Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 617 - 610: Conflict with Fatty Lin? Court Session

Chapter 617: Chapter 610: Conflict with Fatty Lin? Court Session

Thursday, court date.

All morning, Zhang Wei never left the house.

As for the reason, those who understand will understand.

With the help of a well-known interview program last night, he had become a shameless villain and an unscrupulous lawyer with deteriorating morals.

Even online, there circulated such a version.

Why Zhang Xinwu wouldn’t agree to a settlement but was instead willingly manipulated by Zhang Wei? Because Zhang Wei had coerced Zhang Xinwu.

As for the reasons for coercion, there were roughly several like this:

Zhang Xinyan’s version: "Sister, you wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to your brother in detention, would you?"

Victim’s version: "Family member, you wouldn’t want the injured Ms. Lu to lack the best treatment at the hospital, would you?"

Scumbag version: "Zhang Xinwu, you wouldn’t want our affair to be known all over the city, would you?"

Reportedly, the most outrageous version portrayed Zhang Wei as a top-tier scumbag who liked to take advantage of women and was extremely skilled at PUA.

It was precisely because of this that he could continuously mentally manipulate Zhang Xinwu, making her refuse any settlement and always listen to him.

There were even comments stating that Zhang Wei had actually obtained a system and was a reborn boss. Of course, such contents were just antics by netizens, and everyone just brushed them aside.

In any case, online, Zhang Wei’s reputation was in tatters — just short of a public outcry for his punishment!

Although nobody in Lin Mansion was bothering him, Zhang Wei couldn’t guarantee that once he walked out onto Sifang Gate Street, he wouldn’t be besieged by onlookers.

He had also planned to prepare for the court today, so he had no intention of going out.

As for contacting witnesses, that could be handled by others.

After making lunch in the kitchen of Zhang’s Martial Arts School for everyone, Zhang Wei and his group had their fill and refreshed themselves.

...

At 1 PM, the City Court.

Compared to yesterday’s pretrial, today, the entrance of the City Court was nearly swarming with people.

Many reporters were barricading the doorway, broadcasting live to the camera.

There were also onlookers, some who had watched yesterday’s "Lisa’s Interview" program, and even some holding banners and signs, protesting against Zhang Wei,

"Look, Zhang Wei has arrived!"

An observant passerby spotted Zhang Wei and suddenly shouted in surprise.

In an instant, everyone acted upon hearing the news and converged into a flood that surged over oppressively.

Amidst the crowd, Zhang Wei looked on as he was encircled layer by layer with a calm expression on his face.

From the corner of his eye, he glanced towards the entrance of the City Court. Under his cover, Zhang Xinwu and her party had already sneaked in quietly.

However, this scene still made Zhang Wei inwardly sneer.

Who the hell closed the safety exit behind the courthouse, denying me the chance to take the back door?

At a small snack stall near the City Court.

Court Guard Old Lu was having lunch when he suddenly sneezed.

"Achoo, who’s thinking about me?"

"Oh right, when I came out for lunch, I locked the back door. I mustn’t forget to take the back route later, I need to open the safety corridor..."

"It’s all Zhang Wei’s fault, always liking to take the back entrance, I’m afraid some petty thieves will imitate him. If the court loses anything, I won’t be able to shoulder the responsibility!"

Old Lu was also complaining about Zhang Wei, but alas, a certain someone was no longer interested in paying attention.

At this moment, he faced accusations from countless people.

"Unscrupulous lawyer!"

"Heartless beast!"

"You don’t want 5 million, did a dog eat your conscience?!"

"If I were the client, I’d be the first to fire you!"

"Unscrupulous lawyer, just drop dead already, the Dongfang Capital Lawyer Circle doesn’t need a disgrace like you!"

These shouts mostly came from outside the circle, most of which were chanted by hired voices, and it was almost obvious who had employed them.

More onlookers were inside, and although they didn’t join in, the way they looked at Zhang Wei wasn’t friendly either.

Of course, the main offensive still came from the reporters who had surrounded Zhang Wei.

They were professionals, carrying equipment, responsible for forming a human wall, blocking the following colleagues and the surrounding onlookers.

The anchors were holding microphones, each of them seemingly eager to shove theirs directly into Zhang Wei’s mouth.

Facing this crowd, Zhang Wei simply flashed a slight smile.

