ARBRMW : Chapter 55

“My watch is missing. Did any of you see it?” After returning to the dormitory, Chen Xu discovered that the watch he had left on the table was gone. He had casually put it on the table after taking a shower, but forgot to wear it when he left. He didn’t expect that the watch would be lost after just two days.

 

“The watch you were wearing the other day? I didn’t see it,” Zhu Yaoyuan shook his head. He wasn’t obsessed with luxury goods, so he didn’t know how valuable Chen Xu’s watch was.

 

“What?! Your D-brand watch is missing?” Tang Zhen almost popped his eyes out in shock. He hurried over to help Chen Xu search, but the three of them couldn’t find it even after looking around.

 

It was obviously stolen.

 

Chen Xu frowned and said to the two of them, “Check if you’ve lost anything yourselves.”

 

The two hurriedly rummaged through their own cabinets.

 

“Oh my god, my game console that I saved up so hard to buy?” Zhu Yaoyuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His parents didn’t like him playing games, thinking it was a waste of time, so he had saved up for a long time to buy it through overseas purchasing. But now, it was gone?!

 

“The money I had hidden under my clothes is also gone. I was planning to send it home in a few days.” Tang Zhen didn’t have much money, only about a thousand yuan or so, because he needed money for himself and also to save for tuition. He could only send a small amount of money back home each month. His family was in a remote rural area and couldn’t receive money directly; they had to rely on mail. He would send some money back every month and use the rest himself.

 

But even this thousand yuan was hard-earned from his labor. Suddenly losing it made Tang Zhen feel a bit dazed, and his eyes turned red.

 

“Is there a thief in the dorm?” Zhu Yaoyuan asked in confusion.

 

“Yeah,” Chen Xu nodded, then looked at Wu Bin’s position, “I don’t know if it’s an insider or an outsider.”

 

Tang Zhen’s face flushed with anger. “It must be him who stole it!”

 

Zhu Yaoyuan awkwardly pulled Tang Zhen, “Don’t say things so definitively. What if it’s not? I’ll ask him when Wu Bin comes back.”

 

“If it’s not him, then who else? Look, my clothes aren’t even messy. The person who stole the money clearly went straight to where I put it. It’s someone who knows where I keep my money, not just anyone from our dormitory.” Tang Zhen stood with his arms crossed next to the cabinet, his voice resolute. “When he comes back, if he doesn’t admit it, I’ll call the police! If he doesn’t want to be a classmate, then he shouldn’t be!”

 

Tang Zhen made sense. Zhu Yaoyuan scratched his cheek, still not wanting to escalate the situation. “Let’s try to handle this privately first. If it doesn’t work out, we can tell the counselor. The school won’t cover it up.”

 

Zhu Yaoyuan comforted Tang Zhen for a long time, and Tang Zhen’s attitude softened. He knew that Wu Bin, like him, came from a rural area. It was not easy to come out from there. He was not only the hope of his family but also the hope of the entire village. Nobody is perfect, and maybe Wu Bin just made a mistake momentarily. If Wu Bin apologized sincerely, he could let it go.

 

After about half an hour, Wu Bin came back from the library with his backpack. As soon as he came back, he saw the three people sitting on the chairs in the dormitory with solemn expressions.

 

Wu Bin instinctively wanted to run, but Zhu Yaoyuan, as the dormitory leader, grabbed his backpack as soon as he turned around.

 

“Why are you running, Wu Bin?” Zhu Yaoyuan was usually the one who communicated with Wu Bin in the dormitory. He didn’t really want to deal with Wu Bin, especially because Wu Bin’s temper was so strange. Sometimes he would get angry for no reason, and Zhu Yaoyuan would be confused about what he had said to trigger him.

 

But Tang Zhen was like a firecracker. He would quarrel with Wu Bin with just a few words, and they might even come to blows. Of course, it was Tang Zhen alone who provoked Wu Bin; Wu Bin was quick-witted with words, but not good at fighting.

 

Chen Xu, on the other hand, was oblivious to everything happening outside the window and could completely ignore Wu Bin.

 

“It’s… it’s nothing. Let go of me,” Wu Bin struggled out of Zhu Yaoyuan’s grip, tightly hugging his backpack, and vigilantly staring at the three of them.

