Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 498 - 494: Heaven and Earth Possess Righteous Qi, Are You Farting?

Chapter 498: Chapter 494: Heaven and Earth Possess Righteous Qi, Are You Farting?

The solemn courtroom turned somewhat chaotic over the matter of money.

The jurors looked at each other with odd expressions and strong suspicion in their eyes.

In the hearing seats, many people pointed at Zhu Pitte in the witness stand, their looks equally filled with contempt.

Though you, Zhu Pitte, just ardently claimed you were a good boss, taking photos everywhere for employees, working hard for their sake.

But what’s the result?

You, asshole, how much money did you distribute to the employees? And beyond that, you even withheld their wages with a guilty conscience.

You tell the jury and the court that you’re a good boss.

But sorry, the moment it involves money, and we know you’ve withheld wages, you are a bad boss.

Compared to the so-called growth you’ve helped with, what everybody cares about much more, and is always more concerned with, is the money they actually get.

Therefore, the jury and the hearing attendees have once again branded Zhu Pitte as a bad boss.

Even many people empathized, filled with righteous indignation, their eyes brimming with resentment as they looked at Zhu Pitte.

Clearly, these people must have also encountered workplace PUA from bosses, or even experienced salary withholdings themselves.

"Fuck!"

In the plaintiff’s seats, Sun Kongwen saw that Zhang Wei had worn down all his hard work with just one question, he couldn’t help but curse.

This goddamn jury, are you really so concerned?

You disregard all the groundwork I’ve done before because of money?

Indeed, a jury is like grass on the top of a wall, leaning whichever way the wind blows.

"But even so, what of it? Aside from the division of profits, do you have any other evidence?"

Sun Kongwen wasn’t too pessimistic, because he knew Zhang Wei had no other evidence.

So what if the issue of money has touched everyone? As long as there’s no other issue that has caused Dragon Country Internet a loss of reputation, there’s still a chance to turn things around.

Judicial bench.

Junior Judge Jiang felt the clamor in the courtroom and eventually lost patience.

"Silence!"

He banged the gavel to quiet the courtroom.

"This court is a place of order, no whispering allowed!"

After saying this, Judge Jiang continued to look at Zhang Wei.

"Lawyer Zhang, continue your questioning, please!"

"Thank you, Judge Jiang."

Zhang Wei expressed his thanks, then approached Zhu Pitte once again.

"Director Zhu, you’ve been portraying yourself as a good boss from the start, but I’m curious, since when does a good boss withhold employee’s wages and use their money for usurious loans?"

Zhu Pitte’s face darkened, but he didn’t respond.

"If you don’t respond, then I’ll take it as you admitting to this matter."

Zhang Wei had anticipated Zhu Pitte’s reaction.

If you don’t answer, I’ll take it as your agreement—this is a common tactic defense attorneys use against uncooperative witnesses.

This move is about seeing when you can’t help but break your silence and speak up.

Once you do, I’ll catch you in a contradiction.

At this moment, Zhu Pitte was extremely annoyed.

He couldn’t respond well but was accused by Zhang Wei of being afraid and admitting to the issue.

He was really about to lose his patience!

Even though Sun Kongwen from the plaintiff’s seats was giving him frantic looks, signaling him to stay calm.

But what kind of person was Zhu Pitte? He was the boss of a streaming company; he was the biggest voice in the entire company, the one who made the decisions.

When had he ever had to take this crap?

"Director Zhu, since you won’t answer about the revenue sharing, let me change the question to something about you," Zhang Wei said as he adjusted his position, leaning his hand against the witness stand and smiling. "You’ve been packaging yourself as a good boss, so let’s not talk about money for now. Let’s talk about what you’ve taught my client and about your contributions to the other signed female broadcasters in your company. Can you tell us what you have done for them?"

As these words were spoken, everyone’s gaze converged on the witness stand.

"My contributions, there were certainly plenty!" sneered Zhu Pitte.

He might have found other questions difficult to answer, but this one was not included.

"Let’s keep it simple, it was I who brought them into the livestreaming circle, I who taught them the industry’s standards, I..."

Zhu Pitte started a lengthy discourse, listing all the things that the Take You to Fly company taught the female anchors, which he revealed outright.

After he finished, he retorted, "Considering how much my company has taught her, I think taking 70% of her income isn’t too much, right?"

