Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 496 - 492: Motion, Very Confident, Playing Tricks?

Chapter 496: Chapter 492: Motion, Very Confident, Playing Tricks?

The weekend, a day of rest.

The city court, civil division.

Judge Jiang, young and frustrated because the weekend was supposed to be his time to rest and prepare for Monday’s trial.

But what he hadn’t expected was that the defendant’s lawyer, Zhang Wei, would launch an emergency motion, and he even contacted him directly by phone on Saturday night.

Now, his weekend rest had gone up in smoke.

Not only could he not rest, but he also had to come to the court to handle the troublesome matters for both plaintiff and defendant.

"If that guy wasn’t Zhang Wei, if he wasn’t a lawyer from Jincheng, if he wasn’t the notorious Homicide Lawyer, I..."

Judge Jiang sat alone in his office, unable to resist venting his frustrations.

He finally understood why every time he saw his senior, Ni Qiuping, she looked like she was on the verge of depression.

If he had to handle a few more cases with Zhang Wei, he would become depressed too.

If he were a more impressive judge, one who could firmly control both sides, he wouldn’t be at their mercy.

If he were just a little more formidable, it would be the plaintiff and defendant looking to him for cues, not the other way around.

"Cough cough..."

While Judge Jiang was grumbling to himself, a coughing sound came from the doorway.

He recognized the sound; it was Zhang Wei’s voice.

"Hey, Junior Judge Jiang, you’re pretty early, huh?"

Zhang Wei had arrived, and he was alone, clutching a briefcase with a smile on his face.

But to Xiao Jiang, that smile seemed sinister and terrifying.

He thought to himself, you’re really calling me Xiao Jiang? I’m several years older than you.

However, despite the inner complaints, Junior Judge Jiang’s face maintained a semblance of "dignity", devoid of any smile.

"Lawyer Zhang, about the motion you want to initiate today, what was it about again...?"

"Oh, I forgot to say on the phone last night. I’ll wait until they get here before I say anything!"

Zhang Wei said, glancing toward the door as if someone was coming.

The door to the office opened again, and Zhu Pitte walked in, his face gloomy.

Following him was Sun Kongwen, with an equally dark expression.

"Zhang, what do you mean by calling us here on the big weekend for what?"

Zhu Pitte was visibly annoyed, and if it wasn’t for the judge being there, he would have likely sworn outright.

"Yeah, Lawyer Zhang, you said it’s an urgent motion, but what exactly is it about? If it’s not something major, I’m going to complain about you!"

Compared to the hot-tempered Zhu Pitte, Sun Kongwen showed a bit more restraint, but still voiced his dissatisfaction.

"Oh, now that everyone’s here, let me explain. My side requests to add these people to the witness list!"

Zhang Wei said, pulling three copies of a list from his briefcase and handing one each to Judge Jiang, Sun Kongwen, and Zhu Pitte.

All three instinctively glanced at the names on the list.

Sun Kongwen looked puzzled, and Judge Jiang was also confused – who were these people?

Only Zhu Pitte felt a surge of anger when he saw a particular name on the list.

"Zhang, what are you implying?"

"Director Zhu, what’s wrong? You seem quite agitated by the list; do you know someone on it?"

Zhang Wei smirked slightly, pointing to the list with a teasing expression.

"You..."

Zhu Pitte looked at Zhang Wei’s expression, clenched his fists tightly, and nearly lost control and hit him.

"Mr. Zhu, why are you angry? Is there an issue with this list?"

Judge Jiang set aside the list and looked over.

However, he soon turned to Zhang Wei, "Lawyer Zhang, why do you want to add these people to the list? What is their relationship to the case?"

"These individuals are from the Tiger Fish live-streaming platform. My client is a host on Tiger Fish, so I want to summon them to testify in court!"

"Oh, I see!"

Hearing that they were related to the platform, Judge Jiang understood.

Since the case’s defendant was a female host, summoning people from the live-streaming platform wasn’t inappropriate.

"I object to summoning these witnesses!"

Zhu Pitte, seeing the judge’s ambiguous attitude, became even more agitated.

"Judge, I need to step outside and discuss with my lawyer!"

He gave Sun Kongwen a meaningful look and then strode out of the office.

"Judge Jiang, Lawyer Zhang, please excuse me for a moment."

Sun Kongwen didn’t understand either, but he followed the former out.