 

Zhu Yaoyuan pushed him into the dormitory and locked the door.

 

When he heard the sound of the door locking, Wu Bin seemed to be stimulated. He turned around in horror and glared at Zhu Yaoyuan. “Why did you lock the door?”

 

“Ah… nothing, I just want to confirm something with you.” Zhu Yaoyuan smiled awkwardly and said, “It seems like there has been a thief in the dormitory. The three of us have all suffered different degrees of property loss. Can you quickly check if you’ve lost anything?”

 

Wu Bin shrugged, not letting Zhu Yaoyuan touch him. “I don’t have anything to steal.”

 

“Just take a look, just in case,” Zhu Yaoyuan urged.

 

Wu Bin slowly moved to the cabinet, opened it, and looked inside. Zhu Yaoyuan cautiously followed him, wanting to see if there was Zhu Yaoyuan’s game console, Tang Zhen’s money, or Chen Xu’s watch in Wu Bin’s cabinet.

 

“No, I don’t have anything valuable,” Wu Bin shook his head and closed the cabinet door.

 

“How could you have nothing? Thieves wouldn’t just steal from the three of us and not you,” Tang Zhen stood with his arms crossed, facing Wu Bin. His tone was incredulous.

 

“What do you mean, Tang Zhen? You three didn’t keep your things properly. In the end, they were lost, and now you blame me?” Wu Bin stared at Tang Zhen with a dark expression.

 

“I put my money in the cabinet properly. How could it be lost? I was surprised too. Since you said you kept your things properly, then where did you put yours?” Tang Zhen asked skeptically.

 

“Why should I tell you?” Wu Bin hugged his backpack tightly and said vigilantly.

 

“If you don’t tell me, then I have reason to suspect that there is a thief in our dormitory,” Tang Zhen said, moving as if he were going to search Wu Bin’s cabinet. Chen Xu pulled him back and shook his head at him.

 

“If you search his things without permission, your reason will become unreasonable,” Chen Xu said.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m just too angry,” Tang Zhen understood what Chen Xu meant, but he was still angry. He and Zhu Yaoyuan had only lost a few thousand yuan, but Chen Xu had lost hundreds of thousands.

 

Chen Xu let go of Tang Zhen’s wrist and walked up to Wu Bin and said, “I lost a watch worth 2.35 million. This amount could result in a life sentence or at least ten years in prison.”

 

Wu Bin froze, his body stiffening as he avoided eye contact. “Why are you telling me this? What does it have to do with me?”

 

Seeing him refusing to admit, Chen Xu gave him a light glance and said, “Is that so? Well then, let’s call the police.”

 

Hearing that Chen Xu wanted to call the police, Wu Bin’s heart trembled. He tried to calm himself down, telling himself that they had no evidence, and he wouldn’t get into trouble.

 

Originally, Zhu Yaoyuan wanted to advise Tang Zhen and Chen Xu not to call the police, but Wu Bin’s nonchalant attitude made him lose the urge to help.

 

Tang Zhen took out his phone. “I’ve been wanting to call the police.”

 

“Oh, since I can afford a 2 million watch, naturally, I have connections to make the school and the police take this case seriously and find out who the thief is as soon as possible,” Chen Xu said indifferently.

 

Cold sweat dripped down Wu Bin’s forehead. He clenched his fists, telling himself that he was fine, they had no evidence, and he wouldn’t get in trouble.

 

Zhu Yaoyuan originally wanted to help Chen Xu and Tang Zhen, but Wu Bin’s nonchalant attitude made him change his mind.

 

“Chen Xu, what do you mean? You’ve been implying that I’m the thief. I know you guys look down on me because I come from the countryside, but is that my fault? I can’t choose where I was born. You rich kids, how could you understand the struggle of us poor people, who have to give our all just to survive!” Wu Bin’s voice trembled with anger.

 

“What the f***! Who said we look down on you because you come from the countryside? What’s wrong with coming from the countryside? Even I come from the countryside, but I never wallowed in self-pity or blamed others. You want money? Why don’t you go out and work for it? If you want others to respect you, start by respecting yourself!” Tang Zhen was so angry his chest hurt. He came from the countryside too, and he was gay and effeminate. His life was much harder than Wu Bin’s, but he never looked down on himself.

