Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 558 - 551: Come into the house with me! Did Zhang Wei’s legs go soft?

Chapter 558: Chapter 551: Come into the house with me! Did Zhang Wei’s legs go soft?

Ding Fengtian’s campaign office.

As Xiao Baihe unveiled many of Zhang Wei’s unique insights into the campaign,

everyone fell silent.

You could hear a pin drop!

After a long silence, it was still Ding Fengtian who spoke first.

"Well, let me ask, who is this Zhang Wei? Has someone mentioned this name to me before? Why does it sound oddly familiar?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng’s faces turned a shade of awkward.

Because Zhang Wei’s deeds were none other than the "disgrace history" of the Procuratorate Headquarters.

The notoriety that Zhang Wei has now gained, the Procuratorate Headquarters could be said to have "contributed greatly" to it.

With that in mind, Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng looked simultaneously at Tan Yingying who was shrinking behind Xiao Baihe.

They all remembered it well.

The first case with the Procuratorate Headquarters that Zhang Wei dealt with was yours, right?

It was you who started it all, leading that kid to become addicted to taking on the Procuratorate Headquarters.

"Well, this Zhang Wei is actually..."

A person next to Ding Fengtian leaned in and whispered in his ear for a moment.

Ding Fengtian’s expression changed from initial curiosity to amazement, then to surprise, and finally to shock.

He was silent for a long time, as if contemplating something.

After a few minutes, he finally spoke softly, "Xiao Zhao, so this Zhang Wei is the same Zhang Wei you mentioned to me!"

"Yes, Mr. Prosecutor, it’s that Zhang Wei."

Ding Fengtian raised his head and looked at Xiao Baihe.

"How come this lawyer from Jincheng Law Firm is so close to you, a junior, and able to talk to you so much?"

"This..."

Faced with such a surprising question, Xiao Baihe also didn’t know how to answer for a moment.

Indeed, why was she on such good terms with Zhang Wei?

Logically speaking, as one belonged to the Procuratorate Headquarters and the other to the law firm, their identities being in opposition, a prosecutor and a criminal defense lawyer should be "archenemies."

"Zhang Wei’s girlfriend is a schoolmate who stayed in the same dormitory with me; it was just a chance meeting today."

Fortunately, Xiao Baihe thought of an explanation.

"Oh, is that so."

Ding Fengtian didn’t doubt her further and just nodded, taking note of the situation.

Xiao Baihe breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhao Chunming and others also relaxed.

As long as the old boss didn’t probe further, everything should be alright.

But at the next moment, Ding Fengtian made a startling statement:

"So, what do you think if I make Zhang Wei my campaign manager?"

No sooner had these words come out than everyone was shocked!

"Huh?"

"Ah, this... "

"Leader, you must rethink this!"

"Mr. Prosecutor, this really shouldn’t be done!"

"Absolutely not, absolutely not!"

Including Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng, everyone was stunned, and they immediately shook their heads and waved their hands.

How could they agree to such a thing?

Zhang Wei was none other than the notorious Homicide Lawyer.

And who are you, the former prosecutor of Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters.

Bringing these two together would immediately give opponents a point of attack.

Then, the media would sensationalize.

"Did the Former Prosecutor Collude with Capital Interests? Jincheng Law Firm Sends a Strong Player to Support, the Reason is... "

They had even thought of the headline for Ding Fengtian.

The ending sentence with quotes perfectly allows for limitless speculation.

If Ding Fengtian knew what these people around him were thinking, he would have had to complain.

Making you all campaign volunteers is really beneath your skills; why aren’t you working as media reporters?

"I know what you’re worried about, but as far as I know, there has never been any evidence to directly link this Lawyer Zhang with those suicide cases, right?"

"This..."

The group was suddenly at a loss for words.

Because Ding Fengtian also knew of those cases, and as an old hand in the inspection system, how could he not look into the detailed information?

But as far as he knew, all these cases ended up being treated as suicide because there was no evidence linking Zhang Wei to the deaths of those victims, right?

As for the hostility between Zhang Wei and the others, there have been many reports, but he also had a perfect alibi.

So, it’s all just a media gimmick.

As long as I don’t care, that’s fine.

Moreover, although much of Zhang Wei’s reputation is negative, there are also many positive aspects.

