Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 615 - 608: Donald Duck, Scrooge?

Chapter 615: Chapter 608: Donald Duck, Scrooge?

Under Zhang Wei’s questions, which couldn’t have been more simplistic and perfunctory, Cui Xi became a juror.

"Eh, there’s a problem with this woman!"

At that moment, Ren Xingzhou seemed to sense something was amiss.

Mainly because Zhang Wei’s question seemed specifically aimed to select this woman, raising his suspicions.

Lawyer Shen beside him also seemed to recall something, hurriedly flipping open a page of materials and then brought it before Ren Xingzhou.

Upon seeing the materials, Ren Xingzhou immediately stood up, "Judge Ni, we object!"

"Object?"

Judge Ni Qiuping was stunned for a moment; could one object to the selection of a jury?

"Judge Ni, based on our intelligence, this juror Cui Xi is an assistant at Zhang Wei’s psychologist’s clinic; there is a connection between her and Zhang Wei!"

Upon hearing this information, Judge Ni was taken aback.

"Is that so, then why didn’t the court background check exclude her?"

At that point, Zhang Wei retorted with a question of his own.

Judge Ni Qiuping also wanted to know why the court background check did not take this into account.

"Wait, an assistant at Zhang Wei’s psychologist’s clinic is not a direct relationship, right?"

After considering carefully, Judge Ni Qiuping noticed a slight problem.

"Lawyer Zhang, the relationship between you and your psychologist should be a typical doctor-patient one, right?"

"Yes, Judge Ni, my relationship with my psychologist is a perfectly ordinary and clean doctor-patient relationship, protected by doctor-patient confidentiality. Even Cui Xi wouldn’t know the contents of my discussions with the doctor. To Cui Xi, I’m just a stranger who appears before her slightly more frequently than others!"

Zhang Wei naturally followed Judge Ni’s line of questioning and clarified accordingly.

However, Zhao Xiaoxiao and Mo Yuzhu sitting in the back row were not composed.

Just ordinary and clean, give me a break.

Who can’t tell, there’s something going on between you two?

No, actually, there’s probably quite a lot going on!

"Object!"

Zhang Wei’s explanation made Ren Xingzhou unable to stay seated once again.

"Lawyer Ren, what’s going on with you, Lawyer Zhang’s explanation seems perfectly acceptable to this bench, doesn’t it? If the juror were Lawyer Zhang’s psychologist, then the bench might consider it, but a mere clinic assistant, I believe there’s no direct connection that could affect the trial, right?"

"Judge Ni, you’re unaware, but the relationship between Zhang Wei and his psychologist is not shallow!"

Saying this, Ren Xingzhou extended his arm towards the witness stand, "Look, his psychologist came today and is sitting right behind Zhang Wei!"

Many in the courtroom followed the direction he pointed, and then all were astonished.

Wow, a blonde beauty with blue eyes, that figure, that beauty, truly celebrity level!

At that moment, the thoughts of more than half the men in the courtroom were... it looks like I need to find a new psychologist!

It’s not that they were lecherous, but simply curious to see how good this doctor was, wondering if she could help resolve their current troubles.

"Lawyer Ren, are you out of your mind? My psychologist attending the trial—is that a crime?"

In the face of the accusation, Zhang Wei just spread his hands, suggesting innocence.

"Then why is she seated in the witness area instead of the gallery?"

"The gallery in back is full of reporters, and your people are also sitting in the front. Can’t I have my doctor sit a little further away?"

"But you and her..."

"Lawyer Ren, we need evidence when talking. My relationship with Jessica is clean and pure; please do not slander us!"

When Zhang Wei made this declaration, he appeared utterly confident and righteous.

"But you..."

"Lawyer Ren, haven’t you had enough?"

Ren Xingzhou wanted to continue, only to be cut off directly by Judge Ni.

"I understand you’re worried about extraneous factors influencing the jurors, but this bench believes you’re overthinking it!"

Judge Ni Qiuping waved her hand dismissively and looked at Cui Xi, "Juror, can you assure that you will make a fair and just decision in the coming trial?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I will do my utmost to remain fair and just!" Cui Xi replied to the question in not-so-fluent Dragon Country language.

"Hmm, the bench understands. However, during the trial, I ask that you temporarily cease work and avoid any contact with anyone from either side of the case!"

Cui Xi nodded, indicating that she understood.

Jessica didn’t have to go to work these days, nor did she have to go to the clinic.

