Not long after, Fang Jiabei and Lin Weixia were taken away one after another.
The school maintained its superficial operation and students attended classes as usual, but the boundless ocean concealed endless waves.
On the other side, in the school meeting room that was temporarily used as an interrogation room, the police sat on one side of the table, and Lao Liu, as the class teacher, was assisting in the investigation.
The policewoman was a female with a gentle face and a few fine lines around the corners of her eyes. She took a notebook and began to question the individual.
Every time a student was called, the female police officer would patiently repeat that this was just a simple and casual conversation, and repeat the case - Liang Jiashu, 15 years old, was hit by a truck driver who ran a red light while crossing the road in front of Yutan at 18:30 on May 15 two years ago, and eventually died accidentally.
Only Lin Weixia stressed that "Liang Jiashu was bullied in school and left the school in a daze before the traffic accident happened."
"Yes, because the posts and videos you posted attracted a lot of attention online, and we received a notice from the education department so we rushed here immediately. We are here to investigate the school bullying incident, but you agree that Liang Jiashu's accidental death two years ago was a traffic accident, right?" the police asked her.
Lin Weixia nodded.
This is her purpose, she hopes the police can find out the truth and give Liang Jiashu justice.
It's not like she hadn't thought about handing over Fang Jiabei's video to the teacher or the police as soon as she got it. But when Lin Weixia was about to go, she overheard the girls in the class talking about Zheng Zhaoxing and his gang.
"Look how angry Zheng Zhaoxing made Old Liu. Hey, do you remember that time in the first year of high school when Zheng Zhaoxing beat someone to a disability? The other party's parents said they would report the case to the police, but in the end, the matter was suppressed. His family is very powerful and rich, and it was his father who helped him to settle it."
"If you meet such a bad guy, stay away from him. What can we ordinary people do to him?" the girl continued.
When Lin Weixia heard these things, she hesitated again. From the first day she transferred to Shenzhen High School, she felt that the hierarchy here was strict and full of privileges. She was worried that Zheng Zhaoxing and his group would cover up everything, so she chose to expose them online to gain the upper hand in public opinion and give them no chance to fight back.
Because Lin Weixia has been through so much, settling all the issues privately will never end, and will only bring more harm. And they are all too young, some issues must be handed over to the law.
She wanted to give Liang Jiashu an explanation.
The police did not ask Lin Weixia any major questions. They simply asked about her relationship with Liang Jiashu, and her interactions with the people in the video.
After Lin Weixia left, the policewoman told Lao Liu about the girl: "The girl was quite calm and sober, and she also understood the law. The video posted online blurred everyone's face."
The second person to enter was Fang Jiabei.
The police showed Fang Jiabei the video again. The video was a little narrow and shaky. In the video, Liang Jiashu was pushed and teased by Zheng Zhaoxing and his group. They asked him to take off his pants, and when he refused, they beat him violently.
Soon, Ban Sheng came in. He walked over and said something to them. Soon, Ban Sheng picked up the collar of Liang Jiashu, who was kneeling on the ground.
The picture stopped abruptly.
"Where were you when you took this video? What time was it?" the policewoman asked.
Fang Jiabei recalled: "In the first year of high school, which was two years ago, around May, around five o'clock after school on a Friday, I had just finished cleaning the swimming pool and went to the cubicle to put the mop bucket. Suddenly, I heard a fight and hid in the crack of the door to secretly take the photo."
“Did everyone in the video hit anyone?”
At this moment, Fang Jiabei's throat was a little hoarse, and the breath coming out of her nostrils was a little rapid: "Ban Sheng didn't, he didn't hit anyone, someone else did."
The policewoman continued to ask: "Then why did he appear in the video? Why did the last frame of the video stop at him grabbing Liang Jiashu's collar, with his knees bent, looking like he was going to hit someone? Did you see what happened afterwards?"