Five minutes later, the two returned.

"Judge Jiang, my client told me that he strongly opposes the list of witnesses summoned by the defense!"

Judge Jiang could tell that the two of you were definitely hiding something, so he calmly asked, "Why?"

"This case is a contract dispute between my client’s company and Miss Lin, the streamer, and does not involve the Tiger Fish live streaming platform, so we believe there is no need to summon them."

"That reason is a bit too..."

Judge Jiang couldn’t help himself, it sounded quite far-fetched, so he looked towards Zhang Wei.

"Judge Jiang, I don’t understand?"

Zhang Wei hastily spread his hands, feigning confusion, "My client broadcasts on Tiger Fish, and the plaintiff’s company also has a direct cooperative relationship with Tiger Fish. How come to Director Zhu and Lawyer Sun, Tiger Fish platform is suddenly unrelated to the case?"

"In my view, whether it’s the role of Tiger Fish platform in the case, or the broadcast agreement and the platform itself it provides, they are all highly relevant to this case, aren’t they?"

"Exactly!" Judge Jiang couldn’t help but nod in agreement, "Lawyer Zhang makes sense. The plaintiff’s opposition is too far-fetched, the court won’t approve it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Pitte quickly looked towards Sun Kongwen.

The latter’s eyes darted around, glancing at the list and then at Zhang Wei, before coming up with a plan.

"Judge Jiang, please hold on!"

Just as Junior Judge Jiang was about to make an announcement, Sun Kongwen suddenly interrupted.

"Plaintiff’s attorney, do you have something else to say?"

"Judge Jiang, although the defense has submitted a new witness list, we believe their reasoning is not sufficiently convincing. Merely because it’s platform-related to summon these witnesses, we believe Lawyer Zhang’s reasons are also untenable!"

"This..."

Judge Jiang hadn’t expected Sun Kongwen to pull such a move.

You, Zhang Wei, want to summon people from Tiger Fish reasoning that it’s related to the platform.

If our opposition is insufficient and the judge wants to reject it, then I can also question the sufficiency of your summoning rationale. Just being platform-related and calling these few people is just as far-fetched, isn’t it?

By raising this challenge, Sun Kongwen actually had another thought in mind: to probe what information Zhang Wei held.

If you can’t provide a convincing reason for the judge, this motion will be rejected just the same.

But if you articulate a persuasive reason, you’ll have to reveal your hand, and we’ll also get an idea of what you know.

That way, by the time we go to court tomorrow, we can still prepare a response in advance.

Judge Jiang also pondered for a moment and felt that the current reasons were somewhat insufficient to support his issuing subpoenas.

"Lawyer Zhang, do you have any special reason for summoning these individuals?"

"Since you’ve asked, Judge Jiang, I’ll just come out with it then. Actually, an unpleasant incident occurred on yesterday’s trending search list. There was some news about my client that, according to Director Wang of Weibo, some people had requested to be published."

While speaking, Zhang Wei looked towards Zhu Pitte with a cold smile: "Who could this person who asked for a favor be? Why did they want Weibo to push my client’s negative news to the top? Is it an attempt to interfere with the trial by using external factors to affect the jury?"

"Really? Did that happen?" Judge Jiang was surprised.

He was busy resting yesterday, didn’t touch his computer all day, and naturally didn’t see what was trending.

"Yes, and among those trending searches, it specifically involved the Tiger Fish live streaming platform and included an issue relating to the top broadcaster. That’s why I want to summon the person in charge of the platform and others to testify about this incident and vindicate my client!"

Zhang Wei said this and added with a grave expression: "If the jury is indeed swayed, the decisions they make will be influenced by that provocative trending search, indirectly affecting the fairness of the verdict. Can there be any talk of fairness and justice for my client then?"

"So, Judge Jiang, my summoning of the responsible parties from Tiger Fish platform is all for the sake of maintaining court fairness and justice, as well as considering the interests of my client. I ask that you approve it!"

Seeing how earnestly Zhang Wei spoke, Judge Jiang couldn’t help but nod his head.

"Alright, since Lawyer Zhang has put it that way, the court approves!"

He waved his hand grandly, not giving Sun Kongwen and Zhu Pitte the opportunity to object, and approved the motion outright!

Seeing his aim achieved, Zhang Wei was very pleased.

Zhu Pitte and Sun Kongwen, however, had gloomy faces.

