LABMY CH13

“Are you Wei Zhenge’s guardian?”

As Jian Yuanbai arrived at the entrance of Jinyang No. 1 High School, a female teacher stopped him. She seemed hesitant but eventually spoke, “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Fu Pengyi has been targeting Wei Zhenge for a long time. This incident is likely his doing.”

“But I can’t say this openly in front of the students and other teachers,” she bit her lip uncomfortably, avoiding Jian Yuanbai’s gaze. “If I speak up, I’ll lose my job.”

Taking a deep breath, she added, “But if there’s truly no other way, I’m willing to testify.”

Jian Yuanbai, reeking of alcohol but still sober, replied, “Thank you. You’re a good teacher.”

The female teacher froze for a few seconds, watching Jian Yuanbai stride forward with several people following behind him. She muttered to herself, “I’m not.”

While waiting for Wei Zhenge’s guardian to arrive, the group had already gathered in the dean’s office. Fu Pengyi occasionally sneered, “Poor people are just poor. For money…”

Bang!

The office door was pushed open, and a tall, broad-shouldered man in a tailored suit strolled in leisurely. Without saying a word, he walked over to Wei Zhenge, turned the chair around with one hand, and sat down with his legs crossed and hands clasped. Leaning back slightly, he said coldly, “So, you’re the one accusing my Little Pillow of theft?”

Though he didn’t speak directly to Wei Zhenge, his protective posture placed him between Wei and the others.

Behind him stood four or five men in suits, silent and imposing. Jian Yuanbai’s hair was slicked back, revealing sharp brows and a high nose. Despite the heavy scent of alcohol, his eyes held cold impatience as he looked at Fu Pengyi with disdain. Even while seated, he exuded dominance.

Wei Zhenge’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him.

Fu Pengyi sneered, “Watch your words. We have both eyewitnesses and evidence. How is that slander?”

Jian Yuanbai’s gaze fell on the fountain pen on the table. “Before I came here, I was wondering what kind of idiot brings a 200,000 yuan pen to school. Turns out, it’s you.”

“You put this pen in Little Pillow’s bag today, someone else’s desk tomorrow, and another’s drawer the day after. Scam each person out of thirty or fifty thousand yuan—nice little side hustle, huh?”

Feigning surprise, he added, “Is this how your family made their fortune?”

Fu Pengyi slammed the table in anger. “Shut the hell up! Only poor trash like you would care about a 200,000 yuan pen. For me, it’s just a daily writing tool. Got it, loser?”

The dean frowned and said sternly, “Mr. Guardian, please mind your words.”

Jian Yuanbai glanced at him, “I haven’t insulted his parents yet. I’m already being polite. Now, tell me what’s going on.”

The dean began, “It’s like this—”

Before he could finish, Jian Yuanbai cut him off, “Little Pillow, you explain.”

Without any emotion, Wei Zhenge recounted the events: “During lunch, Chen Ji asked me to put the box on his desk—this pen box—into his locker.”

Jian Yuanbai nodded, naturally reaching out to hold Wei Zhenge’s hand. He whispered, “Don’t be afraid.”

Then he looked at the dean. “Isn’t it clear now? Just check the surveillance footage. Don’t tell me the classroom doesn’t have cameras.”

The dean hesitated, “Half of the school’s surveillance system is outdated. The equipment and hard drives are faulty, and the old footage is regularly deleted. The high school senior classrooms are all covered by the old system.”

Jian Yuanbai raised an eyebrow, “And the playground? This guy claims he saw Little Pillow stealing the pen there. Is that under the ‘old system’ too?”

Fu Pengyi’s expression stiffened, though he quickly masked it. The replied, “The playground cameras are not part of the old system, but the staff in charge of surveillance deleted all footage before leaving work today.”

Jian Yuanbai chuckled, “Call that person over. And get Chen Ji here too.”

The female teacher immediately offered, “I’ll get Chen Ji.”

Fu Pengyi shouted, “Why make this so complicated? Just check the fingerprints!”

Without hesitation, Jian Yuanbai took out his phone and dialed 110.

