Chapter 45

Feng Yiping also knew that this couldn't be kept a secret for long. Although the mailman had been instructed, what about the other employees at the post office, especially the female staff? This wasn't a big deal, but it could still be considered a novelty, and expecting them to keep it confidential was wishful thinking.

But he didn't expect it to be exposed so quickly.

Just as he had anticipated, the news had indeed spread from the post office. During the New Year, a son-in-law from a family in town, an employee at the county Civil Affairs Bureau, visited his mother-in-law with his son. Being from the county, he naturally put on airs and acted superior in front of the townspeople.

However, although he worked for the government, he was just a regular clerk. He could only boast about how great his unit was, what it could manage, and the generous year-end benefits.

In the end, he couldn't help but compare his children. He emphasized that his son had won third place in the city's "Sprout" Cup Essay Competition.

When he said these things, it was like a battle, a smokeless war that happened every Spring Festival and at every gathering.

The custom in town was the same. He brought his son and visited several households for meals. Later, when they arrived at his brother-in-law's house, he mentioned this achievement again, and everyone naturally praised him, saying, "This child is great, he will definitely have a bright future."

The woman of the house worked at the post office. She couldn't compete in terms of work, as she was in town while he was in the county. She also couldn't compete in terms of children, as her child's grades were just average, while his son had won a city-level third prize.

But seeing him basking in the attention, with everyone surrounding him, and her husband, the host, unable to get a word in, she felt a bit resentful and interjected, "Indeed, the children these days are impressive. In our town, there's a child who just started junior high, and in less than half a year, he published two short stories in the 'Harvest' magazine. The royalties he earned are more than my two years' salary."

The clerk from the Civil Affairs Bureau almost choked on his drink. This immediately shifted the guests' attention.

Praising one's own child in front of other parents, with others chiming in, only made him feel good. Who else would really be happy about it?

The guests were also from town. People have this mentality: hearing someone from the county boast about their child, when their own children couldn't compare, they might flatter outwardly but feel unhappy inside. If their own children weren't outstanding, they would want to find an outstanding child to make them feel better.

Now, there was a child in their town who was even more impressive, having published two articles in a national magazine, which was certainly better than a city-level third prize in an essay competition. Even though it wasn't their own child, it was still someone from their town.

So, they all asked, "Really? What magazine? How old is the child? Who is it?" And the news spread from household to household.

That day, Tang Shaokang, who lived in town, heard the rumor. But he only half-listened and didn't take it seriously, thinking, "Is this true? It sounds like a story to fool children."

Yesterday, Ye Meng visited her uncle, the post office director, to watch the Lantern Festival performance. Her uncle mentioned this, saying it was a student from their school, a first-year junior high student whose grandfather lived in Meijia Bay.

Today, when Ye Meng was in Tang Shaokang's car, she told him about it. Only then did Tang Shaokang take it seriously. He thought, "Could it be Feng Yiping?" This led to the test earlier.

They were no longer children, and although Feng Yiping repeatedly denied it, it wasn't very convincing.

Ye Meng smiled and said, "This isn't a bad thing, why hide it?"

Feng Yiping couldn't say, "I don't want people to know, I don't want to be famous," because such a statement would seem unreasonable and pretentious to his peers. So, he could only change the subject.

He also considered saying it was copied, but immediately rejected the idea. It would damage his reputation too much. In the countryside, honesty is highly valued, and as the saying goes, "Good news doesn't leave the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles." If he said it was copied, everyone in the surrounding villages would know by the next day.

He didn't want to start with a reputation for dishonesty and theft.

As someone who had been through it, he knew that to cover up one lie, he would have to tell many more—purely trouble-making.

So, he decided to admit it, even if it would cause some trouble.

Wang Changning finally understood what was going on and sincerely felt happy for Feng Yiping, "That's great! You kept this from us. Tell me, is there anything else you're hiding?"

Feng Yiping smiled bitterly, "Brother, you didn't ask. Besides, it's not a big deal. Do I need to announce it to the world?"

Wang Changning said, "That's just like you. But now I understand why your parents agreed to let you live in town."

The rumor spread quickly. By that evening, all the classmates knew, and the next morning, even the cafeteria staff had heard. When Feng Yiping went to the cafeteria, he shyly accepted the attention and was treated well by the staff, who gave him a bowl of porridge so thick it could stand a chopstick.

When the principal heard about it, he remembered something else. A few days ago, he had a drink with Old Zhu from the town middle school. Old Zhu asked if he knew a student named Feng Yiping. Although he didn't teach first-year classes, he knew Feng Yiping was the top student in the first year and had ranked second in the county in the final exams last semester.

As the principal of the town middle school, Old Zhu must have known this. Why did he ask such a question? When he asked Old Zhu why, Old Zhu just smiled. Now, he realized it was because of this.

Schools also compete fiercely. The town middle school's performance was better than Liangjiahe Middle School, and they had their share of top students. But what could make the school proud were various competitions, such as the Math and Physics Olympiads and various essay contests. No school had too many such talents.

When the homeroom teacher, Wang Yumin, heard the news, he was silent for a while, stopped preparing his lesson, and wanted to find the two magazines. Old Zhu stopped him, "Don't bother. Only Old Peng subscribes to that magazine, and it's probably already borrowed by someone else."

Wang Yumin thought about it, "Do you really think Feng Yiping wrote them?"

Old Zhu was looking at a chess book, "Who else could it be? Even if he wanted to copy, he would need someone to copy from. Think about it, who among the people he knows could write, and write two in half a year?"

Wang Yumin was just subconsciously unwilling to believe it. How could it be? It felt like the younger generation was surpassing the older one, and the older one was being left behind. "Do you think he wrote the first one during the summer, right after he finished elementary school?"

Old Zhu said, "I've been telling you, Feng Yiping is different. His thinking is far more mature than his peers. Do you believe me now?"

The first class of the morning was English, taught by a middle-aged woman. Perhaps because she taught English, she was very particular about her appearance and paid special attention to her makeup. However, due to her lack of skill and the quality of her cosmetics, her efforts often had the opposite effect.

For example, today, she didn't focus on the right things. She didn't address her puffy eyes but applied too much red lipstick and too much powder. Feng Yiping glanced at her and immediately decided not to look anymore.

But the teacher singled him out, "Great writer, come, read the first section of this lesson."

The classmates all laughed at him. Feng Yiping stood up, "Teacher, please don't flatter me. It was just luck."

Anyway, Feng Yiping was given the nickname "Great Writer."

After lunch, he was extorted by Wang Changning and Xiao Zhijie. In the convenience store, he spent six yuan on a tin of cookies. Six yuan! If Mei Qiuping knew, she would surely give him a stern lecture.

Feng Yiping estimated that at least two yuan was spent on the tin. But when he tried to buy a different package, Xiao Zhijie refused.

This wasn't the end. Xiao Zhijie said, "This isn't enough. You've made a lot of money, don't think you can get rid of us so cheaply."

Wang Changning added, "Right, come on, eat quickly, and give me the tin when you're done."

Xiao Zhijie immediately grabbed the tin, "Are you kidding? I wanted to buy this tin because I liked it. I've wanted it for a long time but couldn't afford it."

Seeing Feng Yiping's teasing look, he quickly added, "Of course, I don't have the money to buy it."

The sun was nice, so they went to their usual spot by the water tower and basked in the sun lazily.

Feng Yiping mentioned that he would rent a house in the countryside during the summer. Xiao Zhijie was excited, "Really?"

Getting a positive answer, he said, "That's great!"

Wang Changning dampened his enthusiasm, "Will your parents agree?"

"Ha, as long as I want to, they'll have to agree."

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