On November 3, 2014, 21-year-old Lei Chunian stood in the dock of the Chengdu High-tech Zone People's Court.
Six years ago, Lei Chunian risked his life to save seven people and was named a "National Earthquake Little Hero." He was only 15 years old that year.
However, today, 6 years later, he has become a prisoner.
At the court hearing, everyone looked at Lei Chunian with complicated eyes.
From a "hero" that attracts national attention to a "prisoner" that everyone despises, what has Lei Chunian experienced?
01
One day in 2012, Lei Chunian and his girlfriend Hao Mou attended his girlfriend's class reunion. At first, everyone had no reaction to Lei Chu's arrival.
Seeing everyone's dull expressions, Lei Chunian stood up and introduced himself unceremoniously: "I'm Lei Chunian. If you haven't heard of me, you can search on Baidu."
Friends checked online one after another. They didn’t know if they didn’t check. When they checked, they were shocked to find that he was a “resistance hero.” Everyone looked at Lei Chunian with admiration.
In order to match his "identity" as a hero, Lei Chunian spent lavishly and was often mistaken for the rich second generation.
After having a girlfriend, Lei Chunian even took her to travel around, including Beijing, Lijiang, Sanya, and wherever he wanted to go. Fly first class, stay in luxury hotels, and rent luxury cars in and out without batting an eye.
In fact, Lei Chunian's family background is ordinary, and his parents are ordinary workers. In life, he just has enough to eat and drink.
So, Lei Chunian has no job and a modest family background. How can he support his high consumption?
It turned out that after becoming famous, Lei Chunian earned a small sum of money while participating in the recording of the program. The money was enough for him to squander for a while, but this accidental gathering gave Lei Chunian an opportunity to "make a fortune."
Lei Chunian borrowed money from these people one after another on the grounds that he needed capital turnover for business. Because Lei Chunian's life-saving deeds came first, his "character" became a movable sign of personal credibility, and no one thought much about it.
However, as time went on, the flaws were revealed. Lei Chunian was unable to repay, so he began to tear down the east wall to repair the west wall. In the end, no wall could be repaired.
Just when Lei Chunian was worried about his future, an opportunity fell from the sky!
In 2013, Lei Chunian’s girlfriend Hao wanted to become a stewardess. At that time, she had just inherited an inheritance of 300,000 yuan. When Lei Chunian heard about it, he immediately became interested.
Lei Chunian lied that he knew the son of an airline CEO and could get his girlfriend in, but it would cost 100,000 to establish a relationship. Hao directly transferred the money to Lei Chunian without thinking.
However, several months passed and there was no news at all. Hao Mou pressed again, but Lei Chunian had no choice but to deal with it blindly. In fact, Lei Chunian had already spent all the 100,000 yuan.
This easy "success" allowed Lei Chunian to find a way to "make money". Lei Chunian began to show off his connections constantly, telling everyone he met that he knew such-and-such a leader and such-and-such company CEO.
This move also convinced people who knew Lei Chunian that he was a man with great hands and eyes, and that many difficult things could be solved by just asking him.
A few months later, Lei Chunian's friend's cousin wanted her son to go to a key middle school, but she didn't have the relationship, so she approached Lei Chunian.
In order to "do things", this cousin spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, it was not until she was refused to send her child to school on the day of registration that she found out that she had been cheated.
It turned out that Lei Chunian forged the official seal of the Chengdu Municipal Education Bureau, and also made false "notices" and "receipt slips for junior high school registration" to deceive people in an unambiguous way.
Subsequently, Lei Chunian used the same technique to defraud acquaintances of a total amount of RMB 740,000 one after another. These include his own "godfather", his girlfriend's best friend's father-in-law, etc.
And those who worked for Lei Chunian could never have imagined that the former "little earthquake hero" and the righteous young man who risked his life to save others would actually degenerate into defrauding money and harming people in just a few years!
So, how did this little hero who risked his life to save others step by step onto the road to crime?
02
It all started with that terrible earthquake.
On May 12, 2008, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Wenchuan. Lei Chunian's school shook violently. Then, cracks began to appear in the teaching building, and the physics teacher responded quickly: "There's an earthquake, students, run!"
