Episode 4

The police arrived in 20 minutes, when the two sides were still confronting each other.

Cheng Feichi was alone, but not even the slightest sign of panic was visible on his face. He showed his ID card at the request of the police, and then described what happened in an orderly manner.

“These four customers came into the store around 11:15 p.m. Three lingered in front of the shelves that were farthest from the counter for approximately seven to eight minutes, and then went toward the counter together. At that time, this young man," Cheng Feichi pointed at Liu Yangfan, “went behind the counter to look at the products. He was about a half meter away from me while other two people were standing out there talking to me face-to-face. The whole interaction lasted fo no more than two minutes. And during the whole process I never left the counter. In the end, the one standing closest to me decided to have two packs of Chunghwa Soft and the four of them left together after checking out. Five minutes letter, they came back and said that they lost a watch.”

Zhou Feng was irritated by his narration, “Nonsense! You are accusing us of framing you?”

Almost speechless after hearing Zhou Feng's stupid response, Liu Yangfan interjected, “You ar dodging the most important thing. If you are really so innocent, then why is my mate's watch in your pocket?”

Cheng Feichi took a look at the two boys and then turned back to the police. "The whole incident must have been captured on CCTV. If you watch it, you can tell that I didn't lie.”

The store owner got here after receiving a call from the police. Seeing the policemen and four posh-looking teens, this middle-aged woman began apologizing before learning the facts. "I'm deeply sorry for the trouble that we caused. Cheng just started working here. If he did anything wrong, please just tell me and let me deal with him.”

Liu Yangfan spat the cigar out in contempt. "Let you deal with him? Do you even know how much this watch costs? You can really handle this?"

Zhao Yue raised his hand, exhibiting his sports watch, "This is a birthday gift from my grandpa. Limited edition. Does he even know what brand it is? How dare he steal such a precious item? What a good clerk you've got!"

The shop owner was obviously astonished, but she managed to pull herself together. "Cheng is not that kind of person. There must be a mistake."

Now the CCTV footage was displaying on the computer screen. Only one of the security cameras was facing the side of the counter. According to the time shown at the lower left corner, the four teens did enter the store shortly after 11 o'clock, and after disappearing in the frame for less than 10 minutes, three of them showed up again and walked towards the counter.

What came next matched Cheng Feichi's description as well. However, this clip was not very useful, because the angle where it was filmed from was a bit off. and the policemen couldn't pin down the details of their movements even after carefully replaying it twice. The whole video just showed a very normal check-out process.

“He must be a repeated offender. He knew this was a blind spot and he could do whatever he wanted here."

Zhao Yue struck first to control the whole situation by convicting Cheng Fei chi without sufficient evidence. Zhou Feng and Liu Yangfan followed by saying that Cheng Feichi had been very calm throughout the whole confrontation and investigation, which proved that he had been plotting this theft for quite a while, right from the moment they came in.

Three liars make a truth. They all looked so confident and honest, making the police unable to decide.

"I didn't steal his watch, and I really don't know why it ended up in my pocket." Cheng Feichi kept denying their accusation and looked at Zhao Yue. "I wasn't paying much attention when he approached me. Now I think about it this is probably how I fell into their trap."

“Bullshit!” Zhou Feng scolded, "Who the hell are you? Why would we waste time on scheming against you?"

Zhao Yue jeered in a more composed manner, “Watch your mouth. We don't even know each other. Why would we set you up? How can we benefit from this farce?"

The police also thought Zhao Yue had a point. They watched the footage of the other two cameras inside the store and asked Cheng Feichi, “You said that you were framed by this Mr. Liu. Can you get another witness to back your statement?"

Ye Qin was leaning against the door and throwing a gummy into his mouth when he heard the police's question. And Cheng Feichi was looking straight at him.

The three teens involved had already agreed to work in collusion at the moment they paid for the cigarettes and left the store. Zhou Feng was determined to teach Cheng Feichi a lesson. Since he couldn't beat him up, it didn't matter which strategy he employed. As the exact target of their perfectly ready scheme, Cheng Feichi could hardly get himself off the hook. Ye Qin had already expected this difficult situation for him before he went back to the store.

It was for sure that Ye Qin's testimony would not go against his friends'. But he had a role different than his friends in that he was the only person totally not involved in the setup. He was the only stander-by in this farce.

He thought that he wouldn‘t feel nervous, but when Cheng Feichi looked into his eyes, he still felt the butterflied in his stomach.

This was a weird feeling, but he soon found out where it came from.

He didn‘t like bullying others. Probably he was thinking of his mother, or his sympathy with the weak was just visceral. If Cheng Feichi looked weak, poor and hopeless and eagerly solicited his help, he might as well help him out, though it would put his friendship at risk.

