Chapter Twenty-One: Wei Xiaoping, Terrified, Turns Away Instantly (Please Vote and Recommend)

“Li Bufan, do you expect me to turn around just because you tell me to? Why should I listen to you? Besides, I don’t even have the book you mentioned, so why should I obey you?”

“Wei Xiaofan, if you refuse to turn around and face the teacher and me, it means you’re hiding something!”

“It’s you who’s hiding something! Any guilt I feel is because you’re spreading baseless rumors! There’s a saying, ‘A man who does no wrong fears no ghost knocking at his door in the dead of night.’ For me, it’s: ‘A man who does no wrong fears the ghosts tripping him even in broad daylight!’”

“Hey, hey, hey! Who are you calling a ghost? Wei Xiaofan, you’re really something—insulting me without a single dirty word!”

“That’s enough!” Wu Wenbin looked at Li Bufan and Wei Xiaofan and shouted, “Li Bufan, you claim Wei Xiaofan has that kind of book. During physics class, you said he was hiding it under his textbook, but when Wei Xiaofan showed it to Teacher Li, nothing was found. After class, you searched his desk drawer and found nothing. Now you say he’s hiding the book behind his back. If I ask Wei Xiaofan to turn around and there’s nothing there, what will you do?”

“Well—well, maybe Wei Xiaofan has hidden it somewhere really deep!” Li Bufan replied.

“Li Bufan, you’re just twisting words and making trouble!” Wu Wenbin said sternly. “Wei Xiaofan, turn around and let Li Bufan see!”

Wei Xiaofan glared fiercely at Li Bufan and turned around.

“Li Bufan, Wei Xiaofan has turned around. Look, is there any book hidden behind his back? It’s summer, he’s wearing short sleeves, and there’s a small hole in the back of his shirt. You can see clearly whether he’s hiding anything. Besides, the book you’re talking about is quite large!”

Li Bufan looked carefully and saw that Wei Xiaofan’s shirt did indeed have a small tear, and the fabric clung tightly to his back—there was definitely no book.

“I distinctly remember sneaking the book into his drawer, and I never let him out of my sight. From the moment I slipped it in, I watched him, and he never left his desk. Could it be that he took it out on the way to Wu Wenbin’s office and hid it elsewhere? That must be it! I should have thought of this earlier! I regret not having someone follow Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping here when I searched the drawer!” Li Bufan thought, regretting not tracking them more closely.

“Li Bufan, do you see any book hidden behind Wei Xiaofan?” Wu Wenbin asked.

“No—no, I don’t see anything. Maybe he hid it somewhere else on the way here!” Li Bufan replied.

“Li Bufan, your imagination truly knows no bounds! Such a clever mind, wasted on plotting tricks against others!” Wei Xiaofan said sarcastically.

“Wei Xiaofan—You—” Li Bufan was about to retort but saw Wu Wenbin’s stern gaze and forced himself to stay calm.

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“Wei Xiaofan, that’s enough,” Wu Wenbin stopped him. “Li Bufan, since we can’t find the so-called extracurricular book you accused Wei Xiaofan of reading, it proves he’s innocent. Do you admit this?”

Li Bufan thought to himself, “Wei Xiaofan must have hidden the book somewhere else on the way here! But now there’s no evidence, and I’m starving. If only I’d told Huang Yongsheng and the others to save me some lunch!—Strange, why hasn’t my dad come to pick me up for dinner yet?”

“Li Bufan, did you hear what I said?” Wu Wenbin called.

“Ah! If we can’t find it, then so be it. Let’s just leave it at that. I take back what I said about Wei Xiaofan, and let’s all go have lunch.”

“If you’re retracting your accusation against Wei Xiaofan, shouldn’t you express something to him?” Wu Wenbin pressed.

“Express? Express what? What kind of expression?” Li Bufan asked suspiciously.

Wei Xiaoping edged closer to the wall behind him, slowly moved his hand to his lower back, sucked in his stomach, and with his hand behind him, grabbed something and pushed it downward with force.

No one noticed what Wei Xiaoping was doing.

Afterward, he pretended to be tired and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes briefly.

Wei Xiaofan knew Wu Wenbin wanted Li Bufan to apologize to him. He thought, “Whether he apologizes or not doesn’t matter to me. I just want to leave as soon as possible. Since Li Bufan found nothing in the drawer and I don’t have the book myself, and in the classroom, when Li Bufan wanted to search the drawer, Wei Xiaoping stopped me from blocking him and even winked at me several times. From Wei Xiaoping’s behavior, it’s likely he took the book and hid it—though I don’t know if he left it in the classroom or brought it with him. If he has it on him, staying here any longer could mean trouble if it’s discovered, and then I’d never be able to clear my name!”

“Li Bufan, express what? Don’t you understand? Because of your words, because of your antics, Wei Xiaofan was ridiculed by so many classmates and nearly lost his dignity. Because of you, he still hasn’t had lunch. All this is your doing. Don’t you think you owe him an apology?” Wu Wenbin reproached.

Seeing Wu Wenbin really wanted Li Bufan to apologize, Wei Xiaofan thought, “With Li Bufan’s personality, he might not agree to apologize, and even if he does, it won’t be sincere. It might even deepen his resentment towards me. If that happens, I’d rather not have his apology at all. And if Li Bufan really refuses, not only would I feel awkward, but the teacher might lose face for not being able to make him apologize. Since that’s a possibility, it’s better to spare everyone the embarrassment and show my magnanimity, resolve the matter quickly, leave with Wei Xiaoping, and avoid any further complications if Wei Xiaoping slips up with the book.”

Thinking this, Wei Xiaofan immediately said, “Since it’s all just a misunderstanding, there’s no need for an apology. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. All I ask is that Li Bufan doesn’t let anything like this happen again. What do you think, Li Bufan?”

By now, Li Bufan’s stomach was rumbling loudly. He thought, “I wanted to ruin Wei Xiaofan’s reputation, but failed, ended up stuck here for ages, and still can’t go home for dinner—not worth it. No point staying any longer. Strange—why hasn’t my dad come for me yet?”

“I agree with Wei Xiaofan. I’m really hungry. If nothing else, let’s all go eat!” Li Bufan said, standing up to leave.

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“Li Bufan, stop right there!” Wu Wenbin called out, seeing how stubborn Li Bufan was.

“Teacher Wu, isn’t everything settled?” Li Bufan paused and asked.

“Wei Xiaofan says it’s settled, but I think there’s still something left!” Wu Wenbin replied, dissatisfied.

“Why, Teacher Wu?”

“I said you can’t leave, so you can’t leave. Why ask so many questions? If anyone leaves, it’ll be Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping first.”

Li Bufan had no choice but to walk back and stand where he was, staring at Wu Wenbin.

“Wei Xiaofan, Wei Xiaoping, you may go. I have a few things to discuss with Li Bufan.”

“Alright, Teacher, we’ll head out first!” Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofan said in unison, and with that, the two left, one after the other, toward the door.

Li Bufan watched them leave, seething with frustration.

Suddenly, Li Bufan stared intently at Wei Xiaoping’s back; something felt off.

Walking behind, Wei Xiaoping’s shirt seemed to bulge oddly, as if something underneath was pushing it up.

As if struck by sudden inspiration, Li Bufan quickly walked up behind Wei Xiaoping and lifted the back of his shirt.

Wei Xiaoping, startled, spun around, trying to block with his hand, but it was too late—a magazine-like book fell out from his back...

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