Otaku Translation: Literary Genius: This Kid Was Born Smart C159

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Chapter 159: Director Wang's Envy

After drafting the preface, went home and typed it out on his keyboard with a flurry of keystrokes. He then sent it to Director Wang at .

Speaking of Director Wang, he didn’t harbor any irrational expectations for his own child, Wang Ban, to surpass Gu Lu. His intelligence was perfectly normal.

What he truly disliked was the idea of undervaluing the title of "writer." Simply cobbling together a collection of short stories published in Story Digest didn’t justify calling oneself a writer.

"Li Riyao, the homeroom teacher from No. 37 Middle School. And the unnamed Fat Boss—how fortunate they are!" Director Wang thought as he read through the complete preface.

The sales figures of magazines like Story Digest, Jingu Legends, Reader, and Sprout proved that there was still a strong demand for engaging stories among the general public. And this short story collection, , was the best work of its kind in a decade.

" sold over 300,000 copies, but children’s literature has its limits," Director Wang mused. He planned an initial print run of 150,000 copies. This collection would become a milestone in domestic short fiction.

The field of short fiction was fertile ground yet to be fully cultivated. To reap its rewards required tools of exceptional quality.

In Director Wang’s view, as long as no revolutionary entertainment medium like television or computers emerged, he could build "Gu Lu" into a brand name.

Connecting the dots, it became clear what Director Wang envied. Being mentioned in Gu Lu’s preface wasn’t about leaving an indelible mark in history, but as long as the works remained in circulation, the names wouldn’t be forgotten.

Otherwise, why would Wang Lun still be remembered over a thousand years later?

As for Gu Lu only mentioning Fat Boss in his preface without using real names, would those names fade into obscurity? Once Park of Yesterday hit the shelves nationwide, reporters would surely dig deeper.

---

Meanwhile, Gu Lu—the aspiring master of short fiction—was hard at work.

Convinced by Zhang Liwan, he returned home to start recording his video.

To avoid creating a permanent digital record of himself, Gu Lu turned off the camera and focused solely on recording his voice.

Persisting, persisting, and persisting some more.

Repeating, repeating, and repeating again.

"Our hearts hold a —you are , the soul of the moon!" Gu Lu recorded the line once more.

He repeated the process six or seven times.

Finally, he selected the version he was most satisfied with. But a black screen alone felt too dull, so Gu Lu scoured the internet for some stock footage to insert.

After over an hour of painstaking effort, he completed the video.

"Thankfully, during my failures in my previous life, I taught myself video editing to promote books on . Though it didn’t bring much traffic back then, it’s paying off now!"

"Lu Xun was right. What you consume will eventually become part of you, and what you learn will one day help you," Gu Lu reflected deeply.

He uploaded the video. At this point, didn’t have many categories; most content was either remix videos or anime-related submissions.

The platform had been renamed Bilibili in 2010, and by mid-2012, it had surpassed AcFun in traffic. If Wings hadn’t invested heavily in Bilibili, the platform’s first video to break ten million views wouldn’t have appeared until two years later.

Gu Lu forgot one crucial fact. Unlike in the future, where Bilibili hosted numerous official media accounts and was recognized as a high-quality platform producing excellent content, at this time—not even the broader had gained mainstream acceptance. Thus, Gu Lu was about to unintentionally set a record…

---

Reading, writing, showering—finally, he opened his email. This routine was part of Gu Lu’s daily life.

Today, an email from Japan awaited him. It began with a lengthy introduction, which Gu Lu skimmed through.

In short, had finished translating the three stories and submitted them to the magazine. They were expected to be published next week. The main purpose of the email was to ask for Gu Lu’s address.

According to standard practice, authors received sample copies of their published works.

Gu Lu provided the school’s address, reasoning that a more "official"-sounding address would be better for international mail. That was his perspective, at least.

"International shipments usually take about a week. Around the time the Japanese magazine publishes the stories, I should receive the samples," Gu Lu thought. He was curious to see how the Chinese stories translated back into Japanese would turn out.

His plan was to aim for the Peiwen Cup to secure admission to Peking University and then study at least one foreign language during his academic years.

"It’s midnight—I should sleep. Lately, I’ve struggled to get even six hours of sleep a night," Gu Lu muttered as he collapsed onto his bed. But the moment he touched it, he sprang up as if pricked by thorns.

He’d forgotten to water the flowers! Rushing to the balcony, Gu Lu exclaimed, "Oh no, why does the look so wilted?"

---

The next day, at noon.

"If I had a little red flower, I’d definitely give it to you, bro Gu Lu. My word is my bond."

Encountering Zhang Liwan in the hallway, Gu Lu was greeted with a barrage of praise that left him bewildered.

The 11th-grade teaching building wasn’t near here, and students rarely came to the 10th-grade side during lunch. Clearly, Zhang Liwan had made a special trip.

"Explain clearly—what’s going on?" Gu Lu asked.

Zhang Liwan was surprised that Gu Lu didn’t already know. Was the school planning some kind of surprise?

"The renowned actress, Mrs. Shen Tiemei, wants to purchase the rights to adapt your The Little Prince into a play," Zhang Liwan explained. As part of Time Radio Station, she had been instructed to document the event.

Gu Lu knew nothing about Sichuan opera, so the fact that Shen Tiemei was a "living legend" of the art form meant little to him. Zhang Liwan filled him in on the details she knew.

Beyond that, she couldn’t say why Vice Chair Shen—a master of Sichuan opera—was handling theater-related matters.

"See you this afternoon," Zhang Liwan said before leaving. Gu Lu returned home during lunch to research further on his computer…

The school hadn’t planned any surprises. For copyright purchases and adaptations, Vice Chair Shen wanted to negotiate directly with the student’s parents.

What seemed like a done deal hit a snag when the school tasked Time Radio Station to prepare. During the third period of the morning, Mr. Hu was supposed to inform the student, but discussions stalled over who should initiate contact.

"I can’t fall into the same trap twice," muttered to himself.

The last time, during the school anniversary celebration, inviting Gu Lu’s mother nearly caused problems.

Principal Liu had spent considerable effort convincing Vice Chair Shen of two unbelievable truths:

"There really are such irresponsible parents," and "Living independently and still excelling is extraordinary."

---

At 3 PM, Gu Lu arrived at the principal’s office. Upon entering—huh? Why wasn’t the air conditioning on? It felt chilly!

relied heavily on air conditioning for comfort.

Visiting the principal’s office felt like coming home. Gu Lu was completely at ease.

Besides the principal, Mr. Hu, and two background figures from Time Radio Station, the remaining woman must have been Shen Tiemei, the "living legend" of Sichuan opera.

In her forties, she exuded… elegance. Truly, she was elegant, particularly in her posture and manner of speech.

Vice Chair Shen’s voice was melodious.

She began with a brief introduction…

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