15-year-old Lei Chunian is a good athlete in his class. When he heard the teacher's voice, he quickly ran to the refuge outside the teaching building. At that time, not many people ran out.
In the panic, Lei Chunian heard a classmate say, "There are still seven students in our class in the classroom." Without thinking, he rushed into the classroom at a sprint speed of 100 meters and saw the seven students hiding under the table and shivering.
Lei Chunian yelled: "Why are you standing there, run!" Six students reacted and rushed out quickly. There was also a female student who was timid and never dared to move.
At the critical moment, with no time to think, Lei Chunian hurried up to pull the female classmate. When she couldn't pull her, he just picked her up and ran away.
Because of his young age, 15-year-old Lei Chunian ran very hard. Coupled with the shaking of the corridor and the constant falling of prefabricated cement blocks, the female classmate finally came to her senses, struggled down and ran forward on her own.
However, after just a few steps, a prefabricated panel fell down, blocking Lei Chunian's escape route. At this time, the female classmate had already ran out smoothly. Lei Chunian did not panic and immediately returned to the second floor.
He clearly remembered that there was a tree next to the teaching building, just over one meter outside the corridor. After going up to the second floor, Lei Chunian saw the tree. He stepped over the railing, jumped up, and luckily hugged the trunk.
At that moment, the teaching building collapsed, and the clothes on Lei Chunian's back were soaked with sweat. He slid down the tree trunk and happened to meet up with the escaped classmates.
In the end, there were 53 people in the class, 7 were injured and 1 died. Lei Chunian felt particularly sad for the classmate he lost.
Aftershocks continued, and the homes of tens of millions of people were instantly turned into ruins. Looking at the devastated home, Lei Chunian's only thought was that I could save more people.
At the earthquake relief command center, Lei Chunian became the youngest volunteer despite his parents' opposition. Facing the rescue team who were unfamiliar with the road conditions, Lei Chunian voluntarily walked to the front: "I'm familiar with it, I'll lead the way!"
Walking through the messy disaster areas and wading through the turbid rivers, Lei Chunian led the rescue team to shuttle through the disaster areas, delivering supplies, leading the way, and rescuing people. He was extremely busy.
That year, this 15-year-old boy warmed countless people with his every move.
That year, this busy young man became the most beautiful scenery in the disaster area.
That year, the 15-year-old boy had a promising future.
However, just a few months later, everything changed.
03
After the earthquake, post-disaster reconstruction work began rapidly, and there was another important day in June, which was the high school entrance examination. However, for Lei Chunian, who has average academic performance, there is no suspense. He will either go to a specialty class or go to a vocational high school.
The students continued to return to the temporary school buildings and went all out to prepare for the high school entrance examination.
Lei Chunian is an exception, because the earthquake made him famous, and he is no longer in the classroom. His time has long been occupied by various interviews and activities.
In 2018, Lei Chunian was selected as the Person of the Year in "Touching China", and the earthquake film produced by CCTV had a special appearance for him; on May 28, 2008, Lei Chunian was fortunate enough to be invited by CCTV to appear on the stage of the "June 1st Party".
As a heroic boy, it was his first time to perform on the same stage with celebrities at close range. Lei Chunian smiled from ear to ear. At the party, the host asked Lei Chunian what his wish was. He paused and said excitedly: "I hope to become an Olympic torch bearer!"
After leaving Beijing, Lei Chunian said: "The trip to Beijing became a turning point in my life. I feel that my whole person has become mature."
Back home, everyone is proud of Lei Chunian. In June of the same year, the high school entrance examination came as scheduled. However, on such an important day, Lei Chunian was absent from the exam. Surprisingly, even though he did not take the exam, he was not worried about the future.
Next, Lei Chunian became a member of the National Heroes and Models Reporting Group, and he was busy touring Hebei, Tianjin and other places to give lectures. Various schools and institutions also invited Lei Chunian to share his story.
Everywhere they go, relevant departments arrange luxury hotels and police cars clear the way.
Lei Chunian's fame came too quickly and suddenly.
On August 5, when the Olympic torch was passed to Chengdu, young Lei Chunian became a torchbearer as he wished.
When he received the news, Lei Chunian was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. During this period, he had been studying at home how to make himself more handsome.
The moment he took over the torch from the Samsung president, a happy smile appeared on the young man's face. At this time, Lei Chunian had already forgotten the action he had planned yesterday, and his heart was filled with excitement.
