Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 530 - 525 Who is the betrayer? Everyone is on the phone

Chapter 530: Chapter 525 Who is the betrayer? Everyone is on the phone

The meeting room.

The atmosphere became tense and confrontational once again.

"I want to confirm one more time, these are all your conditions, right?"

Zhang Wei flipped through the documents in front of him, looking at the Laura, Gu Shimang, and the delegation of representatives from William International in front of him.

"That’s right, these are our conditions. You either accept them or we’ll see you in court!"

"Is there no chance of any concession?"

"None!"

Seeing the other party’s response so firm, resolute, and completely uncompromising,

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but sigh, slowly stood up, and then said, old and exasperated,

"I’ve looked through these terms and, though they’re not annotated, and even though they’re written rather sloppily, every page has phrases like ’loss of youth,’ ’reasonable compensation,’ and even ’for the sake of the children.’ I racked my brains and couldn’t understand it. I looked it over several times, and it was only from your hidden words within the lines that I made out two words... ’inhuman!’"

"Lawyer Zhang, what do you mean? I don’t understand what you’re saying,"

No wonder Laura didn’t understand; even Grey, Brown, and the others beside her were all puzzled.

What is all this about?

Yet, thinking about it, they’re not from Dragon Country and naturally haven’t heard of what some sage surnamed Lu once said.

"It’s simple, if you want to exploit someone, there’s no need to be this excessive. We refuse to accept these conditions, and if your party doesn’t make concessions, then we’ll have to meet in court!"

Zhang Wei was equally firm in his response.

He tossed the so-called "settlement conditions" onto the table and then gave Gao Tianri a meaningful look.

"Shi Man, are you really going to be so heartless?"

Director Gao, although he had been putting up a strong front at first, suddenly softened his tone, speaking with a hint of pleading.

It seemed like he hoped that Gu Shimang would change her mind.

But Gu Shimang didn’t look at him from start to finish. As for the pleading tone, she was completely unmoved.

"Gao Tianri, you either accept these conditions, or we settle this in court. Begging here will only make me despise you more!"

"Shi Man, you..."

"Enough!"

Laura couldn’t help but stand up and interrupt, "Mr. Gao, please give up. Pretending to be pitiful here will not only fail to gain my client’s consent, but we might even issue an expulsion order against you on the grounds of verbal harassment!"

Her expression seemed to say, stop it, we’ve already made up our minds, now fend for yourself.

Having no other choice, Gao Tianri could only sigh resignedly, his face showing a strong unwillingness.

"Director Gao, since your wife is so determined, there’s no longer any point in us staying!"

Zhang Wei tried to offer some comfort, then looked at Gu Shimang and Laura, "Ladies, since you have made your choice, I, Zhang Someone, respect it. However, once both parties choose to oppose each other in court, you should be well aware of the possible outcomes!"

"Lawyer Zhang, are you threatening me?"

Laura crossed her arms, her face full of disdain.

"It’s not a threat. I, Zhang Someone, simply despise those who do wrongful deeds and then deny it outright, and in the end, still think to slaughter my client like a fattened calf. You are going a bit too far!"

"Of course, since you wish to follow this path to the end, I won’t stop you. But people like you who lack gratitude won’t understand certain things, I hope you don’t have regrets later!"

Zhang Wei threw down his harsh words toward William International and with a wave of his hand said, "Let’s go!"

He led the way in getting up, with Gao Tianri, Xia Qianyue, Zhao Xiao Xiao, Zhang Xinwu, and Zhang Xinyan and others following suit.

Then the group left the room without looking back and quickly departed from William International.

The meeting room.

Gu Shimang, Laura, and the others naturally watched as Zhang Wei and his group left.

"Lawyer Laura, did that Zhang Wei threaten us?"

"Miss Gu, this is the basic tactic in our legal industry, throwing down threats before a hearing is all standard procedure,"

Laura said calmly with a smile, not at all concerned by Zhang Wei’s intimidation.

Because this is an industry standard practice; lawyers from big law firms will usually throw down threats before opening a case or deciding to go to court.

Younger lawyers, if they heard such threats, might be put off from the idea of going to court at all, or at least be left with doubts or anxiety that could affect their performance during the trial.

