Chapter 130: Chapter 130—A Spy’s Spawn, Truly a Wretched Bastard
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Xu Lin added Wu Qi to the note, folded it, and dropped it into the box.
Seeing how quickly Xu Lin had written down a name, the other educated youths hurried to do the same.
Du Yong also finished writing his name in short order, then strode toward Qin Fang’s room.
At Qin Fang’s door, Su Liang was comforting her through the tightly closed door. It was a habit Su Liang had developed over many years.
His consolation, however, sounded utterly feeble. No one knew what he was really thinking.
When he saw Du Yong approaching, Su Liang quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Educated Youth Du, is something wrong?” Su Liang asked.
“Yes. Everyone is holding an anonymous vote to elect the team leaders.” Du Yong handed Su Liang the paper and pen. “One man and one woman will be chosen. You should write down your vote too.”
Su Liang accepted the paper, a puzzled look still on his face. How had things changed so quickly? Now they were choosing one male and one female team leader?
Some new complication had arisen in the blink of an eye.
When Su Liang prepared to write down a name, Du Yong began knocking on Qin Fang’s door again.
“Educated Youth Qin, we’re holding an anonymous vote now. Please come out and write down the people you wish to vote for.”
Inside the room, Qin Fang was frantic, scratching her head and ears. She had no mind for an election. If she had not needed to preserve her image, she would have cursed him outright.
Qin Fang wiped her face and replied in a deliberately weak voice, “Educated Youth Du, I’m not feeling well. Please cast my vote for me.”
“All right, all right. Who would you like to vote for?” Du Yong asked.
“Anyone,” Qin Fang said. Then she sobbed a few more times, reminding Du Yong that she was in a foul mood and did not want to be disturbed.
Du Yong could only stand outside and offer her a few words of comfort. Once Su Liang had finished writing, Du Yong took the paper, pen, and ink brush and left.
Halfway back, he wrote another ballot before returning to the group.
By then, the voting was nearly complete. No one paid any attention when Du Yong dropped two slips of paper into the box.
Soon, they moved on to the counting of the votes. Du Yong remained tense throughout, hovering nearby and following every step, terrified that a single name might be read incorrectly.
Even so, his expression gradually darkened. He discovered that he had received only three votes.
One was his own, one belonged to Su Liang, and one came from Qin Fang—though that ballot had been written for her by him.
As for Su Liang’s vote, Du Yong had been watching him the whole time. Su Liang had been too embarrassed to write down either his own name or someone else’s.
Only then did Du Yong realize how poor his standing was among the educated youths.
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At that moment, Du Yong finally understood that he had made the wrong move.
Even if he brought Hu Changming down, he had gained nothing from it.
Now, the only people he could hold on to were Su Liang and Qin Fang, the young lady and young master from the capital.
Du Yong lowered his head, concealing the hatred in his eyes, and silently retreated to a corner, once again assuming the appearance of an honest, simple-minded man.
Xu Lin caught the change in Du Yong’s expression and sighed inwardly. He was truly good at pretending—exceptionally good.
A man like that was frightening. He was a potential member of the “Phoenix Brand” cadre of worthless men.
In the end, Wu Qi became the leader of the male educated youths, while Liu Pandi became the leader of the female educated youths. The two of them would jointly manage the educated youth compound.
Zhou Chen and Chen Zhaodi, who had also failed to win, withdrew with dejected expressions. It would probably take them two days to recover their composure.
Wu Qi and Liu Pandi each gave a speech, declaring that they would serve everyone wholeheartedly and help the educated youths make progress together.
After a few brief remarks, the meeting was dismissed. Xu Lin hurried back to her room. Good heavens, the delay had carried things past seven o’clock, and she had not even eaten dinner.
Before Xu Lin reached her room, however, Wang Facai’s voice rang out from the brigade loudspeaker.
“Educated Youth Qin Fang, Educated Youth Qin Fang, you have a telephone call. Please report to the brigade office in ten minutes to take it.”
The announcement was repeated several times before finally stopping.
Xu Lin did not care who was calling Qin Fang. She entered her room, picked up a sweet potato, and began eating. At the same time, she activated a mind-reading technique to see what Qin Fang was thinking.
Unfortunately, Qin Fang was crying so hard that she was doing nothing but curse Xu Lin in her heart and under her breath. She was thinking of nothing else, which irritated Xu Lin immensely.
Xu Lin had no interest in seeking out abuse, so she immediately ended the mind-reading technique.
After eating her fill, Xu Lin slipped into her space. She took a hot bath, drank a cup of spirit spring water, and began cultivating.
Qin Fang’s eyes and nose were red from crying. Under Wang Facai’s urging, she sniffled her way to the brigade office.
Su Liang accompanied her in silence the entire time. Their relationship was quietly changing; the closeness and harmony they had shared when they first arrived in the countryside were already gone.
When Qin Fang picked up the phone, she had expected to hear concern from her family. Instead, a torrent of accusations came crashing down on her.
Her father flew into a rage, repeatedly demanding to know why she had written that letter to Qin Zonghan.
Since she knew Xu Lin had already severed ties with the Qin family, why had she written such a letter?
Why provoke a sibling affection that did not even exist between them? What was the point?
If Xu Lin had been willing to take care of Qin Fang, would she have cut ties with the Qin family?
She knew perfectly well that she had made an unreasonable request, yet she had still had the nerve to put it forward. What had she been thinking? What was she trying to do?
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Did she have to ruin the eldest son’s future before she would be satisfied?
Thinking about what had happened to his eldest son, Qin Fang’s father was consumed by fury.
Originally, he had had two sons: one serving in the military and the other pursuing a political career. They had been advancing and developing within their respective systems.
To support his two sons, the Qin family had made extensive use of connections and favors.
The old patriarch had not even dared to retire formally, afraid that once he stepped down, he would no longer be able to help his eldest grandson.
But now—now his eldest son’s future was ruined.
With such a stain on his record, he would never be able to wash it clean in this lifetime.
At that moment, Qin Fang’s father regretted everything. He should never have kept Qin Fang around merely to climb into the good graces of the Su family.
The daughter of a spy was indeed a vile wretch, unfit to appear in respectable company.
Qin Fang had grown up, yet this was the first time she had ever been scolded so brutally. Worst of all, the Qin family’s favorability toward her was plummeting.
It had not fallen into negative numbers, but it had dropped below the passing line. For Qin Fang, this was truly adding frost to snow.
She felt that life had become impossibly difficult.
Fortunately, after Qin Fang’s father finished berating her, her mother took the phone. Qin Fang’s mother did not curse her, but her tone was full of reproach.
At the same time, she made her own demand: no matter what, Qin Fang had to secure Su Liang.
If all else failed, Qin Fang was to marry him in the countryside. As long as the two of them obtained a marriage certificate, the Su family would have no choice but to accept the marriage.
The Qin family now had to strengthen its relationship with the Su family if it wanted to advance further.
Qin Fang’s mother even hinted that if Qin Fang could not end up with Su Liang, the Qin family might no longer have a place for her.
Qin Fang was furious and humiliated. Knowing what kind of people her family were was one thing; having it happen to her personally was something else entirely.
In the end, Qin Fang could only grit her teeth and claim that her relationship with Su Liang was excellent. As for registering their marriage in the countryside, she admitted that the idea had tempted her.
A rift had appeared in her relationship with Su Liang. If she wanted to raise his favorability toward her again, marriage would be an excellent choice.
Besides, once she married Su Liang, the Su family would have no choice but to accept reality. They might even take her in after learning of the marriage.
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