Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 539 - 534: Gu Shimang Goes to Court, Great Acting! (Extra)

Chapter 539: Chapter 534: Gu Shimang Goes to Court, Great Acting! (Extra)

Ah Jun had left.

With his tail tucked between his legs, he left.

There was no helping it, his affair as the top female tycoon’s boy toy in the entertainment circle had been publicly exposed by Zhang Wei.

There were even photos and videos as proof.

His denials were futile.

Moreover, his insincerity, constant lying, lack of gratitude, and even his deceitful actions towards the fans were also laid bare by Zhang Wei for all to see.

One could say that his public image had collapsed and his acting career was likely over.

Yesterday he may have been a top male star, but from now on, he might have to fall back to the third or fourth tier.

Of course, that said, if Madame Xu behind him still plans to prop him up, the story could be different.

But Madame Xu had a rule, which Gao Tianri knew well.

That was, Madame Xu liked playing discreetly, having clandestine meetings that no one knew about.

And now that Ah Jun’s relationship with her had been completely exposed, well then, sorry, but Ah Jun would be thoroughly abandoned by Madame Xu.

This guy was finished!

Though Gao Tianri was facing a crisis at the moment, after all, he was a big director in the industry and still had a keen eye.

If he said Ah Jun was doomed, then the other side was definitely in trouble!

Overall, Ah Jun’s role as a witness had also come to an end.

However, his testimony hadn’t put much pressure on the defense.

On the contrary, because Ah Jun had been discredited by Zhang Wei at the end, his credibility as a witness was also called into question.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, and the audience at the hearing, I’m just wondering, how can a person full of lies become an important witness for the plaintiff?"

"As someone from the industry, I believe the plaintiff must have known about Ah Jun’s affairs with the rich lady, no? How come they seemed completely unaware of something so easily discovered?"

"Could it be that they actually knew, but pretended not to know, and still chose to use this guy who boasts of his righteousness yet is utterly unprincipled behind closed doors as a witness for this case?"

Zhang Wei’s words gave food for thought.

Indeed, the affair between Ah Jun and Madame Xu, outsiders would definitely not know of it.

But what about those inside the circle?

Did Gu Shimang know?

As a top female star and the wife of a great director, it’s unlikely that she had no inkling, right?

Yet you insist on having Ah Jun testify in court, what does that represent? Does it represent that you do not care at all about the character and morals of your witnesses?

The court is a solemn place, yet you don’t even care whether the witness is upright, so doesn’t that mean there is something wrong with you?

With just a few short sentences from Zhang Wei, many people fell into contemplation, and doubtful gazes began to shift toward the plaintiff’s bench.

Perceiving these scrutinizing eyes, both Lawyer Laura and Gu Shimang’s complexions turned sour.

But there was no helping it, as their witness had been caught in a slip by Zhang Wei. They were the disadvantaged party, and the disadvantaged party must prepare to be suppressed by the advantaged side.

If there was blame to be assigned, they could only blame Ah Jun for not being reliable enough, for having his weakness so easily spotted.

"Lawyer Zhang, have you finished your statement?"

"Of course!"

Zhang Wei nodded slightly to Ni Qiuping and immediately returned to his seat at the defendant’s bench.

At this point, Gao Tianri also let out a sigh of relief, clearly aware that his side’s disadvantage had been somewhat mitigated by Zhang Wei.

"Director Gao, don’t relax just yet, the enemy still has tactics they haven’t employed!"

Zhang Wei looked at the plaintiff’s bench with a grave expression; Gu Shimang and the others still had many witnesses they could summon, and he had to stay prepared.

"However, I’m convinced they won’t call any other witnesses."

"Lawyer Zhang, why do you say that? I remember that their list of witnesses was quite long."

"Simple, even if they summon other artists to testify after this, the effect wouldn’t be significant. The entertainment industry may not have much else, but it sure has plenty of scandals, especially those well-known artists, who have done countless disreputable things behind the scenes, probably even they can’t keep track."

Zhang Wei looked at Gu Shimang and the others with a cold smirk, "Once they choose to summon other artists as witnesses, there’s no guarantee I won’t reveal the artists’ dirty laundry. Then the witness’s character will come into question, and the effectiveness of their testimony will be greatly reduced."