"Lawyer Ren, since the jurors have already made a promise, please stop focusing on this minor issue!"

Could this be considered a minor issue?

Ren Xingzhou always felt that the jury was not a trivial matter!

However, since Ni Qiuping had said so, he had no choice but to sit down in discontent.

Consequently, the right to speak returned to Zhang Wei’s side.

"Lawyer Zhang, please continue your questioning!"

As Ni Qiuping spoke, she also gave Zhang Wei a warning look.

Please keep your questions sensible. Don’t ask those absurd questions again, okay?

Zhang Wei immediately gave Ni Qiuping a "rest assured" look, then cleared his throat.

"Ahem, I would like to ask everyone, does anyone know Donald Duck?"

The moment he spoke, the whole court was shocked!

Okay, Ni Qiuping conceded that she was still too naive.

One shouldn’t trust Zhang Wei’s questioning during the pretrial.

She had attended countless of Zhang Wei’s trials and thought she knew him through and through.

Thus, she cursed herself in frustration, how could she make such a grave mistake, why would she believe that Zhang Wei would ask reasonable questions during the pretrial?

Not only was Ni Qiuping rendered speechless by Zhang Wei’s question but also Ren Xingzhou and his colleagues at the defense’s table.

Even Zhang Xinwu, Zhao Xiaoxiao, and their colleagues at the prosecution’s table were caught off guard by the question, each of them slightly opening their mouths in stunned expressions.

Donald Duck?

The witness bench and the jury were also baffled by this question.

What kind of bizarre question is this? You’re really something.

Are you going to ask about Mickey Mouse, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, or even Blue Fatty and the yellow-skinned electric mouse later?

If so, then it must be said, Lawyer Zhang, you had a very joyful childhood!

Unfortunately, Zhang Wei was an orphan and didn’t have a childhood at all.

Whether in his past life or this one, Zhang Wei did not experience a happy childhood.

His question was also because of the case.

"What’s the matter, has nobody heard of Donald Duck?"

The prospective jurors looked at each other and finally all the foreign jurors raised their hands.

It seemed that compared to the local jurors, the foreign jurors were more familiar with this cartoon character.

"Alright, then I would like to ask, does anyone like ’Donald Fauntleroy Duck’? Please raise your hand if you do."

Quite a few members of the jury raised their hands, but there were also several who did not.

After scanning the jury, Zhang Wei did not make an immediate judgment but approached one of the men who hadn’t raised his hand, "May I ask, sir, why don’t you like him?"

"Donald’s character is not good. Although he’s not a bad person, he’s always very irritable, prone to temper tantrums, and quite unlucky. Sometimes, he can be sarcastic, hot-tempered, likes to argue with people, exaggerates things, and often complains about the minor inconveniences and disappointments in life."

The man listed out all of Donald Duck’s negative traits before spreading his hands in a gesture as if to say: See, with all that, why should I like him?

"Mmm, I understand," Zhang Wei nodded, indicating he got the point.

And his conversation with the foreign man did not escape the ears of Ren Xingzhou and his colleagues at the defense’s table.

"Oh, I see now, this guy has the same goal as us, except he’s trying to identify people with a grudge against wealth and then select them!"

Ren Xingzhou seemed to grasp Zhang Wei’s intention, with a clear sense of understanding in his chest.

Lawyer Shen and the other two hurried over, "Boss Ren, what does this mean? What does Donald Duck have to do with a grudge against wealth?"

"Of course, you heard just now, didn’t you? Donald Duck has a terrible character, always complaining, irritable, and grumbling. Isn’t that similar to those with a grudge against wealth?"

"So, Zhang Wei is using the guise of Donald Duck to select potential grudge-bearers against wealth, and while we aim to exclude them, he needs these types of people on the jury!"

"I see!" Lawyers Han and Yang nodded subconsciously, then looked toward the jury, "So, this man will likely be eliminated by Zhang Wei?"

"Definitely. The man is middle-aged, seems economically well-off, and does not like Donald Duck’s character. He’s certainly not someone with a grudge against wealth, so Zhang Wei will certainly dismiss him from the jury!"

Ren Xingzhou analyzed confidently, as if he had grasped Zhang Wei’s intentions, a sneer on his face.

"Judge Ni, our side accepts this juror!"

But the next moment, along with Zhang Wei’s declaration, the smile on Ren Xingzhou’s face instantly froze.

