Ten thousand yuan is missing, that’s not a small amount.
The school probably didn’t intend for it to become such a big deal, but somehow the news leaked, and now the whole school is likely aware.
Chuzheng’s mind flashed to those three boys she encountered earlier...
No way?
But the behavior of those three at the time seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
How am I supposed to clear my name?
This is troublesome!
Chuzheng never expected that instead of finding the three boys, the investigation would turn back on her.
During the second self-study period, Chuzheng was called to the office.
In the office were only her class teacher, the principal, Teacher Lin who was responsible for the money, and the director of education.
The other teachers weren’t there, likely sent away.
"Student Hang, we’ve called you here because we have a few questions..." The speaker was the principal, kindly looking and speaking in a friendly tone.
"Please, ask."
The principal asked gently, "Did you happen to go near the new teaching building this afternoon?"
"...Let’s say I did."
When she was coming back, the path and the new teaching building were connected, but she could only be considered as passing by, right?
"Did you see a somewhat large kraft paper file bag?" The principal gestured, smiling warmly in reassurance, encouraging her not to be afraid.
"No, I didn’t."
Chuzheng stood there calmly, neither arrogant nor timid, and the few teachers couldn’t detect anything unusual.
"Student Hang, if you have any difficulties, you can talk to the teachers and me, we can find a way to solve them together..."
"I didn’t take the money."
The principal’s expression paused slightly.
They were also afraid of wrongly accusing a student, hurting the student’s feelings, so they didn’t dare to ask directly.
Chuzheng being so straightforward actually made it easier for them to ask questions.
The principal cleared his throat, "But someone said they saw you taking the ten thousand yuan."
Chuzheng looked up, meeting the principal’s gaze, "Who said it? Jiang Jing?"
Today she only gave ten thousand yuan to the drama club, and the only person with a conflict with her in the drama club was Jiang Jing.
"Uh..."
It was indeed Jiang Jing who said it.
They had already asked the drama club members to confirm that Chuzheng did indeed bring the money there.
Chuzheng: "May I ask when did the teacher’s money go missing?"
Teacher Lin said, "Around six o’clock." The last time she confirmed the money was there was at five fifty-something, at the time she received a phone call and saw the time.
A little over twenty minutes later, the money was gone.
"I went to the drama club at five forty, left after six o’clock, and the transaction record has a clear time. Principal, teacher, I couldn’t have stolen the money before it went missing, nor could I possibly deposit cash into the bank that quickly, right?"
Jiang Jing didn’t specify whether she gave cash or made a transfer, they also forgot to verify.
When they heard the number ten thousand, the coincidence led them into a blind spot.
The principal confirmed that everything Chuzheng said was accurate, promptly apologizing to her, "We made a mistake, I apologize to you."
-
Chuzheng returned to the classroom, where the sound abruptly ceased.
However, the looks directed at Chuzheng were slightly strange, as if they’d already determined she was the one who stole the money.
When Chuzheng reached her seat, whispers immediately erupted around her.
"She usually keeps to herself, how could she do such a thing?"
"Earlier I thought it was someone from Huahai... didn’t expect it to be a classmate."
"She’s back, and looks fine, maybe it’s a mistake?"
"It can’t be, why would they only call her and not others, and isn’t it Jiang Jing who said she saw her with the money?"
Chuzheng glanced at Jiang Jing, who was covering her mouth, laughing secretly, chatting with the classmates beside her.
Jiang Jing clearly said something to the class while she was away in the office.
Chuzheng calmly took out a book and started flipping through it, not caring about the eyes assessing her.
The discussion stopped with the arrival of the homeroom teacher.
The homeroom teacher spoke a few words, indirectly clarifying the facts for Chuzheng.
"I hope everyone doesn’t jump to conclusions without evidence; we’re all classmates and should get along well."
The homeroom teacher paused, "Everyone probably heard about today’s events. We haven’t found out who did it yet, and the teachers wouldn’t suspect you. But since it’s happened, if any of our classmates were involved, please privately talk to a teacher. If not, that’s best."
After the homeroom teacher finished these few words, he asked them to continue their self-study and left the classroom.
Once the homeroom teacher left, the classroom started buzzing with discussions.
"It wasn’t Hang Chuzheng after all..."
"The old class’s tone definitely suggests it wasn’t."
"Then why did Jiang Jing say it was her?"
"Isn’t Jiang Jing falsely accusing someone? I really believed it earlier..."
"Jiang Jing must be crazy."
Jiang Jing’s face looked grim, how could it not be her? She clearly couldn’t produce such money; if the money wasn’t stolen, where did it come from?
The homeroom teacher’s words earlier were clearly targeted at her.
Did Jiang Jing truly believe the thief was Chuzheng?
Not likely.
Jiang Jing, after all, is educated; she may be foolish, but she has basic knowledge.
What kind of thief steals money then gives it away without needing repayment?
Jiang Jing deeply wanted to use this opportunity to frame Chuzheng.
The classmates discussing Chuzheng started talking about themselves, Jiang Jing’s face looked grim, head bowed, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.
-
Several teachers were in the office looking at the school’s surveillance, trying to see if they could find someone.
The time period was relatively clear, so they didn’t need to look at too much.
"These three students came out from there."
"One look and you know they’re from Huahai." One teacher said irritatedly, "Do they look like students?"
"Which class are they from?"
"I know, Chi Gui, he’s the one who previously had a conflict with the teacher." A teacher recognized, "I heard back in Huahai he was a troublemaker, and he caused quite a stir right after coming here."
"Could it be him?"
"During that time period, only those three appeared, who else could it be if not them?"
"Call them in for questioning!"
"Even though they’re students from Huahai, they’re now part of our school, don’t treat them differently, don’t be prejudiced." The principal advised.
Several teachers calmed down, asked Chi Gui’s homeroom teacher in the group chat to bring the student over.
Self-study had already ended, and the students had left.
The reply was that Chi Gui was not seen, he might have already gone back to the dormitory, the homeroom teacher said he would look for him in the dormitory.
The student was never found, but instead, another student hurriedly reported bringing the missing money of Teacher Lin’s.
The eyes of the teachers focused intensely on the student.
The student quickly waved their hand, "It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me... I found it in the crack of the desk. Really, classmates can testify!! We discovered it together, if you don’t believe me you can call them and ask."