Volume One, Chapter Five: Infamous Reputation
Yang Feng said nothing in response to Ning Qingcheng’s reproach. After all, back when he was involved with Ma Rongrong, Ning Qingcheng had strongly opposed the relationship. In her eyes, Ma Rongrong was an utterly selfish woman. But at that time, Yang Feng had been blinded by love and refused to heed Ning Qingcheng’s warnings. Looking back now, he realized he had only brought this upon himself.
“Yang Feng, if I’ve caught you, do you hate me?” Xu Yourong asked with a complicated gaze.
“Heh,” Yang Feng chuckled lightly. “Why hate? You’re just doing your duty according to the law. But I must say, I admire you—you really made a big fuss just to catch me!”
To be honest, Yang Feng harbored no resentment toward Xu Yourong. After all, she was a police officer, and arresting people was simply her responsibility. The only ones he truly despised were Ma Rongrong, that wretched woman, and the patients who had reported him.
“Um...” Xu Yourong was momentarily stunned by his words.
“When we first received the tip-off, we thought it was a major case involving the production and sale of counterfeit medicine,” she explained. “We expected many suspects to be involved, but to my surprise, it was only you.”
Xu Yourong had been equally shocked when she arrested Yang Feng. Generally, crimes involving fake drugs were committed by groups. Yet from manufacture to sale, it was all just Yang Feng alone. This was beyond what she had anticipated.
“Is that so?” Yang Feng asked with a sly smile. “What if I told you the medicines I sold weren’t fake? Would you believe me?”
Before Xu Yourong could reply, Yang Feng turned and walked away. Watching his retreating figure, Xu Yourong felt a strange sensation stirring in her heart.
As Yang Feng prepared to leave the detention center, outside, a large crowd had gathered. People were holding banners, shouting accusations loudly. Numerous reporters were filming the scene.
“Yang Feng, you deserve no good end!”
“You’re a big fraud, Yang Feng!”
“You stole our hard-earned money—pay it back immediately!”
“I have ALS, and Yang Feng cheated me out of everything!”
“I sold my house and car; now I have nothing left!”
“Yang Feng, you’re simply inhuman!”
Before the reporters, a crowd of patients loudly condemned Yang Feng’s misdeeds. Besides the press, many online streamers were also present, broadcasting live to inform more viewers about the case.
“This young lady, you say Yang Feng cheated you out of all your savings—what exactly happened?” a reporter holding a microphone asked a woman in her twenties.
She appeared to be a recent college graduate, evoking sympathy from the crowd.
“I was diagnosed with ALS a year ago,” the woman began, tears streaming. “After falling ill, I searched everywhere for doctors. Then, by chance, I met Yang Feng. He claimed he could treat ALS. Because I was still young, I believed his lies. But not only did he scam me out of money, he also took advantage of me,” she sobbed. “Poor me, just out of college, and already betrayed like this—I don’t want to live anymore!”
Her heartfelt accusation enraged viewers online.
“Yang Feng is utterly despicable!”
“Do you really believe her?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“No woman would falsely accuse someone at the cost of her own dignity. I believe her!”
“Exactly! Yang Feng is worse than an animal!”
The online community erupted in furious condemnation.
Meanwhile, more patients came forward on camera to denounce Yang Feng. The scandal had spread so widely that the entire East Sea region now knew him as a notorious con man. At this moment, Yang Feng’s reputation was utterly ruined.
After completing the necessary formalities, Yang Feng left the detention center. Of course, he was forbidden from leaving East Sea until the case concluded and was required to report to the police station daily.
“Yang Feng, many people outside are looking to settle scores with you,” Xu Yourong warned as he was about to leave. “I suggest you lay low and sneak out the back.”
The patients’ emotions were extremely volatile now, and it would be dangerous for Yang Feng to face them head-on. Although he was a suspect, as a police officer, Xu Yourong believed that until proven guilty, Yang Feng was innocent in the eyes of the law.
“No need. I want to see the ugly faces of these people for myself,” Yang Feng said with a cold laugh and shook his head. He had a clear conscience and felt no reason to avoid them.
Resolute, Yang Feng strode out of the detention center.
The moment he stepped outside, the crowd of patients and reporters surged forward.
“Yang Feng, you bastard, give me back my hard-earned money!”
“You’re not even human!”
“You deserve to be torn apart!”
Facing the very patients who once fell to their knees begging him to save their lives, now twisted with hatred and ready to rip him to pieces, Yang Feng couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. So this was human nature.
“Yang Feng, as a medical university graduate, don’t you feel ashamed for cheating your patients?” a reporter challenged, holding a microphone.
“Ashamed?” Yang Feng scoffed. “I feel no shame. On the contrary, I think I’m great. If I am truly shameful, it’s only because I’m too kind.”
His words ignited an uproar. Even now, he refused to admit guilt and instead claimed to be kind?
“Selling fake medicine and he thinks he’s kind? That’s ridiculous!”
“If he’s kind, then we’re all saints!”
“I don’t understand why the police allowed him bail.”
“People like this should be executed immediately!”
Through live broadcasts, countless viewers witnessed Yang Feng’s arrogance. Seeing his stubbornness, netizens erupted in scathing abuse.
“Yang Feng, give me back my money!”
“You not only took my money, you betrayed my body!”
“You’re simply inhuman!”
At that moment, the young female college graduate stormed forward and shouted at Yang Feng.
“Cheat you out of money? What money do you have?”
“A poor college student, too broke to even eat dirt, and you dare accuse me of cheating you?”
“As for your claim that I cheated your body—what a joke!”
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