Chapter Nineteen: Li Bufan Inspects Wei Xiaofan’s Drawer

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Time for Chinese class! The teacher, Wu Wenbin, was making his way toward the classroom from a distance.

"Xiaofan!" Wei Xiaoping glanced outside and saw that the Chinese teacher was still two or three minutes away from arriving. He whispered to Wei Xiaofan.

"Don’t worry, Xiaoping—I won’t be mad," said Wei Xiaofan.

"That’s not what I was asking! Li Bufan was so sure you had that kind of book. Did he sneak it into your desk drawer? I heard people say he has a bad reputation—his father’s transferred him to several schools already!"

Wei Xiaofan was startled, staring at Wei Xiaoping, thinking: Maybe Xiaoping is right! Why didn’t I consider that? With someone like Li Bufan, anything is possible! Otherwise, how could he be so certain I had that book? Cursed Li Bufan, may the heavens strike you down!

"I hadn't thought of that! Xiaoping, what should I do? If he really did sneak it in, what should I do? Should I check my desk drawer myself?"

"You check yours on the sly, I’ll check mine too! If we really find it, let’s hide it for now."

"Alright! Let’s move our bodies as close to the outer edge of the desk as possible, so no one else can see."

So, Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping shifted themselves to the farthest sides of the desk, angling their bodies slightly. One hand propped up their heads while the other hand quietly searched through the piles of textbooks and homework in the drawer. Their eyes occasionally darted to the desk, then swept nonchalantly over classmates who might be spying on them.

"Xiaoping, we haven’t done anything wrong, so why are we sneaking around just to check our own drawers? If others see, won’t they think we’re guilty of something?" Wei Xiaofan whispered.

"But what if the book really is inside? You and I both know we’d never read that kind of thing, let alone bring it to school. But if it’s actually there, who could clear our names? How could we prove someone else put it there?"

"You’re right! Damn that Li Bufan!" Wei Xiaofan clenched his teeth, cursing him inwardly, and continued rifling through his desk.

Suddenly, Wei Xiaofan’s eyes went wide, and his heart pounded in his chest. The book was really there—a large, magazine-type full-color book.

"It’s really here!" Wei Xiaofan’s hands trembled as he tried to cover the magazine with other books. The magazine was so big that one textbook couldn’t hide it, so he used two. With shaking hands, he pushed the drawer shut.

"Xiaoping, what should I do?" Wei Xiaofan whispered, voice trembling.

"It’s really there?" Wei Xiaoping grew tense as well.

"I saw the cover, but I didn’t dare open it!"

The two stood there, dumbstruck.

Just then, the Chinese teacher entered.

"Class is starting!" the teacher called out in a stern tone.

The classroom fell silent.

"Class is starting!" the teacher repeated.

Only then did Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping snap out of their daze, stand up, and shout, "Stand up!—Good morning, Teacher Wu!"

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Teacher Wu, glasses perched on his nose, swept his gaze across the classroom. After a few seconds, he said,

"Good morning, everyone!—Sit down!"

With a rustle, the students took their seats.

Teacher Wu placed his textbook on the podium, opened it to the passage for today, pressed the top edge down with a blackboard eraser, straightened himself, and said,

"Wei Xiaoping, Wei Xiaofan."

The two immediately rose. "Good morning, Teacher Wu!"

"Wei Xiaofan, why were you staring at the back of the student in front of you?" Wu Wenbin asked.

Wei Xiaofan immediately looked at Wu Wenbin, their eyes meeting for a second before he looked away.

Wei Xiaoping also straightened up and looked at Wu Wenbin.

"What was going on just now?" Wu Wenbin asked.

"Reporting, Teacher, I was lost in thought and forgot to call the class to attention," said Wei Xiaoping.

"What were you thinking about? Was it related to your studies? If it was, then that’s commendable!" Wu Wenbin replied.

"We were thinking about a physics problem we saw today, and we got so deep into it that we forgot to give the call to stand," said Wei Xiaoping.

"If it’s about studies, then that’s worth praising!—Li Bufan!"

Having praised Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofan, Wu Wenbin turned to Li Bufan.

Li Bufan stood up.

"Li Bufan—" Wu Wenbin called again.

"Teacher, I’m here!" Li Bufan responded quickly, a little nervous for forgetting to answer immediately.

"Physics teacher Li mentioned some issues to me earlier. After class, you and Wei Xiaofan come to my office, understand?" Wu Wenbin instructed.

"Yes, Teacher Wu!" Wei Xiaofan answered, his voice slightly shaky.

"Teacher Wu, I have to go home early after school today—it’s my father’s birthday! I might not be able to stop by your office, can I come in the afternoon?" Li Bufan said, his tone not showing any deference.

"Li Bufan, what kind of attitude is that? Are you the teacher or am I?" Wu Wenbin said, a little angry.

"Sorry, Director Wu, I’m just used to speaking that way!"

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"Li Bufan, if I don’t permit you to leave early, are you going to go anyway?" Wu Wenbin pressed him.

The classroom went so silent that the drop of a hair could be heard.

"Then I’ll just go to your office first, Teacher," Li Bufan said, glancing disdainfully out the window.

Wu Wenbin’s face darkened. "Fine! Wei Xiaofan, Li Bufan—remember to come to my office after class. Now, both of you take your seats." With that, he removed the blackboard eraser from the textbook.

"Everyone, open your books to page sixty-five. Let’s begin the lesson," Wu Wenbin said, picking up a piece of chalk and writing the lesson title on the board.

Lunch break.

The other students filed out of the classroom.

Only Li Bufan and a few of his close friends, along with two or three students curious for gossip, and Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping remained inside.

"Wei Xiaofan, to prove your innocence, let us search your desk drawer. Let Huang Yongsheng and Huang Yongliang be witnesses," Li Bufan said, walking over.

Wei Xiaofan immediately blocked his drawer with his body, clenching his fists, teeth gritted. "Li Bufan, don’t you dare! This is my desk—my own private space. You have no right to touch it!"

"Refusing, are you? Feeling guilty? Everyone, look—doesn’t he look suspicious? If he won’t let us search, that proves he’s lying. It proves he really has that book! Huang Yongsheng, Huang Yongliang, back me up—prove I’m not falsely accusing him!"

"Bufan, just us saying so isn’t enough. The teacher wants evidence. If you really have that racy book, then it’ll be convincing," said Huang Yongliang, flipping his hair.

"If he won’t let us search, let’s just force our way! Does he think he can stop all three of us?" Huang Yongsheng said with a cheeky grin.

Wei Xiaoping, standing nearby, spoke angrily: "Li Bufan, I’ve seen shameless people before, but never anyone as shameless as you. If you dare search, we’ll report you to the teacher, maybe even to the school! If you don’t want to be transferred again, just try using force!"

With that, Wei Xiaoping pulled at Wei Xiaofan and said, "Come on, let’s go to Teacher Wu’s office. The sooner we go, the sooner we can have lunch!"

"Xiaoping!" Wei Xiaofan stared at him, thinking, What are you doing? That book is still in my drawer. If Li Bufan and his friends pull it out, I’ll never be able to clear my name!

"Let’s go. If we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. Let them search," Wei Xiaoping said, winking at Wei Xiaofan and tugging him out of the classroom, heading for the homeroom teacher Wu Wenbin’s office.

Wei Xiaofan understood, and feigned reluctance as he followed Wei Xiaoping out.