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Xu Yiman let Xiao Xuanmiao sit beside her. She glanced at Jiang He and Principal Zhou, then spoke, "Alright, you all go outside. I need to have a private talk with Xiao Xuanmiao."
Seeing that Xiao Xuanmiao seemed unwilling to speak, Jiang He agreed to Xu Yiman's request.
At that moment, Jiang He was deep in thought. Some conflicting details made him feel that this case was not as simple as it appeared. The other five students stood in a line outside the corridor, silent, their heads bowed.
Principal Zhou was outside berating the sixteen-year-olds. Their homeroom teacher had already begun contacting the parents of these children.
"Look at you all, a bunch of worthless scum! When you were in school, you were the trash of the school, and now that you're out in society, you're just society's garbage. You bring no honor to the school and only shame! Did you ever learn anything while you were here? Have you ever thought about your parents? They sent you here to bully your classmates?"
Principal Zhou moved his finger close to the noses of several students, scolding them until he was exhausted and finally stopped.
A school official hurried back from outside and whispered something into Principal Zhou's ear. The principal's expression changed as he turned to Jiang He and said, "Officer Jiang, there are some other matters I need to attend to at the school. If anything comes up, please discuss it with this person; this is Director Li."
"Hello, Officer Jiang," Director Li nodded at Jiang He. "I am the Moral Education Director of Fourth High School."
As he spoke, Principal Zhou hurriedly left.
Through the glass windows of the corridor, Jiang He could see that several news vans had already parked at the campus entrance. Reporters were getting out of their vehicles and entering the school one by one.
"Those reporters must have gotten wind of something; they all rushed over to learn about the campus violence case," Director Li remarked, glancing at the five students in the corridor. He scolded them further: "It's all your fault for being useless! When your parents arrive, just get lost and go home to reflect on your actions."
"How did those reporters find out about this?" Jiang He asked.
Director Li frowned. "This incident is spreading like wildfire online. I don't know who leaked that these kids are from Fourth Middle School, but it's become a hot topic. Those reporters swarm like flies; they never report on good news but rush over when something scandalous happens. Dealing with reporters is tricky; they can twist facts around easily. Isn’t Principal Zhou trying to handle it right now?"
"Do you know how many people online want to see you all punished?" Jiang He looked at the group of students and said, "I don't care why you decided to attack Xiao Xuanmiao. What I want to know now is whether Deng Xiangyu has acted differently since the incident. Did he encounter any strange individuals?"
"I don't know." The first to speak was Ge Dongyun. "Deng Xiangyu doesn't like to talk. Even if something happens, he rarely communicates with others. Before his incident, he never interacted with us. What about the rest of you?"
"Nothing," the others replied in unison.
"How did Deng Xiangyu die?" Ge Dongyun asked.
"That's confidential; you don't need to know," Jiang He told the group of kids. "In any case, stay alert. If anything happens, remember to report it early."
The moral education director, Director Li, said, "It's indeed despicable that they assaulted someone, but it doesn't warrant a death sentence. Our Fourth Middle School was just about to be evaluated as a key school in the city. Now, what are we supposed to do? I doubt Principal Zhou can hold onto his position; if he gets removed, it will affect so many people. You lot really need to learn better."
At that moment, loud shouts could be heard from outside. When Jiang He turned to look again, he saw that the school gate was surrounded by a crowd of people, and many students had gathered there as well. The area around the gate was packed with people shouting noisily.
It turned out that class had just ended, and students from the teaching building had rushed out, gathering outside.
In addition to these students, the road outside the school was blocked with citizens who had come from who knows where, gathering at the school entrance. They could faintly be heard shouting for severe punishment for the murderer and similar phrases.
Children over fourteen can indeed bear criminal responsibility independently; however, according to the law, minors should receive lighter sentences.
From the video footage, it appeared that Xiao Xuanmiao hadn't been severely beaten and bore no visible injuries. But most importantly, those assailants had stripped her clothes off, leaving her to return home in only her underwear—something that everyone found intolerable.
At this moment, Xu Yiman stepped out and brought Xiao Xuanmiao with her.
"How is she?" Jiang He asked.
Xu Yiman replied, "What do you think? She must have done something wrong; otherwise, others wouldn't treat her like this. Look at her and then look at you all. Aren't you going to apologize to Xiao Xuanmiao?"
