CH 48.1

Three Graves 11.1

CW: mentions of suicide

In front of Yong Chuan College, more and more bystanders were starting to gather.

Xing Cong Lian’s expression, hearing those words, turned stiff. He turned to look at the school’s security guards. The guards looked at each other, not seeming to know about it.

“Do you have photographs you can provide the photographs to the police?”

“I do!”

Wang Shi Shi’s mother was about to hand over the photographs when she jerked her hand up, displaying the photographs high in the air, shouting, “Young Chuan College’s so-called ‘talented students’, spread my daughter’s photos without permission, while the school sat around and did nothing, forcing my poor daughter to her death!”

Hearing this, Xing Cong Lian hurriedly stepped in front of the woman, blocking the reporters’ cameras, as well as the flashing lights that would tear down the last of hte girl’s dignity.

“Please give the photos to me.” He said.

Wang Shi Shi’s mother had no idea that the police’s attitude would be so unyielding. She lifted her head, glaring at the officer in front of her, saying, “What? Is the police trying to shield the school too?”

Xing Cong Lian looked down at the woman in front of him, his gaze turning cold.

In this world, how can there be a mother who loves her daughter, yet before her body was cold, cause trouble at a school, and in front of a huge audience, show off said daughter’s nude photos? What she wants is only to use this opportunity to get the media to blow the event up, then, using the power of public opinion, blackmail the school, squeezing out every last drop of her daughter’s blood.

Thinking of this, he squinted slightly, his eyes displaying a deep, biting threat, “This has nothing to do with shielding any side. This only has to do with whether or not it concerns the law. If you don’t hand over the pictures, I will arrest you for spreading obscene materials.”

“You!” The woman could only say this one word, and nothing more.

She had a lot she could say, for example, she could accuse the police of abuse of power, or complain that the police were bullying a weak woman like her. No matter if it was on laws or on morality, she had a lot she could say.

But at that moment, she suddenly realized that this officer meant every word he said, he really would put handcuffs on her in front of the audience.

Truth be told, as a lawyer, getting handcuffed by the police is a very honorable thing. However, the police in front of her had an attitude that was too serious, too solemn. She could even detect in this kind of attitude, an extraordinary sense of iron-bloodedness. This made it almost impossible to think of resisting. Her hands shook almost uncontrollably, and she subconsciously handed over that thick stack of photos.

Xing Cong Lian lowered his head, accepting the photos with both hands. He looked at the woman’s pale face and said blandly, “Thank you for your trust, the police will put all their power into the investigation.”

He finished and didn’t look at the woman’s face again. He handed the photos to Jiang Chao.

Seeing Xing Cong Lian turn around, the woman suddenly clenched her fist. One threat of spreading obscene materials blocked her chances of bringing those photographs out again. How dare this police officer speak to the victim’s family like that!

If she couldn’t bring out those photos again, the reporters won’t pay that much attention to her daughter’s death, and she will have lost her best bargaining chip against the school.

Now that the situation has been blown this big, she won’t have another chance to cause trouble. No matter what, she needed to do it all in one go. She didn’t know where she found the courage, but to Xing Cong Lian’s back, she coldly said, “Hehe, I knew you wouldn’t give a statement to us, the victim’s family!”

“What kind of statement do you want?” Xing Cong Lian turned around to ask.

His gaze was sharp, his words like knives. The woman was forced to turn around, only daring to glare at the old man standing in front of the school gates, shouting, “Something like this happened at the school. My daughter has been forced to her death. Is this not due to the neglicence of the school? Is it just going to end like this?”

“Having something like this happen, the school, of course, has an unavoidable responsibility…” At that moment, the old man standing to the side opened his mouth.

“If you’re responsible, then are you just going to talk about it?!” The woman felt gleeful. Since the school is admitting to the wrong, then she can ask for whatever compensation she wants. But before she could open her mouth, the old man suddenly stood up.

“As the Headmaster of the school, I apologize to you, on the school’s behalf.” The old man said, as he bent forward. It was a 90 degree bow, solemn and ceremonial.

The flashes came in a wave.

Lin Chen sat in the car, looking at the teacher bowing in the middle of the crowd, his hand tightly squeezed the door handle, knuckles white, veins bulging.

“Headmaster!”

“Teacher Su!”

