I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Chen Dapeng was woken up by his phone vibrating at seven o'clock on Sunday morning.

It wasn't a phone call, it was a WeChat message.

Lin Chen sent several messages in a row, each one more urgent than the last.

"Dapeng, have you checked the local forum in Qingshun County?"

"Someone is posting online to smear your county magistrate."

"Look, the number of shares is already huge."

Chen Dapeng sat up abruptly, rubbed his eyes, and clicked on the link sent by Lin Chen.

The page loaded for a few seconds, and then a post popped up.

The headline, in bold red font, read: "He Ying, the Parachuted-In County Head: Ignorant of Local Conditions, Blindly Giving Orders, Wasting Public Resources!"

Chen Dapeng was instantly wide awake.

He scrolled down; the post was very detailed, listing one by one the "problems" He Ying had faced since taking office.

She was accused of not understanding the actual situation in Qingshun County and blindly pushing forward rural revitalization projects.

She was accused of vetoing additional funding for the expansion project of the Liuhe Town Economic Development Zone, disregarding local development.

They said she practiced nepotism, constantly transferring young people in the government office, causing widespread anxiety.

Each point is ambiguous, each point carries emotion, and each point implies one thing—He Ying is not suitable to be the county magistrate.

Chen Dapeng scrolled down further, and the comments section became even more lively.

Someone chimed in, "Exactly! He's from the provincial capital, what does he know about county affairs?"

Some people questioned, "He became a county magistrate at thirty, what were you doing at thirty? What's there to be so sour about?"

Some people even made sarcastic remarks: "A thirty-year-old at the level of a department head, guess who's behind her?"

The post was published at around 1 a.m., and in less than six hours, it has already received over 10,000 views and more than 200 replies.

Chen Dapeng then opened several local WeChat groups and found that the same post was being forwarded in different groups.

Someone tagged everyone in the group, asking everyone to "come and see the 'achievements' of our new county magistrate."

He left the WeChat group, opened He Ying's chat window, and wanted to send her a message asking if she had seen it.

My finger hovered above the screen, hesitated for a few seconds, and then I quit.

She must have seen it.

He didn't need to tell her this.

Chen Dapeng put down his phone, got dressed, washed his face, and went out.

He was going to work.

Although it was Sunday, he knew that He Ying must be in the office.

He paused for a moment when he reached the entrance of the government compound.

Two local news vehicles were parked at the entrance of the compound, and several reporters carrying cameras were standing at the gate, talking to the security guard.

Chen Dapeng strode inside and went up to the fourth floor.

The corridor was quiet, but the door to He Ying's office was ajar, and light was shining through.

He walked over and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He Ying's voice sounded calm, but Chen Dapeng could hear the weariness beneath that calm.

He pushed open the door and went in. He Ying was sitting behind her desk, her computer screen lit up, and a cup of coffee that had gone cold was next to her.

She wore a simple white shirt today, her hair was down, she wasn't wearing makeup, and she had faint dark circles under her eyes.

"County Magistrate He."

"Sit down." He Ying gestured with her chin toward the chair opposite her.

Chen Dapeng sat down opposite her, looked at her, and didn't know what to say.

"You saw it all?" He Ying asked.

"I saw it."

He Ying nodded, picked up her coffee cup, found it was cold, and put it down again.

What do you think?

Chen Dapeng thought for a moment: "The post is very professionally written; it's not something an ordinary person could write. Every point is spot-on, and every point hits the mark in a way that easily evokes emotion."

"Anything else?"

"The post was made at around 1 a.m., a time when most people are asleep. This indicates that the poster intentionally chose this time to let the post spread overnight, so that it would be widely known by the time people woke up in the morning."

He Ying's lips twitched slightly, as if she were smiling, but not quite.

"You have a very keen eye."

Chen Dapeng did not respond.

He Ying leaned back in her chair, looking at the ceiling.

"Fang Mingyuan has started a propaganda war."

Chen Dapeng had already guessed it, but hearing it from He Ying's mouth carried a different weight.

"How do you plan to deal with this?"

He Ying did not answer immediately.

She stood up, walked to the window, and looked downstairs.

Inside the courtyard, the reporters were still standing at the entrance, as if waiting for someone.

"I can't respond." He Ying turned around and looked at him. "The more you respond to this kind of thing, the more complicated it becomes. They'll seize on every word you say, take it out of context, and keep stirring things up."

"So, you're just going to watch like this?"

"It's not about watching." He Ying walked back behind her desk and sat down. "It's about waiting. Waiting for this momentum to pass, waiting for them to reveal their weaknesses on their own."

Chen Dapeng fell silent.

He knew He Ying was right—the best way to deal with this kind of propaganda war is not to respond.

Because the other party's goal is to get you to respond.

If you respond, they win.

But not responding doesn't mean doing nothing.

"County Chief He," Chen Dapeng began, "can you find out who posted this?"

He Ying looked at him, her gaze holding something indescribable.

"You want to investigate?"

"I can give it a try."

He Ying remained silent for a few seconds.

"Don't investigate. It's too dangerous."

Chen Dapeng knew what she meant by "danger"—investigating the poster was tantamount to investigating Fang Mingyuan.

Fang Mingyuan has already set his sights on him. If he investigates this matter further, it will be tantamount to putting himself directly under Fang Mingyuan's gun.

"So, how do you plan to deal with this?"

"I've already sent Su Wanqing to find out what's going on." He Ying picked up her now-cold coffee, took a sip, and said, "She's been in the county for so many years, she knows a lot of people, and she can find out some information."

Chen Dapeng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The office fell silent, save for the hum of the computer towers.

"Dapeng," He Ying suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

Are you scared?

Chen Dapeng was taken aback for a moment: "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of getting involved. I'm afraid of being targeted. I'm afraid that one day, someone will write about you like this online."

Chen Dapeng looked into He Ying's eyes and remained silent for a few seconds.

"I'm not afraid."

He Ying looked at him, her gaze holding something indescribable.

Why?

"Because...because what you did was right." Chen Dapeng's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "The right thing is not afraid of what people say."

He Ying stared at him for a long time, and finally the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"Thank you."

Chen Dapeng shook his head: "You're welcome."

He stood up.

"County Chief He, I'll be going now. Please feel free to call me if you need anything."

"it is good."

Chen Dapeng turned to leave, but He Ying called him back when he reached the door.

"Dapeng".

He stopped and turned around.

"Tell your friend from the provincial capital not to contact us for the time being. Fang Mingyuan's people might already be watching us."

Chen Dapeng's heart tightened, and he nodded: "I understand."

He left the office and gently closed the door behind him.

The corridor was empty. He stood there and took a deep breath.

Then he took out his phone and sent a message to Lin Chen.

"Don't contact me lately. Fang Mingyuan's people might be watching me."

Lin Chen quickly replied: "I saw it. Your county's forum is very lively with posts."

"County Chief He said he couldn't respond and could only wait."

"What is she waiting for?"

Chen Dapeng thought for a moment and replied, "Wait until the other side shows a weakness."

Lin Chen did not reply.

Chen Dapeng put his phone in his pocket and went downstairs.

When we arrived at the gate, the two news vans were still parked there.

Several reporters saw him come out and surrounded him.

"Hello, are you a staff member of the county government?"