Chapter 108: The Letter Is Read in Secret

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When Xu Lin returned, Han Hong and the others greeted her cheerfully. After a few words of concern, they retreated back to their rooms. However, when Hu Changming handed over two letters, his expression was somewhat awkward. Xu Lin scrutinized Hu Changming’s face carefully, and soon her expression darkened. She looked down at the envelopes and said in a low voice, “You snooped through my letters.” Her tone was a statement, not a question, which made Hu Changming even more flustered.

“I didn’t, I didn’t. You’re slandering me,” he stammered, unable to meet Xu Lin’s gaze, his eyes filled with guilt. “Is that so?” Xu Lin waved the envelopes in her hand. “Both these letters show signs of being opened, and one was sent from the military camp. If you didn’t snoop, then I’ll report it to the authorities.” Hearing the threat of a report, Hu Changming’s nervousness deepened. If word got out that military mail had been tampered with, he would face serious consequences.

“How can you be sure it was me? Maybe it was the delivery man,” Hu Changming’s voice grew weaker until it faded away. At that moment, Han Hong and Zhang Qiang, among others, opened their doors and stepped out—not out of eavesdropping, but because the rooms had poor sound insulation. Hearing Hu Changming’s loud denials, their curiosity and concern grew; none of them wanted their letters secretly read by him.

“Xu Zhiqing, what’s going on?” Han Hong asked as he approached Xu Lin.

“Look, my letters have been opened,” Xu Lin showed the two envelopes to Han Hong. One was from Aunt Guihua, and the other came from the military, sent by someone named Qin Zonghan. If her guess was right, Qin Zonghan was her elder brother whom she had never met. She had no idea why he wrote to her.

What angered Xu Lin most was that someone had read her letters without permission. Han Hong took the envelopes and examined them, his face darkening as he glanced sharply at Hu Changming.

“The letters have definitely been opened. If you can’t be certain who did it, then report it to the authorities.” Zhang Qiang, Huang Zishu, and Lin Zihao also gathered around, especially Huang Zishu and Lin Zihao, whose expressions were the most displeased. They exchanged a glance, relief flickering in their eyes. Fortunately, their families had always been cautious, never mentioning anything directly in their letters but using coded language instead. Had they written plainly, their secrets might already have fallen into Hu Changming’s hands.

“No, it’s not like that, it can’t be,” Hu Changming’s confidence dwindled, his face turning pale.

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“Why not?” Han Hong’s face hardened. “Longguo has clear laws—snooping through others’ letters is illegal.” As he spoke, Han Hong narrowed his eyes and sized up Hu Changming from head to toe. He had expected a sycophant but hadn’t anticipated such a corrupt heart. How dare he even open letters? And did he have any leverage over someone at the Youth Placement Center?

“I... I...” Hu Changming was visibly jittery, casting a pleading look.

“If you don’t provide a reasonable explanation, then we’ll report it,” Xu Lin cut in, giving him no chance to escape. She folded the letters and prepared to leave.

“Wait, wait!” Hu Changming looked back toward the room. Du Yong, his roommate, still hadn’t come out. A sudden idea sparked in Hu Changming’s eyes. “It wasn’t me who looked. It was Du Yong. He, he wanted to find something to use against you all, to leverage the influence behind you to get back to the city.”

As Hu Changming spoke, he convinced himself more and more, nodding emphatically. Xu Lin could only stare at him in disbelief. At first, she had noticed Hu Changming’s shifty eyes and scheming mind but hadn’t paid much attention. She never expected him to be so devious and skillful at underhanded tricks.

It was a pity for Du Yong—his family situation wasn’t good, he wasn’t favored, yet he ended up befriending someone like Hu Changming. One could only say Du Yong was hopelessly blind. Worse still, considering all the things Du Yong had done to curry favor with Qin Fang and Su Liang, Xu Lin was even more exasperated. Not only blind but deaf to warnings—this man was beyond saving.

Though Xu Lin despised Du Yong, she refused to go along with Hu Changming’s excuse. She stared coldly at him and said indifferently, “Since you won’t tell the truth, let the authorities investigate. I trust their capability.”

With that, Xu Lin turned and left, unwilling to waste more time. Alarmed, Hu Changming immediately grabbed her sleeve. What kind of person was this? Reporting to the police at the drop of a hat? This matter could not be reported—if an investigation found the truth, he would be finished.

With no other choice, Hu Changming confessed. Yes, he had opened the letters and resealed them with glue. As for why, that story began one day in May last year.

That day, the whole team was on holiday; everyone went to the commune or county town, except Hu Changming. The mail carrier delivered the letters to the Youth Placement Center only to find that all the youths were out having fun.

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With no one else around, Hu Changming, as team leader, had to collect the letters. One of them was from Wu Siyu. When it reached Hu Changming’s hands, it was already partially opened. That’s when temptation took hold. Unable to resist, he opened the letter to look inside—and to his delight, he found twenty yuan tucked within.

He carefully read through the letter but found no mention of the money. So Hu Changming pocketed the twenty yuan. Encouraged by this taste of sweetness, he began opening other letters, reading them, then resealing with glue.

From then on, Hu Changming developed the habit of snooping through others’ mail. Besides money, he realized that the contents of the letters could also be used for blackmail.

One victim was Fu Yaqin, a native of Huacheng, close to Gangcheng. Some of her relatives had fled to Gangcheng, which was a serious matter in those times. Such a stain could ruin Fu Yaqin and her family.

Fu Yaqin’s mother wrote to warn her to be cautious and to stay quietly in the countryside as a youth placement for the next two years without thinking about returning to the city.

Holding this secret over her, Hu Changming extorted twenty yuan a month from Fu Yaqin for living expenses. This allowed the unloved and uncherished Hu Changming’s lifestyle to improve dramatically, and he became addicted to this illicit gain.

Originally, Hu Changming had intended to marry Fu Yaqin and live off her. But Fu Yaqin was no pushover. She was willing to give money but refused to marry him and bind her life to him.

She even threatened that if her relatives’ secret was exposed, she would drag Hu Changming down with her. Frightened, Hu Changming abandoned his plans to marry her, though the monthly extortion increased from twenty to thirty yuan. It was only because Fu Yaqin’s family cared for her that she paid to keep trouble at bay.

Reflecting on his misdeeds, Hu Changming felt uneasy and deeply regretted crossing paths with Xu Lin. This young woman was truly not someone to be trifled with.