DFLB – Chapter 67

Liang Qing’s matter was being discussed all over the campus, until the rumors were going all over the place and more and more people knew about the ‘necklace incident’. It was to the point that when Qian Wei walked down the road there would be people she didn’t know pointing fingers at her behind her back.

“Is that her?”

“Yes, that’s her…”

“In the future, we need to be careful when we leave the dorm room. We can’t be careless anymore and leave the door open or unlocked, otherwise, something might really disappear.”

Whenever she heard this kind of talk, Liu Shiyun would get very angry, and several times she wanted to roll up her sleeves to go and beat someone up if not for Qian Wei holding her back.

Liu Shiyun was very worried: “It’s already been a few days now, and the investigation team that the dean put together is still investigating without issuing any final conclusion. Huh, this kind of thing, it’s clear that she deliberately framed you but, in the end, the necklace was really found in your drawer. Even though the method used to obtain the evidence was improper, other people don’t really care about that sort of thing, instead, they all just tacitly agree that you are the thief. It seems that now the burden of proof is on us, but how can we prove that you were actually framed? Isn’t it just too difficult!” Liu Shiyun touched her chin thoughtfully, and her tone was a bit heavy. “But what I’m really most afraid of is that the investigation team will just want to adopt a peaceful attitude and try to privately mediate things to settle the matter. That would be terrible because, if they don’t end up clearing your name, even if you are not punished, it’s practically tantamount to saying that you really stole the item, and that would ruin your reputation.”

“Why don’t we call the police? This kind of thing ought to be handled by the professionals! Since Liang Qing doesn’t dare to call the police, we should call them instead!”

“It’s no use calling the police.” Qian Wei was calm as she analyzed the situation, “The police station won’t even open a case for a matter like this. After all, the police would only get involved in the first place because of the theft of the necklace, because it has a value of tens of thousands of yuan, however, the necklace has already been found, so there is no longer a theft for them to investigate. If I actually went and reported to the police, the only complaint I could bring would be libel, however, libel is a civil matter that’s outside the scope of criminal law, and the police station cannot directly accept civil cases. If I really wanted to deal with it, I’m afraid I would have to gather the evidence myself, find a lawyer, and then go to court to sue. It’s unfortunate but the police really can’t handle this kind of matter. On top of that, providing the lawyer with enough evidence would also be difficult because, after all, the people who are bad-mouthing me are mostly just talking about me behind my back but not leaving anything traceable like posts on the internet. It’s all just word-of-mouth. So, in the final analysis, it would not only be troublesome to persecute, it would also be very time-consuming. Your grades in civil law are better than mine, so you should know how long it would take if I actually wanted to enter proceedings and then wait for the result of a trial. How worn out would I be by then? And how many bad things would already have been said?”

Liu Shiyun sounded a bit sad: “That’s true but… didn’t Lu Xun say he would handle it? It’s been a few days now, hasn’t it? Tomorrow is already the A University 50th Founding Anniversary celebration. I heard that he is going to give a speech at the opening ceremony because of his position as an outstanding student representative. He isn’t too busy preparing his speech, is he?” Liu Shiyun murmured, “Men are really unreliable. It reminds me of that slag man Tang Lu, he even claimed he would be with me for the rest of our lives but look at us now…”

Qian Wei was being criticized all the time, so, naturally, she was feeling some pressure in her heart, but she still smiled at Liu Shiyun and said: “I believe in Lu Xun.”

She was feeling uneasy these days, but Qian Wei somehow always felt that if Lu Xun said that he would do something he would certainly be able to do it.

Fortunately, because the next day was the day of the celebration almost everyone in the school was immersed in their preparations and no one had time to gossip about Qian Wei. For the 50th Founding Anniversary celebration, A University had prepared an elaborate line up for the day. There was going to be a brief opening ceremony in the morning where, in addition to the school leaders, various outstanding alumni and current outstanding student representatives would all speak and, after that, there were going to be some performances. Because it was the 50th anniversary the school had really spent a lot of time and money on the event so, among the performances, in addition to some items prepared by the students themselves, the school had also invited some professional dance and performance groups.

Early in the morning of the day of the celebration, Qian Wei, Liu Shiyun, and Qian Chuan all rushed to the school gymnasium with the other students. The newly built gymnasium of A University was very large, to the point that the college basketball league of City A usually held their games here because it could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people. So it was normal for various school-wide parties and events to be held there.

Qian Chuan had never been interested in this kind of activity and soon he was drowsing off during the principal’s long speech.

“And next, we would like to invite Lu Xun, the outstanding student representative from our Law School’s Class of 2008 to speak!”

Amidst the roaring applause, Qian Chuan, who had been nearly comatose just now, suddenly woke up excitedly.

“Listen to me, that man is my brother-in-law!” He started shaking several of his nearby friends from the Academy of Physical Education and even slapped his sleeping brother Da Mao awake while saying. “Don’t sleep! Wake up and listen to my brother-in-law’s speech!”

“…”

Lu Xun about to start his speech up above, meanwhile, Qian Chuan was still showing off below: “Look, that is my brother-in-law, a man chosen by the heavens, isn’t he handsome? Look at how lights of the gymnasium shine on him, don’t you think he’s almost too perfect to be real?”

Qian Wei had no idea what method Lu Xun had used to make this guy, Qian Chuan, suddenly turn so obedient but she decided not to mind it. Instead, when she saw Lu Xun, who was attracting so much attention just by standing on stage, she felt her heart swell with pride.

