Chapter Fifty-Four: A Very Reasonable Analysis

“What did Li Bufan get out of that magazine incident last time?” Zhang Liying asked.

“In the end, Teacher Wu Wenbin questioned Li Bufan about it, and Li Bufan said it was nothing but a prank,” Wei Xiaofan replied.

“If Li Bufan is behind this incident as well, then this prank has gone too far,” Zhang Xiaoyan remarked.

“We’re only making assumptions based on what Wei Xiaoping said. As for whether it was really Li Bufan’s doing, no one knows for sure! After all, none of us can say for certain whether the woman who hit Wei Xiaofan is the same woman who was seen with Li Bufan,” Zhang Liying said.

“What a shame! If nothing had happened to Wei Xiaofan, our class would have swept all the awards in the model student competition. Now the runner-up is Li Chaoqian! With Wei Xiaofan out of the picture, the biggest beneficiary is Li Chaoqian. If Wei Xiaofan hadn’t been hurt, Li Chaoqian wouldn’t have had any awards at all,” Zhang Xiaoyan said with a hint of regret.

“Yes, with Wei Xiaofan out, the greatest beneficiary is Li Chaoqian, and then me,” Zhang Liying said, as if something had dawned on her. She thought for a moment and continued, “If nothing had happened, the first place in the third year would have gone to Wei Xiaofan, and I would have been second. No one else, including Li Chaoqian from any other class, would have won anything. But now, with Wei Xiaofan out, my total score is just below his, so the judges gave first place to me, and since Li Chaoqian’s score is below mine, the judges awarded him second place. I feel like I’m on the verge of figuring something out, but I can’t quite put it into words,” Zhang Liying said thoughtfully.

“Wei Xiaofan, didn’t you say Li Chaoqian offered to pay for the woman who hit you and then wanted to befriend you? Since he wants to be your friend and the principal asked him to verify the accident, why didn’t he just tell the truth and say it was that woman who hit you?” Zhang Liying pressed.

“Exactly! That’s just what I wanted to say. If Li Chaoqian really wanted to be friends with Wei Xiaofan and knew it was that woman who hit him, why didn’t he just tell the principal the truth?” Zhang Liying said again.

Wei Xiaofan listened and realized Zhang Liying made a lot of sense. After all, Li Chaoqian definitely knew it was that woman who hit him! If Li Chaoqian truly wanted to be friends, why didn’t he speak up for him, knowing full well who was at fault?

“If Li Chaoqian had told the truth, he wouldn’t have gotten second place,” Zhang Xiaoyan pointed out.

“Wei Xiaofan, you really can’t be friends with Li Chaoqian. He seems quite shrewd and calculating,” Zhang Liying declared.

“I don’t plan to be friends with him anyway! He was the one who insisted on paying that woman’s medical expenses for me,” Wei Xiaofan said.

“Next time we see him, let’s give him back that ten yuan,” Wei Xiaoping said to Wei Xiaofan.

“Alright,” Wei Xiaofan replied.

Just then, Zhang Liying’s pager beeped.

Everyone fell silent so she could check her message.

After a moment, Zhang Xiaoyan teased, “Class Monitor Zhang, is that your dad asking about his precious daughter because you’re not home?”

Zhang Liying replied, “My dad found out I’m getting an award tomorrow and wants me to call him for a chat. Strange, I never called to tell him, and I haven’t been home this week. How did he know?”

“What’s strange about that? Your dad’s a leader, and not just any leader—he’s bound to have information coming from everywhere. Maybe a teacher at school called him,” Zhang Xiaoyan said.

Zhang Liying felt that made sense. Nowadays, people go to great lengths to cozy up to those with power, hoping these connections will help them get transferred to better jobs, and then they parade those promotions as family honor. Alas!

“I actually feel a bit embarrassed to tell my dad about this award. It should have been Wei Xiaofan’s in the first place,” Zhang Liying sighed.

“It’s alright, Class Monitor. Go call your dad. It’s the weekend, and he’ll worry if you’re not home or returning his calls,” Wei Xiaofan said.

Wei Xiaoping chimed in too, “Yes, Zhang Liying, go call your dad back so he’s not left waiting. We’ve all finished eating anyway—it’s time to go.”

With that, everyone left the dining hall.

After parting ways with Zhang Liying and Zhang Xiaoyan, Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping headed straight back to the dormitory.

“Wei Xiaoping, is Zhang Liying’s father some big official?” Wei Xiaofan asked.

“I don’t know, but judging from what Zhang Xiaoyan said, his position must be quite high,” Wei Xiaoping replied.

Back in their dorm, Wei Xiaoping remembered that he was supposed to take Wei Xiaofan home this weekend. The plan was for both of them, along with his parents, to visit Wei Xiaofan’s family and discuss the matter of acknowledging Wei Xiaofan as his sworn brother. He hadn’t expected things to turn out like this: not only was Wei Xiaofan unable to accept his award, but their trip home had been delayed as well.

There was also the matter of when they first learned Wei Xiaofan was in first place. Wei Xiaoping had called home to tell his parents the good news, explaining why he wouldn’t be home Friday afternoon because the ceremony was on Saturday. He’d also told his dad about Wei Xiaofan’s award. Now that something had happened to Wei Xiaofan, what would he say to his father tomorrow if they went home at noon and his father asked about the award?

“Wei Xiaofan, after the ceremony tomorrow, let’s go straight to my place so we can talk to my parents and see if we can still go to your house,” Wei Xiaoping suggested.

After lying down, Wei Xiaofan’s mind returned to what they had discussed in the dining hall. He tried to determine whether Li Bufan was the mastermind behind the accident, and if so, what his motive could be.

He recalled Wei Xiaoping’s description of the woman, compared it to the one who hit him, and felt certain it was the same person.

Wei Xiaofan thought again about how Li Chaoqian was the biggest beneficiary after the accident, and remembered the close relationship between Li Bufan and Li Chaoqian.

Could it be that Li Bufan orchestrated the accident to help Li Chaoqian win an award in the competition?

As for Li Chaoqian paying the woman’s medical expenses on his behalf—his excuse about admiring Wei Xiaofan’s writing and wanting to be friends, and then not accepting repayment—all of it seemed a show of false loyalty...

Wei Xiaofan was deep in thought, analyzing every detail, when he was interrupted by Wei Xiaoping.

“What did you just say, Wei Xiaoping? I wasn’t paying attention!” Wei Xiaofan asked.

Wei Xiaoping noticed the startled look on Wei Xiaofan’s face and wondered if he was still brooding over missing out on the award.