I was merely trying to frighten her a little.

And Linzi, for political reasons, the identity of Xu, the author of "Student Wrangler," must not be made public yet. So, Linzi, you can know, but please don't spread it around!

Pretending!

This time, Feng Jiayou really managed to put on airs!

And she’s planning to keep it up—not only daring to use political requirements to make Zhu Lin keep the secret, but also preparing to continue the pretense in the future!

"Political requirements? What political requirements? No, no, Jiayou, don’t worry, I won’t say a word!"

Zhu Lin was utterly bewildered, stunned by the unbelievable things Feng Jiayou had just told her, unable to process them for a while!

And now it had escalated to a political requirement—what’s going on?

"Student Wrangler, you actually wrote it? You’re really Xu, the author?"

After a long while, Zhu Lin finally came to her senses and looked at Cheng Xue Min.

"Ahem... I just wrote it casually! Never thought it’d be so popular..."

Cheng Xue Min, still embarrassed by Feng Jiayou’s show-off, could only reply bashfully and modestly.

"If you can write so well just casually, imagine what’d happen if you wrote seriously... Wouldn’t you invent the atomic bomb?!"

Zhu Lin giggled, turning to Feng Jiayou, "Your husband is a bit too modest, Jiayou, your pretending is a bit much, too. You two really are a perfect match!"

"Heehee, isn’t it because you asked, Linzi? I didn’t tell anyone else!"

"Aside from our family knowing Xue Min is the author Xu, only you, Linzi, know!"

Feng Jiayou hugged Zhu Lin’s arm, nearly hopping with pride.

"So I’m really honored? I just happened to visit tonight, and you told me right away?" Zhu Lin felt a bit proud too. It showed that Feng Jiayou truly considered her a sister; she hadn’t told anyone else, only her.

But what exactly is this political requirement, and why is it so secret? Zhu Lin, still curious, asked, "That political requirement..."

"Linzi, I really can’t say, but within a few days, you’ll know!"

"For now, Linzi, please don’t spread it around. I’m not joking!"

Feng Jiayou shook her head vigorously. The identity of Xu, author of "Student Wrangler," could be shared, but "The Memoirs of Factory Manager Qiao," a leadership assignment, must not leak a single word.

Right now, even her family only knew that Cheng Xue Min had a manuscript to submit, something the leadership valued highly.

But as for the details, even her brother-in-law Feng Jia Zhao had not revealed a word, let alone Zhu Lin, an outsider!

Of course, Feng Jiayou was using "The Memoirs of Factory Manager Qiao" as a pretext to demand Zhu Lin keep the "Student Wrangler" identity secret, so she could keep up her act!

At least, she had to get through the weekend. Saturday, she still planned to go to the auditorium for a movie.

If Zhu Lin spread the news now, would she even get to see the movie on Saturday?

With so many female students at Yanjing University, wouldn’t they all rush into her dorm, competing for her man?

"Is it really that serious?!"

Zhu Lin’s eyes grew increasingly astonished as she looked at Cheng Xue Min, thinking, is this man from Shaanxi really so impressive?

"Linzi, take away that 'really'!"

Feng Jiayou nodded vigorously, then tossed the topic to Feng Jia Mo, saying, "You tell Linzi about what happened next. Did you tell Shan Shan about the letter you wrote for your brother-in-law?"

"Didn’t she ask you how you found out about the letter?"

Zhu Shan wrote a love letter to Xu, the author of "Student Wrangler." Why did it end up with Feng Jia Mo? How did Feng Jia Mo explain it to Zhu Shan?

"Of course she asked!" Feng Jia Mo shot her sister a look. You got to say all the impressive lines, now you blame me? Some people!

"So how did you explain it to Shan Shan? You didn’t tell her Xu, the author, is your brother-in-law, did you?"

"Feng Jia Mo, I’m warning you, according to the political requirement, you mustn’t divulge your brother-in-law’s pen name. You didn’t spill the beans, right?"

Feng Jiayou realized that perhaps Feng Jia Mo had already told her desk-mate Zhu Shan everything!

"Pfft, I didn’t dare mention your precious Cheng!" Feng Jia Mo pouted, bored.

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"How did you explain it to Zhu Shan?!" Feng Jiayou pressed on relentlessly.

"Easy! I just told Shan Shan that Xu, the author, is now a big-name writer, a real hotshot! He doesn’t have time or interest to date a little kid like her!"

"He didn’t even read her letter, just returned it, untouched!"

"That’s what I told her! No problem, right?"

Dealing with Zhu Shan was easy; a simple ‘he returned your letter unopened’ was enough to send her away, leaving Zhu Shan to cry for over an hour on the rooftop.

"That’s more like it!" Feng Jiayou nodded, satisfied with Feng Jia Mo’s answer.

"Jia Mo, didn’t Shan Shan ask you why it was you who got the returned letter?"

Zhu Lin was confused. Isn’t there an issue here?

Her sister Zhu Shan wrote the love letter to the author of "Student Wrangler." Even if it was returned, shouldn’t Zhu Shan have received it?

How could Feng Jia Mo’s words send her away so easily?

"Shan Shan’s timid and shy! She had the nerve to write a love letter but not to sign her own name. She used my name, wrote it as if from me to my brother-in-law! When my sister and mom received it yesterday, they nearly beat me to death!"

This infuriated Feng Jia Mo—she was mad at Zhu Shan for this, too. She had the nerve to write but not sign her own name, using Feng Jia Mo’s name for the letter and nearly got her in trouble!

