Chapter 50

The starry sky was vast.

It was eleven o'clock at night.

After eating, Tianhou Zhang Yuanqi, holding her chest with one hand, leaned against the headboard of the bed and sent emails on her phone, possibly working, with a serious and solemn expression, completely ignoring Zhang Ye.

What a fickle person!

Did she forget about me as soon as she was full?

Zhang Ye knew she was a busy person and didn't want to disturb her, nor did he have the confidence to do so. Zhang Yuanqi was already at the top of the domestic entertainment industry, while Zhang Ye was just a newcomer, not even a star, but merely a public figure. There was a huge gap between them, and Zhang Ye was well aware of this. He respected his seniors very much.

He turned on his computer and started working on his own things. When he saw his Weibo, Zhang Ye suddenly froze. "Why does this Weibo post have so many retweets?" He realized it was the Weibo post of "The Bird and the Fish." He remembered that when it was first posted, it had a lot of retweets, but at most, it was only around two or three thousand. Now, the retweets had suddenly increased to over eight thousand, tripling in number! After a moment of surprise, Zhang Ye didn't think much of it. In his world, "The Bird and the Fish" had over 100 million views online, and almost everyone had seen it. So, a small surge was understandable. Good poetry can't be buried. As for the reason, Zhang Ye analyzed that it was due to multiple factors, such as "Ghost Blows Out the Light," fairy tales, and other poems. As more people got to know him, they gradually paid attention to his other works, which in turn boosted his overall popularity!

"Great poem!"

"I just found this poem today!"

"So many retweets? I'll check it out."

"Classic! Who is this Zhang Ye?"

"You're just seeing it now? It's from last month, and this poem even saved a life, very legendary!"

Zhang Ye browsed through the comments happily, mostly positive. He was thoroughly enjoying it, but suddenly, a comment appeared!

Meng Dongguo.

Certification: Vice Chairman of the Beijing Writers Association, poet, and writer.

He was a big V with over three million followers!

Meng Dongguo's certified Weibo account openly questioned, "I don't understand why following the trend is so popular. Just because many people read it and comment on it, it's a good poem? Legendary? Saved a life? The value of a poem lies in its literary merit, not in any additional stories or anecdotes. I don't see any literary value in this poem. All I see is pretentiousness and nonsense. Is this what modern poetry is? Is this what literature is? And the poem 'A Generation' by this author, I won't comment on the verses, but the title is awkward. A twenty-something kid using 'a generation'? That's our term. You haven't grown up yet, you have a long way to go, and you don't have the ability to see through your generation. So don't write such poems and make a fool of yourself!"

Some people were upset.

"Not true! I think it's great!"

"What's wrong with being young? Can't young people write poetry?"

"Really funny, dismissing everything with 'you're young and don't understand'? And he's the Vice Chairman of the Beijing Writers Association?"

But more people joined the criticism.

Many of them were writers and poets from the Beijing Writers Association, all with verified accounts.

Romance writer Zheng Anbang commented, "Vice Chairman Meng is here? I couldn't stand it either. This poem is very popular now, but I've read it many times and can't figure out what's so good about it!"

Children's writer Xiao Hong Mushroom commented, "Zhang Ye's poetry isn't bad, but it's average and doesn't deserve this much attention!"

Famous Beijing poet, pen name Da Lei, wrote, "A mess! Nonsense! What kind of poem is this? 'The Seagull,' what are you trying to express? Do you think it's still the old society? Even if you want to express resistance and defiance, how old are you? Do you know what the old society was like? You're just writing based on imagination? That's why there's no literary value! At most, it's just a temporary gimmick! And those who praise you, what's wrong with them? Do they have any appreciation for art? I'm really puzzled!"

Suddenly, five or six writers and poets attacked Zhang Ye!

Zhang Ye, sitting in front of his computer, couldn't help but curse, "Damn! Are you all sent by monkeys? Where did you come from? What did I do to you?"

Zhang Yuanqi, who had quietly walked behind Zhang Ye, hugged her shoulders and stared at his computer screen with a stern face, "Who are they cursing?"

"They're cursing me," Zhang Ye said angrily.

Zhang Yuanqi's eyes twitched, "Meng Dongguo? A leader of the Beijing Writers Association? He has some fame in the industry, right? And Xiao Hong Mushroom? She writes fairy tales? Da Lei? I've read one of his poems. He's not top-tier in the country, but he's famous in Beijing." The literary circle had increasingly merged with the entertainment industry, and as a top figure in the industry, Zhang Yuanqi was well-informed and gave an objective evaluation. Of course, only she had the right to say who was not top-tier in the country, "So many Beijing poets and writers, why are they all cursing you? Are you that famous?"

