Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 562 - 555: Distrust? You have to believe even if you don’t!

Chapter 562: Chapter 555: Distrust? You have to believe even if you don’t!

A certain prison in Longdu.

Inside the heavily guarded visitor’s room, Zhang Wei was drinking water as he waited.

Suddenly, the solid iron door opened, and a middle-aged man in prison garb walked into the visitor’s room, escorted by a guard.

He was Guan Yuhong, the "killer" who had committed a brutal murder years ago.

He glanced around the room, and after not finding the person he was there to see, he turned his head back.

"Guard, where’s the lawyer I’m supposed to meet? Why hasn’t he come?"

"He is the lawyer you’re here to see!"

The guard pointed at Zhang Wei, signaling Guan Yuhong to go over.

"My lawyer?"

Guan Yuhong gave Zhang Wei a glance, and shook his head in disbelief.

Because this lawyer was not the person he was expecting to see, and on top of that, the other party was too young, young to the point of being unreasonable.

How could such a young lawyer help him?

"Hello, are you Mr. Guan Yuhong? I’m a colleague of Tie Ruyun, my name is Zhang Wei, and I’m pleased to meet you!"

"Oh!"

After both parties sat down, Zhang Wei took the initiative to greet him, but unfortunately, Guan Yuhong was not in the mood.

"I know you’re surprised that you’re meeting me instead of Old Tie..."

"Yes, why is it not him, but you?"

Zhang Wei wanted to explain, but Guan Yuhong cut him off directly.

Not having seen Tie Ruyun, Guan Yuhong was in a bad mood, and his attitude towards Zhang Wei also deteriorated.

"Mr. Guan, the reason is actually like this, Old Tie he..."

Zhang Wei proceeded to explain how he had received a phone call from Tie Ruyun and had rushed to Longdu.

Of course, he had selectively told him some things about the issues arising from a conflict with a female subordinate over a decade ago that now resulted in an investigation by the Lawyer’s Association, but he left out most of the details.

"Are you saying that Lawyer Tie is being investigated for some past misconduct that just surfaced?"

Hearing Zhang Wei’s explanation, Guan Yuhong’s brow furrowed.

"Yes." Zhang Wei naturally nodded.

"It looks like they’ve made their move!"

"They?"

Zhang Wei was puzzled. Who was this "they" he was referring to?

Guan Yuhong glanced at Zhang Wei and said with a hint of suspicion, "I don’t trust you!"

Zhang Wei naturally understood the reaction.

After all, the person he wanted to meet hadn’t appeared, and instead a stranger had come; anyone might not trust the situation.

And the only way to bridge the gap between them was to get on a more personal level.

The only breakthrough for getting personal was their mutual acquaintance, Tie Ruyun.

"Mr. Guan, how long have you known Old Tie?"

"12 years!"

"I remember that’s the year you were imprisoned. Was Old Tie your defense attorney?"

"No, he originally was, or rather he was supposed to be..."

Guan Yuhong had nothing to conceal about the events of 12 years ago.

"In fact, he started off well and even secured a lot of witnesses for me. I believed that with his help, I would be able to clear the false accusations against me."

"But for some reason, he seemed to have gotten into trouble, and then he told me he could no longer represent me and left. I knew there must be a problem."

Guan Yuhong said, looking around the room. He always felt like someone was watching him.

"What happened after that? If the defense attorney left, then Long Teng or the court would have arranged a new attorney for you quickly."

"Yes, they assigned me a female lawyer named Chen Xiao, but unfortunately, it seemed like she didn’t plan on helping me win at all. And as you can see, I was sentenced to life imprisonment and have been locked up ever since!"

"Chen Xiao?"

Zhang Wei was slightly surprised; he hadn’t expected Chen Xiao to take over the case after Old Tie left.

"I guess Lawyer Tie must have been driven away by the conspiracy behind this matter!"

Guan Yuhong said, his expression flickering with suspicion, as if he was pondering the possibility of a conspiracy.

"That, Mr. Guan, you might be overthinking it. Old Tie left the firm because there were other hidden reasons!"

