Chapter 77 Robbery

  "Hello, I'm Li, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department of Dongcheng District Public Security Bureau." Director Li, who had been cooling off in the conference room for half a day, finally saw someone coming in and stood up, adjusting his hat: "Our bureau received a report from your school's teacher Han Dongping, saying that recently some bad social youth have been intercepting and robbing high school students' classroom laptops, and the person who instructed them to do so is a student at your school named Pang Guang..."

  "I know Pang Guang, he's the son of your director, isn't he? As the son of a director, it's absolutely impossible for him to break the law." Director Li hadn't even finished speaking when Principal hastily interrupted.

  "That's right, the one who instructed them to rob the classroom notebook is actually the son of our bureau chief Pang Datou, and Chief Pang has already made a statement that no matter who it is, they cannot be tolerated and must be dealt with seriously. So, I came over to understand the situation." Li Kechang's purpose was the same as the principal's, which was to help Pang Guang escape punishment. Since the teachers had already reported the case, why did the principal suddenly change his mind and insist that it was absolutely impossible? Was this East City School playing with the people's police? He couldn't judge the principal's intention for a moment, so he deliberately brought up Pang Datou's name, wanting to use psychological tactics to make the school side withdraw the case.

  Actually, Li Kezhang knew that Han Dongping teacher was just self-proclaimed and reported the case, and could not represent Dongcheng School at all. If he knew that the principal was standing on the same front line as himself, he should have ended the conversation content by now and gone to a restaurant to eat, rather than waiting for things to be magnified and making a big fuss.

  "Is that so? Pang Guang has been following the rules and being obedient since he transferred to our school, there must be some misunderstanding." The principal pretended to be confused, while thinking about what Li Kezhang meant, and tentatively said: "No one has ever reflected this to me."

  Li Kezhang handed the receipt of the report to the principal's hand and then looked at the principal, waiting for the principal's reaction after reading it.

  The principal took over the receipt of the report and immediately fell into a state of contemplation. He thought that although Li Kezhang was from the Public Security Bureau, he didn't dare to easily cover up for Pang Guang before figuring out his intentions, lest he should make things worse by being overly clever.

  Two people, although with different purposes, had the same goal in mind - to help Pang Guang clear his bad record. However, neither of them knew what the other was thinking, and they went back and forth like this for a long time without getting anywhere. The situation once became deadlocked. In fact, if either side had just spoken out their purpose, they would have immediately reached an agreement. But they both had some concerns.

  Just as the scene was about to fall into a stalemate again, Teacher Han Dongping suddenly rushed in hastily, followed by Pang Guang with a gloomy face. He held a large stack of classroom notes and remained silent. Before Teacher Han arrived, his voice had already been heard: "Principal, police comrades, I have some good news to report. The mastermind behind the theft of the classroom notes has been caught by me, and he was caught red-handed with the stolen goods in his hands. Take him away for processing."

  The principal and Director Li stared at each other, even wanting to strangle Teacher Han to death. After a while, Director Li finally cleared his throat: "Comrade, please sit down first. Pang Guang, you too."

  Pang Guang took one look at the man and thought he looked familiar, after thinking for a long time, he finally remembered that this was the "White Eyed Wolf" uncle who had gotten him locked up in the detention room to feed mosquitoes all night. He felt a sense of foreboding in his heart, wondering if his dad had some kind of grudge against this person, why did it seem like they had a vendetta against each other, and how such a small matter was worth him coming to school to settle the score.

  "Sit down!" Li Kezhang said, seeing that Teacher Han had already taken his seat, while Pang Guang was still standing there in a daze, clutching a stack of class notes.

  Pang Guang hummed a low sound and reluctantly sat down, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Li Kezhang.

  "Look, look at this attitude?" Mr. Han pointed at Pang Guang and said indignantly: "He made such a big mistake and doesn't take it seriously, police officer, his robbery behavior has already violated the law, please take him away for serious treatment."

  The principal lost his temper, and in a low voice, he scolded Teacher Han, "Shut up! How to handle this is the police's business. It's not your turn to speak here." If Director Li hadn't been present, he would have probably jumped up and grabbed Teacher Han by the neck on the spot.

  Li Kezhang glanced at the principal, suddenly felt a sense of certainty in his heart, and after a moment's deliberation, he said to Teacher Han: "Comrade, it may not be feasible. Pang Guang's behavior not only cannot constitute a crime, but even the four words 'violation of the law' are quite far-fetched."

  "Why?" Teacher Han dared not speak out, but could only glare at Director Li with indignation. His good impression of Director Li had vanished: "Is it because he's your leader's son? If so, I have nothing to say. As the saying goes, 'ordinary people can't fight against officials', all the reason is on your side."

  With a "slap", the principal couldn't help but stand up and slam his hand on the table: "The police comrade is here to understand the situation, how can you speak with this attitude?"

