Jia You, is your lover really Old Xu, the horse herder? (Asking for a monthly vote)

“Sister Dening, are you… delivering readers’ letters to the author of The Herdsman?!”

Feng Jiayou’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the bundle of readers’ letters in Zhang Dening’s hands, thinking to herself, At last, you’ve all arrived!

“So, you’re saying the author of The Herdsman, Old Xu, really is from our Yanjing University?!” Huang Beijia pressed eagerly.

Both Huang Beijia and Cha Jianying had their attention deftly shifted by Zhang Dening. This wasn’t the time to dwell on the fact that even the usually composed Feng Jiayou had written a love letter to Old Xu. At this moment, it was entirely possible that all their love letters were in Zhang Dening’s possession.

Yes—even Cha Jianying.

Don’t be fooled by Cha Jianying’s reserved and gentle demeanor; what young woman doesn’t harbor a secret longing? Especially after learning that Old Xu from The Herdsman was actually their senior at Yanjing University. The whole female student body went wild, and Cha Jianying was certainly no exception. She was just more discreet, secretly penning her letter without even the roommate above her, Huang Beijia, suspecting a thing.

“All right! By the look on your faces, you’ve all written to him, haven’t you?” Zhang Dening nodded at the three, her eyes scanning the area, but she didn’t spot Feng Jiayou’s partner—Old Xu, the author of The Herdsman.

“Sister Dening, can’t you give us a little hint? Which department is Old Xu from?” Huang Beijia tried to sneak a look at the letters in Zhang Dening’s hands and sweetly offered, “By the way, you must not have eaten yet, have you? Come in, tell me what you like—I’ll buy you lunch, my treat!”

Zhang Dening had arrived right at lunchtime, just as Feng Jiayou and the others were heading to the cafeteria. As for the matter of the love letters—couldn’t they discuss that over a meal?

“Hold it right there! I won’t fall for your sweet talk. Want to know who the author of The Herdsman is? I wouldn’t dare reveal it. Someone made us swear to keep our lips sealed!”

Zhang Dening smiled at Feng Jiayou. How could she, right in front of Feng Jiayou, betray her partner?

“But these letters, I promise to deliver them personally to Old Xu, the author of The Herdsman!” Zhang Dening added mischievously, “Although with so many love letters, do you think he’ll have time to read them all?”

Most reader letters are written out of novelty. After a few, the author usually sets them aside. Once the letters start pouring in, who could possibly read every single one? They’re typically left untouched, sometimes even disposed of.

“Sister Dening, it’s not like it’s some big secret—what’s with the sweet talk? Can’t you tell us just a little?” Huang Beijia persisted. “At least tell us if he’s from our Chinese Department?”

“Yes! Sister Dening, is Old Xu from our department?” Cha Jianying pressed.

“All I can say is, he’s at Yanjing University. As for who exactly…” Zhang Dening looked troubled and sneaked a glance at Feng Jiayou. Seeing no sign or protest, she decided not to say more.

Just then, a bicycle came rolling up. Zhang Dening’s eyes lit up as she joked, “Look, here comes your Old Xu now!”

“What are you all talking about? I could see you laughing and chatting from across the way!” It was lunchtime, and Cheng Xuemin was riding over from the Yanjing University Affiliated School to get a meal ticket from Feng Jiayou. The food at Yanjing University was better and more affordable than at the affiliated school, so though he’d been attending classes there for a few days, he still came over to eat with them.

“Big sis!” On the back of his bike was his sister-in-law, Feng Jiamei, who jumped off and greeted Feng Jiayou.

“Xuemin, you’re here too? We were just talking about you! Jiayou has been pestering me to ask who Old Xu is—he’s not you, is he? And she’s not your Li Xiuzhi? You two have said as much before!” Zhang Dening joked with Cheng Xuemin, who she’d come to find as Old Xu, the author of The Herdsman.

Earlier, she’d visited the library but didn’t see Cheng Xuemin. She asked Chen Shumin, who told her he was at the affiliated school. She’d been on her way there when she saw Feng Jiayou and her friends chatting and decided to say hello.

“Sister Dening, you almost scared me to death! For a second, I thought you were serious—that Old Xu was Jiayou’s partner!” Huang Beijia was dumbfounded by the jest, staring blankly at the figure on the bicycle. Once she realized, she playfully protested to Zhang Dening.

“Well, Sister Dening isn’t wrong. Isn’t Jiayou’s partner Xu Lingjun?” Cha Jianying teased. “But someone here—our own Li Xiuzhi—has been secretly writing love letters to Old Xu! I wonder if her Old Xu knows about it?”

“What?!” Cheng Xuemin was even more surprised. He’d thought Feng Jiayou had confided in her friends, but apparently not.

As they joked about him, Cheng Xuemin turned to Feng Jiayou, playing along, “So, who did you write a love letter to?”

“Nonsense! Don’t believe a word Jianying says!” Feng Jiayou played along, blushing and steering the conversation away. “Xuemin, you’re here just in time. Since it’s lunchtime, I was thinking of treating Dening, Beijia, and Jianying. Is that okay?”

“Of course!” Cheng Xuemin nodded enthusiastically. “Why don’t we go eat at the Long March Restaurant outside? My treat!”

