DFLB – Chapter 43

“Alright, let’s take a look at this question next. Which of the following statements are true regarding criminal responsibility? Case A: Individual ‘A’ was born blind and caused unintentional but seriously injures his roommate in his college dorm. ‘A’ should be considered to have limited criminal responsibility. Case B: Individual ‘B’ is a deaf-mute and a petty thief who has organized a group of several other people in a petty theft ring that has stolen in public places over a long period of time. ‘B’ should be considered to have partial criminal responsibility. Case C: Individual ‘C’ falls into a deep sleep using sleeping pills, then unintentionally rolls over onto a baby in the same bed and suffocates the baby to death. ‘C’ should be considered to have no criminal responsibility. Case D: One day, individual ‘D’ was drunk and while walking home and for some reason decided that someone else’s car was in his way and smashed it up. The next day, he has no memory of the incident. ‘D’ should be considered fully criminal responsible.”

For the past few weeks Li Chongwen had been carefully tutoring Qian Wei on various criminal law problems. During their tutoring sessions, Qian Wei would always take a good attitude and listen to him very carefully but, today, even though Li Chongwen’s voice was as calm and warm as ever, Qian Wei couldn’t help but object when she heard the contents of this problem.

“No, this question is just too unscientific, isn’t it? You tell me how can ‘A’, someone congenitally blind, ‘accidentally’ inflict serious injuries on their roommate? He’s too fucking good! And ‘B’ he’s a disabled deaf-mute, but he’s so talented that he dares to steal in public places, and on top of that he’s even organizing a ring of thieves? Did the pickpocket group collectively nominate him to be their CEO or something!? Then, ‘C’, they’re even more ‘amazing’, who the hell would sleep next to a baby after taking sleeping pills? ‘D’ is also very good, even though he is drunk, he still has the strength to go out and smash up a car. This is really an unparalleled group of criminals.”

Li Chongwen couldn’t help laughing along: “Who knows what our criminal law teacher was thinking when they created this problem, the topic really is too strange.”

But after Li Chongwen laughed for a moment, he quickly returned to seriousness and talked about the topic conscientiously for a while longer before finally closing the textbook.

“Come on, I’ll treat you to a meal.” Qian Wei invited.

Li Chongwen shook his head: “No, it’s okay. You don’t have to invite me for a meal.”

Qian Wei was just about to continue wheedling when she heard Li Chongwen continue, “But, I’d like to ask you, are you free this Saturday?”

“Yes!” Qian Wei replied without thinking. But then she was a little puzzled, “Why, what’s the matter?”

When Li Chongwen replied he seemed a little shy: “Well, there is an English Speech contest this Saturday and I am one of the contestants selected by our law school. If you are free, you could come and listen. The college asked all the participants to invite some friends to cheer us on but I’m a bit embarrassed to ask other people. After all, I know you better…”

“No problem! I’ll make a sign and bring it to cheer you on! ” Qian Wei promised, “If it’s alright, I can call Qian Chuan too, it’s a good opportunity for him to thank you for tutoring him in English!”

Unfortunately, Qian Chuan was not available.

“I’m going on a date. I’m not going.” When she called him, Qian Chuan responded like a person who was completely in love. “Mo Zixin said she wants to visit the city this weekend so we are going to walk around some of the old tourist streets this Saturday.”

If Qian Chuan couldn’t come, wouldn’t Liu Shiyun also be fine? Qian Wei quickly persuaded her roommate to come and support Li Chongwen, then she tried to pull some of the other girls from class to come but when she was making a final tally, there seemed to not actually be that many people who agreed. Qian Wei entertained the thought of inviting Lu Xun and felt it was a pretty good idea.

Wasn’t Lu Xun feeling heartbroken right now?! It was said that when a person was heartbroken it was good for them to find more things to do, so they could divert their attention and avoid sitting around doing nothing. Using this method it was easy to get past feelings of heartbreak.

“Lu Xun, would you like to come and see the English Speech contest on Saturday?”

Lu Xun seemed very surprised when he heard Qian Wei’s proposal: “You knew about that competition?”

Qian Wei nodded: “Will you come along with us then?”

Lu Xun seemed to be in a good mood, he smiled faintly and said: “En.”

Then, not long after setting the appointment with Lu Xun, Qian Wei received a phone call from Mo Tao.

“Qian Wei, are you free on Saturday?”

Qian Wei thought: Damn it, how come it’s Saturday again!?

“I’m not free this Saturday! One of the students from our law school is taking part in an English Speech contest. I’m going to cheer them on.”

But Mo Tao responded in high spirits: “Actually, I was calling to talk to you about that same English Speech competition! I will also be taking part in the competition that day. But, since you’ll be there to cheer for your classmate anyway, that’s great. ” At this point, his voice suddenly became a little shy. “In fact, I haven’t reported it to you yet but, regarding my neighbor, she agreed.”

