Question 2

Lin Yuan hadn't understood before why some so-called internet celebrity streamers, who practically had “scam” written on their foreheads, still had so many “family members” placing orders in their live streams.

But this was an objective fact; otherwise, how could those top streamers achieve sales figures in the hundreds of millions?

And what was happening before his eyes was also a fact.

Zhang Yan, this young comrade, seemed to have an incomplete understanding of society.

Lin Yuan once again felt the power of the “information cocoons.” Even with the widespread internet and such advanced information today, many people still make their lives into a cocoon. A cocoon hanging on an infinite web.

The internet’s web is vast and boundless, but the cocoon’s space is limited.

“Skip this question.” Under Old Mo’s persuasion, Zhang Yan had no choice but to turn the page of the dossier.

“What about your admission letter then? The digital version of that letter was a pixel-perfect replica. You can’t possibly have an excuse for that, can you?”

In Lin Yuan’s impression, manually creating the admission letter was just one of his many chuunibyou acts from ancient times.

He never expected that he would still be troubled by this matter today.

“Why are you so fixated on this matter?” Lin Yuan neither admitted nor denied it, but instead asked about the other party’s intention for dwelling on this point.

“What do you mean, why are we fixated on this? This is illegal, do you understand?”

“Then tell me, what actual impact and harm did that admission letter cause?”

“It caused potential, immense impact and harm. We suspect you are involved in cases of counterfeit document manufacturing.”

“So, you don’t have evidence right now?”

“Why did a digital version of an admission letter with your own picture appear on the computer hard drive of Jiawen Photocopy Shop? Moreover, you had a call record with a blacklisted number belonging to that shop owner. We also checked nearby cameras, and you appeared in the vicinity before and after the call time.”

Lin Yuan straightened his posture; he wasn’t flustered at all. Because even if what the other party said was well-founded, it could only go so far. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sitting in this chair now.

“I must have been passing by there delivering food that day. You know, as food delivery drivers, we often receive calls from customers, so I definitely have to answer unfamiliar numbers. That call record must have come from that….”

“What about the digital version of that admission letter? Did it fly into that computer by itself? Don’t you think that’s a bit far-fetched?”

Lin Yuan thought about it; indeed, even he found it too far-fetched. Forget it, he couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore.

“I don’t know.” From the situation, Lin Yuan surmised that the other party didn’t have concrete surveillance footage. It made sense; what fake document shop would install cameras to record themselves?

As for the call record…

Thanks to the Jiawen Photocopy Shop owner’s caution—he proactively called back using another number after hanging up the call from the small advertisement. Lin Yuan merely passively received the call, and in an era where spam calls are rampant, it couldn’t be considered conclusive evidence.

As for actively calling the number on the small advertisement… well, it can only be said that making documents is not a behavioral offense.

Lin Yuan hadn’t seen the owner of Jiawen Photocopy Shop come to identify him, so it seemed the other party had successfully escaped.

Therefore, in Lin Yuan’s current situation, the suspicion was high, but the evidence couldn’t form a closed loop.

Even if the computer at Jiawen Photocopy Shop had a digital version of Lin Yuan’s admission letter, it wouldn’t matter, because Lin Yuan’s personal photo could be obtained online (WeChat Moments, Xuexin.com, etc.).

And the most crucial key among these was: motive.

As someone who had already been admitted to Zijin Aviation School, Lin Yuan had absolutely no motive to create a fake admission letter.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Lin Yuan had been delivering food for too long, and under the harsh realities of society, his mind had also taken a beating. Suddenly getting into graduate school, taking a crucial step in life, and having a system within him—he felt he was awesome, and he also wanted to try out the system’s abilities, so he did such a chuunibyou act.

Otherwise, why say—a man is a teenager until he dies?

Although “chuunibyou” has a host of disadvantages, it’s not without advantages—it cannot serve as a legal explanation for motive.

“You can just consider it… a naive young man who wanted to show off his abilities.”

“You admit it?”

“I didn’t admit it. I just want to say that I haven’t helped others make any fake documents you mentioned. Even if that admission letter was really made by me, could it be considered a boring joke made by a loser? After all, it didn’t cause any losses.”

Zhang Yan sneered, “You are challenging the authority of the law.”

“Hey~~, don’t be like that. How could I have that qualification, or that courage?

If you want to follow the vine to find the melon through me, then I advise you not to waste your time. When my teacher and school leaders arrive, they can testify for me.

If you want to exercise your so-called ‘authority’ on me, then I suggest you save some funds. Because there’s no need to be so strict with harmless people like me. If you really have this hobby, look around, there are plenty of opportunities for you to exercise it.”

Lin Yuan’s words left Zhang Yan speechless, but Old Mo beside her laughed.

“An interesting kid, he even has a bit of integrity.”

Zhang Yan exclaimed, “Integrity? Evil and crooked ways are more like it.”

Old Mo waved his hand at her, taking over the conversation, and said to Lin Yuan, “You are a smart person. I’ve been in this line of work for so long, and that camera was placed by me personally, disguised, yet you discovered it… Impressive.”

Lin Yuan listened to the middle-aged man’s praise, but from the smiling face of the other party, he felt waves of chill. Perhaps this was the chilling effect accumulated over the years.

Old Mo continued, “You are so young, and in that restaurant, you appeared to be deeply entangled in a romantic dispute with two young girls. You showed no signs, and only at the end did you walk over and pull out the camera I placed. Humph, are you trying to demonstrate to us? Relying on the fact that we can’t do anything to you, right?”

Lin Yuan swallowed. How could he have discovered someone in disguise? He didn’t have such ability. It was entirely this idiotic system running erratically, marking the location of that pinhole camera. So Lin Yuan was curious and walked over to pull it out.

As a result, his actions were interpreted as: deliberate provocation.

“Uncle… I really didn’t mean to provoke you. I just wanted to get some paper at that time, and I accidentally found it along the way.”

Old Mo said calmly, “You still had tissues on your table at that time. There was no need to go far to get paper from several tables away.”

“Then can’t you just consider it a coincidence? I’m just an ordinary commoner, how would I dare to provoke you?” Lin Yuan’s arrogance when confronting Zhang Yan instantly vanished, because he understood the weight of Old Mo’s words. Damn, he was almost being interpreted as provoking public authority; was this something to joke about?

“You are not a commoner.” Old Mo lit a cigarette, looking at Lin Yuan with a benevolent expression through the exhaled smoke.

The “No Smoking” banner on the wall looked particularly glaring.