EFB Chapter 41 Double Blossom
Chapter 41 Double Blossom
On a sweltering summer day, I drove along the edge of the driving school's plaza.
Liu Xiaobing successfully reversed into the parking space. After getting out of the car and switching drivers, he quickly walked to a small stool under the shade of a tree, sat down, and then took out his phone and opened the Chuangjie Novel app.
This was during his summer vacation after finishing his freshman year of college, when he enrolled in a driving school to learn to drive.
Learning to drive is a very boring thing, because an instructor usually takes several students, so each person has very little time to touch the car. The rest of the time is spent sitting on the side, playing on their phones to pass the time.
Liu Xiaobing's preferred pastime is reading novels. A couple of days ago, he discovered a novel in the recommendation section of the platform called "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
Although I didn't think I'd read a novel with such an old-fashioned title, I still subconsciously clicked to enter the page. It was a new book by a new author, and the word count was still very low. After glancing at the synopsis, I was even less inclined to read it.
But he was surprised to find that there were already over 10,000 comments. Was this data inflated by the author? A novel of over 200,000 words, and it has over 10,000 comments?
Open the comments section, wow, everyone's writing long essays?
He opened the comment with the most likes, which was a long comment:
Thoughts on reading "The Legend of the Condor Heroes":
"When I first saw this novel, it was under the historical fantasy genre. To put it simply: I hope the platform can create a new category for this novel!"
"After consulting the materials, I found that the novel is set in a very realistic historical framework. The opening time is 1199, the fifth year of the Qingyuan reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Southern Song Dynasty. At this time, the Song, Jin and Mongol dynasties were about to enter the most delicate and intense stage of confrontation. Qiu Chuji, Genghis Khan, Tolui and others are all real historical figures. The author has basically achieved the accuracy of major events, thus creating a very high sense of realism."
"The author reconstructs a concept in the book—the martial arts world."
"The earliest known use of the term 'jianghu' comes from the Zhuangzi's 'The Great Master,' which states, 'It is better to forget each other in the jianghu than to share a hardship together.' Here, 'jianghu' refers to the vast world of pursuing freedom and returning to nature. Later, Fan Zhongyan mentioned in 'The Yueyang Tower' that 'When one is in a high position at court, one should worry about the people; when one is far from the court, one should worry about the ruler.' Here, 'jianghu' refers to the dwelling place of a hermit. Later still, it refers to the marginalized society that is outside the control of the government and highly mobile, such as the 'jianghu' we often hear about, 'jianghu practitioners,' and 'jianghu doctors,' referring to the gray areas of real society."
"The martial arts world depicted by the author, Lin Yuan, is an independent ecosystem with its own rules. It is a world full of chivalry, adventure, legend, and imagination. At the same time, it is also a space for projecting dreams. Individuals can gain martial power, prestige, and respect through cultivation, thereby transcending the shackles of worldly power and fulfilling people's ultimate fantasies about freedom, justice, and individual strength."
"This story has both a real historical and cultural foundation and a fantastical existence that transcends reality. On the grand stage of the martial arts world, the love, hatred, grudges, and entanglements of various characters, combined with elements of history, philosophy, and human nature, are so captivating and enchanting."
"In addition, the author Lin Yuan's character portrayals are also incredibly vivid. Take the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan for example (the following contains spoilers, read with caution)."
"..."
Liu Xiaobing immediately exited; there was no need to read any further. Just the sheer volume of text made it worth reading. Of course, some were also drawn in by his description of the martial arts world—was it really that good?
He started reading from the beginning, and that reading ignited yet another young man's dream of wandering the world with a sword.
Unfortunately, this world has martial arts films and action movies, and the existence of Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods means that people are not unfamiliar with fantasy and cultivation, but they have never heard of a martial arts masterpiece like the Nine Yin Manual.
Especially when these elements are combined with real history, traditional culture, and national righteousness to form martial arts, people can only say: It's just right!
The author updates promptly at 3 PM every day, usually with around 10,000 words. What a phenomenal author!
Thinking this, Liu Xiaobing couldn't wait to open the latest chapter as soon as he sat down. He had been practicing driving earlier, so he hadn't finished reading today's update.
He remained excited, his body trembling slightly. Why? Because just yesterday, the Nine-Fingered Beggar Hong Qigong had made his appearance! He read each word carefully, completely immersed in the novel's plot.
