Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 491 - 487: Like Sisters? Are We Blind?

Chapter 491: Chapter 487: Like Sisters? Are We Blind?

In court.

Zhang Wei was ready to begin the cross-examination.

"Sister Li, you just told us that you regarded Miss Lin as close as a sister, that you always treated her like a younger sister. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that’s right!"

Sister Li admitted generously.

"Oh, so there’s a sisterly bond between you two, that’s really wonderful~"

Zhang Wei sarcastically remarked, then followed up with a question, "You also mentioned that you brought a group of female anchors from the same period. May I ask, about how many people were there?"

"The female anchors I’m in charge of, roughly more than 20, and not from the same period but from three or four groups within the same year. There’s quite a lot of them."

Sister Li said this, putting on a very hardworking look.

Taking care of a dozen or more female anchors and looking after their daily needs, just like a nanny, is really tiresome.

In the courtroom, many nodded in agreement, filled with admiration for Sister Li’s answer.

On the plaintiff’s bench, Director Zhu and Sun Kongwen also sensed the atmosphere in the court.

"Sister Li’s acting isn’t bad, huh?"

"That’s true. Back then she was also one of our company’s anchors and even studied acting!"

The two of them were elated, evidently feeling more confident about the case.

Full of confidence at the plaintiff’s bench, it was now the defendant’s turn to be on the back foot.

"Lawyer Zhang, could there be a problem?"

Bobo looked worried and gestured towards Sister Li on the witness stand.

"This woman has been lying all along; not a word she says is true!"

"Don’t worry, Bobo, Zhang Wei is my brother; he will definitely be able to do this!"

Luo Xiaobu reassured her, promising quickly!

If it were someone else, perhaps he wouldn’t be so confident.

But Zhang Wei was different; he is a professional.

I, Luo Xiaobu, might not trust anyone else, but I definitely trust Zhang Wei!

That’s what good brothers are for!

The attention of the entire courtroom followed Sister Li’s statement to Zhang Wei.

Everyone wanted to see how exactly Zhang Wei would counter.

"Sister Li, you really do have it tough, having to be with so many girls day and night."

"Yes, it’s very hard!"

Sister Li nodded eagerly, thinking to herself that Zhang Wei was nothing special, seeing that he was starting to agree with her.

Is it because he can’t find any flaws in her testimony, so he’s choosing to compromise?

"By the way, Sister Li, you’ve been interacting with these girls for so long, you must know them quite well, right?"

"Not to toot my own horn, but in the more than a year of day-to-day interaction, I might understand them even better than their own mothers!"

"Oh, is that so? Then let me ask, you remember the names of all the female anchors under you, don’t you?"

"Of course!"

"Then, please, do us a favor and report how many female anchors you currently have under your name. Of course, I won’t ask you to call out their names, just their stage names will suffice."

"No problem!"

Sister Li laughed, her face filled with disdain.

She knew these people all too well, seeing them every day. Calling out a stage name was a piece of cake for her.

"Under me, there are Rong Rong, Bobo, Susu..."

Sister Li reeled off more than twenty names in one breath, listing out all the female anchors under her in one go.

"Huh, how come there are a few missing?" Zhang Wei suddenly exclaimed, looking puzzled.

"Impossible, I didn’t miss any. That’s how many girls I’m responsible for managing." Sister Li couldn’t believe it and quickly denied it.

"Is that so?"

Zhang Wei then walked back to his seat, picked up a notebook, flipped to the first page, and asked, "According to the internal contract approval records of your company, there were actually 31 artists signed under you as their agent two years ago. So, why have you only reported 26? Where are the remaining 5?"

Sister Li, upon hearing what Zhang Wei said, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be this issue.

"Oh, you’re talking about this? They were eliminated!"

"Eliminated?"

"Yes, the company felt these girls were not suitable for being anchors, so they were told to seek other opportunities."

"So I would like to ask, were they merely deemed unsuitable for the broadcasting industry, hence they were told to look for other avenues?"

"What else would it be?" Sister Li retorted, her tone becoming somewhat impatient.

"Your Tiandi Network Company, have you never engaged in acts of violence against them?"

"I object, unfounded accusation, the lawyer is making speculative assertions!"