So Zhang Wei’s behavior was quite normal, and Laura was naturally accustomed to such actions.

"However, since that man is indeed Zhang Wei, we still need to make some preparations."

As she spoke, Laura looked to her "colorful team."

"Miss Gu, this is our firm’s divorce litigation expert, Lawyer Grey, and his team. Not to boast, but when it comes to divorce litigation, I believe they are more specialized than Jincheng Law Firm’s civil litigation department!"

"Miss Gu Shimang, hello, I’m Grey!"

The grey-haired man Grey promptly handed over a business card.

Gu Shimang took the card, but her gaze shifted to Laura, her eyes filled with a bit of confusion.

"Miss Laura, then you..."

Perhaps perceiving the concerns of the client, Laura smiled slightly, "Miss Gu, rest assured, although Grey and his team are experts in divorce litigation, I will still be the one attending the court!"

"After all, we’re facing that Zhang Wei this time. The attorneys of Dongfang Capital are all eager and ready, each hoping to defeat him!"

"Even though he specializes in criminal lawsuits, his skills in civil litigation are also formidable. Whoever defeats him will rightfully become the number one attorney in Dongfang Capital!"

As Laura spoke, a glint of determination flashed in her eyes.

She seemed to envision herself defeating Zhang Wei, then ascending to the top as the number one attorney of Dongfang Capital.

She had to win this case!

No, she would win this case!

...

Downstairs at William International.

Zhang Wei and his entourage took the elevator down, exiting William International.

After stopping, Zhang Wei looked back at the imposing office building, then couldn’t help shaking his head.

"Director Gao, it’s good enough."

Following his cue, Gao Tianri, who had been wearing a sorrowful expression, suddenly stopped crying.

Not only did he stop crying, but the tinge of grief and sorrow on his face also vanished without a trace, leaving his complexion unusually calm.

However, those with keen observation might notice, beneath his calmness, there truly was some sadness that was merely suppressed by his formidable ability to control his expressions.

"Lawyer Zhang, I didn’t expect her to be so heartless!"

’Her’ naturally referred to Gu Shimang.

The performance by the other party just now could be described as utterly heartless and ruthless; it was extremely excessive.

"Indeed, it’s too much!"

Zhang Wei nodded, "To take all the 1 billion in assets and leave you not a penny, that alone is excessive."

"And furthermore... the woman’s expression seemed as if she wasn’t acting."

Saying so, Zhang Wei looked at Gao Tianri, his face inquiring.

"Yes, she wasn’t acting. I can tell; those were her true emotions, not a hint of acting involved!"

Gao Tianri, being a renowned director, had the most contact with actors on a daily basis.

He had seen countless well-known actors from both home and abroad, so faking an act in front of him was out of the question.

On the other hand, it was Gao Tianri who, in the meeting room, deceived everyone including Gu Shimang with his slightly genuine acting skills.

He made everyone believe he was a cowardly weakling, leading Laura and her team to make unreasonable demands and reveal their ultimate goal outright.

"Now we can be sure, Gu Shimang indeed doesn’t want to leave you a way out!"

"As for Laura and those divorce lawyers, they are just playing a supportive role, the key issue is still with Gu Shimang herself."

Zhang Wei recalled scene by scene what had happened inside the meeting room, analyzing the current situation.

"We currently have a most difficult problem that needs to be solved!"

"What problem?" Gao Tianri hastily asked.

"The child!"

Zhang Wei raised a finger, pointing in the direction of the conference room above.

Gu Shimang herself had admitted that she was pregnant.

A pregnant woman in court is akin to having a ’nuclear weapon’.

Pregnant, vulnerable women; innocent children who have lost family members; disabled persons bearing injuries; helpless elderly individuals without relatives—these are the ones that can easily touch the jury’s heart and have the power to change the courtroom’s dynamics by themselves.

Commonly referred to as: courtroom nukes!

And now, the other party had a courtroom nuke, which was certainly very disadvantageous for our side.

"Lawyer Zhang, I’m sure that child is not mine!"

Gao Tianri was adamant in his denial.

"If Gu Shimang was in her ovulatory period and you had sexual intercourse with her, the pregnancy period is roughly 6-7 days, about a week. Judging by the appearance of Gu Shimang’s abdomen, the pregnancy should be no more than a month old. So, does that mean you had sexual intercourse with her within about a month’s time?"

