Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 469 - 465: The Plaintiff Goes to Court, the Stubborn Fool

Chapter 469: Chapter 465: The Plaintiff Goes to Court, the Stubborn Fool

"Hello witness, please tell the court your identity."

"I am an employee of the internal audit department at Dongxing Securities."

"Can you please inform me about the situation regarding the new project team?"

...

"Hello witness, please tell the court your identity."

"I am a member of the project review department at Dongxing Securities."

"Can you please inform me about the situation regarding the new project team?"

...

After the previous witnesses, Zhang Wei had two more people from Dongxing Securities summoned.

Their testimonies about the new project team were consistent; the person in charge was Zhan Qingze.

However, when Zhang Wei inquired about the qualification reviews of the project team, their answers were all somewhat hesitant or they were at a loss for words.

This made the jury suspect there was something fishy going on—there clearly was a problem.

Most critically, these witnesses were all Dongxing Securities’ own people, which left Master Tang and Sun Kongwen with no options.

They couldn’t possibly cross-examine their own people, could they? And the questions Zhang Wei asked pertained to facts and unspoken rules that couldn’t be denied.

Once they denied them, who knew what other tactics Zhang Wei had prepared?

"Cough cough, after a series of summonings, this court is somewhat tired, and I believe everyone else could use a break as well. Let’s have some tea and then we’ll continue the session in 15 minutes!"

Following Judge Ni Qiuping’s announcement, the court went into a mid-session break where some went for tea, and others attended to different needs.

The prosecution and defense returned to their respective preparation rooms.

Defense’s preparation room.

"Master Tang, are you and your disciple really going to let that kid tarnish my company’s reputation like this?"

No sooner had they sat down, Qian Moli couldn’t help but burst out.

"President Qian, don’t worry, we’ve only just begun!"

Yet Master Tang nonchalantly waved his hand.

Then he muttered, "That kid really is tough. With just a few ordinary witnesses, he’s almost turned the jury completely one-sided."

"Master, I will surely seize the opportunity in the upcoming court sessions!" Sun Kongwen quickly stated.

"Don’t worry. If the next witnesses are anything like the ones we’ve just seen, their testimonies will also be less influential, and the jury will get bored of it. That kid’s smart; he won’t engage in such meaningless actions!"

As Master Tang spoke, he glanced next door, "If I’m not mistaken, he’s probably getting ready to have the plaintiff take the stand."

"The plaintiff’s side?"

Qian Moli and Sun Kongwen were both well aware.

Next door.

Prosecution’s preparation room.

"Mr. Li, get ready, you might be called to take the stand next!"

"Understood!"

The husband nodded, then began taking deep breaths to regulate his composure.

His wife sat to one side, holding their daughter.

Seeing this, Xia Qianyue hurried over and asked, "Zhang Wei, wouldn’t it be more convincing if the victim takes the stand next?"

"In theory, yes, but it’s also riskier!"

Zhang Wei said, his gaze becoming serious, "Because this time I’m letting the victim testify, the defense will have no reservations and will go all out."

"But they’re the victims. If the defense attacks them with full force, won’t the jury..."

Zhang Wei pulled Xia Qianyue to one side, whispering, "If it were a criminal case, then of course you couldn’t aggressively attack the victim, but for a civil case, especially ones involving financial fraud like this, it’s a different story."

"Although people do have compassion, they have even more of a sense of superiority!"

"What do you mean by that?" Xia Qianyue scratched her head, looking a bit simple-minded.

"Simple. If someone actually believes in ads promising riches for adopting children from telephone poles, calls the wealthy woman in the ad, and then actually sends money that was requested as proof of their decision... "

"Someone believes those ads?" Xia Qianyue blinked in disbelief, was their scam awareness so poor?

"Exactly, that kind of thinking."

Zhang Wei patted Xia Qianyue’s shoulder and smiled, "The jury is like you. They too will think, ’If that fooled you, aren’t you victims just foolish?’"

