Chapter 136: Huang Qiang’s Plan

Zhuang Lili wore an expression of disbelief. She hadn't expected the matter of the letter to have spread throughout the entire settlement. However, Xia Yan’s current attitude baffled her even more—was she really not angry at all?

But then, a thought struck her: if the whole settlement knew, wouldn't there be a rift between Xia Yan and Lin You? And wouldn't that mean she might have a chance?

"Then..." Zhuang Lili feigned a look of panic. "What should we do? Won't Battalion Commander Lin’s reputation be... I should go to the broadcasting station and clarify everything."

As she spoke, Zhuang Lili made to stand up, but Xia Yan did not follow suit as expected. She remained seated, unfazed, and continued eating her meal.

"Xia Yan, why... why aren't you worried at all?"

"Worried? What good would it do? The matter has already spread; can I really control what others say?"

Just then, Zhuang Lili caught sight of two figures approaching from the corner of her eye. She immediately raised her voice: "Xia Yan, how can you be like this? Do you really not care about Battalion Commander Lin’s reputation at all?"

Zhuang Lili’s sudden change caught Xia Yan off guard. One moment she was feigning panic, and the next, she was acting all righteous. Soon, Xia Yan noticed the two figures not far outside the door and understood. It seemed Zhuang Lili was quite calculating.

Acting? Xia Yan was a professional. If you want to play the "green tea" card, then I’ll have to teach you a lesson.

"Lili, how... how can you say that about me? I was just asking... asking you, since you wrote a letter to my husband, why are you the one accusing me now?"

"I... when did I write a letter! I didn't write that letter!"

Zhuang Lili stared at the "pitiful" Xia Yan, stunned. She had already made it clear just a moment ago, and Xia Yan had seemed to believe her—why was she denying it now?

"You say it wasn't you, but your name is written on it. Lili, I know my grades were better than yours in high school and my family background was better too, but... Lin You is already married to me. How could you still write a love letter to him?" Xia Yan wiped away a tear, choking back sobs as she continued, "You just said I didn't care about my Lin You's reputation, but didn't you cause this whole mess yourself?"

Xia Yan wept, looking every bit the victim.

Zhuang Lili pointed at her, "You..."

At the doorway, Principal Li and Zhou Weimin looked displeased. Principal Li’s face was particularly dark. Only yesterday, he had been happy to have found Zhuang Lili to teach art, and she had even told him how close she was with Xia Yan. It seemed it was all a lie! He had heard about the incident with Lin You that morning, but he hadn't realized the female educated youth involved was Zhuang Lili. And now, this same Zhuang Lili was bullying Xia Yan.

With such poor character, he couldn't keep her.

"Teacher Zhuang, come to my office!"

"Principal Li, I..."

Zhuang Lili had intended to smear Xia Yan's reputation, but she realized she had only dug her own grave.

Zhou Weimin walked in and comforted her: "Teacher Xia, don't be sad. Everyone in the settlement knows Battalion Commander Lin’s character."

"Mhm, Teacher Zhou, how could I not trust my own husband? He has excellent judgment."

Once Xia Yan finished speaking, she went back to her meal, appearing like a completely different person from the delicate, sobbing woman of a moment ago. Zhou Weimin scratched his head; women certainly changed quickly.

In Principal Li’s office, he said, "Teacher Zhuang, I don't think this school job is a good fit for you."

"Principal Li, I really didn't write that letter, it was..." Zhuang Lili was desperate. The school job was much easier than working on the ranch, and the work points were higher.

"Are you implying that Teacher Xia is lying?" Principal Li raised an eyebrow and tapped the desk several times.

"She is lying!"

"Your name is on the letter! And you say Teacher Xia is lying?!" Principal Li stood up and pointed at her. "I heard every word you said just now!"

"Principal Li, Xia Yan really is lying. I had already explained everything to her before you arrived, and she believed me!" Zhuang Lili stomped her feet in frustration and added, "I even said I would go to the broadcasting station to clarify!"

"Clarify at the broadcasting station? Teacher Zhuang, I think you don't want to clarify—you want everyone to know you were the one who wrote it! Battalion Commander Lin is a hero of our settlement! You are trying to ruin his reputation!"

"Principal Li, I..."

Before Zhuang Lili could explain further, Principal Li cut her off: "Given your behavior, Teacher Zhuang, go back to the ranch! I will find Ma Mei to take over as the art teacher."

Ma Mei was another female educated youth at the ranch who was on bad terms with Zhuang Lili. Zhuang Lili looked at Principal Li as he sat back down, opened her mouth to speak, then turned and stomped out of the office in a huff.

When she returned to the staff office, Xia Yan was gone, but the other teachers had returned. However, they were all looking at Zhuang Lili with unfriendly eyes.

"How shameless!"

"Exactly, Xia Yan treated her like a friend, and she was eyeing someone else's husband!"

Zhuang Lili clenched her fists tightly; she couldn't bring herself to stay there any longer. Upon returning to the ranch, she immediately sought out Huang Qiang, who was working in the fields.

"Huang Qiang! Was this your doing?"

"Zhuang Lili? Shouldn't you be at school right now?" Huang Qiang put down his rake and wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.

"Never mind where I should be! I’m asking you, did you write that letter?"

Huang Qiang let out an "oh." "You mean that letter? Yes, I wrote it."

Seeing Huang Qiang admit it so easily, the accusations Zhuang Lili had prepared were suddenly useless. Huang Qiang set his rake aside. "Don't be so anxious. Come here."

"Don't touch me!" Zhuang Lili swatted his hand away.

Huang Qiang didn't get angry; instead, he smiled ingratiatingly. "I did this for your own good."

"For my good?! Do you know I’ve lost my school job because of this?" Zhuang Lili was furious.

Huang Qiang looked around to make sure no one was near, then whispered a few words into Zhuang Lili’s ear. Zhuang Lili frowned, as if considering something.

"Will this really work?"

Huang Qiang nodded. "Of course! You like Lin You, and I like Xia Yan. Only by breaking them up will we have a chance."

"But... what if Lin You ends up hating me because of this?"

Huang Qiang shook his head. "I have a plan. Once you get him into a compromised situation, will he be able to refuse responsibility?"

Zhuang Lili’s face flushed. She had tried to be clever and ended up suffering for it, but she was determined to get her revenge!

"Of course, the prerequisite is... you help me get Xia Yan first."

"How do you plan to get her? You want her too? Huang Qiang, I never realized you were such a despicable person."

Huang Qiang chuckled. "I am doing this for love!"