"No, I think it’s too much."

Zhang Wei shook his head, "There are plenty of courses teaching livestreaming online, and there are video sites with knowledge bloggers sharing for free. In fact, much of what you’ve mentioned can be learned at no cost."

"I believe your company, Director Zhu, is bullying the newcomers who don’t know better, forcing them to sign an unequal livestream employment contract, then extracting as much as possible from them during their newcomer period, fully exploiting their value. Your methods of exploitation are quite impressive indeed!"

"You..."

Zhu Pitte was infuriated by Zhang Wei’s mockery, but he couldn’t lash out, so he could only retort with a resentful glare, "What about the resources I’ve invested in them, the promotional resources? That’s all real money!"

"Those costs probably aren’t as high as you claim!"

Zhang Wei countered and walked back to the defendant’s bench, taking another document from Luo Xiaobu’s hands.

"Speaking of promotional costs on the Tiger Fish platform, how much does a homepage recommendation spot cost, Director Zhu? Would you mind disclosing that?"

Upon hearing this, everyone from Tiger Fish in the front row of the hearing bench became restless.

Logically, homepage promotions should be arranged according to popularity, but everyone inside their platform knew that these spots could be bought with money.

It was like the top spot on a trending search list, which was displayed for a certain number of days, hours, or even minutes—the higher the ranking, the higher the fee.

In the same vein, various guilds and talent agencies spared no expense in competing for the exposure of their anchors on the homepage.

And Tiger Fish was more than happy to see this internal competition, preferring it to be as intense as possible, so they could sit back and profit from the rivalry, earning the most money.

However, this was an unspoken rule within the industry and not something to be publicly disclosed.

After all, big companies care about saving face.

Externally, they also claimed that rankings were based on real-time popularity and that the data was open and transparent.

So now, it wasn’t Sun Kongwen signaling to Zhu Pitte, but Vice President Wang of Tiger Fish frantically warning him with his gaze.

You better not say it out loud, kid. If you dare, you better watch your back!

Of course, Zhu Pitte noticed the look from his brother-in-law and understood that some things shouldn’t be publicly disclosed.

But there was a problem.

Zhang Wei had already asked the question, and this was a courtroom, so what if he didn’t answer?

"Director Zhu, what are you looking at the hearing bench for? Is there something on the faces of the people from Tiger Fish?"

Zhang Wei had already caught the unease from Tiger Fish’s side, in fact, asking this question, they’d be panicked if not outright terrified.

The dilemma had now shifted to Zhu Pitte.

"Director Zhu, please answer my question. These so-called promotional resources, particularly those on the Tiger Fish platform, how much did you spend on my client?"

"This..."

For once, Zhu Pitte found himself at a loss for words.

He knew very well that he spent a pretty penny on Bobo’s internal ranking at Tiger Fish.

While a lot of the costs were discounted through his brother-in-law’s connections, the total expenditure was still around a million yuan.

But spending a million to promote, in exchange for more than twenty million in gifts and tips, that math was always in his favor.

But he couldn’t talk about it!

He couldn’t reveal these transactions in front of everyone in the courtroom.

Otherwise...

He might feel relieved, but Tiger Fish platform would then suffer a blow from public opinion.

"Director Zhu, say something, will you? This question is crucial!"

"Witness, please answer the question!"

Zhang Wei and Judge Jiang both pressed, urging Zhu Pitte to respond quickly.

"I..."

Zhu Pitte was incredibly vexed inside but couldn’t show it; in the end, he could only hide his resentment behind a clenched jaw: "Our company has spent tremendous manpower and material resources on promoting Bobo at Tiger Fish, helping her with publicity, helping her plan events, helping her..."

"Helped her with what else?"

Zhang Wei feigned earnest attention, pressing on with the question.

"Helped her with..." Zhu Pitte couldn’t continue.

"Director Zhu, am I to understand then, that when promoting my client, your company actually didn’t spend much in terms of financial resources, right?"

Zhu Pitte wanted to deny it, but found he couldn’t say it out loud.

Those promotional expenses were not to be acknowledged.

"I suppose so..." he gritted his teeth once again, reluctantly agreeing.

"Oh, yes indeed!"

