Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 82 - 81. Wang Fugui Awakens, Kong Hang Comes Clean

Chapter 82: 81. Wang Fugui Awakens, Kong Hang Comes Clean

Li Qinghe continued to ask questions and screened out three more jurors with avant-garde ideas.

Those she left were mostly traditional people, in Zhang Wei’s opinion.

"Lawyer Zhang, do you have any thoughts?"

Kong Hang seemed to notice Zhang Wei’s furrowed brows and quickly asked in a low voice.

Zhang Wei had revealed a bit of his inner thoughts about jury selection.

"What should we do then, is the situation not in our favor?" Kong Hang looked worried.

"You’re wrong; the situation is against you!" Zhang Wei corrected with a chuckle.

"You forgot that this time the prosecution can’t prove that the two of you committed the crime together, and you’re not married, so you can’t be treated as a single criminal entity. Even though this is a trial, your charges can be entirely different..."

Zhang Wei stopped there without finishing his sentence.

Because he felt like he was about to be "backstabbed by a good teammate."

"Then Lawyer Zhang, aren’t you going to do something?" Hearing Zhang Wei’s professional analysis, Kong Hang’s face lost some color.

"Of course, I’m going to do something—surrendering isn’t my style!"

As Zhang Wei spoke and Li Qinghe was about to continue asking a question, he seized the opportunity: "The defense would like to ask additional questions!"

This call successfully interrupted Li Qinghe’s question and directed everyone’s attention to Zhang Wei.

Li Qinghe’s face showed displeasure as she quickly approached Zhang Wei.

"Little Zhang, what do you mean by interrupting me?"

"Auntie, you’ve worked hard, but I also have a question. I wonder if you could let me satisfy my craving?"

Zhang Wei put on an eager attitude as if to say, "This is my first time in court; please let me have my moment."

Li Qinghe pondered for a moment, and, thinking that Zhang Wei was her junior after all, her heart softened.

"Okay then, but the question you ask must be..."

"Auntie, I got it!"

Zhang Wei quickly stood up, skirted past Li Qinghe, and approached the jury box.

As for what Li Qinghe wanted to caution him about, he didn’t need to listen, because it was all nonsense.

Now it was Zhang Wei’s turn to ask, and he looked at the jury box, deep in thought.

Because Li Qinghe had already used up four of the defense lawyer’s opportunities to dismiss jurors, and a defense lawyer only had six opportunities in total during a trial.

Which meant he could only dismiss two more jurors.

Facing the twelve people in front of him, Zhang Wei began to think rapidly.

What kind of question could quickly determine the personalities of the jurors and weed out those unfavorable to his side?

As Zhang Wei pondered, Li Qinghe also sat down slowly.

She opened the thermos in front of her and began to drink water to replenish her energy...

In front of the jury box, after considering for a full five seconds, Zhang Wei decisively asked:

"If I told everyone that actually, there are subterranean people living beneath our feet, would you believe me?"

Pfft—

Li Qinghe sprayed all the water from her mouth all at once.

Realizing her lapse, she quickly took out a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe it off and glanced around; thankfully, no one saw the scene.

Everyone’s attention had been captured by Zhang Wei’s question.

Whether it was out of embarrassment or shock, Li Qinghe’s face turned red as she looked at Zhang Wei.

Subterranean people, what kind of question was that?

I let you, the young man, ask a question, but I didn’t expect it to be this outrageous!

As soon as the question was presented, Prosecutor Fang Wenbin’s mouth gaped wide, utterly dumbfounded...

Having been a prosecutor for nearly 30 years, dealing with numerous cases, and witnessing many defense lawyers’ questions, he had never heard such an unreliable one.

From the spectator seats, Xiao Baihe too was taken aback as she knew Zhang Wei’s questions could be "out of this world" and somewhat abstract...

But subterranean people, what the hell? Is that even a question that can be asked in court?

At her side, Lawyer Zhuo from Qingmu was also unable to regain his composure, and the group of rookies around him had collectively crashed the moment the question was asked.

They were pondering whether to jot down the question, but what would be the point of doing so?

Could it be that there really are subterranean people living underground?

A few young lawyers looked at the ground beneath their feet with skepticism, one girl even slightly lifted her foot, as if afraid of stepping on someone below...

