Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 161 - 160 Jessica Comes to Visit, Susan’s Request

Chapter 161: Chapter 160 Jessica Comes to Visit, Susan’s Request

(Important Notice: The epidemic in Suzhou has affected Wu Xi City, and two positive cases have been found in the Xishan District of Wu Xi City, which is where Author Germ’s home is located. It’s safe to say that the area has already been impacted by the epidemic.)

Author Germ’s job is to serve as a grassroots staff member for the streets, and if the epidemic breaks out, there’s a need to carry out epidemic prevention work. This would make things very busy, and once it gets busy, the frequency or quality of updates may decline, but this is an unavoidable situation due to the demands of the job—dealing with the epidemic is a top priority!

I’m not trying to delay updates, nor am I planning to stop updating altogether. Author Germ hereby promises that the updates will continue, and I’ll try my best to ensure two Chapters per day for our readers, but if there comes a day when I really can’t manage to update, please understand!

Last of all, I hope that this round of the epidemic in Suzhou will pass quickly, and that the impact on Wu Xi can be minimized. If there are friends from Suzhou or Wu Xi, try to stay at home in the coming days and undergo nucleic acid testing as instructed. Please actively cooperate with the efforts of the epidemic prevention departments.)

...

Wednesday, morning.

After the drama of Monday and the mock trial of Tuesday, Wednesday finally returned to calm.

In the morning, Zhang Wei had settled the case of the Super Energy Drink Company, getting the plaintiff to accept a settlement fee of 5 million.

Seeing the dead Feng Xinxue’s mother holding the 5 million settlement fee and signing the confidentiality agreement, Zhang Wei’s heart was warmed.

The only pity was that Feng’s mother didn’t thank him; instead, she left without a word, pulled away by her maternal relatives.

Zhang Wei immediately called Lin Yufeng to "inform" him of the news.

Then, without waiting for Lin Yufeng to explode, he hung up the phone.

As for whether Lin Yufeng erupted like a volcano on the other end of the phone, Zhang Wei had no interest in knowing.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you, you idiot, hadn’t set a trap for the plaintiff’s attorney, they wouldn’t have gotten greedy, and I wouldn’t have had such a smooth process!"

"And Feng’s maternal relatives, they really aren’t worth a damn, satisfied with a mere 5 million, truly something!"

Zhang Wei’s mouth curled into a cold smile; being able to settle with the deceased’s family for 5 million really involved a lot of luck.

The tactic he used was the same as the one Professor Mo Mingchuan used in the Harper Cigar Case.

To deal with He Qingnian, Professor Mo turned He’s sons, He Wen and He Wu, along with their wife, persuading He Qingnian to accept a low compensation in turns.

Zhang Wei used the same strategy. Since the deceased Feng Xinxue came from a single-parent family represented only by her mother, Zhang Wei won over her maternal family members.

I can’t convince you, so I’ll convince your family instead.

This tactic has become a common play.

With the defendant lawyer’s greed and schemes exposed, these factors led to the family of the deceased agreeing to a settlement fee of 5 million in the end.

Having settled the matter and taunted Lin Yufeng, Zhang Wei naturally dialed the client’s number.

"Director Zheng, the matter has been settled, the final compensation is 5 million!"

"The confidentiality agreement has been signed as well, and there are no more issues from the family of the deceased!"

"Yes, that’s fine, I won’t feel bad about this type of thing, in fact, I’m quite good at it."

"Thanks for the praise, then. Now that my case here has concluded, I’ll contact you next time..."

"Oh, Director Zheng, you want to transfer the remaining 10 million out of the 15 million to me? How can I accept that, after all, I’m an attorney at a law firm, and these fees can only count as performance earnings."

"Alright, alright, consider the 10 million as an attorney’s fee then. That’s the rule in Jincheng, and I really can’t take your money privately."

"Okay, goodbye!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Wei was slightly surprised.

Director Zheng had originally set aside 15 million for compensation, but upon learning that Zhang Wei had settled the tricky case with just 5 million, he was naturally very pleased.

Partly to win over Zhang Wei and partly to lay the foundation for future cooperation, he was actually generous enough to offer the remaining 10 million as a lawyer’s fee to Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei naturally refused because there were rules in Jincheng, and lawyers couldn’t bypass the company to directly charge clients.

Even if the client genuinely wanted to give the money, it couldn’t be accepted if it bypassed the law firm.

Therefore, this money had to be recorded as the firm’s performance, and Zhang Wei could still only get 30%.