However, although it was a smiling face, the corners of his eyes harbored a hint of sarcasm and chilliness, along with a trace of intimidating coldness.

It was then that the journalists remembered what this man’s nickname was. They didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Cheng Lisha, Qian Moli, and Gu Shimang, so they all exercised some restraint.

But work still had to be done; even if they couldn’t afford to offend Zhang Wei too much, some questions still needed to be asked.

"Lawyer Zhang, I heard Zhang Xinwu has been completely devoured by you, and now you’re looking to squeeze the last bit of value from this girl?"

With the first question, Zhang Wei internally exclaimed, what a bunch!

The rumors really were getting more and more bizarre.

"Who did you hear that from?" Zhang Wei caught the journalist who had asked the question and asked with a slight smile.

"That... I heard it from them!" The questioned journalist immediately pointed at a colleague from a rival media outlet, trying to make the latter share the heat.

"What the hell, when did I ever say that?"

"Wasn’t it your media that posted something yesterday? I saw it, you know!"

"That’s not true, we were just reposting it, okay? It’s all posts from the internet, we just expressed some guesses and opinions!"

"I don’t care, it was you who brought it up, and today I just happened to ask Lawyer Zhang."

"Lawyer Zhang, don’t get me wrong, we really didn’t mean to publish any post intentionally, although your reputation isn’t good now, we still respect you a lot, so if you want revenge, remember to find the original post’s author!"

Watching the two journalists dog-eat-dog, Zhang Wei immediately lost interest.

Next question.

"Lawyer Zhang, I heard that you personally orchestrated this lawsuit behind the scenes, just to get back at your old firm, Jincheng Law Firm?"

"Ha, I’m getting back at Jincheng?"

Zhang Wei took the microphone, and with a puzzled face, he retorted, "Jincheng Law Firm, are they key-makers or something? How many keys do they cut?"

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding crowd was in uproar.

Insane!

Too insane!

In the whole Dongfang Capital, even in the entire Southern Region of Dragon Country, who didn’t know the big name of Jincheng Law Firm?

In your mouth, Jincheng Law Firm doesn’t even deserve to be your opponent, and you’re calling them "key makers."

You’re simply a cow on a plane — sky-high arrogance!

"Lawyer Zhang, last night’s episode of ’Lisa’s Talk’ mentioned that regarding this lawsuit, you unilaterally refused the settlement conditions proposed by the Wu Family and Mr. Xiao Mo Moji. Is there any truth to that?"

"Gentlemen, please recall, how many disagreements have I had with ’Lisa’s Talk’ show?"

All the surrounding journalists looked at each other, then started recalling in their minds, it seemed that Zhang Wei and this program indeed had many disagreements.

Almost without exception, in cases taken over by Zhang Wei, the opposing party would go on ’Lisa’s Talk’ to make statements.

"Now please think again, how many times has the ’Lisa’s Talk’ show overturned since they took on my cases?"

This time, the surrounding journalists were unsettled.

Yes, ever since the show had conflicts with Zhang Wei, it seemed to have overturned every single time.

"Lawyer Zhang, are you implying that just like before, you will defeat your opponents this time as well?"

"Actually, in my eyes, I find the ’Lisa’s Talk’ show to be somewhat cursed. Every time my opponents go up there to talk, then get spanked by me, so I believe this time shouldn’t be an exception, right?"

After hearing this, many journalists started writing feverishly, noting down every word of Zhang Wei’s statement.

Here comes the material!

"Lawyer Zhang, there’s a rumor that you have a conflict with President Lin of Jincheng Law Firm, and that your conflict has become irreconcilable since you returned from Longdu. You attacked the head of the litigation department in the law firm because you fell out with President Lin, didn’t you?"

The explosive question arrived, and everyone craned their necks in anticipation of Zhang Wei’s response.

They wanted to see how Zhang Wei would answer this one.

"Actually, the biggest conflict between me and Fatty Lin..."

Zhang Wei saw that everyone was looking at him and suddenly held his breath.

Well, come on, what’s the biggest conflict already?

All the journalists were on the verge of cursing, You’ve got the words right on the tip of your tongue, so why hold back?

"...The biggest conflict between me and Fatty Lin is that I play golf better than he does!"

As soon as he said this, everybody was stunned.

That’s it?

