Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 218 : The Court Trial

Chapter 218: Chapter 218 : The Court Trial

The day of the court trial finally arrived.

Shen Jingwei had already cleared his schedule for the day three days ago.

Although it was not a public trial, the courtroom was cramped with a lot of people, mainly the butlers, all of whom once worked at the Handsome Butler Coffee Shop.

The individual who had exposed the prostitution allegations on Weibo was surprisingly someone entirely unrelated to the case -- a complete stranger.

Shen Jingwei felt a flicker of pity for the man as he sat in the witness stand, struggling to fend off Lawyer Hui’s relentless questioning.

Several butlers, including Shen Jingwei, were called to the witness stand as well.

All of them were selected because they were particularly supportive of Head Butler Wu.

After all pieces of evidence were brought out, all witnesses were called to testify, and the rounds of questioning ended, the jury retreated to a closed chamber to discuss.

At this point, there was nothing else they could do but pray.

Eventually, the jury emerged from the chamber with an unanimous verdict -- Head Butler Wu was innocent.

The courtroom broke into a cheer so loud that the presiding judge had to hit the gavel several times to restore order.

Once the case was closed, Shen Jingwei was finally able to talk to Head Butler Wu directly.

They shook hands before pulling each other into a hug.

"Thank you for everything," Head Butler Wu said, his eyes glassy from tears. "Lawyer Hui told me everything. Without you, the coffee shop would be closed for good."

Shen Jingwei shook his head.

"It was not me, really. It was Yan Renzhong. Without him, Lawyer Hui wouldn’t even be here."

Lawyer Hui cleared his throat.

"Not quite," he declared. "If not because of you, Mr. Shen, Mr. Yan wouldn’t ask me to take care of this case."

"..."

Whoever extended a helping hand, Shen Jingwei was deeply grateful for the outcome.

"I will be waiting for you at the coffee shop," Head Butler Wu told Shen Jingwei. "Come by anytime for free coffee."

Shen Jingwei smiled. He grabbed Head Butler Wu’s shoulders and said, "Congratulations. I hope you will keep the coffee shop operation going for as long as you can. You are doing the aspiring actors a great favor."

Head Butler Wu nodded.

"Yes," he firmly said. "I will."

The news of Head Butler Wu’s exoneration didn’t generate the same level of buzz on Weibo as the initial prostitution allegations. People seemed more captivated by the scandal itself than its eventual resolution. Regardless, the most crucial outcome was that Head Butler Wu’s name had been cleared, allowing the coffee shop to resume its operations without further disruption.

On the other hand, an intriguing theory emerged shortly after the trial.

Among all the butlers summoned to testify, only Jin Zhuo had refused to cooperate. This unusual behavior sparked speculation and raised questions about his potential involvement in the scandal.

After all, why would a complete stranger start such a rumor?

It was more likely that a former employee held grudge toward Head Butler Wu and tried to ruin the coffee shop for good.

Not to mention that Jin Zhuo just recently left the coffee shop after he was selected to fill a minor role in "Dance Of The Dragons".

Needless to mention, Jin Zhuo was livid when his name was pulled to mud on Weibo.

"What is happening here?" He complained to Wu Jin on the phone. "You told me that I wouldn’t be affected as long as I didn’t stand witness!"

Wu Jin did not sound as alarmed as Jin Zhuo. Better said, he did not sound affected at all.

"Relax, my brother. You are not wrong. This is just a little gossip, spread by gossipmongers. How many years have you lived on Earth? Rumors stop with the wise. Just ignore it and it will dissipate eventually."

But Jin Zhuo couldn’t do that.

He was too agitated.

And because he was agitated, he ended up lashing out at his fellow butlers.

Butler 1 : "What kind of joke is this? Why are you all united behind my back, testifying for Head Butler Wu???"

Butler 6 : "Sorry, Brother Jin. I had no choice. My manager sat me down and told me that if I didn’t cooperate, my future appeared rather bleak."

Butler 1 : "...???"

Butler 8 : "Same! My manager told me that we as low-level celebrities need to follow the strongest current. And the strongest current wanted me to testify, so I did."

Butler 1 : "And none of you cared to inform me???"

Butler 2 : "Honestly I am a little embarrassed to talk about it."

Butler 3 : "Yeah..."

Butler 5 : "Besides, it’s not like you were completely blindsided, Brother Jin. Shen Jingwei sought you out, didn’t he?"

Butler 1 : "At least I was honest and told you all about it!!!"

Butler 19 : "Okay, okay, don’t be angry. We are sorry, okay?"

Sorry, his ass! Damn they all to hell!!!

Jin Zhuo was so angry that he was about to throw his phone down a flight of stairs.

But then he recalled that phones were expensive and he had yet to receive payment for acting in "Dance Of The Dragons".

Jin Zhuo gritted his teeth.

He ran a hand through his hair and took several deep breaths in an attempt to placate himself.

No, not everything was lost yet.

He had successfully torn Yan Renzhong and Shen Jingwei apart by stealing Shen Jingwei’s phone and sending dubious pictures of Shen Jingwei and Feng Jietang to Yan Renzhong.

It was time for him to sow the fruit of his labors.

Hell, if Yan Renzhong needed to fuck him, he would gladly offer up his ass!

Bearing that resolution in mind, Jin Zhuo hastily flipped through Yan Renzhong’s schedule for the week.

Wu Jin had kindly sneaked it into his hand several days ago.

Jin Zhuo’s finger trailed down the schedule until he found what he was looking for.

In two hours, Yan Renzhong would be training in a kickboxing gym.