Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 97 - 96: Detective Tie Ruyun, are you here to mess things up, kid?

Chapter 97: Chapter 96: Detective Tie Ruyun, are you here to mess things up, kid?

Jincheng Building.

2nd floor.

The largest office in the middle.

The space here is not small; it originally could accommodate 20 people for a meeting.

But today, for the interviews, only four makeshift desks were arranged, with a total of four lawyers seated.

Three of them were almost constantly interviewing candidates, one after another without a break.

The one in the far corner would only encounter an interviewee every few minutes.

"Next, please!"

"Next, please!"

"Next, please!"

Watching his three colleagues conduct interviews in succession, Tie Ruyun had a rather somber expression on his face.

However, he usually sported this expression, so today was no different from any other day for him.

Still, he was pondering whether his criminal defense team might need to loosen some requirements this year to be satisfied with their hires.

After dismissing an interviewee, the lawyer at the next desk over finally had a moment to rest and took a sip of water.

"Tie Ruyun, your criminal defense team isn’t going to fail to hire anyone, right? I warn you, even if you can’t find anyone, you can’t lower the high standards of Jincheng Law Firm. If you let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry in, watch out—I’ll complain to the management about you!"

Having made a playful remark, the adjacent lawyer didn’t wait for a reaction from the next desk and shouted out, "Next, please!"

Immediately, a candidate came in, presented their resume, and waited respectfully for the interview to begin.

Tie Ruyun didn’t argue or retort; he just sat quietly in his corner, waiting for the candidates applying for his criminal defense team.

But being part of a criminal team, amid the larger climate, not many studied criminal law, and even fewer came to interview for the criminal team.

Moreover, most of the law students who studied criminal law would opt for a role in the Procuratorate’s Office or other public prosecution agencies; very few would choose to be criminal defense lawyers.

In their eyes, criminal defense lawyers almost only took on pro bono cases and barely made any money.

They could only scrape by with subsidies, handling numerous minor cases that were time-consuming, laborious, and thankless, on top of frequently having to face prosecutors from the Procuratorate, which meant great work pressure.

So why choose to be a defender when one could be the accuser?

As the leader of the criminal defense team, Tie Ruyun was well aware of the team’s situation within Jincheng’s litigation department, having the highest turnover of new recruits.

Some who were well-connected would hardly choose the criminal defense team even after joining the litigation department, while those without connections would join with a try-and-see attitude but soon request to transfer out.

Jincheng Lawyers had a performance evaluation system in place. If a newcomer failed their assessment, they would simply be let go.

"Tie Ruyun, why haven’t you recruited anyone yet? Our litigation department’s evaluations always have your criminal team as the fallback. It seems like your team has no one left now; you’d better hurry and hire a few!"

A lawyer at the next table started jesting.

His words made the lawyers at the tables on either side exchange knowing smiles.

The entire litigation department’s performance was compared as a whole.

Every time, in terms of metrics like win rate, case load, and client satisfaction, the criminal defense team ranked last.

Jincheng implemented a last-place elimination system, and the criminal team was often the first to face the chopping block.

If the criminal team were gone, then those who would be eliminated could easily be from their own team.

To the other teams in the litigation department, the criminal defense team was indispensable—they were the safety net.

Now that the criminal team was effectively personless, they all eagerly hoped for a few new members to join the team.

Not for any other reason than the hope that the criminal team’s newbies could take the spot of last-place in the evaluations, ensuring their groups could rest easy.

Tie Ruyun, after hearing this, similarly did not retort, and he did not even bother to glance upwards.

He had gotten used to being the butt of jokes from the other teams in the litigation department; it was all part of the norm for him.

"Hello, is this the interview spot for the criminal defense team?"

But suddenly, an incongruent voice broke the office’s rhythm.

Tie Ruyun looked up to see a young man who was not particularly striking in appearance but looked energetic standing before him.

Here to interview, and specifically for the criminal team—it seemed to be no mistake.

"Yes, please take a seat!"

Tie Ruyun put on a solemn demeanor, but whether it was an illusion or not, he felt that there was a fleeting oddness in the young man’s gaze when he looked at him just now.