"Humans are motivated by a sense of superiority. Many people who got scammed start by cursing the swindler, but those who haven’t been scammed aren’t going to join in the cursing, instead, they feel smart for not being fooled, and they look down on the victims with real contempt, believing they were just too dumb."

"Isn’t that a bit unethical?" Xia Qianyue couldn’t quite believe that people could be like that.

"Silly person, human nature is complicated, and the law is a study of the baselines of human nature. Therefore, legal practitioners are exposed to the darker sides of humanity that ordinary people don’t see. I wish everyone could be as innocent and naive as you, but sadly that’s not realistic."

Zhang Wei spoke with a hint of regret, then turned to the person in front of him.

"If the whole world were as simple as you, there would be no bad people, no right or wrong, everyone would abide by the law and sacrifice for the greater good, and this world would be a utopia."

So, ideals are ultimately just ideals.

Zhang Wei gently patted Xia Qianyue, signaling her to take a rest, as the court session was about to begin.

The 15-minute break passed quickly.

The court session resumed.

After the break, Ni Qiuping’s spirit was still quite good.

He looked at the prosecution’s bench.

"Zhang Wei, do you have any more witnesses to call?"

"Yes, Judge Ni, we would like to call the plaintiff Mr. Li to testify!"

Hearing this call for a witness, Ni Qiuping suddenly perked up.

A key figure had arrived, the victim was testifying in person.

"So he has come?" Master Tang and others at the defense bench also showed a smile.

Finally, someone they wanted arrived, they had grown somewhat tired of the previous witnesses, and now they had someone they could fire at without reservation.

The witness took a seat on the stand, glanced at his wife, then looked at the public gallery and the jury, his expression tense.

"Hello, Mr. Li."

"Hello, Lawyer Zhang."

After the exchange, the questioning began.

"Mr. Li, how did you come to know about Dongxing Securities and stock trading?"

"I had traded stocks before, but not with a broker from Dongxing Securities; I downloaded another platform’s app and invested a small amount of money in it."

"May I ask, if it’s not too much trouble, how much was this small amount?"

"Less than twenty thousand."

"Okay, and then why did you choose Dongxing Securities?"

"Because one day I got a call, the person claimed to be from Dongxing Securities, saying they had a ’bull’ stock that hit the daily limit every day!"

"So did you believe them at the time?"

"No!"

The witness shook his head, "Ever since I registered the app, I’ve been getting no fewer than ten similar calls every day, recommending stocks, inviting me to join groups, and even ’experts’ promising to guide our trading. So many, too many..."

"But you noted down that stock, didn’t you?"

"Yes, they all said it hit the daily limit, I definitely wanted to take a look."

"And you saw that the stock indeed went up?"

"Yes, so I wanted to buy in, but the app told me I was not qualified to buy, that I had to find a specific broker."

"That broker was Dongxing Securities?"

"Yes, I later called the broker’s number, she told me it was about trading seats, and asked me to register a trading account with Dongxing Securities, so I followed their instructions, registered the app, submitted my information and purchased that stock."

"How were the returns?"

"At first, the returns were good, and I made some money."

Upon hearing this response, Zhang Wei immediately laughed, "So you must have invested more, right?"

"Yes, the broker called me again, urging me to increase my position, to buy a large quantity of that stock."

Mr. Li said, sighing, "If I had just been satisfied with my initial gains, perhaps I wouldn’t be here now, maybe just..."

"So are you saying you increased your position?"

"I hesitated at first, but the broker told me that there were several more daily limits to come, that I would definitely make a huge profit, and that there was positive market news, making it impossible for the stock to fall!"

"Let me ask you a simple question, then, how much did you increase your position by?"

"I took out the down payment for a house which my wife and I had been saving for many years, and I took out a personal consumer loan. My wife also took out a credit loan, totaling nearly three million..."

As Mr. Li said this, a hint of helplessness and regret appeared on his face.

With this sum of money, in the coming years, by penny-pinching and saving, they could have managed a down payment for a modest, old apartment in the city center of Dongfang Capital.

But now, they had nothing.

Three million, all gone!

"If you hadn’t spent that money on stocks, what was your plan for it?"

