Chapter 407: We can do it too!
At night.
3AM.
In the police station, Zhang Ye had been brought into a small room. He was not handcuffed or restrained. The policemen only closed the door before they left. In the room, there were three chairs and a rather worn down wooden table. The surface of the table was peeling too. This was the legendary dark room. It was already Zhang Ye's second time in one, but it felt different from the first time. The police station staff had treated him rather well since it was only him in there. If he wasn't a public figure, it would be normal for there to be four or five people locked up in the room with him.
His cellphone was no longer with him.
Neither was his wallet.
Zhang Ye grabbed a chair and sat down and lay his head on the peeling table. He started nodding off as he thought about his parents, not knowing if they would be too worried. This was something that Zhang Ye felt very guilty about as he did not allow his family to pass the new year in peace. As a son, he was not filial in this sense. However, Zhang Ye did not regret his actions. He knew that for some matters, someone would need to step up to do something about it. Since he was up for it, Zhang Ye had not held back. He loved this land, he loved this ethnicity, and for all of these, Zhang Ye was willing to do anything. Even if it meant sacrificing something, he would still be a nationalist through and through. He was one in the past, he was one now, and he would be one in the future!
He had fallen asleep.
Whatever was happening outside the dark room, he was clueless about it all!
......
On the web.
A lot of people had starting to take notice the developments of this incident!
Zhang Ye's friends and relatives, his fans and the supporters of this incident, Lee Anson's brainless fans, all of them paid full attention to this news!
Suddenly, someone called 100010001 revealed some news. This was a newly registered nickname, created specially to leak news anonymously, "The latest news is that Teacher Zhang Ye has taken all responsibility for the incident. He admitted that he made the first move and was the one who did all the beating when the crowd surrounded the Koreans. He said that no one else was involved and signed off on that recorded statement. He might also have to face criminal charges for this. Don't ask me for more details, as that is all that I know. I only made this statement on Weibo because I want to let those people who are still scolding Teacher Zhang Ye know what sort of man he is. He is an artist who has a strong sense of responsibility, emotions and patriotic spirit! Before you all curse at Teacher Zhang Ye, could all of you touch your hearts and think about it? Do you all really know what Lee Anson is like? Or do you all really know what Teacher Zhang Ye is like? Do you understand why he did what he did? If you read "I love this land" once more and tried to understand it, I'm sure that many of you would get it! Very few people are admirable to me, but now, Zhang Ye is one of them. Those who doubt him, those who curse at him, let me tell you right now that Teacher Zhang Ye is not who you think he is. He is a teacher worthy of everyone's respect!"
When this was posted onto Weibo, many of Lee Anson's fans did not think too much about it. Instead, many of them had a tone of schadenfreude!
"Serves him right!"
"Only a death sentence would suffice!"
"If he wishes to take all responsibility, let him!"
"Sentence him!"
But for a lot of other people, it caused their hearts to wince!
"What?"
"Is that true?"
"Teacher Zhang Ye wants to take all the blame himself?"
"He was not involved in the brawl at the end! I was there at that time! I saw it all! Zhang Ye was not in the crowd that surrounded those Koreans! He was standing far away!"
"I apologize, I would like to take back what I said about my doubts towards Zhang Ye's actions. This person, Zhang Ye, might do things that are maddening at times. He has a bad temper and doesn't have regard for consequences, but yet he is someone who is difficult to hate. He's a jerk, but somehow is a jerk that makes people respect him. A person who can still think for others on a day like the first day of the new year, who'd rather stay a few more days in incarceration than implicating others. Who could hate him? Who could resist supporting him? Who is qualified to doubt him?"
"How can we let Teacher Zhang take all the responsibility!"
"What the heck is Zhang Ye trying to do!"
"If you take all the responsibility, what would happen to you?"
"Teacher Zhang, why are you being like this! Are you mad!"
"F**k! Teacher Zhang, you're looking down on us! We took part in the beating too! I will take responsibility for my own actions! It's just a matter of being detained! You didn't even bat an eyelid to that, so why would I! It's no big deal! I will go and turn myself in tomorrow! At most, I'd spend my new year in detainment!"
"We cannot allow Teacher Zhang to bear this alone! There were more than 20 people at that time, so who else hit Lee Anson? I am one, so let's come forward!"
"Yes, we aren't afraid of the consequences!"
"In the past, Teacher Zhang became bankrupt and even borrowed money from others to allow his fan to be treated. Now, he's trying to take all the blame for so many people who are unrelated to him. I don't know how you all feel about this, but I feel bad. Surrender? Count me in!"
"Me too!"
"F**k! I'm going as well!"
"Who's afraid of who!"
"That's right! We can't let anyone look down on us!"
"Now that something has happened, no one wants to come forward to accept their responsibility? They even let Teacher Zhang Ye take the blame for everyone else? Isn't that so shameful!? We mustn't let foreigners think that we are like this and allow them to look down on us! If you did it, then you better step up to admit it! Help Teacher Zhang!"
"Count me in!"
"Don't let Teacher Zhang face this alone!"
"Well said! Let Zhang Ye know that we are still here!"
"Let everyone know that! Know that our country consists of more than just one person like Zhang Ye! There's still us!"
When this news was revealed, a lot of people's passionate blood boiled! if this was any other time, they would not have such courage, but as Zhang Ye's series of actions today were so infectious, his stopping of Lee Anson from leaving, his "I love this land" poem, to his refusal to rat out the others who had been involved, but instead took all responsibility for the incident. All of these had stirred the masses fighting spirit, which could no longer be held down!
"If I were a bird."
"I should sing with my hoarse voice."
"Of this land buffeted by storms."
"Of this river turbulent with our grief."
"Of these angry winds ceaselessly blowing."
"And of the dawn, infinitely gentle over the woods."
"—Then I died!"
"And even my feathers would rot in the soil."
"Why are my eyes always brimming with tears?"
"Because I love this land so deeply!"
Rereading this poem again, the masses had yet another different feeling. Just what sort of person and talent would be able to write a poem with such kind of national sentiments? Just what sort of a person could have such passion and beliefs who would rather die than let his homeland rot? At this moment, they finally understood Zhang Ye's thoughts and feelings! If one did not place the community higher than themselves, if one did not love his community and nation so deeply in his bones, such a person would never be able to compose a poem like this! The beauty of poetry lay in this kind of a moment. The moment when the string in everyone's heart was plucked with such vigor! When our community is in danger, or when our people are being bullied and insulted, why should we depend on others to fight for us? Are we going to complain that we have no one to look up to? Complain about each other's inactions and not self-reflect on our own inactions instead?
If Zhang Ye can do it!
Why can’t we do the same?
We can also step forward and take the blame!
We can also be like Teacher Zhang putting himself up so selflessly!