Is that really it?

The conflict between you two is over golf skills? Are you kidding me?

But just as the reporters were about to ask Zhang Wei to stop evading the issue, they realized he had disappeared.

It seemed that after he had spoken, Zhang Wei, mustering energy from nowhere, slipped into the crowd with a whoosh and then vanished without a trace.

For a moment, all the reporters looked at each other in bewilderment.

Where did he go?

How did such a big man just disappear?

"Look, the defendants are here, they’ve arrived!"

Just then, someone with keen eyes spotted Ren Xingzhou and his group making an appearance.

Suddenly, the reporters no longer cared about Zhang Wei and swarmed towards the other side.

"Second Master Wu, Mr. Xiao Mo Moji, please go inside first, we’ll handle the media!"

After saying this to the people around him, Ren Xingzhou, leading the trio behind him, stepped forward to face the media.

As for Wu Yuanzong and the others, they were naturally protected by the Wu Family’s bodyguards. With a group of tall and burly bodyguards, the reporters didn’t dare to get too close.

"Hello everyone, I am Ren Xingzhou, the defense lawyer representative for this case. These three are the elite lawyers from my law firm, Lawyer Shen, Lawyer Han, and Lawyer Yang."

"Dear media friends, if you have any questions, please go ahead and ask."

Unlike the troublesome Zhang Wei, Ren Xingzhou was quite generous in dealing with the media.

"I’d like to ask, we saw that the defense lawyer team originally had five people, so where is Bai Meiqi, Lawyer Bai?"

"Lawyer Bai has been under a lot of pressure recently and fell slightly ill. She felt incapable of serving the client to the best of her ability. Our law firm’s mission is to provide the best possible advice for our clients, so with Lawyer Bai indisposed, we had no choice but to let her withdraw from this lawsuit," Ren Xingzhou explained with a laugh, pulling out an excuse he’d prepared beforehand.

Illness preventing better service to the client and having to withdraw reluctantly—these were cliché excuses.

"We just interviewed Lawyer Zhang Wei, who apparently has conflicts with many people at Jincheng Law Firm?"

"Zhang Wei has always been a troublemaker. This guy doesn’t have any other skills, but causing trouble is something he excels at. At Jincheng Law Firm, we value team spirit. Even if Zhang Wei’s performance is outstanding, if it doesn’t align with our firm’s core values, then he still needs to go!"

Ren Xingzhou easily handled this second question as well, managing to throw shade at Zhang Wei in the process.

"Lawyer Ren, may I ask..."

With experience from the project department, Ren Xingzhou handled the media with ease.

As a former project department leader, he had frequently conducted press conferences.

In his life, Ren Xingzhou had faced countless media entities and could handle any question thrown at him.

He skillfully fielded the questions, praising Jincheng Law Firm while guiding the media to smear Zhang Wei, effectively cutting down Zhang Wei as he boosted his own profile.

The three lawyers behind him nodded continuously, emphasizing how an experienced senior lawyer could effortlessly deal with the media and achieve their goals.

Ren Xingzhou revelled in the attention from the media surrounding him, his inner voice shouting: Bring it on, let the questions come even harder!

"Lawyer Ren, Lawyer Zhang just told us that he and the big boss of Jincheng Law Firm have conflicts, supposedly over President Lin’s poor golf skills?"

"Ah, this..."

This question caused Ren Xingzhou’s smile to vanish instantly.

Are President Lin’s golf skills really something I can comment on?

"Also, Lawyer Zhang called President Lin ’Fatty Lin’. I wonder if anyone else in Jincheng Law Firm uses that description for President Lin?"

"Ah, this..."

Another question Ren Xingzhou found impossible to answer.

The big boss is the big boss, who dares call him ’Fatty Lin’? Do they have a death wish?

And you two little guys, what’s with all this nonsense?

"Lawyer Ren, please answer us, we want to know if the conflict between Zhang Wei and President Lin is really over golf skills?"

"Are President Lin’s skills actually that bad, or is this just an excuse made up by Zhang Wei, and their conflict is actually about something else?"

"By the way, Lawyer Ren, as a senior partner at Jincheng, you must have played golf with President Lin. I’ve heard from a well-known magnate who commented on President Lin’s golf skills, saying that playing golf with him requires a strong heart?"

