Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 238 - 237: Zhang Xinyan, Constantly Causing Trouble, Accepts a Settlement?

Chapter 238: Chapter 237: Zhang Xinyan, Constantly Causing Trouble, Accepts a Settlement?

Wednesday, afternoon.

"Mm-hmm, I got it, didn’t expect it to be like this."

"But I’m curious, how could the auto shop owner actually share intel with you guys? That’s all ’stable’ inventory, isn’t he cutting off his own source of income?"

"You say that auto shop owner is very affable and even claims to be a good citizen, extremely cooperative with you?"

"Maybe he really turned over a new leaf, after all, there aren’t many who find their way back these days. Didn’t expect you guys to just run into him."

"Alright then, thanks a lot, Simple-minded person, mua~"

After ending the call with warmth and friendliness, Zhang Wei then walked into the intensive care unit.

After being treated with special herbal medicine and resting for a night, Zhang Xinyan looked a bit better than yesterday, his originally weak and sickly face regaining a hint of color.

"Little Lawyer Zhang."

"Zhang Wei."

Lu Ma and Zhang Xinwu had come early in the morning, and now seeing Zhang Wei, they both exclaimed excitedly.

This scene was also witnessed by Zhang Xinyan on the hospital bed, filling his eyes with jealousy.

What’s going on, am I not the young master of the Zhang Family Martial Arts School, Zhang Xinwu’s brother?

How come you all are more excited to see an outsider than me?

Although everyone has the surname Zhang, I am the real family member here, yet he, Zhang Wei, is an outsider!

"Zhang Wei, how is it, have those bad guys been punished?"

"Yes, those who bullied Xiao Yan must be arrested and jailed, we can’t let them off!"

Seeing the two so agitated, Zhang Wei was comparatively calm as he reassured them:

"Sister Xiao Wu, Lu Ma, this matter can’t be resolved in a single day, and I think that accepting a settlement would actually be better for you!"

"Huh?"

With that comment, Zhang Xinwu was taken aback for a moment.

What’s going on, it seems like Zhang Wei has changed his mind, suggesting a settlement actively?

Does that mean we have to forgive the people who hurt my brother?

Even Zhang Xinyan on the bed was stunned.

What does Zhang Wei mean, wanting my sister to give up the chase, so my beating would have been for nothing?

"Actually, I think reaching a settlement is best. The family of the other party will definitely compensate you to protect their son, and this money is negotiable."

"And besides, you haven’t lost anything. Your brother might have been beaten up, but with the special medicine from the martial arts school, I reckon he can recover in just ten days or half a month, right?"

Zhang Xinwu seemed tempted and did not immediately oppose the idea.

On the contrary, Zhang Xinyan in the bed was a bit resistant. Despite broken limbs and being unable to open his mouth to speak, he couldn’t stop making "mm-mm-ah-ah" sounds.

"Xiao Yan, you’re too noisy, quiet down for a bit, can’t you see I’m thinking?"

Zhang Xinwu quickly scolded him, interrupting the latter.

Zhang Xinyan felt a twinge in his heart, sensing strong malice.

What else are you considering? I’m the one who got beaten up, yet you seem hesitant?

"Zhang Wei, although I really want to take your advice, I still hope those who hurt my brother will be punished!" Zhang Xinwu refused.

This let Zhang Xinyan breathe a sigh of relief.

Good job, sister, now I feel relieved.

Zhang Wei nodded, this was the Zhang Xinwu he knew, a resilient girl.

But he couldn’t help but add, "You’re right, those people do deserve to be punished, but settling could also involve a lot of money."

"If you let me fully represent you in the negotiations, I’m confident I can bring the settlement fee to over 1 million!"

million!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xinwu was slightly surprised, and Zhang Xinyan on the bed became excited.

That’s 1 million, 1 million!

Just the thought of that number is thrilling!

Well...

If possible, it’s not like we couldn’t accept a settlement!

Zhang Xinyan used all his strength, trying to speak.

Unfortunately, he still couldn’t talk, only making "mm-mm-ah-ah" sounds from his throat.

"Xiao Yan, you’re too noisy, I know you don’t want to settle, but I’m also still thinking about it!"

What’s there to think about?

Hurry up and agree!

That’s 1 million!

How many years would it take for me to earn 1 million? Just agree, please!

