35: Chapter 34 The Truth Revealed, The Price
"Xu Jing, Liu Juan, I never thought we'd actually be able to live like this."
"I didn't expect it either. Even though what we're doing isn't exactly honorable, every man for himself, as they say."
"You're right. The living expenses from home are never enough, and we aren't as pretty as Qin Yu, so where else could we get money?"
The three of them walked out of a seafood hotpot restaurant.
Today's bill was over 1,200, split three ways, 400 per person.
In the past, this amount of money would have been nearly half a month's living expenses.
Ever since they took the job of posting rumors, Wang Li had given each of them 3,000, with another 2,000 promised once the job was done.
The joy of having money was truly intoxicating.
Morality and principles were worthless in the face of money.
"How about we go to a bar and hang out?"
"Sure, if we split the bill, it won't cost much."
"Yeah, let's ask Wang Li later if there are any more jobs like this. This money is just too easy to make."
Suddenly, a whiff of cigarette smoke drifted into their noses.
"Hey, why aren't you three sisters home at this hour? Looking for men?"
Li Ting and the others were startled. They turned around and found four young delinquent girls dressed in bizarre outfits standing behind them.
The leader had short, dyed purple hair, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and was looking at them with a malicious gaze.
The three of them immediately tensed up, backing away in fear.
They might be greedy, but they had managed to get into university; they certainly weren't the type to go out and fool around during middle or high school.
They had never encountered a situation like this, especially late at night with no one else around.
"Hey sisters, we're a bit short on cash. Could you spare some for us?"
"W-we don't have any money."
"No money, but you were just eating seafood hotpot? Hand over 6,000, and we'll let you go."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jing shouted, "This is extortion! Do you believe I'll call the police?"
"Call the police? Heh, let us show you something good."
The leader of the delinquents took out her phone, tapped the screen a few times, and held it up for the three of them to see.
A video began to play.
At first, the three were confused, but as the video played, their faces gradually turned pale, and fear appeared in their eyes.
Liu Juan suddenly screamed, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
The other two were also trembling all over, their limbs turning cold with fear.
How did these off-campus delinquents know about their deal with Wang Li? If this got out, they would be finished.
"W-what do you want?"
Xu Jing asked, her voice trembling.
"Either give us 6,000 yuan, or we'll leak this video."
"By then, you won't be able to finish your studies, and you'll have to go to jail."
"University students, slandering and spreading rumors about classmates—tsk, tsk, tsk, that's quite explosive."
Xu Jing shouted, "6,000? We can't scrape together 6,000 right now! You might as well just rob us! Do you think we won't call the police?"
"Go ahead. We aren't caged birds; the police station is like a second home to us—we're there 15 days a month."
"If we go in, this video gets leaked, and when we get out, we'll come looking for you again."
"Oh, and who knows? Maybe by the time we get out, you'll have been arrested too. If you end up in detention or prison, we have plenty of sisters there. We won't have any trouble turning up the heat on you."
The three of them were frightened to tears.
Their studies would be over, and they'd have to go to jail.
Their parents would surely beat them to death.
If their relatives and friends found out, their whole family would never be able to hold their heads up again.
"I'll give you one minute to decide: pay up, or I leak the video."
"Please, let us off. We only have 3,500 yuan on us. We'll give it all to you, but you have to give us the original video."
The purple-haired delinquent sneered, "Do you think you're in a position to negotiate with me?"
"No, we really only have 3,500. Or, we can scrape together the remaining 2,500 and give it to you another day."
"Sisters, I'm not stupid. There's another way to resolve this."
The three of them were overjoyed to hear this.
The purple-haired delinquent smiled and said, "Go to your school and tell the truth, and I won't leak the video."
"By 5 PM tomorrow evening, I want to see that the boy and girl you slandered have been cleared of all charges."
The four delinquents turned and left, leaving Liu Juan and the others sitting paralyzed on the ground, dazed.
"W-what do we do?"
Xu Jing said with a crying voice, her eyes full of fear. She was the most cowardly of the three.
"There's no other way. We have to go back and tell the truth."
"Liu Juan, if we tell the truth, will we go to jail?"
"Don't worry. We'll figure something out, scrape together the 6,000 yuan, and if the police get involved, we'll just hand over the money."
"Liu Juan is right. If we admit our mistakes in time, we definitely won't be expelled."
Li Ting also agreed with Liu Juan.
The three reached an agreement and planned to reveal the truth the next day.
The next morning, Wang Li was holding three large meat buns and two deep-fried dough sticks, eating until her mouth was covered in grease.
A flurry of rapid footsteps echoed in the dormitory hallway.
The door was kicked open violently.
Wang Li was startled. While swallowing her food, she cursed, "Who the hell is it? Damn it, are you looking to die?"
She turned around and froze.
Standing behind her were three police officers and a middle-aged man in a suit.
Wang Li recognized him; he was the vice-principal of the school.
Thud...
The food in her hand dropped to the floor, and she said with a look of fear, "W-what are you doing?"
"Xu Jing, Liu Juan, and Li Ting have filed a police report, accusing you of paying them 6,000 yuan to incite them to spread rumors about two students at this school."
"They provided your transfer records and chat logs. The evidence is conclusive. Wang Li, you are under arrest."
"N-no, I'm being framed!"
"Wang Li, university students are adults. You need to pay the price for your actions."
"Take her away."
Two female officers stepped forward, and cold silver handcuffs were clasped around her wrists.
Meanwhile, the rumors about Lin Feng and Qin Yu on the BBS were completely deleted.
An announcement from the school administration was bolded and pinned to the top.
[Announcement regarding the details of the case involving our sophomore student Wang Li spreading rumors and slandering classmates.]
The post informed all faculty and students of Wang Li's actions without reservation and clarified the rumors regarding Qin Yu and Lin Feng.
At 9 AM, Qin Yu and Wang Hui stood at the school gate, watching Wang Li being taken away in a police car.
"Xiao Yu, your intuition is quite accurate. The mastermind was really dragged out."
Qin Yu smoothed her hair and said calmly, "With Lin Feng's ability, it's impossible for him to just stand by and watch others spread rumors so recklessly."
"Oh? You know him that well?"
"Huihui, I'm going to class. I have a meeting with a client tonight to discuss domain names, so I'm leaving."
"Hey, wait for me!"
"Why are you acting like Lin Feng's secretary now? I think you two really have something going on."
At the entrance of the local police station, a police officer brought Lin Feng to the door.
"You are all students at Shen University. If you and Qin Yu can forgive Wang Li, she might still have a chance to continue her studies."
"Have you contacted Qin Yu?"
"She refused to forgive Wang Li and didn't even come to the police station."
"Officer Wang, I feel the same way. We are all adults and must pay the price for our own actions."
"Please don't go looking for Qin Yu anymore. After being slandered for so long, she needs a quiet environment. Thank you."
Officer Wang gave a wry smile, sighed, and said, "Do you need me to give you a ride?"
"No need, thank you, Officer Wang. I hope the verdict for Wang Li will be strict. If I'm not satisfied, I will continue to appeal."