Chapter 303: Chapter 245: Accusations Require Evidence

One side admitted fault, the other accepted, and so the matter of the spicy sticks was closed.

"It’s almost one. I should probably head home for my afternoon nap." After staying at Su Yue’s place for a while, Lin Li checked the time and got up to leave.

"I’m going to cut the watermelon now. Have some before you go!" Su Yue said to the departing Lin Li.

"Alright." Lin Li thought for a moment, then sat back down. Su Yue got up, went to the kitchen, washed the large watermelon Lin Li had brought, and then cut it in half. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

This large watermelon, grown by Lin Li on the Mysterious Small Island, wasn’t just big; its quality was also impeccable.

After Su Yue cut the watermelon open, she looked at the vibrantly colored flesh and nodded slightly, murmuring to herself, ’This watermelon Lin Li bought is really high-quality!’

There was no way the two of them could eat a whole watermelon. She wrapped half of it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to keep it fresh. Then, Su Yue picked up a fruit knife and, with a few quick motions, sliced the other half into pieces.

"Lin Li, this watermelon you bought is so sweet! It’s the sweetest one I’ve had all year.

It’s just as sweet as the watermelons I had when my parents and I visited New City a few years ago."

Su Yue, who had already taken a bite of the watermelon from Lin Li, came into the living room carrying a fruit platter full of slices and said this to him.

New City was located in the Northwest. Due to its geography—plenty of sunshine and a large temperature difference between day and night—the watermelons grown there were far sweeter than those from other places. They were considered a domestic delicacy.

The fruits and vegetables from the Mysterious Small Island had never disappointed Lin Li. Hearing Su Yue praise the watermelon he had grown himself made him quite happy...

Afterwards, the two sat on the sofa, each holding a large slice of watermelon and munching away happily.

...

The sun shone brightly.

"CHIRP... CHIRP..."

The late August weather was truly sweltering. On the leafy roadside trees, cicadas chirped tirelessly.

After finishing the watermelon, Lin Li left Su Yue’s house and started walking toward his own.

An occasional gust of wind would blow, carrying a wave of heat that hit him head-on, making Lin Li, who had just been in an air-conditioned room, frown.

He would have to endure this scorching weather for another month or so; it wouldn’t show signs of cooling down until October.

Walking under the shade of the trees, the sweltering heat made Lin Li want nothing more than to hurry home and turn on the air conditioning.

He gradually quickened his pace, practically flying as he strode toward his residential district.

Just as he was about to reach Ping’an Garden District, Lin Li suddenly saw a crowd of people gathered at the entrance.

’Strange, why are so many people gathered here? What’s going on?’

Puzzled, Lin Li crossed the street and walked toward the entrance of the district.

Arriving at the entrance, he stood at the edge of the crowd and saw Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee shielding a young man of about seventeen or eighteen behind her.

She was in a standoff with a man in his late twenties who had an earring and was wearing a flashy shirt.

"Hey, ma’am, are you being reasonable? This guy played cards with us and lost a lot of money to our boss. What’s wrong with me coming to collect the debt? It makes no sense for you to protect him like this."

Despite his gangster-like appearance, the young man with the earring and flashy shirt was surprisingly articulate and spoke in a clear, logical manner.

After hearing what the young man with the earring said, the surrounding onlookers didn’t automatically side with Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee. Instead, they began whispering among themselves.

After all, losing money in a card game and having someone show up to collect the debt... no matter how you looked at it, the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old kid didn’t seem worthy of sympathy.

"If he had lost money to you in a fair game, I wouldn’t protect him. He would deserve it.

But I heard him say you set him up and cheated him. If that’s the case, then you’re the ones in the wrong," said Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee.

"That’s awful! Setting someone up to cheat them... But this kid, really. He’s so young, yet he’s gambling with others. Now look, he’s been scammed."

"Sigh, speaking of which, a colleague of mine was also playing cards with some people and ended up getting scammed out of hundreds of thousands.

In the end, not only did he lose his job, but his wife also divorced him and took the kids to another city. It was a total tragedy!"

"I know people like that too. That’s why I told my husband if he ever dares to go out and gamble with others, he doesn’t have to bother coming home."

When the onlookers heard Ms. Wang accuse the young man with the earring of foul play and setting up a scam, the mood of the scene immediately shifted.

People started pointing fingers at the man with the earring, criticizing him for his underhanded methods. One after another, they began sharing similar stories they had heard or known.

"Ma’am, don’t just slander people, alright? Accusing us of setting someone up requires evidence. If you can’t produce any proof and just tarnish our reputation like this, I’ll sue you for defamation."

Faced with Ms. Wang’s accusation and the crowd’s criticism, the young man with the earring didn’t panic at all. He remained very calm as he retorted.

Just as he finished speaking, the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old kid who had been hiding behind Ms. Wang stepped forward.

He raised his finger and pointed at the young man with the earring, his face flushed red with agitation as he spoke.

"You did set me up! My friend secretly told me everything.

I was wondering why I kept losing every time I played cards with you these past few days. It turns out you were all in on it together, using tricks and cheating on the sly!"

Faced with the accusation from the person involved, a faint golden Spiritual Light, almost imperceptible, flashed in the eyes of the man with the earring. He narrowed his eyes, looked at the teenager, and said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

"Evidence. If you can show me evidence, I’ll leave right now, no questions asked, and I won’t bother you for the money you owe us from the game.

But if you can’t produce any evidence, and you’re just using some hearsay to claim we ganged up to cheat you as an excuse not to pay us back, then don’t blame us for teaching you a lesson."

"You..." The teenager hadn’t known he lost so much money because he was set up. It was only later that a friend of his, who couldn’t bear to watch it anymore, secretly told him.

But to ask him for proof that the man with the earring and his group had indeed set him up, the kid simply couldn’t produce any. He wanted to curse out the man with the earring, but when he saw the man’s cold eyes and his smile that didn’t reach them, he was instantly scared and shrank back.

It couldn’t be helped. He was just a student about to go to college, having spent his life in an ivory tower. He had never truly faced a villain like the young man with the earring.

Now, suddenly faced with this situation and threatened by the man, the courage he had mustered to accuse him was shattered in an instant. He cowered back behind Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee.

’This guy has a Spiritual Energy Wave. I didn’t expect him to be a Cultivator.

Isn’t it more comfortable to stay home, play games, and enjoy the AC? Why go looking for trouble playing cards with people like that?

Now look at him, he got scammed and now he’s stuck with them. He really brought this on himself!’ Lin Li, standing in the crowd, muttered to himself internally.

Based on what he had observed, he could already confirm that the teenager’s claim of being scammed was true.

But now, just as the young man with the earring had said, the kid had no evidence to back up his accusation.

Whether it was the young man with the earring or the teenager, Lin Li had no good feelings toward either of them. Just as he was about to head into the district to go home for his nap, a new development occurred.

...