"Definitely not, I was out of town at the beginning of the month and only returned to Dongfang Capital mid-month!"

Gao Tianri quickly denied, puzzled himself.

I wasn’t even in Dongfang Capital, and I haven’t shared a bed with Gu Shimang for years; it’s really impossible for her to be pregnant.

Moreover, he could be 100% sure that he wasn’t in Dongfang Capital on the day Gu Shimang mentioned, even less likely being intoxicated and assaulting her.

This was clearly Gu Shimang’s excuse.

"Then this is a predicament because there’s no way to conduct a paternity test on an unborn child!"

Zhang Wei shook his head too, feeling rather helpless.

How to conduct a paternity test on an embryo less than a month old? We have to wait 9 months for Gu Shimang to give birth to the child.

But would this case really take so long?

"Actually, there’s a simple way!"

Zhang Wei raised a finger again, "That is to find the child’s biological father ourselves!"

"Right, find that cheating husband!" Gao Tianri was also invigorated, his face full of outrage.

If the child wasn’t his, then whose was it?

There was only one answer: the adulterer.

To confirm the child’s paternity, if DNA testing was not an option, then they would have to make the adulterer admit it himself.

To do this, they needed to identify the target and then begin tracking and investigation.

So...

"You all go back first, Simple-minded person and I will go, we’ll investigate the identity of that adulterer!"

Zhang Wei began to issue the action plan.

Gao Tianri returned to Zhang’s Martial Arts School with the cover of Zhang Xinwu and Zhang Xinyan.

Zhang Wei and Xia Qianyue were then focusing on the investigation.

"I’m going too, I’m going too, I want to be part of this kind of mission!"

Originally, in Zhang Wei’s plan, Zhao Xiaoxiao, the second daughter, was supposed to go back and stand by as well.

But for some reason, she became interested in catching the adulterer and insisted on joining Zhang Wei in action.

Naturally, Zhang Wei didn’t mind; having the second daughter with them was good, having an extra person meant having an extra pair of eyes, maybe catching some clues.

"Then let’s get moving, first we’ll use the process of elimination to test and see if the adulterer is one of the Five Great Families!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he felt the second daughter look at him.

"Cough cough, of course, Uncle Zhao can be excluded, I believe Uncle Zhao wouldn’t have such poor taste as to fancy Gu Shimang!"

"That’s better." Zhao Xiaoxiao immediately nodded in agreement.

"Then who is it?" Xia Qianyue, scratching her head, was also curious on the side.

"What’s left then, are the Lin Family, Zhang Family, Hua Family, and Wu Family, right?"

Zhang Wei thought about it and decided to exclude the Hua Family too.

Although Hua Chaofan was part of the Five Great Families, his Hua Family had no real standing in Dongfang Capital.

Gu Shimang could give up a husband who was a billionaire director, which meant the man she found must have a higher status than the director to make her so resolute.

Hua Chaofan, as he currently presented himself, was not worth Gu Shimang making such a choice.

"So then, it’s just the Lin Family, Zhang Family, and Wu Family!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Wei excluded the Zhang Family too.

Because currently in the Zhang Family, the only one who could have an affair with Gu Shimang was Zhang Tianlong.

But as a city council chairman, if Zhang Tianlong really wanted to have an affair with a female celebrity, why would he choose a married woman?

Moreover, having an affair with Gu Shimang had to meet one condition: the adulterer had to be a financier of the martial arts drama "The Martial World of Two".

Zhang Tianlong’s assets were "public," and he couldn’t possibly be the financier.

"Now, only the Lin Family and Wu Family are left, the target is clear."

Thinking this, Zhang Wei decided to send someone to probe the Lin Family’s background.

"Second daughter, you check out the production team of "The Martial World of Two" and see who the main backer is."

"OK!"

Zhao Xiaoxiao grabbed her notebook and immediately started working.

"I need to make a phone call too, to inform my little apprentice, let her try to get a lead on someone."

Zhang Wei said, and took out his mobile phone, dialling a number.

...

Dongjiang Yipin, the Lin Family estate.