This 50th Founding Anniversary was such a big day that even the usually stoic principal was showing a smile, however, Lu Xun’s expression was still as cold as ever and he was so handsome that he seemed somehow separate from ordinary people. In the past, Qian Wei used to slander Lu Xun in her heart for his icy temperament, but now she only felt that his way of usually acting cold but sometimes being very affectionate was very charming.

“Our school motto is ‘To dutifully inquire, to discern and consider, and to learn and revere the law.” Lu Xun’s voice was clear and powerful. “Today, I would like to thank our school for instilling this school motto into our students. It makes me proud as a person who studies law at A University.”

“What I want to talk about today is something that happened right here in our law school three days ago.”

Just when everyone thought that Lu Xun’s speech would be the usual routine of praising the school and giving his thanks for the honor of letting him give a speech, he suddenly and smoothly changed the direction of the topic. And, although Qian Wei knew that because there were so many people in the gym Lu Xun would need exceptionally good eyesight to pick her out of the crowd, she somehow felt as if his eyes were on her the whole time.

“Qian Wei, a student from our law school, was accused by Liang Qing, a student from the foreign language school, of stealing a necklace worth tens of thousands of yuan. After that, in front of many witnesses, the necklace was found hidden in Qian Wei’s dorm room.” Lu Xun paused, and when he continued his voice was cold, “With this, there is both an eyewitness and material evidence, so it seems that the case can be closed, doesn’t it?”

“However, is what you see at first glance the truth? Liang Qing stated that the necklace disappeared at around 8 p.m. four days ago from the drawer in her dorm room where she usually kept it. When the necklace reappeared, it was found in Qian Wei’s drawer at around 2 a.m. the next morning. That is to say, if Qian Wei really stole the necklace, then the crime could have only been committed within that timeframe. However, Qian Wei has an alibi. During those six hours, Qian Wei ate at a Koren Barbeque Restaurant outside the school from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. which can be attested to by her friends, and also by the staff of the restaurant. Thus, the only unaccounted for time is the four and a half hours between 9:30 p.m and 2 a.m.”

The usual celebratory speech given by the outstanding student representative during the school’s founding anniversary was rigidly transformed into a case analysis by Lu Xun’s calm and measured words. The teachers present on the sidelines all seemed to be desperately gesturing at Lu Xun to stop, but Lu Xun remained unmoved and continued presenting his case in a firm and steady tone.

“Thanks to what I’ve learned from our fine school, I know that it is inappropriate to slander an innocent girl as a thief. Although there are no cameras installed in the school dorm rooms out of consideration for the privacy of the students, for the sake of safety, there are cameras on the stairways between each floor. Liang Qing’s dorm room is on the fourth floor, while Qian Wei’s dorm room is on the third floor and, after checking the cameras, we know that Qian Wei never walked to the fourth floor between 9:30 p.m. three days ago and 2:30 a.m. the next morning.” Lu Xun’s voice was level but full of undeniable authority. “A person who didn’t ever step foot on the fourth floor during the alleged time of the loss of the necklace, I ask you, did she fly outside the window to steal?”

“It’s my hope that not only the school, but each and every one us students can remember our school motto and be a person who gathers information, discerns and considers that information, and then works to uphold the law, not just in the abstract sense, but also in the face of events that happen in our day to day lives. It’s easy to be swept away into accepting an existing point of view, but a person should always strive to do their own independent thinking, and not just spread or believe in rumors. This necklace incident is an excellent example, at first glance, it seems that Qian Wei stole Liang Qing’s necklace and should offer her an apology. However, what about the reality of the situation? I’m afraid that the person who framed Qian Wei should be the one apologizing to her.”

…….

“Every one of us law students should have independent and sound thinking, and we should have rational and clear minds. That is because the students of our law school will be the ones to bear the heavy burden that is the future progress of our legal system. We should be fair, compassionate, insightful, and reasonable. And, most importantly, we should learn and revere the law.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the gym exploded with applause, and Liu Shiyun was very excited. She grabbed Qian Wei’s shoulder and said, “That was amazing, even I’m going to fall in love with your Lu Xun! He’s handsome, so handsome! I really didn’t expect him to use this method to clarify things for you! Now the whole school knows that, not only you did not steal anything but, in fact, Liang Qing is the one who framed you! Huh? Qian Wei, why are you crying?”

Qian Wei, amidst the thunderous sound of applause, looked up at the man standing under the powerful gymnasium lights, icy and handsome, and burst into tears. Obviously, she didn’t want to cry, but the tears seemed to have a will of their own and poured out of her eyes completely without her consent. She had never really thought about having someone to protect her might feel like, but it turned out to feel like this. All this time she had been suffering from false accusations and people talking about behind her back, and now it seemed that all those grievances, her sad and depressed feelings that had been piling up silently until now, all suddenly disappeared together with her tears, leaving nothing but a warm glow in her heart. 

“My speech is over, thank you.” After Lu Xun finished his speech, his stern face finally gave way to a light smile, and he said, “These next words have nothing to do with my speech but I want to say them anyway. I would like to ask Liang Qing to be clear that Mo Tao is not Qian Wei’s boyfriend, and also to ask her to please not mess with her because of Mo Tao.” Then, word by word, he said, “Because. I. am. her. boyfriend.”

Now the scene was completely boiling over.

There was a brief period of confusion, and then even more intense and fanatical applause than just now erupted. In this gymnasium that seated tens of thousands of people, even in A University’s most intense basketball games, there had never been such an explosive outpouring of screams and applause. The sound burst out, as if to overturn the roof of the gymnasium, and nothing could restrain the student’s wild excitement. The teachers in charge of maintaining order obviously tried to control the scene, however, it was all in vain because Lu Xun had just caused too big of a commotion.

In the history of A University, no one had ever confessed their love in such an arrogant way before or since.

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