"Ban Sheng loved swimming and he even had a key to the school swimming pool. He must have come to swim that day," Fang Jiabei recalled, pausing, "I was halfway through filming when I accidentally kicked the bucket, making a noise. Zheng Zhaoxing seemed to have seen me, and I was afraid of him, so I ran away."
"I didn't see what happened afterwards." Fang Jiabei said softly.
"Are you sure he didn't hit anyone?" the policewoman asked.
Fang Jiabei's shoulders slumped, and she said in a muffled voice, "I'm not sure. I didn't see the whole process of the incident."
“Why did you choose to release the video now?”
Fang Jiabei took a breath and spoke with a trembling voice: "Because Zheng Zhaoxing and his gang are absolute scumbags, I am afraid they will retaliate against me. But someone told me that if I don't stand up, more people will be hurt. Such scumbags should be punished by law."
The second person to come in was Zheng Zhaoxing.
He was wearing a T-shirt with a skull printed on the back, work shorts, and a silver chain around his neck. He exuded the aura of someone who had done a lot of bad things, like a cunning loach.
"Do you have anything to deny about this video?" the policewoman asked him.
Zheng Zhaoxing was obviously a frequent offender who had been to the police station several times and had been questioned, so he did not show any nervousness or fear.
"I want to confirm first that Liang Jiashu's death was due to a car accident?" Zheng Zhaoxing stared at them.
"Yes." The policewoman looked at him.
Zheng Zhaoxing was obviously much more relaxed and began to reply: "We were the ones who beat him."
It was clear in the video that Zheng Zhaoxing beat the most people and did it most cruelly, but he specifically emphasized that it was a gang crime.
"Bringing Liang Jiashu to the swimming pool is because the surveillance there is broken?"
"yes."
"Why did you hit him?"
"Do I need a reason to hit someone?" Zheng Zhaoxing became visibly annoyed.
The policewoman glanced at his personal file again. It said that Zheng Zhaoxing's mother died early, and Zheng's father was busy with business and did not discipline the child much since he was a child. This gradually led to his domineering and bad temper. Later, he remarried, and out of guilt and compensatory psychology towards his own child, he indulged and protected him everywhere.
"How did you beat him?"
"Have someone hold him and kick him in the chest, waist, and knees."
They are all hidden locations. If you are injured, others won't be able to tell that you are injured as long as you are wearing clothes.
"This boy in the video is your classmate, right? Did he participate in the school bullying?"
Zheng Zhaoxing raised his eyes and followed the female police officer's gesture to look at Ban Sheng in the video. His eyes were fixed on the boy wearing a baseball cap with a part of his face exposed. He answered: "He participated. He also beat someone up."
"Tell me what happened."
"That day we took Liang Jiashu to the underground swimming pool and made a joke to ask him to take off his pants, but he refused... Then we started fighting. Halfway through the fight, Ban Sheng came in, and he was preparing to swim. He was a very arrogant person, and when he saw us beating him, he didn't react at all. He just said: Don't stay here, I have to swim."
The police looked at the video. Although there was no sound in the video, his lip movements showed that he had indeed said this sentence.
Zheng Zhaoxing continued to recall the scene of that day and said, "Although Ban Sheng has never been with us, as far as I know, Ban Sheng hates his troublesome deskmate, so I asked him."
"What did you ask?"
Zheng Zhaoxing cleared his throat and said, "I just provoked him a little and asked him if he wanted to teach Liang Jiashu a lesson, and Ban Sheng agreed."
"But according to another student who was at the scene, Ban Sheng did not hit anyone."
Zheng Zhaoxing snorted "Ha" from his nose and said mockingly: "The classmate you are talking about is Fang Jiabei, right? You don't know, she has a crush on Ban Sheng, so she covers for him."
The policewoman and Lao Liu looked at each other, neither of them knowing that there was another hidden story behind this matter.
The boys who came in one after another were all Zheng Zhaoxing's accomplices and henchmen, and their statements were exactly the same as Zheng Zhaoxing's.
