Overestimating Kid

Actually, at first, Lin Chuan just treated the writing contest for Happy Family as a fan perk.

Ever since he started filming Spoon Killer Demon, Lin Chuan had begun holding fan giveaways on Weibo and Bika Net.

One reason was to increase the buzz around his work.

Another was to give back to his fans.

This writing contest for Happy Family was also a form of fan appreciation.

The reason Lin Chuan was willing to treat his fans well...

was actually because he wanted to treat his past self well.

In his previous life, Lin Chuan was just a civil engineering major with no special ways to entertain himself.

When he wasn't working, he'd pour himself a large bottle of iced black tea, stir-fry a couple of dishes, eat them with garlic and noodles.

And spend the afternoon watching movies on his computer.

That was his greatest form of leisure and relaxation!

Lin Chuan thought, if he didn't have the System in this life and was still an ordinary person.

If he watched a short film on Bika Net, found it pretty good, and followed the Director's Weibo.

And then left a comment and won a prize.

He would definitely be very happy then.

This time, after Happy Family's box office success, it was the same.

Lin Chuan hoped to bring his fans the same joy.

Imagine, an ordinary fan.

Saw the writing contest for Happy Family, submitted an entry with a "let's give it a try" mindset, and unexpectedly won.

With tens of thousands in prize money, and many influential figures wanting to collaborate.

Their life trajectory would immediately change.

But he didn't expect some scumbag named Fang Qingyong to pop up, vowing to teach Lin Chuan a lesson.

Lin Chuan couldn't be bothered with such a clown.

He posted My Uncle Jules, A Bowl of Clear Soup Soba Noodles, and Cabbage Soup—three classic short stories—on Weibo.

Then he closed Weibo.

And bought a high-speed train ticket to Fujian, preparing to discuss the matter of a lunar base with the local bigwigs.

Meanwhile, Fang Qingyong was scrolling through Weibo.

Ever since he participated in the Happy Family writing contest, Fang Qingyong's popularity had soared.

Before, he was just a third-rate writer from Taiwan. After he declared he would teach Lin Chuan a lesson...

Quite a few people secretly expressed their support for him.

This made Fang Qingyong feel quite pleased.

Of course, many people also posted on Weibo to condemn him.

It was one thing for university teachers like Hou Yunlai, Ma Wei, and Xu Xiu to do so.

It was understandable for Lin Chuan's good brothers like Ren Hang and Liu Jiayun to stand up for him.

Fang Qingyong had watched the celebration for Happy Family's box office exceeding 100 million in three days.

He knew these people had a close relationship with Lin Chuan.

But who the hell were Wang Dong and Jiang Kui?

A borderline photographer and a voice actor, actually speaking up for Lin Chuan?

Fang Qingyong also encountered a Lin Chuan fan named Old Zhou.

Who sent him private messages that were hundreds of words long.

Fang Qingyong had OCD and had high standards for writing.

The long string of text Old Zhou sent was all flattery. Fang Qingyong was initially quite pleased.

He replied with a like, a flower emoji, and a smiley face.

Unexpectedly, Old Zhou sent another picture, circling the first character of each line.

When put together, it spelled out "Fang Qingyong is a big idiot."

Fang Qingyong was furious.

What? At his age, people still played such childish pranks!

If Fang Qingyong were a younger person, he would probably retort.

"Damn it, has Lin Chuan's friend group come here for a team-building event?!"

But Fang Qingyong was an old fuddy-duddy, only capable of impotent rage.

Fang Qingyong screenshotted the chat log and posted it on Weibo with the caption:

[Heh, is this the quality of a certain director's fans? It's laughable. Do they think I'll get angry if they do this?]

He thought he would receive comfort from his fans.

But to his surprise, the comment section was filled with netizens eager to watch the drama unfold.

"Still shouting here? Director Lin has already posted. Your pathetic writing, and you're entering a writing contest? Truly laughable."

"After reading Director Lin's Weibo, I finally understand what a good article is. Some people, at their age, have truly lived their lives in vain!"

"Director Lin didn't even enter the contest with his writing, yet some disrespectful old geezers, who are profiting from the current era, want to snatch food from the younger generation. Their greed is too ugly to watch!"

