Chapter 23 - Becoming Slightly Famous! (2/2)

Li Si nodded with his head and then returned to his seat. It seemed like he had given in and had sized up the situation.

Seeing this, Tian Bin’s expression turned worse. His popularity was always average amongst his colleagues. Previously, he would often speak about people behind their backs, so it was not strange that he was abandoned by the ma.s.ses today.

Later on, the top celebrity of the station, w.a.n.g Xiaomei, came in. She did not look towards Zhang Ye and greeted a few old comrades and friends she had good relations with, before surprisingly saying to Zhang Ye, “Teacher Zhang, quite a number of letters from my program’s listeners were written to you. I will get an a.s.sistant to give it to you in a while.” Although her att.i.tude did not seem to change, one had to know that w.a.n.g Xiaomei had never privately addressed Zhang Ye as “Teacher Zhang”. A change in salutation clearly showed a subtle form of recognition.

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Ye received the letters from the listeners of “Talk About the World”. In the generation where the internet was pervasive, this world was similar to Zhang Ye’s world. Few people wrote letters, but Zhang Ye remained serious about it. Words written on a piece of paper felt more real and sincere.

“h.e.l.lo, Teacher Zhang Ye. I heard the program yesterday. I’m also a parent, so I won’t say much. I’ll just thank you for that child’s parents.”

There was a total of 37 letters and all the feedback from the listeners was very positive.

Zhang Ye then went through the official e-mail inbox of “Late-night Ghost Stories”. He read every mail sent by the listeners and then read the comments left on Beijing Radio Station’s website. Suddenly, he saw a link and upon clicking it, he realized his “The Furthest Distance in the World” had been posted on a large discussion forum!

There had been 750,000 views!

There were more than 3,000 replies!

“This poem is too touching!”

“Why are there so many views? Isn’t this the early stages of going viral!?”

“It has gone viral online, too? When I saw this poem in the Beijing Times in the morning, I was impressed. However, I prefer ‘A Generation’ more.”

“I’m a moderator for the literature section on a website and an outright literature lover. I have always liked modern poems and I especially like writing them. I have always thought that I write very well and have left many modern poems in the literature section. However, after seeing Teacher Zhang Ye’s two poems, I now know what it means to be the frog in the well. This is a real modern poem and what I wrote wasn’t!”

There were praises and there were, of course, doubts.

“What rotten poem is this? It’s just so-so.”

“Right, it’s too lame. One moment the furthest distance is this, then the next moment the furthest distance is that. There is no precision!”

No matter how well anything was done, it could not satisfy everyone. Zhang Ye knew this, so when he logged on, he wore an anti-troll fire vest before leaving a message. He did not have any strengths; only his att.i.tude was good and tended to be more peaceful and calm. Seeing all the cursing, he only smiled and had the bearing of a literature writer and great poet.

He answered in style, “…I f**k your second granny’s lungs! Just so-so? Do you even f**king know literature? Eh? You dare think lightly of this divine work that can last the ages!? You all are a piece of s**t! A stinking piece of ****!”

People immediately felt the rush, “Eh, why are you cursing?”

Another netizen chimed in, “#3256 is right. All of you don’t understand art!”

Another netizen said, “How can there be criticisms for a poem this cla.s.sic? I really don’t understand the aesthetic values of others!”

“Right, this is a poem that has saved a life. Still so-so? Then write a poem to save a life for me to see!”

Under Zhang Ye’s lead, those people who had left their negative opinions were drowned by their spit and no longer posted. Seeing the warm enthusiasm, Zhang Ye logged off without his face red or heart throbbing excitedly. He did not feel that he was wretched. This was the att.i.tude a literature writer had!

Lao Tze said this before: take actions when the right time comes!

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