And indeed, he had guessed correctly.

"Somewhat capable, somewhat capable, somewhat capable—and this one... somewhat conflicted?"

Zhang Wei looked at the four interviewing lawyers in the office; the first three were fine, quite competent.

True to Jincheng Lawyers’ reputation, the few attorneys here for interviews were also not mediocre.

But the interviewer sitting in front of him, whose name tag read "Criminal Division - Tie Ruyun," looked utterly baffled.

The aura exuding from the interviewer was almost unbearable to witness. To put it nicely, it was melancholic, but to be frank...

How long has it been since you’ve won a case? How could your aura be so gloomy?

As soon as he walked in, Zhang Wei could feel Tie Ruyun’s imposing presence, almost as though there was a corpse lying around.

You seem unsuited for the law firm. Funeral Mourning Mo Yuzhu’s desk seems more like your home!

Zhang Wei snickered to himself, but he still managed to sit down with a serious demeanor across from Tie Ruyun.

"May I ask if you have a recommendation?"

"Oh, yes, I do!"

Tie Ruyun asked, and Zhang Wei quickly handed over Professor Luo’s letter of recommendation.

"Let me see... Hmm?"

Tie Ruyun was slightly surprised when he saw the name signed on the recommendation.

It was actually a recommendation from Luo Feixiang, who was known to rarely write recommendations for students, wasn’t he?

And after that case he was involved in, even though he won the lawsuit with the help of a mysterious lawyer surnamed Zhang, he had recovered so quickly?

A series of questions formed in Tie Ruyun’s mind. After quickly glancing through the recommendation letter, he looked at Zhang Wei.

The letter was fairly ordinary, but it mentioned that Zhang Wei’s courtroom performance was commendable and that he was a promising candidate.

"Do you have a resume?"

"Yes, I do."

Zhang Wei honestly handed his resume to Tie Ruyun.

The latter hurriedly began to read it.

"Hmm, you’ve been a court-appointed defense attorney at the city court?"

Tie Ruyun observed that at the start of Zhang Wei’s case record, all of the cases were minor offenses.

Most of them resulted in guilty pleas, but there were also a few victories.

He was quite satisfied with this, as for a newcomer, the courage to stand trial was already a significant advantage over many others.

Even some rookies at major law firms would be nervous and make mistakes during their first court appearance.

Zhang Wei, however, clearly had already taken this step.

"Wow, quite an extensive trial record!"

Tie Ruyun turned to the second page.

This time, he saw 4 cases related to serious offenses, and the results marked behind them were also victories!

"You’ve defended serious criminals? Manslaughter, first-degree murder, public poisoning, and armed robbery — you won these?"

"Yes!"

Zhang Wei nodded earnestly, with an expression that seemed to imply these cases were not a big deal.

Luckily, Zhang Wei only included the types of cases and the outcomes on his resume. If Tie Ruyun knew that the mysterious lawyer who helped Luo Feixiang win his case was right in front of him, he would have been flabbergasted.

At the moment, Tie Ruyun tried his best to control the turmoil within him, attempting to appear as calm as possible.

He took a few deep breaths, his right hand tensed into a fist, then he immediately relaxed it.

But all his actions were keenly observed by Zhang Wei.

What’s he doing, he’s clearly excited but insists on pretending to have seen it all before.

Pretending?

"So, may I ask, why did you choose us, Jincheng?"

"I guess you’re tired of hearing the answer to that question today, aren’t you?"

In response to Tie Ruyun’s first question, Zhang Wei asked a question instead.

That question is typically asked by interviewers, and Zhang Wei had grown tired of delivering those template answers.

Like striving hard, constantly improving, the motivational soup kind; or asserting the desire to challenge oneself, undaunted by difficulties, the hard-working kind; or claiming that Jincheng is the ultimate goal, the only choice, the determined kind.

Uttering those words, he felt embarrassed.

"Ah, this..."

Caught off guard by Zhang Wei’s response, Tie Ruyun was momentarily at a loss for words.

He wasn’t like the three interviewers at the next table, who probably had their fill of all kinds of replies, but for himself, today, he possibly hadn’t interviewed more people than could be counted on one hand.

