Chapter 24

Xi Fei showed no reaction, instead retorting, "What proof do you have?"

"Proof? The pile of underwear you hid under your bed is the proof!" Zheng Xingyan exclaimed with excitement, turning his head to shout, "Come here, everyone! Come quickly! I’ve caught a pervert who steals underwear!"

It was nearly bedtime, and the dormitory hallway was quiet. Zheng Xingyan’s shout woke the entire building, and groups of people opened their windows to look out.

"Where? Where is it?"
"Isn't that Xi Fei from Class 10?"
"Who is that person down there? Zheng Xingyan? I can't see the person opposite him clearly."
"It looks like it’s Xi Fei."
"Darn, check the school’s main group chat—there’s huge drama!"

The news spread like wildfire. Those with phones and those without crowded together, and the dormitory building became incredibly lively in an instant.

Sun Zhicai had uploaded many pictures to the school’s group chat. The content was a pile of various women's undergarments. That wasn't the main point; the point was that these undergarments had been searched out from under a bed with a name tag attached: Class 10, Xi Fei.

Messages in the group chat flew by rapidly. Someone had already recognized Xi Fei standing downstairs and shouted across the floors to Zheng Xingyan, "What are you guys doing down there?"

Zheng Xingyan had been waiting for this exact question and shouted back, "Xi Fei, this pervert, had the nerve to steal underwear, and I caught him red-handed!"

"What?!"

At 10:30 PM, the dormitory building was as rowdy as if it were the Lunar New Year.

Xue Heng received the news and rushed over from home. The dormitory manager had already brought Xi Fei and Zheng Xingyan’s group together, waiting for him to arrive for a face-to-face confrontation.

Xi Fei stood to the side without saying a word. Zheng Xingyan looked at him with disdain, while Sun Zhicai glared at him, putting on a show of being both heartbroken and furious.

With such a major incident occurring, no one had any desire to sleep. The dormitory windows and hallways were packed with people who had come to watch the spectacle. This was exactly the effect Zheng Xingyan had wanted.

With the thief caught red-handed and witnessed by so many people, he wanted to see how Xi Fei could possibly escape punishment now!

Seeing the plan proceed smoothly, Sun Zhicai also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as this crime was firmly pinned on Xi Fei, no one would ever suspect him. Since Zheng Xingyan hated Xi Fei so much, he definitely wouldn't leak the truth, and this secret would be buried forever.

He finally no longer had to worry about being caught.

After Xue Heng arrived and saw the scene, he immediately felt a splitting headache. "What’s going on? What happened?"

The dormitory manager frowned, looking disgusted. "A student in your class hid women's underwear under his bed. See for yourself, Teacher Xue."

Xue Heng instinctively said, "But Xi Fei stopped living in the dormitory two months ago."

"What is Teacher Xue implying? Are you questioning my honesty?" Zheng Xingyan’s tone was sinister. "I personally saw this kid lurking suspiciously behind the girls' dormitory. I caught him in the act when he was trying to steal underwear, and now, underwear has been searched out from under the bed he used to sleep in. With classmate Sun Zhicai as a witness, we have both the person and the evidence. Are you still going to shield him, Teacher Xue?"

After he finished, Sun Zhicai added, "Just because he doesn't live here doesn't mean he can't enter the dormitory. If he didn't have a place to hide them, it wouldn't be strange for him to temporarily stash them under an empty bed, would it?"

"Exactly! What is the teacher from Class 10 trying to do? We all saw it!"
"I heard someone saw him stealing underwear in the classroom before. It’s clear he’s a repeat offender. If you don't punish him now, are you waiting for him to become a rapist?"

"If the teachers won't handle it, just call the police."
"No matter how good his grades are, he’s just a beast in human clothing."
"I actually liked him before—ugh, disgusting."

The chatter from the students upstairs grew louder. The dormitory manager’s expression was grim. He looked coldly at Xi Fei and asked, "Student Xi, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Xue Heng looked at Xi Fei, trying to find a trace of grievance, anger, or unwillingness on his face. To his disappointment, Xi Fei’s face remained completely calm, without even a ripple of emotion.

Xi Fei glanced at Sun Zhicai and abruptly asked a question completely unrelated to the matter: "Did you wash your hands just now?"

Sun Zhicai was stunned and instinctively replied, "No."

Xi Fei nodded. "I have nothing else to say."

To everyone else, this attitude suggested that even after committing such an act, he felt no remorse. The dormitory manager’s expression was dark. He said angrily, "Teacher Xue, I hope you can provide an explanation for today's events. This is no small matter; I will be notifying the higher-ups and calling the police."

Xue Heng had long been unable to withstand the pressure from above, but because Zhu Shiyan had been using the influence of the Zhu family to protect Xi Fei, he had barely managed to keep him safe. Seeing now that the situation had blown up and there seemed to be no room for maneuvering, he immediately raised his voice, feigning heartbreak. "I really didn't expect you to actually do something like this! I trusted you so much, even believing your lies! Now that it has come to this, you still—"

Before he could finish, a lazy voice came from behind the crowd. "What a lively scene."

