British writer

Breya Road.

When Riku Shi opened the door and walked in, Natsume Soseki was playing with me with a cat stick.

They were having a good time, and when they heard the sound of the door opening, they all looked at each other.

Natsume Soseki greeted: "Lu, you are finally back. Her Highness the Princess has been waiting for you."

Lu Shi was surprised,

"how?"

He looked around and found no sign of Margarita.

Natsume Soseki spread his hands,

"Stop looking. I'm not you. How could she be in the same room as me, a lonely man and a widowed woman?"

In fact, it has happened before.

After all, Margarita is a working woman, so this kind of thing is inevitable.

But since she and Lu Shi confirmed their feelings, she began to pay attention to avoiding taboos and try to minimize unnecessary trouble.

Lu Shi nodded,

"What about her?"

Natsume Soseki stretched and looked out the window.

"The carriage was still there just now. Let's wait for a while. She may have gone to Fleet Street. I think you can also go there and read the replies from readers of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", "Mirror" "The sales volume seems to have gone up to a higher level."

As the last part of the series, "The Return of the King" has many big scenes.

The novel begins with the lighting of a beacon tower:

"The sky lit up with a light, a yellow flame burning behind the barrier of darkness."

The war ensues.

Readers couldn't help but be hooked.

Of course, the happiest people were the Parker Brothers. They couldn't help but be excited at the thought of releasing a new board game.

You can make money again!

Lu Shi chuckled,

"I always knew Lord of the Rings would be okay."

How could Tuolao's novel not work?

Natsume Soseki continued: "There are also comics, do you want to read them? I heard that Mr. Picasso received just as many letters from readers as you. However, the style of his works..."

Lu Shi laughed,

"I know."

The two of them looked at the corner together,

There stood a painting, wrapped tightly, called "Girls in Cooperation", which was the pioneering work of Cubism in this world.

Natsume Soseki said: "How can this kind of painting sell better than comics? But Mr. Picasso has his own artistic pursuits. Apart from cooperating with "Mirror", he almost never draws comics, which leads to him being misunderstood by many people."

Lu Shi was somewhat surprised.

As far as he knew, Picasso was a master of marketing.

The world always compares him with Van Gogh. In fact, he is better at doing business than Van Gogh.

When he first arrived in France, he was completely unknown, so he couldn't sell a single painting.

So he thought of a clever trick and hired a few students to go to the gallery in Paris every day and ask the boss: "Excuse me, do you have any Picasso paintings here?"

The boss was stunned on the spot.

"Who is Picasso?"

After this went on for a while, the gallery owners started asking each other where they could buy Picasso paintings.

Lu Shi asked: "Didn't Mr. Picasso take advantage of the fame of the Mirror?"

Natsume Soseki shrugged.

"Of course I use it. But everyone wants comics~"

Used it, but not completely.

If used.

Lu Shi couldn't help but laugh,

For Picasso, this should be regarded as a happy trouble, right?

He pondered: "I'll think of a solution when I get the chance. After all, I gave you such a good painting."

Natsume Soseki did not express his position;

My heart said,

The painting is indeed a good painting, and it looks "high-end", but the threshold for appreciation is too high.

He asked: "Then are you going there next? Maybe you can meet Her Royal Highness on the way~"

Lu Shi shook his head,

"No, I want to write a book."

When I heard that Riku Toki was going to start writing, Natsume Soseki immediately guessed something.

"Is it about Mr. Zola?"

Lu Shi said "hmm" and sat down in front of the typewriter.

But after thinking for a moment, he moved the stool to the side and took out a pen and paper.

"Hunting" is actually a Danish film,

To transform it into a novel is a proper secondary creation, so it cannot be done at the drop of a hat like copying other books.

It’s difficult to adapt a novel into a movie;

There are too many examples of failure to list.

Likewise, it is not easy to adapt movies, especially feature films, into novels;

Because there are many expressions in it that are implicit and need to rely on actor performance, camera language, and sometimes novel technologies and special effects.

Converting these into words is a test of the writer's writing skills.

And "The Hunt" takes place in Denmark,

The entire film is full of the unique desolation and depression of Northern Europe. How should it be reflected on paper?

Lu Shi had only seen the movie and not the script, which made it even more difficult.