Huh?

What the heck?

You’re not playing by the rules, are you!

Ren Xingzhou’s eyes widened, and the lawyers beside him, Lawyer Shen, Lawyer Han, and Lawyer Yang, were all stunned as well.

How come this doesn’t match at all with Ren Xingzhou’s analysis?

Wasn’t it said that Donald Duck represented a resentful attitude toward the rich? Then why did you, Zhang Wei, keep a juror who dislikes Donald Duck?

That shouldn’t be right?

Or could it be that we thought wrong, and you, Zhang Wei, had another purpose?

Zhang Wei, on his side, didn’t notice the perplexed expressions of Ren Xingzhou and his colleagues, nor the continuous shock of the divorcée spectators and his friends; he kept on questioning.

"May I ask your reason for disliking Donald Duck?"

"Like the previous person, I don’t like his personality, and he’s stingy with money. Plus, he always ends up being crafty but fails. I don’t like people like that!"

"Judge Ni, my side accepts this juror!"

As Zhang Wei accepted another juror, Ren Xingzhou felt as if his face were stinging.

He inwardly cursed, Zhang Wei, you little bastard, what on earth are you thinking? Why are you accepting these two jurors?

But Zhang Wei wasn’t done yet.

"Ladies and gents, since we’ve mentioned Donald Fauntleroy Duck, why don’t we now talk about another duck, ’Scrooge McDuck’, shall we?"

Upon hearing this second name, the foreign jurors all looked at each other, then their expressions became complicated.

They all knew Scrooge McDuck, famously the richest duck in the world, with a fortress specifically for storing his gold coins, where he even enjoyed swimming in the gold.

An iconic saying of his circulated the internet.

"This can’t go on, I’m losing a billion dollars a minute! In 600 years, I’ll go bankrupt!"

By the way, Scrooge and Donald are related; the former is the latter’s elder.

"So, everyone should be familiar with Scrooge, right?"

Zhang Wei sharply noticed that many in the foreign jury showed looks of envy.

Zhang Wei scoffed inwardly and crossed those people off his list of prospective jurors.

Because he didn’t need people with a resentful attitude toward the rich!

Yes, you heard that right!

Zhang Wei didn’t need people with a resentful attitude toward the rich, and his goal was aligned with Ren Xingzhou’s.

"Now, I would like to ask those who like Scrooge to raise their hands, please!"

At Zhang Wei’s question, quite a few foreign jurors raised their hands, and even a few local jurors from Dongfang Capital did as well.

Zhang Wei was satisfied with this response and went straight to a woman wearing jewelry, "Ma’am, do you like Scrooge McDuck?"

"Of course, Scrooge knows how to make money, and he never spends it rashly!"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but nodded, although Scrooge’s aversion to spending could hardly be described as frugal; it was downright miserly!

"My side accepts this lady as a juror!"

Ni Qiuping didn’t show any surprise, but merely took note.

After all, with Zhang Wei’s questioning, you better not overthink it, just listen.

Whoever overthinks it will lose out—that’s her advice as someone with experience!

"Damn, what the hell is this guy up to?"

At this very moment, Ren Xingzhou and his group were truly rendered speechless.

Scratching their heads and feeling antsy, they just couldn’t understand why Zhang Wei was selecting such a jury.

Why would you accept jurors who like the rich and eliminate those who don’t?

Why would you want jurors who like Scrooge but exclude those obviously favorable to you, who like Donald?

This doesn’t make any sense!

No, this isn’t in line with the purpose of this trial!

Are you really not planning to win this case?

No matter how hard Ren Xingzhou and his trio racked their brains, they couldn’t figure out Zhang Wei’s purpose.

Seeing this, Bai Meiqi on the side couldn’t stop sneering.

Look, a mere pre-trial and it has already stumped all four of you, what a farce.

But seriously, what do Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck have to do with the case, huh?

From the judges’ bench, Ni Qiuping also gave Ren Xingzhou and the others a sly smile.

See, this is what you get for overthinking. Just don’t use your brains too much in Zhang Wei’s pre-trial, anyone who does is at a disadvantage.

"I like Scrooge McDuck because he’s rich, and I wish I had as much money as he does!"

"Thank you for your answer!"

Zhang Wei smiled faintly at the local juror before turning around, his expression immediately turned cold.

"Judge Ni, dismissed!"