Zhang Wei’s expression was somewhat awkward, given that Old Tie’s departure from Long Teng was due to a failed office romance, on top of which he was also played by a Queen of Seduction. It actually had little to do with the case.

"All I know is that only Lawyer Tie is willing to help me. Even though he left Longdu, he still insists on writing to me every month. I know he still cares about me and can’t let go of this case!"

As Guan Yuhong spoke, he looked toward Zhang Wei, "But you, to me, are a stranger, someone I can’t trust!"

"I understand; this case is very important to you, and you’ve always believed there’s a conspiracy within it, right?"

"Hmph, if it weren’t for those people, I would have been able to prove my innocence long ago!"

Guan Yuhong snorted coldly and then turned his head away, no longer looking at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei felt helpless too, as it seemed he could not gain Guan Yuhong’s trust for the time being.

The only one who could win his trust was Old Tie.

But Old Tie, because he was under investigation by the Lawyer’s Association, couldn’t meet with him until the investigation was over.

"Mr. Guan, since you can’t trust me, I won’t insist. But I can tell you clearly that you can only hire me to defend you in this case, otherwise you’ll have to rely on a court-appointed public defender!"

"Hmph, I’d have to have my head kicked by a donkey to hire those people to help me!" Guan Yuhong scoffed at the idea of public defenders.

Zhang Wei heard this and slightly curled his lips.

Can’t you stop looking down on public defenders? Didn’t I make my way up step by step thanks to them?

Forget it, he couldn’t be bothered to explain all this.

"Mr. Guan, fortunately we’re not in a hurry right now. This is my business card. If you think it over and decide you can trust me somewhat, then please contact me, thank you!"

After placing the business card on the table, Zhang Wei signaled to the guard.

Guan Yuhong didn’t say a word, just letting Zhang Wei leave.

After all, to him, except for Tie Ruyun—who wrote to him every month—everyone else was not to be trusted.

He only knew that a person who could write to him every month for 12 consecutive years truly cared about him.

As for Zhang Wei...

Sorry, not familiar!

"Guan Yuhong, back to your cell!"

Guan Yuhong returned to his cell, but he held onto Zhang Wei’s business card in his hand.

Because Tie Ruyun was under investigation, he knew that Tie couldn’t help him until the investigation concluded.

Similarly, he had to consider whether he could somewhat trust Zhang Wei.

For this purpose, he specifically sought out a professional intelligence broker within the prison.

"Do you have information on this person?"

Guan Yuhong asked, passing the business card directly to the broker.

"Zhang Wei?"

The broker was puzzled for a moment, then his face showed surprise, "The Zhang Wei!"

"What Zhang Wei, what are you talking about?" Guan Yuhong was at a loss for words.

Buddy, do you know that I’ve been locked up for 12 years, completely out of touch with society?

We were still using old-school brick phones, while smart phones are all the rage outside. The gadgets we have can’t even play 3gp format videos properly, and people out there have already moved on to avi, rmvb, wmv formats, you know?

"This Zhang Wei is something else, wait up!"

The broker, leading Guan Yuhong, went into the computer room, and began to log onto Baidu Search on an old bulky computer.

After a short while, several news web pages refreshed.

Normally, Baidu Search would instantly pop up several pages of content, but the prison’s network was monitored, allowing access only to certain ’approved’ web pages.

But that was enough, as among these pages, there were plenty of reports about Zhang Wei.

"Let me ask you, the person you met just now was this man, wasn’t it?"

"Yes."

"Then that explains it. This guy is no small fry!"

The broker opened one of the web pages, exclaiming, "Look, this Lawyer Zhang Wei, he’s the ace lawyer of Dongfang Capital’s number one law firm, and can even be said to be the most troublesome person in the Dongfang Capital Lawyer Circle."

"These are all his battle records since he began his career, prosecutors from Dongfang Capital, elite lawyers, ace prosecutors, even Senior Procuratorate and senior partners from law firms, all have been defeated by him, an impressive record indeed."

Looking at that row upon row of formidable battle records, Guan Yuhong couldn’t help but take notice.

Zhang Wei seemed never to have lost, with a record full of victories, both in civil and criminal cases, suggesting he could take on any type of case and win.

"Look, just last month, the records show that in late September, he even won against that Senior Procuratorate Qin!"