Lin Chuan posted?

He's capable of writing articles too?

Fang Qingyong raised an eyebrow, his heart burning with excitement.

As the saying goes, everyone has their own specialty.

Although Fang Qingyong wasn't well-known among literary circles, at best a third-rate writer.

Lin Chuan was a director.

What good articles could he possibly write?

Yet this brash young man insisted on clashing with Fang Qingyong in his strongest field.

Isn't that like holding a lantern in a latrine – courting death?

What an overconfident young man!

Fang Qingyong sneered and immediately clicked on Lin Chuan's Weibo homepage to see his latest post.

The Weibo post contained three images.

Fang Qingyong squinted, unable to read the small text no matter how hard he tried. He found his reading glasses and put them on.

He read Lin Chuan's first article: My Uncle Jules

This article tells the story from the perspective of a child:

A little boy recounts the story of his Uncle Jules.

Back then, the little boy's family was quite poor, and they lived frugally.

But every Sunday, they would dress neatly and stroll along the pier, hoping to meet the little boy's uncle, his father's younger brother, Jules.

Next, the little boy told the story of Uncle Jules.

Jules was initially a dissolute playboy. Not only did he squander his own inheritance, but he also wasted most of the little boy's father's inheritance.

After being sent to South America, who knows what happened to Jules, but he struck it rich.

Now, he became the hope of the entire family.

The little boy had two older sisters who couldn't get married.

A young civil servant, who was interested in the little boy's second sister, finally decided to propose to her.

The little boy suspected it was because one day, his father showed the civil servant a letter from Uncle Jules.

The little boy's family quickly accepted the civil servant's proposal and decided to take a trip to Jersey Island after the wedding.

The family arrived on the island full of pride.

The father noticed two gentlemen treating two beautifully dressed ladies to oysters and was moved.

He decided to treat his own two daughters to oysters as well.

They returned with pale faces.

Because he discovered that the oyster vendor seemed to be his brother, Jules.

The Jules who was supposed to be a rich man!

The mother initially didn't believe it, but later, she discreetly inquired from the captain.

She learned that the oyster vendor had relatives back home but owed them money.

It was said that he had been quite affluent for a period in his early years.

Having confirmed the oyster vendor's identity, the family was greatly alarmed. They feared their future son-in-law would discover Jules's identity.

Finally, the little boy stepped forward and bought the oysters from Jules.

Seeing his Uncle Jules's aged face, the little boy felt pity and gave him ten extra copper coins as a tip.

He was reprimanded by his mother, but his father gave his mother a look in the direction of the son-in-law.

The mother immediately fell silent.

The ending concluded with:

"When we return, we'll switch to the Saint-Malo ship to avoid encountering him."

After reading it, Fang Qingyong's face felt burning hot, as if he'd been slapped.

He then silently deleted his Weibo posts and deactivated his Weibo account.

Lin Chuan had two more articles, but Fang Qingyong didn't read them.

Because he knew that just this one article had made him feel utterly inadequate.

Reading the remaining two would only be inviting further humiliation.

So, it wasn't others who were overestimating themselves, but me...

Fang Qingyong sighed deeply, as if his soul had left him.

The next day, Lin Chuan took the high-speed train to the Fujian Sci-Fi Base.

He met with the person in charge.

Lin Chuan, of course, had no way of knowing Fang Qingyong's thoughts, nor did he care.

Lin Chuan simply hoped that his three short articles would make certain self-important literati retreat.

If they couldn't produce anything better than these three short articles, they should withdraw automatically and retain some dignity.

As for whether ordinary audiences would be discouraged by this.

Lin Chuan didn't think so.

Genuine emotion was superior to meticulously crafted rhetoric.

As long as netizens were willing to share stories from their own lives, they could still move people's hearts!

Lin Chuan got off the high-speed train and shook hands firmly with the head of the Sci-Fi Base who had come to greet him.

"Hello, Director Xu. I didn't expect you to come greet me personally!"

"Director Lin, it's our honor to have you here. You've truly illuminated our humble abode!"

The person greeting Lin Chuan was a middle-aged man in his fifties.

His temples were white, he was thin, his eyes were bright and piercing, his gaze was firm, and he had a hearty smile.