Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 232 - 231: Can’t Figure Out Zhang Wei, This Is Social Suicide!

Chapter 232: Chapter 231: Can’t Figure Out Zhang Wei, This Is Social Suicide!

(Up early, seeking recommendations, seeking favorites, seeking subscriptions, seeking monthly passes, seeking everything...)

...

Monday, the day of the trial.

Following the column from Lisa’s Talk on Friday evening and the fermenting of online opinion over Saturday and Sunday,

the attention to this case had reached an unprecedented height.

Add to that, the full-scale online fans of Cheng Lisha and Ji Guoguo, who expressed various opinions over the weekend, fueling the flames even more.

Although there were some who disliked their fans and made rational comments, such as Zhou Chengzi lying and the incident where Cheng Lisha previously sided with Zhu Tianying only to be slapped in the face,

these people were after all in the minority, and their comments would soon be drowned out by those supporting Cheng Lisha and Ji Guoguo.

And certain irrational fans went so far as to leave hundreds of messages below these comments, and the private messages even reached into the thousands, forcing the commenters to delete their remarks.

Just like Zhang Wei said, don’t try to reason with a bunch of trolls on the internet; it’s pointless.

Internet trolls and keyboard warriors never care for the truth or reason.

Those fervent fans treat any commentary not in favor of their idols as if they were mortal enemies and would not rest until they forced the opposition to delete their comments.

Anyway, these days, all the information about this case was impossible to read in the comments section.

Thankfully, a certain person involved in the case never cared about the gaze of others.

He didn’t even enter the courthouse through the main entrance and was thus spared the sight of the onlookers gathered outside.

At the city courthouse, in the preparation room.

"Whew, it’s lively out there!"

Zhang Wei stood by the window, looking toward the entrance of the courthouse building.

The onlookers were packed tightly around, almost enough to block the doorway.

He knew well that this crowd was probably waiting for him and that if he appeared, he would be drowned in their saliva.

But Zhang Wei did not give them the chance, as he preferred to use the back door.

Ignorning the commotion outside, Zhang Wei waited in the preparation room.

Soon after, Xia Qianjun arrived.

However, Zhou Xiaoli also came along with Xia Qianjun.

"Guider Zhou, I didn’t expect you to come as well?"

Zhang Wei extended his hand, intending to shake hers as a friendly gesture.

But Zhou Xiaoli was not receptive, and coldly said, "You remember what you said on Friday, don’t you?"

"Of course I remember; this case will be over today, I promise!"

"I hope you keep your word, otherwise..."

Zhou Xiaoli did not finish her last words, but the threat was quite clear.

"Let’s go, Uncle, we’re heading to the battlefield. Guider Zhou is in charge of supervision today!"

Zhang Wei laughed heartily, pulling Xia Qianjun straight to the courtroom.

"I hope after today, you can still maintain that flippant attitude!"

Zhou Xiaoli muttered coldly and followed the two men into the courtroom.

Front row of the hearers’ seats.

The Xia Qianyue family of three had already taken their seats.

Also in attendance were Gao Yang, Luo Qi, and Xiao Ning. They were comrades-in-arms of Xia Qianjun and might be testifying later, so naturally, they needed to be present.

Beyond these acquaintances, the rest of the courtroom was filled with neutral parties and enemies.

Zhang Wei scanned the room and noticed that there were more onlookers today, but there was no shortage of media reporters either.

The courtroom was extremely crowded, and the whispering voices merged into a raucous buzz, gradually turning into noise.

The courthouse doors flung open, and the plaintiff’s side arrived.

Leading them was none other than Laura, the miss of William International, her nosey appearance truly irritating.

Especially since this woman had tried to get Zhang Wei’s psychological evaluation records from Jessica over the weekend, showing Zhang Wei exactly what kind of person she was.

To achieve her goals, she would stoop to any lows.

"Thank goodness I didn’t agree to Jessica’s offer. Otherwise, if I had joined William International, wouldn’t I have also become so unprincipled?"

Zhang Wei joked, suppressing his annoyance. He then smiled and greeted Chen Baoluo, who was following behind Laura.

Unfortunately, the latter was neither receptive nor dared to respond.

Ji Guoguo entered the courtroom behind Chen Baoluo. This woman, since participating in Lisa’s Talk, acted as if she herself had become a celebrity, even walking with an air of arrogance.

Moreover, Zhang Wei knew that over the weekend, she had taken advantage of the popularity from Lisa’s Talk to stream live, with her platform followers and online fans nearing 2 million.

Presumably, she had made a considerable amount of money from live streaming over the weekend.