He held the pen in his mouth and fell into deep thought.

a long time,

"Huh~"

He let out a long breath,

"It's a bit difficult."

Natsume Soseki next to him couldn't help but be surprised.

In my impression, Lu Shi has always been a quick writer. Whether it is an academic monograph or an entertainment novel, he almost never fails to write.

Unlike those authors who spend three or four hours working on a few thousand words.

If Natsume Soseki felt something,

"Lu, are you going to deal with serious themes?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Your sixth sense is quite accurate."

Natsume Soseki couldn't help but become more interested, and said anxiously: "Quick! Tell me what theme you want to write about!"

The sound was a bit loud, which startled us.

We: "Scared!"

He jumped up on the table nimbly and swiped Natsume Soseki in the face with his tail.

Lu Shi said, "Don't get excited, I'll just tell you."

He told the truth about his exchanges with Bernard Shaw and Creamer.

"Tsk..."

Natsume Soseki couldn't help but be speechless.

"I didn't expect that the French also have such a virtue. It is true that 'patriotism' has natural justice, and it is not incomprehensible that they want to deal with Dreyfus. But it is really unacceptable to slander and slander a literary giant of our own nation in this way. "

Lu Shi said: "You are thinking of your mother country..."

Natsume Soseki was embarrassed,

Indeed, he thought of the Sino-Japanese War.

But he must have never imagined that "patriotism" would be so prevalent in Japan in the future that it would even launch a war of aggression and commit heinous crimes.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"Let's focus on the novel."

Natsume Soseki asked: "It looks like you have already thought about the plot?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"right."

"Hunting" is 91 minutes in total, which is not long.

So the story is not complicated:

——

Lucas works in a nursery. He is kind-hearted and gentle, and he is quickly loved by his colleagues and children.

Among them, a precocious girl named Carla was particularly close to Lucas.

Faced with the girl's childish and innocent overtures, Lucas could only decline.

Carla then retaliated, claiming that Lucas was a pervert who committed harassment, and charged Lucas with violating the girl.

For a time, he became the target of exclusion and oppression in the entire town.

Friend's anger,

Ex-wife’s distrust,

The death of a beloved dog,

the malice of strangers,

…

All this made Lucas almost collapse.

Although Kara later revealed the truth, the malice did not end with Lucas regaining his innocence.

He will be despised by everyone.

——

Riku Shi was going to give a brief lecture to Natsume Soseki.

Who would have thought that the other party would just cover his ears?

"Don't listen, don't listen."

Lu Shi was helpless,

"Natsume, you are the first reader of most of my works. What's going on now?"

Natsume Soseki curled his lips,

"You just said that I am the 'first reader'. If you tell me the plot of the novel before the book is written, wouldn't that be a spoiler?"

Lu Shi: "..."

I was speechless.

Natsume Soseki turned around and said: "Now that the content has been thought out, the only thing missing is some details."

The plot is always the core of the novel, so the other parts are called "minor details".

This is an exaggeration.

Lu Shi thought for a moment,

"Natsume, have you read Mr. Zola's "Nana", right?"

Natsume Soseki said "Uh..." and replied with a blush: "I read it when I was very young."

Lu Shi was a little confused.

This guy is so blushing! ?

He couldn't help but think about it, and finally understood,

Because there are erotic descriptions in "Nana", Natsume Soseki may regard that book as an enlightenment reading.

Lu Shi chuckled,

"I said, don't you have Ukiyo-e paintings in Japan?"

Natsume Soseki's face turned redder and his head shook like a rattle.

"Stop asking~ Stop asking~"

He changed the topic: "Let's continue talking. Why did you suddenly mention "Nana"?"

Lu Shi said: "I also want to mention your "I Am Cat"."

A word to wake up the dreamer.

Natsume Soseki was not stupid and immediately understood that what Riku Shi wanted to say was a matter of perspective.

"Nana" is from a third-person perspective, so it reads like a straight story.

This is also one of the characteristics of naturalism.

But what if Nana is the main perspective?

Will you be able to see into the heart of an evil woman?

Or will we see repentance and low self-esteem?

Or, create it from the perspective of the men who had sex with Nana,

Do they feel they are the victim of an emotionally deceived person?