"Qin Yang, Senior Procuratorate Qin?"

"Yes, indeed. It’s said that Senior Procuratorate Qin was invited to Dongfang Capital to preside over a major case. The defense lawyer who took over was Zhang Wei, who defeated the Senior Procuratorate Qin right in the courtroom. This news has even spread to our Longdu."

Hearing the broker say this and seeing the specific web page news, Guan Yuhong felt a glimmer of an idea forming in his heart.

If Zhang Wei was so powerful in Dongfang Capital, why did he have to come to Longdu?

Could it be that he really came to see me because he was entrusted by someone to help Tie Ruyun?

"It would be great if I could get Lawyer Zhang Wei to help, with his track record, he might be able to defend me as innocent!"

The broker said this, his face filled with envy.

"You?" Guan Yuhong sneered disdainfully after hearing this, "You were caught red-handed selling company information to become a corporate spy. The ill-gotten goods and money were already found by the investigation team, and you still hope to be declared innocent?"

"Hahaha, then you’ve underestimated him. Everyone was skeptical of the cases he took, saying there was no chance, but if he’s really willing to help me, who knows?"

The broker said, chuckling, and casually closed the web page.

Guan Yuhong also knew the rules and took out two cigarettes from his pocket, handing them directly to the broker.

The broker sniffed the cigarettes at the tip of his nose, then complained with a dissatisfied face, "These cigarettes seem to have been stashed away for some time now, they’re all damp!"

"Make do with smoking them. What kind of good stuff do you expect to find in prison?"

"Speaking of your son, didn’t he used to regularly bring you stuff? Back then, you always had fresh cigarettes."

"My son, he’s otherwise occupied with important matters!" Guan Yuhong seemed reluctant to talk about his son, quickly changing the subject, "Speaking of which, how long has it been since your wife contacted you?"

"Ah, don’t mention it. Ever since my affair was exposed, I’ve been too ashamed to face her and our son..."

The two then chatted away, but Guan Yuhong picked up Zhang Wei’s business card, clutched it tightly in his hand, and did not let go for a long time.

As evening approached.

"Guan Yuhong, you have a phone call!"

"Oh, coming, coming!"

Upon hearing that he had a phone call, Guan Yuhong rapidly got up from the cell and followed the guard to the reception room.

Since he had no close relatives outside, the only person who could possibly call him was his son.

Arriving at the phone, Guan Yuhong didn’t immediately answer the call but looked around to make sure no one was nearby. Only then did he pick up the phone.

"My son, how are things going?"

"Dad, it’s bad news, the man is dead!"

"What, dead!"

Excited, Guan Yuhong raised his voice, then seeming to realize his mistake, quickly looked around.

Assured that his outburst hadn’t attracted anyone else’s attention, he hurriedly lowered his voice.

"What happened, what’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to be careful and keep an eye on him? How did he just..."

"Dad, it’s no longer a matter of being careful now. The man is dead, and the investigation team has come for me, accusing me of being the murderer. I’m currently being held for interrogation."

"What, they say you’re the murderer, how is that possible!"

Hearing his son’s report, Guan Yuhong became desperate, "Son, don’t tell me you really..."

"Dad, I always remember, never to show up before the target, just to keep a lookout, and even when approaching, I always leave a route for escape. So it really isn’t me!"

"Then how did he..."

"I don’t know either!"

On the other end of the phone, the son’s voice became anxious as well, "Dad, the problem now isn’t that the man is dead, but that I’m being framed as the murderer, the investigation team seems convinced it was me, what do I do now?"

"Right, there’s still Lawyer Tie, didn’t you say he had come to Longdu? I need a lawyer to assist me, could Lawyer Tie possibly..."

"Yes, Lawyer Tie, we could contact him, he..."

It was then that Guan Yuhong remembered that Tie Ruyun seemed to have been unable to take on any cases recently.

"Son, Lawyer Tie has recently been under investigation and is unable to take on any cases!"

"What, under investigation? Then I’m doomed! If I don’t have Lawyer Tie, the court will appoint a public defender, and we both know how good those people are!"

