Chapter 31

The great debate about Gu Yongsheng and his works began with a smear campaign by a group of internet trolls whose intelligence was clearly not high. Due to the grand scale and the lively process, many writers and so-called critics who were eager for attention but had been forced into obscurity quickly seized this opportunity to showcase themselves.

Some approached from a literary perspective.

Some approached from a historical perspective.

Some approached from the study of group phenomena.

...

It could be said that they each displayed their unique skills, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Their sole purpose was to make their voices heard and attract more attention.

Then, the smear campaign eventually evolved into a clear struggle between two factions, with the main point of contention being the status of martial arts novels.

The faction led by Zhou Zaidao believed that martial arts novels were thoroughly dog meat, though fragrant, they did not belong in high culture and could not be classified as literature, at most they were considered entertainment writing.

The faction led by Lu Yichou firmly argued that martial arts novels, like all other types of novels, possessed undeniable literary qualities.

The debate ultimately escalated to the point where Zhou's side attacked Lu's side for having the face of a businessman, essentially a peddler of words, while Lu's side mocked Zhou's side for relying on taxpayers' money to pitifully maintain their so-called status as orthodox writers.

This was also the enduring contradiction between popular literature and traditional literature, a topic that seemed like a large egg, with people constantly stepping forward to pull at it.

Of course, there were also some rational and insightful individuals who played a neutral role, with a fixed line: "Both sides have their correct points and their biases, in my view..."

What no one expected was that this debate, which had lasted nearly half a month, finally received a response from the silent party involved.

What everyone found even more unexpected was that this response consisted of only two simple words.

Hehe.

After this response, both sides were collectively stunned. Where was the promised ten-thousand-word self-explanatory essay? Where were the promised fierce words and scathing insults? Where was the promised somber self-narration and sorrowful apology?

Not only the Zhou Zaidao faction, but even the Lu Yichou faction did not understand the meaning of this response. Hehe? What was he hehe-ing?

The first to react to Gu Yongsheng's response were the onlookers, who very angrily accused Gu Yongsheng of being disrespectful and dismissive, considering it an act of arrogance.

It was no wonder the audience was angry. The debate had been building up for so long, and just as it was about to reach its climax, Gu Yongsheng cruelly stifled it with two words.

The debaters felt more awkward. They had cited extensively, argued logically, and spoken with passion... but in the end, they only received a "hehe."

How hurtful.

After Zhou Zaidao's side came to their senses, they immediately stated that they did not care at all about Gu Yongsheng's response. They participated in the debate for the sake of justice and the healthy development of literature. They believed that Gu Yongsheng's seemingly individualistic response was actually a sign of being at a loss for words.

As for Lu Yichou's side, they were relatively more tolerant and humorous, mainly because Lu Yichou had seen this unconventional response in advance and consciously adjusted his stance, leading the debate style towards a more relaxed and pleasant direction. Therefore, when Gu Yongsheng said "hehe," Lu's side unanimously followed, and everyone said "hehe."

"Martial arts novels have always been leisure books, minor paths, not worth refuting."

"Hehe."

"Gu Yongsheng is just a slightly literate street singer."

"Hehe."

"Gu Yongsheng lacks basic historical knowledge and life experience, relying entirely on fabricated stories."

"Hehe."

...

When a small person punches a mountain, it is like an ant trying to shake a tree. However, after punching for a long time, they might slightly dislodge a layer of dust or even a piece of rock. But when they punch the sea, it is useless except for creating small waves.

Gu Yongsheng's "hehe" clearly possessed the shameless characteristics of the sea.

At this point, the debate could basically be declared over.

Lu Yichou wrote a lazy and generous summary, first warmly thanking the enthusiastic readers and righteous authors for their support, then expressing respect for some of the debaters on the other side and mocking others.

Finally, it was the inevitable advertising time, with a deliberately understated tone announcing the impressive sales of "Dragon Tiger Battle in Jinghua," followed by continued promotion for "Seven Swords Descend from Tian Shan," and a mention of Han Shuo's popular new magazine "Grass on the Plain."

...

...

By June 20th, Liu Jingtong had to return to school because the annual high school entrance exam was approaching, and the teachers would be giving test-taking techniques and making significant predictions.

Predicting questions is a hit-or-miss affair, and it might only hit one question in several years, but hitting one question can be talked about for years. The former principal of No. 1 High School, who had predicted the second-to-last major question on the high school entrance exam math paper five years ago, had accompanied several generations of students' growth.

