Chapter 270: The Tables Turn

Before the investigator could even reach for it, the woman had already snatched the money.

She turned to the people who had been helping her and said, "It's so hot today. Thanks for your help. Take this money, buy yourselves some ice cream. The rest will go toward some fruit for my father-in-law!"

The little girl pleaded with the investigator, "Sir, this is all the money I have. Class is starting. Can you please let me go back to my classroom?"

The investigator's face darkened. "No. You have to come with us. We also have to notify your parents to come get you. If the compensation isn't paid in a timely manner, you'll be facing six months of detention!"

Hearing this, the young girl completely panicked. Her face went deathly pale. She suddenly backed up to the door, and with a strength that came from nowhere, she scrambled onto the windowsill and threw open the window.

"Sir, I didn't push this old man! They're framing me! If you don't believe me, I'll jump right now to prove my innocence!"

No one could have expected the young girl would be pushed this far. Yet the woman was still relentless.

"You little bitch, stop playing the victim! If you've got the guts, then jump! Go on, jump!"

Chen Qingdi dashed forward, grabbed the little girl's hand, and pulled her down.

"Just let me die! I don't want to drag my mom and dad into this!"

Chen Qingdi gently patted her back.

"If a kind girl like you were to die, wouldn't that mean Heaven is blind? If these scammers were to actually succeed, what would be the point of kindness in this world?"

The woman pointed a finger at Chen Qingdi's nose and screamed, "You bastard, you just have to stick your nose in everything! I bet you two, this shameless pair, colluded to harm my father-in-law! Officer, I think you should lock both of them up and teach them a good lesson!"

The investigator's face was grim as he said to Chen Qingdi, "And who are you? Why are you obstructing justice?"

"I am Chen Qing, the owner of the Huipu Medical Clinic. Here is my medical license. This elderly gentleman has osteoporosis and also shows slight signs of a stroke, so a fall would be quite common. This young lady was trying to help him out of the kindness of her heart, and in return, you try to extort her. Is there no justice in this world?"

The investigator looked Chen Qingdi up and down and saw that he was plain-looking and dressed simply.

"Do you have any proof for these claims?"

"I saw what happened with my own eyes. I'm willing to testify to this young lady's innocence."

Seeing Chen Qingdi trying so hard to prove her innocence, the girl felt a flicker of warmth in her heart.

"Sir, I can't get you involved in this. No one can clear my name. You should just go."

The woman snorted. "You two are obviously close. Your testimony doesn't count!"

The investigator said with a stern face, "Both of you, come with me to the station to cooperate with the investigation!"

Seeing him take out a pair of handcuffs, Chen Qingdi knew without a doubt that they were meant for him. 'No one would think that frail little girl could run away.'

He said very calmly, "And what if I have other evidence?"

The woman stuck out her hand. "Give the evidence to me! I'll keep it safe for you!"

With that, she lunged forward and snatched Chen Qingdi's phone. She tried to unlock it to find the so-called evidence, but she didn't know the password. After trying until she was sweating profusely, she had no results and resentfully stuffed it into her own pocket.

Chen Qingdi frowned. "Officer, she stole my phone! This is blatant robbery!"

The investigator glanced at Chen Qingdi, then looked at the woman with a troubled expression.

"Second Sister-in-law, it's against procedure for you to hold the phone. You'd better give it to me."

The woman reluctantly handed the phone to the investigator. The investigator then turned to Chen Qingdi with a stern expression.

"Tell me the password. I need to check the evidence!"

Chen Qingdi had no choice but to tell him the password. After the phone was unlocked, the investigator unexpectedly hit 'factory reset.' In moments, all the data on Chen Qingdi's phone was wiped completely clean.

"Given that you conspired with this girl to harm the victim, Mr. Pi, you will come back to the station with us to cooperate with the investigation!"

Chen Qingdi snorted. "Are you really sure you want to play it this way?"

The investigator said calmly, "You must be punished for your mistakes. Let's go."

His partner cuffed Chen Qingdi and the girl, escorted them into an official vehicle, and took them to the station.

Unsurprisingly, no one interrogated them. They were simply locked in a small, dark room.

For two straight days, no one paid them any attention. 「On the third day,」 Li Wanjin, the president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, appeared at the detention center.

"That crappy clinic of yours was burglarized last night. There's nothing left but the four walls. If you don't want to lose absolutely everything, you'd better sell it to me for a low price. Also, because you're a suspect in a criminal case, the relevant authorities have already revoked your medical license and your clinic's business license! From now on, don't you dare call yourself a doctor!"

Due to the significant impact of the case, it was quickly transferred to the judicial system.

On the day the trial began, the prosecutor, in a stern and righteous tone, laid out the criminal case: Chen Qingdi and the girl, Mei Xiaosu, had pushed a man in his seventies to the ground, causing a comminuted fracture. His statement stirred public outrage among the spectators.

Then came the witnesses to testify to their evil deeds. The witnesses were, of course, the old man's son, daughter-in-law, and other relatives. They tearfully recounted the harm Mei Xiaosu had caused their family and begged the judge for a harsh sentence.

After the prosecutor and the witnesses had finished, the judge turned to Chen Qingdi and Mei Xiaosu.

"Chen Qing, Mei Xiaosu, you claim you were framed. Do you have any compelling evidence to support this?"

Mei Xiaosu was utterly hopeless, but Chen Qingdi stood up.

He recounted the events of that day and then said to the judge,

"Your Honor, the so-called witnesses—the entire family—are fabricating facts and turning the tables to falsely accuse us. I am deeply outraged by their behavior. Furthermore, regarding the investigator's question, 'If you didn't hit him, why did you help him up?'... I find it deeply regrettable. Those are not words that an officer of the law should ever say!"

"Very well. Please present your evidence!"

Chen Qingdi said, "I do have evidence, of course. Your Honor, please allow me to present it to you using my phone."

The investigator, who was one of the witnesses, stood up. "The phone has been formatted! It can't display any evidence!"

Chen Qingdi scoffed. "Mister Investigator, have you never heard of something called 'cloud storage'?"

The judge granted Chen Qingdi's request and had the phone returned to him. Chen Qingdi re-verified his identity, entered his password, and in moments, his account was re-linked to the phone.

He then opened his cloud service, re-downloaded the footage from a miniature camera, and handed the phone to the judge.

On the large screen, the scene from that day played out. The girl was walking forward, the old man approached her, the girl kindly held her umbrella over him, and then the old man fell down on his own. Every moment was perfectly clear, right up until the point where the girl tried to help him, and the family rushed out from the side...

The whole truth was laid bare for all to see.