The onlookers voiced their support one after another. "Exactly, let the police come and see who actually committed a crime!"
"The value of this handkerchief really does meet the threshold for opening a case. Jiang Jinran really doesn't know when to accept a little grace. Shi Hui was already planning to let it go, but not only did she refuse to admit it, she even turned around and accused her... Now that the police are actually getting called, she'll have more trouble than she can handle."
"Doesn't she deserve it? Getting caught stealing and still refusing to admit it. Someone like that needs the police to straighten her out!"
"Shi Hui, you're just too kind. Call the police directly. Let's see how much longer she can keep jumping around!"
Jiang Jinran gave a quiet scoff and pointed at Shi Hui's phone. "Go ahead and call the police."
Everyone froze at her words.
Was Jiang Jinran insane?
Shouldn't she have been drowning in regret by now, obediently admitting her mistake and sobbing as she begged Shi Hui to be magnanimous and not call the police?
Yet she wasn't the slightest bit afraid of the police.
What an utterly fearless lunatic!
Shi Hui wasn't going to indulge her either and confronted her head-on. "Fine, you said it yourself. Let's wait for the police, then!"
With that, Shi Hui called the police.
News that the police had gone to the Central Theater suddenly spread like wildfire across the major social media platforms.
[Apparently the police went to the theater. Someone saw a police car. Does anyone know what happened?]
[Isn't the Central Theater hosting the Hope Cup finals? Did something happen?]
[A relative of mine does odd jobs at the Central Theater. Apparently someone stole something, and the victim called the police...]
[Theft? What did they steal?]
[Apparently it was the Imperial Star Academy team. The actress playing the little tree stole something worth tens of thousands from the female lead.]
[The little tree stole something? She looked so innocent and harmless!]
[That's why you can't judge a book by its cover.]
[Even the police have been called out. It's probably pretty much confirmed.]
[She actually got quite a bit of attention. She was one of the few from this Hope Cup to reach a wider audience. Talk about courting death!]
At the Central Theater.
Onstage, the finals were still underway.
Backstage, the police had arrived in front of Jiang Jinran and Shi Hui. "Tell us exactly what happened, in detail. Don't be nervous. Take your time."
Shi Hui picked up the handkerchief in her hand and said calmly and steadily, "First, I noticed my handkerchief was missing. I had still been using it when I came back from the stage, and I never left this area afterward, so I couldn't have lost it outside."
"Then I saw my handkerchief stuffed in Jiang Jinran's pocket. I checked carefully. This handkerchief really is mine."
"All right, I understand." The officer nodded, his tone quite friendly. Then he turned to Jiang Jinran and asked gently, "Now, tell us your side in detail too. We certainly can't listen to just one side of the story."
Jiang Jinran nodded and said in one breath, "Simply put, this handkerchief was mine to begin with, but she couldn't find hers, decided mine was hers, and snatched it from me."
"The problem is, this handkerchief really isn't hers."
The officer nodded attentively, also lowering his head to jot a few things in his notebook. He frowned in thought for a moment, then said, "In that case, we'll have to check the surveillance footage."
Jiang Jinran pursed her lips. "Actually, there's no need to check the footage."
The officer looked up. "How so?"
Jiang Jinran glanced at Shi Hui beside her, then turned back to the officer in front of her. Starlight seemed to dance in her eyes, which shone with liveliness and confidence. "As everyone knows, SIU is a famous luxury brand. They offer a service-"
"Customers can have their surnames engraved on the items they buy."
The officer's eyes lit up. "So you're saying this handkerchief has your surname on it?"
Jiang Jinran smiled and nodded.
Shi Hui, however, froze slightly.
This was also the first time she had heard that SIU offered surname engraving.
How did a penniless wretch like Jiang Jinran know about it?
"Miss Shi, could you let me look at the handkerchief?" the officer asked Shi Hui gently.
"Of course." Naturally, Shi Hui wouldn't refuse. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
With the handkerchief in his hands, the officer examined it carefully, finally discovering an engraved character in one corner-
It was the character "Jiang," plain and clear.
Upon discovering this, the officer instinctively looked at Jiang Jinran. "Miss Jiang, it looks like this really is your handkerchief. It has the character Jiang engraved on it."
At these words, everyone except Jiang Jinran widened their eyes in surprise.
An uproar broke out.
"How is that possible?" Shi Hui couldn't believe it. The officer handed the handkerchief back to her, and she hurriedly picked it up to examine it. Sure enough, the character Jiang was engraved on it!
How was that possible!
Even with that character, "Jiang," clear as day right before her eyes, Shi Hui still refused to believe it-
How could Jiang Jinran possibly own such an expensive handkerchief?!
And where on earth had her own handkerchief gone?
The onlookers were already too stunned to speak. The situation had suddenly taken a dramatic turn-
Was this handkerchief really Jiang Jinran's?
How could a broke-ass like Jiang Jinran possibly own it!
"Could there be some kind of misunderstanding here?" someone asked. "For example, Jiang Jinran stole Shi Hui's handkerchief and engraved her own surname on it, or SIU engraved it incorrectly when Shi Hui first bought it and put Jiang on it instead..."
Jiang Jinran looked at the girl who had asked the question as though she were an idiot. "How can there be so many coincidences and possibilities in this world? Why don't you say you're not smart because your parents secretly swapped your brain after you were born, rather than because you were born that way?"
"You..." The girl was left speechless by Jiang Jinran's retort. Her whole face flushed red, and she looked furious.
Shi Hui clenched her fists and bit her lip, saying nothing.
She felt humiliated.
In all her life, this might have been her most humiliating moment.
In the end, the officer still checked the surveillance footage and found Shi Hui's missing handkerchief.
It turned out to have fallen under the sofa.
The case could thus be considered successfully closed.
Jiang Jinran glanced at Shi Hui's recovered handkerchief, then suddenly narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Shi Hui, why does your handkerchief look a little off? From what I can see, it doesn't seem to have an engraving..."
At her words, everyone couldn't help turning their eyes toward Shi Hui's handkerchief.
Shi Hui's heart trembled when she heard this.
She instinctively turned the handkerchief over to examine it. Sure enough, she couldn't find any engraving.
Her mother had bought this handkerchief for her as a gift.
She only knew it was an SIU handkerchief and knew nothing else about it.
Jiang Jinran's airy voice sounded in her ears again. "That's not right, Shi Hui. The logo on your handkerchief looks a little different too, compared with my genuine one."
At these words, everyone immediately understood.
Shi Hui's handkerchief had neither the customary engraving nor the correct logo...
Shi Hui was actually using a high-quality counterfeit!
To everyone present, this amounted to the collapse of her public image.
Shi Hui was a well-known wealthy young lady. It was perfectly normal for her to use designer brands, and everyone had assumed that a wealthy young lady like her
would disdain using top-grade knockoffs.
But-
The truth was already right before their eyes.