Chapter 3 — The Truth in the Schoolbag

Hsu Chih Ngan, did you not just claim that your backpack originally contained fifty thousand, and that I had stolen thirty thousand of it?

Why on earth does counting it now reveal a total of seventy thousand?

5

Headmaster Shao stepped forward, donning a pair of disposable gloves, and carefully lifted the stacks of cash out one by one.

Ten thousand.

Twenty thousand.

Thirty thousand.

Forty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

Sixty thousand.

Seventy thousand.

When the final number echoed across the grounds, the entire schoolyard fell completely, deathly silent. The stillness was profoundly eerie, as though every single person present had been simultaneously choked by an unseen hand. Hsu Chih Ngan stared blankly at the money scattered across the table, his lips trembling violently.

That is impossible...

His voice was barely a whisper, yet the microphone captured it with crystal clarity. I looked straight at him. What part of this is impossible? He abruptly jerked his head upward. I clearly... He caught himself halfway through the sentence and frantically forced the rest back down. I finished the thought for him. You clearly remember there only being twenty thousand in the bag, don't you? Hsu Chih Ngan's pupils contracted sharply. Hsu Yueh Wei immediately stepped forward to shield him.

Ha Chen, stop trying to lead him astray! He was just in a state of utter panic and saw things wrong.

I nodded smoothly. Let us assume he simply misread the situation. I turned my attention to her.

And what about you?

A moment ago, you claimed that the money was gathered through your own hard work, and you insisted with absolute certainty that the bag contained fifty thousand.

Now that the bag contains seventy thousand, how do you propose to explain this?

Hsu Yueh Wei began to stammer, entirely at a loss.

Perhaps... perhaps our relatives slipped another twenty thousand in without our knowledge.

The moment those words left her lips, even the students and teachers gathered below the stage began to frown in open skepticism. A cold laugh escaped me.

How remarkably convenient.

When fifty thousand was the required sum, you happened to claim there was fifty thousand.

When opening the bag revealed seventy thousand, it suddenly transformed into relatives secretly adding another twenty thousand.

So when Hsu Chih Ngan declared just moments ago that only twenty thousand remained, why did neither of you suggest that relatives might have added more funds?

Hsu Yueh Wei's expression turned dark and sullen. Do not push things too far. Ignoring her entirely, I withdrew my phone.

Mr. Principal, Headmaster Shao, I have video evidence.

The first clip was recorded immediately after I retrieved the backpack near the flower bed outside the courtyard. In the video, the zipper is pulled open, clearly revealing two stacks of cash resting inside. I did not reach in or rummage through the contents; I merely filmed the name tag and the visible currency. The second clip was captured in front of the automated teller machine on the first floor of the academic building. The footage shows me withdrawing fifty thousand in cash, counting it thoroughly before the camera, and then placing it directly into the backpack. The third recording captures the exact moment I handed the backpack over to the principal's office and had Headmaster Shao log it into the record. A complete timeline. Unmistakable locations. Every single step corroborated by security cameras. I connected my phone to the stage's computer system, and the video projected onto the massive screen overhead. Over three thousand teachers and students stared up at the display in absolute stillness. Not a single person uttered a sound. Once the footage concluded, I lifted the microphone once more.

Hsu Chih Ngan, from the very beginning, your backpack contained only twenty thousand.

Fearing that you would fail to explain yourself clearly if the money went missing, I added fifty thousand of my own right under the surveillance cameras.

That is precisely why the backpack now holds seventy thousand.

I paused for a fraction of a second.

Why, then, did you claim earlier that only twenty thousand was left?

Tears still clung to Hsu Chih Ngan's cheeks. This time, the performance was entirely gone; he was genuinely, deeply terrified.

I... I was simply too anxious and miscalculated.

I let out another cold chuckle.

Miscalculated?

You managed to mistake seven stacks of cash for two?

Was your initial claim of fifty thousand also a miscalculation?

Was your assertion that thirty thousand was missing another mistake?

And was your accusation that I am a thief likewise a mere error in judgment?

With every question I posed, the color drained further from his face. The head of the grade stood below the stage, looking utterly wretched. She had been the very first person to interrogate and accuse me, yet now she could not even bring herself to meet my gaze.

6

Hsu Yueh Wei attempted to speak up, but I cut her off instantly, my tone growing even frostier.

And as for you, Hsu Yueh Wei.

A moment ago, you demanded that the principal issue a severe disciplinary mark against me, loudly questioning whether I was worthy of early admission to the top universities.

Now, the evidence proves not only that I did not steal a single cent, but that I actually supplemented your funds with fifty thousand of my own.

Should you not now explain why the two of you sang in such perfect harmony, desperate to pin the crime of theft upon me before the money was even counted?

Hsu Yueh Wei's face turned ashen white. This time, not a single soul in the entire schoolyard stepped forward to defend her. Yet I knew this alone was still not enough. They could claim it was a mistake. They could call it a misunderstanding. They could excuse it by citing the panic of a medical emergency. I slid my finger across my screen and opened a different file.

You claimed this money was life-saving funds that absolutely had to be submitted today, did you not?

Hsu Chih Ngan's crying abruptly choked off. I looked up toward the grand screen.

This is the public charity donation link personally shared by Hsu Chih Ngan himself. The project completion page, updated three days ago, clearly shows that the Morning Star Charitable Foundation has already settled all medical treatment expenses for his mother during this phase.

This is the public roster published on the foundation's official website.

And this is a screenshot of a post from his personal social media page, bearing the caption: Thank you to all the kind souls; my mother can finally receive her treatment in peace.

Image after image appeared sequentially on the screen. The dates, the monetary amounts, and the project status were all laid bare for everyone to see.