Zhang Wei’s last sentence made Sun Kongwen stand up immediately, raising an objection.

"Objection sustained, Lawyer Zhang. I warn you once!"

"Judge Jiang, can’t you let the bullet fly for a while?"

"Huh?"

The young Judge Jiang apparently hadn’t expected Zhang Wei to dare to talk back to him in his own courtroom.

He was stunned, and at the same time, he looked towards the "senior seats."

In the first row of the hearing seats, Ni Qiuping showed an expression of not being surprised, and Xu Suyun remained unperturbed.

Clearly, they were used to Zhang Wei pulling off stunts in the courtroom.

Well, Judge Jiang acknowledged that he was still too young.

However, he knew he needed to uphold the dignity of the courtroom.

"Lawyer Zhang, what do you mean by letting bullets fly for a while?"

"Judge Jiang, please watch closely!"

Zhang Wei said, took a stack of photos from Luo Xiaobu’s hands, then turned on the projector and began the slideshow.

The first photo appeared on the projection screen, a woman hospitalized with injuries, her head and face wrapped in bandages.

"May I ask Sister Li, do you recognize this person?"

"She..."

Seeing the woman in the photo, Sister Li’s eyes flickered.

"Ah le le, Sister Li, what’s wrong, do you recognize her?"

"I..."

"You surely recognize her, after all, she signed a live streaming contract with your company, and it’s your name written in the agent section, oh~"

Zhang Wei spoke as he pulled out a contract and displayed it in front of Sister Li.

Kid, the evidence is right here, you can’t deny it now.

Upon seeing this, Sister Li immediately put on a familiar façade and quickly pointed to the projection screen, saying, "Oh, isn’t this Xiao Lu? What happened to her?"

"Now you recognize her?"

Zhang Wei chuckled and pointed at the projection screen, saying, "Miss Lu here was beaten up, and moreover, by someone from your company, Dai Ni Fei Network Company!"

As soon as these words came out, the entire courtroom was in an uproar.

Even Judge Jiang on the bench felt at a loss.

Just now he had objected, and to think this was actually true?

He looked helplessly again towards the senior seats, towards Ni Qiuping.

Senior, are the cases handled by Zhang Wei this tricky from the first round of cross-examination?

Ni Qiuping returned a composed expression to him.

It was not to reassure him but to tell him that this was only the first witness, and the stimulating parts were still to come.

Gulp...

Judge Jiang couldn’t help swallowing hard.

"Objection, hearsay evidence!"

From the plaintiff’s seats, sensing the shift in the courtroom’s atmosphere, Sun Kongwen immediately stood up to interrupt.

"Judge Jiang, what is this situation with Lawyer Zhang? Just because he has a photo of an injured patient, he can accuse my client?"

After warning Judge Jiang, Sun Kongwen turned to Zhang Wei and spoke with righteous indignation, "Lawyer Zhang, I solemnly warn you here, if you continue to slander my client and the company, my party reserves the right to hold you in contempt for slander on the spot!"

"Whether it’s slander or not, won’t you know if you continue watching?"

Zhang Wei merely smiled and took a cellphone from Luo Xiaobu’s hands.

"Since the plaintiff has raised doubts, then let us cross-examine the witness right here."

"May I ask Sister Li, are you aware of the events surrounding Miss Lu’s injury as shown in the photo?"

Sister Li looked towards the plaintiff’s seats, towards Zhu Pitte.

The latter made a slight shaking motion of his head.

Sister Li got the message and immediately shook her head, denying it, "No, I don’t know!"

"Truly unaware?"

"Unaware!"

Hearing this answer, Zhang Wei was pleased.

"Court recorder, please make a note of it, the witness denies the question posed by our side!"

The court recorder naturally recorded every word, while Zhang Wei looked towards the bench with cellphone in hand.

"Judge Jiang, considering the witness’s statement, our side would like to submit a self-evidence from Miss Lu to rebut Sister Li’s testimony!"

"This court permits it!"

Since it was a rebuttal evidence, Judge Jiang naturally nodded his approval.

Zhang Wei immediately pressed the play button for the recording on the phone.

