Chapter 164: I Would Rather Die Outside Than Ever Like Your Daughter

“Ha ha, isn’t the great writer meddling a bit too much? You write your books, I write my songs—why do you care about me?” Shen Xian never sought to hurt others first. But when others attacked him, he was quick to retaliate.

“Look at the songs you write: ‘After I Leave,’ ‘Reluctant to Part,’ ‘Dusk,’ ‘Faith’—what do they have besides endless love stories? Young people are constantly obsessed with romance and make no progress. If everyone followed you, who would carry forward traditional culture? If everyone were like you, what hope would this country’s future have?” Zi Qi Dong Lai effortlessly slapped a heavy label on him: “It’s just whining without reason!”

“Hello, Mr. Whiner, are you sick?” Shen Xian shot back. “Why are you attacking me out of nowhere? Did I offend you?”

Zi Qi Dong Lai replied, “Whether I’m sick or not, I know myself well, but I think you are.”

Shen Xian decided to ignore him. Yet half an hour later, Zi Qi Dong Lai had commented on every one of his works.

“What kind of nonsense is this singing? Whining without reason!”

“What’s with ‘Wait a Minute,’ ‘Next Minute’? Whining without reason, it’s sick!”

“What about ‘Can I Be With You?’ There’s too much distance between us; it’s nonsense. Young people have no shame, daring to say such blunt things in public—whining without reason!”

Netizens found it amusing and promptly gave Zi Qi Dong Lai a new nickname: “Mr. Whiner.”

“Believe it or not, I’ll block you,” Shen Xian sent him a private message.

Mr. Whiner replied, “If you block me, I’ll just make another account. If you block that one, I’ll make another. I still have three million followers on Weibo. If you block me, I’ll curse you on Weibo.”

“What a dumbass, holy hell,” Shen Xian responded.

“My daughter’s mind was ruined by people like you singing these songs, leading her astray into singing this pointless whining,” Zi Qi Dong Lai fired back. “You are a cancer to society, destroying the country’s future.”

What does that have to do with me? Shen Xian was nearly stunned.

“Ha ha, isn’t it possible your daughter’s mind was already damaged, not because of us?” Shen Xian was truly speechless—getting shot while lying down.

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“Even if I jumped from the thirty-third floor and died outside, I would never let my daughter be with someone like you,” Zi Qi Dong Lai said.

Shen Xian replied, “Ha ha, as if I wanted to like your daughter. She might be an ugly freak for all I know! Don’t worry, even if I jumped from a building and died outside, I still wouldn’t like your daughter, you lunatic!”

“All right, that’s enough. Stop making these lovey-dovey songs and promote traditional culture more; otherwise, I’ll keep scolding you!” Zi Qi Dong Lai declared.

Still unsatisfied, he sent many poop emoji: “Here, have some shit!”

After insulting Shen Xian, he posted a long article on Weibo: “Recently, the postman’s momentum is strong; his songs are widely popular and catchy. But this person’s songs are all pointless whining, like he lost his wife—I’m very saddened. Young people don’t think about cultural inheritance and instead delve into this stuff. How can our country have hope?”

And so on and so forth.

“I think the great writer is right!”

“The postman’s songs really lack substance!”

Some haters, seeing a famous writer speak out, instantly went wild.

Chen Feng, witnessing the traditional culture circle’s heavyweight take action, was thrilled. He immediately reposted and mobilized paid commentators: “I think Zi Qi Dong Lai is right. The postman’s songs are full of negative energy—either breakups or ‘I’m leaving,’ ‘I can’t bear it’—leading many young people, especially students, astray with serious values issues!”

Soon, the matter trended.

[Traditional Literature Author and Postman Clash: Is There Truth in Their Words?]

[Postman’s Songs Accused of Pointless Whining]

[Why Did Zi Qi Dong Lai Attack the Postman? We Continue to Investigate]

After all this, Zhou Xingjian grew increasingly furious. How dare he call me a dumbass?

If I catch him, I’ll make sure he regrets it.

Believe that I’ll use my main account to deal with him!

So he called Zhou Wan: “Do you know the postman? You probably do; he’s written songs for you.”

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Zhou Wan, unaware that the online critic Zi Qi Dong Lai was actually his own father, was puzzled: “Yeah, I know him. What’s up?”

“How is he as a person?” Zhou Xingjian asked.

Zhou Wan paused, then said, “He’s a scumbag.”

Zhou Xingjian hummed in agreement: “Definitely a scumbag. Stay far away from him.”

Zhou Wan immediately said, “Why would I get close to him? Just looking at that scumbag makes me uncomfortable. He’s had several girlfriends; I avoid him like the plague!”

Zhou Xingjian felt relieved. He feared his daughter might have some inappropriate relationship with the postman, which would break his heart.

Since his daughter called him a scumbag, it meant she really hated him.

No worries then.

“No wonder all his songs sound so heart-wrenching. With a lifestyle like that, if he didn’t have a new girlfriend every day, he couldn’t sing with such feeling,” Zhou Xingjian remarked.

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“I met an idiot today,” Shen Xian told Peach Baby after rehearsal.

Peach Baby covered her mouth and giggled, surprised that the refined and elegant Shen Xian could swear.

...

Two days remained until Old Master Zhou Yanshi’s ninetieth birthday.

Zhou Wan and Ning Cai were preparing to return to the capital.

The Youth Opera Troupe was also packing up to head to the capital for a performance.