The nearby police officers rushed to the scene as quickly as possible upon receiving the report.
Seeing what was in front of them, even the seasoned officers couldn’t help but feel a chill run down their spines.
In the dead of winter, a man was left wearing nothing but his underwear, tied naked to a tree.
His face was swollen like a pig’s head, and there wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body.
At that mont, he was barely breathing.
A young girl dressed in black stood off to the side, her head down as she made a phone call. Seeing the officers approach, she hung up.
The officer hesitated before asking, "Who made the report?"
"I did." The girl spoke, her voice cold and clear, like divine music.
The officer glanced at the man tied to the tree. "What’s the situation here?"
The man’s mind was barely coherent, and upon seeing the officers, he began shouting and babbling incomprehensibly.
"Who here is the victim?"
"I am." The girl said.
She looked toward a taxi parked not far away. "The car has a dashboard cara. What happened inside the car is clear at a glance. Additionally, my cousin is in the car; he’s a witness."
After pausing for a mont, she continued, "The taxi driver took to a desolate area and attempted to assault . In desperation, I had to fight back. Officers, I acted in self-defense, but in urgency, I didn’t hold back when retaliating. If he intends to press charges against , I will hire a lawyer to defend my legal rights."
The girl’s words were clear, logical, and persuasive. It was hard to believe that soone this composed could be a victim.
The police took everyone to the station.
They reviewed the footage from the car’s dashboard cara, which was consistent with Shen You’an’s account, but the cara didn’t capture what happened outside the car. Whether Shen You’an had truly acted in self-defense, only she could truly know.
Coupled with Luo Qian’s testimony, the taxi driver’s responsibility could not be denied.
As for whether the taxi driver would sue Shen You’an for intentional injury, that would have to wait until he recovered enough to explain clearly.
"Miss Shen, please sign this statent."
Shen You’an picked up the pen and signed her na.
At that mont, a man in a tailored suit walked in, a briefcase tucked under his arm. One look and it was evident he was a professional.
Shen You’an greeted him, "Lawyer Han, sorry to trouble you at this late hour."
The man adjusted his glasses. "Miss Shen, you’ve already explained everything over the phone. Please leave now; I’ll handle the rest here."
"Thank you."
Shen You’an left, taking a bewildered Luo Qian along with her.
"Sis, that lawyer..."
"I hired him."
Luo Qian glanced at the girl walking beside him.
His sister seed like a complete stranger.
"Everyone must pay the price for what they’ve done wrong, don’t you think?"
The girl’s voice was soft like smoke, mingling with the cold wind, dissipating into the night.
~
Lanya High School auditorium.
At this mont, mbers of the student council were in full swing, setting up the stage for the New Year’s Eve performance.
After finishing decorations in the morning, rehearsals were scheduled to begin at noon and run three consecutive rounds till 7 PM when the performance would comnce, ensuring everything went perfectly.
Responsible for the stage lighting were several mbers of the council’s organizational departnt, led by Li Xiaojun, a sophomore from Class L. The school had hired a professional lighting team, and their job was to coordinate and supervise.
To achieve a diverse stage effect, the lighting setup was ticulous. Li Xiaojun had only learned about it thanks to the lighting technician’s detailed explanations: stage lights ca in many categories — bridge lights, spotlights, soft lights, backlights, scatter lights, and so forth.
The lighting technician was busy with his team installing the lighting fra. On the side of the stage, they were working to install a large overhead light. Li Xiaojun instinctively asked, "Sir, is this light mounted here safe?"
Most of the other lights were secured within the frawork of the lighting rig, fixed with bases and screws, making them look stable. But this overhead light was independently mounted on a crossbeam — if sothing went wrong, it could beco a big problem.
The installer wiped the sweat from his brow. "Isn’t there a piano solo during the performance? This overhead light is ant for spotlighting the perforr. Don’t worry, I’m an expert in this field. Once the light shines, it’ll look stunning. As for safety concerns, there’s no need to worry. The fixture is secured tightly with screws; without special tools, there’s no way to pry it loose."
Li Xiaojun finally felt reassured. "You’re really professional, sir."
"There’s a saying, isn’t it? Each profession has its own expertise."
The installer climbed down from the rig. Soone handed him a bottle of water.
The technician found the water to be ice-cold. With the auditorium’s heating on, it was quite warm inside. Without thinking much, he twisted open the bottle and drank.
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