they grow up?
It's right to use children's artwork.