At the center of everyone’s gaze, Zhang Wei seemed unconcerned, pointing at a juror to ask a question.

"Do you believe in the existence of subterranean people?"

"Lawyer, do you think I look like an idiot?"

This response left Zhang Wei slightly taken aback.

Someone actually answered a question with another question!

"So your answer is..."

"Of course, I don’t believe it!"

Zhang Wei nodded, took special note of this person, and then asked again, "Now let me see, anyone who believes my statement, please raise your hand..."

In the jury box, everyone looked at each other.

Some wanted to raise their hand, but after seeing no one else did, they reluctantly lowered it.

Seeing no hands raised, Zhang Wei was not surprised at all because that was the purpose of his question.

"Then, those who do not believe in the existence of subterranean people, please raise your hand!"

This time, several members of the jury raised their hands.

But there were also a few who had not raised their hands, either before or now.

"Thank you to those who raised their hands, you may put them down now."

After thanking them, Zhang Wei walked up to a person who had not raised their hand from start to finish.

"Sir, why didn’t you raise your hand? Is it that you both believe and disbelieve in subterranean people?"

"I think this question is just a waste of time. How could there be subterranean people in this world!"

The man scoffed, showing contempt for Zhang Wei’s question.

Zhang Wei nodded with satisfaction and turned to face the jury box, "Your Honor, the defense requests that Juror No. 7 and No. 15 be dismissed, we thank them for their participation!"

No. 7 was the person who had questioned Zhang Wei earlier; he had also not raised his hand at all.

No. 15 was the person who thought Zhang Wei’s question was a waste of time.

Zhang Wei used his last two opportunities to eliminate them from the jury.

When he returned to the defense bench, he saw Wang Xi, Kong Hang, and Li Qinghe all looking at him skeptically.

"Zhang Wei, I need an explanation!"

Li Qinghe was angry. I gave you the chance to ask a question, not for you to ask nonsense. Isn’t this messing around?

The defendant was her niece, and you actually wasted two chances to select jurors, isn’t that making the case more difficult?

Zhang Wei, feeling helpless, could only explain, "Actually, my question was meaningful."

"Meaningful how?" Li Qinghe didn’t believe it at all.

If you, Zhang Wei, can explain this convincingly, then I, Li Qinghe, today will...

Before she could finish her thought, Zhang Wei’s explanation had already arrived.

"Actually, when I asked the jury if they believed in the existence of subterranean people, I didn’t care whether they would consider this possibility or not. It doesn’t matter to me whether they believe it or not. The ones I wanted to filter out were those who never thought of raising their hands at all. This shows that they are completely inflexible in their beliefs about what they consider true, without even the thought of considering others’ opinions."

"Moreover, their expressions when answering the question were too indifferent; such people would not understand the plight of our clients. That’s why I decisively excluded them."

"As for the rest, especially those who wanted to raise their hands, they are precisely the jurors we need."

"What do you mean by that, Xiao Zhang?" Li Qinghe was unconsciously captivated by Zhang Wei’s explanation, without realizing it herself.

Zhang Wei smiled slightly, "It’s simple. The fact that they thought about raising their hands shows that they are willing to believe in something they can’t prove themselves. Who do you think can prove the existence of subterranean people in this world?"

Li Qinghe had a moment of realization; she found Zhang Wei’s explanation unexpectedly reasonable...

"Now that the jury has been decided, let’s see..." On the judge’s bench, the judge spoke at the appropriate time.

He glanced through the court’s recent schedule and finally set the date: "We will begin the trial on Friday, starting with the prosecution’s statement, and then we’ll see about the schedule for next Monday. Court is now adjourned."

Hearing the judge’s pronouncement, Zhang Wei frowned.

"Lawyer Zhang, why are you frowning again?" Kong Hang noticed Zhang Wei’s concern and quickly inquired.

"This schedule is not good; it’s disadvantageous for us," Zhang Wei shook his head, somewhat resignedly.

Kong Hang glanced at Li Qinghe and, seeing that she gave no indication, continued to ask, "What do you mean by that? Didn’t Xiao Xi’s aunt have no objections?"

"Because she’s the leader, she probably hasn’t been to court in a while, right? She didn’t see the problem."

