I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"what?"

"Gu Long is a person who never shows his face in public. He has never held a book signing, never attended the premiere of a movie adaptation, and has never even attended the publisher's annual meeting. I have only met him once, through a car window."

Everyone was genuinely surprised to hear this.

As a writer, Gu Long is quite low-key.

Xiao Qing continued, "It was the publishing house's 5th anniversary celebration. The publishing house was serious and insisted on inviting him to the annual meeting. So Xi Wendian drove me to his house to invite him."

"When we arrived at his building, Xi Wendian went upstairs, and I sat in the car waiting. Because I was so bored, I rolled down the car window. At that time, Gu Long and I were both poor. He lived in a tenement building, and I saw the two of them come down from the stairwell."

"Gu Long is a middle-aged man with greasy hair. I used to fantasize that Gu Long was a handsome guy and even had a crush on him, but ever since then, I have stopped believing in online dating."

After she finished speaking, she chuckled to herself, only to see puzzled looks on everyone's faces.

"what happened?"

“Wait a minute…” Qin Yun Chu was the first to come to her senses and said, “Sister Qing, what age are you talking about when you say middle-aged?”

"Around 40 years old, what's wrong?" Xiao Qing asked.

Qin Yun Chu took a deep breath: "The ancient cage we discovered is only 28 years old this year, far from being middle-aged."

Xiao Qing stared wide-eyed: "How is that possible? He's 28 this year, so back then Gu Long was only about 10 years old?"

Gu Yuanzhen suddenly felt herself stand up again.

"That's exactly right! Chen Ya is definitely not Gu Long!"

Xiao Qing sat down on a lounge chair outside the villa, crossed one leg, which was covered in black stockings, over the other, and said:

"I was 17 or 8 years old back then, and I was known as the youngest and most beautiful female writer. If Gu Long were younger than me, the publisher would definitely have hyped it up."

It's confirmed.

However, this time it's a case of reverse confirmation.

Gu Yuanzhen turned to Liu Ruyan with surprise and asked, "Is it possible that these are not Chen Ya's personal belongings, but rather the property of one of his relatives? And Chen Ya is just keeping them for safekeeping?"

Liu Ruyan shook her head and said, "The teacher didn't say."

“Just because he didn’t say it doesn’t mean he didn’t,” He Shiying said. “He might be deliberately not saying it, just to put on an act in front of you?”

Qin Yun Chu sat down opposite Xiao Qing and said, "Why don't we just make a phone call and ask Xi Wen Dian?"

Xiao Qing thought for a moment and said, "Yes, it's time to say hello to the old editor."

She took out her phone, opened WeChat, and sent a video request directly.

After a while, the screen lit up, and a kind-looking middle-aged man appeared on the screen.

"Writer Xiao, what brings you here all of a sudden to chat with me?" Xi Wendian asked with a smile.

Xiao Qing's voice was crisp: "Old Xi, you've been doing well lately, you've been promoted to editor-in-chief! Congratulations!"

"Hey, I should have been promoted long ago for being able to bring you and Gu Long out."

Although he said that, his smile was practically overflowing, clearly showing how proud he was of it.

Xiao Qing immediately got to the point, saying, "I'm asking you, what is the real name of the ancient cage?"

Xi Wendian's expression changed: "Why are you asking this?"

"Nothing, just curious."

Xi Wendian thought for a moment and said, "I don't know."

"what?"

This time, the people in front of the screen were all confused.

“Gu Long has a very strange personality. He never shows his face, and I’ve never even seen his face,” Xi Wendian said.

Everyone looked at each other.

Xiao Qing became anxious: "How could you not have seen him? At the 5th anniversary party, when you went to invite Gu Long, I was still in your car. I saw you and him go downstairs with my own eyes!"

Xi Wendian was stunned for a moment, then said, "That's not Gu Long, that's his neighbor."

"what?"

Xi Wendian smiled wryly: "As an editor, when I go to see the authors, they refuse to meet with me and just send a neighbor to send me away, saying that he is too busy."

Xiao Qing looked as if her soul had been shaken out of her body, and remained stunned for a full minute.

"Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing, what's wrong?"

"Old Xi, do you know," Xiao Qing finally came to her senses after a long while, "that one misunderstanding has caused me to waste half a lifetime's worth of good marriage prospects."

Is it that serious?

Xiao Qing unfolded the note from before, placed it in front of the camera, and asked, "Did you write this?"

Xi Wendian pushed up his glasses and exclaimed in shock, "This is what I wrote! Where did you get it from?"

Xiao Qing recounted how Qin Yun Chu and the others discovered the true form of the ancient cage, then introduced Liu Ru Yan and the others present, and greeted them.

“This is indeed the note I wrote, no doubt about it,” Xi Wendian said. “If this note exists, it means he really might be Gu Long.”

Xiao said anxiously, "But if you calculate the age, it doesn't make sense. If he is Gu Long, then wasn't he only 13 years old when he wrote 'The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword'?"

Xi Wendian thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "That's actually quite possible!"

Everyone was stunned.

“Every time I talked to him on the phone, his voice sounded strange, like he was deliberately changing his voice,” Xi Wendian said. “At the time, I suspected that he was very young, or that he was a girl pretending to be a boy, but later his voice gradually became deeper.”

"Now that I think about it, he was probably very young and deliberately made to sound mature."

Xi Wendian continued, "Do you have anything else that can prove his identity?"