"So... Shan Shan used your name?"

Zhu Lin’s mouth twitched, and she could already imagine what happened last night in the Feng family.

The younger sister secretly writing a love letter to her brother-in-law, wouldn’t that blow up the Feng household?

She couldn’t help but admit her sister really knew how to stir things up, accidentally setting off a bomb in the Feng family.

"Of course! That’s why I scared her today, telling her that tonight my sister and mom would bring the letter and confront her at your house!"

"Naturally, Zhu Shan was scared and hid!"

—

She really did hide. Later, even the whole Feng family got involved, helping Zhu Lin’s family search for Zhu Shan!

In the end, they found Zhu Shan in a dark alley near the Feng’s.

Clever girl!

She stayed close, watching every move of the Feng mother and sisters—if they left, she knew they were going to confront her.

Anxiously hiding and waiting, she saw her sister Zhu Lin enter the Feng house and stay awhile, making Zhu Shan even more frightened!

Surely, Feng Jia Mo’s family had already told her sister about the letter?

Finally, a stray cat jumped down beside Zhu Shan, scaring her into screaming, and Cheng Xue Min came out to find her.

Of course, Cheng Xue Min couldn’t tell the frightened girl that he was Xu, the author of "Student Wrangler," whom she wrote the letter for.

Later, Zhu Lin came and took her sister home, surely giving her a thorough talking-to.

After the drama, peace returned!

Cheng Xue Min’s remittance slip for one hundred ninety yuan was quietly hidden away, undiscovered by Feng Jiayou.

For the next few days, Cheng Xue Min was either revising his manuscript or on his way to revise it!

It took nearly three days!

Cheng Xue Min polished "The Memoirs of Factory Manager Qiao" and handed it to his mother-in-law, Mrs. Feng, to take to "October," so Editor-in-Chief Liu Xinwu could submit it for review.

Meanwhile, Cheng Xue Min rushed to finish his novella, finally wrapping it up on Saturday!

It totaled more than 230,000 words. At the top rate of seven yuan per thousand words, how much would the fee be?

Over 1,600 yuan!

Little money-lover Feng Jiayou had already calculated it and was eagerly awaiting the payout.

So, with no classes Saturday morning, she urged Cheng Xue Min to take her to Yanjing Literature to submit the novella and collect the fee as soon as possible.

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"The novella is finished too?"

Just as they were about to leave, because Feng Jiayou was so excited, Mrs. Feng also learned that Cheng Xue Min’s novella was done!

She looked at her son-in-law’s right hand in disbelief, wondering how he managed to write so fast.

Since he came to Yanjing, it had been only about a month.

In just a month!

Not only had he written two excellent short stories, "Student Wrangler" and "The Memoirs of Factory Manager Qiao," but she’d also heard that Li Qingquan at Yanjing Literature was holding another short story, planning to put it on the front page.

Now, with today’s novella, that made four manuscripts, totaling nearly 300,000 words!

Ten thousand words a day, handwritten?

Mrs. Feng, Gu Xueqing, rolled her eyes. Such speed was almost unimaginable!

Of course, it showed her son-in-law was hardworking, diligent, and outstanding!

"Mom, it’s finished! Jiayou wants to send it to Yanjing Literature today, so we can get it approved and start on the screenplay for 'Student Wrangler.'"

Cheng Xue Min nodded in reply to his mother-in-law.

"Good! Don’t push yourself too hard. If you can write the screenplay, do it. If not, let your big brother help. You can polish the script."

Mrs. Feng felt sorry for her overly diligent son-in-law and urged him gently.

"Mom, I’ll try first. If I can’t manage, I’ll definitely ask big brother for help!"

"Xue Min, hurry up!"

Outside, Feng Jiayou was already impatient. Cheng Xue Min nodded to his mother-in-law, quickly wheeling his bicycle outside, calling, "Coming, coming!"

"What were you talking to Mom about? Did she really not ask you to give the manuscript to 'October'?"

Feng Jiayou peeked inside, asking Cheng Xue Min mischievously.

The manuscript was in her backpack, thick and heavy. She’d run out first, worried her mom might suddenly change her mind and try to keep the novella for "October"!

But, as always, "October" was a monthly magazine, issued every two months, far too slow for her husband.

If they waited for "October" to publish the novella, it wouldn’t be until after the New Year!

Moreover, "October’s" budget wasn’t that generous; if they didn’t use the manuscript before the New Year, it was wishful thinking to get the fee paid before then!

So, sorry, it had to go to Yanjing Literature. Last time, Zhang Denning said, even if the novella wouldn’t be published until the January issue, the fee would be paid before the New Year.

That solved everything!

With the novella’s 1,600 yuan, plus Feng Jiayou’s own savings of over 1,000, and if her husband finished the "Student Wrangler" screenplay before the New Year, that would be another 2,000 yuan!

Altogether, four or five thousand yuan—buying a house wasn’t impossible!

"Mom didn’t say that, but she seemed a bit reluctant!"

Cheng Xue Min wheeled his bicycle, smiling at Feng Jiayou. He pretended not to notice his mother-in-law’s reluctance.

"There’s always more coming later. That’s just how my mom is!"

"By the way, let’s invite Denning and Bai Ling to the movie tonight?"

"Invite them... is that okay?"

"Why not? The more, the merrier!"

"Wife, if you keep this up, you really won’t have any friends left. How about we treat Huang Beijia and Cha Jianying to lunch, just lay our cards on the table?"

"Treating them to lunch is fine, but as for laying it all out... let’s wait until tonight."

...

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