Ch35 - A good person suffering a bad life

I shamelessly followed along with Sheng Min Ou and invited myself to their dinner, but because I had already just eaten, I really couldn’t force myself to stomach much more food. Instead, I sat on the side sipping my tea, and listened to the general conversation.

I attempted to explain my relationship with Mo Qiu, as I repeated and emphasised that we were, and we would only be old classmates to each other. When I said these words, I specifically looked at Sheng Min Ou, however he continued to eat his dinner, like he wasn’t at all interested in what I had to say. 

I didn’t mind whether or not other people believed me, I couldn’t care less even if their imagination went into overdrive as they conceived fifty episodes worth of some melodrama plot. However, Sheng Min Ou was different. It didn’t matter how he perceived the incident, I hoped that regardless he wouldn’t mistake me for the type of person to split their devotions across multiple people at the same time.

If at this moment there were only the two of us, then this misunderstanding would be quite easy to explain. If there was an easier path to walk, why would I voluntarily go for the harder one? My feelings which remained unchanged for him was the best evidence I could give.

 

 

After finishing my second dinner of the day, I walked alongside Sheng Min Ou as we descended to the underground garage in silence, and this continued as we wordlessly got into the car too.

We finally had entered a quiet space of our own, so after I approached a red light, I used my peripheral vision to observe his mood, as well as pondering how I should begin to approach the subject. 

At the same time, Sheng Min Ou opened his mouth before I said anything, “You don’t have to come tomorrow.”

 

My heart clenched as I looked at him, “But, our agreement…”

“I know we have an agreement, I’ve injured my foot, not my head.” He furrowed his brows as he cut me off, his thumb repeatedly circling the antler head of his cane, “I will fulfil my promise to the end, however I have no need for a chauffeur anymore.”

This sudden notice was really quite a shock to me, as I was rather taken aback by it.

 

I combed through my memories and incidents of the past few days back and forth, inside and out, and felt like in these days I hadn’t gotten on his bad side at all. Instead, yesterday I had even selflessly helped him with a little deed, so why was he ruining what we had established between us with no warning at all now?

Unless, I was wrong in helping him?

“Is it because of what happened yesterday?” I said, testing the theory I had. “You don’t have to be so nervous, I said that I wouldn’t read too much into things and act delusional, so I will definitely hold myself to it. Your foot hasn’t healed completely yet, so it should still be inconvenient for you to drive right now, no?”

 

The corners of Sheng Min Ou’s lips curved upwards derisively, as he looked at me like I was an idiot, “Does it look like I’m unable to let go of you as a chauffeur? Without you, I’d still be able to find other people to drive for me. You just said that you wouldn’t read too much into things and imagine that your feelings would be reciprocated, so why are you so intent now on clarifying with me why I’ve made my decision?” 

His question which he had shot back at me caused my chest to tighten, as if I was suffocating. In an instant, it was like I had been crushed by a half a tonne boulder, as it landed squarely on me, making it hard for me to breathe.

The red light had already turned green, yet I remained still, causing the cars behind to me to chorus in a series of honks.

I took a deep breath, and as I changed gears, I directed a smile at Sheng Min Ou, “Because I can never be like you, being so coldly indifferent and callous.”

After the words left my lips, I made sure to not glance at him again as my expression remained neutral, and we made a silent trip back to the bottom of his apartment. 

When the car was parked, Sheng Min Ou opened the door and left for his apartment.

“All this effort for nothing, really.” I muttered in the wake of him slamming the car door shut. After extinguishing the engine, I followed him as I got out of the car too.

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After I walked out for ten or so metres, my footsteps stopped in their tracks, as I couldn’t resist but look back at the sight behind me. As I turned, I could only catch a corner of Sheng Min Ou’s suit behind a glass door. 

I followed the road as I slowly made my way home. I decided to not call for a taxi as I felt the urge to smoke.

The night sky was clear and bright, yet the stars were scarcely to be found. I couldn’t stop exhaling the smoke as it left my mouth, as I finished one cigarette after another. It was only after the fifth one that I felt like my legs were starting to feel tired, so I called for a taxi by the road as it took me home.

 

I didn’t know when these days would come to an end, days of Sheng Min Ou and I mutually hurting each other.

If I gave up, I’d be unhappy. Yet, continuing on like this also made me unhappy. Why were things so hard for me? 

The next day, as Mrs Yang and her family’s traffic incident case only began at one in the afternoon, I was able to use this rare opportunity to sleep in until ten in the morning. After which, I ate an early lunch before heading to court.

This time, it wasn’t a case that was attention grabbing or interested the public, so there was barely anyone in the public gallery listening in. As such, I easily sat in the first row, and I could clearly observe the miniscule changes in expressions of everyone on the plaintiff’s side and on the defence.

On the defendant’s side sat two defendants, one with a stooped posture and features which were weighed down by the passing of time – this man appeared to be the accused driver. The other was a bespectacled man with a neatly pressed suit, so he should be the representative for the insurance company. The strange thing however, was that there was only one lawyer.

