“It must have been that short guy from earlier; he took the money,” Li Lechen suddenly said.

One sentence immediately drew everyone's attention. The boss looked over in surprise.

Wang Dazhuang panicked and hurriedly nudged Li Lechen: "What are you talking about? I didn't see anything, how could you have seen it? If you saw it just now, why didn't you?"

Indeed, Wang Dazhuang's question reflects everyone's. It's understandable to ignore it from beginning to end; after all, nobody wants to cause trouble for someone else over a few dozen yuan. But since they decided to take it, why didn't they just now?

If the intention is more sinister, could it be a feint? Could the suspect be shifting blame onto someone else to divert attention from their own involvement?

In comparison, the likelihood of a student stealing a few dozen yuan to go online or buy a gift for his girlfriend is much greater than the likelihood of an adult working man stealing a few dozen yuan.

"I saw him grab a handful of money with my own eyes, but at the time I thought he was making change himself," Li Lechen frankly explained.

This explanation is reasonable enough.

However, this alone is not enough to prove that someone stole the money. After all, money has no markings or labels; it belongs to whoever has it in their pocket.

Despite this incident, most people remained bystanders.

But the copy shop owner, who was directly involved and a victim of the incident, couldn't sit still. He rushed up to Li Lechen and asked in an unusually serious tone, "Are you sure you saw it with your own eyes?!"

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."

"How much money did he arrest?"

"There was a twenty-yuan note, a ten-yuan note, and three one-yuan notes in sight, but whether they were in my hand or not, I couldn't see."

That's right, that's exactly what the photo shows; what you see is what you get. Li Lechen answered very seriously.

"Okay! I believe you!"

The boss slapped his thigh and rushed out of the mausoleum.

Actually, this happened very quickly. The short man had only been a few dozen meters away from the store, and now he was walking with his hands in his pockets, swaying his hips.

The boss quickly caught up with the short man.

Then, the shop's customers, including Wang Dazhuang and Li Lechen, also came out. Five or six people, plus the shop owner, the short man, and Wang Dazhuang's dog, stood in the square.

"You stole money from my shop!" the shop owner immediately demanded of the short man.

Everyone immediately looked at the short man to see how he would react.

Very calm, surprisingly calm.

"Why should I steal your money? There's no evidence. I can sue you for defamation." The short man said, taking his left hand out of his pocket, smoothing his bangs, and raising his head slightly.

This statement carried significant weight, directly putting the boss in a difficult position.

Whether it's stealing money or defamation, both are offenses that can range from administrative detention to criminal charges; neither is any lighter than the other.

The boss panicked and quickly looked at Li Lechen.

Fortunately, this "witness" did not run away.

I suddenly felt a bit scared.

Li Lechen certainly wouldn't run away; he was simply telling the truth, that he had indeed seen it, and even had photographic evidence. So he stepped forward and said, "I saw you take the money from that box with my own eyes."

Li Lechen said this from the bottom of his heart, but if his Chinese teacher were here, he would definitely give him a big thumbs up.

Oh wait, if this statement were presented in a university law school jurisprudence class, it could become a case study.

A person cannot be convicted without a trial; witnesses only need to truthfully answer what they have seen, without any emotional bias. Li Lechen did just that.

What he saw in the photo was the short man grabbing a handful of money from the money box, which doesn't necessarily mean he stole it.

Perhaps feeling guilty, the shorter man immediately became angry: "Which eye did you see that?!"

"I saw it with both eyes, even my glasses have a mark on them," Li Lechen said calmly.

"you......"

The short man thought the answer was ridiculous. His question, "Which eye did you see it with?" was grammatically a rhetorical question and didn't need an answer. It meant, "You couldn't possibly have seen it."

That's right. The short man used this method to make a quick buck at those breakfast shops every few days, and he never failed. He's almost made a fortune.

This is my first time visiting this copy shop, mainly because it's crowded. The key point is that the shop is quite basic; there's no way they could install security cameras.

That's enough.

So there's no chance it will be seen!

Besides, even if they were seen, it wouldn't prove anything. After all, it's a one-on-one situation where both the father-in-law and mother-in-law are right. As long as I firmly deny it, there won't be any problems.

So, after only a brief moment of stunned silence, the short man became indignant again: "You child, how could you behave like this?! Even if you are a minor, I can sue you for defamation!"

That's right, whether or not to sue is the short man's right, and how to rule is a matter for the judge.

Li Lechen was also a little angry. Based on the man's attitude and the fact that the photos were taken so clearly, he was definitely a thief!

So he said firmly, "I did see you take the money with my own eyes. You grabbed a handful with your right hand, including at least one twenty-yuan note, one ten-yuan note, and three one-yuan notes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the short man's arm trembled involuntarily. His right hand, which was in his pants pocket, was now caught in a dilemma: should he continue to hold onto the money, or should he let it go?

Indeed, who would have thought that a sharp-eyed student would suddenly appear and witness him grabbing money, and even count the bills so accurately?

Isn't he wearing glasses? He looks like he has bad eyesight.

Why......

Following Li Lechen's words, everyone's gaze shifted to the short man's right hand—his right hand was still 'stuck' in his pocket.

If you're innocent, at least you can show your right hand, right?

This idea is perfectly reasonable.

But the truth is, the short man's expression became increasingly strange, and his right hand, which was in his pocket, remained inside, trembling slightly.

Things have become complicated.

Just as things were at a stalemate, the copy shop owner suddenly rushed forward, grabbed the short man's right hand, and pulled it out of his pocket with a forceful tug.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, including the short man. He even forgot to loosen his fist, so his right hand, which had been pulled out of his pocket, remained clenched, clutching several gleaming banknotes.

A twenty-yuan note, a ten-yuan note, and three one-yuan notes—that's all the money was clutched in the short man's right hand.

If this money were change, he could have argued against it earlier.

If this money is his own, why does he look so flustered?

Therefore, at this moment, the perpetrator was caught red-handed, and everyone cheered.

In his excitement, the boss continued to hold the short man's right wrist with one hand while taking out his phone with the other and dialing 110.

Theft isn't about how much money it involves; the key is that he actually stole it.