Chapter 58: Once Spoken, It Is No Longer a Secret

The night was deep, and the streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow.

After a hearty meal, Liu Zhiyu, Lin Junsheng, Liu Siyao, and Lin Junwei strolled leisurely down the street.

A gentle evening breeze blew, carrying a hint of coolness while dissipating the fatigue of the day.

"In this day and age, there are still plenty of thieves who have no fear of death. We still need to be a bit careful when going out at night," Liu Zhiyu said, glancing around and offering a soft reminder.

A trace of caution flickered in his eyes, even though they had him, a human "amulet," walking alongside them.

Liu Zhiyu smiled. "Still, with me around, you can rest easy. Having said that, public security tends to fluctuate—sometimes tight, sometimes lax. When the higher-ups tighten policies, petty theft decreases; but the moment the economy takes a hit and policies relax, they pop right back up. These fellows are slicker than anyone. They watch the policies closely, and if things go south, they hit and run, changing locations on the fly."

"Indeed. The railway station area is the most chaotic place, with people coming and going, making it the easiest place to strike," Liu Siyao chimed in.

As the four of them walked and chatted, they unconsciously arrived at the entrance of the residential compound where their aunt lived.

Since Liu Zhiyu had to report for the night shift, he had to part ways with them.

"Xiaosheng, Siyao, Xiaowei, I'm off to work first. Be careful tonight, and call me anytime if anything comes up," Liu Zhiyu instructed before turning around and disappearing into the night.

Lin Junsheng, Liu Siyao, and Lin Junwei walked into their aunt's home together.

The moment she stepped through the door, Lin Junwei headed straight for the study, eager to finish her homework so she could get to bed early.

In the living room, Lin Junsheng and Liu Siyao sat down and began to chat idly.

"Xiaosheng, have you been submitting manuscripts lately?" Liu Siyao asked, tilting her head with a look of gossipy curiosity.

Girls were born with an inherent sense of curiosity.

Seeing that Liu Zhiyu had already spilled the secret to Liu Siyao, Lin Junsheng knew that hiding and covering it up would be of no use. He simply decided to come clean.

Lin Junsheng smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I just submitted a manuscript, and the writing fee isn't bad at all—a whole one thousand yuan."

"One thousand yuan! That much?!"

Liu Siyao widened her eyes in astonishment, her mouth slightly agape as if she could fit an entire egg inside.

Although she knew Lin Junsheng had a hobby of writing manuscripts, she genuinely never expected the payout to be so high.

Just a few days ago when she visited Lin Junsheng's home, she had even seen the piles of handwritten manuscripts stacked on his desk with her own eyes.

At the time, she had secretly ridiculed Lin Junsheng in her heart. But now? Look at him—he had actually become a major author.

What kind of concept was one thousand yuan?

You could buy two black-and-white televisions and still have change left over.

You could purchase over a thousand catties of pork, enough to supply an entire village for a whole year.

"So you went to the post office just to collect this thousand-yuan writing fee? And then you got robbed?" Liu Siyao fired off questions like a string of firecrackers, her eyes holding a mixture of concern and curiosity.

Lin Junsheng nodded, a trace of helpless resignation flashing across his face. "Mm-hmm, exactly. It got snatched the moment I stepped outside. I was still dazed when the money was already gone."

Hearing this, Liu Siyao furrowed her brow deeply. "Good thing you weren't hurt. You little rascal, why on earth would you try to keep something like this from your family?"

Lin Junsheng smiled wryly and shook his head. "I was just thinking I'd rather not have all the folks back in the village find out. If word got around, who knows what kind of gossip there'd be? Besides, back then I was afraid my writing wouldn't be any good; I was just giving it a casual try. I never expected it to actually get published and earn a payout."

Liu Siyao rolled her eyes at him, pretending to be angry as she said, "You certainly think a lot, don't you? But if you had just let people know you could write manuscripts, would you still be worried about not finding a girlfriend? Not finding a wife? Look at you—you're not bad-looking, and you're talented. Which girl wouldn't like that?"

Lin Junsheng was amused by Liu Siyao's words and scratched his head. "Sis, stop teasing me. There are plenty of gossiping tongues back in our village. If they found out, heaven knows how they'd twist the story. Besides, writing is just a hobby of mine. Whether I can find a wife or not still depends on fate."

Liu Siyao pursed her lips, unconvinced. "Fate, fate! How's fate supposed to find you if you don't strive for it? Look at you, hiding such great talent away. If you become a big author one day, don't you dare forget about me."

Lin Junsheng smiled. "Rest assured, Sis. If I really become a major author, you'll be the very first person I treat to a meal, and I'll even give you a giant signature."

The two exchanged a smile, and the atmosphere grew light and pleasant.

Liu Siyao continued to banter, "It's a deal, then. When the time comes, I'm going to order the most expensive dishes and eat you into bankruptcy." She blinked, looking immensely pleased with herself.

Lin Junsheng let out a melodramatic, pitiful sigh and spread his hands. "Sigh, looks like I'll have to work even harder on my writing, otherwise I won't even have the money to treat you to dinner."

His exaggerated expression made Liu Siyao giggle uncontrollably.

Her curiosity completely piqued, Liu Siyao grabbed Lin Junsheng's arm and coaxed him coquettishly, "What did you write, then? Hurry up and tell me so I can go buy a copy! I want to see what kind of work our great author has written."

Lin Junsheng smiled and shook his head, a hint of shyness in his eyes. "I didn't write all that much. I just had a novella called *The Chess Master* published in *Shanghai Literature*."

Upon hearing this, Liu Siyao's eyes instantly lit up. "You're saying *The Chess Master* was written by you? I know that story!"

She clapped her hands in excitement.

Lin Junsheng was somewhat surprised. "You know it? I thought hardly anyone read it."

Liu Siyao nodded repeatedly. "I do! My dad read that story the other day and even told all of us to read it. He said it was brilliantly written, especially the portrayal of the chess master character—so vivid and lifelike. At the time, I was wondering who the author was, to be so talented."

Lin Junsheng never expected that his work would win the praise of his uncle, and a wave of pride welled up inside him.

He smiled and asked, "Uncle read it too? Did he say anything else?"

Liu Siyao thought for a moment and said, "He said a lot. He praised your writing style and said the plot was really engaging. Oh, by the way, I even kept the magazine. Let me go find it and show you."

With that, she bounced right off the sofa like an agile little rabbit, hopping away to search for the magazine.

Watching Liu Siyao's retreating figure, Lin Junsheng felt a mix of delight and distress.

He was delighted that his work had gained recognition, but distressed that everyone would now know about it—he had originally wanted to keep a low profile.

Still, upon second thought, this could also be considered a form of encouragement for himself.

Before long, Liu Siyao returned holding that copy of *Shanghai Literature*, excitedly handing the magazine over to Lin Junsheng. "Look, it's this piece, *The Chess Master*. When I read it back then, I thought it was exceptionally good. I never dreamed it was written by you!"

Lin Junsheng took the magazine and looked at his pen name, "Rainy Night Swordsman Without an Umbrella," along with his work printed on the page. An indescribable sense of pride surged through his heart.

Liu Siyao immediately asked, "Why on earth did you pick such a pen name?"

"Look at all those famous authors—Jin Yong, Gu Long, Qiong Yao, San Mao—they all have two-character pen names. Why did you choose one so long and convoluted? Who's ever going to remember that?"

"I just figured I'd go with something quirky and unconventional. I honestly never imagined I'd actually get famous."

"Let me tell you—"

*Click... squeak...*

Just as they were chatting merrily, the front door was pushed open.