"Hello, everyone. I am the female broadcaster of Dai Ni Fei Network Company, my stage name is Xiao Lu, but I know none of you recognize me, as I have never had more than 500 fans since I became a broadcaster, a complete unknown on the platform."

"But what I want to tell you today is that Bring You Up Cyberspace Inc. is a bunch of scum and robbers. Knowing that I had no talent and couldn’t be a hostess or help them make money from tips, they made me provide sexual services to cooperating bosses and forced me into prostitution. If I didn’t do as they ordered, they would send someone to intimidate and beat me!"

"I remember that day, they sent five or six men to break into my place, and then with a cover over my head, they beat me up, punching and kicking. While they were hitting me, they also cursed, saying I couldn’t even handle such a trivial matter and had upset the clients."

"In the end, I couldn’t take their beating anymore and started to struggle. Seeing me resist, they threw off the blanket and kicked my head. Then I passed out, and when I came to, I was lying in the hospital, I..."

In the recording of her testimony, the girl’s voice sounded terrified, afraid, and tinged with sadness.

Why did she have to suffer such treatment? Why did she have to be treated like this? It was truly despairing for her.

In the courtroom, many people looked at the plaintiff’s bench with doubt and anger in their eyes.

They simply couldn’t imagine what a girl could have done wrong to deserve such a fate!

"Slander, it’s all slander!" Zhu Pitte couldn’t hold back anymore and stood up, pointing at Zhang Wei and yelling in outrage.

"Isn’t it slander, Director Zhu? You should know it in your heart, right?"

Zhang Wei sneered coldly, showing no concern for Zhu Pitte’s reaction.

Because this was the truth, and Zhu Pitte really did have a thick skin.

"Order!"

Judge Jiang could no longer sit still and immediately banged the gavel, presiding over the order.

Then, as the judge of this court, he asked the witness sternly, "Witness, is the information in the recording true?"

"No, it’s not true!" Sister Li quickly denied.

Judge Jiang didn’t respond but looked at Zhang Wei, signaling him to continue.

"Sister Li, you’ve denied it, eh!"

Zhang Wei taunted, then counter-asked, "Are you saying that Miss Lu’s injuries have nothing to do with Bring You Up Cyberspace, that she hurt herself just like you did?"

"It’s possible!" Sister Li hastened to agree.

Though she too knew, the excuse was as implausible as a tall tale.

"Well then, the second one!"

Zhang Wei removed the first photo from the projector and introduced the second one.

This time, it showed a woman with a swollen face and visible bruises.

"What about this one? It’s been confirmed by a doctor to be injuries from being beaten. Are you also going to say that she injured herself?"

Zhang Wei pointed at the projection screen, at the clear signs of beating on the woman’s face, and asked coldly.

"This..."

"Sister Li, you must remember who this is, right?"

"She...is Xiao Xun?"

"Oh, you still remember?"

Zhang Wei laughed sarcastically, and then bluntly said, "This is Miss Xun, who is also signed with Bring You Up Cyberspace as a hostess, and your agent is you. She was also coerced by you into prostitution, you beat her when she resisted, didn’t you?"

"This... It’s a misunderstanding. We’ve never done such things!"

Sister Li quickly denied it, and also explained to Judge Jiang.

"How about this person?"

"And this one..."

Zhang Wei unveiled two more photos.

Both girls in these photos were also injured, looking miserable, haggard, and utterly hopeless.

"Sister Li, one might be an accident, but two, three, four, so many people accusing your company of such acts, do you mean to say that these girls hurt themselves and are framing your company?"

Hearing Zhang Wei’s counter-question, Sister Li was at a loss for words.

Likewise, the atmosphere in the entire courtroom shifted.

The jury looked at the plaintiff’s bench with hostility, especially Fiery Mom, whose eyes appeared to be shooting flames.

The observers in the gallery echoed this sentiment, with Ni Qiuping and Xu Suyun both showing indignant expressions.

Sun Kongwen and Zhu Pitte suddenly felt that the situation was turning sour.

Judge Jiang, sitting on the bench, also felt the pressure.

Is this Homicide Lawyer Zhang Wei, putting such pressure on me with just the first witness?

He inwardly chastised himself for being too young and naively thinking this was a minor case.