"Well, you’re right, I have heard that answer plenty of times..."

Nevertheless, he tried to maintain a facade of agreement.

Tie Ruyun pressed on, "Why do you think I should keep you then?"

Zhang Wei’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a smile crept over his lips.

"I believe there’s nothing wrong with my resume, right?"

"Ah?"

Why does this kid always like to answer questions with questions? Didn’t you learn how to properly answer questions?

Tie Ruyun started mentally complaining again.

"Interviewer, my resume indicates that I have courtroom experience, and my win rate isn’t low either. I believe no one among the newcomers can match my win rate, can they?"

Upon hearing Zhang Wei’s reply, Tie Ruyun nodded unconsciously.

That win rate, especially for tough criminal charges, is indeed not low.

Even some lawyers who have joined for 1-2 years haven’t won as many cases as this kid.

Tie Ruyun knew this, and Zhang Wei was naturally aware of it as well.

So, he was essentially asking back, "I have such credentials, and you still wouldn’t need me?"

"Interviewer, we can’t just have you asking questions. I think I should also understand more about your criminal division!"

Then, Zhang Wei actually turned the tables.

"What?"

"How about this, can I ask you a few questions about the criminal division?"

Tie Ruyun was flabbergasted. Am I picking you or are you picking me?

But Zhang Wei didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed. Smiling, he asked, "I would like to ask, how many formidable lawyers does Jincheng’s criminal division have?"

"Uh..."

Zhang Wei’s first question left Tie Ruyun at a loss for words.

How many formidable lawyers are there in the criminal division, you make it sound like our criminal division has a lot of people.

In reality, apart from him as the lone commander, there was nobody else.

But of course, that’s not something he could admit openly.

"Cough cough, our criminal division follows a streamlined approach..."

"Oh~"

Zhang Wei nodded, his mind clear on the matter.

Streamlined, which implied that there were very few people.

Tie Ruyun felt that Zhang Wei’s expression was off, displaying the kind of look one gives a fool.

Did this kid figure something out...

"Now it’s my turn to ask you a question. Since you’ve chosen Jincheng, and our criminal division, I need to inquire about your future career planning."

Zhang Wei grinned knowingly. The hidden meaning of the question was asking how long he planned to work in the criminal division before thinking about jumping ship or transferring to another division.

"As long as there are cases to fight, I don’t mind," Zhang Wei replied nonchalantly, not falling for the bait.

Tie Ruyun was baffled by such an answer. Are you treating this as a casual chat?

"The position in our criminal division is very challenging. Your attitude is not good. Do you think you can handle it?"

The implication of the question was, "Are you prepared to be ’tortured’ in the criminal division?"

Once you join, all sorts of documents and work will come pouring in. How quickly do you think you can adapt?

"I would like to ask, how long before the people in your criminal division left, on average?"

"This..."

Zhang Wei had countered with another question that put Tie Ruyun in an awkward situation.

It was a tricky question to answer. Once the truth came out, the situation in the criminal division would be completely exposed.

"Cough cough, we have a high turnover rate in our criminal division, so..."

"Oh, I see!"

Zhang Wei didn’t wait for Tie Ruyun to explain, because he had already understood the implication.

"Then, I believe I can stay a bit longer than them."

This was also a tactic. Since you’re not clear about the specific time, if I say ’a bit longer,’ my answer remains equally vague.

If I really want to switch divisions or leave later, you won’t be able to hold anything against me!

Tie Ruyun felt that he had met his match. Did this kid come here intending to undermine him?

No, he had to fight back.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "You say you want to stay longer than them. Our profession as lawyers is very demanding, and you might have to work overtime. You’ve just graduated..."

"Nonsense, what kind of lawyer doesn’t work overtime?"

Zhang Wei had learned to answer promptly, and did so with an air of inevitability.

Lawyers working nine to five, with weekends off, can they even be called lawyers?

What’s 996? That’s a blessing!

"So you’re saying you can handle overtime?"

"That depends on how busy the case is. For the sake of my clients, I wouldn’t mind pulling an all-nighter!"

