The incident happened in the morning, and the culprit was caught at noon.
Clearly, even heaven couldn’t stand it—he was getting his just deserts.
Pan Lingling raised an eyebrow—things were going according to plan.
She cleared her throat and raised her voice: “I need to go see which shameless bastard spread these rumors. He needs to learn a lesson so no other sisters get hurt in the future.”
Everyone had come to watch the commotion, but once they imagined themselves as the victims, they were immediately filled with righteous anger.
They couldn’t let this person go; he had to be punished to set an example and prevent future trouble.
Zhang Na, along with a group of girlfriends, pinned him down and started beating him.
That day, Lu Wan had done the same to him—full of force and striking hard.
“Na Na, step aside, let me kick him a couple times!”
“Yeah, I want to kick him too!”
“This shameless rumor-spreader!”
…
The girls were having a blast beating him. Chen Yong screamed in pain, threatening them, but no one paid any attention.
He could only protect his head, as Zhang Na had already slapped his face until it swelled; another round would make him unrecognizable.
He had heard from a friend that fingerprints on the letter could be traced, and that Lu Wan had already reported it to the police. Once they checked the prints, the truth would come out.
Although he wanted to stand up for Lin Zhenzhen, he was afraid of getting caught and being sent to labor reform.
So he had planned to sneak in during lunchtime, when everyone was eating, and quietly take the letter.
But no sooner had he removed it than Zhang Na and a few others came at him like maniacs, pinned him down, and started beating him.
“Stop! Stop! If you don’t stop, I’ll tell my dad and have you all fired!”
“You spread rumors about a female worker! If anyone should be fired, it’s you. Sisters, we can’t let this person harm other women again.”
Others in the cafeteria gathered around, forming a circle with Chen Yong in the middle, each looking like they wanted to punch him.
When Lu Wan saw that the beating was mostly over—though the law didn’t punish the crowd, she didn’t want anyone seriously hurt—she squeezed through the crowd with an innocent expression. “What happened?”
Zhang Na heard her voice and yelled loudly, “Lu Wan! The person who spread rumors about you has been caught!”
“Yes, Lu Wan! It’s Chen Yong, who always pretends to be proper. Who knew he could be so disgusting?”
“Shameless rumor-spreader!”
“Take him to the police station!”
“Yes, to the police station!”
…
Before work even resumed, a group of concerned citizens was marching Chen Yong off to the station.
By the time Director Chen heard the news and rushed over, Chen Yong had already been taken away.
Director Chen was furious that his son had lost his mind over Lin Zhenzhen, but this was his only son—he couldn’t just ignore him.
He hopped on his bicycle and pedaled toward the police station.
Chen Yong’s face was bruised and swollen, with unseen injuries elsewhere. He was dragged all the way to the station.
Seeing so many people, the police initially thought it was a public disturbance and sent out several officers to maintain order.
Wu Hongbing immediately spotted Lu Wan in the crowd—she looked like a movie star; it was impossible not to notice her.
But her eyes were red. Had she been bullied?
Wu Hongbing nodded slightly at her, a silent greeting, but focused on handling the matter first.
Zhang Na dragged Chen Yong to the entrance and handed over the evidence to the police.
“Officers, this is the person who spread lewd rumors about our female workers. He wrote prohibited, obscene material and posted it on the factory bulletin board, causing serious psychological harm to the victim and damaging the reputation of our factory. We caught him trying to destroy evidence. Please act on behalf of the victim.”
As soon as Zhang Na finished, her friends chimed in in agreement.
Spreading obscene rumors, writing prohibited material—Wu Hongbing immediately became serious.
The nature of spreading such rumors was outright harassment, not to mention writing prohibited articles.
Who dared to write something like that and post it on the bulletin board?
Wu Hongbing noticed Lu Wan’s name at the top of the letter.
Reading the contents—vulgar, shameless, and disgusting.
This guy was really a toad trying to eat swan meat.
Ugly as a pig, yet dreaming big.
Lu Wan was the girl the team leader liked—how could he even fantasize about her?
A few days ago, he saw the team leader giving Lu Wan a block of coal—he clearly cared about her.
Before going to the provincial capital, the team leader had asked Xiao Lin, the local officer in charge of the cotton mill, to keep an eye on Lu Wan’s yard.
Although he hadn’t worked with the team leader long, he had never seen the leader so attentive to any other girl—she clearly mattered to him.
Chen Yong spreading rumors about the girl the leader liked was practically suicidal.
Wu Hongbing wanted to punch him himself.
He was glad the team leader wasn’t present—otherwise, seeing this would have driven him mad.
“Officers, we have witnesses and physical evidence. Can this be used to convict him?” Zhang Na asked eagerly.
Wu Hongbing replied seriously, “We still need to verify the evidence. Witnesses must give statements. The rest can go home for now.”
With so many people outside, it could cause problems if everyone stayed.
As the victim, Lu Wan naturally had to remain.
The witnesses were separated for statements, and Lu Wan and Zhang Na were received by the same female officer as last time.
As a woman, she could easily empathize with this situation, especially since she had a strong impression of Lu Wan.
The girl was beautiful and had a pitiful background.
She had been betrayed by her own father and stepmother and now suffered this harassment.
Red-eyed like a little rabbit, her pale skin made her nose tip even redder—it was heartbreaking to see.
If she had loving parents protecting her, no one would dare bully her.
These lowlifes were only able to harass her because she had no one backing her.
“I just started working at the cotton mill and have only met Chen Yong once, at the broadcast station entrance, with many people around,” Lu Wan said.
“Officer, I’ve never interacted with him privately, never spoken to him. He has been pursuing another female worker, Lin Zhenzhen. I don’t know why he wrote such things to spread rumors about me…”
Though Lu Wan was sobbing, she spoke clearly, covering all the important points and also providing a lead.
“Officer, I can testify—everything Lu Wan says is true. Chen Yong is the son of our factory director. He has been pursuing Lin Zhenzhen, and…” Zhang Na paused, “…I feel he wrote these things about Lu Wan to get revenge.”
If it was revenge, that made it even more serious.
The officers noted this clue. “Explain in detail.”
Zhang Na explained that Lin Zhenzhen had falsely accused Lu Wan of stealing her broadcasting job.
“Officer, I think Chen Yong did this to defend Lin Zhenzhen,” Zhang Na said firmly.
“I did have some conflict with Lin Zhenzhen. She is my stepmother’s daughter. She worked a few days as a temporary broadcaster, but the director thought I was more suitable and gave me the job,” Lu Wan explained in a few sentences.
She left out Lin Zhenzhen inciting the workers to cause trouble. She only mentioned what could be verified at the factory—hearing it from someone else made it more credible.
By the time Director Chen arrived, the police were taking statements. If his son was convicted of harassment, his life would be ruined.
Director Chen almost lost his balance, furious and heartbroken, grabbing his son and hitting him. “How long are you going to defend Lin Zhenzhen? Tell the officers—did she make you do this?”