Chapter 10 — The Truth in the Schoolbag

Mr. Hua’s eyes were bloodshot as he spoke, his voice trembling with desperation. They are still just children, he pleaded, acting out of momentary foolishness and clouded judgment. Zhi Nyan’s mother has a very delicate heart and weak health; she simply cannot endure such severe emotional shocks. If you involve the police and saddle them with official criminal records, their entire lives will be completely ruined.

I looked straight at him and asked a simple question. When they actively conspired to completely ruin my life, did you have any inkling of care or awareness?

He froze, his breath catching in his throat.

I pressed on, my voice steady. Three thousand students and teachers standing in the courtyard for the morning flag-raising ceremony heard every single word. He stood before the entire school and accused me of stealing money from vulnerable patients, declaring that I was utterly unworthy of my early college admission recommendation. Viet Vy had already researched the disciplinary consequences beforehand, meticulously drafting a script, and publicly pressured the principal to slap me with a major disciplinary infraction.

And now, you stand here and tell me they were merely temporarily foolish?

Mr. Hua’s lips quivered uncontrollably, but no sound came out.

But... but nothing actually happened to you, right? Your recommendation quota is still completely intact.

A cold, bitter laugh escaped my lips. It was always this exact same refrain. Nothing happened. As long as you do not literally die, it apparently counts as nothing happening. As long as your life is not utterly destroyed, you are supposed to be overwhelmingly grateful for their mercy in sparing you.

I am fine only because I meticulously preserved the evidence, not because they possessed a shred of basic decency, I replied coldly. If I had lacked the proof to defend myself, the one whose life was ruined beyond repair today would be standing right here in my place.

Mr. Hua suddenly stumbled forward, his knees buckling as he nearly collapsed onto the floor in a desperate plea.

Consider this my final, absolute prayer to you. Please.

I took a sharp step backward.

Do not kneel. Kneeling is completely useless.

The surrounding corridor fell into an absolute, suffocating silence. I locked my eyes onto his. I will pursue this matter to the very end, and I will not let it go.

After the security guards escorted Mr. Hua away from the premises, the video footage of the confrontation was uploaded to the internet. This time, public sentiment had shifted dramatically, and the overwhelming majority of the comments stood firmly on my side.

Stop trying to weaponize hollow concepts of morality to bully and silence the actual victim.

Are we seriously supposed to excuse malicious defamation by simply calling them children who do not know any better? They are seniors in high school, not toddlers.

If Ha Tran had not been smart enough to secure irrefutable evidence, just how utterly destroyed and tragic would her life be right now?

His precious little sister is the most malicious of all, directly targeting her hard-earned college recommendation eligibility.

Naturally, there were still a few detractors who chimed in, claiming I was being excessively cold and unforgiving.

You were classmates after all, there is no need to hound them relentlessly and cut off all their paths of survival.

I casually tapped on the profile of the user who posted that comment. Just the day before, that exact same account had shared a tearful video of Zhi Nyan crying, accompanied by the malicious caption: Someone who steals life-saving money does not deserve to attend a prestigious university. I calmly took a screenshot of the post. Then, I published a public statement of my own.

I will not accept any private settlements. Every single person who has publicly fabricated lies and spread defamatory rumors accusing me of theft has been screenshotted and logged as evidence. Please be prepared to bear the legal consequences of your words.

Within half an hour of my post going live, numerous defamatory articles and posts began disappearing from the feeds. Private messages flooded my inbox. Some apologized profusely, begging me to drop the matter. Others whimpered that they had merely been following the mindless crowd. I carefully selected the accounts with the highest reach and the ringleaders who had initiated the campus whispers, handing the comprehensive dossiers directly to my attorney.

The lawyer was an alumnus introduced by a senior schoolmate currently studying at a top university. She told me over the phone: You did wonderfully well. Never be afraid of troublesome procedures; the entire point of protecting your legitimate rights is to make the wrongdoers face the consequences and feel the profound trouble they brought upon you.

One week later, the official police investigation findings and the school’s strict disciplinary rulings were released simultaneously to the public.

Because Zhi Nyan had maliciously fabricated falsehoods in a public setting, purposefully pointed fingers at an innocent individual for theft, and caused severe societal and campus-wide fallout, he was handed a formal major demerit, stripped of all eligibility for financial subsidies and academic honors for the year, and his previous crowd-funding campaigns raised under false pretenses were subjected to a thorough financial audit and ordered to be fully refunded.

Viet Vy, having orchestrated and driven the malicious harassment campaign, abusing student council resources to print unauthorized materials, manipulating campus forum discussions to guide public opinion, and instigating public punishment, was stripped of her provisional early-admission qualification, removed from the competition team nominations, and given a major disciplinary record. The school officially forwarded the unvarnished details of her conduct to the college admissions authorities.

The head grade supervisor, due to mishandling the situation and making biased, emotionally charged statements before verifying the basic facts, was immediately demoted and transferred away from the top senior class.

Principal Dam offered a formal, public apology during the full-school assembly.

On that day, the massive school athletic field was packed tightly with students and faculty. He stood tall upon the elevated platform, his voice heavy with solemn regret.

During the initial stages of this unfortunate incident, the school administration allowed itself to be swayed by raw emotions, issuing premature disciplinary opinions before a thorough and objective verification of the evidence could be completed. This constitutes a severe dereliction of our institutional duty.

We offer our most solemn and sincere apology to student Ha Tran.

Beneath the stage, the crowd remained as silent as a deep, unrippled pool of water. I stood quietly within my class formation, shedding no tears. In my past life, an apology of this exact magnitude was the single thing I had yearned for above all else. Yet, as I finally heard it spoken aloud, I realized with startling clarity that it could never truly make up for anything. It could not resurrect the academic future that had been ruthlessly severed in my previous life. It could not erase the vicious abuse and humiliation my parents had been forced to endure. It could not reverse the suffocating despair I felt as I plummeted from the rooftop.

Yet, in this lifetime, this public truth at least served to declare to every single person listening: I never stole anything. Not once, ever.

One month prior to the national college entrance examinations, the official confirmation letter verifying my direct admission to the premier university finally arrived in the mail. My classmates crowded around my desk, offering warm, effusive congratulations. Some were entirely sincere, while others offered cautious, calculated smiles of flattery. I met every single one of them with polite, measured grace.

Zhi Nyan had already transferred out of the district. Word had it that he was forced to enroll as a repeating student at a very ordinary, low-ranking high school far away.