"Ah, you have another pen name?"
Seeing Huang Yifan pull out the documents from the bottom, Lu Qing blushed. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't look carefully earlier. I thought you only had one pen name."
She had encountered authors with multiple pen names before. Although it was somewhat unusual, she quickly said, "Please have a seat for a moment. I'll take another look at your materials. It'll be quick, very quick."
Perhaps worried that Huang Yifan might think she was inexperienced, Lu Qing sped up her movements.
"Alright, let me take a look. Your other pen name is Qiushui. That's a very nice name, quite poetic."
As she checked the documents, she compared them with the database on the computer.
At this moment, perhaps a bit overwhelmed, she didn't pay much attention to the name Qiushui at first. Instead, she casually asked, "Mr. Fanchen, why did you create another pen name?"
"Well… how should I put it? The literary world is always arguing and fighting. Without a few extra pen names, how could that work?"
"Pfft "
Lu Qing almost burst out laughing. "So that's why you created another pen name?"
She nearly cried from laughing.
Having worked at the Xijiang Provincial Writers Association for over a year, she had seen plenty of authors with multiple pen names, each with their own reasons. But this was the first time she had heard someone say they created a new pen name just to argue with others.
"By the way, what star level is this pen name? Let me check."
"What 5-star?"
Seeing the system display a 5-star rating, Lu Qing froze instantly.
"Mr. Fanchen, you…"
"Two 5-star pen names."
She was on the verge of tears.
Some authors could never reach 5-star in their entire lives, yet he had two 5-star pen names.
My god, this alternate account is way too powerful.
Her heart was filled with shock. Thinking back to what Huang Yifan had said about creating another pen name just to argue with others, she had initially thought it was a joke. But now it seemed completely true. Imagine this: if you used a low-level pen name, no one would bother with you. But if a 5-star author started arguing, and then switched to another 5-star identity to continue
That kind of combat power was absolutely terrifying.
But Lu Qing's shock was only just beginning.
In fact, from the moment she first saw Huang Yifan, she had been continuously stunned for the past dozens of minutes.
First, she was struck by his demeanor.
Then, she realized he was the author she admired.
Then, she discovered that Fanchen had mischievously created another pen name.
And just when she thought this new pen name was just a casual side account, she found it was also 5-star.
At this point, she was already overwhelmed.
But everything before now was merely a prelude.
Because at this moment, Lu Qing finally felt that the name "Qiushui" seemed oddly familiar.
Qiushui… Qiushui…
Something wasn't right about this name…
Then, when the database displayed the works under Qiushui, Lu Qing completely froze.
Qiushui's debut: 'A Classroom Anecdote', published in Youth Daily, proposing the idea "life is finite."
After that, he published an essay on "cram-style education."
Then, he pointed out the dangers of "those who deem themselves knowledgeable" through that same concept.
Although each of these essays was only about a thousand words, every sentence was profound. The academic theories he proposed were especially thought-provoking. At the time, just these few pieces had already made Lu Qing deeply admire the writer Qiushui. She had even wanted to meet this brilliant thinker.
But before she could even begin searching, Qiushui released 'The Way of Great Learning', and she no longer dared to think of befriending him.
Could she even approach someone like that?
Anyone who could write something like 'The Way of Great Learning' existed on a completely different level from her.
As people online would say, they weren't even in the same dimension.
One was in a low-level plane, the other in a higher plane.
From then on, Lu Qing regarded Qiushui as the master she admired and respected the most.
And Qiushui's legend didn't stop there.
In prose, he proposed the now-popular theory of "loose form, united spirit."
This theory not only corrected the flawed direction prose had been heading, but also pointed out a clear path forward.
What truly captivated Lu Qing, however, was Qiushui's essay 'Back View'.
After reading it, she cried for nearly an entire day.
Even now, when she recalled lines like "I was simply too clever," and "after all these years, my father has long forgotten my faults and only remembers me…," her eyes would still turn red.
What kind of insight did it take to write something so deeply moving, something that could stir regret in every reader?
By now, Lu Qing had already placed Qiushui as the most revered master in her heart.
Even Huaguo's greatest contemporary writer, Yan Bing, ranked below Qiushui in her mind.
At least, she felt that while Yan Bing was remarkable, he wasn't as emotionally powerful as Qiushui, nor did he possess the same righteous aura as that single line: "The Way of Great Learning."
She had once desperately tried to find Qiushui's contact information.
She wanted to visit this elder, to meet him. If possible, she even wanted to formally become his disciple.
A true master-apprentice relationship.
But unfortunately, she searched for a long time and found nothing.
It left her deeply disappointed.
She could only bitterly smile, thinking that she simply lacked the fate to meet Qiushui.
That she would never have the chance to learn even a fraction of his knowledge.
But who could have imagined
Just when she had resigned herself to this, Qiushui appeared before her.
At this moment, the very master she had longed to meet was asking her to help register his identity.
"Mr. Fanchen… M-M-M…"
Her voice began to stutter. The shock was simply too overwhelming.
So overwhelming that even Lu Qing, who had always considered herself somewhat talented, now felt like an idiot.
"You… you… you're Mr. Qiushui?"
After saying this, she didn't even wait for a response, just stared blankly at Huang Yifan.
Only after a long while, when Huang Yifan gave a loud cough, did she snap out of it.
"Mr. Fanchen… no, Mr. Qiushui… what was I just doing?"
"Nothing. You were helping me with the registration."
"Oh, right, right, yes, I'll register it immediately. Right away…"
At that moment, Lu Qing wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear. In her mind, she kept screaming, "It's over, it's over. I completely embarrassed myself just now. Will Mr. Qiushui think I'm an idiot? But I'm actually quite smart, and I have good insight too! What if he really thinks that? What do I do? I wanted to become his student… but like this, how can I even ask? What if he thinks something's wrong with me? Oh god, Virgin Mary, Buddha, God, Fox Immortal… please, give me a way out!"
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