“We weren’t peeping, this is a false accusation,” insisted the one who had just been sticking his neck out.

“Then what are you doing at the police academy so late at night? And sneaking into the girls’ restroom, acting all suspicious?” Eric Foster retorted. He knew he wouldn’t get an answer, but if they didn’t give one, then they’d just have to take the blame.

Sure enough, the three of them were at a loss for words, unable to explain themselves. One of them insisted they were in the men’s restroom, definitely the men’s restroom, not the women’s. Eric Foster suddenly realized, “Oh, so you were hiding next to the girls’ restroom. See, Director Sullivan, they still had bad intentions.”

“Exactly.” Director Sullivan glared angrily, slapped the table, and waved for Eric Foster to leave.

Eric Foster turned and walked out, biting his lower lip with a smile. As soon as he closed the door, he heard Director Sullivan righteously lecturing, “Young people, of all things to learn, you’re learning to sneak into the girls’ restroom… This is a serious problem with your moral character. I’ll have your school come and take you back, and you’ll have to write a deep self-reflection on this… If you don’t pay attention to small matters, you’ll lose big in the future. If this keeps up, you’ll end up breaking the law, and by then it’ll be too late… You, what’s your name, your full name, your ID number…”

Eric Foster listened behind the door for a long time. When he heard where those people were from, he quietly slipped away.

……

“Mr. Carter, are you interested in these student fights too?”

Chief Grant asked with a smile, unintentionally mentioning what he’d seen tonight to Mr. Carter. This Director seemed obsessed, actually dragging him along to watch. Fine, but he even parked the car at the school gate, acting like they were staking out suspects.

“My grandma used to say, ‘If you’re not mischievous as a child, you won’t amount to much when you grow up.’ There’s some truth to that. What I can’t stand most are goody-two-shoes. Our current training system is no good, it’s like growing vegetables in a greenhouse—everyone comes out the same, always talking about serving the country and the people, so fake even they don’t believe it themselves. What is a police officer? Just a crappy job with low pay and big responsibilities. Does it really deserve to be put on such a pedestal?” Paul Carter rambled. He usually only talked this much when he was in a good mood, and it seemed this fight had really excited him.

Chief Grant smiled and quietly asked, “Mr. Carter, you’re not taking a special interest in these fighters, are you?”

“Why not? If they don’t even dare to fight, how can I trust them on the front lines? Do you think suspects will go easy on them just because they don’t know how to fight?” Paul Carter replied.

“I mean, these guys aren’t exactly paragons of virtue. Not only did they get the upper hand in the fight, but they also falsely accused the others of peeping in the girls’ restroom. That excuse just doesn’t hold water. And that’s not all—those three pests will probably give themselves nosebleeds and go complain about being wronged.” Chief Grant said with a laugh, taking a bystander’s view of the kids’ scuffles, though he clearly didn’t approve of those few.

“Don’t you think they already have some qualities of a police officer? The people they’ll face in the future are all bad guys—if they’re too nice, they’ll suffer.” Paul Carter laughed, though Chief Grant didn’t agree. Paul Carter continued, “Whether something is good or bad depends on motive and outcome. Sometimes it has nothing to do with character. In my opinion, this matter isn’t over yet.”

“Oh? It’s not over?” Chief Grant was surprised.

“If it was over, why would I have you come here? Since that excuse doesn’t hold up, there must be some other reason we don’t know about. Those three took a big loss—no way they’ll just let it go. Back when we used to fight, we had to win back our pride, especially at this age. There’s no such thing as letting a grudge last overnight, unless one side admits defeat.” Paul Carter said with a smile.

“So you mean, just because of this, there’s still going to be another fight?” Chief Grant was a bit skeptical.

“It’s possible. In a bit, when those three are taken away, let’s follow and see what’s going on. If it’s really just a misunderstanding between students or some trivial matter, then fine. But I think, for three people to come all this way to gang up on one, there must be some reason—it can’t be that simple.” Paul Carter said uncertainly. Strangely, he was using his professional instincts on this minor incident. Chief Grant, however, didn’t think much of it and said, “Why not just ask Director Sullivan directly?”

“No, everyone has their own code. We represent the ‘white’ side, the other side is the ‘black’ side, and even among students, they have their own code. If something really happened, no one would tell the student affairs office.” Paul Carter laughed.

It was getting more and more ridiculous, so Chief Grant simply stopped asking. But seeing how invested Mr. Carter was, he couldn’t help but be amused. After the time it took to smoke a cigarette, the car sent to pick up the fighting students came out—it was from the security department of the sports university. The two of them stayed put, watching the car drive off. Not far away, just as Chief Grant was about to turn the key and start the car, Mr. Carter suddenly pressed his hand down and signaled with a nod, “See? What did I tell you?”

Hey, a few bikes shot out of the school gate, chasing after the car. Leading the pack was Eric Foster, with a group of more than a dozen people following behind. Judging by the look of it, if they weren’t out to stir up trouble, there wouldn’t be anything else going on.

“Let’s move to the perimeter and call in a few off-duty field officers to see what they’re up to. Tsk, don’t look at me like that—it’s for safety. What if these hotheaded kids get carried away and someone gets hurt?”