Xu Yiman held Xiao Xuanmiao's hand and looked at the others.
Xiao Xuanmiao's eyes were red, and tears glistened on her cheeks, clearly indicating that she had just been crying again.
Yet none of the five people spoke up to apologize.
"Just arrest me," Ge Dongyun said. "I'm the one who led this. It has nothing to do with anyone else, but I won't apologize!"
The others chimed in one after another, "I won't apologize."
Not a single person offered an apology.
"This is unreasonable!" Xu Yiman exclaimed. "When their parents arrive, we'll take them back to the police station to file a report."
"I'll go down and check. You stay here and watch them," Jiang He said. "When their parents come, after the paperwork is done, you can come down."
Xu Yiman gently touched Xiao Xuanmiao's face and then said to Jiang He, "Take her downstairs."
Jiang He nodded in agreement.
"I'll go down with you," Director Li said. "Principal Zhou asked me to follow you."
As Jiang He walked downstairs, he asked Director Li, "What do you plan to do about these students?"
"Of course, we'll let them go home to reflect," Director Li replied. "After two or three days, when people forget about this incident, we can let them return to school. What can you do? These kids aren't really interested in studying anyway, but according to the nine-year compulsory education policy, if they want to come back, we can't stop them."
"People will forget in three hours?" Jiang He was skeptical.
Director Li chuckled lightly before responding, "This is just a fight at the end of the day. Young people are impulsive; didn't you ever get into fights when you were young? Besides, no one was even hurt. This is hardly a big deal. The netizens online have memories like goldfish; it won't take long for them to forget all about it."
"You may not understand the current public opinion," Jiang He said. "Almost a million people have learned about this incident through videos."
"I might not understand what public opinion is, but I understand these people. Officer, I am much older than you, and there are some social nuances that I grasp which you do not. People are just like this; everyone is the same, and it won't change in ten thousand years," Director Li completely disagreed with Jiang He's words.
Jiang He did not continue to explain, as the two had already arrived downstairs. The noise was overwhelming; bold students had gathered at the school gate, while some leaned out of the corridor windows to see what was happening outside.
Suddenly, Xiao Xuanmiao, who had been following closely behind them, shouted loudly to Jiang He, "Thank you, Officer! Thank you for protecting me. My class has arrived; I need to go back now."
Jiang He turned to Xiao Xuanmiao and said, "Alright, then you can head back."
"Will you protect me in the future too?" Xiao Xuanmiao asked.
Jiang He nodded. "Don't worry; you won't be bullied again."
Xiao Xuanmiao bowed deeply before running back to the classroom. All the students in the corridor watched her and Jiang He, but no one made a sound.
"Everyone get back to class! What’s so interesting? Go back to your own classes and don’t crowd outside," Director Li shouted. "Get going."
Director Li was nearly fifty years old, with a large belly and almost no hair left on his head. His whole body shook as he spoke, and his remaining hair trembled along with him, making him look quite comical. However, the students still seemed to fear Director Li and hurried back to their classrooms.
The two continued walking outside as the school bell rang behind them.
"Get back! Are you all trying to skip class together?" Director Li carved a path through the crowd of students. Upon seeing him, they dared not linger and all rushed back into their classrooms. Before long, the campus was much emptier, but parents outside still blocked the road completely.
Principal Zhou felt overwhelmed by the reporters and was exhausted from handling them, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Principal Zhou, what is your view on the campus violence incident that occurred at Fourth Middle School?"
"Has something like this happened at your school? Are those eight students still at the school?"
"Have you provided psychological counseling for the child who was beaten?"
"What do you think about the classmates who stripped the victim of their clothes and shoes?"
One question after another swirled in Principal Zhou's mind, with microphones almost pressed against his lips.
Jiang He leaned closer to Principal Zhou's ear and said, "Remember, only those six people have been exposed. Now that a death has occurred, we can't confirm whether this case is related to that violent incident. But for safety's sake, make sure not to reveal who the other two are, understood?"
"Understood." Principal Zhou leaned in closer to Jiang He and added, "These reporters still don't know that Deng Xiangyu is dead."
Jiang He continued, "We both need to keep this matter confidential; otherwise, it will be very troublesome."
"Got it," Principal Zhou replied.
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