"30% is still a 3 million commission, and with a performance of 10 million, I’m soaring now!"

By the time Zhang Wei reported back to the client and returned to the criminal department office, he was feeling refreshed and invigorated.

But while he was pleased, Lin Yumeng and the others were not.

"Master, you are being very despicable now!"

The little apprentice’s cheeks were flushed, her cheeks slightly puffed out, like an angry little hamster.

"Despicable?" Zhang Wei was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at the other colleagues in the office.

Tie Ruyun had a complex expression, Li Yueqin’s eyebrows were furrowed in displeasure, and even Tie Cuilan at the door seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"Master, I thought you were different from Professor Mo, but I never expected you to use the same tactics against the family of the victim!"

"What, you’ve come to denounce me?"

Zhang Wei realized that something was off with the office atmosphere.

Why had he become the public enemy again?

During the insurance company’s case, his colleagues had already looked down on him, and now, in the Super Energy Drink Company’s case, he was being shunned again?

"You are all just too young. Once a lawyer has compassion and sympathizes with the weaker side, he is no longer an excellent lawyer, you..."

Ding-a-ling!

Zhang Wei intended to impart a serious lesson to his colleagues, but his phone suddenly rang.

"Who is it now? Can’t you see I’m about to teach a lesson..."

Zhang Wei muttered to himself before pulling out his phone. As soon as he saw the caller ID, his expression instantly changed.

He put on a smile and answered the call, "Hello, is that Jessica? What brings you to call me~"

After picking up the call, Zhang Wei headed straight for the door and in a few steps disappeared into the corridor.

"This..."

The sudden change in Zhang Wei’s expression left his colleagues in the criminal investigation team exchanging bewildered glances.

Who was the person calling?

How could it make the usually somber-faced Zhang Wei suddenly burst into joyful laughter?

Lin Yumeng, Li Yueqin, and Tie Ruyun all looked at each other, puzzled.

Soon, Zhang Wei returned from his call.

"Where was I just now?" he asked.

"Zhang Wei, never mind about us, what about the call just now?" they probed.

"Oh, a female friend of mine is coming over to the law firm, I’ve arranged to meet her on the 25th floor."

"Female friend?" Hearing Zhang Wei’s response, the curiosity among his colleagues only grew.

They knew Zhang Wei had a girlfriend, but what on earth was this "female friend" about?

If it was his girlfriend, why didn’t he say so straight out? We’re not your parents, we wouldn’t misunderstand anything.

"Yes, a female friend, what about it?" Zhang Wei said, spreading his hands in confusion.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, she’s just nearby at the United International Building, it doesn’t take long to walk over..."

"Anyway, I’ll have to teach my class some other time, I’m going down now!" he suddenly announced.

Watching Zhang Wei leave, Tie Ruyun and the others became even more curious.

"Female friend, not girlfriend, who could she be?" they wondered.

"Is the master going to meet another client?"

"I don’t think so, Zhang Wei doesn’t treat clients with the attitude he just showed!"

Tie Ruyun, Lin Yumeng, and Li Yueqin each shared their opinions.

Their thoughts were similar, and their curiosity was equally piqued.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Li Yueqin suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure, why not!" Lin Yumeng said excitedly, slowly standing up.

"This...this doesn’t seem right, we’re still on the clock..."

Although Tie Ruyun said this, his bottom was already unconsciously moving away from his seat.

"It seems the criminal investigation team doesn’t have any major cases right now, and it’s the end of the month. We don’t have much on our hands. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to slip away for a bit!" he rationalized to himself in the end.

We’re not that busy lately, so what if we sneak off for a bit?

Besides, they had yet to see Zhang Wei’s girlfriend.

With their curiosity now unstoppable, Tie Ruyun quickly took the lead, with Li Yueqin and Lin Yumeng following him out.

The trio went down the stairs quietly and arrived at the landing of the 25th floor, looking toward the reception area.

Zhang Wei was seated by the window, typing on his phone.

Three heads peeped out from the stairwell.

"Should we get closer?" Lin Yumeng asked, lifting her head to the team leader and Li Yueqin.

"Are you crazy? Zhang Wei is no ordinary person. If we get close, he’ll definitely notice us!"

Just thinking about Zhang Wei’s keen observation made Tie Ruyun wary.

The kid might be young, but he was top-notch when it came to experience and tactics.

Sneaking around as they were, getting caught by Zhang Wei would definitely not end well.

Although he was a supervisor, in the criminal investigations office, the three of them were really at his mercy.

