Some Unrelated Stories

Today is the third day since the injury, and my knee is so swollen and painful that I can't think about the plot at all, so let's talk about something else today.

If I stop updating for a while, I'll just chat about random things to fill the time, hoping that readers who clicked on this will find something of value...

The first thing I want to talk about is probably how I got onto the path of writing.

Many people on Zhihu and Weibo send me private messages asking whether an author needs talent.

I actually think it is necessary. This talent is not innate; it is determined by one's upbringing.

When I was a child, my father was a doctor at a military hospital and my mother was a nurse. Because they had to work shifts, they often locked me alone in the house.

The worst part was that they locked me in and even hid the cable TV cable.

Back then, there were no computers, and the only form of entertainment was reading books by myself.

When I was a child, my favorite story was Harry Potter because it was the first story that could immerse me in a certain world.

I really want to write a story with such an immersive feel, but I guess it will be difficult.

Later, my parents' relationship broke down. They argued every three days, and every five days, they would have a big fight. Sometimes, when the whole family was taking a walk, the two of them would suddenly say, "If I don't divorce you tomorrow, I'll be your grandson."

Then she went home in a huff, and I could only keep quiet and follow behind her, not daring to say a word.

These two aren't exactly people with high emotional intelligence either; when others make them angry, they often take it out on me.

That experience made me very sensitive, and I was careful not to provoke anyone.

Later, my father started gambling, which made things even more difficult for the family.

I was very withdrawn at that time and wanted to escape reality, so I became very addicted to playing games and reading novels.

It's that kind of extreme addiction, where you don't care about anything else.

But back then, I only had five cents of pocket money a week, and I couldn't afford to go to internet cafes, so I could only borrow books from my classmates.

From the first year of junior high to the second year of senior high, for five years, I basically didn't listen to a single class; I spent all my time reading novels.

The first online novel I read was "Zichuan" which my deskmate rented, followed by "Legend of the Little Soldier," "Tale of Wind and Charm," and many more.

I've seen most of the movies that were popular back then.

When I entered high school and became a boarding student, I had a living allowance, so I started renting and buying books myself, and then every two weeks I would buy Jin Gu Chuan Qi Wuxia Edition .

I was very poor in high school, with only 200 yuan a month for living expenses. I had to spend money on books and save money on food.

Xu Daoming, Li Haojie, and I, three brothers in misfortune, each had only 1.5 yuan a day for food, eating pickled vegetables and drinking porridge from the canteen that cost 50 cents a bowl but could be refilled as many times as we wanted.

I didn't feel it was too hard back then; I just muddled through and read novels whenever I had time.

So I eventually entered this industry. There are two reasons for this: firstly, my strange childhood experiences gave me some empathy, and secondly, I read a lot of online novels, which helped me build a solid foundation.

As for how the writing finally came about by chance, that's another story.

During the summer vacation before my senior year of high school, when I came home for the holidays, my mother told me that my father had committed suicide.

I was stunned for a moment and didn't really feel anything. I just didn't know how to respond to it, and I didn't cry or anything.

Back then, because of his gambling, my family had to sell our house and car. The 4,500 yuan of my New Year's money that I had saved over ten years, which I had planned to use to run away and leave this family, was also gone...

It was all used to pay off debts.

So when I heard the news, I didn't know whether it was good news or bad news...

Then my mother said: The suicide attempt failed.

I:...

However, I don't think much of it now, but I was a little shocked at the time.

So start studying hard in your senior year of high school.

The rest of the story, which many people have seen on Zhihu, is about sleeping only four and a half hours a day.

I went back to my dorm around 9 p. m., snuggled under the covers, and did math problems with a flashlight until midnight.

I get up at 4:30 in the morning and run under the streetlights to memorize history and politics.

Anyway, during that period, I was completely self-disciplined and didn't read any novels.

When I entered the class in my senior year of high school, I was third from the bottom in the entire grade of more than 2,500 students. In the college entrance examination, I ranked 122nd with a score of 535, which was not bad.

My homeroom teacher, Shi Qingyan, advised me to repeat a year of high school. He said that if I could only study for one year and achieve this level, I would definitely get into Tsinghua University if I studied for another year.

But I feel that my learning talent is really not that great, it's basically reached its limit, so I didn't waste any time.

After the college entrance exam, I set up a tutoring stall at Zhouwangcheng Square in Luoyang, saying I could teach high school seniors quick study methods. But after five days, I didn't get a single order and went home dejectedly.

Reality is just that cruel.

I'm sharing this little anecdote to tell my student readers that even if you didn't study hard before your senior year of high school, like I did, it's never too late to work hard for another year.

These experiences are probably why I enjoy writing about the suffering and stubbornness of ordinary people.

I am just an ordinary person like that. I have experienced some things and I am willing to risk my life for it.

So some people asked me who they would want to be if they could travel into the story of the First Sequence.

I usually say Chen Wudi because everyone is very familiar with this character.

I'm afraid that if I say something else, you won't know or remember it.

But if you ask me privately, I would say I want to be Zhang Yuge. There's nothing else to it, I just think he's awesome.

That's all for today, my legs are starting to hurt again.