novelraw Chapter 171 : I Believe Justice Lies in People_s Hearts
Chapter 171 : I Believe Justice Lies in People_s Hearts
Chapter 171: I Believe Justice Lies in People's Hearts
The day after Lawyer Liang didn't go, Li Hu had his parents pass a message to Chen Fan.
"Either pay compensation of 1 million, or let Guo Shuai go to prison."
"There is no second choice."
Chen Fan didn't give an answer, allowing Li Hu's parents to leave while scolding and cursing.
On the same day, a batch of small accounts quietly infiltrated various campus forums in the university town.
Wherever there were posts discussing the incident involving Guo Shuai and Li Hu, people started leaving comments, saying that Li Hu was a scumbag.
Some introduced the situation at the time, saying that Guo Shuai had no choice but to fight back in order to protect his girlfriend.
College students are the group most easily swayed emotionally.
Even before the internet brigades made any real effort, this group had already ignited their anger.
Some people started actively cursing Li Hu on the forums, calling him worthless. Others said that if it were you, and your girlfriend was being harassed, would you have the courage to stand up like this guy?
Some said they definitely would, while others said that fighting is illegal and that they should have reported it to the police instead.
Regardless of how the guys discussed it, Guo Shuai had won the unanimous admiration of the girls, who considered him a real man.
On the same day, a reporter entered the Central Hospital and found Li Hu's ward.
The reporter explained that she was from the Yunhai Daily and had seen the online discussions about the incident, so she hoped to investigate what had happened.
Li Hu was initially still quite angry, but when he saw this reporter, his eyes suddenly lit up with a plan.
He felt that using the media to stir up some hype would be good, at least to put pressure on Chen Fan, and maybe he could even demand more money.
So Li Hu immediately changed his mind, called the reporter back, and embellished the details as he explained what had happened.
He portrayed himself as a young man who had just happened to pass by the school gate to ask for directions when he encountered Liu Lingling and asked her for directions. But then her boyfriend misunderstood and brutally beat him up, leaving him in his current pitiful state.
Li Hu became emotionally agitated and shouted at the reporter, "Where is justice? Where is the rule of law? They must be punished accordingly."
The reporter put away her recorder and nodded.
"Okay, Mr. Li, I understand what happened. I'll take my leave now."
Li Hu seemed expectant. "When will it be published?"
The reporter pondered for a moment and said, "Probably the day after tomorrow."
"Good, the sooner the better."
Li Hu smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your hard work."
After the reporter left the ward, Li Hu immediately burst into loud laughter.
"Fortune is indeed on my side."
"I can't wait to see how you'll save your good buddy this time."
What Li Hu didn't know was that after the reporter went downstairs and left the building, she ran into an acquaintance.
"Dian Dian!"
Ding Dian stood by the roadside, smiling and waving.
"Cong Cong."
Sun Congcong walked over in her high heels, grinning.
"Hey, I told you I could handle this myself. Why did you come in person?"
Ding Dian smiled and linked arms with her. "That won't do. A big-shot reporter is doing me a favor, so I have to come and take good care of you."
"Cut it out. It's been years since we graduated, and you've become a renowned designer, while I'm still struggling at the newspaper. It's miserable."
"You're mocking me, knowing full well my design studio has barely any clients..."
The two old classmates, reunited after a long time, joked and bantered for a while.
Then Ding Dian led Sun Congcong across the intersection to a Lu cuisine restaurant.
On the second floor, in a private room, Sun Congcong froze as soon as she entered.
"You have more friends here?"
Ding Dian smiled and explained, "Don't worry. They're all our people."
"Let me introduce them to you."
After speaking, she extended her hand and pointed, "This is my current boss, Chen Fan. His nickname is the Modern Huang Shiren."
Chen Fan glared at Ding Dian, then stood up and extended his hand.
"Hello, I'm Chen Fan."
Sun Congcong seemed surprised, "I knew Dian Dian has been helping a big boss recently, but I didn't expect you to be so young."
She turned to look at Ding Dian.
"So you two are..."
"Let me explain," Chen Fan smiled.
"Inviting you to interview Li Hu was my request to Ding Dian."
Sun Congcong nodded, having already guessed that.
Chen Fan continued, "Of course, when it comes to news, interviewing only one party is biased, since everyone will only say what's favorable to them."
Sun Congcong suddenly realized, "What's your relationship with the person who was arrested?"
"He's my buddy. A very close buddy."
Upon hearing this, Sun Congcong looked a bit awkward and glanced at Ding Dian, seeming to reproach her old classmate for introducing her to the criminal's friend.
However, Chen Fan's next words caught her attention.
"Let me introduce Liu Lingling to Reporter Sun. She's sitting next to me and is my buddy's girlfriend."
Sun Congcong froze for a moment, then reacted.
"You're...Guo Shuai's girlfriend?"
"Yes."
Chen Fan smiled and explained, "I brought her here so Reporter Sun could also interview her, so you'll have both sides' accounts, making it easier for your news report."
Sun Congcong saw the logic in that, so she immediately took out her notebook and recorder.
"Should we conduct the interview now? Or eat first?"
"No need, let's interview first, then eat."
Ding Dian explained to Chen Fan in a low voice, "This old classmate of mine has a very strong sense of justice and is a workaholic, but...she's been underappreciated. After all these years at the newspaper, she's still unknown and hasn't been promoted."
Chen Fan smiled. Traditional paper media could only survive for another ten years or so. Once short videos and microblogs emerged in the future, they would completely revolutionize traditional media.
After Liu Lingling clearly recounted the whole situation, Sun Congcong became indignant.
"Scoundrel! That guy actually lied to me, not a single word of truth."
"Don't worry, sis, this time I'll definitely uphold justice for you."
Ding Dian, sitting aside, couldn't help but remind her, "Here we go again, as a reporter, can you not get too emotional?"
Sun Congcong glared at her, "Shouldn't a reporter have a sense of justice? Shouldn't they punish evil and promote good?"
Ding Dian rolled her eyes.
"That's more like an ancient hero. I think a reporter's first priority should be objectively and accurately reporting news events."
Ding Dian sighed. Perhaps it was because of her old classmate's temperament that she had been struggling at the bottom of the newspaper for so many years.
Chen Fan smiled and interjected, "I think Ding Dian is right."
"Reporter Sun, may I ask you a favor? For today's interview, could you report both parties' accounts in full?"
Sun Congcong glanced at Chen Fan, "That's doable, but then...it doesn't seem to be much help to her, does it?"
Chen Fan couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
It seemed this girl hadn't taken Ding Dian's words to heart at all.
"You only need to report both sides' accounts objectively and in detail."
"Leave the rest to the public."
At this point, Chen Fan smiled.
"I believe justice lies in people's hearts."