Ren Xingzhou’s composure faltered, and a faint layer of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

He couldn’t answer this question.

After all, he couldn’t go against his conscience and claim that Lin Xiangtian’s golf skills were good, could he?

No one would believe this if it got out!

"That said, President Lin’s playing skills have transcended the mundane, and naturally cannot be understood by the common eye! Alright, let’s end the interview here, time is almost up. We have to hurry to court now!"

With a grand gesture, Ren Xingzhou turned and led his entourage of three lawyers from the Jincheng Law Firm towards the courtroom.

"Lawyer Ren, don’t go, what do you mean by your answer? Is President Lin’s playing skill really that good?"

"Lawyer Ren, could you please answer one more question? We have a lot more to ask!"

"Lawyer Ren, Lawyer Ren..."

Ignoring the calls coming from behind, Ren Xingzhou relied on his entourage to push through the crowd before rushing into the courthouse entrance.

He then quickened his pace and strode into the courtroom.

"Yo, old Ren, you’re here. Those reporters at the door, they didn’t ask you any embarrassing questions, did they?"

From the prosecutor’s bench, Zhang Wei waved and greeted Ren Xingzhou.

You little bastard, it was you who let slip about President Lin’s playing ability, wasn’t it?

Though Ren Xingzhou cursed in his heart, he maintained composure without betraying a thing on the surface.

He just snorted coldly and led his team to their seats at the defense bench. Soon, they huddled together to discuss the strategy for the day’s court session.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei also sneered and sat down, beginning to discuss tactics with Zhang Xinwu and others beside him.

Because the prosecutor’s side really had fewer people, Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others all sat at the front, in two rows, which was just enough for them to discuss together, evening out the numbers with the defense.

As both sides discussed among themselves, time passed by imperceptibly.

"All rise!"

At the court guard’s loud announcement, the courtroom instantly fell silent, and then Judge Ni stepped in under the watchful eyes of everyone and ascended to the bench.

Her sharp eyes swept across the room, lingering for a moment longer on Zhang Wei before retracting her gaze.

"Very well, no one is late!"

Judge Ni said and signaled everyone to sit, but then she immediately turned to the 12-person jury.

"Ahem, before we open court, I need to clarify something. Someone must have watched "Lisa’s Interview" yesterday, right?"

The expressions of the six local jury members changed involuntarily, and they cast a glance at Zhang Wei.

Clearly, even if they hadn’t watched it, they had heard a family member discussing the content of the show.

The other six foreign jurors also showed some changes in expression, with even Cui Xi inadvertently looking at Zhang Wei.

Obviously, she had watched it too.

"I want to ask, after watching yesterday’s show, do you still believe that you can make a fair and just verdict? If anyone feels they are unable to continue fulfilling their duty as a juror, you can tell the court now, and your position will be taken over by an alternate juror!"

The 12 jurors exchanged glances and then all shook their heads.

Clearly, they had no intention of giving up their spots on the jury.

"In that case, the court will assume you all have no issues. But beware, if I find anyone influencing the jury’s discussions with content from "Lisa’s Interview", don’t blame me for being ruthless!"

Judge Ni’s eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke, her presence exuding a deadly seriousness.

The jury felt the pressure and subconsciously shrank a little tighter.

"Old Ni, I’m so moved!"

This scene made Zhang Wei almost cry on the spot.

Judge Ni, she really... makes me want to cry...

But then, Judge Ni turned to look at Zhang Wei with a cold smirk, "Lawyer Zhang, even though I’m reluctant to lay it out for the jury like this, I know if I don’t bring it up sooner, you might exploit this in the latter part of the trial. You think I can’t see through your little schemes?"

"I didn’t, I haven’t, don’t talk nonsense!" Zhang Wei immediately denied it three times in a row.

"Heh!" Judge Ni just gave him a look that said, ’Figure it out yourself.’

Well, Zhang Wei acknowledged, his earlier touch of emotion was false.

So you think of me that way, Old Ni. Do you really think I am that kind of person?

"Lawyer Zhang, don’t delay time. Please proceed with your opening statement!"

"Of course, Old Ni—"

"Hmm!"

"Ahem. Judge Ni, I will now begin my opening statement!"

Zhang Wei forced an awkward smile and then slowly stood up, making his way to the front of the courtroom.

The first hearing at last began.