Zhang Wei answered as such, but what he meant was, if it’s just some trivial paperwork, don’t expect me to stay late.

"To be honest, I’ve never seen an interviewee quite like you. Can you tell me about some of your weaknesses?"

This was another trick question, meant to examine Zhang Wei’s self-awareness, to clarify his strengths and weaknesses at work, and to give Tie Ruyun a handle to put some pressure on Zhang Wei.

The question was full of traps. If the interviewee claimed they had no significant weaknesses, the interviewer would think they were bragging.

If they actually confessed their flaws, the interviewer would focus on those weaknesses and question them further.

But for Zhang Wei, these were minor issues.

"Actually, I do have a weakness..."

Tie Ruyun perked up, sitting up straight without realizing it.

Zhang Wei slowly said, "My biggest flaw is that I’m easily influenced by the people around me. For instance, if I’m with a good leader, I’ll become as good as they are, but with a bad leader, I might become slack."

After speaking, he looked at Tie Ruyun and asked in return, "But I believe Jincheng Law Firm is full of talent. If I were to join the criminal team, I’m sure I could become even better, so I’d like to ask, does the leader of the criminal team have any noticeable flaws?"

Well dang, now he’s turned the question on me!

Tie Ruyun had never imagined that his question would be cleverly deflected by Zhang Wei’s answer, and even used to play his own game against him.

This was the equivalent of lifting a rock only to drop it on one’s own foot!

"Ahem, the matters of the criminal team, I shouldn’t really say..."

Tie Ruyun found it difficult to speak.

But Zhang Wei didn’t let it go, or rather, pursued his advantage: "That can’t be right. We are all Jincheng lawyers, yet you don’t understand the criminal team? That’s odd. Is there some serious issue with the criminal team you’d like to share with me?"

"Ah, this..."

Tie Ruyun was momentarily lost for words, completely caught off guard by the tactic he had planned to use for questioning.

How could he say that the criminal team consisted of just one person, with performance that was consistently at the bottom among all the litigation department’s groups, serving as the backup insurance for the other groups?

"Interviewer?" Seeing Tie Ruyun not saying anything, Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow.

"Ahem, well, that’s enough for today’s interview. You’ve done quite well, young man!"

Tie Ruyun realized that he had completely met his match today.

An ordinary interview, and a young upstart had him at a loss for words.

No wonder this kid could win in criminal litigation; his questioning was outrageous, targeting the interviewer’s awkward situations to press on.

"Thank you for your comments, interviewer. Then I await the criminal team’s response!"

Zhang Wei voiced his thanks, ready to leave.

But he suddenly paused and leaned in close to Tie Ruyun, whispering, "Interviewer, let’s not beat around the bush. I know the criminal team must be short-staffed, don’t deny it; I can tell.

"Later, there will be a girl with big eyes coming for an interview. If it’s convenient for you, maybe give her a chance. She’s a rough gem, a promising seedling, you know!"

After finishing, Zhang Wei didn’t wait to see Tie Ruyun’s reaction and walked straight out of the office.

Tie Ruyun opened his mouth several times but didn’t manage to say anything.

He realized that he had perhaps been manipulated by a rookie applicant.

Outside the door.

Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng huddled together.

"Zhang Wei, how was it inside? Was the interviewer tough?"

"No issues with the interviewer, but you might be another story."

Zhang Wei looked at the cute girl in front of him and asked, "Are you sure you want to join the criminal team? Didn’t you major in civil law?"

"Yeah, but I also studied criminal law. Plus, like you said, criminal litigation is the best training ground, and I want to become a formidable lawyer, so I plan to join the criminal team like you!"

"Alright then..."

Zhang Wei didn’t try to dissuade her any further; since Lin Yumeng had made up her mind, he couldn’t really stop her.

Watching Lin Yumeng enter the office and take a seat in front of Tie Ruyun, Zhang Wei just smiled and shook his head.

He thought to himself that if the criminal team lacked a capable lawyer, he wouldn’t mind taking on a little apprentice.

After all, it’s better for him to be the guide than to watch a good seedling spoiled by some inept lawyers.