But upon considering Zhang Wei’s reasoning for the summons, they breathed a sigh of relief.

The incident from yesterday indeed had been their doing; Zhang Wei wanting Tiger Fish platform personnel to testify in court to mitigate the issue wasn’t completely unreasonable.

But so what if you have Tiger Fish’s people testify in court, what can they prove for you?

Bobo’s private meeting with the top broadcaster – could that be a lie?

Zhu Pitte gave Sun Kongwen a look, now that they knew Zhang Wei’s intention, they planned to leave.

Not only that, but Zhu Pitte intended to call his brother-in-law as soon as he returned. If he had to testify in court, that testimony needed to be well-prepared.

"Well then, Junior Judge Jiang, I will take my leave as well!"

Seeing the plaintiff’s side leave, Zhang Wei also quickly excused himself and left the city court.

Junior Judge Jiang then began to busy herself with the matter of issuing subpoenas.

However, she found it somewhat strange.

Ni Qiuping had mentioned that Zhang Wei’s tricks were like layers within layers; one simply couldn’t tell which level he was playing on.

If one were to consider this, then was Zhang Wei’s summoning of the people from Tiger Fish live streaming platform really about providing clarification for the client’s scandal, or was that in doubt too?

...

Monday, court day.

In a blink of an eye, the time had come to the third week of September.

This week saw many events unfold, particularly the council members of Dongfang Capital, where it was leaked that several members had initiated a motion to impeach the speaker, Zhang Tianlong.

But not many people knew about this, and there was absolutely no follow-up reporting, so for the public, it was just another piece of ordinary news that passed by in a flash.

Besides, matters like these seemed too distant for them.

However, something else seemed to have occurred at the city council over the weekend, and it also involved a council member, but unfortunately the heat of this incident also seemed to have been suppressed.

Now, information about the city council on the internet was sparse at best.

And Zhang Wei, who was currently busy with the case, wasn’t one to pay much attention to political news and thus, was oblivious to these matters.

Had he known, perhaps he would have taken some time to analyze Zhang Tianlong’s current situation.

At this moment, he was in the civil court, preparing.

With Bobo and Luo Xiaobu, he had rushed to the courthouse early in the morning, because today’s hearing was set to start in the morning.

As defendants, they had entered the courtroom more than ten minutes ahead of time.

After waiting for a few minutes, the public gallery in the courtroom gradually filled up with a considerable number of people.

Soon after, the plaintiff’s side arrived.

Zhu Pitte, carrying the crew from the Da Ni Fei network, entered the scene, followed by Sun Kongwen, the lawyer they had hired.

Moreover, following Zhu Pitte and his entourage’s entrance to the courtroom, yet another group of people arrived at the door.

Leading them was a middle-aged man in an expensive suit with a somber expression.

His surname was Wang; he was the content supervisor and vice president of the Tiger Fish platform, in charge of content projects and an important figure at the platform.

Behind him were employees from Tiger Fish platform from various departments, all wearing unhappy expressions.

After all, anyone who received a court summons on a weekend night, telling them to take time out of their working Monday to appear in court to testify, wouldn’t be in the best of moods.

Vice President Wang and his colleagues sat in the witness seats with dark expressions, eying Zhang Wei and his team.

They knew that they had been subpoenaed by the defense to testify and clear the client’s name.

Vice President Wang’s face remained unchanged, but he sneered inwardly.

You clearly don’t get it, do you? Your client has no innocence left to speak of.

I’m a high-ranking executive at a live streaming platform; I know all the ins and outs.

Aren’t female streamers supposed to keep close with the top contributor? Isn’t that the norm?

What’s the purpose of having these leaderboards then?

Why does the platform emphasize the status of the top contributor so much? And why is that?

You clearly don’t understand live streaming at all!

Anyway, Vice President Wang had already made up his mind, and he had even talked to his nephew the previous night, figuring out what to say today.

Just wait for his testimony in court, and let’s see if the defense can handle what’s coming!

With his plans in mind, Vice President Wang scorned the defense.

And having been briefed by Vice President Wang in advance, both Zhu Pitte and Sun Kongwen wore confidently smug smiles.

You wanted to subpoena the content supervisor of Tiger Fish platform to testify on behalf of your client.

Little did you know, this witness had always been on our side. You’re essentially shooting yourself in the foot.

