Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 274 - 272: Cheng Lisha Holds a Grudge, Chief Editor Pei Suffers

Chapter 274: Chapter 272: Cheng Lisha Holds a Grudge, Chief Editor Pei Suffers

(Yesterday was Tomb Sweeping Day, and although I was still exploited at work by leaders using workplace PUA tactics, called up early in the morning to volunteer on the streets and maintain order at the scene, luckily I got off work early and managed to write 2 Chapters for everyone.

By the way, the message above says that the lockdown will be lifted on the 7th, not sure if it will be on time. I hope the epidemic would pass soon, as I’m even finding it difficult to leave my town now... emmm...)

...

At the same time.

Saturday evening.

Blackfoot Law Firm, Hu Yaode’s office.

Compared to Zhang Wei’s busyness, Hu Yaode was enjoying quite a bit of leisure.

He could still sit in his office, drinking tea and listening to music, quite contentedly.

There was no helping it, the advantage was on their side, and the main attacker was the ace prosecutor from the Procuratorate Headquarters.

All they had to do was sit back and watch the tigers fight, ready to reap the fisherman’s benefit!

Awesome!

"Indeed, the only thing that can defeat an enemy is another enemy!"

Every time Hu Yaode thought about yesterday’s trial, he felt exceptionally thrilled.

Lately, he’d been troubled by Zhang Wei, who seemed to have become his nightmare, making him wish to eliminate the other man.

And in yesterday’s trial, seeing the opponent being restricted at every turn, it was just too damn satisfying!

"Next up, just wait for the second hearing on Monday. There’s no way you can pull off anything over the weekend!"

"Even if you want to stall for time, calling for a third or fourth hearing, it’s meaningless because the jury no longer believes you!"

"Zhang Wei, you’re doomed to lose, with no chance of a comeback. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you lose the case!"

In Hu Yaode’s eyes, there was a flash of excitement, joy, and the thrill of impending revenge.

"Lawyer Hu, Miss Cheng is here!"

A sudden voice interrupted him; it was his female secretary knocking on the door of his office.

"Oh, let her in!"

Hearing that Cheng Lisha had arrived, Hu Yaode was not surprised at all.

The door to the office opened, and in walked Cheng Lisha, dressed like a lady of high society, followed by a female assistant carrying documents.

"Miss Cheng, welcome, please have a seat!"

"You’re too kind, Lawyer Hu!"

The two exchanged pleasantries with mutual respect.

There was no helping it, the case was overwhelmingly in their favor, and they really didn’t know how they could lose!

When people know they’re going to win, their mood improves, and everything looks better.

Conversely, when someone is in a bad mood, even trivial matters can provoke anger.

Luckily, both of them were in a very good mood at the moment.

"Lawyer Hu, is the trial on Monday set in stone?"

"Miss Cheng, let me put it this way, I, Hu Yaode, have been practicing law for nearly twenty years, and all those years of experience are telling me one thing - that kid is doomed to lose!"

As Hu Yaode said this, he pointed skyward, his face brimming with bravado: "Unless the sky falls, he absolutely—absolutely—absolutely cannot win!"

In his enthusiasm, he even repeated "absolutely" three times.

"That’s good to hear!" Cheng Lisha also nodded in satisfaction.

She actually knew the outcome already, and coming here in person was just for a bit more reassurance.

"Right, this is some information I acquired through my connections; take a look and see how we can use it!"

Cheng Lisha then took a file from her female assistant and handed it to Hu Yaode.

The latter opened the file and saw two photographs, along with some textual information.

"Is this the information of the defense witness? Zhang Wei’s defense witness, Dongfang Capital’s gossip newspaper editor-in-chief Pei Linjia, chief editor Guan Feng..."

Upon seeing the contents of the information, Hu Yaode looked surprised.

It wasn’t as though the information was important; if he wanted to, he could perform some "backdoor operations" within the court to get some of the lists that shouldn’t be disclosed before the trial.

What he didn’t understand was the purpose of Cheng Lisha disclosing this to him.

Looking at the documents in Hu Yaode’s hands, particularly the two photographs on them, Cheng Lisha found herself lost in thought.

"These two have been at odds with me since the past. I still remember that time; it was a press conference I held for "Hotel by the Seaside". I had spent a full three months preparing for this event, inviting all the media outlets in advance, and had secretly discussed everything with their top brass."

