Lin Shiheng looked worriedly at his wife and son, who were crying and stepped forward to go in.
âSeeing that you still have to work, we wonât bother you. Weâll go in and find the Headmaster to decide on this.â
âWait! Wait, Sir! This is a school. Unrelated people canât come in!â
When the guard, who felt a little guilty before, saw that Lin Shiheng looked like he was going in to ask the Headmaster for an explanation, he hastily held out his hand to stop him.
âMy child is in conflict with a student and guard in front of the school right now, and youâre saying weâre unrelated people?â
Lin Shiheng didnât have the slightest intention of giving in. With a sharp look in his eyes, he coldly said, âFine, if you donât let us in, you can always lead us in, right?â
When he said so, the guard was still reluctant to move. With a livid face, he made up his mind to prevent the other party from entering the school.
Lin Shiheng simply took out his phone and dialled a number.
âXiao Liu, itâs me. I wanted to ask you. Last time, you said that you would try to meet all my requests, right? I want to see the Headmaster of the No.l
Secondary School in my city right now. Yes, Iâll text you a short version of what happened.â
Zou Le, who had been dumbfounded when Lin Shiheng made the call, was blank-faced. Even if she could scam Wang Xuanâs money without even blinking and then scheme against him, she was still just a student right now. There was no such thing as a student who wasnât afraid of a teacher, especially when the other party was looking for the Headmaster.
She didnât know what to do at the moment and could only pray in her heart.
She had heard that the Headmaster was very busy. Their school was so big and had always been number one in the city, and this man wasnât a parent of a student at their school. How could he see the Headmaster whenever he wanted to?
He must be putting on a show to scare people, he must be.
Even the guard had the same idea as she did. Their school was very famous, the Headmaster certainly wasnât a nobody. How could an outsider say that he would see the Headmaster just like that?
However, the moment after those thoughts were raised, Lin Shiheng said, âOkay, please tell him to call me at this number.â
Zou Leâs face stiffened as she watched the other party respond with a few words and hang up the phone.
When Lin Shiheng typed in the text message, the lively students who were watching, the guard who tried to minimise the matter, and the surrounding area, everyone had fallen silent. All that was left was Zhou Chuchu, who was clinging to her child as if he would run away if she released her grip, crying as she did so.
No more than 2 minutes after he hung up the phone, the phone rang.
The elegant man picked up, âHello, weâre at the school gate right now. Your school guard is stopping us from entering. Okay.â
Lin Shiheng handed the phone to the grimacing guard, âThe Headmaster wants to talk to you.â
The guard heavily exhaled and picked up the phone. A familiar voice came out of it.
The Headmaster was scolding with suppressed rage, âWhatâs wrong with you?! How did you upset Professor Lin?â
A strong sense of survival made the guard quickly look at the frightened and pale Zou Le, he awkwardly said, âHeadmaster, a female student said that the boy... Professor Linâs son... was harassing her, and I stepped in to help.â
âYes, yes. Iâll bring them to you right away.â
Handing the phone back to Lin Shiheng, the guard gave him a complicated look and then looked at Zou Le, who was already trembling in fear.
âMiss, please come with us to the Headmasterâs office.â
âIâm not going!â
Zou Le thoughtlessly refused in a sharp tone, âIt has nothing to do with me, this mute is the one whoâs insisting on pestering me. I donât know him at all! Iâm going home, and I have to go to cram school. Iâm not going with you!â
The guard, who had previously been rude to Wang Xuan, didnât know what to do about Zou Le.
The young girl didnât want to go. If he forced her to go, and she cried, what would he do if her parents came?
He subconsciously looked at Lin Shiheng, who was going to the Headmaster and was surprised to find no anger on the other partyâs face.
Lin Shiheng really wasnât angry.
He merely said, âIf you want to go home, go home. Even if you leave, we will still have to look into this matter. If itâs a misunderstanding, our whole family will come to your house with gifts to apologise. But if you really borrowed money and wouldnât pay it back, and if the amount is big, we can call the police to deal with it.â
The tide was really turning. Just now, Wang Xuan was threatened with the police, and now it was Zou Leâs turn.
Zou Leâs face paled. The steps she was supposed to take were stiff and motionless.
Lin Shiheng was still talking to her in a gentle tone, âYou donât look like a bad student, have you studied law? If you donât pay the money you owe, itâs not a big deal, but if youâre scamming people and falsely accusing them up to a certain amount, even if youâre a minor, youâll have to go to the juvenile detention centre for a while... especially if we wonât agree to a settlement.â
âLittle girl, youâre young, we adults wonât bother so much. As long as you admit to it right now and properly pay the money back, it would be fine. But if you donât say anything, and we find out the truth, youâll be the one to suffer.â
With this attitude, he was so reasonable that no one could see any problems, but for Zou Le, who was listening to the reasoning, it was a staggering shock.
