Chapter 172 Revealing the True Identity

Chen Fanglan pulled Shen Xuewei behind her and quickly walked home.

From the time they apprehended Shen Xuewei at the internet cafe until they returned home, it was almost 2 a.m., nearly time for her to go to work.

After the two returned home, Shen Xuewei acted like an obedient child, standing in the living room, waiting to be scolded by Chen Fanglan.

The first thing Chen Fanglan did when she got home was neither to beat up Shen Xuewei nor to scold her.

After searching high and low, she finally found her phone and called her boss to ask for two hours off.

After requesting leave, she put her phone aside, sat on the sofa, crossed her arms, and scrutinized Shen Xuewei in front of her.

She forced a smile and said, "Weiwei, shouldn't you explain things to your aunt?"

Shen Xuewei looked at her pitifully, secretly pinched herself, and tried to hold back her tears.

"I'm sorry, Auntie, I was wrong."

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Chen Fanglan's heart softened again.

I didn't steal or rob anything; I just wrote a novel. Come to think of it, I don't seem to have done anything wrong...

Realizing the thought that had popped into her head, Chen Fanglan immediately felt uneasy.

She hadn't even said much to Shen Xuewei yet, so how did she end up convincing herself instead?

She shook her head, quickly banishing the thought from her mind and reorganizing her emotions.

She beckoned to Shen Xuewei, inviting her to sit next to her.

Holding Shen Xuewei's hand, she said earnestly, "Weiwei, you're still young. Your most important task right now is to study hard and get into a good university in the future. Isn't that what you promised your grandfather?"

"What, have you forgotten?"

Shen Xuewei tilted her head and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Auntie, I haven't forgotten. I... haven't I always been number one?"

In that instant, Chen Fanglan was speechless, choked by Shen Xuewei's words.

Yes, she had been reading Hua Yunbi's novels for several years, while Shen Xuewei had already been writing for several years.

During this period, her grades... did indeed remain in first place.

She sat on the sofa, thinking for a long time but couldn't come up with a point to criticize Shen Xuewei for.

She stroked Shen Xuewei's hand, feeling the hardened calluses on her palm, and thought about how Shen Xuewei hadn't neglected any of the housework after returning home for the weekend.

This child, only eleven or twelve years old, is working much harder than her, an adult.

At such a young age, you're making great strides in both your career and studies!

After a long silence, she asked, "How old are you... why did you decide to write a novel?"

Shen Xuewei thought for a moment and said, "I live with my maternal grandparents. My parents have never sent money back to me. My maternal grandparents don't earn much money, and I don't want to keep asking them for money, so I want to earn money."

"Now that I have my own money, I won't have to ask anyone for money anymore."

Hearing this reason, Chen Fanglan was speechless.

She rested her hands on her lap, dejectedly clutching her hair.

"Sigh...you actually..."

In fact, she couldn't really explain it.

The child is still a good child, but a very insecure one.

Of course, after discovering that Shen Xuewei was the author she had always admired, she could no longer treat her as an ordinary child.

The two remained silent for a long time, until Chen Fanglan's emotions seemed to have calmed down somewhat, then Shen Xuewei said softly:

"Auntie, could you please not tell anyone about my situation, and just keep it a secret between the two of us?"

Chen Fanglan looked up at her, her expression complex. "Your secret is not small at all."

After saying this, she noticed that Shen Xuewei looked somewhat uneasy and glanced at her again.

"In your eyes, am I just a big mouth who loves to gossip?"

She said this in a less than friendly tone, but a smile appeared on Shen Xuewei's face.

"I knew it, my aunt is the best."

She hugged Chen Fanglan's arm and leaned close to her affectionately.

Chen Fanglan glanced at her helplessly and tapped her forehead, "I don't know how you can come up with so many things in your little head."

Shen Xuewei chuckled, took her hand, interlocked their pinkies, and made a checkmark.

"Anyway, Auntie, you've already promised to keep my secret, and we've pinky sworn, so you can't go back on your word."

Chen Fanglan let her be, "I know, I know. Look, has your aunt ever failed to keep any of the promises she made to you?"

Meeting Shen Xuewei's gaze, and remembering the very first incident, she coughed awkwardly.

"That one doesn't count."

At the time, she just felt that love had come her way, and she didn't think about anything else.

Now that I'm older, I look back on the miserable days when I married Xu Zhiyuan.

I really want to go back in time and slap my past self twice.

Serves you right for not listening to me and not heeding my advice. Now you're getting your comeuppance!

Chen Fanglan's ability to accept things was better than she had imagined.

Perhaps it was because I had previously noticed a significant difference between Shen Xuewei and other children her age, so I accepted it quickly.

More importantly... for a seasoned reader who loves Hua Yunbi's works, she will always want to see more of Hua Yunbi's works in the future.

Being young is not a big deal; to be able to write such works at such a young age is remarkable.

In Chen Fanglan's view, a bright future awaits her.

She patted Shen Xuewei's shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, you've helped me so many times, I'll definitely keep this secret for you. It's just..."

She paused, then looked at Shen Xuewei with some anticipation.

"It's just... could you please not separate Lin Suhao and Fu Shi'an and let them be together?"

Lin Suhao and Fu Shi'an are the male and female protagonists in Shen Xuewei's novel "The Metamorphosis of the White Rose".

When Chen Fanglan saw that the two of them were not together, she lay in bed crying her eyes out, and she couldn't forget it for a long time.

Faced with her aunt's request, Shen Xuewei was speechless.

That book is so old.

After that book, she wrote one, two, three... several more. I never expected that she still wanted the two main characters to be together.

Shen Xuewei thought for a moment, "How about I write another version of the ending for you when I have time?"

She emphasized, "This version of the ending is only for you, Auntie. No other readers can see it. It's written just for you."

Upon hearing that the letter was written specifically for her, Chen Fanglan's face lit up with joy.

"Okay, don't worry, Auntie will definitely not show it to anyone else, she'll only see it herself."

Just as she was feeling pleased, Shen Xuewei pointed to the clock on the wall and kindly reminded her:

"Auntie, you only took two hours off, right? It's almost four o'clock, aren't you going to leave soon..."

Chen Fanglan screamed and quickly grabbed her things and went out.

"My salary, my job!"

As the door slammed shut, the room fell silent.