The surrounding faculty and staff of Yong Chuan College felt pain in their hearts, and called out one after another. Xu Guo Qing rushed to support the old man, but was firmly rejected by the old man.

The woman didn’t expect the apology from Yong Chuan College would come so freely and sincerely. It was like she lost her reason to continue making a scene. But since the situation had escalated to here, she coudln’t turn back, she could only continue to barrel forward, “Do you think an apology can fix the issue?”

Hearing this, Xing Cong Lian’s gaze returned from the police car on the side of the road. He looked at the emotional teachers and students standing in the crowd and said to the woman in front of him, “Since the Headmaster is here, if you have any requests, go ahead and say them here. Us police can bear witness for you.”

His voice was deep, but clear, suppressing the noise at the scene.

In an instant, everything was quiet. Everyone’s attention was once again on the woman wearing the mourning linens. The reporters moved their microphones forward slightly, as if waiting for her to speak.

The woman’s heart trembled, watching that scorching gaze. She imagined cutting the officer in front of her up a million times. What did he mean say them here? What did he mean bear witness? This officer clearly knew she wanted compensation, yet he’s forcing her to ask in front of the general public. In this situation, how could she directly ask for money?

She retreated two steps, cradling her head, and softly said, “I’m tired…if there are any problems, I want to talk about them in the office.”

Xing Cong Lian didn’t respond, he only looked at the old man.

Old Headmaster Su, receiving the signal, humbly said, “Wang Shi Shi’s mother, if you have any requests, please let this old man know right now. Anything I can do, I will do to the best of my ability, but if you want to bring it up later…”

Meaning, once you pass the village, there won’t be another shop like this.

T/N: a Chinese idiom that means once you miss the opportunity, you won’t get it again

The woman made a decision and asked directly, “I want Yong Chuan College to compensate ten million.”

Finishing her sentence, she didn’t care about the sharp noises coming from the crowd, she only stubbornly gazed at that police officer.

My daughter died, you should compensate me!

However, the moment she lifted her head, she met the gaze of that officer. In that gaze that swept across here, there was no mocking, no ridicule, there didn’t even seem to a feeling of contempt. It was unnaturally calm, as calm as the mountains are tall, as the oceans were deep. It made it hard to breathe.

So she really did want money!

Although everyone knew from the start, the daughter’s body had yet to cool, yet her mother was already asking for ten million in front of the public. This couldn’t just be described as “shameless”, this was basically like eating human blood buns, and it’s the mom that’s dipping every bite into her daughter’s fresh blood.

The reporters took their pictures, but only felt a wave of disgust. In their hearts, they silently dismissed their original headlines, replacing it with something like “The Frail Daughter’s Bones had yet to Cool, yet the Cruel Mother is Already Asking for Ten Million in Compensation”.

The situation had reversed.

“The victim’s family has requested compensation, then, Headmaster Su, what will you do?” Xing Cong Lian’s face was blank, impartial as always.

“Well, we still want to hear the results of the investigation.” Mr. Su bowed slightly and said, “but ten million in compensation is hard to achieve, forgive me.”

Hearing this, Want Shi Shi’s mother suddenly raised her eyebrows, turning around to start trouble again.

But before she could open her mouth, Xing Cong Lian bowed down slightly and asked the old man: “Then, what if the victim’s family continue to protest at the school gate? What will you do?”

The old man glanced at Xing Cong Lian, as if to say, why are you asking such a stupid question, “Then let them. What’s the problem?”

Hearing this, the people nearby, whether they were bystanders, reporters, teachers, students, and even Wang Shi Shi’s mother, were very shocked.

“It won’t affect the school’s normal teaching operations?” Xing Cong Lian asked, after a short pause.

“Are they bored?” The old man asked in return.

Xing Cong Lian thought, this really is Lin Chen’s teacher, he doesn’t play by the rules.

“You mean…?”

“In school, you should focus on studying. Does this even have anything to do with them? If some random gust of wind blowing some grass around distracts you from studying, then can you call yourself a student of Yong Chuan College?” The old man’s voice was bright, yet his tone was strict. It was like he was mad at Xing Cong Lian. He finished speaking, waved his hand, and walked away in a huff.

