Chapter 64

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Translator: Cheese

The interview

Not long after Ji Shaoheng left, he called back and said that the little gege liked Su Tian’s gift very much–so much so that he had prepared a return gift and mailed it by post. He asked Su Tian to keep an eye on the post office in the next few days.

Su Tian didn’t expect to get a return gift. She said happily, “Please thank the little gege. Right, is little gege’s health better?”

Ji Shaoheng answered, “He still needs to remain under observation in the hospital for a few more days. If there are no complications, he can be discharged soon.”

Su Tian raised her brows in surprise. UV allergies were so serious? He still needed to be monitored in the hospital for so long?

Although it felt a little strange, Su Tian thought that perhaps the other party also had other health problems, so she didn’t ask anything more. After saying a few polite words wishing the little gege a speedy recovery, she handed the phone back to He Qingwan.

However, she was really curious about what gift this little gege would give her in return.

Who knew that before the little gege’s gift had arrived, they would receive another, unexpected “present.”

Following the continuous popularity of 《The Adventures of Kaka》, Su Tian and the others printed another 100,000 copies, triggering another, larger wave of sales.

For a while, its fame was unparalleled.

The astonishing thing was that manhua, originally seen as children’s stories, became very popular among teens and even young adults in their twenties.

Children with simple thoughts only saw the confrontation between Kaka, who represented righteousness, and the circus master, who stood for evil. But teens and young adults with higher levels of comprehension saw more complex themes in the manhua.

The circus master, the other animals in the circus, the spectators who came to watch the show…

Every character seemed to correspond to a type of person in reality.

And the protagonist of the manhua, Kaka, was more like the reader. He could be you, or me, or him.

And even in a famous program, the host mused upon the popularity of 《Kaka》. If it reflected a societal problem, then what kind of character did the circus master portray?

In the program, the reporter interviewed people of different age groups. The very young children didn’t understand and simply thought that the circus master was the circus master and a bad guy. But starting with upper elementary students, all sorts of answers were given.

Some people thought he represented teachers, some suggested he was a symbol of the education system, some hypothesized that he represented parents, some felt he represented company bosses, some thought he symbolized all the sources of oppression in society, and still others said he was 【Beep——!】

The most fascinating thing was the symbolic meaning of the hands that stretched out towards the sun in the ending.

In these discussions that extended to all circles of life, people were full of curiosity about the author of 《The Adventures of Kaka》.

What kind of person could create a character like Kaka and give a puppy such abundant vitality?

Under this wave of discussion, the publishing company keenly sniffed out a business opportunity. They asked Liu Kaiyan if he was interested in taking the initiative to show his face and accept an in-person interview with a magazine.

When he received the phone call from the magazine, Liu Kaiyan was helping He Qingwan in the dessert shop.

The other party persuaded, “Right now, everyone’s curiosity about you has reached an unprecedented height. If you’re willing, our magazine can schedule it at any time. When that happens, 《Kaka》’s sales volume will definitely reach a new level, and you can also take the opportunity to promote Nemo…”

Liu Kaiyan glanced at Su Tian, who was working the cash register beside him. For a moment, he was unable to make a choice.

He had no opinions about being famous, and he had no interest in making a lot of money.

In fact, being able to stay in this small county town for the rest of his life, helping Auntie He sell desserts and getting together to talk and laugh with friends like Tiantian and You Pinyan, was already a happiness he had never dared to imagine.

He said, “Let me think about it.”

The other party couldn’t hide his disappointment. “If you’re interested, you can contact me at any time.”

Liu Kaiyan nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

Liu Kaiyan never told Su Tian about the phone call, and Su Tian never knew about it.

Until one afternoon, the three of them went to school together, and as soon as they stepped into the classroom, they saw the classmates gathering in a huddle, swearing and scolding. Su Tian could make out her and Liu Kaiyan’s names in their conversation.

Wang Haoxue ran over, asking, “What’re you all peeking at?”

Hearing Wang Haoxue’s voice, the students immediately rushed to their feet, hurriedly stuffing a magazine into their desks. They grinned awkwardly at Su Tian and Liu Kaiyan:

“Nothing, hehe, nothing…”

Su Tian blinked. “But I heard you say my and Liu Kaiyan’s names.”

“That’s…” Liu Kaiyan’s deskmate was about to stammer out an excuse when Wang Haoxue suddenly lunged over, snatched the magazine, and threw it to Su Tian.

Wang Haoxue: “Tiantian, catch! See what they’re reading so sneakily.”

All the students in the class: “…!”

One girl stomped her feet anxiously, scolding, “Fatty Wang, you wanna die!”

Wang Haoxue was stunned, still ignorant of what happened.

The girl felt helpless. She simply tossed her the copy of the magazine she bought and snapped, “You take a look.”

Wang Haoxue looked down and instantly froze. She hurriedly spread it open and flipped through the pages.

Seeing everyone’s strange reaction, Su Tian and Liu Kaiyan also opened the magazine together.

At first glance, they saw the title of an article that was bolded and highlighted–

《Unraveling the Life of Kaka’s Father——Severed Ties with Parents!》

Su Tian was stunned. She quickly flipped to the article and began to read it.

