Chapter 36 36

36 Half a year later, Xu Chen’s new novel was published, and our story has not been included in his writing plan for the time being, or he has put it on hold for the time being (he complained that he had already written 20,000 words, and he would ask for a love letter just to write a book).But I know that one day he will write it. You can't stop a person born for expression from feeling but not expressing. After all, he can claim the power of a writer, which is even his obligation. It is not easy nor morally justifiable to ask a person to give up his rights and obligations.Finally, I came up with an idea, which is to record my discussion with Xu Chen truthfully.My "truthfulness" is of course only an effort, and the results of this effort have always been questionable.

This matter is actually not simple. It has something to do with the meaning of life, the purpose of writing, the standard of truth, the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity, and the relationship between the material world and the spiritual world. (Of course, it all boils down to these basic questions.) I know many people who are immortalized by being characters in fiction, Julien Sorel, Marie du Plessy, known as La Traviata, even the vampire Count Dracula.They all actually existed at one time, but it doesn't matter anymore, they are immortal because they are another person someone else imagined.

Illiers, the prototype of the beautiful town of Combray in Proust’s book, was renamed Illiers-Combray since 1971. This is the power of description. Illiers is just an unknown town, and Illiers— Combray, the product of this literature has left a long history.To be remembered, a person's memory must become a public memory. Once at dusk, I was looking for the cemetery of La Traviata in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.Among the densely erected tombstones, her tomb is not difficult to find. The gravekeeper has drawn the path, there are signs in the travel guide, and there are even flowers in front of the tombstone, all because she was described by a person named Dumas fils.This is the power of description, and I know that power well. ——she lost her true face, but gained immortality.

The point is that no one cares if she wants to be like this. A group of dancing girls compare Xu Chen's books with each other, which sentence is about me and which one is about you, does Xu Chen think she is beautiful?Or that he had almost fallen in love with her... They were all proud of it. Xu Chen said: "I should write more, those who haven't written are still very sad." "You are the kind of person who looks better than the picture, you are the kind of person who looks good in sleep, you are the kind of person who makes me laugh out loud, you are the kind of person who can be dirty in Beijing without music People dancing in the shadow of the lamp..."

I'm sure many people privately wish to be admired in this way. Of course, it is also very possible. His description makes you feel ashamed. There are so few people who broke up with him because Xu Chen wrote it in the book, and there are even more people who have grudges. For example, the one he called "" "Heavenly" girl who disappeared from their circle of friends for a while after the novel about her was published. Xu Chen once had a young girlfriend named Xiao Jia, who happened to meet the "Heavenly Immortal" in Xu Chen's book in a bar. A person who is prettier than a photo? Is this the kind of person who looks good in sleep? This is the kind of person who can dance without music...? If she is a fairy, I will be the head of a fairy!"

Xu Chen laughed out loud at Xiao Jia's words.