Taking a deep breath, Wei Long read through the death of "The Death of a Civil Servant" once again, from start to finish.
The second time around.
Wei Long's expression was somewhat complex, and he uttered two words:
"Very Clever."
He had underestimated Chu Kuang.
This was not at all a simple story that left people unable to contain their laughter.
Between the lines of Chu Kuang's writing, there seemed to be an air of light humor, but in reality, it was full of sharpness —
Satire!
Inadvertently offending a powerful figure as a small individual, even if the powerful figure expressed forgiveness, the small individual couldn't help but live in constant fear because the powerful figure had the ability to easily influence the fate of the smaller one.
This was the tragedy of being a small figure.
Chu Kuang didn't explicitly state the story's background.
But this was evidently an era where a general could decide the life or death of a civil servant. The story he constructed seemed to criticize the oppressive feudal system of that era on the lower strata...
However, such an understanding was too simplistic.
After carefully thinking about the story, it wasn't something that only happened in the past.
Isn't our modern-day existence the same?
Subordinates often imagine the thoughts of superiors and make interpretations they consider correct;
Office employees, when glared at by their bosses, anxiously reflect on what they might have done wrong;
If someone accidentally offends a leader, their mind is surely filled with the fear of being undermined.
Just like the news Wei Long saw last time:
It was just a company leader from a sales company who could make employees crawl on the ground in a way that insults their dignity as a punishment for not meeting performance standards...
Wei Long was once puzzled.
What puzzled him even more was that the group of employees hadn't resisted and obediently followed, just like the nature of a general deciding the life or death of a civil servant.
Some phenomena in the world will never be eradicated.
That's why there are so many "civil servants" who have died.
If you understand the thoughts of those in power, you can gain an appreciation for the influential figures. But if you misunderstand, the future might be challenging.
Many times, it's the civil servants who willingly put themselves in the shackles of servitude.
Why did he find it amusing?
Why didn't he think the story was exaggerated?
It's precisely because situations like this are common in modern society.
Chu Kuang's intention was lofty.
This novel is clearly using the past to criticize the present!
Through just over a thousand words, he criticizes some social phenomena, expressing his thoughts. This is an exceptionally clever and creative style.
This is the art of satire!
It's hard to imagine that when most short stories in competitions are still pursuing narrative and amusement, Chu Kuang has already begun to use words to express his thoughts. This is the reason Wei Long finds it shocking...
But will readers buy into this?
Wei Long is unsure. After all, everyone's standards of appreciation are different. "The Death of a Civil Servant" may have the loftiest intentions among all works, but lofty intentions are by no means the entirety of a novel.
"Why think so much," Wei Long chuckled lightly.
Regardless of whether readers buy into this or not, "The Death of a Civil Servant" is indispensable in this competition. Wei Long feels that the existence of this story even elevates the level and style of this competition in a certain sense.
...
In the following days, Lin Yuan would visit the painting club every day.
Drawing sketches himself, he also taught others to draw, earning money and gaining reputation at the same time.
This allowed Lin Yuan to earn at least a thousand yuan every day, which added up to a higher income than the basic salary of the Starlight Composition Department. It was truly a new and effective way to get rich!
At the same time.
With Lin Yuan's one-on-one guidance, the number of students whose sketching skills had significantly improved was increasing.
Things developed to the point where even the academy's fine arts department's teacher knew about the genius in the painting club who was teaching sketching.
There was no way not to notice.
Every now and then, the sketching skills of a student in the class would suddenly improve by a large margin.
It was almost like a paranormal event.
After some teachers inquired with students, they discovered that there was a sketching prodigy in the Fine Arts department offering paid lessons. The improvement in these students' sketching skills was attributed to the excellence of this prodigy's teaching.
Upon hearing this news, many teachers were dumbfounded.
Especially when they learned that this prodigy was just a sophomore majoring in Composition.
Nevertheless, the teachers naturally did not intervene in this situation.
The improvement in students' sketching abilities was a positive development, and paying to learn was not the issue. The real concern was paying without seeing results.
Judging by the teaching prowess displayed by the sketching prodigy in the Fine Arts department, those students spending money on these lessons were making a killing!
Some teachers even recommended students with poor sketching grades to join the painting club and become apprentices to this prodigy.
As a result, the painting club saw a significant increase in applications from Fine Arts students recently. When asked why, they all mentioned the sketching prodigy.
In response, the vice president of the club, Zheng Liang, couldn't stop smiling.
Who would have thought that Lin Yuan leading the painting club would have such an effect? It was like live advertising!
With Lin Yuan in the club, it was like having a treasure!
Lin Yuan, however, remained indifferent to all this. His personality had always been like that.
Today, after class, he once again visited the painting club.
As soon as Lin Yuan entered, someone had already prepared a drawing board, a small chair, sharpened pencils, and his favorite drink, among other things.
Yes, this was the treatment Lin Yuan received in the painting club now.
And as Lin Yuan took his seat, a crowd had already gathered around him. A female student raised her hand excitedly and exclaimed, "Prodigy, it's my turn today!"
"Prodigy, confirmed."
Zhong Yu, looking at the record on his phone, nodded to Lin Yuan.
Because there were too many people wanting to learn sketching from Lin Yuan, he couldn't handle them all.
So, Zhong Yu, who proclaimed himself Lin Yuan's big disciple, took the initiative to organize a reservation system. Anyone who wanted to learn sketching from Lin Yuan had to make an appointment in advance!
Lin Yuan agreed.
This system has been in place for a week now.
However, the number of people making reservations to learn sketching from Lin Yuan was still overwhelming. Everyone was queuing up, eagerly awaiting their turn. This was also why the female student was so excited when her turn finally came—Lin Yuan's classes were in high demand.
After two hours.
Lin Yuan finished teaching the female student.
Zhong Yu had already picked up a coffee, smiling, "The one from earlier got cold, this is a fresh one. Please, Prodigy."
"Thank you."
Lin Yuan took a sip of the perfectly warm coffee handed to him.
At that moment, a system prompt suddenly sounded in his ear: [Teacher, enlightening others is the key to self-enlightenment. The host has recently taught students continuously, permanently achieving the 'Teacher' achievement.]
Lin Yuan was stunned, "What does that mean?"
The system explained, [The 'Teacher' achievement is a special achievement generally obtained by the host after meeting certain hidden criteria. All students taught by the host will have their comprehension abilities doubled during the learning period. As the host teaches more people, the enhancement of comprehension for learners will also increase!]
Lin Yuan: "..."
The system could do this kind of thing?
Was it suggesting that he should become an art teacher?