Inspiration often came without any reason. They did not come upon command, they came as they liked. One could be struck by an overwhelming wave of inspiration as they lazed about. Oftentimes, the wildest form of inspirations came, when one was at his calmest...
Of course, Sun Xian was languishing about as he always did. Undoubtedly, he lived a leisurely life. Some people might find the fact that he had no more relatives in this world to be really sad. On the contrary, he could not have asked for more freedom.
As he was utterly devoid of ambition, he was also free from the stress that commonly entailed. The only exertion on his part would be on how to pass the day by. In addition to mahjong, which was necessary, what else should he play?
Around the mahjong table, he was the only one who was without a job or hobby of his own. His mahjong partners could not possibly play mahjong with him all day long. Unemployed social outcasts like him were still rare.
He did not even consider looking for a lifelong partner, because this would only mean that he had to bid his leisurely life goodbye. A family only meant more responsibilities. Even if he wanted to rest on his laurels, he would never be left with peace of mind.
As a landlord, his income was enough for feed one mouth...
Naturally, as someone who had no loved ones to nag at him, no one could force him to search for a woman to marry. This was fortunate, as it was never his intention. He did not believe that someone like him - who remained idle all day long was not deserving of any children. If all humans came upon his way of life, the human race would surely face extinction.
He desired very little. Moreover, in recent times, the internet had grown rich with resources. He could casually look up for videos of some reputable artists who produced quality work. When these videos are paired with his "five girls"[1], he would easily be able to enter the "kenja time[2]."
With the terrifying rate of technological development, there might be a day where men would no longer need real women. Intelligent, pre-programmed robots might one day be able to fill the void of what that could otherwise be someone's true love. As long as they had been set according to the user's personal preference, and was the glitchless, perfect girl of their users.
For loveless slobs like him, women were probably nothing but the fulfillment of physical needs. He was not planning to have children, and he could satisfy his physical desires with his own hands, so why would he still need a woman?
Sun Xian had once shared those thoughts with his two best buddies. One of them was Wang Liang, who owned a pet store. He was the inspiration behind the owner of the pet store in Sun Xian's novel. Another was Li Ming, a civil servant who had once dreamt of setting up a rock band. Now, he was happy and content with his current job as a civil servant.
The both of them have been married for many years. Li Ming had fired off a shotgun wedding, right after he graduated. He had fallen in love on his own accord. Wang Liang only got married after his parents urged him to go on a blind date, where he met his wife. However, his wife had quickly clicked with him. She was a teacher, and they shared a happy life together.
The both of them had admitted that they were envious of Sun Xian's free and leisurely life. Even so, they certainly could not be like him. They were ordinary folk, with proper upbringings. When they were of age, they were obligated to marry and have children, no matter what. They had to compromise and conform to societal pressure.
If Li Ming had not passed the civil servant's test, his wife's parents might have separated the both of them. His dreams of forming a rock band vanished, and in its place were his children.
However, he never dropped the guitar. When the three of them met up on weekends, he would still play the guitar and sing them some songs. Of course, they also played mahjong together. The only problem was that every single time, they had to find another person to join them. It was a bit of a hassle. Perhaps they should get themselves a regular in the future.
The longer Wang Liang and Li Ming were married, the more they envied Sun Xian's life. However, if they were allowed to exchange lives with Sun Xian, they would undoubtedly decline. They were content with their statuses as regular, upright citizens. Moreover, deep down, they clearly saw the depths of Sun Xian's loneliness. Thus, they collectively did everything in their power to take care of him.
At least Sun Xian still had friends. Furthermore, men were not like women. Men did play matchmakers. Besides, Sun Xian's age, coupled with the fact that he was an orphan made it difficult for any woman to trust in him.
Sun Xian himself did not wish to get married. So, what was the point of insisting on it?
At this time, Sun Xian was playing mahjong with his best friends, Wang Liang and Li Ming, as well as one of his classmates that they had randomly called up.
When Wang Liang saw Sun Xian whipping out his mobile phone with much gusto, he could not help but ask, "Old Sun, what's up with you?"
Countless scenes flashed across Sun Xian's mind. Most of it featured a certain black cat. He suddenly had the intriguing idea of adding in a girl who could swap bodies with a cat in his novel. She would be able to add a new twist to the story, and interact with the male protagonist to comedic effect. He had never been so focused and intent on writing!
However, Sun Xian's mahjong game had yet to conclude. Playing Mahjong with his best buddies was more important than this wave of non-beneficial inspiration!
He calmly slipped his phone back into his pocket and said, "I had some ideas about the novel I'm writing..."
"Then, do you want to write it now?" Li Ming asked with concern.
Li Ming did not like to read novels, but he was very supportive of Sun Xian's hobby of writing novels. He believed that writing novels was better than doing nothing all day long. Sun Xian may seem bright and enthusiastic at times, but his decadence and loneliness did show at times. Li Ming feared that one day, Sun Xian might get disillusioned and end up committing suicide...
Sometimes, when people lose their loved ones, they lose their anchors. Most of the time, friends were not enough to replace their loved ones.
"Nah, mahjong is more important! I only write to stretch my mind. It's just another time-burner for me," Sun Xian said calmly.
Thus, Sun Xian's love for mahjong overpowered even the supernatural draw of the "intoxication." He shamelessly resumed holding off his updates.
Creators came in all shapes and sizes, and he was another unique individual. The inspiration and imagination threatened to overload his mind, but he had no intention of channeling them!
Inspiration. If fail to capitalize on it, it would carry on with its journey...
Four to five days later, Sun Xian finally got to writing again. By then, he had completely forgotten about the cat-morphing girl. He continued to lazily run his thumb across the screen, prolonging the interactions between the boy who swapped bodies with the Pomeranian and the beautiful female CEO, Xia Qingqing.
Inspiration?
Intoxication?
Nonexistent!
Mahjong was his life. If he had to pick between Mahjong and Writing, he would pounce upon the former!
He did not write to earn cash, nor did he intend to leave his imprint on Earth via masterpieces. He only did this to kill time. Why should he give it any of his best?
He could not care less about what readers thought of his work. If they liked it, they were welcome; if they did not, move along!
Zhao Youyue, the young, trouble-making girl who had grown most proficient at her art, found that all her efforts had amounted to naught. The following updates did not feature any cats, any girls, and most definitely none of her shapeshifting abilities!
Little Youyue had really failed, big time!
Translation note :
[1] "Five girls" (五姑娘) is a Chinese internet slang which refers to the five fingers of a man's hand. When a man is lonely, he will look for his "five girls" (masturbate).
[2] "Kenja time" (in Japanese: 賢者タイム) (in Chinese: 贤者时间) (lit. "wise man's time") is an online slang, referring to the period after orgasm when a man is free from sexual desires and can think clearly. In the post-orgasmic period when a man's thoughts are no longer impaired by his sexual drive, he is thus likened to a "sage" of clear mind. In English, it is also referred to as the "refractory period."