Mr. Li looked at his wife, then fixed his gaze on his daughter.

"If I hadn’t bought stocks, I would have used that money for a down payment, buying a good school district house in the city of Dongfang Capital, and live a stable life with my wife, saving and slowly repaying the loan!"

"School district house?"

"Yes, although it’s likely I’ll be a wage earner all my life, I want to give my daughter the best conditions, so she won’t be disadvantaged from the start..."

Mr. Li spoke with a tremble in his voice that hinted at his inner turmoil, saying, "I let my wife down, I let my daughter down. I really believed that broker who said the stock wouldn’t fall, and so... so..."

The rest of his testimony was left unsaid, as everyone present understood.

Three or four members of the six-person jury looked at Mr. Li with sympathetic eyes.

This number was almost what Zhang Wei had expected, as he couldn’t possibly hope everyone would be so easily moved so quickly.

In that case, it was time to press the advantage.

"Mr. Li, don’t blame yourself just yet. Let’s refocus on this case," Zhang said.

"I want to ask you, after the stock started to fall, were you able to get in touch with your broker?"

"The same one who promised you a fortune, who said it was impossible for you to lose money?"

Mr. Li shook his head: "As soon as the stock began to fall, I called, but sadly, the call wouldn’t go through."

"Afterward, I called the broker over ten times a day, but she never answered. I continued this for a week, all the same."

"Eventually, I went to Dongxing Securities, only to be told that this broker didn’t work for their company. When I asked about the stock, they dismissed me with a single line."

"Investment carries risks, enter the market with caution, is that the phrase?"

"Yes."

"And how did Dongxing Securities treat you afterward?"

"They warned me, saying it was my own choice to invest and lose money, then they threw me out. After that, I became blacklisted by their company; I couldn’t even enter the front door!"

As Mr. Li reached this part, he looked towards the defendant’s bench with an expression of outrage.

"Dongxing Securities, how cruel you are!"

"Objection, inflammatory remarks!"

Sun Kongwen stood up at once, interrupting the witness’s statement.

"Objection sustained!"

Though Ni Qiuping seemed reluctant, such blatant inflammatory speech was indeed a bit too much.

"Witness, please control your emotions. This is a courtroom, not a place for you to vent your dissatisfaction!"

After issuing this warning, Ni Qiuping looked towards Zhang Wei.

"Judge Ni, we have no more questions for Mr. Li at this time," Zhang stated.

With his testimony concluded, Zhang Wei stepped down from the stand.

He had just returned to the plaintiff’s bench when Xia Qianyue immediately leaned in close.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"It’s alright for the moment, but the real danger is just beginning!" Zhang Wei replied, nodding towards the defense bench.

Master Tang wore a grim expression, while his star pupil, Sun Kongwen, was already standing up.

"Hello, Mr. Li," said Sun Kongwen as he approached the stand and greeted the witness, though he received no response.

He was undeterred by the lack of reply and continued with a smile.

"Mr. Li, you said that not only did you take out the down payment for a house, but you and your wife also took out two separate loans to invest in this?"

"Yes."

"Don’t you think that doing so was a bit... foolish?"

"What did you say?" Mr. Li retorted.

"I said, gambling all your savings on the stock market is an utterly foolish decision!"

"Objection!" Zhang Wei stood up immediately, interrupting, "Harassing the witness!"

"Objection sustained!" affirmed Ni Qiuping, then cautioned, "Lawyer Sun, mind your language, please."

"My apologies, Your Honor. That was a mistake on my part," Sun Kongwen immediately apologized. "Let me rephrase that."

"Using leverage can indeed magnify returns from small investments, but everyone knows the stock market, or any investment market for that matter, comes with uncertainties and risks."

"In my view, a real investor wouldn’t stake everything on a market full of risks. They would reserve a margin for safety, investing only 50% or perhaps 30% of their capital in stocks, futures, or other financial products. That’s the prudence a healthy investor must possess."

Sun Kongwen’s words received nods of agreement from many in the observer and jury seats.