Xing Cong Lian was practically wronged, but he understood clearly. What the old man said was not so much an answer to his question, rather, it was said for the students and teachers of the school. The old man’s message was simple:

You are scholars of Yong Chuan, you should be tough and unwavering in your spirit.

It was unclear if it was the effect of the old man’s words, or the hateable, threatening face of the woman, but the scholars of Yong Chuan, seeing this dramatic scene, have gone from the initial shock and curiosity, to calm and indifference. Yeah, they are the students of a renowned school, the proud sons of heaven. How could they have time to waste on this curious show? They just wanted to take a look at the excitement. Whoever wants to act in it can do so, they don’t have the time to accompany the actors anyway.

Thinking to here, the students gathered around the entrance started following the headmaster’s footsteps and started to disperse. Even the onlookers felt that it was detrimental to keep looking, so they gradually started to leave.

Originally possessing quite the attitude, seeing everything collapse at a single touch, the woman’s face turned red and green. It was thrilling.

She didn’t expect Yong Chuan College to be unafraid of embarrassment and possess such a tough attitude. What was even more unexpected was how extremely skillful the officer in front of her was. His best trick was securing the photographs quickly, this way, he could act impartial from the start. First, he forced the photographs off of her, then made her dictate her offer on scene, and finally, draw out a statement from the school. With such a clever measure, it was a shame he wasn’t a politician!

“Fine, fine, fine! Just wait for the attorney’s letter!” The woman pointed at Xing Cong Lian, the old man, and Vice Principal Xu, one by one, with every word.

Xing Cong Lian laughed, “I’ll give you the address in a bit, to make it easy for you to send your letter…but for now, we still need you to cooperate with the investigation.

His voice was extremely polite, but it was harsh to the woman’s ears.

“Why do I have to cooperate with the investigation? Did I do something wrong? You want to randomly arrest people?!” She said in a flustered tone, “I have to right to not cooperate!”

“Because right now, the photos I have in my hand belong to you, Madame Wang. So, according to the <<Public Safety Punishment Law>>, people who spread obscene materials, in less serious cases, will be sentenced to five days or less, or fined five hundred yuan or less…Of course, I know, this is important evidence you’ve provided to the police, so I hope you can come down to the station to give a statement…”

T/N: 500 RMB is roughly 78 USD

The softer his voice became, the less merciless his words.

He means to say, either you were purposefully spreading obscene material, and I’ll arrest you, or you were kindly providing information to the police, so please follow my back to the station for questioning…

The woman lifted her head, feeling as if the heroic officer in front of her was the scariest demon. She felt helpless from her chest to her throat, and she couldn’t speak for a long while.

——————-

Xing Cong Lian, now holding the photographs, once again returned to the police car.

Lin Chen sat in the back seat, gazing at his handsome and sharp profile, speechless for a long time.

Xing Cong Lian, as if nothing had happened, naturally split those photos in half and handed them to Lin Chen, “What do you think about these photos? Did Want Shi Shi really kill herself because she couldn’t withstand the gossip?”

Lin Chen was awoken from his trance by those words and looked down at the photos.

In the picture, Wang Shi Shi’s naked body was tangled with two others, one of which was Li Sa. But the weird thing is, the other person wasn’t Cheng Wei Wei.

“These pictures were taken from a video?”

“Who cares?! Why not just ask Wang Shi Shi’s mother?!” Jiang Chao just sent someone to bring Wang Shi Shi’s mother back to the station. Hearing Lin Chen, he violently pulled open the car door, grasping Xing Cong Lian’s hands, agitatedly saying, “Ol’ Xing you are too bold today. I can’t believe you would accuse the victim’s mother of spreading obscene materials. You’ve got guts!”

Xing Cong Lian acted as if it was no big deal, “It’s Yong Chual after all. If something were to happen, Captain Jiang could carry the responsibility.” He said.

Jiang Chao felt a chill down his back and quickly changed the subject, “What’s up with these photos? Are there any leads?”

“These pictures seem to be captured from a video…We just don’t know if these pictures are the originals, or if they’ve been altered by Photoshop.”

“Shit, our tech department got moved to handle a huge online fraud case, there’s no one here to do work!”

Hearing that, Xing Cong Lian felt Lin Chen give him a weird look.

Well, as expected, good things come in pairs.

“The technician from our station may be free…” he said.