Chapter 71

"Classmate, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

The two police officers exchanged a glance and asked He Chen solemnly if he had anything more to say.

They already considered themselves unlucky to have encountered such a case.

They didn’t want to accidentally get themselves sent up on charges due to some common but unspoken practices.

"Of course there is!" Amidst everyone’s twitching lips, He Chen actually nodded, turning to Qiao Yingzi: "Qiao Yingzi, do you realize your mistake?"

"I..." Qiao Yingzi, startled by He Chen’s gaze and words, felt a surge of panic—but her sharp mind quickly realized this wasn’t just some clichéd "he still cares for me, but I’m ungrateful" drama, or even just that.

By asking this publicly, he was primarily pointing out that in Fang Yifan’s drugging incident, she wasn’t just a potential victim, but also, to some extent, an accomplice.

Even if she had no such intention, her objective actions might still have violated the law.

"I’m wrong—I shouldn’t have given Fang Yifan sleeping pills," Qiao Yingzi admitted decisively, showing no fear, dread, or anger despite being exposed and facing possible punishment.

Under the overwhelming emotional pressure of "He Chen did this for me, he still cares for me," her emotions remained utterly calm.

"Yingzi!" Tong Wenjie stared at Qiao Yingzi in disbelief—this girl she’d already marked as her future daughter-in-law, her first backup, simply couldn’t accept Qiao Yingzi’s honesty.

To her, admitting this now was tantamount to betraying her son.

"Auntie Tong, I really was wrong!" Qiao Yingzi tried to explain: "Fang Yifan was wrong too—he made a mistake and must face consequences..."

Under Tong Wenjie’s knife-like glare, she couldn’t say another word.

"Admitting your mistake is the first step!" He Chen nodded in approval: "You don’t need to worry too much—you were deceived, so this was an unintentional lapse, and throughout the process, you repeatedly warned him about the dangers. So far, no serious consequences have arisen.

But your reluctance to speak up nearly caused harm to both yourself and others—you must be sharply awakened.

I suggest you write down the cause, course, and outcome of this incident, along with your reflections.

Then, when you receive the officers’ criticism and education, ask them for more related case examples—they have countless on record; study them carefully.

Since you’re good at public speaking, deliver your written account as a speech to the class, so other students can listen closely, stay alert, and avoid being harmed by similar incidents.

After all, whether girl or boy, everyone must protect themselves when they’re out!

Even a smart, sensible girl like you nearly became an accomplice in harming others and yourself just because you couldn’t bring yourself to refuse—and other students will be even more naive and clueless.

This speech of yours will be more meaningful than your talk at the planetarium. What do you think?"

"Mm!" Qiao Yingzi nodded firmly.

Words like "good at public speaking," "smart and sensible," and "girls must protect themselves" kept echoing in her mind, warming her heart.

Even though the situation was a bit embarrassing, she no longer resisted doing it.

"Yingzi!!!" Fang Yifan could no longer bear it, staring at her in disappointment and confusion.

Didn’t she realize this would nail him permanently to the pillar of shame?

This was even harder for him to accept than possibly going to jail.

For young people, face was everything—often more important than life itself, let alone jail.

"Fang Hou, don’t look at me like that," Qiao Yingzi met his gaze squarely and replied seriously: "You deceived me and turned things this way—we’re both wrong, and we nearly caused serious harm, so we must face punishment!"

She had seen Lin Leilei’s condition with her own eyes—he could have truly been in mortal danger.

And she nearly became an accomplice, simply because she couldn’t bring herself to refuse and got tricked.

"... " Fang Yifan was left speechless.

Because it was, indeed, the truth.

If he hadn’t lied and pressured her, Qiao Yingzi wouldn’t have made this mistake or been dragged into this mess.

The two police officers were also speechless.

Especially after hearing He Chen say they had "countless case examples"—though true, they couldn’t help feeling subtly mocked.

Worse, when they’d asked He Chen to speak, he didn’t just speak—he subtly took their position and directly defined and handled the entire matter.

And yet, it looked flawless, even well-managed.

There was punishment, education, deterrence, prevention, and the potential to expand the lesson beyond this single case—it had real educational value.

This boy is no ordinary kid!

Not only does he take things seriously and love to escalate matters—he’s actually quite skilled!

They hadn’t spoken rashly and had wisely let him add his input.

Next, under Tong Wenjie’s red, furious gaze, they asked Fang Yifan to come to the police station, and Tong Wenjie, as his parent, naturally had to come along too.

Lin Leilei was also supposed to go, but He Chen stopped him, sternly reminding Li Tiegun, the passive homeroom teacher, to take Lin Leilei to the school clinic—and preferably to the hospital for a full checkup.

All of this was based on the assumption that Lin Leilei was merely severely drowsy with no major issues—but if he’d been drugged and not just drowsy, but physically harmed, the nature of the case would change entirely.

Tong Wenjie realized this too, and for a moment forgot her son being taken to the station—she immediately insisted on accompanying Lin Leilei to the hospital herself to ensure he was unharmed.

No problem.

Even if there was a problem, it had to be no problem.

When the police reminded her that minors needed parental accompaniment, Tong Wenjie, in her panic, blurted: "No problem! He has a parent with him! When you drive him over, just stop by the detention center and pick up his dad!"

"... " Everyone was speechless, finding it absurd and ridiculous.

But after a moment’s thought, they found it terrifying: a family of three, two of whom kept going to the police station every few days...

Outside the detention center.

The gate opened, and the short, stout Fang Yuan slowly walked out, wearing a calm smile.

Though he’d been detained for a month—thanks to his filial son—he was always easygoing and broad-minded... and if he couldn’t be easygoing, he couldn’t live with his domineering, violent wife Tong Wenjie.

National Day was tomorrow; getting out before it meant he wouldn’t miss the holiday—wasn’t that perfect?

Then, squinting up at the sky and breathing in the fresh air, he heard a familiar voice calling "Dad!" and turned to see his son Fang Yifan running toward him.

"Son, you came to pick me up?" Fang Yuan was both surprised and delighted, grumbling, "Aren’t you supposed to be in class today?" "Even if you miss me, you can’t skip school!" "Hurry up and go, or your mom will see you and it’ll be a disaster!"—but he still happily hugged this good-for-nothing, filial son.

That’s right!

Even if he was a disappointment, even if he had all kinds of flaws, in his eyes, his son was still a good son.

Look—how filial!

Even if he didn’t approve of his son skipping class to come, as a father, he was deeply moved by this filial gesture.

A filial child can’t be all bad.

What if his grades are poor?

In ancient times, filial sons were directly recommended as officials.

Just as Fang Yuan was moved by how perfect his son was, a police officer stepped down from the patrol car nearby—he immediately noticed, nervously greeted him, and was told the truth.

Upon learning he’d been released to accompany his delinquent son to the police station, Fang Yuan: "... "