"The death of a small civil servant?"
Upon seeing this title, Wei Long subconsciously assumed it was a short reasoning story. Given the wide-ranging subject matter, numerous short story creations on reasoning themes had been submitted by the thirty short story writers.
Clicking on it, Wei Long glanced at the word count, then was stunned.
One thousand eight hundred characters?
He suspected he was mistaken.
Although short stories didn't typically have many words, Wei Long had specifically advised Chu Kuang that short stories should be concise, ideally between 3,000 to 5,000 words.
But this was too little, wasn't it?
The entire text was less than two thousand words?
When he mentioned making it a bit shorter, he meant reducing it to around 3,000 to 5,000 words!
Chu Kuang likely followed his advice but misunderstood, deliberately shortening the word count.
Did he think shorter was better?
If this affected the quality of the work, Wei Long felt he had erred, and he couldn't help but hold his forehead.
Let's read the novel first:
It was an ordinary night, and the small civil servant sat in the second row of the main hall, watching a theater performance with binoculars. At this moment, he felt the tranquility of the years.
Tranquil years?
Wei Long encountered this description for the first time, yet he could understand its meaning without much thought.
"An interesting description."
The subsequent description was even more intriguing: [But suddenly, his face contorted, his eyes widened, his breathing ceased, he removed the binoculars from his eyes, and leaned forward...]
Was this a heart attack?
Was this the death of the small civil servant?
A small civil servant without even a name?
Wei Long couldn't comprehend until he continued reading and realized the small civil servant had just sneezed.
"Puff."
Looking back, wasn't the previous description just a person's state while sneezing? Chu Kuang's description seemed verbose, yet it conjured a vivid image of a sneeze in Wei Long's mind.
It was just a sneeze, and naturally, the small civil servant didn't panic. Everyone sneezes.
For such behavior, the most severe consequence would be catching a cold.
Wei Long concurred.
However, the story's turning point arrived: [The small civil servant panicked upon seeing an old man sitting in the first row of the main hall ahead of him, rubbing his bald head and neck with gloves and murmuring to himself.
Evidently, the small civil servant's sneeze had splattered on the old man.
And the small civil servant's panic stemmed from...
Recognizing the old man as a retired general from a certain department!
"Will he be killed by the general?"
Wei Long inevitably reconsidered the story's title.
Readers of novels tend to anticipate the upcoming content.
However, short stories were challenging to predict.
As expected, the small civil servant began to apologize.
But to Wei Long's surprise, the general wasn't as furious as he had anticipated. Instead, he expressed understanding and magnanimity.
"Is this general a smiling tiger? Showing generosity in public but seeking revenge in private?"
This was Wei Long's new interpretation.
Naturally, the nameless small civil servant shared similar concerns.
So he apologized again, offering various pledges, asserting he truly didn't mean harm.
The general appeared annoyed and said: ["Oh, please sit down! Let me enjoy the play!"]
Was the general angry? The small civil servant grew even more panicked.
He could never enjoy the play again.
Until the intermission, when the general went to the restroom, and he followed suit, apologizing for the third time.
[Enough...I've forgotten, but you can't stop talking!
The general adjusted his pants and buckled his belt, visibly impatient.
Wei Long remarked, "It seems the general isn't truly angry."
Influenced by the title, he had assumed the general would seek retribution against the civil servant. However, according to the novel's description, the general had expressed forgiveness multiple times, clearly not a petty individual.
For the small civil servant, the sneeze was just a false alarm.
Wei Long felt relieved.
But the small civil servant remained anxious.
He engaged in various mental gymnastics: [He claims he's forgotten, but there's a fierce glint in his eyes. I should explain that I didn't intend to sneeze. It's a natural reflex. Otherwise, he might think I intentionally spat at him. Even if he doesn't believe so now, he might in the future!
How unfortunate, isn't it?
Wei Long found the small civil servant somewhat amusing.
Upon returning home, the young civil servant recounted his ordeal to his wife. She was shocked and advised him to apologize.
The small civil servant lamented: [That's what I said! I've already apologized, but he's so peculiar. He doesn't seem willing to hear my explanation.
I've forgiven you!
Are you experiencing persecution delusions?
The small civil servant's mental acrobatics increasingly amused Wei Long.
And yet, the small civil servant persisted. The next day, he donned his uniform earnestly and visited the general's house with a grand gift, apologizing once more.
But Wei Long felt like himself, being hounded by someone endlessly apologizing, would feel perplexed.
At that moment, the general was entertaining guests, seemingly important ones.
The small civil servant could only apologize again after the general's guests departed.
As before.
The general expressed understanding, but his furrowed brow betrayed his feelings.
"A frightened expression."
These four words nearly broke Wei Long's smile.
Apologizing was a gesture of politeness. How could one not forgive such a small civil servant who persisted in apologizing?
Yet, Wei Long also felt some sympathy for the general.
As a small civil servant himself, he naturally saw the general's expression as unease, feeling that the general hadn't truly forgiven him.
Thinking about the future.
Despite feeling the general was overly stern, catching his mistake, he still wanted to make amends.
So he decided to write a letter to the general, sincerely explaining his actions.
Unfortunately, his mind drew a blank, unable to even draft a letter.
He could only visit again on the third day to offer his apologies.
The story essentially concludes here.
With the civil servant apologizing time and again, the final paragraphs formed a simple yet unexpected ending.
"Leave!" the general bellowed, his face turning blue, his body shaking.
["What?" the small civil servant asked, numbed with fear.
["Leave!" the general repeated, stamping his foot.
Something churned in the small civil servant's stomach. Unable to see or hear anything, he retreated to the door, walked onto the street, and wandered home. He didn't remove his uniform and collapsed onto the sofa...dead.
Yes, the small civil servant died.
This was the origin of the title, "The Death of a Small Civil Servant."
He had apologized repeatedly, and in the end, completely enraged the general. Consequently, when the general became furious, he was scared to death by his own mind!
Was this a novel with over a thousand words?
It wasn't a fanciful reasoning story, nor was it a tale of a general's revenge. Instead, it was a story of a person frightened to death by his own thoughts.
Though only a thousand words, the content was exaggerated yet strangely logical, allowing readers to naturally accept the story's premise, making it an enjoyable read!
At this moment, Wei Long's pen froze over his thigh. Unexpectedly, Chu Kuang had infused humor into the story.
But halfway through his laughter, Wei Long's smile abruptly froze, and the scene seemed to freeze with it.
As if an electric current had surged through him, a spark of inspiration ignited within Wei Long, widening his eyes like a demon!
"Wait... this story..."