Chapter 34: Are You Truly the King of Li Tang?

Chapter 34: Are You Really Li Tangwang?

Reporter Liu: "Didn't he see you writing a novel?"

Li Jingkun: "He did, but he glanced a few times and lost interest. He's not into that kind of thing, and he thought I was just writing for fun. Little did he know I was already serializing it on 'Tender Buds.'"

Reporter Liu: "Haha, your classmate sounds quite amusing."

Li Jingkun: "It's normal. If it were me, I wouldn't have thought much of it either."

...

Reporter Liu: "How many copies of your books have sold so far?"

Li Jingkun: "'Whose Youth Walks With Me' sold just over 100,000 copies. The first volume of 'The Illusory River of Qingming' sold over 300,000, and the second volume should be about the same. 'The Heartless Master' is still being serialized and will be published next semester."

Reporter Liu: "Publishing during senior year—that seems to be a habit, releasing your novels a month or two before school starts."

Li Jingkun: "Yes, I plan to continue that way, releasing one book each semester."

Reporter Liu: "That's quite a fast pace."

Li Jingkun: "Not bad."

Reporter Liu: "May I ask roughly how much income you've made?"

Li Jingkun: "The royalties from the first two books total over one million yuan."

...

A few days later, the Jiedong Daily published the interview.

At first, not many people knew about it. But the news soon spread from the school’s leadership.

It made sense; most ordinary families don’t subscribe to newspapers.

But once someone in the leadership had a free moment and saw the report, the news quickly reached all the teachers and administrators—after all, this was their student and their school’s pride.

Once the teachers knew, the students found out soon after.

The result? The entire school was abuzz.

One of the famous post-80s young writers, Li Tangwang, whose real name was Li Jingkun, was actually a student at Jiedong City No. 1 High School!

Many students at the school subscribed to 'Tender Buds' magazine and were fans of his work.

Who would have thought the real person was right there among them?

After the news broke, many students from other classes frequently came to their classroom to sneak a look at Li Jingkun. Some even brought copies of 'The Illusory River of Qingming' for him to sign...

"Is it real? Are you really Li Tangwang?"

Song Hairong still couldn’t believe it, especially since his name was mentioned too—he played the role of the loyal, goofy friend.

Not only him, but everyone else was stunned.

"Dizzy... so your parents really are farmers? You earned all that money yourself?"

That was Huang Haotian speaking. He had always thought Li Jingkun was generous and assumed his family was in business, but it turned out Li earned his wealth on his own.

In short, this revelation shocked them all.

Soon after, Liuchuan Daily and Liuchuan Television Station came for interviews. The newspaper was fine, but the TV appearance meant Li Jingkun was on screen.

Although the time was short, it was his first time on television.

Li Jingkun’s local fame soared.

He was undoubtedly the school’s campus celebrity. Who knew if in a few years some girls might write several campus romance novels inspired by him?

...

On a Sunday, Li Jingkun held a short film “premiere” in the band rehearsal room.

Most attendees were students from Jiedong City No. 1 High School, including the main creators: Song Hairong, Wang Yajing, Zhu Miaotong, and members of the Aurora Band.

Behind-the-scenes crew like Chen Danhong were present, as well as guests: Huang Sisi, Zhou Jiani, Wu Danrong, and several classmates from Grade 11, Class 8.

With so many people gathered to watch a film, snacks and drinks were a must. But the awkward part was that the film lasted only a few minutes, so the snack wrappers might be opened just as the short film ended...

"Whose laptop is this?"

"Jingkun’s."

"Why not use a notebook computer? Isn't that more convenient?"

"The notebook screen is too small."

"Pass me that bag of raw peanuts, and bring a trash can too."

"Miss, can’t you come get it yourself? You’re so lazy."

"This kind of service attitude is unacceptable nowadays."

"Great writer, what do you want to eat?"

With more than twenty people, the place was a bit noisy and there weren’t enough chairs. In the end, they borrowed two or three benches from the landlord to sit down.

Once everyone was ready, Li Jingkun clicked play and switched to full screen. The short film began.

The opening was simple, listing the director, screenwriter, and lead actors, then moving into the main story.

It started with a corner of the school campus, followed by the image of running feet entering the frame.

The figure ran farther away, and the narration began...

"Throughout my entire first year of high school, I kept running. From the teaching building to the playground, from the cafeteria to the dormitory, running through the lingering cold of winter into the endless rainy summer."

The narration by Song Hairong accompanied the image of him running on the track.

The camera then shifted to students doing morning exercises during break time, with the female lead Wang Yajing standing off to the side, taking notes.

She wore a blue-and-white school uniform, slender and graceful, embodying youthful beauty.

"I first noticed Su Mo at a class meeting after entering high school. She felt like a ray of sunshine piercing my heart."

"There isn’t much to recall about Su Mo and me. I just remember that during that time, all my emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—were tied to her.

I thought we’d stay in the same class and get into the same university. Unfortunately, after the first class division in first year, we were separated..."

"After June, the school canceled running during breaks, but I kept running; because only while running did I feel that humans are free beings..."

The short film lasted only eight or nine minutes, so the content was sparse.

Its plot was simple: a boy’s secret crush on a girl, told entirely through narration—it barely felt like a film.

Yet, surprisingly, it was very captivating; everyone loved it.

Because it felt close to high school life, and most boys and even girls had experienced such secret crushes.

Also, because they had all participated in making it.

"Ah, Yajing is so beautiful! I’m so jealous!"

"She really looks great, the female lead."

"Hairong looks so silly."

"No, he’s quite handsome, hahaha."

"Miaotong is so pitiful, just one scene."

"Hey, I was only a cameo! What’s wrong with one scene?"

"Who’s that teacher?"

"The great writer’s homeroom teacher."

"Ah? He actually agreed to act?"

"What’s the big deal? Supporting his student’s film project is perfectly normal."

"Play it again! Play it again!"

After the short film ended, lively discussion broke out. Many felt it wasn’t enough, so they played it again.

After that, once more.

(End of chapter)