Their scheme backfired spectacularly

The officer turned to question Shen Banxia.

Shen Banxia shook her head, looking innocent.

"Although this pen was taken out of my drawer, I never touched it, and I don't know who put it there.

You can check the surveillance footage to see who put it there, officer!"

"Everyone knows the camera in our classroom has been broken for days.

You knew there was no footage, which is why you were bold enough to steal Cheng Li's pen!" Yang Danya sneered.

"Oh dear, I forgot. Today is my first day at this school.

I had no idea the classroom camera was broken, though you all seem to know that very well.

But it doesn't matter if there's no footage. The officers have plenty of other ways to investigate.

For example, they can check whether my fingerprints are on the pen or its case.

Also, before I left my seat at noon, I wiped down my desktop and drawer with wet wipes, and my drawer wasn't locked.

The officers can check the fingerprints on my desktop and inside my drawer, too, to see whose they are.

Pei Yu should be able to confirm that I wiped down my desk.

He was still here when I left the classroom."

"Banxia, what are you trying to say? You stole something and won't admit it, and now you're trying to frame Pei Yu!" Yang Danni jumped to her feet in agitation.

"Banxia, it's all right to admit it. I'll help you buy Cheng Li a new pen, and she'll forgive you. Let's not trouble the officers anymore," Xu Mingyue added, sounding understanding.

As long as Shen Banxia admitted it, she would be branded a thief for life, and Xu Mingyue would have achieved her goal.

She didn't want the matter to escalate, much less involve the police or have a formal case opened.

After all, if Shen Mingyue was taken to the police station on her first day at her new school, she would have a hard time explaining it when she returned to the Shen Family. Besides, she knew perfectly well that Shen Banxia hadn't stolen the pen.

And the police weren't fools. If they actually investigated, they would soon uncover the truth and prove Shen Banxia's innocence.

Then all her efforts would have been wasted, and she might even get herself into trouble.

So the most pressing thing was to force Shen Banxia to admit to stealing the pen. Then she could step in and smooth things over for her, killing two birds with one stone.

"Mingyue, you're so kind to me!

Why don't you go all the way and just admit you stole the pen? Then you can buy Cheng Li a new one, and that'll settle everything!" Shen Banxia said with a sweet smile.

"You-" Xu Mingyue hadn't expected Shen Banxia to pull that move, and her expression twisted with anger.

"Banxia is right. She wasn't the last person to leave the classroom. I was!"

Pei Yu spoke up then.

"But I didn't take Cheng Li's pen either. I agree with Banxia that we should check the fingerprints to prove our innocence."

"Why go to all that trouble? Just check the classroom footage, and everything will be clear." Xu Ziming had overslept. He had just walked into the classroom, and after someone nearby filled him in, he called out casually.

"Our classroom camera has been broken for a week. Did you forget?" Xu Mingyue reminded him quietly, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

Xu Ziming himself had broken the camera while playing ball in the classroom. They all thought he had done it deliberately, but they were happy with the result.

That was also why she hadn't stopped Cheng Li and the others when she learned they were planning to frame Shen Banxia.

Without surveillance footage, witness testimony was the most important evidence. Enough people repeating a lie could make it seem true.

But for all her careful planning, she hadn't accounted for Pei Yu being the last to leave the classroom, or for Shen Banxia calling the police herself and asking for a fingerprint examination.

"Didn't anyone tell you the repairman fixed it last night?" Xu Ziming looked baffled. Surely he wasn't the only one who knew!

Yang Danya went deathly pale at those words. She glanced at Cheng Li, then hurriedly explained,

"I'm sorry, officer. I remember now.

After class, I sat at Shen Banxia's desk and chatted with Cheng Li. When we finished talking, I put the pen in the drawer without thinking.

Right, Cheng Li?"

If they actually checked the footage, their attempt to frame Shen Banxia would be exposed.

Then they would all be done for.

"Now that you mention it, I remember too. Danya was sitting at Banxia's desk, playing with my pen while we chatted. We got so caught up in our conversation that we forgot," Cheng Li hastily chimed in.

They were in the same boat now. Neither could escape unscathed on her own; they could only protect each other.

At this point, the truth seemed to have come out.

"Officer, it turns out this was just a misunderstanding. We're sorry we made you come all this way for nothing!" Xu Mingyue stepped forward and said. All she could do now was try to play the matter down.

"If it was a misunderstanding, then apologize properly to your classmate and ask for her forgiveness. Don't let this happen again. Falsely accusing a classmate of being a thief is no small matter!"

"Yes, yes, we won't do it again. We'll withdraw the report," Cheng Li agreed, nodding repeatedly.

She was so meek that she seemed like an entirely different person from the arrogant bully she had been earlier.

"Yes, we don't want to report it anymore."

"We've already responded to the call, so the report can't be withdrawn.

If it doesn't meet the criteria for opening a case, the person who called only needs to sign a public security mediation agreement.

Which of you called the police?"

His question left them dumbfounded.

If they had been the ones to call the police, they could simply sign the agreement now and gloss over the whole thing.

But the problem was that they hadn't called the police. Shen Banxia had, so the decision whether to sign the public security mediation agreement was hers.

"Banxia, hurry up and sign the agreement. Don't keep the officers from their real work!" Yang Danya urged anxiously.

"No, I can't!

You falsely accused me of stealing the pen, threatened to call the police, and demanded that I kneel and apologize to you.

Now that I've been proven innocent, I won't sign unless you apologize to me!" Shen Banxia looked hurt but resolute.

"Cheng Li, you lot are really vicious. It was just a pen. Did you really have to go that far?" Even Xu Ziming couldn't stand it anymore.

"We're sorry. It was all our fault. We misunderstood you." Cheng Li was finding it hard to save face, but she could only grit her teeth and apologize.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have falsely accused you," Yang Danya apologized reluctantly as well.

Shen Banxia still refused to sign.

Then a classmate called out,

"Didn't you agree earlier that if Banxia really stole the pen, she'd kneel and apologize to you, but if she was proven innocent, you'd go out into the hallway, shout your own names, and admit you deliberately framed her? Did you forget?"

"Shen Banxia, do you really have to take things this far?"

"You don't have to shout or apologize." Shen Banxia pouted, looking aggrieved. "Why don't we have the officers check the footage instead? Maybe you've been falsely accused too."

"We'll apologize!" Cheng Li suddenly shouted in agitation.