If she admitted it, she had to pay it back. If she didnât, she still had to pay it back.
But where would I get the money to pay it back?!.1
Zou Le looked around with a pale face. Such a large number of people were watching; even if she was afraid in her heart and wanted to plead for mercy, how could she say it?
If there was no one around, she could still cry and tell Wang Xuanâs parents that she was momentarily confused, begging them to spare her for the sake of her young age and that she would slowly pay the money back.
But so many people were watching, if she admitted it, this matter would spread throughout the school. How could she ever face anyone anymore? And if her parents knew...
Zou Le shuddered and winced.
I can't admit it!
Never admit it!!!
She and Wang Xuan had never been in contact with each other through text messages or anything, she only talked to him before school, especially when she borrowed the money. She was late that day, and when she looked for Wang Xuan to get the money, she looked around to see if anyone was there.
Even if someone saw her talking to Wang Xuan before school, it didnât mean anything. Wang Xuan was selling things; couldnât she ask about the price?
Why would she say she didnât know Wang Xuan if she talked to him? Who would pay any attention to someone working at a stall?
In that short space of time, Zou Le mentally sorted through all the questions in her mind. Confirming that there was no gap in any aspect, she simply lifted her head and gritted her teeth in denial.
âI really donât know him! Heâs simply here to scam money, you all might also be in on it, thatâs all! Even if you make a scene with the Headmaster, Iâm not afraid of you!"
Such a feisty and unyielding look.
Lin Shiheng sneered and simply dialled 110.
(TNote: 110 = Chinaâs number for the police.)
âOkay, then weâll call the police.â
After dialling, he briefly explained the situation, hung up and looked at Zou Le, who still had a look of guilt in her eyes but was still holding on to the Tm the most righteous and not afraid of youâ look.
âMiss, you are going to and from school every day, I wonder if youâve noticed the surveillance cameras near the school?â
Zou Le jolted.
âIf I remember correctly, your school has placed cameras everywhere to prevent students from climbing the walls and leaving, right?â
âCoupled with the ones at the side of the road, do you suppose any of the cameras could have captured footage of you and someone you claim you donât know in one frame?â
The pretty schoolgirlâs face gradually turned paler.
She had never really noticed that before. Each time, she only thought about hiding from peopleâs eyes, but it never occurred to her that she had to avoid the cameras.
No, it canât be that bad a coincidence.
Zou Le kept mentally reassuring himself, but her mind was scouring the various surveillance cameras that she had inadvertently seen before. However, they were hidden deep in her memory because she didnât really care.
It seemed that only a while ago, she heard her father say that the government had taken a new initiative, replacing the broken surveillance cameras with new ones, and this time, they could rotate and record.
Should she happen to be filmed while talking to Wang Xuan...
Lin Shiheng looked at her frightened look, still with a cold smile on his face.
âMiss, ask your parents to come to the police station.â
âOr perhaps, you want the police to inform them?â
There was no need for the police to pull up the street surveillance at all. When the police officers arrived, they checked the schoolâs surveillance and one of the surveillance cameras captured Wang Xuan handing over a pile of money and Zou Le, who took it with a smile.
There were students who were afraid that their parents would scold them if they came home late, but there were also students who werenât afraid of being scolded for watching the commotion. When they saw that the police officers had arrived, they were so excited that they wouldnât leave, carrying their school bags around.
The Headmaster, who had been waiting in the Headmasterâs office, was informed of the mess and hurried over, trying to shoo the students away. Some cheeky ones, however, scattered as he hastily coaxed them away, and regrouped when he went inside.
The surveillance was accessible in the janitorâs room, and naturally, they wanted to watch it in the janitorâs room. Who made windows transparent in the janitorâs room? Just as the Headmaster closed the door behind him, some daring students peeked inside through the window.
âSaw it, saw it!!! It looks like they found the surveillance footage of Zou Le meeting with that little mute!â
âThatâs money, isnât it?!â
âCanât see clearly, eh eh zoom in!!!â
After seeing a close-up of the money on the screen through the glass, the group of students gasped in shock.
âWow -â
âSo much money!!â
âItâs got to be 10,000 yuan, right?!â
âHow? Look at the thickness... thatâs 30,000 for sure! The little mute is pretty rich!â
âJust look at his parents who drove here. How could they not be rich?!â
âBut why is he still setting up a stall if heâs so rich?â
âWho knows? Maybe itâs just like in those TV dramas when a young master runs away to fend for himself.â
âHeâs been setting up his stall for so long. Thatâs a long time to be away from home.â
âWhat do you care? Look, Zou Le is crying!!â
Zou Le was indeed crying. Her face was full of tears, and her pretty face looked pitiful, a look that would have softened anyoneâs heart if they had seen it earlier. However, none of the people in the room felt sorry for Zou Le.
How could she be so vicious at such a young age?
She scammed people out of so much money and could still just pretend that she didnât know them. The victim was a mute person too.