Chapter 654 - 383: Lecture, Dialogue with Yu Hua (Part 4)

The audience of students and teachers below the stage buzzed with discussions.

Without making them wait too long, at 6:59 PM, Zhao Qingge, Li Peifeng, and Yu Hua entered together and seated themselves on the sofa at the center of the stage.

As they entered, scattered applause began and then grew louder.

"Welcome everyone to this lecture. It seems everyone is quite enthusiastic. I remember the last time I saw such a large crowd was at the graduation ceremony..."

Zhao Qingge, the host, picked up the microphone on the table after the applause ebbed away and started the opening speech.

Although Yu Hua was added, the format of this lecture didn’t change much. First, the host Zhao Qingge would pose some questions, with Yu Hua and Li Peifeng responding, having a dialogue, followed by a Q&A session for the students.

Most of the questions Zhao Qingge would ask had been discussed with the two beforehand. Although they hadn’t prepared answers in advance, they had some preparation. However, the questions were quite broad, merely serving as a topic starter because Zhao Qingge didn’t want to act as a reporter but rather wanted to encourage the two of them to engage in a free discussion and ignite sparks.

"Here are the two speakers, Professor Yu Hua from our school, who probably needs no introduction from me..."

"Clap clap~"

Applause erupted, Yu Hua smiled and clapped along, and Zhao Qingge also smiled, "The other speaker, Li Peifeng, a student of our school and an online fiction writer known as ’Yilian Feng’, does he need any introduction from me..."

"Clap clap clap clap~"

An even more enthusiastic applause followed. Li Peifeng sat upright, silently activating his social expert and image ambassador auras.

Zhao Qingge decided not to introduce the two further. Once the applause subsided, she glanced at the screen behind her, briefly introduced her own name and department but didn’t mention that she was Li Peifeng’s mentor, then went straight to the point.

"The theme of this lecture is new perspectives on contemporary literature. What are new perspectives? Every era has its own aesthetic and thoughts, and treats different things with different views, including literature."

"So I am really curious, in the eyes of successful writers in their own fields - in traditional literature and online literature, which are different types and from different ages - how do they view literature? What does literature mean to them?"

"I believe their discussion will be a breakthrough and convergence in contemporary literature and will also allow everyone present to gain new understanding and insights into literature..."

Turning her words, Zhao Qingge looked at the two: "Teacher Yu, in your eyes, what is literature like? What does it carry?"

Yu Hua leaned forward, picked up another microphone from the coffee table, adjusted it slightly, and showed his signature smile: "Literature is actually a way to vent your emotions or seek comfort, whether it’s online or traditional literature, I think they are the same."

"For example, if you are very sad and read a sad book, you might be moved, and healing can be achieved through ’fighting poison with poison.’ If you are very happy and read a very exciting book, you become even happier, sharing the feelings, experiencing it firsthand, this is the significance of literature. If you insist on discussing what it carries, I think that’s somewhat deliberate, akin to asking what the meaning of life is. What’s the meaning of life? It’s just to live! I wrote ’To Live’."

There was light laughter from the audience.

This answer was very much in Yu Hua’s style, playful yet steady, never delving too deep, but always leaving room for himself.

An editor once told Yu Hua that the ending of his book was too bleak and needed to be changed to something brighter. Yu Hua replied, "As long as you publish it, I can make it bright from beginning to end."

For such a person who sees things very openly, yet has profound insights into life, Zhao Qingge didn’t expect him to easily share any truthful insights at this lecture. Guidance was needed, as well as an equal opponent who could match him.

Thus, Zhao Qingge looked towards her beloved student.

Li Peifeng picked up the microphone, briefly stating, "Teacher Yu is right!"

And that was it.

"... Hahaha~"

There was a faint laughter from the audience, Zhao Qingge stared at Li Peifeng, squinting her eyes slightly as if saying, "If you keep fooling around, I’ll deal with you right now."

Li Peifeng hesitated for a moment, picked up the microphone again, and slowly said, "Besides being a comfort, literature should also be the horn of enlightenment, the sword of battle, life blooming even under the frost of hardship."

Whoa, what?

Originally slouched and smiling, Yu Hua sat up slightly upon hearing Li Peifeng’s answer, but his smile deepened. Under Zhao Qingge’s gaze, he picked up the microphone and replied, "What Li said is right!"