"But what if the witness has no dirty laundry to air?"

"Director Gao, let me ask you, in your industry, is there really anyone who’s completely clean?"

"That... it seems... not really, no..."

Gao Tianri finally found himself stumped by Zhang Wei’s question.

Nowadays, in their circle, where could one find someone genuinely clean?

What so-called pure maidens, and lovestruck young men, are but public images crafted by the corporations.

Who knows, perhaps behind the scenes, the pure maiden was already a tycoon’s mistress, or maybe the lovestruck youth hooked up with a double or even triple-digit number of women.

In their circle, character collapses happened every day; it was indeed a rare person who could emerge from the mire unsoiled, at least Gao Tianri had not seen one yet.

Zhang Wei had seen through this long ago.

The same was true for Laura on the plaintiff’s bench, who was also hesitating.

"Lawyer Laura, where’s the witness? Bring up other witnesses to testify!"

Seeing the court’s mood shifting, Gu Shimang hurriedly urged.

"Shi Man, calling other witnesses now won’t make much of a difference!"

Laura, however, was holding the witness list, her face betraying a hint of helplessness.

Because among the witnesses on this list, those without some dirt on them were in the minority.

As long as you have any dirt, Zhang Wei might have already prepared a countermeasure, just waiting for you to call them to the stand.

If Zhang Wei decided to play hardball and expose the witnesses’ deepest secrets, wouldn’t they be pushed into a passive position again?

Hence, even if witnesses were to be called, they had to be those without blemish.

With this in mind, Laura turned her gaze to Gu Shimang.

"Lawyer Laura, why are you looking at me?"

"Shi Man, it seems that the only credible witness we have right now is you."

"I..."

Gu Shimang knew she had to testify in court.

But it was only the first day of the first hearing, and their side was already cornered, leaving no choice but to have her take the stand?

Should I say that you, William International, are too weak, or that that Zhang Wei is too formidable?

They have just one lawyer, one person!

One person, grinding down the elite team of William International?

"Plaintiff’s lawyer?"

From the bench, Ni Qiuping also timely gave a reminder.

Hurry up, plaintiff’s side!

Are there any more witnesses to bring forward, can you speed it up?

"Judge Ni, we call the plaintiff’s representative Gu Shimang to testify in this case!"

"Oh, Gu Shimang?"

Ni Qiuping glanced at Gu Shimang but had no objections.

If the plaintiff’s side wanted to testify, then naturally, that was for the best.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire court, Gu Shimang stepped up to the stand and sat in the witness seat.

This time, Laura pressed Grey’s shoulder and then stood up herself.

Clearly, she was taking the lead!

"Shi Man, hello!"

"Hello, lawyer."

After greeting each other, Laura and Gu Shimang, the testimony finally began.

"Shi Man, I know you have suffered a great deal recently, and you’ve even developed mild depressive disorder due to pressure from your husband, Gao Tianri."

"Yes."

Laura, hearing Gu Shimang’s response, nodded at her colleague Grey, who started to work on his laptop.

A mental health report appeared on the projection screen, listing Gu Shimang’s name as the patient.

"This is a psychiatric diagnosis report from an authoritative mental health evaluation institution for my client, Ms. Gu Shimang. The report shows that my client is suffering from mild depressive symptoms, with a poor mental health rating."

The entire courtroom saw the mental assessment report and nodded subconsciously.

Such a report could clarify some issues, but its impact on the court was actually not that significant.

Depression can arise from many different causes.

"Shi Man, I want to ask you, what did that man on the defendant’s bench do to you?"

Pointing at Gao Tianri, Laura then looked intently at Gu Shimang.

"He, he..."

Gu Shimang’s words faltered.

"Shi Man, please don’t be afraid, be brave. This is a courtroom. Whatever you say, we will listen seriously, and Judge Ni will protect you fully. We won’t stand by and let you be bullied!"

Sitting on the bench, Ni Qiuping instinctively nodded, "That’s right, this court is here; you have nothing to fear!"

"Okay, thank you, everyone, I know now!"

Hearing the assurances from Ni Qiuping and the encouragement from Laura, Gu Shimang finally mustered up the courage.