Suddenly, Lei Chunian was in great glory.
However, behind the scenery, Lei Chunian's heart also changed. Once, a reporter took him to an event out of town, and Lei Chunian made an additional request: "Arrange a luxury hotel for me."
As a result, when I arrived at the place where I was staying, I saw that it was just an ordinary hotel. Lei Chunian found the person in charge and said angrily: "I am a member of the country, and you are treating me like this?"
Becoming famous at a young age is also painful. Lei Chunian's speech inspired countless people, but he himself was blinded by the honor and embarked on a road of no return.
04
With the aura of being a "young earthquake relief hero", after Lei Chunian's heroic deeds were reported, a key high school in Pengzhou City made an exception and admitted him. Before the earthquake, Lei Chunian would never have dared to think about being able to enter such a school.
Considering that Lei Chunian's family background was average and his grades were average, the school not only exempted him from taking the exam, but also offered him free tuition. Not only that, he was also given a monthly subsidy of 200 yuan.
However, after entering a key high school, the school will not treat you leniently because of your reputation, and you will not miss any of the classes you should take.
Seeing that Lei Chunian frequently participated in various activities and could not keep up with his studies, the school arranged for teachers from various subjects to provide one-on-one tutoring to Lei Chunian and started Xiaozao.
However, in the face of heavy study pressure and average grades, Lei Chunian's heart has long since flown away.
While his peers were busy writing in the classroom, Lei Chunian picked up a cigarette and thought about how to go out to socialize and make money.
While his peers were thinking about how to study and solve problems, Lei Chunian was thinking about how to easily earn more money and get more honors.
When he first entered high school, he couldn't adapt to the pressure of study, so he chose to indulge himself, making friends with social gangsters, smoking, drinking, and clubbing, which filled Lei Chunian's high school life.
Because of previous recordings and tours, Lei Chunian was rich for a while.
One day, Uncle Lin was enjoying the shade in the pavilion. When Lei Chunian passed by, he took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and threw it to him. Afterwards, someone told Uncle Lin, "Hey! Your cigarettes are not cheap. A box costs seventy or eighty yuan."
After that, Uncle Lin discovered that Lei Chunian often held this kind of "high-end cigarettes."
When going out to eat, drink and have fun, Lei Chunian spends generously, sometimes spending more than 10,000 yuan at a time. Because he spends money without restraint, Lei Chunian makes many "fair-weather friends".
The story of Lei Chunian's generous spending spread from ten to ten, and after hearing about it, many social friends were willing to make Lei Chunian and play with him.
In 2012, all the classmates were registering at the university one after another. However, 19-year-old Lei Chunian gave up his studies because he failed the college entrance examination and entered the society early.
In fact, Lei Chunian doesn't care about going to college. He feels that now that he has connections, status, and a girlfriend, life as a college student is not so nurturing.
At this time, Lei Chunian is still the innocent young man he was before. He has gone further and further away.
The boy who was inspired to be a soldier when he grew up and to serve the people together with the rescue soldiers fighting on the front line has long since disappeared.
05
On November 3, 2014, Lei Chunian once again became the focus of the spotlight.
But this time, his identity has changed. Although he is still the center of attention, there are no flowers and applause, and there are only sighs from everyone.
Lei Chunian was imprisoned for defrauding up to 740,000 yuan and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
An earthquake changed Lei Chunian's destiny, and in the next six years, Lei Chunian completely overturned his life with his words and deeds.
From civilian to hero, and then from hero to suspect, Lei Chunian completed his transformation from angel to demon in six years. During these six years, he had long forgotten his original dream and lost his way in honor, fame and fortune.
Lei Chunian once said, "I am a member of the country, how could the country ignore me?" But now the state is taking care of him, but it is using legal means that he did not expect.
There is a saying circulating on the Internet: "No one can be praised high all the time. If we want to receive the gift given by fate, we must be worthy of it."
The sudden fame and fortune pushed Lei Chunian into the abyss of vanity and desire, but he was unable to parry it, and eventually went further and deeper into it!
If Lei Chunian had not accepted so many interviews and was not admitted to a key school, and if the people around him could guide him correctly and help him on his lost path, would his ending be different?