"Dongfang Capital’s tabloid was one of them. However, they were nothing but the dregs among the mainstream media present. Although they barely qualified as second-rate, the dregs will always be the dregs..."

At this point, a vicious and resentful glint flashed in Cheng Lisha’s eyes.

"What I hadn’t expected was, right there at the press conference, these two had the audacity to undermine me. In front of all the Dongfang Capital’s media journalists, they dared to question me. ’Why slander Yang Chuanfang when Wen Xiaoyun’s body hasn’t even been found?’ They even questioned me for producing such a drama, asking about my conscience and peace of mind."

"Hahaha, as it turned out, my vision was correct. If I hadn’t found this traffic password and hyped it up to become the hottest topic in Dongfang Capital for the next few years, how could I have climbed to my current position?"

As she spoke, her eyes were full of mockery.

Those two newspaper editors from back then didn’t have the foresight she had to see the power of traffic and trends.

As for the so-called truth, only fools care about that, and she, Cheng Lisha, had never cared!

You see, doesn’t the current outcome prove who was right and who was wrong back then?

They are still just two little editors, while she has become the top figure in Dongfang Capital’s media industry, with both wealth and fame at her feet.

After gloating, Cheng Lisha then turned to Hu Yaode.

"Lawyer Hu, could you take care of these two for me?"

"This..."

Hu Yaode looked troubled, "Miss Cheng, you may not be aware, but the way defense lawyers can’t contact the prosecution’s witnesses is the same for us—those involved in the case can’t contact the defense witnesses!"

"Moreover, even though Zhang Wei is bound to lose now, if he finds out we’ve tried to contact the defense witnesses, he might take advantage of that, causing unnecessary trouble during the trial!"

"I know this kid is no easy target. If he gets wind of this, he will definitely use it in court, which could waver the jury!"

Having said that, Hu Yaode’s expression grew solemn: "Miss Cheng, you have to understand, this trial is for murder, and the hiding of the body—it’s a major criminal case, and it requires all 12 jury members to vote guilty!"

"Even a minor incident, an extremely trivial one, could cause one or two jury members to vote against, and we won’t be able to convict Yang Chuanfang. Then our goal won’t be achieved!"

"Are you saying, let them off?"

Cheng Lisha’s gaze turned cold, slightly annoyed.

These two little newspaper editors, who dared not to give her face back then, are now acting as witnesses for the defense, speaking for Yang Chuan.

Wasn’t this just blatantly opposing her?

And no one who opposed Cheng Lisha ever ended up with a good fate!

"Miss Cheng, for the greater good, my advice is to bear with it for now!" Hu Yaode earnestly suggested.

"But now that I have such an advantage, do I still need to endure?"

Cheng Lisha frowned in response.

Hu Yaode could tell that Cheng Lisha did not want to back down.

So he thought for a moment, then a clever idea came to mind.

"Actually, Miss Cheng, if you really don’t want to endure, it’s not like there aren’t ways to deal with it. We can’t contact witnesses privately because we’re parties to the case!"

"But if a third party, or someone unrelated to the case, were to make contact, that restriction doesn’t apply. What’s more, while we can’t make contact, there are many ways to exert pressure without needing to approach them. I believe you understand these methods even better than I do, Miss Cheng, right?"

Hearing this, Cheng Lisha understood.

"Lawyer Hu is right, your answer satisfies me. I know what I have to do now."

With those words, she stood up and left with her female assistant.

Because she had to prepare some measures to deal with those two little newspaper editors.

"Miss Cheng, let me see you out!"

Hu Yaode hesitated for a moment but decided to stand up and see her off.

He couldn’t help it; he was in a good mood today and found everything pleasing to the eye.

...

The next day, the weekend.

In Central Ring, an old street, on the second floor.

This was where the editorial department of Dongfang Capital’s entertainment tabloid was located.

However, to call it a department, with everything combined, there were only a few desks, a single editor’s office, and the supervisor had only a separate small desk outside the door.

As for the regular editors, they were all busy at a single desk, working on their laptops.

Being an editor, especially for a media newspaper, weekends are the busiest times since many of the news headlines appear then.

Conversely, during the workdays from Monday to Friday, everyone is busy with work, and there are fewer news hotspots.

"Chief Editor, I’ve prepared your tea, I added a packet of goji berries."