Natsume Soseki said: ""I Am Cat" uses a cat as the first-person perspective in order to increase the interest. In addition, seeing the world through a cat's eyes, there will be more irony and ridicule, which is normal."

Lu Shi nodded,

There are many articles using this method.

The one that Chinese people are most familiar with is probably Mr. Lu Xun's "Diary of a Madman".

besides,

In "Qin Opera", the narrative protagonist is a madman;

"The Dust Has Settled", fool.

But the most perverted one has to be the Japanese writer Osamu Dazai's "Disqualification in the World". The protagonist simply divides himself and humans into two species.

This way of writing can increase the sense of substitution.

When reading "Diary of a Madman", readers will inevitably break out in cold sweat, feeling that they will be "eaten" by the "cannibal" society, because no one can guarantee that they are not that madman.

Especially Lu Xun introduced the ending of the madman in the preface——

Madness is cured.

This makes the sense of immersion even more prominent.

Natsume Soseki said: "Riku, different perspectives can provide different perspectives. It mainly depends on who you want the readers to take the role of. Of course, the safest perspective is the third perspective. As long as the story is told well, it will never go wrong."

Lu Shi must also understand,

After thinking for a while, I wrote "I" in quotation marks on the paper.

He certainly requires readers to step into Lucas' shoes.

Natsume Soseki became excited when he saw this, and introduced it like an old-timer: "Lu, based on my experience in writing "I am a Cat", this writing method is still difficult."

Lu Shi took over the conversation,

"Yes. Many changes in the environment must rely on the reactions of secondary characters; the feelings and comments about the characters must also be expressed from the mouths of the secondary characters. Through the experiences of the secondary characters, the relevant plots of the story can be naturally integrated Together, we advance the plot.”

Natsume Soseki: "..."

Silence fell.

Lu Shi was a little confused and asked, "What's wrong? Why did you stop talking suddenly?"

Natsume Soseki coughed lightly.

"Ahaha... You are right! In a novel, if the protagonist is a red flower, the secondary characters and supporting characters are green leaves."

Lu Shi said: "This is a foil technique. The activities of the secondary characters are used to accentuate the activities of the protagonist, so as to achieve the effect of shaping the characters."

Natsume Soseki: "..."

He finally realized that he was asking for trouble if he wanted to teach Lu Shi.

How could Lu Shi need anyone else to teach him?

The so-called "good teacher" refers to oneself.

Natsume Soseki picked up the cat teasing stick,

"We, come here."

If you can't teach Lu Shi, you can't teach a cat! ?

My generation: "Meow~"

Glancing at Natsume Soseki with disdain, he ran to Riku Shih's feet and curled up into a big meat ball, "Snoring~Snoring~" with satisfaction.

Natsume Soseki’s head was covered with black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

Lu Shi didn't care about the man and the cat who were playing tricks.

He wrote a rough outline on the paper, then moved his chair and sat in front of the typewriter again.

Crackling——

Lines of text appear.

Natsume Soseki didn't want to be spoiled, but he couldn't help but want to read it, so he simply decided to keep out of sight, put a leash on my cat, and led him out.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Shi had been knocking for more than an hour, and the story was completed.

Just then there was a knock on the door outside.

"Mr. Natsume, is Professor Lu back?"

It's a margarita.

Lu Shi moved his waist and walked over to open the door.

Her Royal Highness the Princess is standing at the door.

Perhaps because she went to work in Fleet Street today, she was wearing a women's suit.

Even though the lower edge of his trouser legs was splashed with some dirty snow, he still looked smart and capable.

Margarita looked into the room.

"Professor Lu, is it just you?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Well, Natsume took us out for a walk."

He ducked and led the other person into the house.

Margarita jumped in briskly, then gave Lu Shi a cute look and said: "Professor Lu, you are serious, how can you care about the head and not the tail?"

As he spoke, he took out a gift box.

Lu Shi asked: "What is this?"

Margarita pouted,

"Medal box."

"Ah this..."

Lu Shi slapped his head and then remembered that he had just left wearing the medal without taking the "product packaging" with him.

Margarita was a little helpless,

"The secretary, registrar and dean of the Order of the British Empire are looking for you like crazy. Who would have thought that you would just leave."

