The event has just begun.
Over a thousand writers are participating in the "Fairy Tale King" competition this time.
However, most of them are just trying their luck.
Jiangnan's ranking is still fifth.
The top few spots are all very famous fairy tale writers within the industry.
"Watermelon Fairy Tales" is ranked first.
The votes have already reached 300,000 in a short period.
Suddenly, the door to the Watermelon Studio was knocked.
"Come in," he said, looking up at the door.
A man and a woman walked in from outside.
Neither of them looked old, only around thirty years old.
"What are you here for?" Watermelon raised an eyebrow.
The man, Zhao Shun, is Dong Gua, who is currently ranked second. The woman is Chen Lian, also known as Nan Gua, who is also called Sister Nan Gua in the industry.
"We happened to be accompanying Sister Nan Gua to Yun City for an offline event, so we came to see you," Zhao Shun chuckled.
Chen Lian also smiled faintly and said, "Teacher Mailin's critique is in a couple of days. I'm taking advantage of being on a business trip to get his autograph."
After speaking, she took out two copies of "Mailin's Fairy Tales" from her bag.
To get an author's autograph, one naturally needs to have the author's own books, as they have more collection value.
Moreover, the venue for this "Fairy Tale King" competition is in Yun City, so the two visitors' purpose is already quite obvious.
"Teacher Watermelon, if you win first place, can you bring us along to the dinner gathering?" Zhao Shun asked with a smile that narrowed his eyes. He seemed to enjoy smiling, and his words naturally carried a smile.
"That might not be appropriate. After all, you know Teacher Mailin's status. It's already a great honor to dine with him," Watermelon replied with some hesitation.
Indeed, Mailin was like a god in the industry. Having a meal with him would be a tremendous honor, and bringing two other people along might displease Mailin.
"Alright then..." Zhao Shun nodded, still wearing a smile.
The three of them went to the office's rest area.
Watermelon began to pour them water.
Zhao Shun was looking at his phone and suddenly said, "I originally thought Jiangnan would directly dominate the charts. It seems he's no threat to Teacher Watermelon. He's still in fifth place."
"Heh, you shouldn't say that where others can hear it. Haven't you seen how heated the discussions are in the group chat?" Watermelon handed each of them a cup of water.
"Indeed, Jiangnan has some standing in the literary circle, and even the fairy tale circle has his devoted fans. It's not like we can just kick him out," Zhao Shun agreed.
That group chat was created by Watermelon, and they were all administrators.
However, the fairy tale circle wasn't that large. Everyone was trying to make a living within it, so it was naturally difficult to casually remove someone.
They could only try to control the arguments from both sides and then consider muting them depending on the situation.
The office fell into a brief silence.
Zhao Shun took out his phone and suggested to the other two, "Since we have nothing else to do, why don't we take a look at Jiangnan's fairy tales?"
Although these three were rivals, they often discussed fairy tales together. Whenever possible, they would gather to read excellent overseas fairy tale books and discuss their core themes.
Watermelon was the most senior and established figure in the industry, but his ability to constantly come up with new inspiration was closely related to discussing plots. It was similar to how webnovel authors constantly chat in groups; sometimes, when they lacked inspiration, a few words from others in the group would spark new ideas.
Therefore, discussing plots was a mutually beneficial process.
"Sure, let's study the works of the great author Jiangnan."
Watermelon agreed with Zhao Shun's suggestion.
He had initially intended to read them alone, but now that he had companions for discussion, he might find a lot of inspiration from the stories of this new fairy tale writer, Jiangnan.
"No problem," Sister Nan Gua also nodded.
Then, she took out a tablet computer from her bag.
She preferred using a tablet when reading, as it offered a better reading experience.
As for Watermelon and Nan Gua, they weren't as particular and directly took out their phones to open Jiangnan's "Fairy Tale Collection."
The online version wasn't complete, otherwise, people wouldn't buy the physical books after reading them. The online version only contained the first three stories.
"The Little Match Girl."
"Snow White."
"The Ugly Duckling."
Su Yu had his own reasons for arranging these three stories in this order.
They differed in genre and themes, which would allow readers to understand why this book was called "Fairy Tale Collection."
It was because it truly contained the most widely accepted fairy tales from Earth, totaling 150 pieces.
It could be said to be the cream of the crop.
"The Little Match Girl?" Watermelon's eyebrows showed a hint of confusion when he saw the first fairy tale.
Could this also be written as a fairy tale?
Perhaps it was about a little girl working hard by selling matches?
But children doing business seemed a bit far-fetched.
The other two also clicked on it with curiosity.
"It was terribly cold on New Year's Eve, and it was nearly dark. Heavy snow was falling, and in this cold and darkness, a little girl with bare head and bare feet wandered the streets.
Indeed, she had been wearing a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were of little use. They had belonged to her mother, and the poor child, to dodge the fast-passing horse carriages, had hurried across the street and lost them.
One slipper she could not find, the other was taken by a boy, who ran off, saying that when he had children of his own, he would use it as a cradle..."
Upon seeing the opening of the story.
All three felt something was amiss.
In their opinion, fairy tales were meant to depict beautiful stories for children. When thinking about characters and themes, they naturally thought of princes and princesses. But this story started with hunger and cold; it didn't seem like a fairy tale at all.
"She dared not go home, for she had not sold a single match, not earned a single copper. Her father would surely beat her; and besides, she had no place to go, but to the street, to beg for a piece of bread; and then the cold, damp walls of her home would give her no shelter..."
"If she could only draw one match from the bundle and strike it against the wall! She could at least warm her fingers. She drew one out. 'Chrr!' How it sputtered and burned! It cast a bright flame, and, as she held her hand over it, it seemed to shine with a wonderful light. It was like a little knife..."
Seeing this.
The breathing of the three became slightly rapid.
Having written so many fairy tales, they never expected to feel their chests tighten and their spirits sink while reading a fairy tale.
The little girl's plight was clearly explained here.
Her family was very poor, her father often beat her, and failing to sell matches was a disaster for her.
Watermelon read every word, his teeth clenched.
He could feel the biting cold within the words, both from the weather and from the entire world's harshness towards the girl!
"What a bright flame it was, how pleasant it looked as she held her hand over it! It was so nice and warm! She was just stretching out her feet towards it when, look! the match went out, and the stove vanished, and she had only the burnt-out match in her hand..."
How tragic!
As they watched the little girl light match after match, the flames illuminating visions of apples, roast geese, and Christmas trees, the beautiful imagery contrasted sharply with the girl's miserable state.
"Then she saw a star fall down, and behind it, a long trail of fire..."
"'Someone is dying,' thought the girl, for her grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, had told her that when a star falls, a soul goes up to God...' "
At this moment.
The pupils of the three dilated sharply!
They had naturally read Jiangnan's works and were very familiar with this old rogue's style.
This feeling.
"Damn it, is the old rogue Jiangnan going to stab us with his writing!!!"
The three "great gods" of the watermelon family reacted simultaneously and exclaimed!
...
ps: National Day is approaching, and the company has been working overtime every day. For now, I can only manage two updates.