Guan Feng was not only the chief editor but also served as the assistant to the editor-in-chief, preparing a pot of wolfberry tea for the latter.

"Little Guan, have you read the manuscripts from those youngsters outside?"

"What manuscripts? They are all sneakily scrolling through their Moments and V-blog headlines. Early this morning, only two articles came in, and they were both riddled with typos. I sent them right back!"

Whenever Guan Feng mentioned the newbies in the office, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Those who came to their small newspaper were mostly fresh graduates from second- or third-tier media schools, or else they were career-changers who couldn’t find a proper place to land, and eventually, after much ado, joined their media circle as beginners.

In two words, these people were noobs!

The articles they submitted were not only full of typos, but some sentences were also incomprehensible, and there were large sections that were copied and pasted from encyclopedias. Such submissions passing the review would be odd indeed.

Chief Editor Pei was also disheartened and couldn’t help but pick up his thermos cup, taking a small sip.

"Ay—"

A long sigh.

"Back when our paper was thriving, we had three departments under us, more than twenty young editors who would rotate and submit seventy to eighty articles a day for review. We were so busy back then!"

"Unlike now, these youngsters are all up to no good. If they are not glued to their phones during work hours, they are secretly browsing websites and playing games, or video chatting with their girlfriends. How old are they to be acting like old married couples checking in on each other every day?"

"And as for printing and publishing, we used to handle it all ourselves, without having to ask the big newspapers for help and also paying an extra fee for equipment rental."

Chief Editor Pei said and pointed towards a corner outside.

"That bespectacled guy in the corner is the worst, sneaking around watching videos during work. The lead actress isn’t that ’Tian Yongmei’ woman? I heard she had her face done and her chest augmented, and even the moaning in that video is probably faked. How can such rubbish be a teacher? Back in our days..."

"Cough cough, Editor-in-Chief, I’m still here!"

Just as Chief Editor Pei was about to slip up, Guan Feng quickly cut in, his face turning red.

"Cough cough, Little Guan, it’s fine, it’s fine, these are just old professional habits, haha... Men remain boys until death; a person might get old, but some ’craftsmanship’ cannot be forgotten..."

Chief Editor Pei quickly scratched his head and then took another sip of wolfberry tea, laughing it off.

"By the way, Little Guan, what did you come to see me for?"

"Editor-in-Chief, I wanted to ask you about being a character witness tomorrow?"

"Oh, that matter? I don’t see any issue with it, it’s our duty!"

"But if we go to court, won’t we be telling that woman Cheng Wumei that we are opposing her?"

At the mention of Cheng Wumei’s name, Guan Feng’s expression soured.

"Little Guan, you should know that for that incident, we already offended that woman long ago. Isn’t the decline of our paper to its current state all because she’s been suppressing us from behind?"

Chief Editor Pei sighed deeply, "After all, it was because we couldn’t stomach her behavior that year, exposing her true intent in front of all the media reporters at Dongfang Capital during that press conference, right?"

"Just because of that, she held a grudge against us for ten years, a full ten years without letting up on us!"

"No, Editor-in-Chief, I think what you did back then was not wrong," Guan Feng shook his head, then said earnestly,

"If we media people disregard the facts and truth for the sake of chasing traffic and trending topics, deliberately fabricating facts, what chaos would the world of journalism and media turn into?"

"I still believe that we don’t need to chase after hot topics or traffic. We just need to stick to the facts, because it’s the truth that the public needs to know the most, and we are but transporters of the truth!"

Hearing the words of his loyal subordinate, Chief Editor Pei couldn’t help but nod his head.

"Little Guan, over these years, I’ve had regrets, regretting that press conference ten years ago. Why was it me who had to stick my neck out, why couldn’t I restrain myself from exposing that woman in front of so many people?"

"I’ve often felt the same. If I hadn’t spoken out that day, would our paper not have ended up so miserable?"

"If back then, I hadn’t stood up for Young Master Yang, wouldn’t I have been less suppressed, without my position being stuck for so many years while the entire editorial department comes and goes?"

"If I hadn’t stood up back then..."

"Editor-in-Chief, stop it, if you hadn’t stood up, I would have stood up too!"

Guan Feng’s eyes brimmed with tears as he interrupted Chief Editor Pei.

"Little Guan, actually, I have no regrets about it even now, because I know that there must be a line of ethics in our field of journalism!"