At this moment, Zhang Xinyan wished he could telepathically imprint the word "agree" into his sister’s mind.

"Zhang Wei, I don’t want to agree, because if we agree, wouldn’t that make people think that the Zhang family only... because of money,"

Zhang Xinwu hadn’t finished speaking when Zhang Xinyan on the bed became "agitated" again, shaking the bed with a creaking sound.

"What if I have a way that can get you the money and ensure that the criminal is punished?"

"What way?"

"Don’t rush; I still need some more clues!"

Zhang Wei said, walking straight to Zhang Xinyan’s hospital bed.

"Sister Xiao Wu’s stinky little brother, hello there!"

He smiled and greeted the other party.

A flash of anger flitted across Zhang Xinyan’s eyes.

Who are you calling a stinky little brother?

I have a name, and it’s Zhang Xinyan!

"Good, you can still get angry; that means your mind is still clear!"

Zhang Wei looked at the anger in Zhang Xinyan’s eyes and was very satisfied with this reaction.

"Listen, I know you can’t talk right now, so I’m going to ask you a few questions. Blink once for yes, twice for no, can you do that?"

Grinding his teeth, Zhang Xinyan let out a series of grunts indicating his irritation.

You’ve already insulted me by calling me a stinky little brother, and you expect me to cooperate?

Go to hell!

Zhang Wei simply raised a finger: "One million in compensation, and that’s just for starters; it might even go higher~"

Bro!

You are my real brother!

Zhang Xinyan wished he could turn into a nodding machine at that moment. He wanted to tell Zhang Wei that he would cooperate with all his might.

"Alright, I got it, now listen up!"

"First question, that night at the open-air parking lot, did you go there on a mission, or were you just wandering around? Blink once for a mission, twice if not."

Zhang Xinyan quickly blinked.

Once.

"I remember Sister Xiao Wu mentioning that you do live streaming, right?"

Zhang Xinyan blinked again.

"Did you do a live stream that night?"

Once more, Zhang Xinyan blinked.

"Great, last question then, which platform were you streaming on?"

This time, Zhang Xinyan blinked a dozen times.

This question was indeed hard to answer.

"No problem, I’ll name all the live streaming platforms on the market, and you respond to each one. Blink once for yes, twice for no; let’s start one by one..."

"The first one, Bean Sprouts; the second, Tiger Fish; the third..."

...

Thursday morning.

Martial Association Headquarters, Serious Crime Team 3 Office.

When Zhang Wei came here again, Chief Liu of Team 3 was already waiting.

"Lawyer Zhang, I didn’t expect you to choose to negotiate, I thought you’d be adamant to the end," Chief Liu said, although it was a jest, his words carried a hint of sarcasm.

Clearly, he still remembered how Zhang Wei had once pressured him in court.

Who would have thought that this time the man would no longer be so tough, wasn’t this an opportunity to throw some mockery back?

"Nothing much, I just said we could try to talk, after all, you know too that my client is just an ordinary citizen. Nowadays, her brother is in the ICU every day, there are costs for subsequent recovery, hospitalization, and lost wages, all of which are all about money..."

"Heh..."

Chief Liu chuckled without agreeing.

If you lawyers really cared about your clients, why not waive your fees? Aren’t all you suited-up lawyers just in it for the money?

He opened the door for Zhang Wei to enter the mediation room and then gently closed it behind him.

Inside the mediation room, the representatives of the other five families and their lawyers had also arrived.

This time, all five families had brought lawyers.

The faces of the families varied as they saw Chief Liu and Zhang Wei arrive.

Zhang Wei glanced around and immediately understood the situation in the room.

The lawyers for the five families were still barely passable, with only Yu Liang being somewhat decent, and Mr. Zhu’s couple’s lawyer only slightly better than a novice.

As for the other three families, they had probably hired charity lawyers or small-time street lawyers; their competence truly wasn’t up to par.

"Cough cough, everyone, I’d like to announce that Lawyer Zhang will fully represent his client and the concerned party to engage in friendly negotiations with you all!"

"And the content of today’s conversation will be witnessed by myself, Chief Liu, based on the principle of fairness and justice. This conversation will be recorded in its entirety; everyone got that clear?"

All five families nodded.

Three of the families all had smiles on their faces; it seemed their text message campaign had finally persuaded Zhang Wei.

