“Would Xia Xiaolan hire someone to break Xia Changzheng’s hand in retaliation?”
“Nonsense. We’re verifying the situation with Student Xia to inform her that the perpetrator has been arrested.”
Wouldn’t it be absurd to investigate Xia Changzheng’s claims?
In the case of Xia Changzheng hiring someone to commit violence, the perpetrator had turned himself in, the middleman who connected Xia Changzheng to the thug existed, and the payment remained unspent – the chain of evidence was quite complete.
When Xia Changzheng couldn’t defend himself, he desperately tried another approach. If he was going to be sentenced, he wouldn’t let Xia Xiaolan off easily. He claimed that when he went to an alley at night to pay the remaining fee, someone broke his hand – supposedly done by people Xia Xiaolan hired.
But in the dark, remote location, Xia Changzheng couldn’t identify who broke his hand.
At that time, Xia Xiaolan was preparing for the college entrance exam. How could a young girl under 20 have such mental fortitude to hire someone for revenge while still scoring first in the province?
“This doesn’t make sense. Investigation requires bold hypotheses but reasonable deductions! Student Xia is now at Huaqing University, right? We shouldn’t make her travel back and forth. If she returns to Yunan, she’ll need to leave school. Getting leave would alert the school – how inappropriate! Better send people from the city bureau to Beijing to investigate, but keep it low-key.”
Leaders who reached their positions truly considered matters from all angles.
Of course, this treatment depended on who they were willing to extend it to.
Even with some doubts, the case could be concluded at this point. Xia Xiaolan was last year’s top scorer, currently appearing in the National College English Competition program on TV – a model student from Yunan. How could they let her reputation be tarnished?
The officers sent to gather information from Xia Xiaolan should wear plain clothes, not uniforms and handcuffs.
Between Xia Changzheng and Xia Xiaolan, whom should the leaders believe?
At County No. 1 Middle School, teachers and students all praised her, even the private vendors outside the school gate said Xia Xiaolan was always helpful.
Principal Sun, knowing Xia Xiaolan’s hand was deliberately injured, wanted to kill Xia Changzheng. Just 4 points – Xia Xiaolan was that close to being the national top scorer. Principal Sun’s resume could have included “While serving as principal of Anqing County No. 1 Middle School, educated national top scorer Xia Xiaolan”… Now, all ruined by Xia Changzheng!
Would there ever be another student like her?
Principal Sun honestly admitted that even producing another provincial top scorer would be difficult, let alone a national one. Xia Xiaolan was the most promising, yet still missed by 4 points. No, he could have produced a national top scorer if not for Xia Changzheng!
Still furious, Principal Sun went to the police station again to provide more information. He knew much about the Xia family’s conflicts. Even before the college entrance exam, the Xia family had tried various schemes to obstruct her education.
These weren’t family members but mortal enemies.
“Student Xiaolan truly excelled in both character and studies. Because of her family’s obstruction, she had to work while studying to support herself. Is being a private vendor shameful? Not at all! The money she earned, besides funding her education, was all donated to the school library – over ten thousand yuan spent on books. Student Xiaolan had it tough!”
It wasn’t easy.
Most students did well enough just to focus on their studies. Xia Xiaolan managed to care for others beyond her studies.
Teaching her study methods to classmates, not spending her earnings on herself but buying books for the library – it embodied the spirit of “cultivate oneself when poor, help others when successful.” Though “helping others” might be an exaggeration, she truly excelled in both character and academics.
If not for her uncle hiring thugs, they would have wanted to do a special report on Student Xia, promoting Yunan’s educational achievements. She would qualify for National Outstanding Student honors.
For this reason, the police investigating in Beijing became even more cautious.
While wrongdoers must be punished, didn’t a good student deserve everyone’s affection?
Xia Dajun waited anxiously in Shangdu but couldn’t go to Beijing to find Xia Xiaolan. At the Pengcheng hospital, Guan E’e had warned him to stay away from Xia Xiaolan. He knew Xia Xiaolan had found a partner from a good family but hadn’t thought he would provoke them.
But when he saw Liu Fen on the streets of Guangzhou, Xia Dajun lost control.
With Xia Hongbing’s three family members detained, difficulties getting introduction letters back home, and now Xia Changzheng arrested… Xia Dajun suspected the Zhou family was manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
He had already cast the Zhou family as villains and now truly dared not act rashly.
Would the Xia family suffer more if he sought out Xia Xiaolan again?
Five days after Xia Changzheng’s arrest, officers from Shangdu City Police finally reached Beijing. As instructed by their superiors, they approached Xia Xiaolan in plain clothes.
Even on Huaqing University’s campus, China’s top institution, the officers felt somewhat restrained, afraid their loud voices might disturb these elite students in their ivory tower.
Meeting Xia Xiaolan in person, they understood why she was the top scorer.
They already knew she was beautiful.
But speaking with her revealed the quality of an outstanding student. Learning of their purpose, Xia Xiaolan was surprised but not flustered, speaking logically and cooperating fully with their questions.
Gathering information proved easier than the police expected.
She even considered their tiring journey, inviting them to eat at the Huaqing cafeteria. Of course, they couldn’t shamefully let a student treat them.
During the meal, Xia Xiaolan seemed hesitant to speak, and the officers encouraged her:
“Student Xia, the city takes this case very seriously. Don’t feel burdened. The sentence will follow legal guidelines. You don’t need to return to Yunan, and don’t worry about moral pressure.”
Xia Xiaolan shook her head:
“That’s not what concerns me. I just can’t understand – I transferred to Anqing County No. 1 Middle School after my parent’s divorce, completely separating from the Xia family. Whether I studied or not had nothing to do with my uncle, he never paid for my education. Why did he want to prevent me from taking the college entrance exam?”
The police were struck by this thought – while the criminal facts were admitted, what about the motive?
This point Xia Xiaolan raised hadn’t been explained by Xia Changzheng.
After her parents’ divorce, why would an uncle bear such a grudge against a niece who had left with her mother to prevent her from taking the college entrance exam?
“Student Xia means…”
Xia Xiaolan looked innocent, “I don’t mean anything specific, I’m just curious. That’s for you officers to investigate.”
With Xia Changzheng having confessed, Ge Jian no longer needed to stay in Yunan to avoid suspicion.
The thug certainly hadn’t turned himself in due to conscience; Ge Jian had been working behind the scenes. Fortunately, this era had no surveillance cameras, otherwise, it would have been harder for Xia Xiaolan to distance herself.
Between Xia Changzheng and her, the police naturally favored her.
How had Xia Ziyu used her “good student” identity to manipulate and control her fate? Xia Xiaolan had simply taken Xia Ziyu’s approach and maximized it to the extreme.
There were surely oversights, and Xia Xiaolan feared single-minded police might dig too deeply into details. Rather than let them investigate how Xia Changzheng’s hand was broken, Xia Xiaolan pointed them in another direction – thoroughly investigate Xia Changzheng’s motive!