Lin Yutang said his writing style was to treat readers as kindred spirits and speak his heart to them, just as he would speak freely with old friends.
Writing fiction offers no opportunity to talk like that.
So let me say it in these closing words.
First, to all my old friends and new ones,
I don't know how many of you can feel how fond I am of you. Perhaps I don't usually offer sweet words to win your affection, nor pour out ardent declarations like King Lear's two daughters.
But I truly am that fond of you. It's like a ship sailing through the pitch-black night, its captain with his legs propped up, swirling his rum, giving the whistle a pull toward the boundless darkness in a moment of utter boredom.
Suddenly-
Lights blazed on all around, and whistles filled the sea!
The captain hurried to the bow, only then discovering that he had not been sailing alone; a myriad sails had answered his call.
Xu Zhimo had a line of poetry:
"You and I met upon the sea at night; you had your direction, and I had mine. Remember if you will-better still, forget-the light we shone upon each other at that crossing."
I don't like forgetting. I like remembering. That's why I wrote on the flyleaf of the first print volume, "Having seen the light of the sun, may we long remember one another."
Of course, remembering refers to the book Impersonating a Langya Noble. As for Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan, there's nothing much worth remembering. First, I really am of no consequence. Second, it's only an alias, and I can change it whenever I like. I've never thought of myself as having fans, which is one reason I've never set up a fan group,