My son will be saved!

Next, they had to consider securing their son’s freedom with the smallest possible price.

As for how much money, they simply hoped it would be as little as possible.

Similarly, the Zhu couple also showed smiles, it seemed that Zhang Wei had chosen money after all.

As long as their son didn’t go to jail, they were willing to pay any amount of money, but of course, don’t be too outrageous with the price.

As for Yu Liang, he nodded to Madam Zhou beside him and then fixed his gaze on Zhang Wei.

Next, they just needed to get him to agree; then the matter would be settled.

A war without smoke had thus begun...

Inside the mediation room, Zhang Wei calmly took his seat.

Though the Zhu family was concerned about their son, they didn’t speak up right away.

On the contrary, the three families couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Lawyer Zhang, tell us, how much money do you want to let our son off the hook?"

"Yes, my son was just impulsive for a moment. Please be magnanimous and forgive him; be kind and let him go."

"After discussing among ourselves, we think 200,000 is about right. If we pool our money together, we should have it."

After the three families stated their price, twelve expectant eyes all looked towards Zhang Wei.

Unfortunately, he remained unmoved and even yawned out of boredom.

The color drained from the faces of the three families!

What’s going on?

We’re already so humble, how can you have no reaction at all?

Do you really want us to kneel down?

After some thought, someone began to consult with the lawyer by their side, couples whispered to each other, and others looked down at the ground, seemingly searching for a suitable place to place their knees.

"Lawyer Zhang, what you mean is..."

"What do I mean? I simply feel you lack sincerity!"

Zhang Wei sighed and then slowly said, "My client is the victim’s brother. Do you know how heartbroken she was when she saw her brother beaten to a shapeless mess?"

How would we know?

We weren’t at the scene!

The three families looked at each other, unable to respond to this difficult question.

"Another thing, my own client, he’s a young man, who had all his limbs broken. If he doesn’t recover well, he might have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair."

"Not to mention, my client and the victim, the two sisters, are alone and helpless in Dongfang Capital, struggling every day with physical labor. The brother even makes a living through performance art—these are truly hard lives!"

Zhang Wei muttered to himself, although Sister Xiao Wu owned a martial arts school covering a thousand square meters, she worked hard from dawn to dusk, wasn’t martial arts physical work?

As for her lousy brother, barely making ends meet by performing on a streaming platform, struggling to pay rent—the epitome of a hard life indeed.

"So you see, I don’t see your sincerity!"

"This..."

The three families were at a loss again, was 200,000 not a sincere offer?

"Cough cough, okay then, we as a couple decide to increase the settlement fee to 400,000!"

At that moment, the Zhu family finally spoke up.

"400,000, that’s just an extra 40,000 per family!"

However, the couple’s sudden increase of 200,000 still took the three families aback.

"What are you looking at, what’s more important, the money or your son?"

Mr. Zhu warned the three families, then looked toward Zhang Wei, "Lawyer Zhang, this is our sincerity!"

"Ah, it seems you still haven’t understood the suffering of my client and her brother!"

Zhang Wei sighed again, "Your kids, five of them, jointly attacked, turning my client into a disabled person. This is a genuine criminal case."

"Let me think, assault and battery, that’s intentional injury, with risk of death involved, could it also be considered attempted murder?"

As these words were spoken, the Zhu couple’s eyes narrowed.

Unsatisfied with the price?

400,000 still doesn’t satisfy you?

Laying out threats now, suggesting our child committed attempted murder?

But Zhang Wei’s words did indeed frighten the three families.

A criminal case meant prison time; intentional injury, attempted murder—these were serious offences.

"Lawyer, is what he’s saying true?"

"Yes, we’ve also seen the report from the investigative division. Your kids are definitely guilty of intentional injury. Five against one, nobody can sort that out!"

"Will my son go to jail?"

"Hmm, you should be concerned about how many years he’ll serve. I conservatively estimate 2-3 years, maybe 3-5 years, it all depends on the competence of the Procuratorate’s Office prosecutor."

"This..."

The three families panicked. If their sons ended up in prison, wouldn’t their lives be ruined?

The Zhu couple was no different; although the lawyer they brought was somewhat competent, that was just it—somewhat.

Zhang Wei’s "threat" was a transparent stratagem with no solution.

