Chapter 593: Chapter 563: Demonstrating Resolve with Death_1
Sun Heping looked up, and at this moment, his gaze locked onto Xu Dayuan without wavering. From his eyes, Zhou Ning sensed confusion; Sun Heping was puzzled by why Xu Dayuan would ask such a question.
However, Xu Dayuan didn’t explain, nor did he say much more, just continued to look at Sun Heping.
"Director Xu, the things from middle school, it’s been over a decade, who could remember those clearly? Besides, back then, there were so many of us boys getting into mischief, fighting and cracking heads open multiple times. Plus, we were a bunch of boys, who would pay attention to the girls’ affairs? I have no idea!"
Xu Dayuan’s smile froze on his lips as his fingers drummed on the table.
"What should I do? You won’t take the initiative to speak when given the chance, huh? Mr. Bai, call the stenographer, let’s change the interrogation room. Then issue a letter of inquiry to Sun Heping’s workplace—the Qindao City Construction Bureau, to collect all of Sun Heping’s archival information."
Bai Ruixin immediately stood up. He had no other merits but obedience; when the leadership spoke, he never made excuses or played tricks, always the first to stand and execute orders. That was why he hadn’t been transferred out.
Sun Heping was stunned and rushed to grab Bai Ruixin, but Mr. Bai paid him no mind and headed for the door.
This request for coordination wouldn’t prove anything by itself, but once it spread, it would mark the end of his career. He was only twenty-eight, and everything had just begun.
Sun Heping grabbed Xu Dayuan’s arm and shook it hard, his expression beyond his control, looking almost like he was about to kneel before Xu Dayuan.
"I’m begging you, Director Xu. Whatever you want to know, I will cooperate fully. Just have this police officer come back first."
Xu Dayuan clapped his hands.
"Mr. Bai, come back."
Bai Ruixin turned and came back, sitting beside Xu Dayuan. Sun Heping sighed, holding his cap in hand hesitantly for a long while before slowly speaking:
"If you’re talking about the three of them bullying someone together, I don’t know about that. But I do know of a major incident, one of our teachers died because of those three, and it was the utmost humiliation that led to the teacher’s suicide by leaping from a building."
Xu Dayuan paused and kicked Bai Ruixin, who was about to speak. Mr. Bai quickly went to the corner where the law enforcement recorder was placed, picked up the device and stood holding it.
"When did this happen?"
Sun Heping thought for a moment.
"Second year of junior high. It happened after the National Day holiday when we were in the second year. I remember I was only thirteen years old at the time. The Qindao area and county-level Experimental Primary Schools were all implementing a five-year primary education system, so we started school earlier than others."
Xu Dayuan raised his hand, interrupting Sun Heping.
"Talk about it in detail, the process of the event, the teacher’s name, and what those three did. Recall carefully."
Sun Heping nodded and then said after some thought.
"Actually, I don’t need to recall, because I often think of it in my mind. If I were to encounter something like this again, how would I handle it? Would I be convinced by them again to instigate parents to go to the school, or would I ignore it?
October 4, 1998, back then the National Day holiday was only three days. In the morning, when I arrived at school, I heard the other students buzzing with talk. It took a while before I learned that on October 1st, Li Li, Liu Meiling, and Zhang Fangfang had an incident.
The three of them went to the seaside bathing beach to swim in the sea at high tide during the evening and slipped down the reef rocks. It was fortunate that next door in the second-year Class 1, the homeroom teacher and Chinese Language teacher, Mr. Shi, was passing by riding a bicycle with his child. He heard the cries for help and went over to pull the three individuals out one by one.
Afterward, classes began. During the physical exercise break, several people arrived, some with megaphones and others with cameras. Many students crowded around, and then the three were taken away by the teachers. When they came back, Li Li was even crying. We asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t say anything.
In just a couple of days, the television station broadcast the news. Although the school didn’t commend them, we all knew about the incident. But on October 7th, Li Li’s mother showed up, causing quite a commotion downstairs, and we weren’t aware of what had happened.
The three were called out again, this time for two class periods. They hadn’t come back when the afternoon classes ended. In the afternoon, the parents of all three showed up. Our class’ study committee member was delivering papers and overheard some of the conversation.
He said that when Mr. Shi was saving people, someone took photos, and though he saved the lives, the angle of the photos was particularly indecent. I saw those photos later; when Mr. Shi was lifting them onto the shore, he had carried each one on his shoulder.
One hand pressing on their backside, the posture of lifting each person out was nearly the same. Moreover, their skirts had already clung to their bodies. From the angle of the photos, it looked like they weren’t wearing anything, and truly, the photos did look somewhat lecherous.
If this happened today, probably no one would ask any questions, but that was fifteen years ago when people’s mindsets weren’t so liberal. The school talked to Mr. Shi, asking him to apologize to the three children’s parents since they had the photos in hand. Mr. Shi was quite stubborn.
He accepted a suspension but also let the school dismiss him. Thus, the matter escalated. The parents from Class 1 also heard about it, and there were some rumors going around with those photos being secretly rephotographed and circulated outside the school.