Hearing the anxious voice of his son on the phone, Guan Yuhong’s heart was equally ablaze with urgency.

His son was about to be identified as the murderer, would he not face the same fate as himself?

The problem was, Tie Ruyun, his most trusted aide, was not by his side.

"Look, this Lawyer Zhang Wei, is the ace attorney of the largest law firm in Dongfang Capital and could even be considered the most formidable figure in the Dongfang Capital Lawyer Circle."

"These are his records since he started practicing, Dongfang Capital’s prosecutors, elite lawyers, ace prosecutors, senior attorneys, even senior procurators, and senior partners of law firms, have all been defeated by him, his achievements are indeed impressive."

"You see, just last month, according to the records, in late September, he even won against the Senior Procuratorate Qin!"

At this critical moment, the words of the information broker echoed urgently in Guan Yuhong’s mind.

Indeed, even though Lawyer Tie was no longer available, he still knew another lawyer named Zhang.

And in terms of ability, Lawyer Zhang was clearly more formidable.

Although Guan Yuhong still did not dare to trust Zhang Wei, his son needed help now, so he had no choice but to grasp at straws.

"Son, listen carefully, I’m giving you a number, it’s a new lawyer, he can help you!"

"A new lawyer? Isn’t it that if it’s not Lawyer Tie, you said we couldn’t trust anyone?"

"Lawyer Zhang is different, he comes from Dongfang Capital, not a native of Longdu, he’s probably not in league with those people!"

Guan Yuhong reiterated several instructions, telling his son to make contact with Zhang Wei, then he directly recited the number from the business card.

"Son, this time, please cooperate with Lawyer Zhang at all costs, if he can help you, then we can trust him!"

After giving his instructions, Guan Yuhong hung up the phone.

He took a deep breath, then slowly stood up, and under the watchful eyes of the guards, returned to his own room.

"Sigh, when will this case come to an end, when can I regain my freedom? Relying solely on Lawyer Zhang, he may not be able to save me either..."

Guan Yuhong looked out through the bars at the sunshine, but could not feel a trace of warmth in his heart.

...

On the other side.

Zhang Wei had just met up with Tie Ruyun, and before he could even settle in, he received a phone call.

"Ha, are you Guan Yuhong’s son?"

"What did you say, you need my help with your defense?"

"What case, a murder case, you say you’ve been wronged?"

"I’m not saying, isn’t your family a bit too much? How come both you and your dad ended up with such drama?"

"Alright, alright, I got it, I’m on my way now, tell the investigators that you’ve found a lawyer, and before I arrive, besides the words I just said, don’t you say another word. Remember, if they start questioning you, you have the right to remain silent!"

After giving his instruction, Zhang Wei looked at Tie Ruyun in front of him.

"Guan Yuhong’s son, seems to be named Guan Ping, he was only seven or eight years old when his father went to prison, what, he’s gotten into trouble too?"

"Old Tie, this isn’t just one case, it’s almost three cases now. And this client of yours, Guan Yuhong, really sees himself as Lord Guan, naming his son Guan Ping?"

Zhang Wei mocked, then immediately began to gather his things, preparing to head to the Procuratorate Headquarters of Longdu.

He realized that this Monday was busier than any other Monday he had ever worked.

He was either meeting with clients or on the road to meet with clients.

In just one day, he had to meet with three clients.

Tie Ruyun being investigated counts as one client, plus Guan Yuhong and the soon-to-be-met Guan Ping, that’s three meetings in a row.

And the places he was running to were first the Lawyer’s Association, then the prison, and next the investigation unit.

If he happens to drop by the Procuratorate Headquarters of Longdu on the way, that would complete his full schedule.

After leaving, Zhang Wei hurriedly hailed a taxi, rushing nonstop to the investigation unit.

Soon, after asking around, he arrived at the major case squad of the investigation unit and met his client.

Guan Ping, a young man in his early twenties.

At the moment, the young man was being detained in an interrogation room and was being questioned by two officers.

However, due to Zhang Wei’s prior instruction, this young man hadn’t uttered a word from the start to the end, keeping silent throughout.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei was pleased.

After adjusting his appearance, he revealed his signature smile.

"Hey, the lawyer’s here~"