"Lawyer Zhang, let’s do this. We can offer 600,000 yuan. You should be satisfied now, right?"

Zhang Wei turned his head and glanced at the wall of the mediation room, lost in thought.

The Zhu couple exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth.

"800,000 yuan, we can’t offer more!"

Their bid also made the other three families shudder.

That was 800,000 yuan; each family would have to contribute over a hundred thousand. How many years would that take to save up?

Zhang Wei remained unmoved, even a mocking glint passing through his eyes.

His expression was telling the families, you think you can send me away with 800,000 yuan? Dream on!

"1,000,000 yuan. If they don’t have enough money, I can help them advance it!"

At that moment, Madam Zhou, who had been silent until then, suddenly interjected.

Her voice was harsh, not betraying the slightest concern, yet she didn’t hesitate to raise the price by 200,000 yuan for her son.

"1,000,000 yuan!" Zhang Wei glanced at this woman and then at Yu Liang.

The latter showed no reaction, clearly indicating that the lawyer could accept the outcome of 1,000,000 yuan.

Furthermore, judging by Yu Liang’s demeanor, it seemed that Madam Zhou wasn’t short on money.

In fact, that was true. Madam Zhou had married a wealthy man in her early years and, with Yu Liang’s help, won the divorce lawsuit, securing nearly 70% of the tycoon’s assets.

So, not only was she not lacking in funds, her net worth was actually in the hundreds of millions. A mere 1,000,000 yuan didn’t even qualify to make her take off her sunglasses.

"Madam Zhou, speaking of which, I’d like you to watch a video. Maybe after you watch it, you’ll have a different idea."

Zhang Wei spoke as he opened his phone and started playing a video file.

"What are you looking at? What the hell are you looking at!"

"I’m gonna clove your fucking mother, still showing me, huh!"

"Beat him for me, beat him to death!"

In the video, a young man with dyed red hair was cursing arrogantly, then charged over with four others beside him.

Then, naturally, came a flurry of punches and kicks, and the video cut off.

The videographer was none other than Zhang Xinyan. He was live-streaming that day, wearing quite a bit of equipment, which limited his mobility and made him an easy target.

"Madam Zhou, I’d like to ask, is this vulgar, swearing person who encouraged the other four to attack, your son?"

At this remark, the attention of the other families converged on them.

Well, well, so it was your son who threw the first punch.

This meant that their sons were now merely accomplices and could be dealt with more leniently!

A turning point!

The families sensed a turning point.

They subtly shifted their seats away from Madam Zhou.

Yu Liang also saw the video and his expression darkened. He leaned towards Madam Zhou and whispered in her ear.

"The five families together will offer 1,000,000 yuan. I will personally, on behalf of my son, add another 500,000 yuan. I hope Lawyer Zhang can convey my sincerity to your client!"

Madam Zhou didn’t hesitate, her voice still cold as she stated the offer.

"You know, us other families definitely feel that 1,000,000 yuan is a bit much, actually..."

"Hmm!"

The Zhus and the others wanted to interject, but Madam Zhou suddenly took off her sunglasses with a swift motion, revealing a heavily made-up face, her eyes fiercely glaring at the four families.

That look contained a warning and also a threat.

If you don’t let me save my son, beware, I’ll fight you with everything I’ve got.

That look clearly carried a warning.

"Lawyer Zhang, we have no objections," even the Zhus chose to compromise.

But it didn’t matter whether they had objections or not; it was up to Zhang Wei to agree.

"Good, I can feel everyone’s sincerity!"

Unexpectedly, to everyone’s surprise, Zhang Wei accepted after hearing the 1,500,000 yuan offer.

"Everyone, with Chief Liu as our witness, each family will contribute 200,000 yuan, and Madam Zhou will add another 500,000 yuan on top of that, for a total of 1,500,000 yuan, as a settlement fee for my client. No objections, right?"

Zhang Wei asked again, and after none of the families raised any objections, the agreement was quickly reached.

Even Chief Liu was stunned; why was Zhang Wei so agreeable today?

Couldn’t he see that Madam Zhou had money to spare? If he had held out a little longer, perhaps he could have gotten even more compensation.

In the end, he just snorted in amusement; he was just a witness to the matter and couldn’t intervene.

But well, he had seen through it.

Zhang Wei’s words seemed righteous, but in the end, it all came down to money!

Heh...