107: Chapter 107 Differing Emotions

After dinner, Su Yun brewed a pot of chrysanthemum tea, and the two sat on the balcony, looking out at the night view of Jinhe County in the distance. The May evening breeze carried a slight chill, dispelling the heat of the day.

"Tell me about the case," Su Yun said suddenly. "I know it's been on your mind."

Xiao Bei sighed and gave her a detailed account of the ins and outs of the case, including the suspicious injuries on the deceased, Chen Zhihao, the encrypted surveillance footage, and how County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu and Secretary Ma Wendong had tried to obstruct him in every possible way.

"The strangest thing is the identity of those three students," Xiao Bei said, frowning. "Logically, the school should have been able to confirm it very quickly, but the school administration kept making excuses, saying they needed time to verify."

Su Yun was thoughtful. "I'm wondering, could it be that these three people have unusual backgrounds? That's why the school is stalling? Or perhaps the school simply doesn't want to get dragged into negative publicity that might affect enrollment."

Xiao Bei was just about to respond when his phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang.

"Team Leader Xiao, sorry to disturb your rest." Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang's voice came through the phone, carrying a hint of excitement. "We've had a major breakthrough. The technical department recovered some of the surveillance data and has confirmed the identities of those three students."

Xiao Bei immediately sat up straight. "Who are they?"

"One is Li Dong, the son of the factory director of Rainbow Garment Factory under Rainbow Group; one is the local second-generation rich kid Zhang Xiaobei; and the other is Zhang Xiaobei's lackey, Zhu Qi."

Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang paused. "More importantly, we found a large amount of evidence of school bullying on Zhang Xiaobei's phone, including several videos that appear to target Chen Zhihao."

Xiao Bei's brow furrowed even deeper. "Where are they now?"

"They have all been detained. However..." Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang's voice became serious. "Zhang Xiaobei's attitude is extremely bad; he doesn't realize the severity of the situation at all and even spoke rudely during the interrogation. There will be a closed-door trial at the county The Court tomorrow morning at nine, and I would like to invite you to attend."

"I will be there on time," Xiao Bei promised.

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Bei told Su Yun the situation. Her expression also became grave. "How can children these days be so bad!"

Xiao Bei nodded. "Every child is a reflection of their parents; the child is the one with the mildest 'illness' in the family."

He sneered. "As for County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, is she trying so desperately to suppress this matter for her cousin or for herself? Is there really a connection between these people?"

Su Yun held Xiao Bei's hand. "Can I go with you tomorrow?"

Xiao Bei hesitated for a moment. "The trial is closed to the public..."

"I can attend as a consultant for the Special Investigation Team; the contents just won't be made public." Su Yun was prepared. "I have participated in reporting on several similar cases in Beijiang County and have experience."

Looking at Su Yun's determined eyes, Xiao Bei finally nodded. "Okay, I'll pick you up tomorrow."

As the night deepened, Xiao Bei rose to leave. Su Yun walked him to the door and suddenly reached out to adjust his collar. "Don't push yourself too hard; take care of your health."

This intimate gesture made them both freeze for a moment. Xiao Bei held her hand and said softly, "With you here, I will."

On the way back to the County Party Committee dormitory, the image of Su Yun adjusting his collar played over and over in Xiao Bei's mind, and a warm current welled up in his heart. But at the same time, the shadow of the case could not be shaken off. Rainbow school uniforms, Chen Zhihao's death, County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu... these names wove together into a complex web in his mind.

Tomorrow's trial might just be the first tear in this web.

...

The early morning at Jinhe County People's The Court was exceptionally quiet. Heavy clouds hung low, as if foreshadowing an approaching storm. Xiao Bei arrived half an hour early and found that extra police force had already been deployed around The Court. Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang stood on the steps, speaking in a low voice with several uniformed police officers.

"Team Leader Xiao." Seeing Xiao Bei and Su Yun approaching, Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang walked up to meet them. "Reporter Su, I've read your reports! Reporter Su is here too."

"Bureau Chief Lin." Su Yun nodded slightly. "I hope I won't disturb your work."

"Not at all, not at all. Mayor Qin specifically instructed that we should fully cooperate with whatever support the Special Investigation Team needs." Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang made a gesture of invitation. "The trial starts at nine; let's go to the conference room to prepare first."

Entering The Court lobby, Xiao Bei noticed a few adults standing in the corner with nervous expressions. One middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes was growling into his phone, "I don't care how much money it costs, as long as it's not the death penalty! ... Even if minors aren't sentenced to death, they'll still go to jail..."

Seeing Xiao Bei and his group, the man immediately hung up the phone and shot a sinister look over.

"That is Zhang Jinbao, Zhang Xiaobei's father. He runs a business and his family is quite wealthy; it's said he even keeps two mistresses and both have had children." Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang lowered his voice. "Since last night, he has been finding lawyers and running around; it's said he's pulled many strings. Conversely, Factory Director Li Lei of the Rainbow Garment Factory seems much more grounded, looking very plain and frugal; he just happened to find a lawyer for his child at the same time."

In the conference room, the public prosecutor, Prosecutor Zhao, was organizing documents. Upon seeing Xiao Bei, he immediately stood up. "Team Leader Xiao, you've come at just the right time. The chain of evidence today is very complete, but the defendants' attitudes..." He shook his head. "Especially that Zhang Xiaobei, he doesn't even seem to understand the most basic distinction between right and wrong."

Xiao Bei took the case briefing and scanned it quickly. "It seems someone taught them to learn how to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, to deny everything, and to evade responsibility to lighten their sentences... Why is their hair so different from the surveillance footage?"

"We discovered it when we summoned them, too." Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang sneered. "Clearly, after finding out the surveillance was recovered, they wanted to destroy evidence. They were dressed extremely ostentatiously in the video footage, and now they've all cut their hair so they look completely unrelated to the video. However, the forensic pathologist has already taken samples of other human tissue from under Chen Zhihao's fingernails for comparison and confirmed it is indeed them."

At nine o'clock sharp, the bailiffs guided everyone into the courtroom. This was a small courtroom, and in the public gallery, besides Xiao Bei, Su Yun, and Bureau Chief Lin Liqiang, there were only the parents of the defendants and the plaintiff. Chen Zhihao's mother was even clutching Chen Zhihao's memorial photo, looking as if she wanted to devour those three students in her agitated state.

Xiao Bei noticed that County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu was not present, but Principal Liu Jianjun of Jinhe No. 1 Middle School was sitting in the corner with a gloomy expression.

"All rise!" The Court clerk announced loudly.

The judge entered the courtroom, and the trial officially began.

The three defendants were brought to the defendant's dock by the bailiffs. Zhang Xiaobei walked in front, his short, dyed-gold hair standing on end, a nonchalant sneer on his face; in the middle, Zhu Qi kept his head down, his steps hesitant; and last was Li Dong, his face pale and eyes red and swollen, as if he had been crying for a long time.