The person who arrived looked languid and relaxed, as if he were just out for a stroll, a faint smile on his lips. "Sorry, I’m late."

Seeing him, Xi Fei’s eyes brightened instantly, and he walked over to stand quietly beside him.

"Who do I think it is? It’s the young master of the Zhu family, keeping company with a pervert." Zheng Xingyan sneered. "I now have reason to suspect that you, Zhu Shiyan, are also involved in this!"

"Hmm, indeed." Zhu Shiyan smiled slightly. "Otherwise, why do you think he came to meet you today?"

Zheng Xingyan didn't understand. "What?"

Sun Zhicai hurriedly interjected, "He was caught red-handed! It’s useless for you to try and stall for time; the police will still take him away when they arrive!"

"Don't be so anxious. Who said I was stalling?" Zhu Shiyan glanced at him and said slowly, "I was just being kind enough to bring the police along with me."

Sun Zhicai was dazed. The police? How could that be? How could he voluntarily bring the police?

"Don't believe it?" Zhu Shiyan raised an eyebrow, stepped back to clear a path, and said to a figure not far away, "Officer Zhang, sorry to trouble you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a police officer in uniform walked in and nodded at him. Beside him was a police dog, which seemed somewhat excited, lunging repeatedly in Sun Zhicai's direction.

An ominous premonition suddenly rose in Sun Zhicai’s heart.

"Dear students," Zhu Shiyan produced a megaphone from who knows where and addressed the crowd leaning over the balconies. "Since everyone is here, let me tell you the truth."

"What truth?"
"Could it be that the real pervert is someone else?"
"Darn, he really did call the police."
"What is he trying to do?"

Xue Heng didn't know what he was planning either and whispered, "Do you think the chaos isn't big enough? Stop this, just let the police take Xi Fei away!"

Zhu Shiyan ignored him, lifting the megaphone to say every word clearly: "The real pervert who stole the underwear is actually our Class 10 monitor, Sun Zhicai! He was the one who stuffed the underwear into Xi Fei’s desk and under his bed in an attempt to frame him!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Having his true intentions exposed, Sun Zhicai panicked and roared, "I was the one who discovered this; how could it be me who stole the underwear?!"

Seeing that things were going wrong, Zheng Xingyan quickly helped him out. "That's right! Sun acted out of justice and helped catch the thief. You’re throwing dirty water on him—I think you’re just a cornered dog trying to bite anyone!"

"Your command of language is quite good, Zheng." Zhu Shiyan remained calm, a mocking smile on his face. "Don't be impatient; it will be your turn soon."

He shifted his gaze to Sun Zhicai. "You were quite cautious. Before putting the items in Xi Fei’s desk, you checked the hallway surveillance to make sure it didn't cover the classroom. You were also very patient, waiting for the perfect timing, which is why no one saw you do it."

"But what you didn't expect was that the first attempt had very little impact. Aside from Teacher Xue, no one else had seen the items in Xi Fei’s desk. Even if people heard your rumors, it was just hearsay without solid evidence."

"So, you and Zheng Xingyan conspired to plan a second frame-up."

"A pack of lies!" Zheng Xingyan panted, glaring at him viciously. "What proof do you have?!"

"Don't get excited. I will provide the evidence one by one. Just listen to me first." Zhu Shiyan looked composed as he said, "You learned from the first mistake, so the second frame-up had to be loud and visible to everyone. You sent a note to Xi Fei, arranging for him to meet you behind the dormitory at nine o'clock. Before that, under your cover, Sun Zhicai stole several pieces of underwear hanging outside and stuffed them under Xi Fei’s bed."

"And once you received the message that he had done it, you pretended to stumble upon the scene, drawing everyone’s attention. Xi Fei would have nowhere to escape and would be forced to take the fall."

Cold sweat broke out on Sun Zhicai’s back, and an uncontrollable panic welled up inside him. Zhu Shiyan had described their plan with perfect accuracy!

"As for the evidence..." Zhu Shiyan tilted his head back, his tone gentle. "You two can come out now."

Two girls emerged from behind the crowd. Sun Zhicai was shocked. "It’s you?"

Zhu Shiyan shielded the two girls slightly behind him. "Some of the underwear you stuffed under Xi Fei’s bed belonged to them. These garments had been sprayed with perfume—the scent is faint, but it lingers for a long time. The police dog Officer Zhang brought was trained to recognize this specific scent three days ago. It has been smelling it every single day and is extremely sensitive to it."

He said playfully, "So, take a guess: why did it rush straight toward you the moment it appeared, and why couldn't they pull it back?"

Sun Zhicai’s fingers trembled, but he forced himself to remain calm. "That’s because... because I just touched those undergarments, so the scent was left on me!"

"Oh?" Zhu Shiyan’s voice contained a hint of mockery. "Then why didn't the police dog lunge at Xi Fei? If he were the pervert who stole the underwear, the scent on him should be even stronger, shouldn't it?"