The decisive rejection left the man who answered the question dumbfounded, his smile frozen on his face.

I like Scrooge McDuck, why are you eliminating me, I don’t accept this!

Unfortunately, Ni Qiuping made a note on her document and with a wave of her hand, the man had to leave his seat.

"Very well, we now have a 12-person jury, and according to the requests from both sides, there are 6 locals and 6 foreigners, equal in number."

Ni Qiuping looked at the names of the 12 jurors on her notes and then flipped open her schedule.

"Now let’s see, today is Wednesday, I happen to be free tomorrow afternoon, so we will proceed with the first hearing on Thursday afternoon. No objections from either party, right?"

"No objections from us!"

"No objections from us either!"

Seeing that both Ren Xingzhou and Zhang Wei had no objections, Ni Qiuping banged the gavel to announce the adjournment.

With that, the pre-trial was over.

This result was quite satisfactory for Ren Xingzhou’s side, but Zhang Wei was equally pleased.

"Kid, I have no idea what you’re thinking, but since you helped us select the jury, there’s no way we’re gonna lose to you!"

Ren Xingzhou approached Zhang Wei, scoffed haughtily, and then strode away with his entourage.

"Yeah, Zhang Wei, why did you choose such a jury?"

Similarly, Xia Qianyue and the others approached Zhang Wei, completely puzzled.

"Do you want Sister Xiao Wu to lose? How come all the jurors you selected seem to like rich people?" The second girl pointed in the direction where the jury had left, her face full of curiosity.

"I didn’t choose the wrong ones, I meant to rule out those with a hatred for the wealthy!" But Zhang Wei just spread his hands innocently.

Even Jessica, who was normally more rational, didn’t understand this.

"Zhang Wei, did I misunderstand something? Don’t we need people who resent the wealthy to help us?"

"Jessica, you’ve got it wrong. People with a hatred for the wealthy can’t be trusted because their moral compass and values are distorted."

Zhang Wei shook his finger and said with a smile, "Many of those fixated on hating the rich believe it’s only natural to despise all wealthy people, convinced that wealth must be tied to corruption and scandals. ’Why should their lives be better than mine?’ is the typical mindset they have."

"Those who hate the rich are essentially resentful of the wealthy while also desperately wanting to be wealthy themselves!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he pulled Zhang Xinwu over and asked, "If we win this case, what could Sister Xiao Wu gain?"

"According to your terms, it should be 5 million, right?"

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, her eyes wide open, then exchanged a glance with Jessica.

Clearly, they both came to a sudden realization.

"Right, if we win the trial, gaining 5 million out of nowhere as well as all of Lu Ma’s medical expenses, wouldn’t that be like winning the lottery for an ordinary person?"

"It seems so," even Xia Qianyue subconsciously nodded in agreement.

"So, those with a mindset of hating the rich would feel envious of Sister Xiao Wu, turning antagonistic towards her. They would think, ’Why should you get 5 million out of nowhere and not me? Why should I let you have it?’"

"When you put it that way..." even Zhang Xinwu felt uneasy, suddenly becoming unsettled.

"But, doesn’t Wu Renjie’s family have even more money?" Mo Yuzhu, who had been silent till now, raised a point.

"Classmate Mo, you’re missing the point. The Wu Family has always been wealthy, which doesn’t provoke envy in those who hate the rich. On the other hand, if a poor person suddenly became rich right in front of them, that’s when they would feel mad with jealousy, internally questioning, ’Why isn’t that newly rich person me?’"

As if anticipating such a response, Zhang Wei explained, "For those who hate the rich, enemies who leap across classes are not their enemies. Instead, it’s those from their own class who suddenly aim to climb the social ladder that they despise the most. They can’t stand to see others do better than themselves and will do everything in their power to pull that person back down, that’s the way it is!"

"So, the ones we really need to be wary of are those who can’t stand to see Sister Xiao Wu on the verge of having a better life."

Zhang Wei said, looking towards where the jury had departed, with a smile: "As for those I picked for the jury, they don’t resent the wealthy and are more rational. I trust such people won’t be easily bought by the Wu Family, and that’s exactly the kind of sensible jury I need!"

Hearing Zhang Wei’s explanation, Xia Qianyue, Mo Yuzhu, Zhao Xiaoxiao, Jessica, and Zhang Xinwu finally had an epiphany.

So, using two cartoon characters to ask questions could have such an effect.

Indeed, they had been too superficial!