Chapter 47

A few days later, on a sunny afternoon.

Outside Sea City Police Station.

Zhang Xinyang reported the crime and told the police everything Wang Shining had done to bully him at school. Lu Yao had come to the station today to serve as Zhang Xinyang's witness and provide testimony.

Lu Yao had just finished giving his statement. He stood at the entrance of the police station, waiting for his family's driver to pick him up. Zhang Xinyang stood beside him and waited as well.

Thinking of the arrogant attitude Wang Shining and his father had displayed inside the station, Lu Yao frowned.

He spoke softly. "Wang Shining is still under eighteen, and this is his first violation of public security regulations. Under the rules, he will most likely be sentenced to a few days of administrative detention, but it won't be enforced. In the end, he'll only need to pay a few hundred yuan in fines to get away with it."

Zhang Xinyang's expression did not change, and his voice remained calm. "Yeah, I know that's what the law says, so I never expected this to punish him."

Thinking that his plan was nearing success, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. "Lu Yao, reporting it to the police is only the beginning. This time, I won't keep putting up with it like I did before."

Hearing footsteps behind him, Zhang Xinyang turned around and saw his mother and adoptive father walking over hand in hand. A trace of relief appeared in his eyes.

Lu Yao had only just learned from Wang Shining's furious father that Zhang Xinyang's adoptive father had resigned from his position as the chairman's assistant at the Wang family company because of this matter.

Zhang Xinyang's mother greeted Lu Yao gently. "Lu Yao, thank you for everything you've done for our Xinyang. Auntie truly doesn't know how to thank you. If there's ever anything our family can help you with, just tell us. Let Auntie have a chance to repay you."

Lu Yao was not used to such situations. He pressed his lips together awkwardly. "Auntie, it was nothing. Please don't take it too much to heart."

That day, after Lu Yao injured his hand, he had bled quite a lot. Zhang Xinyang had not noticed at the time that the inside hem of his school uniform had also been stained with Lu Yao's blood.

But when Zhang Xinyang's mother went to wash the clothes that evening, she discovered the bloodstains. Thinking Zhang Xinyang had been hurt, she asked him about it. At the time, Zhang Xinyang's mind had been in complete turmoil. Seeing that something was wrong with him, she questioned him again and again until he finally told her what had happened at school.

After learning about it, Zhang Xinyang's adoptive father did not say much. He simply resigned from the position at the Wang family company that he had worked for years to earn.

Noticing that the Lu family driver had parked by the roadside nearby, Zhang Xinyang's adoptive father patted his shoulder affectionately. "Go see Lu Yao to the car."

Zhang Xinyang had grown much closer to his adoptive father during this period.

After the incident, the two had a long talk behind Zhang Xinyang's mother's back. Following that conversation, Zhang Xinyang's trust and dependence on his adoptive father visibly increased. His adoptive father had also offered plenty of help and advice in refining the plan. It could be said that Zhang Xinyang had been so confident in the plan precisely because his adoptive father was there.

As Lu Yao got into the car home, he was still wondering what exactly Zhang Xinyang's so-called plan was.

By Sunday, three days later, Lu Yao caught a glimpse of Zhang Xinyang's scheme amid the furious online backlash and could not help but marvel at how perfectly Zhang Xinyang had struck at the snake's vital point.

Fan Qi was a well-known influencer on Weibo. He had originally worked as an investigative reporter at a newspaper, but later felt too constrained there and simply left.

He had previously exposed many illegal activities on Weibo, becoming known for speaking the truth and fearing no trouble.

It had originally been an ordinary Sunday, but after Fan Qi posted that video on Weibo, it stirred up a huge uproar.

The moment Lu Yao saw the video, he immediately recognized that it had been filmed on the day he went to the police station to give his statement.

At the time, Wang Shining and his father had been extremely arrogant, demanding that Zhang Xinyang's family reach a settlement with them.

The main people in the video were the police officer handling the case, Wang Shining and his father, and Zhang Xinyang's family.

The video's creator had heavily blurred everyone except Wang Shining and his father. As a result, viewers could more directly see just how detestable the father and son were.

In the video, Wang Shining's father sat cross-legged in an office chair. He looked utterly unconcerned, his tone casual. "Wasn't it just some kids fooling around? Do you really need to be so petty about it? You're being awfully small-minded."

Seeing his attitude, Zhang Xinyang's mother was so angry that her voice trembled.