"Actually, at the beginning, I thought I was a fortunate woman, able to marry Gao Tianri, to marry the famous director, and when we got married, he said he greatly admired me and was very optimistic about my performance," she said.

Gu Shimang was like a happy little woman recalling every little detail of the start of her marriage.

One could say that, through her description, the blissful life between her and her husband Gao Tianri was displayed before the jury and everyone at the hearing.

"At first, everything was very beautiful, but I don’t know when it started; he changed!"

Gu Shimang looked at Gao Tianri in the defendant’s seat with a look of confusion, "He changed, he was no longer the man who loved and cherished me. He even became a stranger to me, someone I feared!"

"He changed, the previous him used to come home every day, having dinner with me, but at some point, he began to leave early and come back late, becoming secretive, and even started to treat me like a stranger."

"More than once, I found other women’s hair on his clothes, smelled other women’s perfume on him, and saw him holding and being overly intimate with other women in public, even entering upscale hotels together."

Upon hearing this, Laura quickly asked, "Are you saying the defendant committed adultery?"

"I’m not sure if he actually had an affair, but I don’t want to know these things; I just wish I was in his heart."

Gu Shimang said this with tears welling up in her eyes, "In fact, I know that as a prominent director, he needs to socialize and meet with other female actresses for work, and I tried to understand him, to forgive him, but..."

Laura quickly looked around and noticed many people had perked up their ears.

She hurriedly pressed on, "But what?"

"But he completely changed!"

Gu Shimang spoke, her voice choking up, "I don’t know when it started, but he began to physically assault me, and he even said he enjoyed the feeling!"

"Physical assault, you mean marital rape?"

Laura looked at Gu Shimang in surprise, then turned to Gao Tianri.

"Yes, he said he liked it that way and wanted me to struggle; he said the more I struggled, the more excited he became!"

Gu Shimang said this while sobbing, as if revealing a tale that caused her immense grief.

To support Gu Shimang, Laura turned once again and signaled to Grey.

He immediately displayed several photos on the projection screen.

These photos were taken in a hospital where Gu Shimang was undergoing an examination; her body covered in numerous bruises and wounds, she appeared extremely gaunt and weak.

"Everyone can see, these are photos of my client, Ms. Gu Shimang, taken during her recent medical examination at the hospital, and here we have a diagnostic report from the doctor!"

The report that appeared on the screen had a lot of text, indicating that the wounds on Gu Shimang’s body were not as simple as just a few areas.

Furthermore, with Grey’s manipulation, many parts were highlighted in red.

Everyone could clearly see that these highlighted areas were marked with words such as "bruising" and "suspected of being beaten."

Gu Shimang also at this moment rolled up her sleeves, exposing an area of bruised skin on her arm.

"This is what Gao Tianri did; when he attacked me and I used my arm to block, this wound appeared!"

This one-two punch of a medical report and personal testimony naturally had a direct and powerful effect.

In no time, both the jury and the people at the hearing began to sympathize with Gu Shimang.

And as a result, their hostility towards Gao Tianri progressively increased.

"Director Gao, you like this kind of thing?"

On the defendant’s bench, Zhang Wei too was taken aback, quickly asking the people around him.

"Lawyer Zhang, how could I!"

Gao Tianri hurriedly shook his head to deny it, then lowered his voice and leaned close to Zhang Wei, "You know, I can’t even get it up without the blue pills, how could I have the energy for such antics?"

"Oh, so you’ve also reached that age!"

Zhang Wei looked at Gao Tianri and nodded understandingly.

As a grand director in your fifties, nearing sixty, endlessly drinking and networking, and on top of that, your three previous wives have worn you out.

A man who can’t get it up indeed doesn’t need to bother with so much fuss.

Even more excited by struggling?

Gao Tianri couldn’t even get excited, okay!

Of course, Gao Tianri knew this, Zhang Wei knew this, but the jury didn’t.

At that moment, they all believed what Gu Shimang said.

After all, there was a medical report on one side, coupled with photos of the wounds; they couldn’t help but believe.

"Shi Man, I know you have suffered a lot, and since Gao Tianri could treat you this way, he must have done many other excessive things, right?"