She had never heard of the author’s name–it should be a pseudonym–but they were skilled in writing and understood the power of words. Various techniques and lines of prose were used in succession, and the article used a seemingly objective framing to write about Liu Kaiyan’s life.

The entire article seized on the “filial piety” that Chinese people valued the most and criticized Liu Kaiyan to the fullest.

His parents were highly educated scholars, researchers at a well-known domestic research institute who risked their lives for the sake of scientific advancement. Liu Kaiyan was the only son of the family, and his parents had been strict with him since he was a child, leading to his rebellious character.

He fell in love with a girl in his first year of high school. After half a year, the girl dropped out of school and left Luocheng with her parents. In the second year of high school, he fell in love with a transfer student and ran away from home for her, announcing to others that he would “never acknowledge his parents.”

In the end, Liu Kaiyan’s parents were so heartbroken they stopped reaching out to him and applied to be transferred to the frontier to continue to contribute to scientific research.

Not to mention a stranger who didn’t know the truth, even Su Tian, who knew everything, felt that the Liu Kaiyan in the article was a white-eyed wolf who should be sliced into ten thousand pieces.

Liu Kaiyan and Su Tian read the article ten lines at a time, their faces pale and their lips white.

Su Tian looked up. At this time, Wang Haoxue picked up another magazine and read it with wide eyes.

Some classmates came over to comfort them. “Tiantian, Liu Kaiyan, don’t be angry, it’s all just complete nonsense.”

Everyone in Luocheng knew how crazy Lin Xiuping was. When Liu Kaiyan severed ties with Lin Xiuping several days ago, there was no one who didn’t feel relieved.

This person was so disgusting. Why didn’t they write about how Lin Xiuping usually abused Liu Kaiyan, or how Lin Xiuping insulted Liu Kaiyan’s classmates, or about how the entire town was disgusted by this crazy woman?

It merely avoided her bad deeds and capitalized on the ‘good[1].’

Just then, the school bell rang. Liu Kaiyan said in a strained voice, “I’m fine. Everyone should hurry to class.”

Su Tian pulled the stunned Wang Haoxue and Liu Kaiyan to sit together. The teacher came into the classroom and started class.

It was unknown if the teacher had also read this article. Su Tian was clearly holding the article and reading it again, yet he made no comment.

Su Tian snapped the magazine shut and found the magazine’s publisher. Shockingly, it was the Red Sun Publishing House where they had first submitted 《Kaka》, but was ordered to revise.

If she remembered correctly, Su Tian had previously received a call from a Red Sun Publishing House’s editor, asking to buy the copyright to 《Kaka》, but she had turned it down.

At that time, the other party had been furious and left behind some harsh words, saying that “It’s not so easy to mingle with people in this industry.” It seems that this was the other party’s counterattack.

Not only did it vent their anger, it also rode on 《Kaka》’s coattails, and it was even such sensational content. Unsurprisingly, Red Sun Publishing House’s magazine sales volume during this period was slated to break records.

Su Tian had always been a good-natured person. As long as the other party didn’t go too far, she would simply respond with a smile.

If Red Sun Publishing House were merely rubbing up on 《Kaka》’s popularity to publish their magazine, Su Tian would definitely have reacted the same as always–just smile and let it go.

But now it wasn’t just a matter of rubbing up on their popularity–this was blatant defamation, slander, and incitement of public opinion.

Red Sun Publishing House was a large-scale publisher in the domestic market. Otherwise, she would not have let Liu Kaiyan submit his work there. This magazine sold very well, even in their small town of Luocheng, so it was conceivable that there was nowhere it had not spread.

Su Tian didn’t need to think to know that there was a lot of scolding going on outside.

Of course, when they were scolding Liu Kaiyan, they could not do without mentioning her.

So hateful. If they didn’t clarify it now, not to mention that 《Kaka》 would suffer a massive defeat, Liu Kaiyan would have no room for development in the future.

The industry would not tolerate a leading figure with such a negative influence, not to mention the state and the government.

When the bell rang and the teacher left the classroom, Su Tian whirled around, looking at Liu Kaiyan, and asked, “Let’s do an exclusive interview?”

Liu Kaiyan froze for a moment, and lifted his gaze to rest on her.

Su Tian spoke softly to anyone and always had a smile on her face. This was the first time Liu Kaiyan had seen her clearly express anger.

The girl’s cheeks were puffed out, and her eyes were wide open. Her puffed up appearance was inexplicably cute.

He suddenly understood why Su Tian always liked to pinch Xi Yun’s face.

Now, his hands felt itchy.

He coughed, asking, “What exclusive interview?”

Su Tian: “About you, about Kaka, about us…”

Liu Kaiyan smiled and said, “I forgot to tell you. Not too long ago, the publishers contacted me and asked if they wanted me to do an in-person interview.”

Su Tian was stunned. She asked in surprise, “Really? Did you agree?”

Liu Kaiyan: “I was going to refuse, but now I’ve decided to agree.”

[1] 避重就轻: to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial

Cheese: liu kaiyan’s parents sound worse with every chapter smh

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