“Hello, police? There’s a case of false accusation at Jinyang No. 1 High School. A student is being falsely accused of theft involving a 200,000 yuan pen, with the intent to force the top student to drop out. This is a serious case of false accusation. Please come immediately. Thank you.”

“You’re flipping the truth and reporting nonsense to the police!” Fu Pengyi lunged forward to snatch the phone, but Jian Yuanbai ended the call and stood up.

At 1.93 meters tall, dressed in a sharp suit with piercing eyes, Jian Yuanbai exuded a suffocating presence, like a mafia boss.

Fu Pengyi, who had witnessed his strength before, froze on the spot.

The dean disapproved, “Mr. Guardian, the truth isn’t clear yet. You shouldn’t be so biased when speaking to the police.”

Jian Yuanbai patted the dean’s shoulder with a faint smile. “You’re quite the loyal watchdog for the Fu family.”

The dean’s face darkened. He was about to call the surveillance manager when Jian Yuanbai urged, “Dial it. Put it on speaker.”

The call connected.

“Hello? Director, what’s the matter?”

Before the dean could speak, Jian Yuanbai cut in coldly, “Did you delete the playground footage?”

“Surveillance footage from security services must be retained for at least 30 days. Privately deleting footage constitutes evidence tampering and is punishable by law. Do you think the money Fu Pengyi gave you is enough to cover your prison sentence?”

“The police are on their way. I suggest you get here within ten minutes if you want a chance to defend yourself.”

Without giving the man a chance to respond, Jian Yuanbai hung up.

At that moment, the female teacher arrived with Chen Ji.

Jian Yuanbai’s gaze turned icy.

“False accusations carry a penalty of up to three years in prison. If the consequences are severe, it’s three to ten years. Assisting in such a crime is also punishable. Think about how long you’d be behind bars.”

Fu Pengyi snapped, “Who the hell do you think you are? Acting all high and mighty!”

“Everyone knows you’re just some lowlife gambler the Wei family hired to look after him!”

Jian Yuanbai loosened his tie and smirked, “Sorry, I’m actually the legal advisor of a well-known company.”

Jian Yuanbai smiled at Fu Pengyi, but his eyes were cold. “I know the law. I understand the law.”

In Jian Yuanbai’s mind, the system that had been diligently feeding him legal jargon from Baidu sneered, “I was wrong. The true ‘Protagonist Halo’ should belong to you. You outshine any overpowered main character.”

Jian Yuanbai chuckled, “Little Pillow hasn’t grown up yet. I’ll do the flexing for him first.”

He turned to the men behind him, “Wait here. When the police arrive, see if you can help recover the deleted surveillance footage.”

The five men nodded in unison. “Understood, President Jian.”

Jian Yuanbai then turned to the dean. “Don’t worry, Director. These are the top IT technicians from my company. They should be able to recover the footage.”

Fu Pengyi sneered, “What kind of nonsense is this? Weren’t you just a legal advisor? Now you’re suddenly the company boss?”

“I could hire a few guys to act as bodyguards too. Would that make me the Emperor of Heaven?”

Jian Yuanbai shot him a disdainful glance. “I just appointed myself as the legal advisor for my own company. Got a problem with that?”

“I make millions per minute. You think I need to lie to you?”

Hiring himself as his own legal advisor?

The blatant mockery made Fu Pengyi furious. “You’re nothing but a barking dog!”

Ignoring him, Jian Yuanbai wrapped his arm around Wei Zhenge’s shoulder. “Where’s Fu Pengyi’s classroom? Take me there.”

Feeling the warmth and the faint scent of alcohol, Wei Zhenge pursed his lips but didn’t resist. He obediently led the way.

The dean’s expression changed. “Mr. Guardian, what are you planning to do?”

Fu Pengyi cursed and followed behind. “Why are you going to my classroom?”

Chen Ji and the other student who gave false testimony exchanged nervous glances and, with pounding hearts, trailed after them.

In Class 1, Jian Yuanbai ignored the stares from the entire class and the presence of the teacher. He handed his phone to Wei Zhenge.