Lu Shi was embarrassed,

"I'm mainly thinking about Mr. Zola. Besides, I'm not very familiar with the ceremony's procedures."

He moved his eyes to the medal box,

The box is exquisite and gorgeous, representing supreme honor.

It is made of high-quality walnut wood, the natural texture is noble, the edges are smooth and inlaid with gold, giving people an elegant and solemn feeling.

The front of the box is engraved with a crown;

Below the crown is a row of gilded reliefs depicting various symbolic patterns.

Lu Shi muttered: "This thing must be valuable."

"puff!"

Margarita laughed,

"You still expect to sell it?"

Lu Shi shook his head and opened the box.

There is a soft blue velvet covering inside to protect the medal.

On the inside of the lid is engraved the motto of the Order of the British Empire:

For God and the Empire,

For God and the Empire.

Lu Shi opened the drawer, took out a folded copy of the "Mirror" in a small package, and opened it carefully.

The KBE medal was revealed inside.

Margarita was stunned.

"Professor Lu, you just let go of such a valuable thing like this?"

Lu Shi spread his hands and said, "Isn't there a medal box before?"

Margarita was speechless.

She stopped talking about this matter to Lu Shi and reported to work: "Because "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is unprecedentedly popular, the sales of "Mirror" have reached a new high. However, there is still no "Chao Wen Dao" in the Continental sells more.”

As she spoke, she couldn't help complaining: "Professor Lu, you are such a monster. Books sell better than newspapers. No one has ever done so before."

Lu Shi said: "Wouldn't this also fail to sell the Bible?"

Margarita glared at him,

"Comparing sales with the Bible, this thing is inherently weird."

She continued: "Then there is the matter of Mr. Picasso. He is very popular now, but he is also very distressed."

Lu Shi wanted to laugh when he heard this.

The development of this world line is so interesting that even marketing geeks can’t help it.

Margarita said: "Mr. Picasso wants to negotiate a cooperation with our advertising agency."

Lu Shi was speechless,

"Does he have money?"

Picasso’s royalties were very high;

However, those who compete with him are all giants in the business world, can he compare with him?

Margarita explained: "Mr. Picasso means that if we cooperate with an advertising company, for every painting he sells in the next 25 years, he will pay us 10% of the advertising fee."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

There is such an outrageous thing! ?

Margarita misunderstood Lu Shi's shock and said, "Yes, I also think this is harder to say than investment. The price of art...sigh...even those who know painting may not be able to judge accurately. How about you go talk to Mr. Picasso?"

"Gu..."

Lu Shi swallowed his saliva,

"It's up to you to decide this matter. Since I have handed over the management of the advertising company to you, I will fully trust you."

Margarita said: "Then I agree. Mr. Picasso's reputation is getting higher and higher, and it should not be difficult to sell his paintings in the future."

As she said that, she pinched Lu Shi's forearm,

"What's 'full trust'? I think you just want to be the hands-off shopkeeper!"

Lu Shi shook his head,

"I really don't have time right now."

He pointed to the typewriter and said: "Because of Mr. Zola's incident, I want to write a novel."

Margarita's curiosity aroused.

She leaned over and read the novel carefully.

The novel opens with a scene of several middle-aged men in the town swimming by the lake, a scene of desolation and enjoyment typical of Nordic countries.

"I", the protagonist Lucas, appears at this time.

Lucas, who was unemployed, temporarily helped out at a nearby girls' school. He often played the game of hunter attacking prey with the children. His kind and enthusiastic personality was welcomed by the students.

Among them, Carla, the five-year-old daughter of Lucas's friend Theo, often got lost, and developed an admiration and affection for Lucas who took her to and from school, and even began to have some seemingly intimate behaviors.

Lucas noticed his strange behavior and declined the offer.

As a result, Kara was so frustrated that she told the principal a big lie...

At this point, the foreshadowing of the story ends.

Margarita felt the hair on her back stand up.

"this story……"

She felt herself gripped by a deep despair.

If you were Lucas, how would you deal with such a situation?

like……

No way?

Margarita couldn't help but look at Lu Shi,

"Where's the back?"

Lu Shi spread his hands and said, "I haven't written it yet."

"Ugh..."

Margarita was instantly gripped by deeper despair,

I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight!