What? Feng Jiayou, you wrote a love letter to the Wrangler too? (Please vote for me)

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Compared to Liu Xinwu’s shock and astonishment at “October,” Li Qingquan at “Yanjing Literature” was even more ecstatic!

Early that morning, when Zhou Yanru arrived at the office, Zhang Denning handed her a copy of the Literary Gazette, saying that another renowned writer had reviewed “The Horse Herder”!

At first, Zhou Yanru merely nodded. With more than ten days since the publication of “The Horse Herder,” the flood of positive feedback from readers had become almost overwhelming.

Especially in the past couple of days, nearly every day saw fellow editors, writers, critics, or readers within the literary circle publishing their impressions and reviews, which were reported by major newspapers.

Zhou Yanru and her colleagues were almost numb to it by now; this issue of “Yanjing Literature” with “The Horse Herder” was such an overwhelming success—it was like launching a satellite after years of silence on the Chinese literary scene.

“Who? Denning, who are you talking about?”

Zhou Yanru absentmindedly took the Wen Hui Daily from Zhang Denning as she walked on, but after a few steps, she stopped in her tracks, startled, and asked hastily.

“Old Zhou! Ding Ling!” Zhang Denning exclaimed, her face full of excitement.

“Ding Ling?!” Zhou Yanru, incredulous and suspicious, quickly glanced at the Wen Hui Daily in her hand, hurriedly searching for the review by Ding Ling that Zhang Denning had mentioned.

“A Patriotic Anthem—A Reading, by Ding Ling.”

Soon, Zhou Yanru’s eyes fell upon the article, and when she saw Ding Ling’s signature at the end, she became so overwhelmed that she could barely contain her astonishment. Rapidly scanning through the text, she asked, “What did Ding Ling say in Wen Hui Daily? Does Old Li know yet?”

“Of course, she praised Old Xu’s writing! Old Li just went inside, I haven’t shown him yet—I wanted you to be the first…”

Before Zhang Denning could finish her flattery, Zhou Yanru, gripping the newspaper, rushed into Li Qingquan’s office, shouting, “Old Li, Ding Ling wrote a review of our ‘Horse Herder’ in Wen Hui Daily—just today, take a look!”

With that, she slammed the Wen Hui Daily onto Li Qingquan’s desk in her excitement.

“Ding Ling?! Didn’t she just return to Beijing, waiting for word from above?” Li Qingquan nearly choked on his tea, barely swallowing in his fright, his expression exaggerated in shock.

He hastily snatched up the newspaper, asking anxiously, “Where is it? Where?”

“My god, it really is Ding Ling who wrote a review for us at Yanjing Literature? This must be her first public article since returning, right?”

In his frenzy, as Li Qingquan flipped through the pages and found Ding Ling’s “A Patriotic Anthem—Reading ‘The Horse Herder,’ by Ding Ling” prominently on the front page, he could not help exclaiming several times in disbelief.

He was beyond thrilled—Ding Ling herself had reviewed their “Horse Herder” in Yanjing Literature!

You have to understand!

Ding Ling had only just returned to Beijing days ago, her reputation still awaiting official restoration. During this period, she had remained extremely low-profile, seldom seen in public and certainly not publishing anything.

But as a writer of towering importance in Chinese literature, a peer of such giants as Mao, Ba, and Mr. Bingxin, any article from Ding Ling was a rarity.

No one could have expected that the very first piece she published upon her return to Beijing would be for Yanjing Literature—and for Old Xu’s “The Horse Herder”!

It was explosive!

If selling one hundred thousand copies by the end of November had made “Yanjing Literature” a hot item, then with Ding Ling’s public praise, it had now reached new, unprecedented heights!

The Chinese literary world had truly produced a “Horse Herder”—there was no doubt about it now!

“Exactly! Ding Ling, who had been keeping to herself and not meeting anyone, nor making any public statements, unexpectedly wrote such a review for our ‘Horse Herder’!” Zhou Yanru was every bit as elated, adding repeatedly, “Old Li, I have a suggestion!”

“We must organize a symposium for Old Xu and ‘The Horse Herder’ as soon as possible—invite all the important names in the field for a thorough discussion!”

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“I agree! Old Zhou, you and Denning should contact Old Xu directly!” Li Qingquan nodded repeatedly. They absolutely had to strike while the iron was hot and hold a symposium to solidify “The Horse Herder’s” status in the literary world.

“I’ll personally invite Liu Xinwu from ‘October.’ Hasn’t he been pestering me to treat him to a meal? I’ll use this chance to invite him for a tea gathering—and give him a real feast!”

The scheming Li Qingquan was up to his tricks again—he just had to bring Liu Xinwu over and show off.

“Old Li, keep this up and you’ll lose Old Liu as a friend!”

“Besides, Gu Xueqing has been probing me for information about Old Xu, the author of ‘The Horse Herder.’ She’s probably hoping to commission a piece from him too!”

Zhou Yanru gave a wry smile. If Gu Xueqing ever found out, after all her efforts to uncover the identity of Old Xu, that he was actually her own son-in-law, who knows what her reaction would be.

Little did she know, Old Xu had already confessed to his mother-in-law under pressure!

So, Zhou Yanru, you’ll be the only one left dumbfounded when you meet!

“Haha! I’m just teasing Old Liu! I heard he’s been making the rounds at the ministry lately—who knows what kind of ‘satellite’ that rascal is trying to launch?”

Mentioning Liu Xinwu from “October,” Li Qingquan was still gloating! If it weren’t for Liu Xinwu’s generosity in passing his own son-in-law’s manuscript to Yanjing Literature, “The Horse Herder” would have been an “October” exclusive, and now Yanjing Literature wouldn’t even get a taste!

“By the way, Denning, isn’t there another novella by the author of ‘The Horse Herder’? You and Old Zhou must keep an eye on that—don’t let Old Liu snatch it from under our noses!”

“After all, they’re real in-laws. No matter what, we have to secure that novella first—don’t let Old Liu turn the tables and laugh at us!”

With this in mind, Li Qingquan gave special instructions.

“I’ll run over to Yanjing University in a bit. Our editorial office is overflowing with reader letters anyway; I’ll deliver some to Old Xu and ask how he wants to handle the rest!”

Zhang Denning nodded enthusiastically.

“The most important thing is that novella. Denning, you’ve read the original, haven’t you? It’s excellent! Even ‘People’s Literature’ has tried to contact Old Xu, so you really must keep an eye on things—he’s your guy!” Zhou Yanru added.

“‘People’s Literature’ is reaching out too?! What are you waiting for? Go now!” Li Qingquan, hearing that even “People’s Literature” was involved, was desperate to keep Old Xu, the author of “The Horse Herder,” as an exclusive for Yanjing Literature.

…

“Jia You, Jian Ying, look! Ding Ling wrote a review for Old Xu’s ‘The Horse Herder’ in Wen Hui Daily!”

Outside the cafeteria at Yanjing University at lunchtime, Feng Jiayou, Cha Jianying, and Huang Beijia had gathered together. Huang Beijia pulled out a Literary Gazette and spoke to the other two.

“What?! Ding Ling wrote a review for ‘The Horse Herder’?! No wonder our submissions didn’t make it—Old Xu is a sensation now, and the people reviewing him are ever more prestigious!”

Cha Jianying was visibly stunned, then gave a wry smile. They had been among the very first readers of “The Horse Herder,” and also among the first to submit their reviews, but all their submissions had been returned!

They missed the first wave; now that the caliber of reviewers was rising, even Ding Ling—silent for years—had published a commentary. Unless their writing was exceptional, it would be nearly impossible for ordinary readers like them to get published in Wen Hui Daily.

“Ding Ling wrote a review? Let me see!” said Feng Jiayou, even more shocked and excited, quickly asking Huang Beijia for the newspaper.

“Exactly! I originally wanted to seize the advantage and send in my review early, but I wrote too hastily and superficially, missing the best opportunity! Now, getting accepted is tough!”

Huang Beijia shook her head, handing the paper to Feng Jiayou, and continued, “Teacher Ding Ling gave ‘The Horse Herder’ an extremely high evaluation!”

“And I heard this is her first published article after years of silence since returning to Beijing—just that alone means Old Xu has truly made it!”

“I just wish we knew who this Old Xu at Yanjing University really is! He’s kept himself so well hidden—not a single clue!”

Thinking of this, Huang Beijia remembered the letter she had sent not long ago; there had been no reply, leaving her feeling a little lost.

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That, after all, was her very first love letter—her literary debut. She wondered whether Senior Xu had received it.

He probably had!

But Huang Beijia also knew that so many girls were secretly writing love letters to Senior Xu that he could hardly keep up—maybe he didn’t even look at them, just set them aside!

Still, if he did read it, she was confident she could get him to meet her—she was just a bit bolder than the others.

“Hehe! Beijia, I heard from Jianying that you secretly wrote a love letter to Senior Xu, didn’t you?” Feng Jiayou teased, eyes still on the newspaper.

“What are you talking about, Jia You?! What love letter?! Don’t listen to Jianying—I only wrote a reader’s review for Old Xu!”

“Yes, it’s just the review that Wen Hui Daily rejected—so I revised it and mailed it straight to Yanjing Literature. Since I’d already written it, why not send it to the author directly?”

Huang Beijia’s face flushed bright red as she tried to explain herself.

“Sure, sure, a pure reader’s letter. So why are you hiding it from Jianying and me?” Feng Jiayou laughed, thinking she’d go to Yanjing Literature herself someday to look for Huang Beijia’s letter.

She wanted to see whether it was really a love letter or just a reader’s review as Huang Beijia claimed.

“I really am just an ordinary reader—Jia You, don’t say things like that! What if the other students hear—I’d be mortified!”

Huang Beijia’s blush deepened; if they kept teasing her, she’d want to crawl into a hole.

“It’s really well written!” Feng Jiayou sighed after reading Ding Ling’s review in the newspaper, savoring its aftertaste. Then she looked at Huang Beijia and smiled mischievously:

“Hehe, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Beijia, let me tell you and Jianying openly—I also wrote secretly to Old Xu, the author of ‘The Horse Herder’!”

“In fact, more than once!”

Feng Jiayou was perfectly candid. She really had written love letters to Old Xu—more than one.

How could one love letter be enough for her own man, after all? Isn’t that right, Beijia?

“What?! Jia You, are you crazy? You really wrote love letters to Old Xu? What if your husband, Comrade Cheng Xueming, finds out—won’t he kill you?!”

Huang Beijia was utterly shocked, staring at Feng Jiayou in disbelief.

“Jia You, you’re so pregnant already… and you’re still so fickle?” Cha Jianying added, equally stunned. Feng Jiayou, secretly writing love letters to Old Xu behind her husband’s back? Unbelievable!

“What are you three whispering about? Jia You, who are you writing love letters to behind your husband’s back?”

Just then, as the three chatted, Zhang Denning from Yanjing Literature walked over with a smile.

“Ah?! Sister Denning, you’re here again!” Huang Beijia exclaimed in surprise when she looked up.

“Of course—I’m here to deliver your love letters. Maybe all your love letters are in this bundle!” Zhang Denning teased, lifting a large stack of mail with a grin brighter than a blossom.

…