Chapter Twenty-Three: The Enigmatic Motives of ‘Li Zhenfan’ (Vote and Recommend, Please)

Chapter 23

“And also, Li Bufan, do you know why I hid the book?” Wei Xiaoping asked Li Bufan.

“Why else? You wanted to take it home and read it yourself!” Li Bufan replied arrogantly.

Wu Wenbin was just thinking that he would ask Wei Xiaoping later why, since he and Wei Xiaofan had arrived first, they hadn’t immediately taken the book out to show him. By all accounts, a student as upright as Wei Xiaoping shouldn’t have secretly hidden the book for his own purposes. He didn’t expect Wei Xiaoping to bring up the reason for hiding the book himself.

Wei Xiaofan was also curious about why Wei Xiaoping had hidden it. He’d intended to ask on the way out, but now that Wei Xiaoping was about to explain, it suited him just fine.

“Actually, when I took the book from Wei Xiaofan’s drawer, I looked at the cover. I saw at once that it wasn’t the kind of book Li Bufan claimed, but merely a magazine about home healthcare,” Wei Xiaoping said.

“Huh? How could it not be that kind of book?” Li Bufan was startled. “Mr. Wu, is that true?”

“Li Bufan, you’ve seen the book yourself, haven’t you? Don’t you know?” Wu Wenbin asked.

“How would I know? I haven’t even seen that book, let alone put it there,” Li Bufan said.

“If you haven’t seen it, why claim outright that Wei Xiaofan was reading that kind of book? Isn’t that just slander?” Wu Wenbin said.

“But I saw him reading that book!” Li Bufan insisted, still trying to argue.

“Li Bufan, are you still going to say you saw Wei Xiaofan reading this book?” Wei Xiaoping asked him sharply.

“Yes, I really did see Wei Xiaofan reading it,” Li Bufan replied.

“Li Bufan, if you persist, then I won’t be so polite. When I took the book from Wei Xiaofan’s drawer and saw that it wasn’t the sort of book you claimed, I leafed through it. On page nineteen, I found something. Do you know what it was?”

At this, Li Bufan froze, his face turning blank and a little nervous.

“W-what did you see?” he asked anxiously.

Hearing Wei Xiaoping mention something tucked into page nineteen of the home healthcare magazine, Wu Wenbin picked up the magazine and turned to page nineteen, finding a photograph slipped inside.

Wu Wenbin examined the photo closely; it turned out to be a picture of Li Bufan with his parents, likely taken when he was in primary school.

Fuming, Wu Wenbin tossed the photo and the book in front of Li Bufan. “What is this, Li Bufan?”

Li Bufan looked awkwardly at the book and the photo on the floor.

The photo lying there was indeed one of his family, taken when he was a child.

“That’s a photo from primary school, with my mom and dad.” Li Bufan’s heart was pounding, but he tried to keep his face expressionless.

“Do you still dare to say you didn’t put the book in Wei Xiaofan’s drawer?”

“I admit the photo’s mine, but I didn’t put the book there! Strange, maybe someone stole my photo, put it in the book, and set me up?” Li Bufan put on a look of innocence and glanced at Wei Xiaoping.

“Li Bufan, why are you looking at me? Are you going to accuse me of stealing your photo and putting it there?” Wei Xiaoping retorted.

“Very possible!” Li Bufan’s face took on a smug look.

“Li Bufan, have you not made enough trouble?” Wu Wenbin said sternly. “Wei Xiaofan, Wei Xiaoping, you may go. I have something to discuss with Li Bufan.”

“Yes, sir! Goodbye!” Wei Xiaoping, hearing that he and Wei Xiaofan could leave, felt a surge of satisfaction.

“Goodbye, teacher!” The heavy weight pressing on Wei Xiaofan’s heart finally lifted, and he answered at once.

Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping exchanged a glance and went out together.

“Did you suspect Li Bufan put the book in your drawer?” Wei Xiaoping asked.

“How could I not? But I have no proof. I just can’t figure out why Li Bufan would do this. What’s his motive?”

“Are you sure you never offended him?”

“I’ve always kept my distance from people like him! Where would I have had the chance?”

“True enough! If he had good character, he wouldn’t have changed schools so many times.”

“He just transferred in and already made friends with those little punks in our class—he’s quick to pick his crowd!”

“Birds of a feather flock together! Those little punks were always trouble, shaking down elementary kids for pocket money when they’re short. Now they’ve met ‘Li the Nuisance’ with his cash, and since he’s just like them, of course they’re drawn to each other!”

“‘Li the Nuisance’? Who’s that?”

“Li Bufan, of course! Who else?”

“Right, right! Li Bufan really should be called Li the Nuisance! Honestly, if it weren’t for that photo, we’d never have been able to clear our names.”

“He’s a bit cunning, that Li the Nuisance! Pity his little tricks are wasted on the wrong things. If he’d brazenly insisted someone else put the photo in, even if we and the teacher knew he was lying, there’d be nothing we could do. You can’t reason with the unreasonable!”

“Exactly! That’s why shamelessness is invincible!”

“Let’s hope he changes schools again soon! The sooner this bad apple is gone, the better!”

“Agreed!”

Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofan chatted as they walked back to their dorm. Before they knew it, they were passing the girls’ dormitory.

“Back just now, Wei Xiaofan? Wei Xiaoping?” Someone called out.

Wei Xiaofan looked up and saw Zhang Liying, the class monitor, on the second floor, hanging a towel to dry. She saw them returning and called down.

“Yes. What’s the matter? Are you upset we’re early or late?” Wei Xiaoping replied mischievously.

“And what about Li Bufan? Has he come out?” Zhang Liying ignored Wei Xiaoping’s banter and continued her questioning.

“Mr. Wu kept him back for a talk,” Wei Xiaoping answered, a bit disgruntled at the mention of Li Bufan.

“I knew it! Wei Xiaofan, you were wrongly accused all along! Hurry up and go eat—your food must be cold by now,” Zhang Liying said, turning back into the dorm.

“How did Zhang Liying know you’d been wronged?” Wei Xiaoping asked with some surprise.

“You told her yourself, and now you’re asking me?” Wei Xiaofan replied.

“Oh, right! We’re out, and Li the Nuisance is still in there—of course he’s the one at fault!”

Talking as they went, they soon reached their dormitory.

As soon as they entered, the other boys gathered around, eager to ask about Li Bufan’s accusation against Wei Xiaofan.

“We’re starving. Let me grab some food and I’ll tell you everything,” said Wei Xiaoping.

“No need, Zhang Liying already brought food for you—look, it’s still covered and warm!” one of the boys said, pointing.

Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping looked where he pointed and saw four lunchboxes set out on their desks, two with food and two with rice.

Another boy, with a slightly jealous tone, quipped, “The class monitor bringing food for the boys and delivering it to the dorm—now that’s rare!”