“Record everything from now until the police arrive.”

He then walked over to Fu Pengyi’s seat, looked at the bag, and said, “You think you’ve covered your tracks perfectly?”

“No surveillance footage, only fingerprints from you and Little Pillow on the pen box, and even a witness. You thought you could pin this on him?”

Jian Yuanbai raised his gaze to Fu Pengyi, a cold smile on his lips.

“If Little Pillow really stole the pen from your bag, shouldn’t his fingerprints be on the bag too?”

“Too amateur, kid.”

Fu Pengyi’s face turned pale. He rushed forward to snatch the bag, but Wei Zhenge was already recording, the camera aimed directly at him.

Panicking, Fu Pengyi stammered, “N-No… he didn’t steal it from this bag. This… this isn’t my bag!”

Jian Yuanbai sneered, “But your classmate over there swore he saw Little Pillow steal from this exact bag.”

He turned to the student who had testified, “Looks like Fu Pengyi is accusing you of lying now.”

The student named Lin turned pale.

“I… I lied. Fu Pengyi paid me to frame Wei Zhenge. He said his dad is a school dean and could wipe the surveillance. No one would ever find out.”

Lin recalled how Fu Pengyi, with 100,000 yuan in hand and a condescending smirk, ad said, “I was too soft before. The only way to crush Wei Zhenge is to kick him out of Jinyang No. 1 High.”

How did things turn out like this…

Before Lin could process what was happening, Fu Pengyi lunged at him and punched him hard.

Lin clutched his face in pain, dazed and confused, still wondering how things had gone so wrong.

In the police station, Chen Ji also sat in tears, staring at the cold walls, endlessly regretting his choices.

But Fu Pengyi?

Even while being handcuffed and taken away, he was still shouting, “You can’t do anything to me! I’ll be out by tomorrow!”

Fueled by rage from his failed scheme, he glared viciously at Jian Yuanbai and Wei Zhenge, his face twisted with hatred.

The officer, annoyed by his arrogance, tightened the handcuffs, causing Fu Pengyi to yelp in pain.

Jian Yuanbai watched him being dragged away and calmly said, “I thought you’d learn your lesson. Now I know—you won’t. You have a family that cleans up your messes.”

“Let’s see if they can afford this one.”

This was the fastest case the police had ever wrapped up.

By the time the officers arrived and understood the situation, the victim had already gathered all the evidence. All they had to do was make the arrests.

Although Fu Pengyi was over 16 and could bear criminal responsibility, he was still a minor. The police contacted the guardians of all three involved.

As for Wei Zhenge, he was taken home by Jian Yuanbai.

Before leaving the school, Jian Yuanbai patted the dean shoulder and said, “When the school stops raising dogs, we’ll be back.”

The night breeze cooled the air, but Wei Zhenge still hadn’t fully processed what had happened.

The first thing he asked was, “Were you really negotiating billion-dollar deals over dinner?”

The man beside him burst into laughter. “I was bluffing. Tonight was just my company’s launch celebration.”

Even for Jian Yuanbai, starting a company and closing billion-dollar deals in just a few days was impossible.

He quickened his pace, turning to face Wei Zhenge. The wind tousled his hair, softening his sharp features.

With a playful smile, he said, “The company just started. Forget a million-dollar diamond-encrusted pen—I can’t even afford a single diamond right now.”

Under the gentle moonlight, Jian Yuanbai reached out, revealing a small, glowing heart-shaped bead in his palm.

“But here, this is for you. Forget about tonight’s troubles.”

Wei Zhenge heard his own heartbeat.

He caught the faint scent of alcohol on Jian Yuanbai and saw the hazy look in his eyes. He reached out and accepted the bead.

“You’re drunk,” he said. He paused and added, “Where did this come from?”

Jian Yuanbai leaned in and whispered with a mischievous grin, “I pulled it off the fake tree at the restaurant. Quiet now, don’t ruin my image as a boss.”

Wei Zhenge couldn’t help but laugh, pushing him away, “Alright.”

He looked at Jian Yuanbai and smiled softly, “Thank you. I really like this gift.”