"I'm good friends with the librarian at Mondstadt's library. My very first book was written there, and with her help, it was published. She helped me a great deal.
Later, when I was about to leave Mondstadt for Liyue, I thought about leaving her a gift.
Well, since she's a librarian, she'd definitely like books. That just happened to be within my means, so I left her a copy of Romeo and Juliet.
But I was worried she might not like the story, so I told her to wait until I had left before opening it. At the time, I only intended to give her that book—I never thought about publishing it.
Looking at it now, I guess she must have taken it upon herself to publish it after I left... After all, she already knew my pen name, book title, and bank account. The only times I'd need to sign in person were during the Knights of Favonius' review and the publishing contract. She must have used her position to handle that."
Victor Wang recalled Lisa, who had been part of his entire journey in Mondstadt, and shared their story with everyone.
It wasn't the first time he had given someone a book. He wondered if Hu Tao would be angry—girls seemed sensitive about such things... But in order to prove his innocence and settle this plagiarism dispute, he could only tell the truth.
He didn't dare turn around to look at Hu Tao's reaction, afraid that his guilty conscience would show.
"So, I really didn't know that Romeo and Juliet had already been published. When I heard people saying that The Butterfly Lovers was plagiarized, I thought it was just someone else who had written a similar story. I never imagined it was my own work."
"Romeo and Juliet's publication has such a story behind it? If I may ask, Dust, was that librarian male or female?" Ji Fang's gossip-loving soul was ignited. If this got out, it would be quite the tale—and it could even bring some publicity to Wanwen Bookhouse. How wonderful!
"Ahem! She's a woman. But don't get any ideas—we're just friends."
"I get it, I get it—female friends!"
"...Forget it, forget it. The misunderstanding is cleared up, and as for publishing, I'll deal with it once I get proof that I'm Dust."
"No, no—since you really are Dust, you can leave the original manuscript here. I'll have the publisher start typesetting and preparing a sample print. That should take about two days.
If you send a letter to Mondstadt requesting proof, you'll have results in at most three days. By then, you can take the finished printed copy directly for content review, without wasting any extra time."
In this situation, Ji Fang wouldn't let Victor Wang leave—delays could cause trouble. What if, in the next two days, he changed his mind and went to another bookstore to publish? Wanwen Bookhouse would lose out big time.
"Alright, then I'll leave the manuscript—"
"Hey, there's one problem that hasn't been solved, right?" Hu Tao, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.
"W-What is it?" Victor Wang turned mechanically, and the others also looked toward Hu Tao, who stood at the back.
"I don't care how many times you've used the same story-giving routine, or who you've given it to."
Since you said it, you must care at least a little, Victor Wang speculated irresponsibly.
"I really like the story of The Butterfly Lovers, but it's definitely plagiarism! Even though, legally speaking, an author writing two similar books isn't considered plagiarism, the content still is, isn't it?" Hu Tao stood with hands on her hips, her delicate face full of anger.
Ji Fang tried hard to keep a straight face, but inside, she was thrilled at having just gotten a fresh piece of gossip about Dust.
Xiangling and Chongyun both froze, then realized Hu Tao was right. Legally it might not be plagiarism, but the content was undeniably similar—and worse, he had given them to two different people. Hu Tao, unfortunately, had been the second. That really wasn't okay.
Xingqiu, on the other hand, felt relieved. At least Hu Tao was showing emotion—meaning there was still room for explanation.
There's a saying, isn't there? Communication solves 90% of problems; communication plus action solves 99%.
Victor Wang regained his confident demeanor and spoke calmly:
"Not so. First of all, I have to clarify that The Butterfly Lovers came to me earlier than Romeo and Juliet—at least in my mind.
Secondly, while the two stories may seem similar, they differ in many aspects, and the core ideas they express are worlds apart."
"Oh? Dust, I... didn't really see that many differences." Ji Fang scratched her head, looking puzzled.
"Romeo and Juliet is a complete tragedy. In my view, The Butterfly Lovers has a far better ending.
Romeo and Juliet is serious in its tragedy, expressing the sorrow of human misunderstanding, of hatred and reconciliation.
Whether it's the two feuding families, Romeo's inability to communicate with Juliet's cousin or with Paris, or the letter from the friar blocked by the plague, each reinforces the importance of communication. Break any link in that chain, and the tragedy wouldn't happen.
The Butterfly Lovers is romantic even in tragedy—Liyue's unique romance, a love that transcends life and death.
While it also features family oppression, it focuses mainly on Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai—or rather, on Zhu Yingtai alone. From the start, she resists—living for independence, dying for love.
It doesn't build a grand stage or involve many important characters. It's simply a love story. By contrast, Romeo and Juliet feels more like another type of story dressed in the guise of romance.
That's why their endings are destined to be different. Romeo and Juliet's deaths bring about reconciliation between their families, while Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai's deaths give them eternal companionship as butterflies.
Quite a difference, isn't it?"
"I-I see... So that's how you see it, Dust?" Ji Fang looked surprised.
"There are a thousand Romeos in a thousand people's eyes. That's how I see it."
"You're so right! Honestly, I also prefer The Butterfly Lovers' ending. Maybe it's a Liyue thing—even if the reed maiden becomes a ghost and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai turn into butterflies, I still want the main characters to be together... At least to say goodbye to each other.
With Romeo and Juliet, one fakes death, one dies first, and the other follows—feels too theatrical. Hearing you say this, I think I can make peace with it, as long as I don't treat Romeo and Juliet purely as a love story."
Well said—keep the praise coming!
Sneaking a glance at Hu Tao, he saw that while she was still pouting, her expression had softened. It seemed that this long string of literary analysis had earned her approval.
Victor Wang felt relieved, and though he pretended to address Ji Fang, his words were really for Hu Tao:
"If I were to list all the differences between the two books, I could go on for a while. I'll just pick a few main ones.
In Romeo and Juliet, there's a constant trace of 'fate'—Romeo pining for another girl before suddenly falling in love with Juliet at first sight, the friar's letter failing to arrive, and the duel at Juliet's tomb.
The progression in The Butterfly Lovers is more natural. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai's acquaintance, friendship, and love are more gentle and reserved—more in line with Liyue's culture.
After all, when I wrote these two books, I considered regional differences.
Romeo and Juliet suits Mondstadt and Fontaine, perfect for adapting into stage plays. The Butterfly Lovers suits Liyue, perfect for adapting into opera."
"Opera! You mean opera?!"
"I'm just giving an example. If I were to make it into an opera, I'd have to rewrite the script."
Though Romeo and Juliet was Shakespeare's adaptation of Arthur Brooke's poem, it's famous as one of his plays, while The Butterfly Lovers is one of the representative operas of Shenzhou's Yue Opera tradition.
Ji Fang pressed on: "But you could make it into an opera—it would greatly expand sales. Why wouldn't you?"
Ah, good question.
The more Victor Wang looked at Ji Fang, the more he liked her. Ever since he had come clean, she had been like the perfect straight man in a comedy act, always handing him the right prompts.
A smile played on his lips as he stared directly into Hu Tao's plum blossom eyes. "This book was written for a friend. If she wants me to publish it, I'll publish it. If she wants me to adapt it into an opera, I'll adapt it."
"Do it then. If it's not plagiarism, why not? Once you adapt it, I can even help you find performers. We'll spread the story of Liang Zhu so that everyone in Teyvat will think of them whenever they see a butterfly!"
"Alright. I'll start adapting it when I get back."
Hu Tao regained her cheerful self, and the plagiarism storm that had threatened to sink their friendship was finally, completely calmed.