“Oh wow! Congratulations! No wonder I noticed that you haven’t been contacting me recently for advice. Remember to buy me dinner next time! A really expensive meal! I want to eat a whole table full of meat!”

Mo Tao laughed and said, “Considering what you’ve done for me, what’s one meal? Isn’t that just what I should do? Originally, I wanted to ask you to come out this Saturday because my girlfriend will also be coming to the English Speech contest, so it’s a great time to introduce you to each other and then we can all have dinner together after the competition. After all, you are our important matchmaker.”

“Sounds good! But I won’t cheer you on in the competition. I’m already in a team cheering for our law school.”

Mo Tao’s voice was tinged with sweetness: “As long as I have my girlfriend cheering me on, it’s more than enough. Even if there were thousands of people cheering for me, they wouldn’t be worth one single her.”

“Stop it, I’ll call the police if you keep abusing me like that!” Qian Wei joked.

Finally, it was time for the contest on Saturday.

Qian Wei pulled Liu Shiyun along and sat down in the auditorium to wait.

She knew that Li Chongwen had to work as a tutor right before the contest so Qian Wei was pretty sure that he was still on his way. Meanwhile, Mo Tao invited his girlfriend to the school for the first time so he was probably still strolling around some couple’s spot, and he wasn’t there yet either.

But Lu Xun, who was usually the type to cherish every minute, actually came early today.

What was particularly surprising was that Lu Xun was dressed very well today, as if he were going to speak on the stage.

Qian Wei spotted him at the entrance of the auditorium almost as soon as he appeared. As soon as he arrived many sharp eyed girls who were there to cheer for their own contestants all spotted him too and a flurry of whispered conversations began.

“Lu Xun, over here!” Qian Wei stood up and waved at the man at the door. “I saved a seat for you!”

Lu Xun walked over and, when he sat down, Qian Wei immediately gave him a drink that she had prepared. Lu Xun did not drink it, instead he seemed to become interested in a large bag that was at Qian Wei’s feet.

“What’s with that big bag you’re carrying?”

As soon as he asked, Qian Wei replied spiritedly: “What’s this?! This is the LED cloth sign I ordered from Taobao! Since I’m here to cheer, of course, I have to do it professionally!”

Liu Shiyun also had a common hatred for the enemy and said for the side, “Although our law school has the lowest employment rate across all majors, we still can’t lose in terms of momentum! There are more people in the other majors so they can bring a lot more girls to cheer than we can but, later on, we will pull out this big LED sign and blind their dog eyes!”

Lu Xun was a little shocked: “Is it really necessary to go so overboard for a small school-level contest like this?”

“We didn’t go overboard!” Qian Wei said confidently as she opened the bag to show off her sign. “Just look, the sign is very low-key, it folds up so it’s not conspicuous carry around at all.”

Lu Xun looked down at the folded sign: “Wasn’t this expensive? Have you been planning to do this for a long time? I really didn’t expect that you would be so thoughtful.”

Liu Shiyun chimed in: “No, it wasn’t too expensive, plus we only ordered it the day before yesterday!”

Qian Wei took out her phone and showed off: “Overnight delivery, super light, foldable, good for blinding dog eyes, a lifetime warranty, just look, this is a great product! And for only 50 yuan, the performance-to-price ratio is really too high!”

She didn’t know why but Lu Xun’s face looked a little red. He looked at Qian Wei and said, “You guys even spent fifty yuan. But what’s written on the sign, can I see?”

Qian Wei secretly pulled up one corner of the sign in her bag to let him look but, at the same time, she said: “Don’t open it yet. If you open it now there will be no surprise. I want to take it out later and shock the whole audience. I want it to be imposing!”

Although Qian Wei only pulled up one corner, Lu Xun could still make out a few words: ‘Cra… Crazy about you!’ His face turned a little red and he looked away. Then he said, “What kind words did you have written on that sign?”

“We’re crazy with you, crazy about you, we’re banging against the walls for you!”* Qian Wei was very proud, “How is it? It’s rhymes, it’s catchy, and it really sticks in the brain, doesn’t it? Don’t you think it’s good?”

“…” Lu Xun’s expression was somewhat indescribable but, in the end, he nodded and agreed, “Well… It’s alright.” He looked into the distance. “Anyway, if you guys really think that in your hearts, there’s nothing wrong with writing it on a sign.”

“That’s right.” Qian Wei said.

“Hmm?” Lu Xun seemed to think of something.

He paused and then said, “I heard that Mo Tao will also be taking part in the competition. Did you make him a sign?”

Qian Wei waved her hand dismissively: “No. Today we’re all here representing our law school, how could we defect and cheer for the other side! No way!”

“He doesn’t mind?”

“I already talked to Mo Tao about it, he doesn’t mind.”

“Oh.”