"Your son bullied and beat my son so many times, and you call that fooling around? Do you have no shame at all? The bruises all over his body haven't even faded yet! Here's the injury report. Look at it yourself!"

Zhang Xinyang's mother slammed the injury report onto the table in front of Wang Shining's father.

Wang Shining's father picked up the report and gave it a cursory glance.

"Rip—"

In just a few motions, he tore the injury report into pieces.

Zhang Xinyang's mother's voice was full of fury. "What are you doing?!"

Wang Shining's father waved his hand and scattered the scraps through the air, his expression disdainful. "Enough. Isn't this just about money? Tell me, how much do you want? I'll consider it charity for beggars, a good deed—"

Before he could finish, the young police officer beside him slammed a folder against the table in front of him, cutting him off.

Police officer: "This is a police station. Do you think it's your house? Pick up every single one of those scraps. You have no manners at all."

Wang Shining's father glared at him in disbelief. "Do you know who I am?! You're just some little cop, and you dare speak to me like that? Believe it or not, one phone call from me and you'll be sent home to starve."

Police officer: "I don't care who you are. You think you're in the right for throwing paper around?"

Seeing that Wang Shining's father stubbornly refused to pick them up, the officer spoke with open disgust. "Honestly, you've lived to this age, but your manners haven't improved one bit."

Wang Shining craned his neck, furious. "Who are you talking about?!"

The officer rolled his eyes. "The two of you. One commits campus bullying, the other litters. Father and son indeed."

Wang Shining gritted his teeth in rage.

But the officer ignored him and said directly, "If you want to reach a settlement with the victim, fix your attitude. Otherwise, under the regulations, you'll definitely be sentenced to administrative detention."

Wang Shining sneered. "Go ahead. You think I don't know? I'm not eighteen yet, so even if you sentence me to detention, you can't enforce it. It's only a few hundred yuan in fines. If the money were lying on the ground, I wouldn't even bother picking it up. Just like my dad said, treat it as charity for beggars."

Zhang Xinyang's adoptive father clenched his fists tightly.

After exchanging a glance with Zhang Xinyang and confirming that the camera was recording properly, he thought of what would happen next and finally felt a little better.

Though Wang Shining sounded unconcerned, his father knew that if things continued this way, Wang Shining's and the Wang family's reputations would certainly be affected.

His eyes shifted, and he looked at Zhang Xinyang's adoptive father with a false smile. "Assistant Dong, I promoted you personally, and I was the one who got your son transferred into Huiying High School. Are you sure you want to be so ungrateful?"

Zhang Xinyang's adoptive father gritted his teeth. "I sent him to Huiying High School because I wanted him to succeed, not become someone's punching bag. Don't think your Wang family can cover the sky with one hand just because you have power and wealth."

Wang Shining's father gave an oily smile and shook his head.

"Assistant Dong, you're still too young. Don't be so impulsive when things happen. You've resigned and are unemployed now. If I make one phone call, do you believe you'll never find another decent job? Our Wang family has plenty of money. If money can settle something, then it isn't a problem. So tell me, how much will it take for you to let this go? But let me offer you some advice too: don't be too greedy, or you might find that money too hot to hold."

After his threats and inducements, Wang Shining's father believed Zhang Xinyang's family merely wanted to seize the chance to extort money. As long as he gave them some cash, the matter would naturally be settled with ease.

Zhang Xinyang had remained silent until then, when he suddenly spoke. "Who wants your filthy money?! Even if Wang Shining can't be truly detained, I still won't settle with you!"

Hearing that Zhang Xinyang did not seem willing to let the matter go, Wang Shining's father's narrow eyes, squeezed together by fat, suddenly gleamed with menace.

He narrowed his eyes, his voice dark and gloomy. "Kid, I advise you to know when to quit. I prefer courtesy before force. While I'm still speaking nicely to you, you'd better—"

Before Wang Shining's father could finish threatening them, the young officer struck the table with his folder again and cut him off. "Are you treating me like I'm invisible?! I'm standing right here, and you still dare threaten the victim's family! Enough, enough. I don't see this mediation working. Let's end things here for today!"

Naturally, Wang Shining's father refused. He ordered sternly, "No. Our Wang family cannot afford this kind of disgrace. This mediation must continue."

The officer's tone was filled with obvious irritation. "Enough. Your Wang family isn't the royal family. From what I can see, even the imperial families of ancient times might not have been as overbearing as yours."

