Fengyun City General Police Headquarters.
Gao Fei, Director Huang, Officer Liu, and the leadership of the police station were gathered in the conference room.
Below them were reporters from various Fengyun City television stations, their cameras, large and small, all focused on the stage in the conference room.
"Student Gao Fei, thank you for contributing to the public security of Fengyun City."
A leader in a white shirt handed Gao Fei a "Three Goods Youth" certificate and then shook hands with him, facing the reporters below.
Click! Click!
The flashbulbs flickered incessantly.
After a brief award ceremony, the leaders and Officer Liu and others made their ordered speeches.
The main points discussed were how the gang of Hao Ge from the mahjong parlor was apprehended and what evidence of their criminal activities was collected during the investigation.
The speeches no longer concerned Gao Fei.
After receiving his award, he and Director Huang left the conference room.
The two did not leave the police station immediately but headed to the station's mediation room.
Outside the mediation room door stood two police officers talking with a young man in a suit.
"Xiao Fei, let me introduce you. These are Officer Li and Officer Wang. They are in charge of the case involving the slander and fabrication of false news about you."
"Hello, Officer Li, Officer Wang!"
Gao Fei greeted them humbly. The two officers were also very polite, directly addressing him as "Valedictorian Gao."
After introducing the officers in charge of the case, Director Huang then introduced the young man beside them: "This is your senior, who was also a student at First High School ten years ago, and is now a lawyer at a law firm, Zeng Kemin!"
"Hello, senior!"
Gao Fei had already learned before arriving that this senior lawyer was being hired with school funds for him.
To have the school allocate public funds to hire a lawyer for a student, he was probably the first in all of Longguo's high schools!
After the introductions were completed, Officer Li, the person in charge of the case, spoke: "Student Gao Fei, through technical investigation, we have found the person who filmed the video slandering you as a delinquent.
He admitted that he maliciously edited the video and sold it to a well-known blogger via online payment."
Following this, Director Huang added: "Xiao Fei, this person is a student from our school. His parents want to settle this privately. As long as you don't file a lawsuit, they are willing to compensate for the damage to your reputation.
The person is in the mediation room now. What do you think? Are you willing to mediate or sue?"
Afterward, senior lawyer Zeng Kemin chimed in: "Junior, whether you sue or mediate, you will receive compensation. It's just that the compensation from suing will be less than from private mediation!"
Before coming, Lawyer Zeng had learned online and from Teacher Huang.
This valedictorian junior came from a poor family and had been doing business outside after the college entrance exam to supplement their household income.
Therefore, before making a decision, it was necessary for him to explain the compensation received from suing versus mediating.
Gao Fei thought for a moment and decided he wanted to see who the person selling the video was.
As he pushed open the door to the mediation room, he finally saw who it was.
It was the boy with acne all over his face who had been filming him intensely with his phone that morning.
The boy stood behind his parents with a tearful face. Judging by the footprints on his clothes, he had likely been beaten.
As soon as Gao Fei entered, the boy's parents rushed forward to plead.
As long as he agreed to a private settlement, they were willing to pay any amount of money.
After half an hour of mediation, Gao Fei finally recalled from his memory.
This boy's name was Lin Dong. Before the second year of high school when they hadn't yet been divided into classes, they were classmates. However, they had had a conflict during that time, which was why the other boy had deliberately targeted him online.
In the end, Gao Fei did not accept any compensation from Lin Dong's parents, nor would he sue.
He only requested that Lin Dong hand over the unedited video to the police and that all the maliciously edited videos be completely deleted.
After all, he did not want to enter university with the label of "delinquent."
After the agreement was signed and the people had left, the officer in charge of the case told Gao Fei.
Their investigation had revealed that someone had deliberately spread rumors online, fanning the flames and guiding netizens to cyberbully him.
His colleagues in other cities had already obtained a list of some of the cyberbullies and would be apprehending them today.
Gao Fei showed no mercy to these cyberbullies and told his senior lawyer that he had only one request: to sue them all.
Meanwhile, in a rental room in Shencheng, Dong Province.
The fatty looked with satisfaction and nodded as the topic of "delinquent youth" once again gained traction online.
No matter how Gao Fei tried to clear his name now, the identity of a delinquent could not be erased and would follow him to university.
Just as he was adding fuel to the fire online, the door to the rental room was suddenly knocked.
"Who is it?"
The fatty asked impatiently and then roared, "Stop knocking, you're annoying!"
As his roar subsided, the knocking also stopped.
The fatty grumbled as he stood up, and just as he was about to open the door, he heard a voice from outside.
"We are from the Wanshui District Police Station. Please open the door and cooperate with our work!"
The fatty, his hand on the doorknob, suddenly shivered and opened the door with trembling hands.
Seeing the three or four police officers outside, he swallowed and asked, "Officers, have I committed any offense?"
The leading police officer did not answer his question but instead asked, "Your name is Yang Hao, right?"
"It's me!"
As the fatty nodded, the police officer produced a summons and a search warrant: "You are now being summoned, Yang Hao, to the Wanshui District Police Station to investigate a case of cyberbullying. Please cooperate with our work!
In addition, we will be investigating and collecting evidence from your residence!"
Cyberbullying case?
The fatty Yang Hao was stunned, and the name "Gao Fei" immediately flashed in his mind.
While he was in a daze, the other police officers had already entered the rental room and were confiscating everything, including the computer, as evidence.
That afternoon, similar incidents were occurring not only in Shencheng, Dong Province, but also in cities in other provinces.
The influential bloggers who had initially incited netizens to cyberbully Gao Fei, as well as some of the leaders of the online trolls, were all taken back to their respective police stations for investigation.
Eight o'clock in the evening.
Gao Fei, with a satisfied burp, walked out of the restaurant with Director Huang and Zeng Kemin.
The case had now entered the evidence-gathering and prosecution stage, and Zeng Kemin left after saying his goodbyes.
Director Huang then drove Gao Fei home.
"Director, I had wanted to make a splash at the graduation party. I didn't expect the power of the internet to fuel this, revealing my valedictorian status ahead of time!"
Looking at Gao Fei, who was feigning disappointment but speaking in an ostentatious manner, Director Huang, who was driving, found it both amusing and exasperating.
"Alright, so you didn't get to fulfill your wish of being the center of attention at the graduation party.
The school committee decided this afternoon to have you represent the graduating class in giving a speech at the graduation party.
I heard from a passerby that you can play the guitar and sing. When the time comes, the entire stage will be yours. You can sing whatever you want, and do whatever you please!"
Just as Director Huang was driving Gao Fei home.
Downstairs in the residential complex, Yang Lan, who finally had some time off, was not working a night shift today. She had intended to go downstairs to chat with her neighbors.
However, as soon as she joined the group of people enjoying the cool evening air, she was met with hostile stares from her neighbors.
"Oh, isn't this Old Gao's mother? Don't come near us common folk.
If you complain about anything your son Gao does, and then you go back and tell him, won't your big-brother son beat all of us up!"