Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 131 - 130: Still Not Signing, Reasons for Disliking Hearings

Chapter 131: Chapter 130: Still Not Signing, Reasons for Disliking Hearings

PM.

Court of the city, small courtroom.

Zhang Wei, the woman, and the child sat on the plaintiff’s bench, while her ex-husband and his lawyer sat on the defendant’s bench.

"The purpose of today’s hearing is to listen to both parties’ opinions and decide whether to sign a restraining order; please, the initiating party, present your opinion..."

The judge sat in the chair, looking at both parties, and his gaze turned towards Zhang Wei’s side.

But Zhang Wei frowned, looking at the judge’s right hand.

"There’s a ring mark, and it looks pretty fresh. Could it be that the judge just got divorced too?"

Zhang Wei was a keen observer; he had already scrutinized the woman’s ex-husband and the opposing lawyer.

Overall, it was highly likely that the woman’s ex-husband had a tendency towards violence, but while he could see it, others might not.

As for the opposing lawyer, probably from a smaller firm, the skills were limited.

But this was not a major case, and there weren’t high demands on the lawyer’s competence; one from a small firm was sufficient.

Lastly, Zhang Wei observed the judge.

The hearing had begun, but when he noticed the ring mark on the judge’s hand, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to get a restraining order signed today.

"Your Honor, my client, Ms. Yang Huihui, has repeatedly received threatening phone calls from her ex-husband, Mr. Cao Mu. She has become incapable of managing her daily life and suffers tremendous psychological pressure every day. We plead with the judge to approve and sign a restraining order against Mr. Cao."

"Your Honor, I must interject here. Mr. Cao calling his ex-wife, Ms. Yang, is only to routinely inquire about her and the child’s well-being, and there is nothing inappropriate about it."

As expected, the defense attorney rebutted, and Zhang Wei was not surprised by his argument.

Unfortunately, this was a hearing, not a trial, so it wasn’t possible to present evidence to counter.

However, just because he couldn’t present evidence did not mean Zhang Wei couldn’t refute.

"Routine inquiry doesn’t necessitate saying words like ’murder,’ ’I’m going to kill you,’ or ’I’ll make you pay,’ does it?"

"That’s hearsay evidence, which the court cannot accept!"

"This is not a courtroom trial, your objection is invalid, defense attorney!"

Zhang Wei’s words also provoked a rebuttal from the opposition, but Zhang Wei did not back down and retorted.

"Both of you stop, come up here now!" The judge quickly interrupted, then gestured for both to come forward.

Zhang Wei and the opposing lawyer both approached the judge.

"Do you know how many couples get divorced every day in Dongfang Capital? Let me tell you, in every divorce, one of the parties always says something extreme. Do you think I should sign a restraining order for every divorcing couple in Dongfang Capital?"

"Your Honor, I don’t think it’s necessary. My client only wished to check on his son’s well-being, which is why he called Ms. Yang Huihui!"

Hearing the judge’s inclination towards the male side, the opposing lawyer naturally continued with the flow and agreed.

"Your Honor, on behalf of our client, Ms. Yang Huihui, we strongly request the court to issue a restraining order!"

"Lawyer, I’ve heard your request, but I still have the same issue. If I sign a restraining order for you, then every divorced couple in Dongfang Capital would come to me. Do you realize the workload that would create, the trouble it could cause the city court, and the judicial resources that would be wasted enforcing the restraining order?"

"Besides, Mr. Cao Mu has not shown any extreme behavior, and I see no need to sign one!"

The judge’s opinion was clear; he was not going to sign the restraining order today.

"Now, you both may step down..."

"Wait a moment, Your Honor, I have a question for the opposing lawyer, may I?"

Seeing the judge was about to send them away, Zhang Wei quickly interjected.

The judge glared at Zhang Wei but still looked towards the male lawyer and then nodded.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I would like to ask the male representative’s lawyer, do you know Mr. Cao Mu well, are you familiar with him?"

"I’ve known him for more than a year; I’ve also helped with cases for his company before!"

"Then, may I ask the male attorney, do you think Mr. Cao Mu is a person of impulsive and irritable character?"

The male lawyer’s eyes flickered for a moment but soon answered: "I’m not at liberty to comment on Mr. Cao Mu’s character!"