Just because they had some dirty money, they really thought they were something. As if he did not have connections himself.

The officer curled his lip and led Zhang Xinyang's family away.

It had been a long time since Wang Shining's father had been humiliated like that. His chest heaved with anger, and his breathing became noticeably faster.

Wang Shining moved close to him and asked worriedly, "Dad, what do we do now?"

For all his earlier bravado, he had only wanted to intimidate them into taking the money and dropping the matter. Now that Zhang Xinyang's family clearly would not fall for it, Wang Shining began to worry.

He still wanted to inherit his father's company. If his reputation was damaged, his smiling-tiger older brother would definitely use this matter as leverage to suppress him.

Wang Shining's father stood up and viciously kicked him. "Who told you to cause this kind of trouble?! Can't you learn from your older brother? I'll go home and find connections to settle this. If you dare cause trouble again, I'll kick you to death."

Wang Shining lowered his eyes slightly, and they were filled with gloom.

Limping, he followed behind his father. The video ended there.

The moment the video was released, it immediately caused an uproar online. It quickly climbed the trending rankings, and the discussion continued to grow.

[I'm furious! Make these two scumbags explode on the spot already!]

[It's bad enough that the son bullied someone at school, but the father actually called it kids fooling around and blindly defended him. He's only bullying classmates now, but sooner or later he'll think nothing of murder!]

[Their attitude is outrageously vile! They dared shout at the police inside a police station and even said they'd use connections to settle it. People like this must have committed plenty of illegal acts and bribery before!]

[Finally, a video that blurred the victims while exposing the criminals! Trash like this deserves to be known across the entire country!]

[Does anyone know who these two pigs are? It sounds like their family is pretty powerful!]

[The Wang family of Sea City. The Wang Group belongs to them!]

[I feel so bad for the powerless victim's family. Where are the relevant law enforcement departments? Hurry up and investigate the Wang family!]

[He merely has the surname Wang, yet he really thinks he's a king. Even in ancient times, they said the emperor was subject to the same law as commoners! This father and son really are two of a kind!]

[I hope they protect that righteous police officer!]

[How can people be this disgusting? They bullied someone without apologizing and don't have even the slightest remorse!]

[From the way this father and son speak and behave, you can see just how outrageous their sense of privilege is. They simply don't see poor people as human!]

[Hurry up and wipe out this kind of trash humanely!!]

[I'm from Sea City. Huiying High School is one of the top elite schools in Sea City. That trash dog Wang Shining being able to attend Huiying High School proves his family really has power and influence.]

Naturally, Huiying High School students were avid internet users too, so they quickly noticed this trending topic related to their school.

Although Zhang Xinyang's family had all been blurred in the video, everyone easily guessed who the bullied student was from the information provided.

After watching the video, many students were utterly shocked. After all, normal people still made up the majority. Even if they felt that a classmate's family circumstances differed from their own, they would not go so far as to bully that person.

As they discussed Wang Shining's case, they inevitably thought of those who had recently interacted with him.

Lu Yao and Wang Shining had inexplicably become hostile toward each other before, and everyone had been guessing why they had clashed.

Thinking about it now, Lu Yao had probably confronted Wang Shining because of this matter. Otherwise, after defeating Wang Shining, Lu Yao would not have inexplicably demanded that he apologize to Zhang Xinyang. They remembered that Wang Shining had fled in embarrassment, avoiding Lu Yao's demand.

[Wang Shining has really disgraced our school this time.]

[Ye Muqing asked Lu Yao whether he confronted Wang Shining because of Zhang Xinyang, and Lu Yao seemed to admit it.]

[Helping someone is a good thing. Why didn't Lu Yao just say it directly before?]

[That's Zhang Xinyang's privacy. If Lu Yao had revealed it on his own, wouldn't that have been a second injury to Zhang Xinyang? If you want to help someone, you need to consider what kind of help suits them!]

[Charging ahead recklessly on nothing but passion can sometimes hurt people more easily.]

[Lu Yao is really cold on the outside and warm on the inside. He looks hard to approach, but he's unexpectedly considerate of other people's feelings.]

[It's enough that students at our school know who the victim is. Don't carelessly post it online.]

[Watch your mouths. Don't tell people outside the school who it is either.]

While everyone was discussing the matter fervently, the Wang family was in complete chaos.