The last candidate to walk in was Chen Yang.
He walked up to the long table and stood there, his head lowered and his hands hanging at his sides.
Judge Lu looked at him.
"Do you know who Zilu was?"
Chen Yang listened to Judge Lu's question.
"Yes, I know that. He was a disciple of Confucius."
Judge Lu asked another question.
"Then have you heard the story of Zilu rescuing a drowning man?"
This touched on a gap in Chen Yang's knowledge.
"I really don't know that story."
Wen Ning suddenly spoke. It was also the first time he had spoken that evening.
Wen Ning looked Chen Yang in the eyes.
"Chen Yang, the evening before last, you were passing by the river when you saw a little girl fall into the water. You died, and she lived. Do you think it was worth it?"
Chen Yang lowered his head, as though sorting through words that were difficult to say aloud.
"I don't think it was worth it. I saved her because I felt that little girl shouldn't have to die. But honestly, from beginning to end, I never intended to trade my life for hers."
Chen Yang raised his head and looked at Wen Ning, his gaze frank and open. There was none of the standardized rhetoric people heard on television.
There were only the most honest thoughts of a young man in his early twenties.
"When I jumped in, I wasn't thinking about anything. I thought I could push her up onto the bank and climb out myself.
"In the end, she got out, but I didn't. Was I too impulsive?"
This was the most honest answer Wen Ning had heard that evening.
"You said you didn't think it was worth it,"
Wen Ning said.
"but you