For instance, he helps to give a voice to disadvantaged groups and clears the names of the wronged, which are definitely real achievements.

However, those achievements were all built on the foundation of his work at the Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters.

Yet, it’s precisely because of this that Ding Fengtian felt having Zhang Wei join his campaign team seemed like a good thing.

After all, if I can trust an "enemy" of the Procuratorate Headquarters, why wouldn’t you support me?

Isn’t this the best kind of advertising?

Therefore, Ding Fengtian felt that this idea seemed quite feasible.

"I understand what you all mean, you’re afraid that if I contact Zhang Wei, it may cause difficulties for my campaign. But I would like to say, everything has its pros and cons, and the downside of reaching out to Zhang Wei is indeed reputation; however, you should also look at the benefits of this."

Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng looked at each other.

Where is the benefit in this situation?

There’s no benefit at all!

If you start working with Zhang Wei, by tomorrow the headlines will daringly link him with the Procuratorate Headquarters.

By then, it will pose a major challenge to the credibility of the Procuratorate Headquarters.

However, Ding Fengtian was determined to give it a try, so he turned to Xiao Baihe.

"This junior colleague, if I want to contact Zhang Wei, what should I do? Oh, it would be best if I could talk to him face to face."

"Getting in touch with Zhang Wei isn’t difficult; I have his contact information, and he also gave our manager his business card."

Ding Fengtian immediately looked at Zhao Chunming.

The latter subconsciously touched his pocket, then realized that he had thrown Zhang Wei’s business card into the trash can.

This was awkward.

Zhao Chunming had no choice but to gesture toward Xiao Baihe, and after she approached, he instructed, "Xiao Baihe, give Zhang Wei’s contact information to the old chief prosecutor!"

"Manager, did you lose Zhang Wei’s business card again?"

But Tan Yingying, not knowing when to hold back, directly exposed Zhao Chunming’s little scheme.

For a moment, the entire office fell silent again.

Zhao Chunming, Guo Wufeng, and several other people from the Procuratorate Headquarters all glared at Tan Yingying.

"Ah, I..."

Tan Yingying covered her mouth, looking like she had spoken out of turn again.

"It’s fine, as long as we can get in touch!"

Fortunately, Ding Fengtian didn’t mind and quickly spoke up to defuse the awkwardness.

He took the business card from Xiao Baihe and just smiled it off.

Only Tan Yingying was still standing there, feeling the piercing gaze of her superiors and somewhat at a loss.

Whimper, whimper, whimper...

I’m just telling the truth, why am I being treated like this, I’m so wronged, whimper, whimper, whimper...

Afterward, the office moved on to other topics, and as for Zhang Wei, they firmly refrained from discussing it.

Many people talked the talk, all advising, but none truly counseled Ding Fengtian.

Xiao Baihe and Tan Yingying, seeing this, also promptly excused themselves and left.

The whole office returned to its previous bustle.

...

At the same time.

In the riverside luxury home of Dongjiang Yipin.

Zhang Wei was feeling great.

Why?

Because today his father-in-law and mother-in-law were not at home; it was just him and Xia Qianyue alone.

The father-in-law had gone out for duty.

It was said to be a night shift, and he wouldn’t be back until the following morning.

The mother-in-law went to her aunt’s place.

Though there had been unpleasantness before, Li Qinghua and Li Qinghe, after all, were still sisters, and it was common for them to visit each other.

Now Zhang Wei felt that an opportunity had arisen.

There, under the bright moon, Zhang Wei and Xia Qianyue were watching the moon on the spacious scenic balcony.

Zhang Wei checked the time; it was almost 10:30 PM.

It was time for bed.

"Speaking of which, this is my first time staying overnight at this house, isn’t it?"

"Mhm!"

Xia Qianyue nodded, with a strange expression on her face.

Because the house belonged to Zhang Wei, yet Zhang Wei had never even stayed there once.

"So that means there’s no room for me here~"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei also raised his eyebrows teasingly.

Xia Qianyue saw the expression on the face of the person before her and, as if a light bulb had gone off, apprehensively replied, "That is, if you need a place to stay, staying in my room... is also okay..."

Her words were as soft as a whisper, naturally, since for a girl to invite a boy into her room was an embarrassingly delicate matter to broach.