"Yes, he didn’t just hit me and scold me, he also committed marital rape, and furthermore, he..."

"What else did he do?"

Laura hurriedly asked, with an encouraging expression, "Shi Man, don’t be afraid, we are all here for you, just speak out boldly!"

"He, he also brought other women home and made me join in... One time, he even brought..."

"Brought them?" Laura blinked, her face full of curiosity.

"He even brought his henchmen, his bodyguards, and made me dress them up, saying he wanted to have a gang-bang, sob sob sob, I really didn’t want to, but he was going to hit me, and I had to escape... sob sob sob..."

Gu Shimang, as if recalling a terribly horrifying event, began to cry, her body trembling.

And the words she confessed caused an uproar in the courtroom.

My goodness!

Truly, my goodness!

People say the entertainment industry is messy, but who knew it was this messy!

Gao Tianri actually took other women straight to his home, that’s blatant, isn’t it!

But that’s not all; probably after a time or two, when he saw that Gu Shimang dared not stand up against him, he became increasingly unrestrained, even planning to engage in a gang-bang at home.

Of course, that’s not the most outrageous part; he actually wanted his wife to join, then called up his subordinates and bodyguards, for a...

Everyone in the courtroom couldn’t help but comment that even in AV script, this wouldn’t be common, right?

You can only say that rich people really know how to play!

But even so, procedures that needed to be followed had to be followed.

Everyone looked at Gao Tianri with hostility in their eyes.

Of course, among them, some people’s expressions also mixed envy and jealousy, but hostility was clearly the most pronounced.

"Lawyer Zhang, I..."

"Director Gao, you don’t need to explain, I understand!"

Just as Gao Tianri was trying to explain to Zhang Wei, Zhang Wei gestured that it was not necessary.

"If you can’t even handle it, how could you showcase it in front of outsiders? Hosting a gang-bang at home, you wouldn’t want the fact that you can’t handle your business to spread throughout the whole entertainment industry, obviously that’s not possible!"

"Yes, the fact that I can’t handle... how could I possibly let others know about it?"

Gao Tianri nodded, but then his face was full of speechlessness.

Look at how you’re putting it, Lawyer Zhang, couldn’t you stop revealing my shortcomings? I’m somewhat regretting telling you this.

But at this moment, Zhang Wei had no intention of dealing with these trivial matters but instead focused his attention on the witness stand.

He had to admit.

The woman up there was definitely the best actress he had ever gone against.

Just now, her progressively nuanced acting, the ability to cry on command without a hint of pretense in her expression management, was enough to compete for that little gold man!

"True to her status as a top actress, and as the once popular leading lady, her acting skills haven’t diminished at all!"

Zhang Wei also had to admit, an actress who could act was indeed troublesome!

But it wasn’t over yet.

Gu Shimang and Laura had one more trump card.

Gu Shimang, while sobbing, gave Laura a slight nod.

Laura understood.

"Shi Man, I want to ask you, since the defendant Gao Tianri has done such excessive things, why didn’t you choose to leave him?"

"Because, because..." Gu Shimang was almost incoherent with tears, and her response seemed stuck in her throat.

"Shi Man, speak out any grievances you have in your heart, don’t be afraid, we will definitely help you!"

Laura hurriedly prodded, but she also had to admire Gu Shimang’s acting skills which were indeed extraordinary.

"Because, because I... I..." Gu Shimang opened her mouth, as if struggling to form the words.

"I got pregnant with his child, so no matter how excessive he was, he is still my child’s father!"

In the end, under immense pressure, Gu Shimang finally pointed at Gao Tianri and cried out.

A child!

Everyone heard Gu Shimang’s tearful accusation and caught two key words.

A child!

Gu Shimang was pregnant, carrying Gao Tianri’s flesh and blood!

So that explained why Gu Shimang didn’t want to leave Gao Tianri—because she was pregnant.

For the sake of the child, Gu Shimang had to endure, even if her husband was a devil, a scumbag, she had to bear it.

Instantly, everyone in the courtroom began to feel sympathy for Gu Shimang.

Zhang Wei sensed the change in the courtroom and couldn’t help but remark.

This woman’s acting skills are really f***ing good!