Zhang Wei’s eyes narrowed, but he could only helplessly shake his head.

"Your Honor, I have no further questions."

"Alright, you both may step down!"

After sending the two lawyers away, the judge announced in court: "After communicating with the lawyers of both parties, the court decides not to sign a restraining order against Mr. Cao Mu!"

When the result came out, Cao Mu showed a smile while Yang Huihui looked thoroughly disappointed.

She turned to look at Cao Mu, only to see him also looking this way, his eyes becoming exceptionally cold.

Zhang Wei saw his look and knew this man was certain to stir up trouble.

"Ms. Yang, what is your husband’s job?"

"He’s in sales; his company sells food processing equipment, mainly coffee machines, blenders, that sort of thing!"

"Sales?"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Wei wasn’t surprised at all.

"Does your husband have any hobbies?"

"He used to like hunting..."

"Hunting?"

"He doesn’t hunt anymore, but we still have his crossbow from when he used to hunt, hanging right there on my wall!"

"Then does your husband still have keys to your house?"

"No, he does not."

"I see, then please be careful, I can’t help you much!"

Zhang Wei also felt somewhat helpless. He wasn’t a divorce lawyer, and even judges found it extremely difficult to issue restraining orders. This was the first time he felt such a sense of powerlessness.

After bidding farewell to Yang Huihui, Zhang Wei’s brows furrowed once again.

"Cao Mu is not easy to get along with, and in my view, he also has a bad temper. Being in sales, the stress must be immense. If he just so happened to have been upset by a client, and then thought about the divorce, then..."

Zhang Wei quickly shook his head, dispelling the thoughts from his mind.

Because the worst-case scenario was something he did not want to see.

However, for a judge to issue a restraining order, the husband must make a threatening move, such as sending death threats, making threatening phone calls, or even taking threatening actions.

But by the time it gets to that point, issuing a restraining order would already be too late.

A man blinded by rage could become unpredictable, and Yang Huihui was a vulnerable woman with a ten-year-old son.

It was nearing the end of the working day.

Zhang Wei returned to the law firm, feeling dejected, and briefed Old Tie about the situation.

"A restraining order, that’s very difficult to issue. Has the husband made any threatening calls?"

"Those calls don’t seem like threats to a judge."

"Then there’s nothing that can be done. Besides, this is a pro bono case, you don’t need to worry too much about it. After all, you’re not their divorce attorney..."

"I understand, Old Tie."

Having said that, there was nothing Zhang Wei could do but finish his workday.

...

Thursday morning.

When Zhang Wei arrived at Jincheng Building, he saw an unexpected person in the lobby.

"Ms. Yang Huihui, what are you doing here?"

The person sitting in the corner of the lobby was Yang Huihui, the client from the day before.

"Lawyer Zhang, last night my ex-husband came to my house, he..."

"Don’t rush, sit down and tell me slowly..."

Yang Huihui was somewhat agitated, and hurriedly began to recount her story upon seeing Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei, on the other hand, was listening calmly, nodding from time to time.

"Let’s go, I’ll take a look at your apartment. Your son is at school today, right?"

"He’s at school, but my ex-husband also knows his classroom, and the teacher knows him too."

"The teacher can’t do anything about it. They won’t interfere with your family matters. They can’t stop a child’s father from seeing his son."

Zhang Wei felt helpless, comforting Yang Huihui while sending a message to Old Tie.

He didn’t clock in at the law firm but went directly with Yang Huihui to her apartment instead.

Yang Huihui’s apartment was in Chengnan District, at the junction of Central Ring and the outer ring, not a particularly good area, requiring a bus change midway.

Upon reaching the door, Zhang Wei noticed something amiss.

"When your ex-husband came over last night, did he bring anything with him?"

"I didn’t see clearly, I don’t even know how he got in..."

"He probably used a master key. Locksmiths might provide it; it wouldn’t be strange for your ex-husband, being in sales, to know people from various trades!"

Zhang Wei leaned in to examine the keyhole. There were no signs of forced entry, which indicated his guess might be correct.

Cao Mu didn’t have an apartment key, so he would have had to use this method to get in.

