fictionpage Chapter 23 became a fan meeting scene.
Chapter 23 became a fan meeting scene.
As he scooped up the noodles, Boss Liu answered loudly, his tone filled with pride:
"This young man's name is Chen Zhiyuan! He wrote 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty,' which is currently being published daily in the Jiangnan Daily!"
What!
It was actually written by him!
Judging from the instantaneous changes in the expressions and eyes of the surrounding diners, many of them had clearly read the newspaper, and were even likely readers of the serialized novel.
A series of surprised, incredulous, and then admiring and eager gazes suddenly focused on Chen Zhiyuan, who was engrossed in eating his noodles.
The once noisy little shop, filled with the sounds of people slurping noodles and chatting, suddenly became much quieter, as if someone had pressed the mute button.
Some people couldn't believe it and tentatively asked again, "You...you're really Chen Zhiyuan, that Teacher Chen?"
Before Chen Zhiyuan could speak, Boss Liu answered for him, his voice resolute: "Of course it's true, it's him, I'm your witness!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the brief silence was instantly broken, and the store suddenly became lively again, even more so than before!
"My God! That's amazing! You wrote that book!"
"So young? I thought the author was at least in his thirties or forties!"
"Wow, I never imagined the author was eating noodles right here among us! What an honor!"
"..."
Listening to the chorus of praise and discussion, feeling the undisguised astonishment and admiration in the eyes focused on me... I must say, it was a really wonderful feeling. I felt warm inside, but also a little embarrassed.
In addition, the rice noodles themselves were delicious, and the beef was so "luxurious" that Chen Zhiyuan felt that he had never eaten a bowl of noodles so deliciously, so satisfyingly, and so... eye-catchingly before.
Then something even more unexpected happened.
A short-haired girl who looked to be about the same age as Chen Zhiyuan seemed to have mustered up her courage. With a shy blush on her face, she stood up from where she was leaning against the wall and walked towards him with a slightly nervous expression.
You could tell she was a little shy, but the urge to meet her "idol" overwhelmed her reserve.
She walked to Chen Zhiyuan's desk and asked softly, a little nervously, "Mr. Chen... could you... could you sign your name for me?"
Chen Zhiyuan was taken aback when he heard this. He looked up at the unfamiliar girl in front of him, who was full of expectation, and was quite surprised.
Surprisingly... there are even book fans asking for my autograph, this is the first time this has ever happened.
He paused for a moment, then realized what he meant, put down his chopsticks, nodded, and said gently, "Sure, where should I sign?"
The short-haired girl's face immediately lit up with a surprised smile. She quickly took out a brand-new hardcover notebook and a ballpoint pen from her small cloth bag and handed them over with both hands.
She pointed to the notebook's title page and said, "Teacher Chen, you can sign here! Thank you!"
Chen Zhiyuan took the pen, hesitated for a moment, and then put pen to paper.
Instead of writing in neat regular script, he wrote with flowing, vigorous strokes, and three elegant and powerful characters in running script—"Chen Zhiyuan"—appeared on the paper.
The moment those three characters were written, the girl's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but exclaim softly, "Wow! Teacher Chen, your handwriting... it's so beautiful, so lovely!"
This beautiful penmanship truly demonstrates calligraphic skill, so it's no surprise that it won the girl's heartfelt applause.
Many other diners craned their necks to look, then nodded in agreement, whispering among themselves, "That's really good calligraphy!" "That's skillful!"
The girl held the notebook, looking at the signature on the cover. Her joy and excitement were almost overflowing. If they weren't in a public place, she probably would have jumped for joy.
She bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Teacher Chen! Thank you so much!"
I initially thought it was just a minor, unexpected incident, but little did I know, it was only the beginning.
Perhaps it was because the handwriting was truly amazing, but more likely it was because many of the diners present were fans of the book "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty." Seeing that someone had started, others gradually mustered up the courage to come forward and ask Chen Zhiyuan for an autograph.
Some people were holding newly bought copies of the Jiangnan Daily, some were taking out their notebooks, and one old man even handed over a crumpled cigarette box paper...
What should have been a five- or six-minute, or at most ten-minute, meal of noodles took Chen Zhiyuan over twenty minutes to finally "escape" after being surrounded by enthusiastic fans.
The atmosphere at the scene became increasingly heated and "exciting".
Someone must have leaked the news, because more and more people came from the surrounding area.
Some were loyal readers who came specifically to get an autograph after hearing the news; some were neighbors who were curious to see what the "author" looked like; and some even waited for an autograph while eagerly inquiring about the plot development.
As more and more people gathered, almost blocking the entrance to the small noodle shop, Chen Zhiyuan felt the situation was getting a bit "out of control" and could only repeatedly apologize to everyone:
"Excuse me, everyone, I really have something urgent to attend to, I have to go now, thank you everyone! Thank you!"
He barely managed to break free from the enthusiastic crowd and hurried back to the nearby family quarters as if fleeing in panic.
Only after entering his own apartment building, closing the door, and completely shutting out the noise from the outside world did Chen Zhiyuan finally let out a long sigh of relief. Leaning against the door, he felt his heart still beating a little fast.
He raised his hand to wipe away non-existent cold sweat, thinking with a mix of amusement and exasperation: Could it be... that I've become "famous" just like this? Should I consider wearing a mask next time I go out?
The thought made him laugh at himself, and he couldn't help but shake his head, though the corners of his mouth still couldn't help but curve upwards.
This feeling is novel, unexpected, and also carries a little bit of...sense of accomplishment?
After resting for a while and calming himself down, Chen Zhiyuan took a shower and changed into dry loungewear. The refreshing feeling made him feel relaxed.
He walked to the window and looked at the still bright sunshine outside. Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind: Will He Fei come today?
Forget about that for now. While my mind is clear and the environment is quiet, I might as well write another two thousand words as a draft.
He had just sat down at his desk and hadn't even had time to spread out his manuscript when his Nokia 3210, which was placed to the side, suddenly started ringing with a clear "beep beep beep".
Chen Zhiyuan picked it up and saw that the screen displayed Zhou Shutang's number.
Upon seeing the number, he immediately understood, guessing it was likely related to the manuscript's progress or adjustments to the serialization.
So he pressed the green call button.
As soon as the call connected, Zhou Shutang's familiar and clear voice came through, filled with undisguised excitement:
"Zhiyuan! You probably can't believe it, our newspaper's mailboxes are overflowing! They're full of letters from readers..."