Usually, it seemed like they were the subordinates, and Zhang Wei the boss.

"Stop talking, stop talking, the elevator’s here!"

Li Yueqin, who hadn’t spoken until then, suddenly piped up and pointed towards the elevator.

Zhang Wei also leaned out to look at the elevator, clearly expecting his visitor had arrived.

Ding!

As the trio watched with anticipation, the elevator doors opened.

The first thing that met their eyes was a cascade of shiny golden hair, shimmering gloriously under the sunlight.

Then came an impressively large and majestic pair of breasts, whose daunting size made both Li Yueqin and Lin Yumeng instinctively lower their heads, feeling a touch of inferiority.

Following that was the sight of her curvaceous and tall figure, which, even in casual attire, could not hide the charm emanating from her body.

"Is that his girlfriend?"

Tie Ruyun expressed that he was dumbfounded; how could this kid’s girlfriend be so sensational!

Looking at the blonde woman’s looks and aura, is she a celebrity or something?

Damn it, the corners of my eyes, why are they somewhat moist?

The blonde woman was naturally Jessica. She hadn’t gone to work today, so her attire was more home-styled, with a beige trench coat over a white cashmere sweater, transforming from a city beauty to the girl-next-door in an instant. Yet, the impressiveness of her chest could not be concealed.

"Zhang Wei!"

"Jessica!"

Upon seeing Zhang Wei sitting by the window, Jessica naturally greeted him with an enthusiastic hug.

Hiss—

With three sounds of astonishment, the trio of peepers couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air involuntarily.

Hugging upon meeting, this must definitely be his girlfriend!

"Zhang Wei’s taste is actually... "

"My master’s girlfriend, should I call her ’Master Mom’?

"Forget it, let’s not look anymore... I can’t take it any longer if we keep watching..."

Tie Ruyun waved his hand, putting on a facade of aloofness, but involuntarily a sour taste emerged in his mouth.

Damn it, how did that kid manage to find such a stunning girl, and a foreign girl at that, while he’s still single?

Li Yueqin and Lin Yumeng also didn’t want to watch anymore; mainly because it made them feel inferior, so they followed Tie Ruyun back to the criminal division.

Zhang Wei naturally didn’t know that his buddies had followed him down. He was currently focused on receiving Jessica.

"Today, I specifically canceled all my appointments, and I hope you can spare a little time to accompany me to meet my friend Susan, who seems to have run into some trouble."

"Trouble, is it a lawsuit?"

"Yes, it seems so. She will come over this afternoon. How about we go meet her together?"

"Sure, I’m free this afternoon anyway, and with the month nearly over, I don’t think there will be any major cases in the group!"

Since Jessica had made a request, Zhang Wei naturally wouldn’t refuse.

After agreeing happily, he prepared to let Old Tie know.

"Old Tie, I’ll take the afternoon off, and as for what I’m going to do, hehehe..."

Zhang Wei directly sent a voice message to Tie Ruyun on his phone, then left the law firm with Jessica in tow.

The criminal division office.

"Old Tie, I’ll take the afternoon off, and as for what I’m going to do, hehehe..."

This "hehehe" at the end was quite suggestive, at least Tie Ruyun thought so.

"Damn, that kid is flaunting his affair in broad daylight!"

Thinking about the possibility of Zhang Wei heading to a hotel soon, Tie Ruyun’s face turned completely dark.

"Team leader, aren’t you going to do something about the master?" Lin Yumeng quickly came up and said.

"What can I do?"

Tie Ruyun spread his hands, "The kid just signed a contract with Super Energy Drink Company, earning tens of millions a year in consultancy fees, not to mention the 10 million difference from the settlement fee. Now, he’s the big boss!"

There was nothing he could do.

In a law firm, performance is everything.

Whoever has performance is the boss.

Tie Ruyun’s annual salary might not even be as much as what Zhang Wei earned in a month, so how could he dare say anything?

Forget about taking the afternoon off, even if Zhang Wei didn’t show up for the next few days, Tie Ruyun wouldn’t dare to scold him.

Just like Bai Meiqi. For a case, she worked from home for a month, and Shen Zhengyi didn’t say a thing and even accepted it as normal.

"Actually, Zhang Wei is right. As long as you have performance and you don’t break the law, who cares if you can live with your conscience or not!"

After some reflection, Tie Ruyun couldn’t help but remark.

"It’s just 10 million, what’s there to be so smug about!" Lin Yumeng muttered to herself and returned to her workstation.

However, Tie Ruyun shook his head. Do you really not know how you got that 27 million settlement fee?

