False accusations

Jinling University, the volleyball court opposite Cafeteria No. 1.

At that moment, the dealer at the first square table looked utterly grim, even angry.

Facing the crowd's suspicious stares, she forced down her anger and demanded in a low voice, "Please don't make baseless accusations against others. This student and I only met at today's event. How could he have bribed me?"

"Who knows whether you two talked in private? Maybe you colluded ages ago just to take all the prizes at this table." Qiu Ya sneered, sounding thoroughly convinced of her own righteousness.

The spectators nodded in agreement, casting disgusted looks at the dealer.

"You..." The dealer's face turned livid with anger.

She was just a staff member of the Student Union, an honest person who had only come out to shake some dice and help with its activities today. She had never imagined she would be falsely accused like this.

At the thought, her eyes reddened with hurt, and she nearly cried.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What an actress. Do you think a few tears will sweep this whole thing under the rug?" Qiu Ya's eyes brimmed with mockery, her tone vicious.

"As a girl, you ought to have some self-respect. Don't let some guy lead you down the wrong path. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Why plant your flower in a pile of cow dung?"

As she spoke, Qiu Ya gave Jun Wangchen a provocative look, as though declaring that he was that pile of cow dung.

Jun Wangchen's expression could not have grown any darker. He had put up with Qiu Ya's attacks time and again, but he had never expected her to mistake his restraint for weakness and keep targeting him. She had gone far too far.

He was just about to speak when his roommate Wang Nuli walked over with a pretty girl. Fixing his eyes on Qiu Ya, he said cuttingly, "You there, the student who looks like a squash. As the future pillars of our nation, I think we ought to approach everything rationally. So why did your performance just now make me feel like I'd wandered into a pigsty?"

"What do you mean?" Qiu Ya froze, and her face instantly darkened.

Wang Nuli stroked his chin. "You don't understand? Fair enough. Anyone watching probably thinks I'm an idiot for trying to reason with a pig. After all, I don't speak any language that lets me communicate with nonhuman creatures!"

"You..." Qiu Ya flew into a rage.

Wang Nuli waved a hand, cutting her off. "Please don't talk to me through your excretory organ. It's extremely rude. Thank you!"

Qiu Ya was so furious she nearly burst into flames. Of course she knew Wang Nuli was Jun Wangchen's roommate, but she had never expected him to be so skilled at insults.

Beside him, Jun Wangchen felt immensely relieved. Everyone said their second roommate was unbearably noisy, but now he could see that making noise could be quite an intellectual pursuit.

Seeing Qiu Ya beside him so furious that she could barely think straight, Qin Shou rolled his eyes thoughtfully, then shouted, "Everyone, tell us who's in the right! These guys colluded to steal the event's grand prizes. My girlfriend exposed them, and they responded with a barrage of insults! Is there no justice anymore?"

The first table had already attracted plenty of attention. Qin Shou's shout drew almost everyone's gaze over.

"What happened at the first table?" asked a girl who had no idea what was going on.

A boy with dyed red hair beside her pointed at Jun Wangchen and said, "That guy bribed the dealer and guessed the dice correctly both times. Someone's exposing their dirty dealings now!"

"Huh? Seriously?" The girl could hardly believe it.

Another spectator sneered. "Why not? These days, people will do anything for profit. Someone at our school even drugged his girlfriend and sold her kidney last time!"

As more and more people took notice, a wave of discussion swept through the crowd. Most of it consisted of insults and criticism directed at Jun Wangchen and the dealer, with very few people taking a rational view.

Jun Wangchen and the others looked increasingly grim. They wanted to explain, but the tide of condemnation around them forced the words back down their throats.

Qin Shou and Qiu Ya wore mocking smiles. They knew full well that truth usually sided with the majority. With so many people pointing fingers, whatever explanations the others offered would be useless against such overwhelming opposition.

"Why are so many people gathered here? What happened?" Just as the situation threatened to spiral out of control, a young man wearing glasses strode over, followed by several students wearing Student Union staff badges.

"Isn't that Yang Qiang, the Student Union president?" someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Another person nodded. "It is. But didn't he leave for the national design competition half a month ago?"

"You're way behind the news. Yang Qiang came back to campus the day before yesterday, and he brought home first prize!" someone else said.

"Hello, President!" All the student staff greeted Yang Qiang in unison as soon as they saw him.

Yang Qiang nodded slightly, then turned to the dealer at the first table. "Xiao Mei, what happened?"

Choking back sobs, Xiao Mei explained everything that had happened.

