Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 322 - 320: Tie Ruyun Proves Himself, Xu Suyun Makes a Move

Chapter 322: Chapter 320: Tie Ruyun Proves Himself, Xu Suyun Makes a Move

Friday, 1:30 p.m.

There were still 30 minutes left until the start of today’s court session.

Inside the defense preparation room, Zhang Wei and Tie Ruyun were getting ready.

"Zhang Wei, is it necessary to be this formal?"

In the preparation room, apart from Zhang Wei and Tie Ruyun, there was also a professional hairstylist.

He was cutting Tie Ruyun’s hair, styling it, and even applying hair gel.

"Old Tie, that’s where you’re not professional..."

Zhang Wei said with an experienced tone, "Today you’re going to testify in court, and the image of the witness will directly affect the jury’s impression of you!"

"But does it need to go this far? I think wearing a suit should be enough, there’s no need for hairstyling and hair gel, right?"

Tie Ruyun spoke as the stylist held his head firmly, squeezing a dollop of hair gel onto his hair.

The stylist went full throttle, and Tie Ruyun’s head was like a small boat amidst the waves, drifting with the current.

After 10 minutes, the stylist wiped the sweat from his forehead, finally calling it a day.

"How is it, tolerable?"

Zhang Wei pulled out a small mirror, letting Tie Ruyun see his own hairstyle.

"It’s a bit too fancy, and even dyed a bit, isn’t it too much?"

"No, no, no, this is exactly the effect we’re looking for!"

In the face of Tie Ruyun’s concern, Zhang Wei laughed, "Don’t forget, today you’re going to leave a good impression, this hairstyle is necessary!"

"Besides, this stylist is very expensive, a single outing costs ten thousand yuan, you don’t want to waste my money, do you?"

"Fine..."

Tie Ruyun pursed his lips, somewhat unconvinced.

Although he had heard that one should pay attention to their appearance when appearing in court, the way Zhang Wei did it seemed a bit too much.

If someone didn’t know better, they might think he was going on a blind date.

"Whether it’s a rape case or a property crime case, a man’s appearance is always most important."

Zhang Wei continued to enlighten, "As long as you dress appropriately and show a positive and sunny appearance, your chances of being found guilty are only 30%!"

"On the contrary, if you dress sloppily, with a gloomy expression and lacking in vitality, the probability of being found guilty is close to 90%!"

"Although the verdict is based on evidence, the jury is more influenced by appearance, you must understand this!"

Tie Ruyun was skeptical, feeling that Zhang Wei was exaggerating.

"Old Tie, for the sake of your future, please show some positivity and sunshine, can you?"

Zhang Wei spoke, moving closer to Tie Ruyun, "If we win today, I’ll pay for the first three rounds of drinks tonight!"

"Hey, who wants to drink with you?"

Tie Ruyun shook his head vigorously.

Drinking with you is no fun, I don’t need that.

"Right, you said you already found the evidence, is that true?"

"Of course, Old Tie, I would never lie to you!"

Facing Tie Ruyun’s worry, Zhang Wei waved his hand, appearing relaxed.

"This time, not only do I know the course of the case, but I’ve also found the real mastermind behind the attack on you. Just watch, the trial is going to be exciting!"

Tie Ruyun looked at Zhang Wei’s expression and felt a sudden chill.

He had the feeling that someone was going to be unlucky.

"The time is about right now, let’s head to the courtroom!"

"Oh, okay!"

The two of them made some final adjustments and then left the preparation room to head to the courtroom.

...

In the courtroom.

Many people had arrived.

In the front row of the audience seats, newcomers from the Procuratorate Headquarters and the Jincheng Law Firm Criminal Department faced off, occupying almost half of the auditorium.

Both sides of newcomers looked to their leaders for guidance.

Leading the Procuratorate Headquarters was Guo Wufeng, while Li Yueqin and Lin Yumeng led the Criminal Department side.

Guo Wufeng glared at the two girls sitting across from him.

However, Li Yueqin was not afraid of him, and although Lin Yumeng was a bit scared, she felt reassured knowing that everyone was just watching from the stands and she didn’t need to appear in court.

So both sides were in a standoff, neither willing to back down.

In the prosecutor’s seats, Xu Suyun sat alone.

This time, Chai Ping did not sit in the prosecutor’s seats but in the audience area, and at the back of it, too.