Without signs of forced entry, it would be impossible to argue to the judge that the ex-husband had broken in violently.

"Let’s go, we’ll take a look inside your apartment!"

Zhang Wei had Yang Huihui lead the way into the apartment.

As soon as they entered, he noticed the place was a mess.

Chairs were overturned on the floor, sofa cushions were flipped up, and kitchen utensils—pots, pans, ladles—all scattered across the ground.

"Was the kitchen knife tampered with?"

Zhang Wei looked towards the kitchen, the knives were not in their original positions.

"Yes, last night, he stabbed..."

"Stabbed what, is there a wound?"

"He stabbed my ’Cervical Cap’..."

As Yang Huihui spoke, her gaze shifted to the drawer beneath the TV cabinet.

The drawer was already open, and a fruit paring knife was sticking into a rubber tool, piercing right through it.

Zhang Wei glanced over the state of the apartment, organizing his thoughts.

"Your ex-husband came to the apartment yesterday, flew into a rage, and then used a kitchen knife to puncture your cervical cap?"

"Yes!" Yang Huihui nodded vigorously.

"This..."

Seeing Yang Huihui unharmed, Zhang Wei didn’t know whether to say she was lucky or the other party was unlucky.

"Because of this, I’m very frightened. I just consulted you yesterday, Lawyer Zhang, which is why I decided to come to you again today. Although my son is also scared, I still sent him to school—it’s at least a bit safer there..."

Hearing Yang Huihui say this, Zhang Wei pondered for a moment.

"Ms. Yang, although I sympathize with you, without seeing a wound, the judge cannot be swayed to sign a restraining order based solely on a punctured cervical cap!"

"So I have to live in fear like this?"

Yang Huihui was displeased with what Zhang Wei implied.

Heaven knows how scared she was yesterday; her ex-husband could have used the knife to stab the cervical cap, naturally, he could have used it to stab her to death as well.

Zhang Wei obviously understood this, and so did Yang Huihui, but the court...

"Alright, get a plastic bag, and we’ll go see the judge once more, have him convene a second hearing!"

Zhang Wei decided to help Yang Huihui one more time.

After packing up, they headed straight to the city courthouse.

...

1:30 PM.

The hearing was reconvened.

It was the same familiar faces.

Yang Huihui and her legal representative, Zhang Wei, Cao Mu and his counsel, and the judge.

The judge, sitting in the courtroom, contemplated for a long while before finally speaking up:

"I still do not agree to sign the restraining order!"

Hearing the judge say this, Yang Huihui hung her head, and Zhang Wei was inwardly speechless.

"Don’t hurry, I will fight for it again!"

Zhang Wei quickly consoled her, then promptly stood up.

He asked with a tone of disbelief, "Your Honor, how can you disagree with it?"

"Cao Mu smashed my client’s home, threatened her verbally, and even used a kitchen knife to puncture her cervical cap, not to mention his act of breaking into the apartment, which itself constitutes the conditions for unlawful entry!"

But the judge remained calm and countered, "You said he punctured what?"

Zhang Wei sighed, asking Yang Huihui to pass over the plastic bag with the cervical cap.

Taking the cervical cap, he quickly walked forward and handed it to the judge.

"What is this, a contraceptive film? It looks like some kind of rubber tubing; my ex-wife seems to have something similar?"

"This is a cervical cap, different from a contraceptive film..."

Zhang Wei clarified, then pointed to the other side, "But that’s beside the point, the focus should be on Mr. Cao Mu’s excessive actions, right?"

"Your Honor, I have something to say!"

The opposing lawyer finally couldn’t hold back and interjected, "First of all, I apologize for the behavior of my client, Mr. Cao!"

"Next, I must state that Mr. Cao acted impulsively yesterday; he assures that upon returning, he will undergo psychological counseling. Regarding his act of breaking into the apartment, it was because he forgot he had already divorced Yang Huihui; he still thought it was his home!"

"When someone cannot open their home’s lock, do they use a locksmith’s tools to do so?" Zhang Wei immediately retorted.

"No, my client says the door was open. It seems Ms. Yang must have forgotten to lock it!"

"That’s hearsay evidence, or shall I say your client is lying!"

"Lawyer Zhang, we are at a hearing, not a trial; these are the same words you told me yesterday, now I’m giving them back to you!"

