Chapter 128: Warning, Warning

The words "spy's daughter" made Qin Fang dizzy and sent a ringing in her ears. Her face was etched with shock, but she quickly snapped back to reality, whipping her head around to glare at Xu Lin.

"It’s you! You’re the one ruining my reputation! You… you are truly heartless."

Faced with Qin Fang’s accusation, Xu Lin let out a mocking laugh. She stepped forward and asked in a cold, sharp voice, "When did I ruin your reputation? Dare you say you aren’t the daughter of a spy? Dare you say your biological father isn't the spy Xu Chenglin? Dare you?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? I know who I am."

"You were raised by the Qin family, yes, but only because you have a pair of black-hearted parents who swapped us in secret. That is the only reason you grew up living in luxury with the Qin family. But that does not change the fact that your biological father is a spy. That is a truth you can never escape for the rest of your life."

Xu Lin’s words were resonant and firm. Qin Fang trembled with rage, unable to offer a rebuttal because she knew it was a truth she could not change. She had thought that by escaping to the countryside, no one would know, and as time passed, the world would forget. She never imagined that Xu Lin would dare to speak of it aloud.

"You—you bitch! You already accepted the compensation from the Qin family! Why are you bringing this up now?"

"You said it yourself, that was compensation, not hush money. Why shouldn't I talk about it? Besides, you were the one who followed me here to the countryside. Why shouldn't I expose you?" Xu Lin stared at Qin Fang with icy eyes. "Qin Fang, remember this: you are the one who wouldn't let me be. Since you dared to provoke me, you had better be prepared to bear the consequences."

In that moment, Xu Lin tore away the mask of false kindness, laying everything out in the open. Qin Fang was left panicked and at a loss. She looked helplessly at Su Liang, hoping he would step up to defend her and speak on her behalf. Fortunately, Su Liang’s mind was still clouded; his affection for Qin Fang was genuine, and he could not bear to see her mistreated. He stepped forward, shielding Qin Fang behind him and glaring at Xu Lin.

"Xu Lin, you are truly vicious. Do you have any idea how much this will affect Fang’er?"

"I'm vicious?" Xu Lin laughed, a sharp, cruel sound. "Then I can be even more vicious."

She pulled a letter from her pocket and waved it in the air. "Since you say I’m vicious, let everyone see exactly who the vicious one is."

Seeing the letter, for some reason, Qin Fang’s heart began to pound with intense unease.

"Everyone, do you know who wrote this letter to me?" Xu Lin asked.

Qian Li immediately chimed in loudly, "No, who wrote it?"

The other educated youths shook their heads, their curiosity piqued. Compared to electing a team leader, they found this catfight much more entertaining.

"This letter was written by Qin Zonghan, the eldest brother from Qin Fang’s adoptive family. Aren’t you all curious about what he wrote? And why he would write to someone who has already severed ties with the Qin family?"

"Curious! We're dying of curiosity!" Qian Li continued to play along, and the others echoed her. They were indeed desperate to know.

Xu Lin’s gaze flicked toward Qin Fang, her smile sending shivers down Qin Fang's spine. Only then did she speak slowly. "Actually, I was quite curious myself when I received this. I have never met this Comrade Qin Zonghan, nor have I ever been in contact with him. Why would he write to me? And what did he want me to do?"

"Right, what did he write? And what did he want you to do?" This time it was the local gossip, Liu Pandi, who spoke up. She was so curious she looked ready to snatch the letter and read it herself.

"Want to know? Whoever has the loudest voice can read it out for everyone," Xu Lin said, waving the letter.

"No, you can't do this!" Qin Fang panicked. Although she hadn't seen the contents, she knew it couldn't be anything good. "Reading someone else's mail is illegal! You can't do this!"

But Qin Fang’s protest only made everyone more curious. Before Xu Lin could retort, Liu Pandi spoke up. "Comrade Qin, did your language teacher teach you nothing? You said it's 'peeking,' but Comrade Xu is inviting us to read it. What kind of law are you talking about?"

Liu Pandi snatched the letter from Xu Lin’s hand. "I have a loud voice, I'll read it to everyone!"

"Great!" the other youths cheered, all eager for the drama. Even Du Yong, who was obsessed with becoming the team leader, couldn't help but be curious. If this letter could ruin Su Liang and Qin Fang’s chances in the election, that would be even better.

Seeing how anxious Qin Fang was, Su Liang frowned and whispered, "Do you know what's in that letter?"

Qin Fang jumped at the question and shook her head frantically. She didn't want Su Liang to have a bad impression of her. Her "favorability" rating could not afford to drop any further.

"I don't know! My brother didn't tell me about this. But... but that was a letter he wrote to her! How could she!" Qin Fang’s eyes reddened and tears began to roll down her cheeks, making her look quite pitiful.

Seeing her tears, Su Liang’s heart ached. After all, she was the girlfriend he had been doting on for years; he couldn't help but start comforting her. His favorability rating even went up a point.

Qin Fang felt a wave of contempt for him internally. *What a pathetic creature,* she thought. *He only likes me when I look miserable. Ha! Men are truly cheap.*

While they were busy with their display of affection, Liu Pandi had already begun reading the letter aloud. As she read, her expression toward Xu Lin shifted, and she began to look at Qin Fang with disdain. They all lived in the same dormitory; how could they not know that Xu Lin never bullied Qin Fang? Xu Lin barely even acknowledged her existence!

*What a joke,* she thought. *She’s already cut ties, yet she gets her own brother to write letters threatening and berating people to serve her? She’s ugly, but she sure has a high opinion of herself. Why doesn't she just fly to the moon?*

The other educated youths began to realize something was wrong as they listened. They looked at Qin Fang with strange, judgmental eyes. So, this was Qin Fang’s true face. *Tsk, tsk,* they thought. *I don't know what Su Liang sees in her, liking someone with so many hidden agendas.*

Although Su Liang was busy comforting Qin Fang, his ears were still active, and as he listened to Liu Pandi, he began to feel something was off. *Is Qin Zonghan crazy? Why send a letter like this from thousands of miles away? Wait—Xu Lin never had contact with him. How could he know her address? So...*

"Warning, warning: Target Su Liang’s favorability has dropped by 2 points. Host, please be alert, repair the relationship, and increase favorability."

Qin Fang, who was sobbing, nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. *What is this? I’m crying, and yet my favorability is still dropping? This is too much!*

"Did you write to Qin Zonghan to complain?" Su Liang asked, his face cold.

"I didn't! I didn't! I just mentioned in a letter that Linlin was assigned to the same place as me. I didn't know my brother would overthink it and write such a letter to Xu Lin!"