The Belated Announcement and a Brazen Provocation
A few days later, on a weekday morning, the city's Public Security Bureau's official social media accounts and the websites of several authoritative local media outlets simultaneously released a formal police report with blue background and white text.
The report was written in a rigorous and restrained style, consistent with the official tone. It briefly described the acceptance, investigation, and first-instance judgment process of the case of "Lin being accused of forced molestation," and then emphasized that "due to the discovery of new key evidence," under the supervision of higher authorities, the special investigation team reviewed the case, and after a second-instance trial, it was ultimately determined that "the original judgment was unclear in facts and insufficient in evidence, and was therefore revoked according to law, declaring Lin innocent."
The report concluded by emphasizing that "the public security organs have always adhered to handling cases according to law, administering justice impartially, taking responsibility for every case, and striving to ensure that the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case," and expressed gratitude to all sectors of society for their attention and supervision of public security work.
This belated announcement, like a boulder thrown into a slightly calm lake, has stirred up ripples once again.
The internet's reaction was quickly polarized:
A number of netizens, mainly those who had previously believed in Lin Feng's innocence or were happy to see the judiciary correct its mistakes, left comments in the comment section to celebrate:
"Finally, you're here! I'm so glad I didn't give up!"
"Justice may be delayed, but it has not been denied! Kudos to the police for their efficiency this time!"
"It's great that Student Lin has been cleared! I hope he can get over this soon."
"The law is ultimately just!"
However, many observant netizens and those who had been following the case immediately noticed the problem. The report made no mention whatsoever of the disciplinary actions taken against the most key figures in the case who had sparked public outrage—the accuser Sun Tingting, the corrupt police officer Zhang Qian, and the presiding judge He, who was suspected of misconduct!
The voices of doubt came like a tidal wave:
"Wait? That's it? What about Sun Tingting? What about Zhang Qian? What about that 'judge's best friend'? They didn't say a word about what happened?"
"After all that, all they did was correct a wrongful conviction? And the person who made that conviction is still at large?"
So bad guys get no consequences at all? Good guys get two months in jail for nothing?
"What kind of fairness and justice is this? Arresting the wrong person and letting them go is the end of it? Where is the person who started this?!"
Some netizens with a relatively good understanding of judicial procedures or institutional rules attempted to explain:
"Everyone, please calm down. These official announcements usually only disclose the outcome of the case itself. The handling of the public officials involved falls under the category of internal disciplinary action and is typically not detailed in such announcements."
"Sun Tingting's behavior appears to be primarily a moral issue. The dormitory recording was obtained through flawed legal means, making it difficult to use as direct evidence of false accusation. This is unless Lin Feng files a private criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit."
"Zhang Qian and Judge He will definitely be dealt with internally—transferred, demoted, or even dismissed—but the process takes time, and it's generally not publicized."
But these rational analyses appear pale and powerless in the face of the overwhelming public opinion. A sense of powerlessness and anger permeates the internet:
"Is this the result we've been waiting for? An innocent person was inexplicably imprisoned for two months, and then all that's done with a casual 'you are innocent'? The perpetrators get away scot-free?"
"What about the consequences? Does making mistakes come without consequences? What kind of justice is this?!"
"This is so frustrating! It makes me furious!"
At this moment of public outrage and heated discussion, an article copied and forwarded from A Certain Little Red Book " platform was like a spark thrown into a powder keg, instantly igniting all the pent-up emotions!
The person who published this article was none other than Sun Tingting, who was at the center of the storm and should have been hiding! She actually used her verified account to post a new note:
Title: Some Recent Updates and Future Outlook
content:
"I'm sorry to all my friends who care about me~ Some unpleasant things have happened recently, but life always has to move forward!"