If Zhang Wei hadn’t covered for you throughout the process, could you have taken a chunk out of Mo Mingchuan?

Their conversation also touched Li Yueqin, who was sitting nearby.

She had always thought she had the highest starting point in the group, but to her surprise, both in terms of the win rate and performance, she was nearly the worst in the group.

"Next month, I must land a big case. I’ll strive for performance too!"

She silently swore in her heart and then immediately immersed herself in work.

...

United Financial Building.

41st floor, Jessica’s office.

Zhang Wei and Jessica sat face to face, drinking coffee.

Because Jessica had canceled all her appointments, today it was just the two of them.

"Miss, Susan is here!" Outside, the assistant Cui Xi knocked on the door.

"She’s finally here!" Jessica said delightedly as she hurried to open the door.

Zhang Wei looked at her, but he was muttering to himself, feeling that today’s Jessica seemed somewhat different from usual.

When the office door opened, a brown-haired woman with some freckles on her face walked in.

"Susan!"

"Jessica!"

The two women called each other’s names and then embraced.

"Susan, how many years has it been since we’ve seen each other?"

"It’s been several years, Jessica, you are still so beautiful. Is this your office? It’s so big!"

"Yes, this is my office. Come and have a seat!"

The two women exchanged pleasantries in Dragon Country’s language before sitting down.

"Here, let me introduce you to someone. This is Zhang Wei, the great lawyer I found for you according to your request. I can assure you that of all the lawyers I could find in Dongfang Capital, he is the very best!"

Hearing Jessica’s introduction, Zhang Wei felt a bit embarrassed.

He enjoyed the praise, but wasn’t it a bit too much?

"This is Susan, my good friend. When I first came to Dragon Country, Susan and her mother helped me a lot."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei understood.

Jessica had once mentioned that she left her hometown to struggle alone in Dragon Country, so Susan and her mother were her benefactors.

"Hello, my name is Zhang Wei!"

Zhang Wei reached out proactively and shook hands with Susan.

"Lawyer Zhang, hello!" Susan shook hands politely with Zhang Wei, but there was a hint of skepticism in her eyes.

Zhang Wei looked too young, seemingly not even as old as her. Was this person really a great lawyer?

However, out of trust in Jessica, she didn’t say any more.

"Susan, how has your aunt been recently?" Jessica asked with concern as soon as she sat down.

"Her, her health has not been very good lately..." But as she mentioned her mother, Susan’s expression turned dark.

"What happened?"

"Actually, the issue with my mother’s health is also why I came to you..."

Susan calmed herself and began to recount the story slowly.

She came from a small town in the suburbs of Jinying City, next door. In the last few years, many people in the town had developed health problems, including Susan’s mother.

She suspected that the cause was a local business causing pollution, leading to the deterioration of the health of the town’s elders.

"You mean, you want to initiate a lawsuit against a major local enterprise?" Zhang Wei said after listening and analyzing the situation.

"Yes, we have already teamed up with the neighbors on the street to file a civil lawsuit, and we have even hired an expert. But the biggest problem is that we lack a formidable lawyer."

Susan said, with a wry smile, "Even though I studied law in college, mine was international law, and my job in the town is a street lawyer dealing with neighborhood disputes every day. Facing a large company, I am really powerless."

"I see!"

Zhang Wei nodded, looking towards Jessica.

She quickly picked up on it and advised Susan, "You can trust Zhang Wei. In his most recent case, he helped an elderly person get a settlement of millions from a large company. With him representing you, he will definitely get the best results for you and your aunt!"

"Really?"

Susan’s skepticism diminished a bit, but then her expression became troubled again, "But after hiring an expert witness, we don’t have much budget left, and if he’s really a top lawyer, we..."

"Please don’t worry about that. I’ll be personally assisting you this time, free of charge!"

Zhang Wei immediately chimed in, smiling at Jessica.

He didn’t care about the attorney’s fees since he’d already surpassed this month’s performance targets.

In fact, he didn’t even want Susan to post the case at the law firm.

After all, he was still a trainee and didn’t have many billable hours.

"Thank you, Lawyer Zhang. I need to make a call back to the town to let them know I’ve found a lawyer!"

Susan quickly went to the window to make the call.

"Zhang Wei, thank you!" Jessica quickly expressed her gratitude.

"Isn’t it normal to help a friend out?"

Zhang Wei modestly downplayed the praise, gesturing with his hand.

But afterward, he furrowed his brows again.

Because this time, it was clearly not a local battle.