Yet not even the slightest sign of weakness was revealed in Cheng Feichi‘s eyes. Instead, he looked so candid that his eyes were as sharp as a dagger piercing into the pit of Ye Qin's stomach and exposing his ugly and freak thoughts in broad daylight.

“He saw it," Cheng Feichi said, “He was standing right in front of me, behind the two guys.”

The gummy stuck to Ye Qin's teeth because he chewed it too hard. He looked away so that he could pretend that he didn't see Cheng Feichi—who was still standing upright.

“I was absent minded at that time. I didn't see anything." Ye Qin said while savoring the fruit jam in the gummy. It didn't taste sweet. The unpleasantly sour flavor in his mouth almost kept him from uttering a dear sentence. "Sorry. Couldn‘t help."

The teens went on a gaming spree in the late night.

Zhou Feng was particularly thrilled, as he finally took his revenge on his love rival. After a few rounds, he dropped the joystick and continued to drink. Then he passed the beer to Ye Qin.

Ye Qin took a sip and frowned, pushing his arm aside before slouching back into the sofa and continuing to chew the gummy candies.

Zhou Feng gulped down the rest of the beer and threw the empty can away. "We should have followed him to the police station, so that we can see how he was questioned, take a picture of him and sent it to Yiran."

Zhao Yue laughed that he would have carried things too far in that way. That lad seemed to be quite arrogant. He must have been furious right now after such a shameful setup.

“How would he think of asking Qin to defend him?" Liu Yangfan also sneered, "Even a five- year-old can see that Qin belongs to our league. How could that guy be so stupid? He actually thought Qin would help him out?"

Zhou Feng couldn't help laughing even harder, “Probably because Qin looks like a good and easygoing boy."

“Right. Looking at his soft skin, big eyes, cherry-like small mouth and pinkish face, no one would doubt his innocence. If we don't point it out who would know that he is the real boss?"

Liu Yangfan then tried to pinch Ye Qin's face, but the latter dodged his hand and through another gummy into his mouth.

They joked about his lack of humor and turned to other topics, while carrying on with their drinking. When they paused and picked up the joysticks again. Ye Qin patted Zhao Yue and asked, “He...I mean, that guy. what is the police going to do to him?"

“They would probably hold him in custody, and report it to the school. And the school would punish him and recorded it in his documents." Zhao Yue answered in a relaxed manner, "He could also be fined. But who knows? He was left to destiny?"

At the same time, the glass front door of Yulin Police Station was pushed open from inside, and Cheng Feichi stepped out of the building. He looked up at the Bell Tower at distance and found it was already half past three o'clock.

It was a damp, misty and cool autumn night in the Northern China. Wih only a T-shirt with the store logo and normal black track pants, Cheng Feichi ducked his head while walking along the empty street.

The station was not far from the store. When Cheng Feichi entered the store, the owner was holding a broom in her hand -- she was preparing the store for the next shift that would begin two hours later.

“Let me do it." Cheng Feichi stepped forward and took the broom from the store owner. He went to the other end of the store without consulting her opinion and started systematically sweeping from there.

Watching him doing the cleaning, the woman sighed all of a sudden, “The police didn't embarrass you, did they?"

"No." The young lad answered, “Seeing I'm still a student they just asked me some questions and let me go."

The owner turned back to sort the goods on the shelves, but couldn't help nagging at him after a slight hesitation, "I told you so for a million times. The outside world is complicated, especially during the night shift. When the night falls, all the hooligans will be on the streets making troubles. We don't mess with them, but at least we can stay away from them. Never confront them when it's possible to compromise. Because if you fight against them, you will only get yourself hurt."

Cheng Feichi's movement froze for one second, “I didn't mess with them."

The woman turned again to face him, "I know. How would I not know what kind of person you are? But there are people that just love to make a fuss about nothing. They won't let go of you even when you did nothing wrong. You really need to learn how to protect yourself. It's for the sake of yourself, not anyone else. If this farce turned into a big deal, do you want to drop out of school? It's already unfair for you to be transferred from the Affiliated High School to the No.6 High School. If the police informed your school of this, how disappointed your mom would be?"

The lad did not reply anymore, his mouth set in a grim line.

After tidying everything up. the woman packed several steamed Chinese buns and two bags of soy milk and handed them to Cheng Feichi. But the latter refused, ready to leave the store after placing the broom where it should be.

The woman ran after him and stuffed the plastic bag into his hands, "Take it. Nobody's gonna buy them after a whole day, and they are going to be disposed as expired foods anyway. I trust there will be classes later? You cannot do with some breakfast."