Chief Editor Pei smiled, but there was a pronounced bitterness in his smile.

For when had their world of news media turned into this state?

Those who speak the truth are bullied and suppressed, while a certain woman who lies thrives and flourishes.

The heavens are unjust!

Yet Guan Feng, with a solemn face full of hope, said, "Editor-in-Chief, this might be our opportunity to turn things around. As long as we handle this case well, we might be able to bring down that woman!"

Unfortunately, Chief Editor Pei thought it was unrealistic.

He shook his head, responding wryly, "Little Guan, you make it sound easy, but it’s really difficult. Behind that woman, there are said to be powerful figures..."

"Hey, who are you guys?"

"What do you want to do?"

"This is our workplace, what are you... hey, ouch!"

"How can you hit people..."

"Chief Editor, Chief Editor, someone is beating people up, someone is beating people up!"

At the entrance of the editorial office, a commotion erupted.

Several ferocious-looking men strode in, with a menacing gait that brooked no kinship.

They kicked whatever chair they saw, pushed anyone they encountered, and wolf-whistled at the female interns, unable to resist making lewd comments and getting handsy.

Inside the editorial department were a bunch of young people, frankly, just passing the days, who had never seen such a spectacle before.

Chief Editor Pei, accompanied by Guan Feng, stepped forward, and upon seeing the leader of these brutes, his face immediately changed color.

"Brother Biao, why have you come? We’ve already paid this month’s ’ground rent,’ haven’t we?"

"So what, just because you’ve paid, we can’t come and have a look?"

The leader said arrogantly and proceeded to kick over the desk in front of him.

This wooden desk couldn’t withstand the force of an average person’s kick and fell apart, its pieces scattering all over the ground.

But Brother Biao snapped his fingers, and one of his lackeys immediately brought over a chair for him; he sat down broadly, with an air of belligerency.

"Besides, just because you ate yesterday, doesn’t mean you don’t eat today, right?"

Seeing his subordinates huddling scared in the corner, Chief Editor Pei realized that he had to stand up for them.

Though his legs were trembling, he still faced the challenge: "Brother Biao, what are you saying? The ground rent is paid once a month, isn’t that the rule set by [Lord Leopard Three] himself?"

"What, are you teaching me how to do my job?" Brother Biao’s eyes narrowed, his face spelling nothing but ill intent.

His followers all sported menacing looks, brimming with threat.

"Of course not, I was just reminding you that not many people have your wolfish ambition anymore."

"Hmm, you do talk well..." Brother Biao sneered upon seeing Chief Editor Pei back down.

"Big brother, it sounds like he was insulting you?"

However, suddenly one of the lackeys sensed something off.

"Ah, this..."

Chief Editor Pei’s face turned pale at once; he seemed to have made another backhanded comment.

He quickly waved his hands, apologizing profusely: "Brother Biao, you’ve misunderstood me, I was actually praising you for your loyalty, that even for the sake of [Lord Leopard Three]’s rules, you’d publicly flaunt your power, going so far as to visit us personally..."

"Big brother, he seems to have insulted you again?"

This time, without needing a reminder from his lackey, Brother Biao himself caught on to the problem.

"Good for you, you old coot, taking advantage of my lack of education to insult me!"

He burst out angrily, standing up swiftly.

"This matter won’t end well today unless you give me a proper explanation!"

"Ah, this..."

Chief Editor Pei hadn’t expected at all that this fellow was deliberately looking for trouble.

"Brother Biao, since our newspaper moved here, we’ve always followed the rules!"

"Hmph, I, Sang Biao, set the rules, and if I say you’re not following them, then you’re not following them!"

Brother Biao said, with a "kingly air" showing on his face.

"It seems this old fool won’t admit his mistake. Well then, it’s time to teach him a lesson!"

"Smash this damn newspaper office of his!"

At his command, his underlings immediately sprang into action.

In no time, the whole editorial department turned chaotic, a complete mess.

"Brother Biao, you can’t do this. If you do, what about [Lord Leopard Three]..."

"Old man, I’m not afraid to tell you, it was [Lord Leopard Three] himself who ordered me to do this, and he also told me to warn you not to offend those who you can’t afford to piss off!"

Brother Biao said, a vicious smile creeping across his face.

This time, he had the backing of a big shot, a figure who no one on this street dared to cross!