Clearly, they considered themselves relatively rational investors.

"From my perspective, the plaintiff Mr. Li’s actions were quite naive," continued Sun Kongwen in his criticism. "In the investment market, attempting to win big with little and consequently staking all your assets, leading to being trapped in losses, and then demanding an explanation from the securities company, is itself unreasonable."

"It’s like buying a chair that the seller advises can only support one person’s weight, but you insist on sitting on it with your wife, who is also holding your daughter. When the chair collapses, you blame the seller for the chair’s poor quality. Is that reasonable?"

Hearing these words, the plaintiff, Zhang Wei, showed a hint of surprise.

"Well, well, not bad at all when it comes to giving examples!"

Since Sun Kongwen is Master Tang’s top apprentice, it was clear that he possessed some real skill.

This bit of equivocation had indeed changed the opinions of many people in the courtroom.

The most significant change was that the look in many people’s eyes when they saw Mr. Li no longer contained sympathy, only indifference and ridicule.

Thinking that stocks could make you money, turning your 3 million into 6 million, or even 10 million?

Keep dreaming, where do such good things happen?

Now that you’ve woken up from your dream, you’re looking for someone to pin the blame on, completely ignoring whether it’s your own fault?

"Mr. Li, let me ask you, did the stock immediately fall after you increased your position?"

"No, it continued to rise for a few days."

"Then why didn’t you sell the stock during those days when it was rising?"

"This..."

How could Mr. Li answer that?

Am I supposed to sell stocks that are on the rise?

Wouldn’t I be a fool then?

Don’t you understand the principle that in the stock market you buy when it rises, not when it falls?

"Mr. Li, I think you don’t understand the principle of quitting while you’re ahead. You actually had the opportunity to sell your stocks and exit the market, but you failed to seize the chance. You were always thinking of making more money, and in doing so, you ignored the possible risks!"

"That makes you a short-sighted investor. You think you can earn the amount you want, but you’re always planning to hold on for one more day, to sell tomorrow, until the stock market risk is triggered, and you get locked in!"

"Is your behavior any different from those who have lost money in stock trading?"

As Sun Kongwen spoke, he imitated Zhang Wei’s tone and said sarcastically, "Oh, there actually is a difference—that is, those who have experienced losses, they never thought of suing the securities company!"

Upon hearing this, many in the gallery laughed.

In the jury box, some faces showed amusement, but since they were in different positions, they had to maintain seriousness.

Feeling the shift in the courtroom’s atmosphere, Mr. Li could no longer sit still.

"It’s not like that!"

"If it’s not like that, then what is it?"

"I..."

Sun Kongwen felt he needed to stoke the fire.

He also walked over to the defendant’s bench and took a document from Master Tang’s hands.

"Mr. Li, let me ask you, when you were preparing to increase your investment in the stock market, did you contact your parents about it?"

"I called them..."

"What did they tell you?"

"They..."

Mr. Li’s face showed difficulty.

"Didn’t they warn you to be down-to-earth and not dream about these things..."

"I..."

"In fact, they warned you and called you multiple times. Indeed, we also sent investigators to talk to your parents!"

"Here is their exact quote, from your father... ’I warned my son, advised him to be prudent, to forget these whimsical thoughts, since he had saved enough money, to quickly buy a school-district apartment for his granddaughter, but he wouldn’t listen!’"

"Mr. Li, didn’t you ignore your father’s advice and stubbornly invest your money in the stock market, even going so far as to increase your leverage and risk?"

"I..."

"If your father could understand this principle, why couldn’t you?"

"I..."

Faced with Sun Kongwen’s relentless cross-examination, it was Mr. Li’s turn to be lost for words.

Moreover, the looks he received from the gallery and the jury now carried a hint of ill will.

What a simple-minded person!

Blinded by benefits, unable to listen to anything, a simple-minded person!

That was the thought everyone had upon seeing Mr. Li.

"Judge Ni, I have no more questions for this witness!"

Sun Kongwen decided to quit while he was ahead, ending the cross-examination.

The atmosphere in the courtroom began to shift as well.