Chapter 6 — The Truth in the Schoolbag

Why are you inquiring about the moral blemish of a direct-admission student and the eligibility status of the runner-up candidate?

She lifted her head, her eyes webbed with fine, bloodshot veins.

I was only asking out of idle curiosity.

I nearly laughed aloud. Idle curiosity. So curious that she had publicly exposed the matter during the flag-raising ceremony. So curious that she had asked whether the school would temporarily suspend the recommendation dossiers. So curious that she had inquired if the alternate candidate still stood a chance. This was a remarkably precise instance of idle curiosity. Department Head Shao spoke in a chilling tone, Xu Viet Vy, you are a member of the academic competition team; surely you ought to know that every computer lab and printing room in this school records a history of usage. Xu Viet Vy ground her teeth, I never claimed that Tri Ngan framed him for stealing money. Xu Tri Ngan abruptly turned his gaze toward her. That look was fraught with a mixture of astonishment and terror. I understood instantly. The brother and sister had begun cutting ties to shirk responsibility. Xu Viet Vy pressed on, I was merely worried that mother's medical expenses would fall short, so I checked the direct-admission regulations. The draft was simply a cry for help I penned on Tri Ngan's behalf; he was overwhelmed by emotion at the time and misspoke. Xu Tri Ngan clutched at this lifeline, nodding repeatedly.

Indeed, I misspoke; I truly just miscounted the money. I never meant to harm Ha Tran.

I turned my gaze to Principal Dam.

Principal Dam, what if I had not prepared the evidence in advance?

The conference room fell into a heavy silence. I pronounced every single word with deliberate clarity:

If I had not placed additional money into the schoolbag beneath the surveillance camera, if I had not recorded the video, if I had not uncovered the forum post, would the person sitting here under interrogation be me instead?

The grade head's face turned ashen. I continued, Out on the school grounds just moments ago, Xu Tri Ngan publicly demanded that the school penalize me.

Xu Viet Vy even openly questioned my worthiness for direct admission to top universities, urging the teacher to slap me with a major disciplinary mark.

And you agreed to it right there in front of the entire school, Headmaster.

Principal Dam’s lips twitched, but no sound escaped them. I looked back at the siblings.

Now that the two of you can simply claim a visual mistake, a slip of the tongue, or idle curiosity, are you trying to brush all of this off as a mere misunderstanding?

Weeping bitterly, Xu Tri Ngan cried out, Ha Tran, won't you please forgive me? I was genuinely terrified for my mother’s life... I cut him off sharply, Do not keep using your mother as a human shield. His entire body went rigid. I slid the conclusion page of the fundraising project across the table toward him.

Your mother's illness is real.

But your exploitation of her illness to fabricate a life-saving theft is equally real.

A patient's sickness is not a golden talisman that excuses your lies.

Xu Tri Ngan’s sobs choked off in his throat. Xu Viet Vy stared fixedly at me, then abruptly spoke up, Then how do you account for you slipping fifty thousand into his bag? By what authority did you presume to touch his belongings? If the money had gone missing, who would have borne the responsibility? This was precisely the question I had been waiting for her to ask. I drew forth a duplicate of the lost-and-found registration log.

After recovering the schoolbag, I restored it to its original condition before withdrawing cash from the ATM. The entire sequence is captured on camera.

The bag was subsequently handed over to the school administration for registration; I did not surrender it arbitrarily to anyone.

I placed the money inside solely to demonstrate that the actual sum in the bag did not correspond with the amount you intended to use to incriminate me.

Xu Viet Vy gave a cold laugh, So you managed to foresee what he was going to say? Isn't this trap entirely of your own engineering? I looked straight into her eyes.

I did indeed anticipate that someone would exploit this schoolbag to frame me.

Because yesterday evening, you were asking far too many detailed questions on the anonymous forum.

And this morning, prior to my public announcement regarding the discovery of the schoolbag, you sent me a message.

Your flaws were simply too numerous. It was not a trap set by me; it was your own frantic impatience.

Principal Dam slammed his palm heavily against the tabletop.

Enough.

He glared at the brother and sister, his voice cold and unrelenting.

The school will immediately establish an investigative committee to retrieve all surveillance footage, computer lab and print room logs, and administrative data from the forum.

Pending the conclusion of this investigation, Xu Tri Ngan’s subsidy applications and award considerations are suspended entirely, and Xu Viet Vy’s qualification for the direct-admission reserve list is revoked.

Xu Viet Vy jerked her head up, Headmaster! Principal Dam looked down at her, You should consider yourself fortunate that this remains strictly an internal investigation for now. I spoke up, Principal Dam, I intend to report this to the police. Every eye in the room pivoted toward me. The last trace of blood drained completely from Xu Tri Ngan’s face.

Ha Tran, we are schoolmates...

I let out a low laugh.

When you branded me a thief before the entire school, did you remember that we were schoolmates?

Weeping, he shook his head, I didn't actually manage to harm you in the end. Haven't you already proven your innocence? I stared at him, feeling as though something sharp were slicing deep within my chest. In my past life, I failed to prove my innocence. I died. My parents aged a decade in a single night. Until the very moment I drew my last breath, I carried the infamous stain of a thief. In this lifetime, it is not his mercy that has spared me; rather, it is I who clawed my way back from the grave with my own hands. I said, An attempted murderer cannot claim innocence simply because the murder failed.