At this point in the novel's story, the trio of the clever cook, the honest apprentice, and the gluttonous master become the driving force of the story. At the same time, Guo Jing's martial arts once again have a great opportunity and breakthrough. The title of this chapter is "The Dragon Regrets!"
After reading it in one go, Liu Xiaobing felt nothing but exhilaration. The Northern Beggar's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the Eastern Heretic's Falling Flower Divine Sword Palm—just listen to those names! These are the martial arts that male and female protagonists should learn!
This excitement lasted until he started driving practice. He couldn't contain himself and almost crashed the car into a tree with a reckless, over-the-top maneuver. Luckily, the instructor had a backup brake.
The coach was also startled, staring blankly at Liu Xiaobing. This kid usually drives quite well, what happened to him?
Liu Xiaobing was still a little dazed. Seeing the coach staring intently at him, he subconsciously clasped his hands in a salute and said, "I've made a fool of myself!"
coach:"……"
……
……
"Jinyan, your new song is so good! You are the biggest surprise in the Chinese music scene in 2015."
Xu Jinyan paused her writing for a while to take a break, and when she took out her phone, she saw the message that Yang Mi had just sent.
The two have chatted several times in the past week or so. The initial topic was Yang Mi's voice, then her career as a singer, then acting, and the entertainment industry. In short, there were many topics to discuss.
He replied, "Did Honey spend two yuan to support me?"
Yang Mi: "Not only that, I also shared your songs with my parents, and they really like them and even paid to download them. I don't know why, but the older they get, the more they like your songs."
"I'm worried too. What if I have an event where fans greet me at the airport, and a bunch of old men and women show up?"
"I kind of regret asking you to write a song for me, hahaha..." Yang Mi couldn't stop laughing. She hadn't expected Xu Jinyan to have this kind of personality after getting to know him for the past few days.
Xu Jinyan: "I'm sorry, this is a small business. Once an order is placed, we do not accept refunds or exchanges."
"You call your Canglan a small business? My company is the small business."
Xu Jinyan: "Canglan is not mine, and the company is big and there are many things to do. I have written four songs in the two months since I joined the company. Sometimes I have to go to work on Sundays. It is really too hard."
Yang Mi: "..."
I haven't had a break in over a year because of this bet, and you're already suffering just because you have to work on a Sunday?
She asked, "Would you like to come to my company? I'll provide you with all the equipment, and you can start work whenever you want." If she could bring Xu Jinyan over, the company would be more likely to succeed.
Xu Jinyan raised an eyebrow. "I was just doing a Versailles-style thing, why are you taking it so seriously? Besides, the company just increased his commission."
He thought for a moment and replied, "Let's talk about it after you win the bet, sister."
Yang Mi took a deep breath, wisely choosing to skip the topic, and asked, "Four songs? You only released two after signing with Canglan, so if you include my song, that's only three."
"Oh, there's another one that was written for another older sister."
Yang Mi was momentarily stunned by the man's reply. Could it be that her other sister was also married? Could he have some kind of ambition?
Yang Mi: "Oh."
Her simple reply, with ample white space, left it impossible to discern her thoughts.
Xu Jinyan didn't think too much about it and asked, "When will Sister Mi have time to record a song?"
Yang Mi replied, "Let's wait until filming wraps up."
Hsu Chin-yen: "Then I'll finish making the demo and send it over as soon as possible. You'd better find a vocal coach now, so you don't have to struggle with recording later."
"Okay, thank you, Jinyan."
"You're welcome."
Then Xu Jinyan lay on the sofa for a while and scrolled through her phone.
Since the release of the song "Shanghai Bund", Xu Jinyan has become the person that pure singers most want to befriend, and even try to please.
Because he is extremely good at creating music tailored to singers, and he is generous with good music.
Teacher Li Tian has gained another representative work, and he will be a staple of various galas this year. When that imperial voice resounds in the top-notch studio, the sound pressure and grandeur will be an auditory enjoyment.
Nanfeng is even more enviable. Everyone basically knows that Nanfeng was a judge on Xu Jinyan's competition and even asked her to write a song after the finals. Well-informed people also know that Nanfeng is Xu Jinyan's senior, and Xu Jinyan wrote two songs for Nanfeng at once.
Many singers, upon hearing this news, felt a deep sense of their own inadequacy and considered whether they needed to seek further training from Professor Xu of Dongxi Academy.
In just one day, Xu Wenqing became the most popular mentor among students and singers.