He tucked the books under his arm and took the bag with both hands, "Thank you."

The woman then gave him 200 yuan and said, “Here is your salary for these days."

He looked down at the two red ¥100 notes and knew that this meant that he didn't need to come back anymore.

Looking a bit awkward, the store owner explained in a subtle and mild manner, “It was my fault to let a kid like you work night shift. I didn't consider the potential dangers and risks. You'd better listen to your mom and focus on your studies. Money is not something that you should worry about now."

He remained silent, neither taking the money nor saying anything. It seemed that he was pondering how to save this hard-earned job.

It was a windy morning. Unable to stand the cold anymore, the woman patted him on his back and urged him to go home. "So obstinate ...well, if there's any job opportunity that fits you, I will let you know as soon as possible, okay?"

He replied with a "sure" after this promise. He put the two notes in his pocket and thanked her again.

He reached home in the gray dawn. The house was only lit by a sheer streak of light peeping through the heavy curtains.

He walked into the kitchen quietly and put the buns on a plate when he heard the sound of bedroom door opening from behind.

Cheng Xin, his mother, left the main bedroom for the kitchen, holding on to the dinning table to steady herself. Covered with a coat, she asked him in a weak voice, “Why do you come back so late? You said you would get off work at two or three o'clock."

He put down everything to help her into the chair, "We got a new load coming in. I helped Ms.Feng to unload the goods."

Cheng Xin sat down, nodding, "Good. She has helped us a lot."

The cramped house they lived in measured less than 60 square meters, where the dinning area was only three or four meters away from the kitchen. Cheng Feichi returned to the kitchen to heat the buns up when Cheng Xin noticed a book beside the stove and asked. "What's that book about?"

“Math Olympiad exercises." He replied, "The teacher said that the CEE was about to be reformed from this year. My teachers say that the bonus questions might be picked from these exercises, so l'm checking them out, just in case."

Cheng Xin could only see the back of her son, but given that she had been a teacher for a decade, she still caught his real intention.

The top three contestants in the Mathematical Olympiad would receive a huge reward. Of course she knew it.

The breakfast began. Cheng Xin picked up a bun stuffed with meat and put it into her son's bowl. "The life in Grade 11 would be busier than before. Don't do part-time jobs anymore. I still can afford your tuition."

Probably because she had been working as a respectable teacher for too long, Cheng Xin talked in a rather stern and emotionless tone even now, while her feebleness somehow intensified the pressure subtly imposed on her son -- though she was, in fact, trying to comfort him.

Cheng Feichi remained silent, finished the meal and stood up to clear the table. It was when he spotted the blatantly branded shoe box on the drawers table at the entrance that he let out a question, “He visited again?"

Cheng Xin was stacking the bowls and plates, "Hmm, the shoes are for you and at your disposal."

An hour later, he exited the building with garbage bags and the shoe box in his hands. He approached the garbage bins and got rid of everything.

At this moment the early morning sun just appeared from behind the buildings with the mist still floating. An elderty man was practicing Tai Chi in the open area. When he saw Cheng Feichi, he stopped and greeted him, “Chi, you got up so early! You didn't wear much, isn't it cold"

The sun didn't beam down on Cheng Feichi's heart at all. He could only manage a smile, "Good Morning, Mr. Lee. I'm not cold."

A peer of Cheng Feichi reminded the elderly man of his own grandchild, who must still be lying on the bed right now.

“Are you going to help with the restaurant today? Just stay home. It's the weekend after all. Have a good sleep or hang out with your friends. I'II ask my son to let you cut loose today."

“Ah. thank you, Mr Lee."

Cheng Feichi easily agreed, only to keep the conversation as short as possible. He went back to his bedroom, took off the convenience store's uniform and put on a coat before leaving the house again.

He had always been living at a pace so rapid that when his brain was finally allowed to rest, it rested on the run. He used to calculate the income that he would receive by the end of the month at the kerbside or scan through the want ads of the nearby stores for suitable openings. Unfortunatefy, the No.6 High School strictly forbade its students from working part-time outside the school -- he would have to leave the school tuck shop in no time.

However, today, everything felt different. He put on a sudden burst of speed and started dashing along the empty sidewalk. Even after 2 kilometers of running, he could not pull himself out of the overwhelming noise inside his head. Numerous taunting faces kept showing up in front of his eyes, while shill laughter was piercing his ears with no sign of abating.

He halted, gasping, his hands pressing on his knees. But his mouth suddenly formed a sardonic curve, as if laughing at himself.

Huh, what is the reason for others to help him?

The world was loaded with unreasonable malice. His only true savior, is always himself, and only himself.

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