This case seemed like a sure win!

Everyone on the plaintiff’s bench was radiating confidence!

Zhang Wei, observing this scene, just chuckled to himself.

You’re so confident now, but I’ll wait to see you cry later!

He checked the time; the court was about to begin.

"Everyone, please rise!"

Under the court guard’s announcement, Junior Judge Jiang made her way into the courtroom.

After she sat down at the judge’s bench, she scanned the entire courtroom.

Key individuals took their seats on both the prosecution and defense benches.

The front row of the defense witness seating filled up.

Not only that, on the "senior bench," Ni Qiuping and Xu Suyun had also arrived, both seniors donning smiles that were very "amiable."

It was as if they were telling Junior Judge Jiang, "Go ahead and do as you will today; we’re just here to enjoy the show."

Junior Judge Jiang inwardly clicked his tongue, but he still began the proceedings with a strike of the gavel, "This court hereby announces the continuation of the second formal hearing of the breach of contract case against Miss Lin initiated by Dongfang Capital’s Fly You to the Sky Network!"

"Does the plaintiff wish to call any witnesses to testify?"

Judge Jiang looked towards the plaintiff bench, recalling clearly that during last Friday’s session, the plaintiff had not performed well.

The witnesses called by them, whether it was the instructors or Manager Feng, even Teacher Gu, all backfired.

The plaintiff would need a strong witness to turn the tide.

"Judge Jiang, we would like to call Director Zhu to testify!"

Judge Jiang was not surprised by this choice.

He nodded his head, and Zhu Pitte stood up immediately, walking to the witness stand.

Seeing this heavyweight figure, Zhang Wei was also not surprised.

After all, Fly You to the Sky Network was, plainly speaking, Zhu Pitte’s enterprise; almost a one-man show run by him, and it made sense for him as the person in charge to testify in court.

"Hello, Director Zhu!"

"Hello, Lawyer Sun!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Sun Kongwen got straight to the questioning.

"Director Zhu, in last week’s session, a lot of evidence unfavorable to your company was presented, what do you have to say about this?"

"I think those photos were far too one-sided!"

"One-sided?"

Feigning surprise, Sun Kongwen then asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Simple. Last week, the defense showed many photos of dance classes, where a lot of the conduct might seem lewd to outsiders, but in reality, they are just female students being more intimate with their male friends."

Male friends?

Eyes darted around in both the jury box and the gallery.

The men and women in those photos didn’t seem to be in typical boyfriend-girlfriend relationships at all.

Sun Kongwen noticed the jury’s confusion and promptly asked, "Director Zhu, but it appeared that some of the female students were resisting, hardly looking like they were joking around with male friends. How would you explain that?"

"Young people like to play with those kinds of nuances; it’s quite normal, right?"

Zhu Pitte chuckled, his smile uncomfortably lecherous.

Normal my foot!

That’s supposed to be playful banter? Do they really take us for fools?

However, Sun Kongwen was well-prepared, immediately pulling out a USB drive from his pocket.

"Regarding Director Zhu’s explanation, I would like to clarify something here!"

"The female students appeared to be resistant because they have recently been learning to perform. After all, the hosting industry is actually about pleasing the audience and incorporates a degree of performative nature."

"So, in the dance studio, the students must learn not only dance but also certain facial expression management, various performing talents, and the interaction with male friends is part of the learning process for performance!"

As he spoke, he inserted the USB drive into the court’s projection equipment and started playing the video.

On the screen, a female student began varying her facial expressions for the camera.

First, she smiled, cutely and unrestrained, then she cried, sorrowfully and in anguish.

After a while, her gaze shifted through several expressions, each lasting about a minute.

"Stop!"

A voice came from off-camera, sounding like Teacher Gu.

"All right, that’s enough, next person please!"

Following Teacher Gu’s cue, the female student stood and left, and another took her place.

With the appearance of several students and their shifting expressions, many spectators grew visibly unsettled.

Could this really be acting?

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, our female students are learning not just dance but also acting. So putting on a show of resistance is actually quite normal, right?"

Many in the jury exchanged glances; the initial disbelief seemed to fade, and they appeared to accept the explanation this time.

Seeing this effect, Sun Kongwen finally exhaled in relief.

The efforts from yesterday seemed to have paid off!

This "evidence" had finally managed to slightly shift the court’s perception.