Chapter 8 — The Truth in the Schoolbag

The head of the grade’s face gradually flushed a deep red.

Xia Chen, you must admit that your handling of this matter lacked sufficient composure. However, you also need to understand the teacher’s perspective. It is truly not easy for impoverished students.

I let out a cold laugh.

Does having a difficult life give someone the right to arbitrarily slander others?

You did not mean it that way...

Then what did you mean?

She was unable to provide an answer. I stood up from my seat. Teacher Xu, I will faithfully report today’s events to the school’s investigative committee. As for whether or not you deliberately manipulated public opinion, the school will make its own judgment. Having said that, I turned around and walked out. Just as I stepped out of the office, my phone rang; it was my father.

Little Chen, your mother and I have already seen the school announcement. Are you all right?

His voice sounded remarkably calm. Yet I knew with absolute certainty that he must have been worried to the point of madness. In my past life, when the initial complaint call from a parent came in, he was still in the middle of a work meeting. The caller had berated him over the phone, demanding to know how he could still show his face at work when his son was out stealing from patients. When my father tried to explain, the other person simply edited the audio recording and posted it in the parent group chat. Shortly after, he was summoned by his superiors for a reprimand. Even my mother was pointed at and whispered about by acquaintances at the supermarket, all of them claiming she had raised a thief for a son. This time, immediately following the very first class of the day, I had messaged them directly, instructing them not to answer unfamiliar calls, to stay out of the parent group chat arguments, and simply to wait for the official school notice. I had told them: Father, I am fine. All the evidence has been submitted. He remained silent for two full seconds before replying that I had done the right thing. A sharp sting pierced the bridge of my nose.

Where is Mother?

She is right here beside me.

The voice on the other end of the line shifted to my mother’s. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she spoke: Little Chen, Mother believes you. Those five words made me want to cry far more than any official school statement could have. In my previous life, she had also said that she believed me. But no one else had believed her. She had been relentlessly besieged by the members of the parent group chat, unable to close her eyes in sleep for the entire night. This time, at least, I was capable of shielding her from that torment. I sniffled and said: Mother, please do not read the messages in the group. If anyone asks you anything, just tell them to wait for the joint investigation results from the police and the school.

Very well, she answered softly. Do not be afraid either.

I ended the call, leaning my back against the cold hallway wall to steady my breathing for a moment. Then, my phone vibrated once more. It was a text message sent by Xu Yuyue.

Xia Chen, there is no need to push this matter to such extreme lengths.

I can have Zhi Yan make a public apology.

If you withdraw the police report, I will drop my contention for the direct admission slot.

Ten seconds later, another message arrived from her.

You should know that if you truly blow this out of proportion, you yourself will become the subject of endless gossip. Top universities do not look favorably upon students who constantly stir up trouble.

I stared at those typed lines, so angry that I laughed out loud. Even at this juncture, she was still attempting to intimidate me. I did not bother to reply. I simply took screenshots, saved them, forwarded the entire thread to the police, and then blocked her number entirely. By the afternoon, the incident had spilled completely outside the school walls. It was not something I had posted. During the morning flag-raising ceremony, someone had secretly recorded a video. The segment where Xu Zhi Yan wept while claiming there was only twenty thousand left was uploaded to a short video platform. Immediately following that was the clip of Xu Yuyue stepping forward to interrogate me. Her cutting, merciless question—asking whether someone who would steal a patient's life-saving money was truly worthy of the school's nomination to top universities—was edited with absolute clarity. Next came the scene where Principal Dan publicly announced a severe disciplinary reprimand for me and the temporary suspension of my direct admission file. Finally, the footage cut to yet another scene. Head Teacher Shao publicly counting out seventy thousand yuan in cash. The contrast was far too dramatic. The video instantly went viral across the internet. The accompanying title was blindingly eye-catching:

The school's impoverished darling weeps and accuses the grade leader of stealing life-saving funds, his sister interrogates the leader, questioning his worthiness for direct admission, only for the backpack to be opened and reveal an extra twenty thousand yuan?

Suspected rivalry for top university direct admission slots: A brother and sister duo sing in harmony to force the principal into punishing the grade leader.

The comment section was infinitely more chaotic and lively than the school's internal group chat.

This plot twist is profoundly satisfying to watch.

Claiming there was only twenty thousand left, but turning out to have seventy thousand inside? Was he opening his eyes wide and lying through his teeth?

His sister’s part is the truly sickening one, instantly elevating the issue to destroy someone else's admission qualifications.

Did the principal actually agree to hand out a severe demerit? Where was the proper procedure?

That Xia Chen is extraordinarily composed; if it were me, I probably would have broken down in tears by then.

The grade leader is truly worthy of being the grade leader, that chain of evidence is so complete it reads like an academic thesis.

Do not be too quick to hurl curses yet, what if the poor student really did make a genuine mistake?

Mistaking seven stacks of cash for two stacks? Were your eyes blurred by cataracts?

I watched for a few minutes before turning off my phone screen. Public opinion on the internet shifted with terrifying speed. Yet I understood all too well how utterly untrustworthy it was. In my past life, it was these exact same people who had shouted slogans demanding justice for the underdog one second, only to shove an innocent person off a cliff the very next. I was never going to entrust my innocence to their fickle mouths. At seven o’clock that evening, the school convened an emergency administrative meeting. By nine-thirty, the second official announcement was released. This time, the contents were infinitely more detailed. The statement officially confirmed that after picking up the schoolbag, I had indeed returned it strictly according to the proper protocol.