My mom found out about it too. The parents banded together to confront the principal. After all, as an educator, encountering such an indecent teacher was corruptive of morals. The first course of action was to remove him from the teaching force. As a result, the issue blew up, and people went to find Mr. Shi’s spouse.
She was a doctor at the Qindao Municipal Hospital and was planning to have an abortion due to an unexpected pregnancy. Someone leaked her whereabouts; she was stopped at the hospital entrance. She probably had just learned about the incident, and during the altercation, the glass on the door shattered. By the time the people dispersed, she was already lying in a pool of blood."
Teacher Shi’s lover died three days later, which was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Teacher Shi wrote a suicide note explaining everything and intended to demonstrate his convictions through death. On the day when the school authorities and the parents were negotiating, he leapt from the top of the teaching building and died on the spot.
We were all terrified at the time. The teacher called the three of them and asked them what exactly happened. They said they didn’t know who had turned over the photo. After Teacher Shi’s death, no one mentioned the incident again. However, I deeply regret not stopping my mother then. In fact, everyone was a murderer. Without their interrogation, Teacher Shi wouldn’t have taken that step."
Xu Dayuan listened carefully. He hadn’t heard of such an incident before. He glanced at Mr. Bai and pointed at the computer.
Zhou Ning realized what was needed and quickly took out his cellphone. He called the Gulou District police station, explained the situation, and asked someone to look up the archive records. In less than ten minutes, they indeed found the archives. Upon seeing the photo information, Zhou Ning quickly forwarded it to Xu Dayuan.
Liu Yongxin glanced at it, but the font was too small for him to lean in closer. In the interrogation room, Xu Dayuan, who had received the information, held up his phone.
"The Teacher Shi you mentioned, is his name Shi Mingchen?"
Sun Heping peered at the screen and nodded slightly, saying,
"Yes, that’s him."
Xu Dayuan glanced at the blank household registration information and paused briefly.
"You mentioned earlier that Teacher Shi was cycling with his child by the seaside on October 1, witnessing three children in danger. How old was his child, and do you know his name? This household registration doesn’t list any children."
Sun Heping was startled and shook his head quickly.
"No, that’s not right. His daughter was about our age, but she was in the second grade, class one. After Teacher Shi’s incident, she never came back. As for whether she transferred or what happened, we don’t know. You can ask the teachers who were at the school back then. His full name is Shi Mingchen."
Xu Dayuan narrowed his eyes.
"Gulou District Experimental Middle School merged with the Gulou District No. 12 Middle School. Mr. Bai, go and get in touch with No. 12 Middle School now. See if anyone who was teaching at the Gulou District Experimental Middle School 15 years ago knows this Teacher Shi Mingchen. Also, what is his daughter’s name?"
Sun Heping shook his head.
"I only know her last name is Shi, and she was very beautiful. I don’t know her first name."
Xu Dayuan took out his cellphone and rapidly typed something on WeChat. Shortly after, Zhou Ning saw the message Xu Dayuan had posted in the group. He asked all the officers to inquire about the eighth grade, class one English teacher Shi Mingchen, and naturally, the name of Shi Mingchen’s daughter as well.
It wasn’t long before people began to respond one after another. The details of Shi Mingchen’s suicide were largely consistent in everyone’s account.
Actually, at that time, many parents were instigated by the parents of Li Li and the other two. After the couple Shi Mingchen died, each parent thought seriously and felt they had been used. But with the people dead and the school suppressing the incident, the parents stopped discussing it, as if they had all forgotten. The only victim was Teacher Shi’s family.
As Xu Dayuan looked at the more detailed explanations, he narrowed his eyes. Just as he was about to put down the phone, someone posted a message. The person he had asked had spent half a semester in class one and remembered that Shi Mingchen’s daughter was named Shi Yun, and she was exceptionally beautiful.
However, the day after Teacher Shi’s incident, Shi Yun never came back. None of them knew where Shi Yun had gone, and this person’s mother was also a teacher at Gulou District Experimental Middle School. He mentioned that his mother and Sun Heping’s mother were both math teachers at this school.
On reading this, Zhou Ning was startled and quickly looked up towards the interrogation room.
Indeed, upon seeing this message, Xu Dayuan slapped the phone onto the table with a smack, and Sun Heping shuddered, his eyes wide with fright.
"Take a look for yourself. Are you mixing truth with lies with me? Your mother is a teacher at the school, and you’re still acting with me?"
Sun Heping gestured with his hands anxiously, his face full of panic, as he hurriedly explained,
"My mom indeed is a math teacher at the Experimental Junior High, but she teaches seventh grade, not the same section as Teacher Shi. She didn’t know much and heard about this incident through the other parents’ talks. As for Shi Yun, I really don’t know her."
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"Good, I’ll invite your mother over now."
Sun Heping quickly waved his hands.
"Director Xu, please don’t do this. My mother has high blood pressure and is in very poor health. You can’t treat her like this. It’s been over a decade; is it necessary to keep harping on this?"
Xu Dayuan stared at Sun Heping, leaning forward with his hands on the table.
"Li Li is dead, Liu Meiling is missing, and Zhang Fangfang is being protected by us. Are we the ones clinging to you?"