After hearing the whole story, Yang Qiang glanced at Qiu Ya and Qin Shou, clearly displeased. "You two say our event's dealer secretly colluded with a participant. Do you have any evidence?"

"Isn't the evidence obvious? There were two rounds at the first table, and this guy guessed correctly both times, with absolute precision. Are you going to tell us that was luck?" Qiu Ya pointed at Jun Wangchen and sneered.

Yang Qiang paused, his gaze settling on Jun Wangchen.

Judging by his appearance, the young man before him seemed lazy and casual. At first glance, he was the sort of person who would go unnoticed anywhere.

Yet when their eyes met, Jun Wangchen seemed utterly calm—almost frighteningly so.

As Student Union president, Yang Qiang had dealt with plenty of high-ranking people. Ordinary students felt inexplicably inferior just looking at him, yet he could see none of that in Jun Wangchen's eyes.

Jun Wangchen gave him the impression of a boundless ocean. There was no telling how vast or how deep he truly was.

After considering things carefully for a moment, Yang Qiang asked Jun Wangchen, "Do you have anything you'd like to say?"

Everyone's eyes fell on Jun Wangchen. His expression remained composed, though there seemed to be a chill in his voice. "Not much. I'm just rather annoyed at being falsely accused for no reason."

"Falsely accused?" Qiu Ya chuckled, refusing to let up. "A single sentence isn't enough to establish whether you've been falsely accused. Before that, shouldn't you explain how you managed to guess correctly both times? And don't give us any nonsense about luck. Nobody's buying that."

Jun Wangchen remained composed. "The reason is simple. I can tell the numbers on the dice by listening."

Everyone froze.

Qiu Ya was stunned for an instant, then scoffed. "Could you at least come up with a better lie? You can hear the numbers on the dice? Please. Anyone who can do that is an expert gambler who's spent decades in casinos. You're just the son of a street sweeper, with only a few hundred yuan a month to live on. How could you possibly afford to spend your days gambling in casinos?"

Everyone was startled by her words. Jun Wangchen's monthly allowance was that low? In that case, his explanation did seem rather unconvincing.

Could our fourth roommate really have colluded with the dealer? Even Wang Nuli began to waver. After three years together, he knew Jun Wangchen's family circumstances all too well. His monthly allowance barely covered food and drink, let alone something as expensive as gambling.

Besides, in those three years, he had never seen Jun Wangchen touch a die. How could an ability to identify dice numbers by sound have appeared out of nowhere?

Yang Qiang and the others frowned as well. They were about to speak when Jun Wangchen said slowly, his expression unchanged, "I know you'll argue with anything I say right now, and I don't want to waste my breath on someone like you. If you want to know whether I can tell the numbers by listening, just have someone test me."

He really could not identify dice numbers by sound, but he could see the numbers on the dice inside the Dice Cup. To him, as long as he knew the numbers, hearing them and seeing them amounted to the same thing. Naturally, he could not openly admit that he could see through objects. First, nobody would believe him; second, it could bring trouble down on his head. After a little thought, he could only use "hearing the dice numbers" as an excuse.

Qiu Ya clearly had not expected Jun Wangchen to ask someone to verify his innocence. For a moment, she did not know what to say.

A gleam flashed through Qin Shou's eyes beside her, and he suddenly spoke up. "Since you've said that, how about I act as the dealer and test you?"

Everyone exchanged looks, but nobody spoke.

Jun Wangchen shrugged and said flatly, "Whatever. As long as it proves my innocence sooner."

A hint of coldness flickered through Qin Shou's eyes, but he quickly concealed it. He walked to the first square table and scooped up the Dice Cup with a backward sweep of his hand.

Clack, clack, clack!

The swish of rapid movement mingled with the rattle of colliding dice as Qin Shou worked both hands at incredible speed.

The spectators felt as though countless dice were flashing before their eyes and countless rattles were ringing in their ears.

"He's so fast!"

"How could anyone hear the numbers like this? It's too noisy."

"Who is he? He's so practiced at shaking dice. He must spend plenty of time in casinos."

Seeing everyone's astonished expressions, Qiu Ya felt a surge of pride. Qin Shou's older cousin owned a casino, and Qin Shou often learned gambling techniques from him. It was hardly surprising that he could do this much.

Jun Wangchen, by contrast, showed no expression at all. He simply watched calmly, unmoved.

Bang!

After roughly a minute, the blur in Qin Shou's hands vanished. By the time everyone registered what had happened, the Dice Cup had already landed in the center of the square table.

"Go on, tell us the numbers. Let's see how much further you can take this lie."