58: Don't let life exhaust our yearning, at least we still have poetry and distant places, shrimp and crab roe

Three days later, on Friday at ten o'clock in the evening.

Chen Fang sat in front of his computer, organizing the materials he needed for his clarification tomorrow night.

He had proposed to the director the day before yesterday that he hoped to have fifteen minutes during Saturday night's bonfire party to clarify things through a conversation. After consulting with his superiors, the director agreed, believing it would greatly benefit the popularity and recognition of "the adventures," the membership revenue from the first edited episode, and the second episode.

The director was visibly excited for half a day because of this. In May, there were 70 variety shows of various sizes broadcast. Among the already broadcast shows, "the adventures" ranked in the top 20% for average viewership data across all time slots. However, there were still more than ten days left in the month, and a dark horse might emerge. Another big wave from the bonfire party might secure its position in the top 20%.

Chen Fang, however, wasn't concerned about the variety show; he was only concerned with the content of his clarification and how many people would watch the live broadcast tomorrow night.

Chen Fang stared intently at the screen, continuing to refine the script for tomorrow night's clarification.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Chen Fang got up to open the door, and it was Guo Congxin.

Guo Congxin handed him a bag of brown, elongated food, covered in pepper, chili, and sesame, somewhat resembling dried fish. "Here, Teacher Chen, these are konjac chips. They shouldn't make you gain weight; just eat them as a snack."

"Thanks, you don't have to be so polite." Chen Fang accepted it. Guo Congxin sent him food every day; it was starting to make him feel a bit embarrassed.

"It's not worth much." Guo Congxin, unlike his usual carefree demeanor, smiled a little reservedly. "Teacher Chen, eating something will make you feel much better."

Chen Fang frowned. "Did something happen?"

The smile on Guo Congxin's face froze, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I just wanted to comfort you, but it seems you don't know yet."

"What is it? Don't beat around the bush; you're making me even more curious."

Guo Congxin took a deep breath. "The production team will definitely come looking for you soon. I'm telling you first so you can be mentally prepared."

"A secret? Why don't you come in and sit down to talk?"

"It's not a secret. It's just that you, a 2G user, probably don't know yet. Let's talk by the door. You don't have window screens, so the air won't circulate at night, and I won't waste the oxygen in your room."

Chen Fang closed the door, pointed to the rattan chair under the tree, and walked over with Guo Congxin. He pulled out a chair and sat down, opened the bag of dried konjac, and popped one into his mouth. Hmm? It tasted good, chewy yet a bit springy, with plenty of seasoning.

Guo Congxin sighed. "Tonight, around eight o'clock, Yao Ting cried in her live stream. Immediately after, Shen Caihan and Jiang Tong also posted their 'little essays.' Don't go online to look. I'll summarize it for you: it's basically... why are the perpetrators adored by the masses under the spotlight, while the victims forever live in the shadows?"

Chen Fang continued chewing on the konjac chips.

The way she put it, it was a waste of her talent not to write new media novels.

To put it bluntly, most people have experienced being a victim, whether in their family, workplace, or school. Her argument was to make the audience recall their own experiences as victims, to empathize with her, to relate their own experiences, and to stand with her.

"the adventures" ends tomorrow, so releasing this now was clearly to prevent him from retaliating.

However, it was still uncertain who the hunter was.

He was worried about not having enough attention. Let them make a fuss; the bigger, the better.

Let them be smug; the higher they climbed now, the harder they would fall tomorrow night.

Guo Congxin waved his hand in front of him. "Teacher Chen, are you alright? If it really doesn't work out, you can still make a living as a lyricist and composer, right?"

Chen Fang smiled. "I'm fine; I'm used to it."

"Well..." Guo Congxin didn't know what to say either. He hadn't paid attention to this matter before, but now he understood: how can truly hurt people claim they can't move on, repeatedly picking at their wounds and portraying themselves as martyrs? Isn't this just to make money?

Guo Congxin pointed at the konjac chips. "Eat more of these; they're very enjoyable."

Chen Fang nodded and popped two more into his mouth.

Footsteps sounded from behind him. He looked back and saw Zhao Jin, wearing a Morning Sunshine long-sleeved T-shirt, walking over with a box of sliced cake.

Hiss—a dog's nose? She could smell it and come over to exchange food?

Guo Congxin figured Zhao Jin couldn't possibly be looking for him, as they had no business dealings. He stood up. "Good evening, Teacher Zhao. I'm going to make a call to a friend. You two chat."

"You're busy." Zhao Jin nodded to Guo Congxin, then sat down and placed the cake on the table. "I exchanged too much and can't eat it all. You eat so much, so I'll give it to you."

"Give it to me?" Chen Fang was already prepared to trade his konjac chips for it; he hadn't expected her to just give it to him?

"Yeah, they say eating sweets makes you feel better. I'm in a bad mood today, so I just went and exchanged for a portion. But I exchanged too much and ate half of it. It'll go bad if I keep it, so I came out to find someone to finish it. Pan Pengpeng is on a diet, and Teacher Xie has a strong sense of self-management. You're here, so I'll give it to you."

Was she the kind of person who would exchange for cake to eat at night?

But Chen Fang didn't want to guess her intentions. If she said so, then he would believe it.

Chen Fang took the cake, placed the konjac chips on the table. "Thanks. Want half?"

"Guo Congxin gave it to you, right? You eat it yourself." After saying that, she stood up, took a slow step, then looked back, her eyes darting around twice, her hands behind her back. She said in a relaxed tone, "Work is really hard, isn't it? It finally ends tomorrow. You know... as the saying goes, don't let life exhaust your patience and longing. At least we still have poetry and distant places, spare ribs and soup, shrimp and crab roe, fried chicken and crispy sausages. You eat it."

"Mm, thank you." Chen Fang felt a warmth in his heart. Although he didn't want to overthink it, it was clear that she, like Guo Congxin, had come to comfort him, right?

"You go back and eat. I'm leaving, bye-bye." Zhao Jin waved her hand and walked briskly towards the rooms on the east side.

"Bye-bye." Chen Fang picked up the cake and konjac chips and returned to the westernmost room.

On the way, he also met Pan Pengpeng, who gave him a chicken leg.

Chen Fang, carrying the food given by the three of them, returned to his room, sat down at his desk, and picked up his phone.

He had been using his computer and hadn't checked his phone, only now realizing there were two unread messages in his family group chat.

One was from his mom an hour ago.

Mom: "Xiao Fang, you're coming back the day after tomorrow, right? Will you eat lunch at home? Your mom bought shrimp and spare ribs and plans to make them sweet and sour. Should we eat them for lunch or dinner?"

Then, thirty minutes ago, his dad sent a photo of a kitten.

Dad: Do you think this kitten is cute? Your mom recently saw students playing with kittens at school and thought they were cute, so she wants to raise one at home too.

Chen Fang raised a hand to his forehead, feeling a little sour in his heart.

They must have seen the news online and were very worried, but didn't dare to ask directly. They were afraid that talking about it would satisfy their concern but increase his psychological pressure. So they beat around the bush.

His mom seemed to be asking when the delicious food would be ready, but in reality, she probably hoped he would return home safely.

As for his dad asking about raising a cat, it was even more obvious. His mom had never liked cats, so her suggestion to raise one must have been because cats have an auxiliary effect in treating depression and other problems, and she wanted to raise a cat to comfort him.