Yesterday’s court session, Zhang Wei ultimately summoned Chai Ping, and his testimony left Master Xu Suyun feeling uneasy.

This apprentice only knows how to cause trouble for herself; she might as well sit in the audience!

In the central position of the witness stand, people from Jincheng Law Firm were also present.

Unfortunately, it was Shen Zhengyi, leading a combination of lackeys and despicable figures.

Although they were ostensibly there to observe the trial on behalf of Jincheng, what they were actually thinking, only they themselves knew.

"Today is the final day of the trial, right?"

"Tie Ruyun is probably going to be detained for a few days. Even though the case is minor, its impact is not insignificant!"

"What the big boss cares about the most is his own reputation; with this kind of incident occurring within the firm, he will definitely deal with it seriously!"

"When the time comes, not only Tie Ruyun but perhaps even Zhang Wei will have to pack up and leave!"

At this, a sly smile of conspiracy crossed Shen Zhengyi’s face.

They had originally thought this plan was just a means to make a little trouble for Tie Ruyun and the others.

Unexpectedly, the benefits brought by the plan turned out to be so substantial that he could hardly contain his laughter.

Just then, the courtroom door opened, and Zhang Wei entered with Tie Ruyun.

The entire courtroom’s gaze instantly turned toward the two.

Zhang Wei’s gaze, after sweeping over the people on the witness stand, nodded toward Li Yueqin, who led the newcomers, and then smiled at Guo Wufeng.

However, the smile met with a murderous look from Guo Wufeng.

He would never forget the incident where Zhang Wei had his own father summoned to the court and then humiliated him openly.

As for Zhang Wei, he didn’t seem to care; after greeting Old Guo, his focus settled on Shen Zhengyi and his two companions.

"Well done, you really did come, saving me the trouble!"

Seeing Shen Zhengyi and his companions arrive, Zhang Wei was hardly surprised.

Today was the final court hearing of the case; their attendance was expected.

And because of their presence, today’s case could definitely be concluded.

With this in mind, he and Tie Ruyun took their seats on the defense side, waiting for the trial to begin.

Two o’clock.

"All rise!"

Following the announcement by the Court Guard, Judge Liu entered the courtroom.

He too scanned the witness stand with a silent exclamation of surprise.

Sure enough, so many had come again.

This isn’t any major case, just a common PC charge, and an attempted one at that.

Every time you create such a big scene, it puts a lot of pressure on me as well.

Recalling the days when I was in a small countryside court, how many people would come to a trial?

With more than twenty seats in the witness stand, we could barely fill them.

But you, for the same minor cases, nearly fill up forty or fifty seats in the witness stand.

Nevertheless, he maintained his composure, sweeping his gaze over both the prosecution and the defense, and the jury.

Confirming that all the key people were present, he immediately knocked the gavel, "This court now declares that the trial of the public prosecution case against lawyer Tie Ruyun of Jincheng Law Firm by the Central District Procuratorate’s Office will continue today!"

"The prosecution had informed the court yesterday that it had finished presenting evidence; today it is the defense’s turn to speak!"

"Thank you, Judge Liu!"

Zhang Wei immediately stood up and expressed his gratitude.

"This court summons the defendant Tie Ruyun to testify on his own behalf!"

He said, patting Tie Ruyun on the shoulder as they both walked up to the witness stand.

"Oh, you even made a style change?"

On the prosecution bench, Xu Suyun also noticed something different about the defense.

She saw that Tie Ruyun was wearing a stylish blue suit with a brightly colored tie and even had his hair done; his style was completely different from his previous gloomy appearance.

"Has the defense run out of tricks, opting to use appearance to win points?"

As an experienced prosecutor, Xu Suyun certainly knew what this move signified.

Playing the impression game with the jury often meant that the defense attorney was out of strategies and was trying to curry favor with the jury through a change in image.

Of course, the effectiveness of this tactic is actually limited.

Xu Suyun looked toward the jury.

jurors, 3 men and 9 women.

At this moment, seeing the change in Tie Ruyun’s appearance, 3 or 4 of the women showed surprise, while the 3 men showed no reaction whatsoever.

Xu Suyun’s expression darkened; the defense seemed to have captured a point with this appearance strategy.

"3, 4, not too bad for swaying that many,"

Yet when Zhang Wei saw his approach had an effect, he merely smirked.

He muttered and looked towards the witness stand.