Zhang Wei "suddenly realized" and lamented, "Doesn’t that mean my client’s so-called internal promotion on the live streaming platform has no financial connection whatsoever with Tiger Fish Network?"

"That’s strange, isn’t it? If there’s not a penny involved, then why are you still seeking compensation from my client?"

"Director Zhu, you keep saying you’ve put in a lot of effort, but the biggest expense of the live streaming platform’s internal promotion is zero, huh?"

Zhang Wei gestured a zero toward Zhu Pitte, causing the latter to almost clench his fists in anger, teeth gritted.

"Director Zhu, why are you still not convinced? From the look on your face, do you mean to say that, inside the Tiger Fish platform, one could actually buy these homepage recommendation spots through bidding? Are these spots clearly priced?"

Zhang noticed the dissatisfaction in Zhu Pitte’s eyes and immediately scoffed as he questioned him.

As soon as those words came out, the Tiger Fish employees sitting in the front row of the audience became nervous.

Similarly, Vice President Wang’s eyes turned cold; he was no longer hinting but frantically warning Zhu Pitte.

"No... no..."

Noticing Vice President Wang’s warning glare, Zhu Pitte could only lower his head once more and reply in a voice hoarse from anger.

"Oh, I see, I understand now."

Zhang Wei nodded and immediately concluded, "So your expenses are actually close to zero, but you attempt to use phrases like ’I am your mentor,’ ’bringing you into the industry,’ ’teaching you a lot,’ to coerce including my client and other female streamers, to give up the tips they’ve earned through hard work, half of which the platform takes, and from the remaining half, you deduct 70%, and then you, Director Zhu, deduct most of it for various reasons, leaving them with less than 1% of the total tips received. Is that correct?"

"This..."

Facing such a summary from Zhang Wei, Zhu Pitte found it difficult to respond.

"Witness, please answer the question; it’s very important!"

Judge Jiang’s gaze turned icy as she stared fixedly at Zhu Pitte.

She could also tell that this was extremely unrighteous.

It’s hard to imagine that in a place like Dragon Country, there would still be such a ruthless capitalist.

No, even worse than the 996 capitalists, at least they pay enough and include overtime pay.

You, on the other hand, not only refuse to pay but also try to morally exploit them, swallowing up the tips they earn through hard work. How could there be someone as heartless as you?

When Zhang Wei posed the question and Zhu Pitte stumbled in response.

The jury and the audience, almost all witnessed this scene.

It can be said that the image of Zhu Pitte and the Tiger Fish Network has plummeted drastically.

They were boasting about how good a company, how good a boss they were.

Now, nobody associates those words with Tiger Fish Network or Director Zhu anymore.

And what caused this situation was merely money!

Avarice is the original sin!

Money, it touched everyone’s nerves.

"Director Zhu, since you find it difficult to answer, then I won’t ask any more, as this might touch upon your sensitive nerves, right?"

Zhang Wei chuckled and nodded to the judges, "Judge Jiang, with respect to Director Zhu, we conclude our cross-examination!"

He smirked as he stepped down from the stand and returned to the defendant’s seat.

"Zhang Wei, you really did it!"

Luo Xiaobu once again gave a thumbs up, his face full of excitement.

Bobo also showed gratitude, appreciative of Zhang Wei for defending her honor and striking hard at Zhu Pitte.

"Don’t rush, although the situation is in our favor, who can guarantee the jury’s decision!"

Zhang Wei said, glancing at the jury.

He estimated, if the verdict were to be announced at that moment, probably 4-5 out of the 6 jurors would side with them.

But there might still be 1-2 people who think Bobo might have breached the contract and would choose to support Tiger Fish Network, which was not ideal.

The court has its uncertainties, and what Zhang Wei needed to do was to eliminate all those uncertainties.

For that, he needed more impactful evidence.

He turned his head and looked toward Vice President Wang and the others in the front row of the audience; the strong evidence was right there.

On the other side, at the plaintiff’s table.

Zhu Pitte also returned to his seat. But compared to the excited defendant’s table, the atmosphere on the plaintiff’s side was somewhat off.

"Lawyer Sun, are we no longer at an advantage?"

Although it was a question, Zhu Pitte seemed to already know the answer.

Sun Kongwen didn’t respond but stared at the jury with a constipated expression.

Using a slightly higher EQ, one would say: The current situation is very unclear!