  Teacher Han glanced at the principal and knew that he was putting on a show for outsiders, so she didn't take his attitude seriously. It's everyone's responsibility to get rid of problem students, isn't it what the principal repeatedly emphasized at meetings that school management needs someone to play the good cop and someone to play the bad cop? I know you're afraid because Peng Guang is the son of the Public Security Bureau chief and don't dare confront him yourself. Fine, since you've played the good cop, I'll play the bad cop then.

  Thinking of this, Mr. Han sneered: "With all the evidence and stolen goods still in Pang Guang's hands, please explain to me why it can't be considered a crime." As he spoke, he secretly pressed the recording function on his phone, thinking to himself: I'll see how you get out of what you just said. If you dare say one word to cover up for Pang Guang, I'll definitely take this recording as evidence and report it to the provincial office until you're fired. It's not easy to get this opportunity to be promoted, only when the principal is satisfied will I be satisfied, and the chance to be evaluated as excellent at the end of the year won't slip away. You think it's easy for me?

  "Comrade, please calm down." Seeing that the principal seemed to be on his side, Director Li was confident: "Have you ever understood or read relevant books before? Do you know what the definition of robbery is?"

  "It's just taking other people's things." Teacher Han pointed to the classroom notes in front of Pang Guang: "Taking something that doesn't belong to you as your own, who doesn't know such a simple problem?"

  "Alright, then I'll ask you again, is there any evidence that this thing was snatched from someone else's hands?"

  "There is both human and physical evidence, many of our students can testify to this. Recently, many students have reported that a group of strangely dressed young people from society have been intercepting grade 2 high school students outside the school gate, snatching their class notes. Previously, some students also reported seeing Pang Guang gathering with these strangely dressed young people at the school entrance."

  “Dressed strangely?” Li Kechang looked at Pang Guang and said, “You mentioned twice that he was dressed strangely, but no matter how I look, I don’t think this classmate is dressed strangely. On the contrary, he is ordinary and unassuming, without even any deliberate dressing up.”

  "Now he's in school, how dare he dress like that?" Teacher Han said indignantly: "If such a brainless outfit appears in school, even if it's the son of the Public Security Bureau director, let alone the son of the Emperor, I, Han Dongping, will kick him out with one foot."

  "Teacher Han, pay attention to your image!" The principal warned sternly.

  "Director Li was calm and composed, speaking slowly and deliberately: 'What about the physical evidence?'"

  "The stack of notebooks he's holding in his hands is already physical evidence, what more physical evidence do you need?"

  Director Li glanced at the notebook in Pang Guang's hand, turned his head and said to Teacher Han: "Teacher Han, we attach great importance to this case. As soon as I received the report, I rushed over immediately. Just now, I studied the case with your principal, and based on the information currently available, it is indeed difficult to file a case!" After Director Li finished speaking, he looked at the principal and saw that the principal was also looking at him, with a supportive light in his eyes. He continued: "So-called robbery refers to the act of using violence, coercion or other methods to forcibly take property on the spot for the purpose of illegal possession. Without these characteristics, it is impossible to constitute the crime of robbery. Therefore, comrade, it's a bit difficult, unless you can provide other evidence to prove..." Director Li looked at his watch: "Okay, now it's not early, I have to hurry back to the bureau to report on the situation. If the school has any new leads, please contact us immediately. The attitude of the bureau is very firm, a good social order starts from childhood, and we will never tolerate illegal behavior."

  "Definitely, definitely." After Principal sent off the troublesome "Big Cover Hat" with a humble and obedient expression, he turned his body around and looked at Teacher Han coldly, his eyebrows forming a straight line.

  "Is that it?" Mr. Han said indignantly, pointing at Director Li: "This is clearly a cover-up! Fortunately, I recorded the entire process. Don't worry, Principal, I will definitely file a complaint against him. If the district doesn't work, I'll complain to the city. If the city doesn't work, there's still the provincial department above...

  "Have you had enough of your nonsense!" The principal slammed his hand on the table, almost saying "Do you know who you are messing with?" but swallowed it back. He thought to himself: Teacher Han is not a trusted aide, why make things so clear? Who knows if this kid will spread rumors all over town after leaving here?

  The principal suppressed his anger and sighed, saying: "Little Han, I was young like you too. Passionate, righteous, and impulsive. Now that I think back, the consequences of being so impulsive were often not achieving what I wanted and causing more harm than good. I hope in the future, before doing anything, you'll think it through to a deeper level. You can go now, I believe you're an idealistic and ambitious teacher with great potential, go ahead and do well!"

  After leaving the principal's office, Mr. Han almost cried with emotion. He had not expected that the principal, who had once ostracized him, would say that he believed he was a good teacher with ideals and aspirations, and even told him to do well.

  "Is the principal actually praising me? Did I hear that wrong?" Teacher Han clenched his fist and shouted in his heart: "Kid, the principal hates you, go for it! Get rid of all the troublemakers in school, not a single one left. Kid, go for it, your future is bright!"