First off, I have some great news! I've successfully secured a place in a graduate program! (heart) Thank you to the school and teachers for their recognition and to myself for my hard work! I've also graduated smoothly! (graduation cap icon)
And then, I'll continue my wonderful doctoral studies! (book icon) I'll continue to shine in my favorite field! (sun icon)
As for that Student Lin (everyone knows who it is, right?), well... I think getting a guaranteed postgraduate admission might be very difficult for him. (chuckles) He might try applying to schools overseas? But no matter which school he applies to, (smiles) I think he'll receive a detailed set of evidence about his 'character' that I've compiled~ (file icon)
Also, I remember Student Lin, you're studying law, right? (Thinking) You'll probably take the bar exam later, right? (Sorry, I've already passed the bar exam! (Certificate icon)) I'll continue to 'report the situation' and 'raise reasonable questions' to the relevant departments (jb), (cute) I hope he can get a job smoothly~ (blessing) But I think it might be difficult... (shrug)
This note was written entirely in a deliberately relaxed, sarcastic, and even boastful and maliciously provocative tone. Not only did she show no remorse, but she also proudly announced that she had successfully secured a place in graduate school and passed the bar exam, and blatantly threatened to continue to obstruct Lin Feng's academic and career development worldwide. Her arrogance was outrageous!
It's blown up! It's completely blown up!
This note was quickly screenshotted and spread like wildfire across all Chinese internet platforms, including Weibo, Zhihu, Tieba, Hupu!
"Holy crap! How can this woman be so shameless and arrogant?!"
"How dare she post that?! Studying for a PhD so beautifully? Pah!"
"Open threats! This is blatant threats! This is outrageous!"
"She's guaranteed admission to graduate school? How can someone with her character be guaranteed admission? Is the school blind?!"
"He even passed the bar exam? Does someone like that deserve to be a lawyer? He's a disgrace to the law!"
"My blood pressure is skyrocketing! Is there really nothing we can do? Just let her run wild like this?"
"Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! I have never seen such a shameless person!"
Netizens are outraged! Sun Tingting's actions have completely trampled on the public's moral bottom line and seem to mock the powerlessness of the law and rules. People are frantically tagging various official media outlets, education departments, judicial examination institutions, and major universities, demanding an investigation and an explanation.
However, amidst the outrage and condemnation, a deep sense of powerlessness is also spreading. As some calm (or rather, pessimistic) netizens have pointed out:
"Anger aside, what she said... from a technical standpoint, seems really difficult to hold her legally responsible..."
"She didn't directly admit to making false accusations; she merely 'shared her recent situation' and expressed 'possible future actions.' This kind of skirting the line is difficult for the law to define."
"Unless Lin Feng himself takes a hard line and files a private criminal prosecution for false accusation, the difficulty of gathering evidence and the cost of litigation..."
"Is there really no way to deal with this kind of person? Just watch her smugly go on to pursue her PhD and continue to harm people?"
This frustrating feeling of knowing the other party is vicious and shameless, yet seemingly unable to punish them using conventional means, makes countless people who are following this matter feel suffocated and breathless.
In an inconspicuous internet cafe room in an urban village, Lin Feng calmly watched the media storm ignited by Sun Tingting through his computer screen.
Zhou Wenyuan's voice echoed in his mind, tinged with seriousness and anger. "[Master, Sun Tingting... she's too arrogant. Should we respond? Or should we initiate legal proceedings against her directly? Although gathering evidence is difficult, it's not entirely impossible.]"
Lin Feng looked at Sun Tingting's witty and sarcastic notes on the screen, especially those few malicious threats. There was no anger on his face; instead, a faint yet chilling smile slowly curved his lips.
He didn't answer Zhou Wenyuan immediately, but instead stretched out his finger and tapped lightly on the table.
"Respond? Of course we need to respond."
His voice was calm, yet it was like the deathly silence before a blizzard.
"But not now, and not through the law."
He paused, looked away from the screen, and gazed at the gray sky outside the window.
"Does she like to play games? Does she like to show off? Does she like to feel like she's won?"
"Very good."
"Then let her be happy for a few more days."
The higher you stand, the harder you fall.
"Lawyer Zhou," Lin Feng commanded in his mind, "Ignore this bullshit article of hers for now. Proceed as planned. I need information about her, her family, her guaranteed postgraduate admission, everything about her passing the bar exam... I mean everything, every single detail that doesn't stand up to scrutiny."
"Understood, Master." Zhou Wenyuan felt a chill run down his spine upon sensing the cold killing intent in Lin Feng's words and immediately replied.
Lin Feng closed the webpage filled with angry comments.
The noise is theirs.
What he needs now is absolute calm, and a fatal blow.
In his eyes, Sun Tingting's provocation was nothing more than the last thud of a dying worm.