Although Lu Xun didn’t say anything else, the corners of his mouth raised a little bit and he seemed to be in a good mood.

“Thank you for waiting!” When there was fifteen minutes before the start of the competition, Li Chongwen finally arrived. He had changed his look and was wearing clothes that were quite formal. His usual warm and sunny look was only amplified by his clothes, he looked tall and handsome. When he stood beside Lu Xun, Qian Wei suddenly had a thought. What was the saying? A stunning time, and then a gentle time?**

When Li Chongwen saw Lu Xun, he smiled and said, “You’re here early.”

Lu Xun seemed a little uncomfortable to see the other man. He coughed and said, “It happens I had nothing else to do today so I came early to familiarize myself with the venue first.”

Li Chongwen patted Lu Xun on the shoulder: “Do your best later! Your English pronunciation is usually much better than mine, but today you’ll have to fight if you want first place in our law school.”

Qian Wei: ??? Wait…

She cautiously tried to confirm: “Lu Xun is also taking part in the competition?”

Li Chongwen smiled and said, “Yes.”

Lu Xun frowned: “Didn’t you all come to cheer?”

“Let’s go. It’s almost time. The contestants have to attend a meeting backstage first.” Qian Wei originally wanted to explain but Li Chongwen looked at his watch and then pulled Lu Xun away. In the end, Qian Wei could only watch them leave.

As a matter of fact, there were some words that needed to be added to ‘Came to cheer’– those being: ‘for Li Chongwen’.

Qian Wei was filled with trepidation and her mind spun. Eventually, she came to a conclusion: Fortunately, the sign could be folded! She could just fold it and hide the three words ‘Li Chongwen’ later when Lu Xun was on stage. One sign but two ways to use it! One country, two systems!*** It was perfect! If it weren’t for her determination to cheer for her own school she could even defect and cheer for Mo Tao as well.

“Has it begun?” Liu Shiyun, who had gone to the toilet just now, suddenly returned. She was covering her stomach with her hands uncomfortably. “I’m really unlucky today, I had a little diarrhea. Did I miss anything?”

Qian Wei waved her off and said, “No, things have just begun.”

In the competition, for the sake of fairness, the order contestants would draw lots on the spot to decide the order. After the draw, all the contestants went down to sit in the first few rows of the auditorium that had been especially set aside for them. Only when it was about to be their turn would they move and begin to wait backstage. Probably Li Chongwen did not draw a lot that put him near the front of the line because Qian Wei and Liu Shiyun craned their necks and waited for a while but did not see him step onto the stage. Eventually even Mo Tao, that guy, went up on stage.

“Hey! Don’t doze off, Qian Wei! Look, it’s Li Chongwen’s turn! He’s going to compete!” Liu Shiyun nudged Qian Wei and then began to pull out the sign excitedly.

Qian Wei had been lulled to sleep after hearing so much English from the first few contestants and only blearily woke up after being nudged by Liu Shiyun. Then, before she could respond, she saw Liu Shiyun quickly pull out the sign and spread it out triumphantly.

Liu Shiyun, this guy, she really knew how to shout. Her exclamation was very loud and Lu Xun, who was also waiting in the front rows, subconsciously turned to look back.

Qian Wei’s heart was screaming: ‘Shit! No!’ 

Only now did she remember that when Li Chongwen had come and talked with Lu Xun, Liu Shiyun had been in the bathroom because she had diarrhea! And apparently, during the first half of the contest, this guy had been dozing off and didn’t notice who was in the contestant seating. She didn’t know that Lu Xun was going to compete. Qian Wei wanted to stop her, but Liu Shiyun moved too fast, and before she could do anything the whole sign had been unfurled by Liu Shiyun.

‘Li Chongwen, we’re crazy with you, crazy about you, we’re banging against the walls for you!’

In order to stand out, Qian Wei had especially ordered red and blue LEDs that intersected and flashed. So, as soon as the sign was unfurled, the flashy sight really caused the rest of the audience to fall silent on the spot.

However, Qian Wei really wanted to die right now.

Because Lu Xun’s eyes were fixed on the three words ‘Li Chongwen’.

There’s no way he didn’t realize that this sign wasn’t for him, but actually for Li Chongwen.

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*ughhh. I’m not much of one for sloganeering lol. Here’s the original Chinese ‘为你痴，为你狂，为你哐哐撞大墙’. Clearly, it flows a lot better in the original language and also has some meanings that are hard to bring across…

**this is a reference to a certain drama(?) written in 06 or 07 (called《经年》) and the basic meaning is that a person meet two ‘romances’ in life – one that is ‘stunning/amazing’ when you are younger and then one that is ‘gentle/stable’ later in life. So I guess Qian Wei is saying that Lu Xun is the dangerously sexy type while Li Chongwen is the warm stable type?

***if you don’t know this is a reference to China’s official governing policy regarding Hong Kong and Macau