Zhang Wei smiled and explained to Kong Hang, "If we go to court on Friday and let the prosecution present their case, he will take out each piece of evidence one by one and explain to the jury your and Wang Xi’s robbery, what do you think the jurors will have on their minds throughout the weekend?"

"They’re going to be thinking that Xiao Xi and I are robbers the whole weekend..."

Kong Hang mumbled subconsciously and immediately realized.

Zhang Wei stopped smiling, his face becoming somber, "So, usually whoever speaks on Friday will have an advantage in public opinion with the jury. The jurors will only remember what the prosecutors told them the day before the weekend, and they just want to prove one thing—that you are guilty. Even if it isn’t true, it doesn’t matter because the jurors won’t care about the truth. What they’ll think about the most is how to spend the weekend."

Kong Hang looked at Zhang Wei and couldn’t help but admire him in his heart; Lawyer Zhang, despite his young appearance, felt very impressive.

In contrast, Li Qinghua, despite being a big leader at Qingmu Law Firm, gave off the impression of not being very capable.

"All right, I can’t change this anyway, let’s wait and see what Fang Wenbin has to say!"

Zhang Wei said, turning his gaze to the prosecution’s bench.

Kong Hang, on the other hand, began to grow tense.

As the prosecutor, Fang Wenbin had to submit a list of witnesses and evidence for public display after confirming the trial schedule.

And as the defense attorneys, they would get this list.

"Li Qinghe, I must say, you asked some splendid questions!"

Fang Wenbin came over and took a jab at Zhang Wei’s competence with his approach.

As he spoke, he handed a list to Li Qinghe.

"Cough cough, Prosecutor Fang, did you forget about me?"

Zhang Wei quickly spoke up, reminding the other party.

"Oh, almost forgot, there are two defendants, so there are two defense lawyers; we need two lists..."

As Fang Wenbin spoke, he handed another list to Zhang Wei, but he couldn’t hide his scornful look.

Seniority was important among lawyers, and he just couldn’t respect Zhang Wei, the newcomer.

Fortunately, Zhang Wei didn’t plan to mind him and began to scan the list as soon as he received it.

"Huh, how is Wang Fugui on the witness list?"

When Zhang Wei saw a striking name on the list, he exclaimed in surprise.

Not only he, but Li Qinghe and Wang Xi were also shocked.

"Oh, almost forgot to mention, Wang Fugui woke up and, as his health is quite robust, the hospital exceptionally approved him to testify in court!"

Fang Wenbin snickered coldly, and despite his best efforts to control his expression, his satisfaction couldn’t be concealed.

"Wang Fugui has woken up and is going to testify in court..."

Zhang Wei’s eyes moved as he began to ponder the pros and cons of this development.

"In conclusion, the public list has been handed over to you, let’s face off in court next!"

Fang Wenbin dropped a hint, walked away chuckling, and seemed very confident.

Zhang Wei, along with Kong Hang and Li Qinghe, entered the preparation room again.

Kong Hang was due to return to the detention center, so now was the only time both sides could sit down and discuss.

Zhang Wei walked toward the meeting room, quickly finishing the review of the list, and zeroed in on a name.

He turned back to Kong Hang with a smile, but there was a hint of indescribable bitterness in it.

"Lawyer Zhang, could it be that..."

"Exactly, that possibility!"

Kong Hang, infected by Zhang Wei’s mood, also revealed a bitter smile, with more bitterness than Zhang Wei’s.

After all, with the list out, it was Kong Hang who would suffer the consequences; it had little to do with Zhang Wei.

Inside the meeting room.

Everyone took their seats.

"Wang Fugui actually woke up, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Li Qinghe, who had always been the leader, was the first to speak up, asking question to Wang Xi.

After a moment of thought, she replied, "I think it’s a good thing because Manager Wang has been kind to me. He always said he had no children of his own and saw me as if I were his daughter. As long as he doesn’t get confused, he probably won’t hurt me..."

Li Qinghe nodded, seeing that Wang Xi felt this way, the situation could still be controlled.

But Zhang Wei was not optimistic and alerted them, "I advise you not to be so hopeful. If the prosecution doesn’t think Wang Fugui can provide effective evidence for a conviction, they wouldn’t arrange for him to be a witness."