After entering the courtroom, Ji Guoguo looked at Zhang Wei with hostility, even a hint of bitterness in her eyes.

She was someone who was willing to sacrifice even her closest friend for popularity and traffic, ready to do anything.

So naturally, she wouldn’t show a friendly face to someone who blocked her path to money.

And Zhang Wei, his gaze towards this woman, was equally unfriendly.

"Let you be smug for now; just wait until this case is over, then you won’t think of escaping!"

Cheng Lisha was noted down in Zhang Wei’s little notebook, yet Ji Guoguo was not.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t seek revenge against her.

In fact, Zhang Wei had long been prepared with a strategy to deal with this woman.

And today was the day...

Ten or so minutes later, it was time for the court to convene.

"All rise!"

Following the Court Guard’s announcement, Ni Qiuping took her place on the bench.

"You two, come here!"

No sooner had Judge Ni sat down than she waved Zhang Wei and Chen Baoluo over.

Helpless, the two men could only stand and approach.

"Do you know that because of this recent case, I’ve almost..."

"Judge Ni, are you about to get depressed again?"

Ni Qiuping had just started to speak when Zhang Wei promptly cut in.

"At least you’re aware, kid!"

"Judge Ni, why are you on the verge of depression every day?"

Ni Qiuping’s eyes narrowed, as if harboring a murderous intent was brewing in her brow.

Zhang Wei hurriedly corrected himself, "Ahem, who is so ignorant as to trouble you, Judge Ni? It’s so inconsiderate. If such a good judge were to become depressed, it would be a loss to Dongfang Capital’s judicial system indeed!"

Ni Qiuping’s expression remained unchanged, her gaze fixed on Zhang Wei with an implication: Do you not have any idea what I want to say?

"Alright, you’re an old hand at this, I know talking to you is futile..."

"Judge Ni, this is so unjust, I’m still a trainee lawyer!"

Ni Qiuping rolled her eyes and couldn’t be bothered with Zhang Wei any longer.

"I called you here to ask one thing, when will you stop fussing over this case?"

"Your honor, we only seek to uphold justice, we only ask that you preside over fairness, nothing more!"

Chen Baoluo answered with a righteous indignation, his face stern.

"Coincidentally, Judge Ni, my side has the same request, hoping that you can preside with fairness and uphold justice!"

Ni Qiuping looked at the two men before her, rubbed her forehead, and waved them away dismissively, "Fine, you both have thick skins, I can’t be bothered to criticize you anymore, go back to your seats..."

It seemed she knew her pre-court warnings would have no effect on them.

After Zhang Wei and Chen Baoluo took their places, Ni Qiuping immediately banged the gavel.

"Ahem, silence, please!"

"This court announces the reopening of the case: Ji Guoguo’s accusation of indecency against Xia Qianjun!"

Ni Qiuping turned to the prosecution, "Do you have any more witnesses to summon?"

"Your honor, our side has finished our statements and will not summon any further witnesses to testify!"

After Chen Baoluo finished speaking, he sat down calmly.

He looked at Zhang Wei, indicating that it was their turn to present evidence.

However, he knew all too well what Zhang Wei’s subsequent tactics would be: nothing more than having witnesses question Ji Guoguo’s credibility, just as he had done before.

Chen Baoluo admitted that last Thursday in court, Zhang Wei had caused their side a great deal of trouble.

The opposition had even nearly proven that Ji Guoguo had impure motives; had it not been for the sacrifice of her "good friend" Zhou Chengzi at the last moment, the case might have been concluded last week.

So Chen Baoluo was certain that Zhang Wei would press his advantage and keep attacking Ji Guoguo.

He would wait for the right moment to have Xia Qianjun testify in his own defense or to have character witnesses vouch for him, which would be mere icing on the cake.

The real fatal blow was bound to be an attack on the plaintiff itself.

Therefore, Chen Baoluo and William International had prepared countless countermeasures over the weekend.

They had secretly contacted Ji Guoguo’s live-streaming company, as well as her former teachers when she was still in school, and even coached Ji Guoguo’s parents in a mock trial over the past couple of days.

Although Zhang Wei hadn’t listed these people in the witness list, both Chen Baoluo and Laura knew Zhang Wei liked to surprise, and they were fully prepared.

"Kid, no matter whom you summon, you won’t get the outcome you desire. Your moves to attack Ji Guoguo are useless on us!"

Chen Baoluo looked at Zhang Wei with a taunting expression.

He was eager to see Zhang Wei summon the witnesses and end up with nothing.

In the courtroom.

Ni Qiuping looked towards the defense, "Lawyer Zhang?"