"Hehe, that’s very kind of you!"

Zhang Wei was clearly excited, thinking that the girl had finally come to her senses.

Zhang Wei naturally knew what Xia Qianyue’s room looked like.

So...

"Elbow," he beckoned, "follow me inside!"

Zhang Wei, taking on the role of the big bad wolf, dragged Xia Qianyue, the little lamb, straight to the bedroom.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

...

The next morning.

What woke Zhang Wei was a series of insistent rings from his phone.

He dragged his exhausted body, struggling to lift his hand to take a long look at the cellphone before pressing the answer button.

"Hello, who’s this..."

His voice was listless, evidence of the previous night’s exertions.

"Hello, is this Zhang Wei? I’m Ding Fengtian,"

On the other end was a voice that seemed quite robust.

Zhang Wei thought for a moment, his mind nearly half a beat slow, before realizing who the caller was.

"Oh, Old Ding, what’s up..."

Hearing this weak response, Ding Fengtian on the phone was taken aback.

What the hell happened to you last night, boy? Sounds like you’ve been up for days. Why do you sound so exhausted?

And what did you call me, Old Ding?

I may want to get to know you, but are we that close?

Besides, I’m nearly 40 years your senior; I could be your grandfather, and here you are being so informal with me.

If this were in the past, Ding Fengtian might have already been quite displeased, enough to hang up the call.

But since he needed Zhang Wei’s help, he thought he should perhaps show some goodwill first.

"Zhang Wei, here’s the deal, I hope you can come to our campaign office to sit for a bit. I heard from a junior at the Procuratorate Headquarters yesterday about your views on the campaign, and it really caught my attention, so I was thinking..."

"Oh, Old Ding, let’s see how it goes this afternoon. I’m a bit tired right now, let me sleep a bit more; we can talk in detail this afternoon..."

Zhang Wei said and immediately hit the end call button, then tossed the phone aside and lay back down.

On the other end of the phone.

Ding Fengtian stared at the disconnected call, utterly incredulous.

"That kid actually hung up on me?"

Old Ding felt that maybe he shouldn’t have invited him; he regretted it.

The kid’s disrespectful attitude was certainly not suited for his campaign team.

Maybe I should call back to cancel? Better not meet this afternoon.

But what he didn’t know was that Zhang Wei was genuinely exhausted.

Last night, Zhang Wei had thought Xia Qianyue would be an easy mark, like a little lamb he could toy with leisurely.

But once on the "battlefield," Xia Qianyue turned from a little lamb into a fierce tigress, handling him, the big bad wolf, with complete ease.

They had "gone to war" at 10 PM.

They had "called a truce" at 2 AM.

Zhang Wei went from being the aggressor to being passive, eventually almost running out of steam.

Compared to him, who was exhausting all his efforts, Xia Qianyue seemed to have boundless energy, never showing any signs of fatigue from start to finish.

Even at 2 AM, after Zhang Wei declared he couldn’t go on, Xia Qianyue still seemed unsatisfied.

If Jessica was a tiger descending the mountain, then Xia Qianyue was a dragon entering the sea—uncommonly fierce and not to be opposed.

So, after Zhang Wei hung up the phone, he lay down for several more hours, until the sun was high in the sky before he finally stirred awake.

The bed next to him was now empty.

Outside the room door, the sound of someone preparing lunch echoed.

When Zhang Wei, dressed and washed up, stepped out of the room, he saw Xia Qianyue comfortably clad in home clothes and his future father-in-law, Xia Donghai.

"Kid, you’re up, eh? I made some noodles for lunch, nothing fancy, so don’t you go complaining about my cooking," Xia Donghai said, his eyes seeming to hold a new warmth for Zhang Wei.

Although Xia Donghai had treated Zhang Wei as his son-in-law before, they had not yet crossed that final threshold.

But last night, Xia Qianyue and Zhang Wei did take that step, and today, after he returned, his daughter had told him about it.

So, now Zhang Wei was truly one of the family.

"Thank you, father-in-law."

"Don’t mention it, as long as you don’t find the noodles I made unpalatable. I know you’re an excellent cook, I’m just barely getting by."

As Xia Donghai spoke, he handed the second bowl of noodles to his daughter Xia Qianyue.