"Ahem, Old Tie, although everyone knows who you are, could you please introduce yourself again?"

"Oh, sure!"

Tie Ruyun nodded and introduced himself, "My name is Tie Ruyun, from the Criminal Department of Jincheng Law Firm, currently serving as the head of the department."

"Stop!"

Tie Ruyun’s statement was suddenly interrupted by Zhang Wei, "Old Tie, we all know what you just said, but I want you to talk about something that not everyone knows."

"Huh?" Tie Ruyun looked confused.

Wasn’t it you who asked me to introduce myself? Why are you unsatisfied now?

"For instance, are you married, do you have a girlfriend?"

"This..."

When Tie Ruyun heard Zhang Wei’s "sharp" question, he immediately scratched his head, his face full of embarrassment.

"So, you don’t have one?"

Zhang Wei said, chuckling, "A man almost in his forties, and you haven’t even held a girl’s hand?"

Tie Ruyun’s face turned red, and he shamefully lowered his head.

"Objection!"

But at that moment, Xu Suyun seemed to sense something wrong and immediately raised an objection.

"Your Honor, the defense is attempting to gain sympathy by exploiting the defendant’s poor romantic history, which is clearly unethical!"

"I think, a man almost in his forties without a girlfriend is indeed quite pitiful..."

Judge Liu glanced at Tie Ruyun, his eyes actually showing a hint of empathy.

"Judge Liu!" Xu Suyun immediately called out again, her eyes filled with disapproval.

"Ahem..."

Judge Liu felt the chill and immediately banged the gavel, warning the defense, "Lawyer Zhang, please keep those little tricks to yourself and your client. It’s just that he’s over thirty and doesn’t have a girlfriend because he’s too busy to find a woman to talk to, what’s there to pity about..."

As he spoke, a tear seemed to gleam in the corner of Judge Liu’s eye, and he nearly cried.

"Ahem, Judge Liu makes sense!"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but nod and then continued with his questioning.

"Well then, Old Tie, let’s not dwell on this. I just want to ask you a simple question. On the night you were caught by the field agent, what were you and another party in the case, Gan Xiaowei, doing?"

Without hesitation, Tie Ruyun replied, "It was a Saturday. I had helped Xiaowei with a litigation on Friday. After the other party agreed to withdraw the lawsuit, on Saturday I took her to handle the withdrawal procedures, and we gathered some stuff."

"We were busy until the evening, and then I drove her back to her place."

As he spoke, Tie Ruyun hesitated but still confessed, "When we got back to the street where she lived, I saw she was penniless and felt sorry for her, so I took out some cash from my wallet to give her. She was very touched and suddenly offered to do me a favor..."

"She said she wanted to repay me for helping her so much and giving her money, so she insisted on doing me a favor, of course, I clearly declined, but she still..."

Seeing Tie Ruyun hesitate, Zhang Wei immediately interjected, "But she still insisted on ’servicing’ you once, which you refused again, so you both were shuffling around in the car, looking like you were hugging and embracing to an outside observer, right?"

"I don’t know how people outside the car viewed me..."

"But the field agent obviously thought you were planning to have a ’car session’, right?"

Zhang Wei said, smiling at the jury, "This is the account of one of the parties involved, Tie Ruyun."

"All this has been a misunderstanding, my client never intended to seek services from Gan Xiaowei. He was just acting out of kindness and sympathy, giving her 500 cash."

"But unfortunately, there happened to be a field agent on duty in the street that day who mistook their shuffling in the car for some kind of amorous behavior, which was a mere misunderstanding."

Zhang Wei said, his face showing a trace of helplessness.

It really was just a misunderstanding, but some people are making a mountain out of a molehill, and that’s what caused this commotion.

"Misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding!"

Zhang Wei said, emphasizing once more, then he looked towards Tie Ruyun.

The latter shook his head because he had said everything there was to say.

"Your Honor, we have no further questions for the defendant!"

said he, stepping down from the stand and returning to the defense bench.

Judge Liu nodded and then turned to the prosecution bench.

Zhang Wei’s turn was over, and now it was your turn, Nun Xu.

Xu Suyun slowly stood up, her face stern as she walked to the center of the courtroom.

Her movement still imposed a lot of pressure on the courtroom, at least Tie Ruyun’s expression gradually became more serious.

He also knew that the hardest part was yet to come.

"Misunderstanding?"