"Your honor, our side would like to summon the first witness to the stand!"

"Here we go!"

Chen Baoluo’s eyes narrowed; he wanted to see who the first witness was.

In the midst of the court’s anticipation, the first witness walked into the courtroom.

She was a young girl, not particularly attractive, clad in a coffee shop’s staff uniform, with a somewhat shy demeanor.

"Miss Zhu, hello, we meet again!"

Zhang Wei greeted her with a smile.

This witness was none other than Xiao Zhu, the waitress from the coffee shop where the incident occurred.

"You... hello..." Xiao Zhu felt the gaze of the entire courtroom, a bit afraid.

Meanwhile, everyone on the plaintiff’s bench was bewildered.

Who is this?

Did this witness know Ji Guoguo?

"The coffee shop waitress?" Chen Baoluo did know Xiao Zhu, and he was also aware that she was actually on the list of witnesses.

But what he understood even more keenly was that she hadn’t seen anything when the incident occurred.

Originally, when they saw her on the list of witnesses, nobody paid much attention, because they all knew this girl wouldn’t have much impact on the trial.

"It’s idiotic, if you want to attack my client, you should have done it immediately, but you insist on calling an unimportant witness, isn’t that just wasting the impact of the last trial!"

Chen Baoluo sneered to himself, since Zhang Wei made such an obvious "mistake," he was more than happy to see it.

It’s your fault for not seizing the opportunity—now the situation is in my favor. Let’s see how you fail.

In the courtroom, Zhang Wei began to question.

"Miss Zhu..."

"Just call me Xiao Zhu, that’s what my colleagues call me."

"Alright, Xiao Zhu, did you see my client and the plaintiff, Miss Ji, that day?"

"Yes, I saw them."

"Were you watching them the whole time?"

"No, I only noticed the defendant at first because I thought he was quite handsome, so I took a few extra glances; but later on, I had to work and clean the tables, and didn’t keep watching."

"So you didn’t see the incident occur?"

"Yes, I didn’t see it."

Hearing this response, Chen Baoluo smiled again.

This witness is just a waste of time, wasting the jury’s emotions.

But Zhang Wei’s questioning continued.

"Xiao Zhu, actually, I don’t really want to ask you about the incident itself. I called you to the witness stand to clarify something else!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei raised his finger and pointed to the defendant’s bench, "What I want to ask is, before the incident, what was my client’s attitude towards the plaintiff, Miss Ji?"

"Hmm?" Chen Baoluo was slightly stunned. What kind of question is this?

Attitude?

Not just him, but everyone else in the courtroom was confused as well.

What does this attitude have to do with the case?

"I remember, the defendant’s attitude towards that girl was rather cold..." Xiao Zhu recalled the situation, saying so.

"How cold, can you describe it?"

"Just very cold, anyways, whenever that girl tried to get closer to him, he would step back."

"Every time Miss Ji came closer, he would step back?"

"Yes, every time, especially when he first came into the coffee shop, I was watching him, so that movement was particularly obvious."

"With such a cold attitude, did my client ever actually look directly at Miss Ji?"

"No, he seemed to always be looking elsewhere."

"Not even a glance, are you sure?"

"I’m sure, at least when I was watching him, he never looked directly at the girl."

Seeing Xiao Zhu’s response, Zhang Wei nodded with satisfaction.

"Your Honor, we have no further questions for this witness!"

After Zhang Wei returned to his seat, he flashed a smile at Chen Baoluo.

Your turn!

"Your Honor, we also have no questions for this witness!"

Chen Baoluo couldn’t be bothered to walk; he simply stood up to declare his statement and sat down again.

He still hadn’t figured out why Zhang Wei had called this witness.

The only things she’d said had nothing to do with the case, and their question-and-answer seemed irrelevant.

Chen Baoluo pondered what the point of Zhang Wei’s actions was.

Regrettably, he couldn’t grasp the rationale.

"Lawyer Zhang?" Judge Ni furrowed her brow, signaling Zhang Wei to proceed.

"We would like to call Gao Yang and Luo Qi to testify in court. Since they are both comrades-in-arms of my client, I request they come to the stand together. Our side will question each one individually!"

"Granted!"

Gao Yang and Luo Qi, one after the other, rose from the spectator’s bench and walked onto the floor of the courtroom.

One with a tall build, the other slim, their contrast was stark standing together.

So Luo Qi was a bit annoyed—couldn’t you, Zhang Wei, have called us one by one? Here I am, standing next to Gao Yang who’s almost 1.9 meters tall while I’m only 1.7. Are you purposely making things difficult for me?

