Artist,Alone.docVIP

Artist,Alone 　　Wearing a black-and-white striped Breton top and a plaid scarf， the interviewee lounges on a sofa in a café situated in one of Beijings top hotels. His eyes， through the lenses of his signature black-framed spectacles， are somber. 　　A decade ago， then 24-year-old Xu Lei saw his first short story ?Ca thriller about grave robbery ?C serialized online under the nom de plume “Nanpai Sanshu.” Today， Xu is one of the most successful popular fiction writers in China， with a mania for his Grave RobbersChronicles series sweeping the country. 　　Described as a cross between Harry Potter and Game of Thrones， Grave Robbers Chronicles combines elements of the classic thriller with fantasy and the supernatural， weaving together a bizarre world full of myths， secrets and mystery which has intrigued millions of young Chinese people. 　　Commercial success has turned Xu from a storyteller into a man exhausted by having to constantly switch between multiple identities ?C writer， film and TV producer， and entrepreneur. In the virtual world that he has built， Nanpai Sanshu the celebrity is threatening to eclipse Xu Lei the human being. 　　 Two Worlds 　　“Telling stories gives me the strongest feeling of recognition，” Xu told our reporter， emphasizing that he prefers to be described as a“storyteller” rather than an author. An avid reader since childhood， when he would systematically devour shelves of books in bookstore after bookstore， Xu is candid about his mastery of language and literary style. “I used to think I was a person who could play with words，”he said. 　　To give an example， Xu said： “If I want to write a book about royal conflicts in a Qing Dynasty palace I will read Eryue He’s historical novel， Yongzheng Emperor. After reading it， I can digest his writing style and adapt it into my own. My readers wont know the difference.” 　　After graduating from Zhejiang Shuren University， Xu tried his hand at various occupations， from graphic designer to software planner