"Thanks, Dad!" Xia Qianyue took the bowl of noodles and immediately slurped up a mouthful, then exclaimed how delicious it was.

Zhang Wei looked down at the noodles in front of him, and noticed that Xia Donghai had even added a boiled egg for him. It was very thoughtful.

He picked up the chopsticks and immediately slurped up some noodles too.

Surprisingly, they were actually quite good.

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but compare and realized that Xia Donghai’s cooking was actually better than Li Qinghua’s!

It seemed the ranking in culinary skills in this family would be Zhang Wei > Xia Donghai > Li Qinghua > Xia Qianyue.

If it weren’t for the Simple-minded person who completely couldn’t cook, the mother-in-law would have been the worst cook.

And Xia Donghai had been eating Li Qinghua’s cooking for decades.

Here, Zhang Wei couldn’t help but silently mourn his father-in-law.

Love is truly great!

"Right, the daughter said you got a call this morning, looks like someone scheduled a meeting with you this afternoon?"

"Oh Duo, I almost forgot, indeed there’s something!"

Upon Xia Donghai’s reminder, Zhang Wei suddenly slapped his forehead.

He had really made an appointment for the afternoon.

"Well then, father-in-law, Simple-minded one, I’m off!"

"Mmm, take it easy!"

Xia Qianyue waved goodbye to Zhang Wei with a touch of shyness and blush still remaining on her face.

But thinking about how Zhang Wei looked last night made her feel a bit embarrassed again.

Was it that last night, she had exerted herself too much, and now Zhang Wei could barely walk steadily?

...

It wasn’t just unsteadiness.

Zhang Wei now felt not only aching in his waist but also weakness in his legs. Even walking was somewhat unsteady.

Luckily, Dongfang Capital had subways, and luckily Ding Fengtian’s campaign office wasn’t in the suburbs. Otherwise, Zhang Wei felt he wouldn’t make it today.

Zhang Wei had to remind himself to control the duration the next time he got involved with the Simple-minded one.

Who knew Xia Qianyue’s fighting power would be so fierce – no, it was more like her stamina was incredibly strong!

It was terrifying. He’d used even the strength reserved for nursing, and yet he was still defeated.

So when Zhang Wei arrived at Ding Fengtian’s campaign office,

Ding Fengtian was stunned when he saw Zhang Wei.

You look pale, with dark circles under your eyes, unsteady on your feet, and even your spirit is wilted.

What were you up to last night?

"Young man, you need to learn moderation!"

Ding Fengtian said it with a bit of a nanny’s heart.

How many girls did you visit, with your legs so soft that you’re wobbling after a few steps?

Zhang Wei wanted to reply that it was just one, but feared losing face and pretended not to hear.

Soon, the two sat down and began discussing the campaign.

"I’m sorry, I don’t have high hopes for your success in the election. You can find someone else for the campaign manager position, but I know for sure you’re not going to win!"

"Young man, why would you say that?"

"Because it’s a foregone conclusion!"

Zhang Wei said, pointing in the direction of the Procuratorate Headquarters, "You know, even if you let Xiao Tan from the Serious Crime Unit run, her chances of winning would be much higher than yours!"

"Can I know the reason why you have such a low opinion of me?"

"Because you’re too old, times have changed, and people don’t like obstinate old men!"

Zhang Wei bluntly pointed out Ding Fengtian’s biggest weakness, with no regard for his dignity.

"You brat, how can you talk to Chief Procurator Ding like that? You..."

"See, they still think of you as Chief Procurator Ding!"

Zhang Wei looked at the people around Ding Fengtian and smiled faintly, "People who live in the past can’t accept the new era, and that is your biggest weakness."

"Old Ding, let me give you some advice, don’t humiliate yourself by continuing to run. If you have done anything unclean in the past, better not go on with this election, because those people will definitely dig up those things."

"You’re also considered a senior and have honorably retired; that’s rare and good. Don’t tarnish your later years!"

In the end, Zhang Wei patted Ding Fengtian’s shoulder, offered a word of consolation, and then left straight away.

Despite still feeling weak in the legs, Zhang Wei walked away with style.

And his words made Ding Fengtian’s face reveal a sense of helplessness.

Has the era really changed?

How is it that even a young man can console him, a past generation figure, like a seasoned advisor?