"May I ask Gao Yang, what is your relationship with the defendant?"

Gao Yang scratched his head with a simple and honest look: "I and Brother Jun have been comrades from day one, assigned to the same team from the start, and we have carried out many missions together. We’ve been through life and death!"

"Luo Qi, what about you?"

"Gao Yang and I were comrades of the same period in the military, and since he was a few months older than us, he was the boss. Gao Yang and I both respected him!"

"Now, may I ask Gao Yang, were you and Xia Qianjun inseparable at the War Department?"

"Yes, we carried guns together, fought wars together, especially when we were on missions abroad. That was when we were truly inseparable, doing everything together, even eating and bathing."

"And what about you, Luo Qi?"

"The same. In those ten years, we hardly ever parted. In fact, it was only after we left the War Department that we occasionally spent some time apart. I feel closer to him than to my own brothers."

"Another question, did you have any contact with women while at the War Department?"

Zhang Wei’s gaze drifted toward Gao Yang, who immediately shook his head.

He then looked at Luo Qi.

"How could we have had contact with women? We were a bunch of guys, and the only chance we had to interact with women was when communicating with the liaison officers, but that was through audio and we couldn’t see them!"

As Luo Qi spoke, a hint of pain crossed his face.

For ten years, they had been spirited young men, yet they had to endure a decade without the company of women. It was torture.

"Good. Thank you for your cooperation. I have no further questions!"

Zhang Wei was very satisfied with their answers, and then there was no more.

"Eh, that’s it?"

Gao Yang and Luo Qi were both dumbfounded.

You called us to the stand—isn’t it to serve as character witnesses?

Why didn’t you ask anything about Xia Qianjun’s character?

Isn’t this inappropriate?

Although we know that your relationship with your own uncle is not good, isn’t it a little inappropriate to take personal revenge in a court of law?

Chen Baoluo was just as baffled.

Inwardly, he grumbled: That’s it? Just this?

You summon character witnesses only to ask some trivial questions. You’ve wasted half a day of my emotional investment.

"Your Honor, we have no questions for them either!"

Chen Baoluo quickly stated his position, also signaling to the judge that the two witnesses could step down.

Judge Ni had thought about reminding Zhang Wei but saw that Chen Baoluo had already spoken first, so she felt her hands were tied.

With a wave of her hand to dismiss them, the confused Gao Yang and Luo Qi returned to their seats.

"Lawyer Zhang, please continue!"

"Yes, Your Honor. The next witness I would like to call is Dr. Huang Jie, the psychological counselor from the War Department, who is also an outstanding practicing psychologist."

As Zhang Wei stood up to make the announcement, a man dressed in business attire and wearing glasses walked up to the witness stand.

"Hello, Doctor Huang!"

"Actually, you don’t need to address me like that. When I was counseling them, I let them call me ’Brother Jie,’ which feels more amiable!"

"Doctor Huang, as much as I would like to do so, this is a courtroom and we need to be formal!"

Zhang Wei’s face was devoid of smiles, instead solemn.

"All right then," Dr. Huang acquiesced, similarly looking serious.

"Very well, Doctor Huang, I understand that you are the psychological counselor at the War Department and that the War Department arranges regular psychological counseling sessions every quarter, even every month. Are you well acquainted with my client, Xia Qianjun?"

"Of course, I counseled Ah Jun for ten years, from his first year joining the War Department to the last year before he left. I was his directed psychological counselor!"

"Then, relying on your intuition as a psychologist, I want to ask you one thing about my client, Xia Qianjun—he..."

Zhang Wei paused, took a deep breath, then fixed his expression: "Does he dislike women?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the courtroom was shocked!

What the hell!

What the actual hell!

Good Lord!

In people’s minds, everyone was screaming.

This is insane; your previous questions were soft like tepid water.

And now you suddenly drop a bombshell, pouring lava over someone, aren’t you?

Equally astonished by the question were many people.

Chen Baoluo, Xia Qianyue’s family of three, Gao Yang, and Luo Qi, including Xia Qianjun himself, were all gaping in sheer astonishment.

What in the world does this mean?

How do you know that Xia Qianjun doesn’t like women, and how in the heck are you going to prove it?

But Zhang Wei didn’t care about these reactions; he was after exactly this effect.

The gentle questions before were all for this moment.

Though it might be somewhat dishonorable to do this to Xia Qianjun, Zhang Wei had already inquired with him beforehand.

Compared to being exonerated, he clearly didn’t care much about potentially ending his social life.

So today, let the big uncle experience what it is like to face social death!