Chapter 50: The Truth Revealed

Lin Feng’s post on Weibo immediately sparked a massive controversy. Leaving aside the question of who was right or wrong, as a public figure, Lin Feng’s brazen threats of violence on Weibo instantly drew a barrage of criticism from self-appointed moral guardians.

Wang Chunsheng was the first to react, swiftly reposting Lin Feng’s message and commenting, “Utterly arrogant! Not only does he show no remorse after assaulting someone, he even dares to boast about it openly online. Is there no one to rein him in?”

Heihei, a user from Qin Ruolin’s Music Kingdom, wrote, “Lin Feng, you all have loud voices, I have a small one—whatever you say goes. I’m just an ordinary citizen, no match for you. But I trust the police will deliver the fairest verdict.”

Wu Liang, the power forward, added, “To act so brazenly after a fight—how did someone like this ever become a professional player? He’s a disgrace to the basketball world!”

…

At that moment, Lin Feng was on his way to the Zhongshan District Police Station. After reading the comments from Wang Chunsheng and the others, he immediately responded: “Wang Chunsheng, so you’re allowed to twist the facts, but I’m not allowed to speak my mind? I, Lin Feng, have always acted openly and honestly. I hit someone, I admit it, and I’ll take responsibility—I won’t shirk it. Unlike certain people who tried every trick in the book to keep me out of the finals: orchestrating car accidents, sending people to intercept me, even blocking me from entering the stadium. Ha! Despite all your scheming, I still showed up on the finals court…”

“Heihei, if you have reason on your side, don’t be afraid of debate. Say what you want, but don’t put on that pitiful act just to win sympathy—that’s not something a real man would do!”

“Wu Liang, the power forward, I remember someone once said if our Jiangning team won the championship, they’d eat something disgusting live on camera! I just want to ask—do you remember which clown said that?”

After Lin Feng’s replies, all three fell silent…

…

The police car carrying Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin arrived at the entrance to the Zhongshan District Police Station. Waiting reporters immediately swarmed forward, but fortunately, the station had prepared in advance—seven or eight officers formed a human wall to keep the journalists at bay.

“Qin Ruolin, is your injury serious?”

“Qin Ruolin, is what you posted on Weibo true?”

“Lin Feng, you just accused the user ‘Heihei’ of distorting the facts—do you have any evidence?”

“Lin Feng, were you injured yourself?”

…

Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin got out of the car. Though the reporters were kept outside, they still fired off a barrage of questions. However, neither Lin Feng nor Qin Ruolin responded; they went straight into the station.

Because the incident had become a national sensation, the Beicheng City Public Security Bureau took it extremely seriously. The city’s police chief, Ren Dacheng, personally ordered a thorough investigation, dispatching an experienced task force from headquarters to aid the Zhongshan station.

Upon arrival, Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin were taken directly to the interrogation room. By then, the Beicheng fans involved in the fight had already finished giving their statements, and all their accounts matched perfectly with the version told by the user ‘Heihei.’ Clearly, they had coordinated their stories beforehand.

Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin recounted the incident truthfully, their testimonies almost identical. But this created a new problem: the accounts from both sides of the fight were completely at odds, leaving the officers handling the case at a loss.

Given the high profile of the case, Ren Dacheng had demanded results within twelve hours. But with such contradictory testimonies and no eyewitnesses, the investigation quickly stalled.

After Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin finished their statements, Shen Ziqiang and Yan Jiaming, the general manager of the Jiangning Club, hurried over, accompanied by Qin Weiguo, director of the Sports Bureau.

Qin Weiguo had originally been invited to attend the Jiangning team’s victory banquet, but as soon as he arrived, news of the incident reached him. Since it involved his own daughter, he immediately made his way to the station.

“Sweetheart, how bad is your injury?” Qin Weiguo asked with concern, eyeing the wound on Qin Ruolin’s forehead.

“It’s nothing, just a scratch,” Qin Ruolin replied, frowning. “Why are you here?”

“My daughter was assaulted—how could I not come?” Qin Weiguo’s face darkened as he glanced at Lin Feng. “How could you let this happen? With you by her side, Ruolin still got hurt. What kind of boyfriend are you?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Qin. I didn’t protect Ruolin well enough,” Lin Feng replied, guilt-ridden.

“Dad, it’s not Lin Feng’s fault that I got hurt. He only hit someone because he was defending me,” Qin Ruolin explained.

“I don’t care about the reason. If a man can’t even protect his own woman, he doesn’t deserve to be with her!” Qin Weiguo, a veteran official, spoke with an authority that brooked no argument, delivering his verdict on Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin’s relationship.

“Dad, don’t use this as an excuse. You think I don’t know what you’re really up to?” Qin Ruolin refused to back down, her tone resolute. “My life is my own! Especially when it comes to marriage—I won’t back down!”

“Alright, let’s leave that for now,” Qin Weiguo said, waving it away. “Tell me, what exactly happened tonight?”

“It wasn’t our fault at all. Those Beicheng fans started the trouble, throwing things at us. Even then, we didn’t retaliate. But then they hit me with a can and injured my head—that’s when Lin Feng stepped in…” Qin Ruolin recounted the events succinctly.

“Lin Feng, is that really how it happened?” Shen Ziqiang asked.

“Yes,” Lin Feng nodded. “If they hadn’t hit Ruolin in the head with something, I never would’ve acted.”

…

At the scene of the brawl, Yang Jun, captain of Beicheng’s third criminal investigation squad, was personally leading the investigation. Appointed by Chief Ren Dacheng himself, Yang was the head of the inquiry team.

With the testimonies of both sides in complete opposition, the case was at a standstill. Yang decided to treat it as a criminal case and conduct a thorough on-site investigation.

His approach paid off. They found the very can that Qin Ruolin had mentioned in her statement. Laboratory tests revealed both fingerprints and traces of Qin Ruolin’s skin on it. The fingerprints matched one of the Beicheng fans involved in the fight.

Confronted with this evidence, the fan had no choice but to admit he was the one who injured Qin Ruolin. Still, he insisted it was Lin Feng who struck the first blow, and that they only retaliated, accidentally injuring Qin Ruolin during the scuffle.

His stubbornness plunged the investigation back into deadlock.

But soon, Yang Jun made another breakthrough: at the scene, he discovered a sports car equipped with a high-end dashcam. This “super dashcam” was capable of recording around the clock, offering a full 360-degree panoramic view and capturing audio as well—an expensive piece of equipment, usually only found in luxury cars. As luck would have it, such a car was parked right where the incident occurred.

Yang Jun quickly contacted the owner and retrieved the footage from the dashcam. As he had hoped, it had captured the whole incident in detail, audio and all.

When Yang Jun returned to the Zhongshan station with the copied footage and played it for the Beicheng fans, every single one of them was dumbstruck…

…