On Xu Suyun’s cold face, not a hint of emotion was visible, "The defense actually calls this a misunderstanding, isn’t that just hilarious?"

"The two clearly had a financial transaction, a man plus a prostitute, in a dimly lit street corner, inside a car, touching each other, and you’re telling me it’s a misunderstanding?"

Tie Ruyun immediately retorted, "It really is a misunderstanding!"

"Ridiculous!"

But Xu Suyun immediately interrupted, and sneered, "These are all excuses, just your one-sided testimony. You say it is so, and we should just take your word for it?"

As she spoke, she walked back to the prosecutor’s bench and retrieved a document.

"Here is Gan Xiaowei’s testimony. She clearly informed us, and also informed the court, that Tie Ruyun attempted to blackmail her into providing services for him. That is the actual truth!"

With that, she even gave the document in her hand a flick, as a reminder to the jury and the court.

"And you, Tie Ruyun, to preserve your job and to save face for yourself and the law firm, everything you have said could well be a lie!"

Xu Suyun pointed at Tie Ruyun, pressing him, "Is it not true that Lin Xiangtian, the big boss of your law firm, pressured you to resolve this matter quickly? You felt the pressure, so you opted to lie in court!"

"Objection, the opponent is making assumptions!"

Xu Suyun’s words were immediately interrupted by Zhang Wei.

"Objection sustained!" Judge Liu nodded and glanced at Xu Suyun.

As for the significance of the warning, he knew his influence was minor; whether others would take heed was questionable.

Xu Suyun was interrupted but showed no sign of irritation. Instead, she turned to the jury and said, "The defendant today changed his appearance again and lied in public. He is obviously scared; he clearly has a guilty conscience!"

"Objection!"

Zhang Wei stood up again, visibly annoyed.

Of course, that was intentional. He put on a look of annoyance deliberately for the judge to see.

"Prosecutor, please be mindful!"

Judge Liu certainly saw it and understood the gravity of the situation and immediately hammered down.

"Prosecutor, please refrain from unjustly speculating about the defendant’s behavior. Provide evidence to prove your conjecture is correct!"

"Humph!" Faced with the warning, Xu Suyun merely snorted and showed no inclination to heed Judge Liu.

Judge Liu felt helpless inside. What could I do? I am just a newcomer.

If the old hands don’t give me the time of day, I am powerless.

After Xu Suyun acted in such a manner, she saw all twelve members of the jury appear pensive.

Lies!

Whether Tie Ruyun lied is indeed something to ponder.

If he did it to save his job and to avoid angering his superior, could he really have chosen to lie publicly?

It seemed entirely possible!

Moreover, Gan Xiaowei also provided testimony that completely contradicted the defendant’s.

So who should be believed?

In any case, the seeds of doubt were sown.

Xu Suyun had achieved her objective.

She wanted to make the jury feel that Tie Ruyun was someone who, for his benefit, could lie in public.

However, she felt she had to amplify the jury’s impression further.

"Defendant, you are a defense attorney, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then, in your career as a defense attorney, have you ever helped a guilty person get acquitted?"

"This..."

Hearing this question, Tie Ruyun immediately found himself hesitating.

"Objection!"

At that moment, Zhang Wei rose to his feet, "The prosecutor’s question is irrelevant to this case. My client’s involvement in previous cases is not directly related to this one!"

"But he hesitated! That indicates he indeed has done something unethical; otherwise, he would not have hesitated and should have answered my question immediately!"

Xu Suyun seized on this moment of hesitation from Tie Ruyun, and immediately emphasized it repeatedly to the jury.

"Judge Liu!" Zhang Wei spread his hands, signaling for the judge to deal with the situation.

"Prosecutor, the court can no longer tolerate your behavior. I hereby announce that you have lost the right to continue cross-examination!"

Judge Liu finally took action.

He knew warning Xu Suyun was pointless, so he directly revoked her cross-examination privileges.

Xu Suyun merely sneered, her demeanor showing no irritation at the loss of privilege.

Because she had reached her goal.

The seed of doubt had now taken root and was sprouting.

Didn’t the expressions on at least ten or more jurors clearly show deep skepticism toward the defendant?

Knowing that you, the defendant, are a defense attorney, and specifically a criminal defense attorney who represents the bad guys, they obviously won’t believe you.

This is a sure thing!

At that moment, Xu Suyun was brimming with confidence, because she knew that the defense had run out of options.