With low EQ: We’re basically done for!

"Don’t worry, Director Zhu, we still have people from Tiger Fish, and Vice President Wang is certainly on your side!"

Sun Kongwen gestured towards the front row of the hearing section, conveying an underlying message with his subtle facial expression.

"Hmph, if I didn’t know my brother-in-law would support me, do you think I could even sit here?"

Zhu Pitte snorted coldly, venting his dissatisfaction.

Thankfully, he had people from Tiger Fish to help him save face, or he would have lost his patience long ago.

"Cough cough, plaintiff, do you wish to continue your statement?"

Judge Jiang was unaware of the plaintiff’s thoughts, instead maintaining order in the courtroom.

"Judge Jiang, our side has decided to finish our statement and will not present any new evidence!"

Sun Kongwen stood up straight away, conveying the plaintiff’s intention.

"Oh, no more evidence?"

Judge Jiang was surprised, wondering if they could not see the situation in the courtroom.

The circumstances seemed to be quite unfavorable for the plaintiffs, right?

Why weren’t they continuing to present evidence, instead giving the floor to the defense?

Was it to force the defense to reveal a flaw? That would be no easy task.

Or could it be that they had already grasped which witnesses the defense would summon and possessed key rebuttal evidence?

Judge Jiang didn’t understand these tactics but still nodded to Zhang Wei, signaling the defense could begin.

"Judge Jiang, we summon Miss Lin, the party involved, to testify on her own behalf!"

No one was surprised by this witness.

Now that it was the defendant’s turn to speak, it was natural to let the defendant explain the situation herself, as she was the one who had experienced it firsthand.

Bobo walked to the witness stand, under the gaze of everyone in the courtroom.

In the courtroom, many male eyes were fixated on her ample bosom, a testament to some women’s exceptional endowments.

At the same time, quite a few women in the courtroom also showed a hint of hostility toward the figure on the witness stand.

"Wow, that size is way too big, isn’t it?"

"The young girls these days sure are developing... extravagantly."

Sitting in the elder seats, Ni Qiuping and Xu Suyun had just been listening until now, but they couldn’t help but comment after seeing Bobo take the stand.

Such proportions were hardly characteristic of Dragon Country women—had she been fed a diet of growth hormones?

Even if you drank papaya milk everyday, from childhood to adulthood, it probably wouldn’t have such an effect, right?

"Hello, Miss Lin."

"Lawyer Zhang, you can just call me Bobo, that’s my stage name, and I’ve gotten used to being called that these past two years."

"Alright, Miss Lin, I understand, Miss Lin," replied Zhang Wei.

Bobo’s facial muscles twitched as she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this response.

"Miss Lin, as one of the parties involved in this case and also as a defendant, do you have anything you wish to say to the court?"

Tears welled up in Bobo’s eyes upon hearing this question: "Do you know what the last two years have been like for me?"

Zhang Wei shook his head; he truly didn’t know.

"At Take-You-Flying Online, you’re required to wake up at 5 AM every day and then start classes. After classes, there’s no time for breakfast as you have to take photos for the company and shoot promotional videos. Then, in the afternoon, the live broadcasting starts and continues until evening without a moment’s rest."

"All three meals a day are spent in front of the computer. Although I met many fans during this period, the feeling of being watched every single moment of every day is something I don’t enjoy. I just wanted some freedom, but the company refused on the grounds of the contract and even had people threaten me..."

As Bobo spoke, her voice was filled with grievance, "Why is it so hard to ask for a bit of freedom?"

At her words, a wave of sympathy swept through many in the courtroom.

If her account was accurate, having to wake up at 5 AM and broadcast until late at night while also filming videos and advertisements without rest was indeed a hardship.

"What a joke, so what was the meaning of you hooking up with a wealthy guy!"

But at that moment, Zhu Pitte from the plaintiff’s side suddenly interrupted with a sneering comment.

This remark instantly captured the attention of the courtroom.

He rose to his feet without any hesitation and pointed at the witness stand, cursing: "You ingrate, thinking you could leave the company because you snagged a rich man, huh?"

"You even try to slander me. I believe in the spirit of justice in the world; you are just spouting nonsense!"

Zhu Pitte appeared to be venting the frustration he had previously suffered at the hands of Zhang Wei, speaking out unrestrainedly, without any consideration.