Otaku Translation: Literary Genius: This Kid Was Born Smart C157

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Chapter 157: Let’s Turn It Into a Children’s Play

The event was spearheaded by the , with tasks distributed to provincial and municipal branches. Now you understand why the Writers’ Association didn’t have much say in the matter—they were merely the executors from start to finish.

of the Chongqing Federation of Literary and Art Circles served as the final reviewer for the second round of evaluations. She sat reviewing the twelve submissions from Chongqing.

Vice Chair Shen was something of a living legend in —only the fifth performer in history to win the —and she was still under fifty.

The Plum Blossom Award was widely regarded as the highest honor in Chinese dramatic performance. The term "Plum Blossom Grand Prize" was an informal but universally recognized title awarded to those who won the Plum Blossom Award three times. Vice Chair Shen was the fifth person in history to achieve this distinction.

"All familiar faces," Vice Chair Shen muttered as she scanned the list. Most of these names she knew well.

The worlds of theater and literature were deeply intertwined. Great actors needed not only talent but also great works to elevate their performances. Vice Chair Shen’s breakout role in Gold, for instance, was adapted from ’s classic play .

Many writers were also accomplished playwrights.

"Huh? … now that’s a new name," Vice Chair Shen remarked, spotting the one unfamiliar entry. She flipped through the writer’s profile:

[Gu Lu, born February 6, 1996, native of . Renowned children's author, outstanding student…] The birthdate almost made Vice Chair Shen think there had been a mistake in the records, but the mention of “outstanding student” confirmed it wasn’t an error.

She couldn’t help but chuckle. "Are they really out of material to write about? They’ve even listed ‘outstanding student.’"

Out of the three pieces submitted by writers, Vice Chair Shen started with this one. In a single sitting, she breezed through the few hundred words, her emotions stirred by its richness.

Every literature teacher knew that long stretches of parallelism could lend an essay grandeur. The same principle applied to speeches. And devoted three-quarters of its content to such parallel structures.

Thus, it flowed beautifully!

The quality of the parallelism was impressive. One passage in particular caught Vice Chair Shen’s eye:

[Without Li Bai, we would memorize far fewer Tang poems and use far fewer idioms.

For childhood, we’d lack the phrase “innocent companions.”

For love, we’d miss “heartfelt devotion.”

For joy, we’d lose “family bliss.”

For boldness, we’d never know “lavish generosity.”

……]

"This is quite impressive," Vice Chair Shen thought. She decided then and there that unless one of the other eleven pieces far surpassed this one, If Li Bai Never Existed would be the submission forwarded upward.

All twelve articles would appear in , but only one would compete for inclusion in . Vice Chair Shen believed in giving young talents a chance.

After skimming the remaining two pieces, she confirmed her initial judgment: If Li Bai Never Existed was indeed the best.

She had her answer. Even if most writers hadn’t yet submitted their work, those assigned the task likely treated it as just another chore. It wasn’t outright negligence, but neither was it done with passion.

This was understandable. With four major municipalities and so many provinces vying for a single spot in People’s Literature, participation alone was commendable.

With Chongqing’s literary tasks complete, Vice Chair Shen couldn’t rest yet. There was still work to be done at the , where she wore multiple hats—not only as director of the Sichuan Opera Theater but also as a key leader in reforming the city’s drama theatre.

During her tenure as head of the Sichuan Opera Theater, she revitalized the institution. Her success earned her additional responsibilities.

"The Youth Arts Center of the Municipal Drama Theatre is a good idea. Cities like Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai have already established children’s theaters with proven success," Vice Chair Shen mused.

Chongqing lagged behind these cities economically and culturally, so creating a standalone children’s theater might be overambitious. However, establishing a youth arts center under the existing framework was feasible.

"The problem is finding good scripts," Vice Chair Shen lamented. Current children’s plays relied heavily on tired classics like Snow White, Cinderella, and The Monkey King. Recycling the same stories made any new production feel stale from the start.

Launching the Youth Arts Center with such outdated material would set a poor tone.

, The Adventures of Ma Xiaotiao, Shuke and Beta…

In her hands was a list provided by her secretary’s office—the top five best-selling children’s books in Chongqing recently.

Ma Xiaotiao and Shuke and Beta were household names. , the author of Ma Xiaotiao, hailed from Sichuan and Chongqing, but her stories were ill-suited for adaptation into plays.

A quick note: children’s theater wasn’t necessarily performed by children; rather, adults acted out stories appealing to young audiences. Strictly speaking, even Ultraman battling monsters fell under this category.

Plays required some fantastical element. Ma Xiaotiao’s stories were too grounded in everyday life, which wouldn’t captivate young viewers.

"The settings in Shuke and Beta are too expansive for the stage," Vice Chair Shen observed, turning her attention to the year’s top-selling children’s book in Chongqing: The Little Prince.

It was unsurprising that Vice Chair Shen hadn’t heard of The Little Prince—a fairy tale with national sales of just over 300,000 copies. Likewise, Gu Lu’s name wasn’t widely known outside educational and literary circles.

"The Little Prince by Gu Lu—it’s him again! A teenage prodigy with a bestseller under his belt," Vice Chair Shen realized upon reading the author bio inside the book’s front flap. It matched the profile of the writer who had submitted If Li Bai Never Existed.

On her way home, Vice Chair Shen bought a copy of The Little Prince. After reading it that evening, she was astonished to discover how perfectly suited it was for adaptation into a children’s play.

The minimal stage requirements, combined with the fantastical interstellar journeys of the Little Prince, lent themselves beautifully to theatrical interpretation.

"Purchase the rights and adapt it for the stage," she decided immediately. As a native of Chongqing, Gu Lu’s work would serve as the perfect opener for the Youth Arts Center of the Chongqing Drama Theatre, generating significant buzz.

Vice Chair Shen moved swiftly to advance the project—

---

Meanwhile, back at school, Gu Lu faced his own challenges.

"How do I stop my voice from sounding nervous while recording? My throat gets dry after several takes," Gu Lu asked a professional.

"Nervous?" Zhang Liwan responded. "Are you appearing on camera?"

"Not exactly—I don’t think the camera captures my face," Gu Lu replied. "Even when I turn off the camera and record just my voice, I still get nervous and can’t convey the emotions I want."

"If the camera doesn’t capture your face, what’s there to worry about?" Zhang Liwan asked, puzzled. "And since you’re only recording audio, no one will even know what you’re doing. You could be scratching your feet, and no one would notice! Doesn’t that sound freeing?"

Gu Lu stared at Zhang Liwan with an odd expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that—I’m just using an analogy!" Zhang Liwan quickly clarified. "I definitely wouldn’t scratch my feet while recording. Besides, when we broadcast at the Time Radio Station in the school’s broadcasting room, there are always two or three classmates around. Even if I wanted to scratch my feet, I wouldn’t dare!"

Zhang Liwan pressed further: "Why exactly are you feeling nervous?"

"I guess I’m worried that many netizens will hear my recordings and judge them harshly if they don’t meet their expectations. It’s stressful," Gu Lu explained after some thought.

"A famous writer’s concerns are different, I suppose. How many followers do you have on Weibo?" Zhang Liwan asked.

"Almost 200,000," Gu Lu replied. "But I’m not posting this on Weibo—I’m uploading it to ."

"Bilibili?" Zhang Liwan tilted her head, confused.

"It’s a platform where anime enthusiasts gather to share and discuss," Gu Lu explained.

"You mean AcFun? Isn’t AcFun more popular? But honestly, who cares what you post on sites like that? No one’s going to watch it anyway, so why worry?"

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