"After all, for the prosecution to make an elderly man who has just been injured and hospitalized go to court is a thankless undertaking, and if something were to happen to the old man, they would have to bear some responsibility."

"Xiao Zhang, what you mean is..." Li Qinghe, upon hearing this, instinctively asked.

With his wealth of experience, Zhang Wei analyzed, "I believe that Wang Fugui might give testimony that is unfavorable to us. Only in this way would the prosecution risk it and let this often confused old man take the stand."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room became tense.

It wasn’t just Li Qinghe; even the Wang Dayang and Wang Dahai brothers, who had been standing aside, also felt the pressure.

Not to mention the parties involved, Wang Xi and Kong Hang, who, after exchanging glances, saw anxiety in each other’s eyes.

"But... that’s not the main problem." Just then, Zhang Wei broke the heavy atmosphere.

As he spoke, he looked at Kong Hang and sighed, "There’s something Kong Hang needs to explain to you all..."

"What is it?" Li Qinghe asked instinctively.

"It’s about the name on the plaintiff’s list of witnesses, that person called Qiu Tiantian. She is, how should I put it, probably Kong Hang’s..."

A few minutes later, Li Qinghe’s voice thundered through the conference room.

"How could you dare do that!"

"To go on a honeymoon to Nandao with my niece, then come back and meet with an ex-girlfriend, what the hell were you thinking!"

"Break up, you must break up, Wang Xi you hear me, this guy is no good, you could even say no man is good. Listen to auntie, as soon as the case is over, you’re going to break up with him, you must break up, you definitely must!"

Li Qinghe roared, and Wang Xi’s eyes reddened.

Kong Hang hung his head, showing a submissive attitude, not daring to look Wang Xi in the eyes.

Zhang Wei turned his head to look at the window of the conference room, waiting for Li Qinghe to vent her anger.

As for Wang Dayang and Wang Dahai standing by, although the brothers were also dissatisfied with Kong Hang’s behavior, seeing him bear the full brunt of Li Qinghe’s anger, they kept quiet.

After Li Qinghe had finished her tirade, Zhang Wei then looked at Kong Hang, signaling with his eyes for him to hurry up and offer an explanation.

"Auntie, I actually..."

"Who are you calling auntie, who the hell are you to me!"

Li Qinghe was still fuming, finding everything about Kong Hang displeasing at the moment.

"Aunt, no, Lawyer Li, I went to see my ex-girlfriend to retrieve the ring I gave her. It’s the same ring my grandparents used for their wedding, it’s a family heirloom of ours. I wanted to give the ring to Wang Xi. That’s really the only reason I sought her out. You have to believe me..."

"Humph, nobody will believe you!"

Li Qinghe snorted coldly, clearly not buying any of Kong Hang’s explanation.

"So did you get the ring back?" Zhang Wei interjected hurriedly.

"No, she said once the ring was given away, it was hers..." Kong Hang said, his head bowing even lower.

Hearing this explanation, Zhang Wei didn’t know what to say anymore.

After a while, he managed to squeeze out, "Frankly, I don’t even believe this explanation of yours, do you think the jury will?"

The jury certainly wouldn’t believe such a flimsy story, you should be thankful if they don’t think you’re lying through your teeth.

Kong Hang’s own revelation had terribly upset everyone, making the atmosphere in the conference room incredibly oppressive.

"Kong Hang, it’s time for you to go back!"

Fortunately, the guards from the detention center arrived at the door.

They were there to take Kong Hang away, which somewhat eased the atmosphere in the conference room.

"Get lost, kid. Disappear from my sight; the farther, the better!"

Li Qinghe massaged her forehead, her face showing utter exhaustion.

Kong Hang acknowledged his fault, looking at Wang Xi, but she turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge him.

With no recourse, Kong Hang could only be led away from the conference room.

"Xiao Zhang, see you on Friday!" Li Qinghe had no intention of staying to discuss further with Zhang Wei and quickly left with Wang Xi.

Wang Dahai chased after his daughter, comforting her repeatedly.

Meanwhile, the uncle-in-law Wang Dayang nodded at Zhang Wei, then followed Li Qinghe out as well.

"This case is a tough one!"

Zhang Wei watched Li Qinghe and her group depart, feeling the pressure!