If this case wasn’t handled properly, where would his authority stand, and his face would suffer a great blow.

"Order, order!"

With the strike of the gavel, the courtroom finally began to quiet down.

But because of the photos just shown, many in the gallery and on the jury bench still looked at the plaintiff’s side with hostility.

"Sister Li, will you still deny it now?"

"I..."

Sister Li glanced at the plaintiff’s bench and, seeing Zhu Pitte’s gloomy face, still shook her head in denial, "I don’t know."

"Heh, I knew you would say that!"

Zhang Wei revealed an ’I thought as much’ expression, then walked towards the defendant’s bench and took a USB drive from Luo Xiaobu’s hand.

"Sister Li, have you repeatedly emphasized in court that you and the hostesses you manage are like sisters, and that you treat them as if they were your younger sisters?"

"Yes!"

Although she had lost her confidence before, she still gave a positive response when she heard Zhang Wei’s question.

"Then have you ever hit them, like slapping their faces, pulling their hair, kicking them with your feet?"

"This..." Sister Li’s eyes began to flicker.

It was because when she was an agent, she sometimes acted excessively.

After thinking for a moment, she quickly tried to explain, "Sometimes, I might be a bit strict..."

"A bit strict?"

Zhang Wei spoke, inserted a USB drive into a laptop, and began to play a video on the projection screen.

In the video, there’s a room in an apartment where a girl lies resting on a couch.

"Stinking bitch, get up already, it’s time to start streaming!"

Suddenly, a shrill voice erupted.

Then in the frame appeared a woman, none other than Sister Li.

She walked over to the woman on the couch and delivered a slap straight to her face.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

"You little slut still know pain, huh? Get up for mama right now! I’m warning you, today’s streaming task is 7 hours. It’s 4:30 pm now, if you start from now on and you have to stream until midnight, not stopping even for a minute, you hear?"

The girl was still covering her face, not responding.

"You stinking bitch, did you hear me?"

The phrase "raised her leg" is followed by another kick, landing directly on the girl’s chest.

"Sister Li, I understand, please don’t hit me anymore..."

The girl finally showed a pained expression, her face filled with entreaty.

"Good, now get ready to start streaming. Do your makeup during the live stream too. If you don’t meet the streaming duration, you won’t get any supper tonight!"

After threatening her, Sister Li left. The last moment of the footage froze on Sister Li’s fierce and ruthless face.

"Sister Li, is this how you treat them like sisters, how you treat them like your younger sisters?"

The entire courtroom turned their gaze to the witness stand.

Goodness me!

Indeed, goodness me!

You, as an agent, dared to beat up girls for no reason—this is how you treat them like family?

Are you blind or are we blind?

Are you the one spouting nonsense, or are we the ones unable to see anything?

Rage!

Utter rage!

Everyone felt that they had been played by the plaintiff’s side.

That’s just preposterous!

Whether it be the jury or the spectators, everyone loathed Zhu Pitte and Sister Li to the core.

These people are just too scummy.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei decided to twist the knife further.

"Sister Li, you still haven’t answered my question. Is this the attitude you normally have towards these girls?"

"This..."

Sister Li was at a loss for words because she had not expected there to be video evidence.

Although she had studied acting in her earlier years, the question at hand was simply too overwhelming.

"Since the witness has nothing to say, we will now conclude our questioning!"

Zhang Wei looked at the jurors’ attitude and knew his goal had been achieved, so he concluded his interrogation right away.

By the time he returned to the defense’s bench, Luo Xiaobu was already brimming with excitement, and Bobo likewise showed a smile.

"Zhang Wei, you’re really something, your performance was absolutely fantastic, wasn’t it?"

"Lawyer Zhang, thank you."

"Why, I simply revealed the truth."

Zhang Wei waved his hand, apparently indifferent to the compliments from the two.

After all, this was only the first witness and judging by the plaintiff’s bench, the other side would surely be devising a way to remedy the situation.

On the plaintiff’s bench.

"Lawyer Sun, think of something quick!"

Zhu Pitte looked outraged and a bit nervous as he turned to his neighbor.

Sun Kongwen’s eyes flickered as he rapidly pondered a strategy for damage control.

Soon, he had an idea!