The night before returning to school, Liu Jingtong had a conversation with Mi Hu. It was late and quiet, and Liu Jingtong had just finished writing the last sentence in his diary: "Outside the window, there are insects, singing every night, blissfully unaware of human joys and sorrows, thinking of the many troubles and sorrows of ordinary people, most of which are self-inflicted. One should seize the opportunities given by heaven to achieve one's dreams."

"Is it necessary to be so literary and pretentious in my own diary?" Liu Jingtong said to himself, then closed the diary. The phone rang at that moment.

"Sorry to call you so late, but I'm really curious, really curious, what kind of state are you in right now?" Mi Hu asked directly after answering the call.

"Uh... I just took a shower, wrote a rather literary diary, and was about to go to bed. What about you?"

"I find that when I talk to you, you're particularly good at talking about irrelevant things," Mi Hu said unhappily. "I want to know what your 'hehe' means."

"It's like 'hee hee,' 'ha ha,' 'hoo hoo,' onomatopoeic words indicating laughter, or a symbol, I guess."

"Everyone has been arguing about you for half a month, and the related text is in the millions. In the end, you gave a 'hehe,' which seems so irresponsible." Mi Hu said this, but there was no hint of accusation in her tone.

"You've been an editor, so you must know the meaning of 'it's hard to please everyone.' No author in this universe can guarantee that they can write a novel that everyone loves. Any work, once it is published, will inevitably face both praise and criticism. They express their views and try to convince each other, but after arguing for ten thousand years, there will still be no result."

Liu Jingtong's tone began to carry a hint of sarcasm. "Those who like it have a hundred reasons, and those who dislike it can immediately find the 101st reason. Objectively speaking, this is actually a good thing."

"What about personal attacks?" Mi Hu asked.

"I'm not a psychologist, so I can't figure out the mindset of these readers or people. However, this time, the posts criticizing me online were clearly from trolls, so they are essentially non-existent. This kind of thing can't be taken seriously. I focus on the readers who criticize the text, and of course, the readers who praise me, ha ha..."

"It seems you've reached a deep level of narcissism, beyond cure."

"I'm not a saint, so having emotions is quite normal. Seeing some people who don't even know what color my book cover is, yet they talk about it, I feel lost. Their comments seem like they're making up stories, sarcastic, and pretending to be humorous, which makes me both angry and amused."

"So you chose to respond with 'hehe'?"

"Yeah... I actually thought about it very seriously. I could write a serious response, review history, and even imagine the future. But then I thought, no matter how sincere and detailed my response, the outcome would be the same. Those who attack me will find new reasons to continue attacking, and those who support me will continue to support me."

"At least you could express gratitude to your supporters." The girl, Mi Hu, naturally had a girl's mindset.

Liu Jingtong moved from the chair to the bed, propped his head on a pillow, and leaned against the wall, answering leisurely. "I always believe that the true way to thank readers is to give them better stories. Speaking of which, Mi Hu, in such a quiet night, do we have to talk about such heavy topics?"

"Pah, a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory."

"Hey, when you used the 'talking about irrelevant things' metaphor, I already wanted to remind you, but thinking about it, cough, we once did it, so..."

"Pah, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll hang up."

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood. You know, recently, my life has been pretty bad. Every day, I face so many attacks and insults, often tossing and turning at midnight, feeling sad and hurt. Come on, can we talk about something lighter?"

"Of course, the high school entrance exam is only a few days away!"

"Hu Xiaomi! You evil woman!"

The phone rang with Mi Hu's satisfied laughter, and both of them suddenly had nothing more to say.

Liu Jingtong had many experiences of talking on the phone with girls at night. In the second semester of his first year of college, a close female friend had her period and was in severe pain, so she called him for comfort, and they talked until the moon was west.

That feeling was quite interesting, the deep night, and that delicate voice right in your ear...

"I'm going to school tomorrow. I'm not afraid of the high school entrance exam. I'll apply to your high school, okay?"

"Ah? Yeah, sure."

"Great, I'm going to sleep."

"Sure, good night."

Mi Hu put down her phone, pushed open the window, and stuck her head out to the starry sky, loudly saying "hehe," which left the waning half-moon puzzled.

...

Just as Mi Hu and Liu Jingtong hung up and went to sleep, in a corner of a city, a young man in his twenties was posting an anonymous confession: "A Troller's Confession (Continuously Updated)."

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