Chapter 18: There's a queue

Liu Ruyan agreed to let them all into the house.

After all, she herself was curious about the teacher's identity.

As soon as she entered the workspace, Xiao Qing said, "Heh, I want to have a workspace like this too, it's so comfortable."

“The environment is quiet and suitable for creation,” Xi Wendian’s voice came from the phone. He also saw the indoor scene through the camera. “If the owner of this place is really Gu Long, he may pick up his pen again in the future.”

Xiao Qing squatted down with difficulty—his hot pants were too tight, revealing a large section of his fair waist—and after opening the cabinet, he saw various versions of Gu Long works inside and exclaimed "Heh."

Suddenly, Xi Wendian spoke up from the phone: "Bring over that little box over there and take a look."

In the corner of the cabinet, there was an inconspicuous little box.

Xiao Qing picked up the box, opened it, and found a stone with words engraved inside.

"what is this?"

Xi Wendian said, "This is a piece of merchandise for authors published by the publishing house. It is inscribed with the words 'Taishan Stone,' and the words on the stone are written by Gu Long."

Xiao Qing lifted the stone, on which was written: "Study hard and make progress every day."

Qin Yun Chu and the others had strange expressions when they saw this. The phrase "strive for progress every day" sounded odd, yet somehow it also made sense.

Xiao Qing fiddled with the stone and said, "Hmm, the author inscribed it, and then what?"

Xi Wendian said, "We had Gu Long handwrite this text and send it to us. Then we made it into a peripheral product. It is absolutely his own handwriting. You can compare it with the manuscript and see if the handwriting is the same."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they quickly took out the manuscript of "The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword".

He Shiying gasped: "It really is the same handwriting!"

Xi Wendian pushed up his glasses on the screen and said seriously, "Do you have the handwriting of Chen Ya that you suspect?"

Everyone immediately understood his thinking.

One link leads to another. If it has been confirmed that the manuscript is indeed in Gu Long's handwriting, then as long as it is confirmed whether it is the same as Chen Ya's handwriting, the suspect will be locked down!

Qin Yun Chu looked at Liu Ru Yan excitedly and asked, "Really?"

Liu Ruyan lowered her head and remained silent for a while, then nodded and whispered, "Yes." Then she turned and walked out of the room.

After a while, she brought over a note.

Qin Yun Chu took the note and saw that it read:

Honey: I have to go out. Breakfast is in the fridge, remember to eat it. For lunch, I'd like some pork ribs, and maybe some scrambled eggs with tomatoes. —Ya

Qin Yun Chu looked at her with a strange expression: "Is this written for you?"

Liu Ruyan blushed.

"Baby is... we used to call each other baby, it was just a joke."

Gu Yuanzhen was jealous.

Urged by Xi Wendian, everyone put the note and the manuscript together.

When compared like this... they are completely identical.

He Shiying stood up, covering her head with her hands: "Ahhhhh!"

She ran to the wall, put her hands on it, and started banging her head against it repeatedly.

Qin Yun Chu was shocked: "Shi Ying, what are you doing?"

"Leave me alone! Let me run him over!"

When Qin Yunchu rescued her, her forehead was red from the impact.

Lying in Qin Yun Chu's arms, she said with a sense of peace, "Is this enough to atone for my sins?"

Qin Yun Chu asked in surprise, "What sins are you atoning for?"

"The crime of insulting idols."

Gu Yuanzhen stumbled and fell to the floor, her eyes wide with shock: "Unbelievable, Gu Long was really only 13 years old when he wrote 'The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword'."

Xi Wendian appeared calm on the surface, but the way he pushed up his glasses betrayed his nervousness: "Some precocious geniuses can indeed do what ordinary people cannot."

Gu Yuanzhen swallowed hard and said, "Those chivalrous stories and romantic tales, you say they were written by a 13-year-old child, and yet they captivated me... I think that's really outrageous."

“If he had revealed his age back then, he probably would have been even more famous than he is now.” Xi Wendian sighed. “I don’t understand why he wouldn’t reveal his identity.”

Xiao Qing said quietly, "Perhaps this is the temperament that a great writer should have. I can become famous through my writing, why should I rely on other packaging?"

Xi Wendian comforted Xiao Qing, "Xiao Qing, you don't need to feel anything. On the path of a writer, everyone strives for excellence. In the end, it all comes down to whose books are good. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with Gu Long because of your own hard work."

Xiao Qing said, "No, I just regret not hooking up with him back then."

"..."

Qin Yunchu remained silent, and the ordinary figure of Chen Ya reappeared in her mind.

"What's your name again...?"

"Chen Ya".

"Er Dong Chen, right? Which side?"

"The edge of the world".

...If he really is Gu Long, he would probably be financially independent by now, so why would he come to the company to do a job with a monthly salary of 5?

This person is shrouded in mystery.

I can't understand why he hid his identity, nor can I understand how he adopted Xiao Yingying.

Qin Yun Chu made up her mind that once she returned to the company, she would make good use of her position as her boss to make him confess.

Xiao Qing continued to sigh deeply, her heart aching:

"Old Xi, you're being too unfair. If I had known that Gu Long was just a teenager, I would have hooked him up long ago, and I wouldn't be single now."

Xi Wendian laughed and said, "Isn't it fine now? You still have the connection with the Ancient Lyrics Publishing House. If it works out, I'll be the matchmaker."

"no!"

A small voice suddenly came from behind.

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan said to Xiao Qing, word by word, "You have to wait in line."