Ban Sheng was the second to last to come in.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, raising his hand to rub his neck. The light from the incandescent lamp above his head fell on the boy's black eyelashes, casting a shadow.
The expression on his face was calm, and there was no sign of nervousness.
The policewoman rarely saw such a calm and composed boy.
The policewoman glanced at his personnel file and asked, "Are you in a normal mood now?"
"Normal." Ban Sheng said.
"Do you admit that you beat Liang Jiashu?" asked the female police officer.
"Yeah." Ban Sheng responded.
"Can you recreate the specific scene?"
Ban Sheng's eyelashes fluttered, and he began to say, "After school on Friday, I was going to swim in the underground swimming pool I often go to. When I went in, I found that they were beating Liang Jiashu. I was in a bad mood at the time, and Zheng Zhao asked me if I wanted to beat him up. I went over and beat him up, and then told him to get out."
"Did you leave afterwards?"
"Well, I showed up and answered a phone call." Ban Sheng said.
"Can you tell me how you beat him?"
Ban Sheng paused for a moment, and then spoke after a while: "I don't remember, I kicked him a few times."
The last person to come in was Ding Li, who was also one of Zheng Zhaoxing's younger brothers. He said the same thing and honestly confessed that he had beaten someone and said that Ban Sheng was also involved in the incident.
All the confessions point to the same person - Ban Sheng.
Even Ban Sheng pointed out himself.
Old Liu, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. He smiled at the policewoman and said, "Let me talk to him."
"Ding Li." Old Liu called him.
"What are you doing—" The old man wouldn't let him leave, and Ding Li was a little annoyed at the moment.
Old Liu looked at his student and said, "Your mother called me again today."
"Why did she call you?" Ding Li rubbed his hair irritably, "She was talking about studying? I was not born to be a student-"
"No, your mother found out about this, and she has already quit her job as a nanny at Zheng Zhaoxing's house. She told me that she doesn't want you to become something big in the future and buy a big house for her to live in. She just wants you to be healthy and be a kind person."
Yes, Ding Li grew up in a single-parent family, and his mother and son have always depended on each other. He is also a recipient of social care. When his mother found out, she kept nagging him to study hard.
Ding Li always replied impatiently: "What's the point of studying? Just learn how to make money. I will buy you a big house in the future."
Later, the garment factory where Ding's mother worked went bankrupt, and by chance she went to Zheng Zhaoxing's house to work as a nanny, where she has been working ever since.
The boy's original arrogance disappeared for the most part, his shoulders slumped, and he was silent for a while, and finally chose to tell the truth.
Ban Sheng was called back to the temporary examination room. Lao Liu poured him a glass of water and said:
"Student Bansheng, have you ever heard of the story of Rashomon?"
"What do you want to say?"
As a Chinese teacher, Lao Liu told the story at a much slower pace and in a clear and organized manner. He said that "Rashomon" was a movie directed by Akira Kurosawa, adapted from the short story "In the Bamboo Grove" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
The story is about a samurai who went to Wakasa with his wife Masaga. On the way, his wife was insulted and disappeared and fled to Kiyomizu Temple. The samurai was killed. The court began to interrogate the parties involved, witnesses and others around this case.
The woodcutter, the wandering monk, the constable, the old woman, Tajomaru, the woman from Kiyomizu Temple, the ghost-borrowing witch, everyone made a different statement in the court.
Everyone's story was different. The wife and Tajomaru each said that they killed the samurai, but the samurai's ghost told the witch in a dream that he committed suicide.
"That's the story. Everyone's story is different, but they all seem to make sense. The same is true for you students. Each of you has your own story for different motives, and you have made up lies to recreate the scene of bullying Liang Jiashu."