The opposing lawyer retorted back with Zhang Wei’s words from the day before.

This left Zhang Wei speechless.

"Damn hearing, no way to present proof!"

After confronting Zhang Wei, the husband’s lawyer looked at the judge again, "Your Honor, Mr. Cao feels deeply remorseful for his actions yesterday; he’s still in a state of guilt..."

"Deeply remorseful, he’d be surprised if he felt a shred of remorse!"

Zhang Wei immediately interrupted, pointing at Cao Mu, "This guy, what he’s thinking about right now is definitely not remorse. I suspect he’s mentally deranged and he’s extremely dangerous now!"

"Lawyer Zhang, do you realize you need to take responsibility for saying these things?"

"Then, if Mr. Cao Mu had stabbed my client to death yesterday, would you take responsibility for his actions?"

"You’re making baseless speculations, my client..."

"Don’t talk about things you can’t guarantee..."

In the courtroom, Zhang Wei and the Southern lawyer started arguing, both turning red in the face.

"Enough!" Seeing the two behave in such an unbecoming manner, the judge immediately shouted to interrupt them.

After the two stopped, the judge looked at Zhang Wei, "Lawyer Zhang, I have felt your attitude, but I still cannot sign the restraining order."

"Your Honor, Mr. Cao Mu’s actions could pose a serious threat to the physical safety of my client, and you still..."

"Lawyer Zhang, please be quiet!"

The judge interrupted Zhang Wei’s statement again.

"I ask you, does your client wish to file a claim for financial destruction?"

"Does it matter?" Zhang Wei spread his hands, his face expressing boredom.

If the person is about to be gone, what’s the point of filing a claim for financial destruction?

"Lawyer Zhang, I understand your concerns, but to sign a restraining order, you must prove Mr. Cao Mu presents an imminent danger of physical harm to your client..."

"Your Honor, are you implying that my client needs to be brought into court in a body bag before you would consider the request for a restraining order?"

Finding Zhang Wei uncompromising and out of options, the judge felt helpless.

"Mr. Cao Mu, I ask you, will you hurt Ms. Yang Huihui?"

"No, I promise I won’t hurt her!"

Cao Mu immediately responded, his eyes fixed on the judge without wavering.

"Lawyer Zhang, you’ve heard it too. Mr. Cao Mu has made a promise, and since he has not caused any physical harm to Ms. Yang Huihui, with only a punctured rubber toy, I cannot sign the restraining order!"

Seeing the judge’s determination, Zhang Wei clenched his fists tightly, yet felt powerless.

This was why he didn’t handle divorce cases or attend hearings!

"Mr. Cao Mu, as for your illegal entry, you argue that it’s also your home, but I must remind you, that’s not your home, and if I catch you there one more time, you’ll be in danger, understand?"

In the end, the judge still gave Cao Mu a warning.

However, in Zhang Wei’s eyes, these words had no binding power at all.

...

Outside the courtroom.

When Zhang Wei and Yang Huihui walked out of the courtroom, both had a look of disappointment on their faces.

"Ms. Yang, this is my number, if your ex-husband appears again, remember to call me!"

Zhang Wei handed his business card with his number on it to her, which also had Old Tie’s contact information on it.

"Lawyer Zhang, I’m afraid to go home, what should I do? He will kill me..."

"Ms. Yang, I know you’re scared. Honestly, I feel like beating that bastard up myself, but you’ve also heard what the judge said..."

"If you run into any trouble tonight, call me, and if that Cao dares to show up, we’ll make him pay. Does that sound good?"

"Then, I guess that’s the only option..."

Yang Huihui eventually left and returned to her apartment as she needed to pick up her child in the afternoon.

Zhang Wei watched her leave, his expression growing increasingly grave.

He felt that he had to take some protective measures.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Silly, are you busy lately?"

"No big deal, I just wanted to ask if your father-in-law knows any colleagues who happen to live in the Chengnan District who can help me keep an eye on a place... "

"Oh, okay, thanks, I’ll take you and your father-in-law out for a meal someday."

"Right, right, and your mother-in-law too, I know, I know..."

After the call, Zhang Wei finally felt somewhat relieved.