LWDC Chapter 76
by VolareTwo days later, Ning Fei was called to the police station to discuss the case. To be precise, to discuss a settlement.
Ning Fei had even taken leave from school when he didn’t have classes, but when he arrived at the police station, he was the only party involved who was present.
Lin Shengjia was a minor and had classes, so he was represented by Luo Xiuping and Luo Chenghong. The four street thugs who did the beating weren’t there either. There was also another person he didn’t recognize, dressed in a suit and tie, who Ning Fei guessed was “that kind of person.”
But he played dumb until the police introduced, “This is the lawyer entrusted by Qin Ran’s guardian.”
Ning Fei: Sure enough.
Sure enough, it was a lawyer, and sure enough, it was Qin Ran.
He just didn’t know how they found Qin Ran. Did the police take those small-time thugs to the school gate every day to identify people? But Lin Shengjia was attending school normally, so Qin Ran couldn’t have guessed the general situation, right? How could he not have taken precautions? Moreover, Qin Ran didn’t know those people, and it was a cash transaction. Did the police find some crucial evidence that made him admit it so quickly…
No matter how Ning Fei speculated in his heart, the mediation began.
The police first introduced the whole story. In short, Qin Ran was displeased with Lin Shengjia, so he randomly found a few unemployed people on the street and paid them 500 yuan to beat Lin Shengjia up. Then the four idle hooligans waited for Lin Shengjia on his way home from school and really started hitting him when they saw him. Originally, these four planned to drag him into a dark alley and beat him up, then run away immediately, so Lin Shengjia wouldn’t know who hit him. Who knew a “Cheng Yaojin” would appear halfway? Ning Fei joined the battle before he even hung up the phone to the police, and he directly took them all down in one swoop.
As for why Qin Ran was displeased with Lin Shengjia, he didn’t say, or rather, he insisted it was just a simple “dislike,” a “bad impression,” so he wanted Lin Shengjia to suffer a little.
Ning Fei knew that this was Qin Ran’s way of taking the blame for Ji Xingzhe. No wonder Qin Ran admitted it so quickly, probably to avoid a possible investigation later. If the police, no, even if just the Qin family saw his mobile phone, they would definitely know that Ji Xingzhe was the one behind it.
But Ning Fei could figure it out, Luo Xiuping couldn’t. She stated her position sternly, “What do you mean ‘simply dislike’ ‘want to beat him up for no reason’? Is that Qin Ran’s attitude? Does he plan to continue looking for opportunities to beat my son in the future, even hire someone to kill him?!”
“Madam Luo, Qin Ran has expressed that he realizes this was a serious mistake and apologizes to Lin Shengjia and Teacher Ning, who was also involved. This is his letter of apology and guarantee.” The lawyer pushed a letter towards Luo Xiuping. “Qin Ran’s guardian is also willing to take responsibility. The medical expenses and lost wages of both of you can be compensated at the original price, and an additional 50,000 yuan will be given to each of you as a consolation payment. Oh, right, was Lin’s bicycle also damaged? The Qin family is willing to compensate Lin with the latest mountain bike. And Teacher Ning’s mobile phone and glasses will also be compensated by the Qin family.”
“What do you mean? Do you think you can just spend some money to lightly gloss over this matter? That student Qin said he wanted to apologize, but he’s not even willing to apologize to my son and Teacher Ning face-to-face. How can we believe his guarantee?” Luo Xiuping was usually gentle and amiable, but she became very sharp for her son’s sake. “I demand that the school be notified. The school should discipline such students!”
“…Madam Luo, there’s no need to involve the school. It’s enough for the guardians of both parties to reach a settlement.” The lawyer certainly wouldn’t agree easily. “Qin Ran is already a senior in high school and will definitely be able to get into a good university. Your son is also a high school student, so he understands how serious a school punishment is for a prospective college student. If you think Qin Ran needs to apologize in person, I will negotiate with the guardian about this matter, but there’s no need to notify the school, right?”
“You also said that Qin Ran is a high school student, and my son is also a high school student. But have you ever thought that if Teacher Ning hadn’t saved my son, he might have been beaten so badly that he couldn’t go to school!” Luo Xiuping insisted. “Moreover, my son doesn’t know Qin Ran at all. The only connection between them is that they’re students at the same school. Since it’s a matter between students, it’s normal to notify the school. I’m not negotiating with you, I’m demanding that the police notify the school. The school is also an important part of educating children and should participate together!”
“Madam Luo, Lin wasn’t seriously injured, was he? The ones who went to beat him up were actually diagnosed with minor injuries, which are more serious than the injuries of both of you.” The lawyer had a tone of “I’m doing this for your own good.” “There’s an old saying, ‘Forgive and forget where it is possible’, and the compensation offered by the Qin family is much more than the legal requirement. If you go through the process and go to court, it will be a waste of time and you may not get the results you want, so why bother? Moreover, after this incident, Lin will turn hostility into friendship with Qin Ran. No matter if Lin goes to college or finds a job in the future, as long as there is a need, the Qin family will definitely be willing to help.”