Feng Jiayou and her friends hadn’t yet entered the cafeteria. The invitation to treat Zhang Dening was partly motivated by the unfinished manuscript her mother had taken. She guessed that apart from delivering the letters, Zhang Dening was likely there to chase after the story. Since they didn’t have the manuscript ready, she decided to stall with a meal. After all, Yanjing Literature already had one piece for the December issue; they weren’t in any real rush. Later, she’d help her husband find inspiration and make up another submission for Zhang Dening’s magazine.

“Eat at the Long March Restaurant?” Huang Beijia and Cha Jianying were startled by Xuemin’s suggestion. The idea of treating Zhang Dening to a meal was Huang Beijia’s; she’d imagined a simple meal at the cafeteria, which they could afford. But the Long March Restaurant was another story—between them, plus Jiayou’s partner and her sister, the bill would be at least seven or eight yuan. Frankly, if it were up to them, they’d balk at the cost. But since Zhang Dening was an editor from Yanjing Literature and the couple hadn’t published with them yet, it hardly made sense for Jiayou and her husband to be the hosts.

“Perfect! Jiayou, Xuemin, if you agree, I’ll treat. Thanks to Old Xu’s success, our chief editor, Old Li, approved ten yuan of activity funds. It’s on me!” The ten yuan had been specially allocated by Old Li for Zhang Dening to host a meal for Old Xu and his wife. Now that everyone was together, she might as well entertain them all! Besides, Zhang Dening felt she needed to win over Feng Jiayou—without her, she’d never win over Old Xu. They were all young women, close in age, and it would be easy to make friends.

“Sister Dening, is Yanjing Literature planning something big? Specially allocating activity funds?” Huang Beijia was quick to pick up on this and asked curiously.

“Did you read today’s Wen Hui Daily? Ding Ling wrote a review for The Herdsman! You know what that means, right?”

Without waiting to be asked, Zhang Dening explained, aiming her words at Feng Jiayou and Cheng Xuemin.

“Yes, yes, we saw it! We never expected Ding Ling to write a review for The Herdsman, and in Wen Hui Daily no less!” Huang Beijia was quick to reply.

“We really didn’t expect Ding Ling to praise The Herdsman so highly!” Zhang Dening nodded, continuing, “So our Old Li wants to seize the momentum and hold a symposium for Old Xu, inviting notable figures in the literary circle to discuss and give The Herdsman another push!”

“A symposium? Old Xu will definitely attend, right? Sister Dening, could Jianying, Jiayou, and I come too?” Huang Beijia immediately became excited. “Even if we’re just standing in the back, listening, that would be enough!”

At the mention of a symposium for Old Xu, Huang Beijia and Cha Jianying could hardly contain their excitement, hopping on the spot and pointing at themselves, asking if they could attend. Even if there were no seats, just standing at the back or in the hallway as observers would be enough.

“Well… I’m not sure. I’ll ask for you,” Zhang Dening replied. It wasn’t that they couldn’t attend, but it would depend on whether Old Xu and his wife agreed. If they didn’t, Yanjing Literature wouldn’t feel comfortable inviting new authors like Huang Beijia and Cha Jianying.

“All right, then Sister Dening, you must let us know for sure!” Huang Beijia said with disappointment, and Cha Jianying nodded as well.

“A symposium?” Cheng Xuemin was equally surprised that Yanjing Literature would hold a special event just for his Herdsman.

As for the review in today’s Wen Hui Daily, written by Ding Ling, Cheng Xuemin knew about it and had been initially astonished. After all, Ding Ling’s status in literary circles was far beyond anything he could match with a few short stories. Heavyweights like that rarely wrote reviews, especially for new authors.

So, when his sister-in-law Feng Jiamei had burst into his cram school classroom waving Wen Hui Daily and telling him, he had been genuinely surprised. Now, though, with Zhang Dening mentioning it, the thrill had worn off.

“Yes! I’m here to ask Old Xu’s opinion. If there’s no issue, we’ll start organizing, set a date, and invite everyone to sit down and exchange ideas!” Zhang Dening smiled at Cheng Xuemin. Seeing he only nodded and didn’t press further, she didn’t pursue the topic.

The six of them went to the Long March Restaurant outside Yanjing University—one of the most upscale restaurants nearby, well beyond the reach of most ordinary students. Since Yanjing Literature was hosting, Cheng Xuemin saw no need to fight over the check—what did it matter if they treated him to a meal? With the popularity of The Herdsman, it had brought so much acclaim to the magazine; why not enjoy a good dinner?

During the meal, Zhang Dening and Cheng Xuemin touched base. With his assurance that he’d attend the symposium and would be notified of the date, all was set. As for the unfinished story, Cheng Xuemin claimed he was still working on it and would show it to her once complete. This only made Zhang Dening more eager to pick up the tab for the lavish meal.

“Jianying, did I see correctly? Didn’t Jiayou’s partner take that big bundle of readers’ letters from Dening? Did you see it?” On the way back, Huang Beijia was still a bit dazed, asking Cha Jianying uncertainly.

“I don’t think so. I saw Dening hang those letters on her own bicycle,” Cha Jianying replied, shaking her head.

“So I was seeing things? Dening didn’t hang the letters on Jiayou’s partner’s bike?” Huang Beijia continued, still in a daze.

“You’ve had too much to drink! Dening suggested a little wine and you, a proper student, actually drank? Now you’re all muddled!” Cha Jianying teased, steadying her friend, though she too began to doubt herself. Those were letters to the author of The Herdsman—surely Zhang Dening would deliver them, not hang them on Jiayou’s partner’s bike. Beijia must have been tipsy and seeing things.

…