Inside the river-view mansion, Lin Yumeng, wearing pajamas, sat on the window sill with a tablet computer in hand, happily binge-watching a drama.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Hello, hello, hello, who’s it, disrupting my rest on the weekend?"

"Ah, it’s Master!"

"Well, Master, what is it, I’m supposed to rest on the weekend, if it’s about work, I’m afraid I can’t help."

Lin Yumeng said, glancing around as if she had a guilty conscience.

She feared Zhang Wei might pop out of nowhere and drag her off to work.

Fortunately, Zhang Wei’s call wasn’t about work but about...

"What, you’re saying my dad, he..."

"How am I supposed to verify that?"

"Oh, you mean, just drop a hint to my mom and that’s enough, why didn’t I think of that?"

"Alrighty, take me on as your apprentice then, wait for my news!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yumeng checked the time.

It was nearly evening, time for mom to finish work and come home.

Sure enough, not two minutes later, the door opened.

"Madam, welcome home!"

The mansion was equipped with a smart butler, who almost automatically announced the identity of the newcomer.

The landlady, that is, Zhang Wei’s landlady, was now carrying a lady’s handbag, a smile hanging on the corner of her mouth.

Seeing that smile, Lin Yumeng knew she must have won money at the mahjong table.

"Mom, welcome back."

Her eyes rolling around, she quickly greeted her with a smile.

The landlady was happy to see her daughter, and with the mahjong winnings, she was overjoyed.

Lin Yumeng played the role of a good daughter, chatting with her mother.

As they talked, Lin Yumeng saw the right moment and began to guide the conversation.

"Um, mom, my friends... I should say first, it really is my friends who heard... that dad recently might have... you know, kept a woman on the side..."

After finishing her sentence, Lin Yumeng appeared to look at her mother unintentionally, and the latter suddenly fell silent.

"Your friends?"

"Uh-huh, really my friends, they even said they saw dad at the golf club..."

The landlady’s face darkened, and she immediately took out her phone.

However, she hesitated while dialing, not calling Lin Xiangtian’s number, but another one.

Soon, the call connected.

The landlady suddenly pinched her own face, and under the stimulus of pain, she spoke with a sobbing tone.

"Father-in-law, you have to stand up for me, that Fatty Lin, he actually kept another woman on the side!"

Listening to his daughter-in-law’s complaint, Lin Jincheng on the other end of the line couldn’t help but frown.

"Calm down a bit, it’s just a caddie from the golf club, an out-of-towner working girl, she’s of no importance, no threat to you!"

"Really, there is?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Really only a caddie?"

"Uh... there might also be a female secretary from the group, a widow who sells jade from out of town, and a female home decoration business owner from the neighboring city, but don’t worry, the little fatty has been seeing the latter two less and less, I’ll have Ah Rong fire that female secretary later, give her some money to send her home!"

"Mmm, thanks, father-in-law."

"Not a problem, but this little fatty too, why can’t he learn from his brother? Although Ah Rong isn’t that capable, at least he doesn’t mess around!"

"Yes, yes, the big brother is a good man, not like that fatty..."

After exchanging pleasantries with Lin Jincheng for a while, the landlady ended the call.

Knowing that her husband only had these few mistresses, and that her father-in-law would help her out, she actually felt relieved.

It was alright; everything was still within an acceptable range.

Lin Yumeng, who had been listening to the call the whole time, immediately took out her phone and composed a message on WeChat to send to Zhang Wei.

On the other side.

Zhang Wei was stunned when he received Lin Yumeng’s WeChat message.

"Well done, Fatty Lin, aren’t you impressive?"

Reading about Lin Xiangtian’s romantic escapades, Zhang Wei could only express his admiration!

Truly the role model of our time!

However, with the information from Lin Yumeng, he could now eliminate the Lin Family as suspects.

The only ones in the Lin Family who could have had dealings with Gu Shimang were Lin Xiangtian and Lin Xiangrong.

Lin Xiangrong wasn’t messing around, and among Lin Xiangtian’s women, there was no one named Gu Shimang, so the Lin Family was out of the question.

Now, the target was clear.

The Wu Family!

Or more precisely, Second Master Wu of the Wu Family.

Wu Yuanzong must be the man behind Gu Shimang!