Zhang Ye was still depressed, "What fame? I've just written a few poems. Why are they suddenly cursing me? Is there something wrong with my poetry? How ridiculous!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanqi looked at him for the first time, "You can write poetry?"

"Of course, have you heard of 'The Bird and the Fish'?"

"…No."

"What about 'A Generation'?"

"…Never heard of it."

"Fine, forget it!"

Zhang Yuanqi seemed a bit interested and nodded her chin expressionlessly, "Sit on the coffee table." There was only one chair in the house, and as soon as Zhang Ye got up, Zhang Yuanqi sat down.

Zhang Ye didn't have time to argue, "Too much bullying!"

Perhaps having finished her work, Zhang Yuanqi said a few more words to Zhang Ye, "Everything has a cause and effect. Check the Weibo of Meng Dongguo, the first one to question you."

Zhang Ye checked and was suddenly enlightened. At the beginning of the month, Meng Dongguo had published several poems, but apart from a few fans praising them, no one paid much attention. The clicks and retweets of Zhang Ye's poem were almost ten times more than the combined popularity of all of Meng Dongguo's poems, "He's jealous of a newcomer doing better than him, so he's trying to bring me down? What a jerk! What kind of person is this!"

Zhang Yuanqi just watched the show and didn't say anything.

At this moment, fans of Meng Dongguo and a few other poets and writers all rushed to Zhang Ye's Weibo to curse him, without any regard for the facts!

"Trying to attract attention!"

"What kind of lousy poem is this?"

"Don't read this person's poetry anymore. Industry experts have already evaluated it. This isn't literature, it has no value!"

"Really? I thought it was good!"

"Who understands better, you or the experts?"

"That's right, the Vice Chairman of the Beijing Writers Association said it's not good!"

"I see, I thought it was a great poem. What a waste of my feelings!"

"Me too, I even read Zhang Ye's poetry to my child. If it has no cultural value, isn't that harmful? It's fine for me to be misled, but don't mislead the children!"

"Mr. Zhang! Get out of the poetry world!"

"Get out! We don't need you here!"

"I used to like Zhang Ye's poetry, but now I'm disappointed!"

Some of Zhang Ye's original fans were also swayed by Meng Dongguo and a few writers and poets, and began to complain!

But there were also people who firmly supported Zhang Ye, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the others and had no chance to speak!

Zhang Ye felt heartbroken and pained. All the popularity he had worked hard to accumulate was shattered by a few words from those people. Even those who still supported Zhang Ye's poetry might not be as firm in their support, given that so many industry experts and established writers and poets had collectively criticized Zhang Ye. Everyone would wonder if his poetry was really that bad.

Seeing his fans cursing him, Zhang Ye clenched his fists tighter.

Zhang Yuanqi said indifferently, "This is how the industry works. Otherwise, get used to it."

"Or what?" Zhang Ye asked.

Zhang Yuanqi's expression was cold, "…Or make them get used to you."

Zhang Ye thought about it, digested Zhang Yuanqi's words, and suddenly calmed down. Looking at the fans who cursed or were disappointed in him, Zhang Ye posted a Weibo.

It was a response!

A response to everyone!

Zhang Yuanqi watched him type word by word, and for the first time, her eyes showed a glimmer of interest!

Zhang Ye wrote:

"Whether you see me or not, I am there, neither sad nor happy."

"Whether you think of me or not, the feeling is there, neither coming nor going."

"Whether you love me or not, the love is there, neither increasing nor decreasing."

"Whether you follow me or not, my hand is in yours, neither letting go nor abandoning."

"Come into my arms, or let me live in your heart."

"Silently, loving, quietly, rejoicing."

This was a poem that had matured late. Why? Because, in Zhang Ye's world, this poem was already quite old, but it had always been obscure. It only became popular after the movie "If You Are the One 2" was released, and it was also used as the lyrics for the ending song of the drama "Palace." Later, some people claimed that the poem was written by Tsangyang Gyatso, but this was not true. There was even a copyright lawsuit, and the original author was Zaxi Ramu Duo, with the original title "Banzhaguru Baima's Silence," also known as "See or Not See."

Some might question, is this a love poem? Is it appropriate here?

In fact, many people didn't know that this poem wasn't a love poem and had nothing to do with family. The inspiration came from a famous quote by Padmasambhava in Zhang Ye's world: "I have never abandoned those who believe in me, or even those who do not believe in me. Although they cannot see me, my children will always be protected by my compassionate heart." The poem expresses the unwavering care of a master for his disciples, with no relation to romantic love.

Zhang Ye's use of it was perfect!

Perhaps he didn't have the same noble intentions as the original author, but it represented his feelings at the moment!

No matter if those who liked me have all left me.

I am here, unwavering, neither sad nor happy!