"Only Ding Li betrayed us and told the truth. He saw everything. What he said was the same as the result of the police investigation after mobilizing multiple manpower. You did not beat Liang Jiashu, nor did you participate in the bullying incident. You grabbed his collar to make him stand up. After you went out to answer the phone, you returned to the swimming pool and found that everyone was gone. You looked for Liang Jiashu and found that he was locked in a pool cubicle—"
Lao Liu took a sip of tea, looked at Ban Sheng and said, "Go open the door for him."
Why did Lao Liu believe Ban Sheng and persuade Ding Li? It was because the person who actually bullied others in the questioning just now had the bad luck of meeting Liang Jiashu who died in a car accident. What happened that day must have left a deep impression on them and they would never forget it.
So they can accurately say where Liang Jiashu was hit, and the conditioned reflex will not lie.
Ban Sheng said he didn't remember and just hit her a few times randomly, which was obviously a lie.
Everyone has different motives and different stories. For example, Zheng Zhaoxing had a feud with Ban Sheng and had always held a grudge against him, so of course he wanted to take the opportunity to bite him back.
The other brothers naturally followed him and pulled Bansheng into the water.
For example, Fang Jiabei, although she did not see the whole incident, she covered for Ban Sheng because she wanted to protect him and thought he would not do such a thing.
That's right, Fang Jiabei had a crush on Ban Sheng since the first year of high school. At that time, many boys in the class nicknamed her "Yulinmei" and would deliberately make loud laughter wherever she passed. I don't know when it started, but the class began to exclude her, isolate her, and call her a monster.
Many times, Fang Jiabei would secretly reflect on what she had done wrong at night to be targeted. Unable to figure out what she had done wrong, she began to hunch her back when walking on the street and tuck her neck into her collar to avoid attracting other people's attention, so that no one would laugh at her or target her.
Gradually, Fang Jiabei became an invisible person in the class, like a shadow on the wall. As a member of the class, she sometimes missed group activities and no one cared.
No one remembered her name either.
Once, Fang Jiabei's homework was maliciously hidden by a group of boys, and later it was thrown on the class desk somehow.
At that time, Ban Sheng was sleeping on the table. The sunlight fell on the row of spinous processes on the exposed part of the back of his neck, making it look somewhat transparent.
She passed by him, the shadow brushed past him, but Ban Sheng called her, his low voice was hoarse as if he had just woken up:
"Fang Jiabei, right? Your homework."
Fang Jiabei paused, turned around and took the homework he handed her. Her heart was pounding like thunder and she didn't even dare to look up at his face.
Fang Jiabei recalled that among all the boys who laughed at and excluded him, Ban Sheng had never joined them. When everyone in the class called her a freak and a girl with fish scales, he was the only one who called her name accurately and clearly.
Fang Jiabei never expected this secret love to be reciprocated.
For some people, just watch from afar and protect silently.
Lin Weixia transferred to the school in her second year of high school. Fang Jiabei recognized her at a glance, the girl who had appeared many times at Liang Jiashu’s grave.
At first, Fang Jiabei was wary of Lin Weixia and warned her to stay away from Bansheng. But later, she helped many times and did a lot to help everyone. Fang Jiabei asked her why she was so nice to her, and she said, "Because I am the same as you." She had experienced everything that Fang Jiabei had experienced, and she understood it all.
That's why Fang Jiabei invited her to her home to read comics.
Then Fang Jiabei gave the video to Lin Weixia, on the condition that Lin Weixia should remove the footage of Ban Sheng. She agreed, but broke her promise in the end.
Because Lin Weixia didn't want to miss the truth.
Everyone's questioning has come to an end and the results are out.
The policewoman put away her notebook and stood up. She looked at the handsome boy in front of her and asked Ban Sheng out of pure curiosity:
"I don't understand one thing. According to other students, you helped Liang Jiashu several times before, but why do you want to label yourself as a villain?"
She was answered by silence, separated only by the echo of voices in the interrogation room.
Now no matter how much they asked, they would not get any results.