 

“Sister, don’t get angry, you’ll get wrinkles,” Zhu Yaoyuan, who spent a lot of time with Tang Zhen, was influenced by him, a straight guy calling Tang Zhen “sister” back and forth.

 

Wu Bin’s face turned red with anger. After a while, he muttered, “You f****** gay.”

 

“What the f***! I’ll tear your skin off today to show you who’s a ‘gay’!” Tang Zhen rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight. He was fair-skinned and slender, standing at only 1.73 meters tall, making him seem a bit petite next to Zhu Yaoyuan, who was over 1.8 meters tall. Zhu Yaoyuan blocked him and used his body to stop him. Tang Zhen was stuck to Zhu Yaoyuan’s body.

 

“Let me go!” Tang Zhen was so angry his head was spinning, struggling with all his might.

 

“Life is like a play, because of fate we meet. Hey hey hey…” Zhu Yaoyuan held Tang Zhen down while also trying to dodge Tang Zhen’s scratching. “I won’t get angry even if others do, getting angry only makes one sick.”

 

After finally calming Tang Zhen down, Chen Xu had already finished calling the police. The police arrived downstairs in no time.

 

This commotion caused all the male students in the entire building to come out to watch the excitement.

 

Someone had called the counselor, and when the counselor heard that the dormitory had been robbed, he thought it was a minor incident. But when he asked, he found out that Chen Xu had lost a watch worth over two million.

 

Coincidentally, this young police officer had met Chen Xu before. Last time he was taken to the police station, the police officer asked if he had been in a fight over a girl. When he was brought back by Si Ye, the newly recruited police officer was dumbfounded.

 

“Chen Xu, I didn’t expect it to be you.”

 

“Hello, Officer Wu,” Chen Xu nodded and greeted him.

 

The young officer showed his white teeth, lifted his cap, and smiled, “Just call me Xiao Wu.”

 

The students and the counselor were all stunned. Wasn’t Chen Xu the young master? Why was there another young master here?

 

The counselor’s attitude towards Chen Xu suddenly became different. With the ability to casually wear a watch worth over two million, Chen Xu’s identity was definitely not ordinary. It was fortunate that their school had always treated Chen Xu as an ordinary student.

 

If Wu Bin still had a glimmer of hope before, now he regretted it to the core. He shouldn’t have touched Chen Xu’s things, let alone steal from Zhu Yaoyuan and Tang Zhen to cover up. 

 

Wu Bin’s face was ashen, and he held his backpack tightly. His attitude and behavior were very suspicious, quickly drawing the attention of the police.

 

Moreover, the dormitory supervisor said that there had been no unusual noises recently, and no other dormitories had lost anything. It seemed that the possibility of an insider committing the crime was higher than that of an outsider.

 

The police even found the latest model of a smartphone in a compartment of Wu Bin’s backpack. With Wu Bin’s economic situation, he couldn’t possibly afford it. Wu Bin’s expression turned panicked, and he nervously retorted, “Why do you say I can’t afford it? I knew you all looked down on me! What’s wrong with coming from the countryside?! It’s all your fault! I knew you must be mocking me for being poor, for being rural! Damn it! What’s so noble about you? You’re all a bunch of idiots!” (Arg he’s soo annoying.)

 

The onlookers were stunned. While some might look down on Wu Bin, most of them were still friendly towards him and hadn’t mocked or ridiculed him. They just treated him as a quiet classmate. Everyone was either focused on studying, had their own circle of friends, or were dating. Who had the time to mock someone they didn’t even know well?

 

“Does Wu Bin have mental issues?”

 

“I think so. He’s so scary. Being scolded for no reason is really speechless.”

 

“Fortunately, he’s not my roommate. With my short temper, I’d probably end up fighting with him in less than a week.”

 

“No wonder he’s always alone. Who would want to be friends with someone who constantly harbors dark thoughts and maliciously speculates about others?”

 

The counselor accompanied Wu Bin to the police station to make a statement. After one night, he couldn’t hold on any longer and confessed everything.

 

Apart from Wu Bin’s incident, news about Chen Xu, who seemed to be a young master, spread rapidly throughout A University, making Chen Xu a hot topic on the forums once again.