“What do you mean by ‘turn hostility into friendship’? It was Qin Ran who unilaterally hurt my son. My son doesn’t even know him!” Luo Xiuping wasn’t fooled by the lawyer’s rhetoric. “Lin Shengjia wasn’t seriously injured because Teacher Ning went to save him. Those hooligans even took out knives to hurt people. You’re talking as if those people were showing mercy. Look at the wound on Teacher Ning’s face. If it had been cut on his hand, neck, or body, would it have been murder?”
The lawyer retorted, “They took out knives because Ning Fei attacked them with a broken beer bottle at the time. That’s why they used unexpected tools. Also, Lin Shengjia also used a brick to smash someone’s head, causing that person to have a concussion. Doesn’t that prove that Lin Shengjia was still able to move normally at the time and wasn’t beaten to the point of losing his ability to act?”
“Mr. Lawyer, watch your wording.” Ning Fei finally spoke at this moment. Compared to Luo Xiuping, his tone was much calmer, but his eyes were sharper. “Your statement makes it sound like I was the one who escalated the conflict by using a broken beer bottle. But they were in a dark alley. I couldn’t judge how many people there were or what the specific situation was. What’s wrong with using a beer bottle for ‘righteous action’? I couldn’t see anything clearly in the dark. Those hooligans rushed towards me. It was their own inertia that caused the beer bottle’s broken edge to cut them deeply, which is what you call ‘more seriously injured than you’. If they just wanted to scare Lin Shengjia, and when they saw someone come to save him, even their own people were injured, shouldn’t they have left immediately? But they still took action to attack me and Lin Shengjia, and even took out knives. Doesn’t that just show that they were determined to beat Lin Shengjia badly?
“And they don’t know us at all. The reason they made this choice is because of Qin Ran’s instructions, isn’t it?”
The lawyer thought that Luo Xiuping would be the most difficult to deal with among the three and didn’t pay attention to Ning Fei, who had been silent all along. He didn’t expect Ning Fei to give such a long speech, with a conclusion that followed closely after a layer-by-layer progression of logic – Qin Ran instructed them to beat Lin Shengjia badly, not just give him a simple scare.
Of course, the lawyer couldn’t let him pin this label on him and immediately retorted, “Teacher Ning, this is just your presumptuous logic. Those people are hooligans. It’s not strange for them to do something impulsive when they get carried away. Qin Ran only gave them 500 yuan. This price is obviously not a price that requires a big fight. If those young people in society had planned to seriously injure Lin Shengjia from the beginning, would they have agreed to four people only taking 500?”
The police said at this time, “They really did say that Qin Ran told them to beat Lin Shengjia up, preferably so he couldn’t take the final exam next week.”
Luo Xiuping slapped the table. “What exactly does Qin Ran want to do? Beating a schoolmate he doesn’t know at all to the point of missing the exam. He’s too lawless!”
“These are just their one-sided statements. There’s no actual evidence. If it goes to court, this statement may not be adopted. Qin Ran said that he just wanted them to teach him a lesson.” The lawyer wouldn’t admit defeat easily. He looked at Ning Fei again. “Teacher Ning, I understand that you’re eager to save your students. But please consider carefully. Now Lin Shengjia and Qin Ran are both in a tense stage of studying, and your work is also very busy. Isn’t the solution I proposed the most appropriate at the moment? I know that you and Lin Shengjia have been wronged, and the Qin family will try their best to compensate. Of course, if you have any other requirements, you can raise them, and I will convey them to the Qin family.”
Luo Chenghong, who had been watching the show silently, actually spoke at this time. “What does that mean? Are you waiting for us to ask for an exorbitant price so you can bite us back later?”
His tone was playful, and his state was different from Luo Xiuping and Ning Fei. The lawyer glanced at him and didn’t fall for his trick. “Of course not. I’m just expressing the Qin family’s sincere willingness to reconcile. I believe you should also have the idea of reconciling. Otherwise, why would everyone be sitting here today? Isn’t it a waste of time?”
Luo Xiuping initially felt that perhaps they could reconcile, so that solving the problem would be faster. But she didn’t expect that Qin Ran wouldn’t come, and neither would his guardian. They just sent a smooth-talking lawyer. The lawyer came up and took an attitude of solving everything with money, and the fire in Luo Xiuping’s heart surged up.
Now she couldn’t figure out why Qin Ran wanted to beat Lin Shengjia. Regardless of whether they reconciled or not, Qin Ran and Lin Shengjia were still studying at the same school. What if that Qin Ran bullies Lin Shengjia at school again? Ning Fei saved him this time, but what about next time? And the time after that?
But if they were deadlocked and didn’t reconcile, the Qin family was so rich that it would be too easy to make things difficult for a student…
Ning Fei saw Luo Xiuping’s worries, thought about it, and suggested, “Let’s take a break. I’ll discuss it with Lin Shengjia’s mother.”
Luo Xiuping looked at him suspiciously, but the lawyer took this as a signal that they were preparing to accept the conditions and agreed to postpone the communication. Soon, Luo Xiuping followed Ning Fei out of the police station, followed by Luo Chenghong, who came to listen in.
After Ning Fei stopped, the first thing he said to Luo Xiuping was straight to the point.
“You reconcile with the Qin family. I’ll deal with them.”