Chapter 5

Early the next morning, our academic adviser confronted Song Kehan.

She pulled up the surveillance footage from the parking lot.

The images were perfectly clear.

From late September to mid-October, Song Kehan had taken my car without permission at least ten times.

Each time, she waited until I was in class.

She used a spare key to unlock it.

Then she drove off for a few hours before bringing it back.

Once, the cameras even caught her letting a man into the car.

The two of them were behaving intimately.

Our adviser called me to her office and showed me the footage.

“Wanning, did you know about this?”

I shook my head.

“No, Professor. I didn't.”

“My car's always parked at school, and I hardly ever drive it.”

“If we hadn't needed it for the anniversary event, I might never have found out.”

The adviser looked furious.

“Song Kehan has gone too far.”

“Using someone else's vehicle without permission is a serious matter.”

“The school will discipline her.”

“If you want to report this to the police, the school will support you.”

I was silent for a moment.

“Professor, I'd like to talk to her first.”

“If she explains herself and agrees to reasonable compensation, I might not press charges.”

“But if she refuses to admit what she did, I'll pursue it through the proper legal channels.”

The adviser nodded.

“All right. I understand.”

“But the school still has to take action.”

“Using someone else's property without permission warrants at least a formal warning.”

I didn't object.

In truth, I wanted the school to discipline her.

That way, there would be an official record.

It would also make it easier to settle the debt later.

That afternoon, our adviser called Song Kehan to her office.

She played the surveillance footage in front of me.

Song Kehan's face went white.

She opened her mouth as if to say something.

But when she saw the clear evidence, she couldn't get a word out.

“Song Kehan, do you have anything to say?”

the adviser asked.

Song Kehan lowered her head.

Her voice was barely audible.

“I'm sorry. I was wrong.”

“I shouldn't have used Wanning's car without permission.”

“But… I really needed a car.”

“I wanted to pursue an upperclassman. He likes girls with cars and money.”

“I acted without thinking, so I…”

She trailed off and started wiping away tears.

“Wanning, I know I was wrong.”

“You can ask me to compensate you however you want.”

“Please don't call the police. I don't want a criminal record.”

I looked at her.

She was a good actress.

She cried so prettily that anyone who didn't know better might have thought she was the victim.

“Song Kehan, the car itself isn't the point.”

I spoke coldly.

“The point is that you stole my spare key.”

“When did you make a copy? How did you do it?”

Song Kehan froze.

“I… I didn't steal it.”

“That time you got drunk, I took you home.”

“Your keys fell on the ground. When I picked them up, I saw there were two.”

“So I… I took one when you weren't looking.”

“Then I got a spare made and secretly put the original back where it had been.”

That brought the memory back.

I'd been drunk once, at a welcome party in early September.

Song Kehan had helped me back to the dorm.

So she'd had her eye on my car even then.

Maybe even earlier.

She'd asked to share my apartment.

Perhaps the real reason was to make it easier to steal my key.

The thought only made my anger burn hotter.

But I kept my expression calm.

“Song Kehan, you stole my key, had a duplicate made, and used someone else's car without permission over and over.”

“This isn't a simple mistake anymore.”

“It's theft.”

Song Kehan's face turned deathly white.

“No, no. Wanning, let me explain…”

“I didn't steal it. I was only borrowing it…”

“Borrowing it?”

I cut her off.

“Did you have the owner's permission?”

“If not, then it was theft.”

“You took my car to pick up men at nightclubs and pretend to be a rich heiress. You call that borrowing?”

“You brought a strange man into my car and did things in it. Did you ask me first?”

Song Kehan was speechless.

Her tears came faster.

Our adviser had had enough.

“That's enough. Crying won't help.”

“Song Kehan, the school will issue you a formal warning.”

“As for Wanning, the two of you can work out compensation between yourselves.”

“If you can't reach an agreement, she has the right to report it to the police.”

When Song Kehan heard the words “report it to the police,” she crumpled.

“Please, don't call the police.”

“I really know I was wrong.”

“Wanning, we're classmates. Could you forgive me just this once?”

I stood and looked down at her.

“Song Kehan, I can choose not to call the police.”

“But you have to do three things.”

“First, return the spare key and destroy it in front of our professor.”

“Second, pay me fifty thousand yuan for the wear and tear on the car and the cleaning costs.”