I have given you the chance; you are going to stubbornly refuse to admit it until the very end, aren't you?

"Achoo!"

Cheng Xuemin, who was busy drawing illustrations in his room, shivered for no reason. He looked up toward the window and noticed, to his surprise, a strange woman standing in the courtyard.

Seeing his mother-in-law, Mrs. Feng, and his wife, Feng Jiayou, chatting and laughing with her, he wondered if they had guests. He thought about it, but didn't get up to greet them. If they really needed him to come out, Feng Jiayou would have come to call him.

He was currently overwhelmed with work. He had sixty illustrations for the Beijing Literature editorial board, three volumes of "Journey to the West" comic strips for Old Pan at the People’s Literature Publishing House, and a secret novella he was working on to pay back a favor to "Shanghai Literature."

Everything seemed to be part of a secret stash of money he had to work on discreetly. On top of that, he had to keep up appearances and come up with another submission for his mother-in-law’s magazine, "October." He was simply too busy; he couldn't handle it all!

"Huh?!"

Out in the yard, upon hearing Li Xiaolin's words, both Mrs. Feng and Feng Jiayou were stunned.

What did she mean by they were looking for the author of "The Traitor," and why had they come to their house? And what was going on with Old Tang?

Why had Old Ba and his daughter come to Yenching University looking for the author "Old Six," only to bring everyone to their doorstep? Could it be that this "Old Six" was actually hiding in their house?

"Yes, I’m puzzled too. Old Tang had that Comrade Chen lead the way to find the person, so why did it bring us to your home, Teacher Gu?"

"Could it be that you wrote the manuscript for 'The Traitor,' Teacher Gu?"

"But that doesn't make sense! You are the editor-in-chief of 'October'; if you were going to submit a manuscript, you would submit it to your own magazine!"

"And if Jiazhao or Jiayou wrote it, that’s even more impossible! They would definitely submit it to your 'October,' or at the very least, to one of the magazines or newspapers here in Beijing. Why would they go out of their way to submit it to our magazine in Shanghai?"

Li Xiaolin nodded in agreement. She was just as confused. When she and her father first arrived at the Yenching University west gate guard station, they found Old Tang there. Upon asking, they learned he liked to spend his free time there helping students with their mail. When they explained they were looking for the author of "The Traitor" who had submitted to their magazine, "Harvest," Old Tang didn't even let them finish. He immediately said he knew the author.

Li Xiaolin and her father had been puzzled then—they hadn't even mentioned the author's real name, yet Old Tang was so certain. He explained that there was only one student author who had submitted to their Shanghai "Harvest" last month, and since he had personally helped stamp and mail the letters, he knew exactly who it was.

Even then, they remained skeptical. How could an old man like him remember one specific student author? But Old Tang had boasted that this author was quite famous at Yenching University, and he had been keeping a close eye on the manuscripts the student sent out. He mentioned that the student came by the guard station twice a day—once in the morning and once after school—clearly waiting for a reply from "Harvest."

That explained it! The author was close with Old Tang and sent out many manuscripts, all of which were registered in Old Tang's mind. So when they came looking for the author, Old Tang knew exactly who they meant.

But they never imagined that Old Tang would personally lead them to the home of Old Feng and Teacher Gu. Was this some kind of joke?

"Uh... that is certainly going out of the way!"

Listening to Li Xiaolin’s confused mutterings, Mrs. Feng and Feng Jiayou suddenly realized the truth: their house really did harbor the "traitor" Old Six. They looked at each other and stood up in unison.

Seeing this, Li Xiaolin was startled. "Teacher Gu, Jiayou, what's the matter?"

***

Meanwhile, in the living room, Old Ba and Old Tang had briefly explained their purpose to Father Feng: they had come to the Feng household to find the traitor, Old Six!

"What?! Xuemin submitted a piece to your 'Harvest,' Old Ba?"

"Old Tang, are you sure it was Xuemin? Could there be a mistake?"

Father Feng was dumbfounded. His son-in-law was the "traitor" they were looking for? Where did the boy get the energy to churn out manuscripts one after another?

"What? Am I so senile that I've lost my memory? You and your son-in-law are cut from the same cloth!" the old man retorted sharply, offended by his former student's doubt.

"No, no, I wouldn't dare!" Father Feng waved his hands. He knew better than to question the memory of a man who had served as a stenographer at major national conferences.

"You dare to say you wouldn't dare? You didn't even invite your old teacher to your daughter's wedding!" Old Tang grumbled. "Anyway, your son-in-law went crazy last month. He was clearly sneaking around behind your daughter's back, madly submitting manuscripts to build his own little stash of money!"

"He thought I was too senile to remember him, but he’s been so blatant!" Old Tang huffed, stroking his beard.

Father Feng’s face twitched. He wanted to defend his son-in-law, but he knew he also kept a secret stash of money from his own wife. It was only natural that Xuemin would do the same.

"Old Tang, the son-in-law is named Xuemin? Could it be the same one I met at Old Wu's office—the author of 'Director Qiao Assumes Office'?" Old Ba asked, his curiosity piqued.

Old Tang was stunned. "Wait, he wrote that too?"

Father Feng realized his son-in-law was indeed the one, and Old Tang was left wondering just how many manuscripts the boy had submitted.

"We'll know as soon as we see him!" Old Ba said.

"Jiayou, go call Xuemin out!" Father Feng shouted.

Feng Jiayou marched toward the bedroom, her heart full of mixed emotions—was her husband really hiding money from her?

"Xuemin?!"

"Teacher Gu, who is this Xuemin?" Li Xiaolin asked, still confused.

"Xuemin is Jiayou's husband. They live in that room," Mrs. Feng replied, glancing toward the window where she could see her son-in-law still hard at work.

"Jiayou is married? She just got into Yenching University, didn't she?" Li Xiaolin was shocked.

"They got together when they were 'educated youth' in the countryside," Mrs. Feng said.

"Wife, do we have guests? You and Mom seem to be having a great time," Cheng Xuemin said as he finished an illustration.

"Yes, we have guests. Go greet them, Xuemin," Feng Jiayou said, walking over to look at his work. "You’re quite talented at drawing! You could sell these if you wanted."

Cheng Xuemin’s heart skipped a beat. Had she guessed? He played it cool. "These are just doodles. They’re not worth anything."

He stood up to head to the living room. "Who are the guests?"

"Not a rush. Sit down, I have a question for you," Feng Jiayou said, grabbing his sleeve.

"What is it?" Cheng Xuemin felt a surge of panic. He had plenty of secrets, but he didn't know which one had been exposed.

"Did you hide any private money from me?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. "If you confess now, I might forgive you."

"Of course not! Why would I hide money from you?" Cheng Xuemin insisted, feigning innocence. "Is this about Jiamo? She’s just mad because I only gave her thirty cents for a bun this morning!"

"Fine. Come out and greet the guests then," Feng Jiayou said, enjoying his stubbornness.

"Who are they?"

"Old Ba, his daughter Xiaolin, and Old Tang from the university guard station."

Hearing this, Cheng Xuemin froze in his chair, unable to stand up.