Could it be that they were both being represented by the same lawyer? As I thought this, the jury and the judge entered the courtroom, and the hearing began. 

As the plaintiff’s attorney, Sheng Min Ou first began with the opening statement as he claimed that the insurance company being the first defendant should, according to the contract, pay Mrs Yang the 1.4 million renminbi that was owed to her. The driver responsible in the incident, Wang You Quan being the second defendant was then liable to pay one hundred thousand renminbi.

“After Xu Yong’s passing, Mrs Yang must raise her daughter on her own. One and a half million renminbi was set as the compensation fee with reference to Qing Wan City’s cost of living. It includes the expenses to raise Xu Na, now without a father, until she is of legal age, and does not include the fees associated with funeral proceedings.”

The total of 1.5 million in compensation had the representative from the insurance company twitching his eyebrows incessantly in response, as he shook his head continuously. The driver responsible had both his hands clenched together, his gaze pointed downwards, his features torn.

After Sheng Min Ou finished his declaration, it was time for the defence lawyer to begin his statement. 

The representative lawyer for the insurance company spoke with an air of incredulity as he stated that everything had been carried forward according to the terms of the contract, and that it was incomprehensible how they were listed as the first defendant.

“According to the terms of the contract, An Qi Insurance has the right to deny insurance payouts when the insured individual breaks the conditions and causes a traffic incident as a result. Wang You Quan has signed the contract, so he should know that in the case of overloading his vehicle, the insurance company wouldn’t be liable for compensating him. To the honourable judge and jury, the plaintiff’s attorney’s demands are completely nonsensical, and I implore you to not support his demands.”

When it was time for the second defendant to speak, which was when the lawyer representing the driver responsible should have spoken, Wang You Quan stood up himself.

“I, I didn’t have money to get a lawyer, they said they would find one for me, but I thought about it and in the end there was no need for one.” Wang You Quan rounded the defendant’s stand, and walked to the centre of the courthouse as he suddenly faced Mrs Yang and knelt down. “I have committed a crime, I admit it all, please just let me go to jail, I really have no money. I took out hundreds of thousands in loans just for that truck, and for the past few months my truck has been suspended so I wasn’t able to work. To pay back my debts, I’ve gone to all the relatives and family I have to borrow some money from them first.” 

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He bowed towards Mrs Yang and lowered his head to the floor, “I really didn’t mean to hit your husband on purpose…” His voice trembled as tears spilled down and he suddenly raised his hands, slapping himself repeatedly on his cheeks, “Sorry, I really am so sorry.”

This type of behaviour in court was absolutely a farce, and as the jury turned to glance at each other, Sheng Min Ou’s brows furrowed closer together. The judge had no choice but to knock the gavel repeatedly.

“To the defendant Mr Wang, please control your emotions. Your current actions have already impacted the jury, and if you don’t stop…”

“I’m sorry, if I had money I would definitely compensate you, but I really don’t have any. Even if I had to die I still wouldn’t have any money to give you, please give me an option that would let me continue living!” 

“I will have you arrested due to contempt of court!”

Faced with a barrage of pleas from Wang You Quan, Mrs Yang’s eyes started to redden as well, until finally the court police escorted Wang You Quan out of the court house. Mrs Yang turned her face to one side, as two lines of tears quietly slid down her face.

 

It was a tragedy, yet at the end the victim who was completely innocent had to pay for all the sins committed.

Wang You Quan may have it hard, but in this society who really has it easy? 

Xu Yong was just travelling fine on the road when he was swept under the wheel of the cargo truck. Mrs Yang was living in her own little blissfully content life, when suddenly she lost her husband, and Xu Na at such a young age lost her father.

No one had it easy, everyone wished that there would be someone else who could empathise and understand them.

Due to the second defendant’s emotional outburst, the court announced a temporary adjournment, with the hearing resuming in half an hour.

In the conference room, without the judge or the jury examining her, Mrs Yang also started to break down. 

She covered her face with her hands, as she paced back and forth in the room, “He’s asking me to let him go, but who will do the same for me? My child is only six years old, six years of age! In ten years, she might not even remember what kind of person her father was, and how much he loved her!”

Sheng Min Ou wasn’t the type to know how to comfort people when needed, as he stayed leaning against the door, turning his cane in one hand, and allowed her to cry in silence. However, his assistant, a young female lawyer was evidently a lot better at showcasing her empathy, immediately ran forward to give Mrs Yang a hug and gently whispered words of comfort.

This atmosphere was too oppressive and stifling, and Mrs Yang made me think of my mother too easily. They were both women who didn’t have anyone to rely on and were going through a period of great grief, as they were cruelly toyed around by an unfair fate.

In the end, my mother wasn’t able to get the justice she deserved. She was given a compensation of two hundred thousand renminbi, and because the other party was unable to pay the sum in one amount, they could only pay back the sum in meagre amounts at a time, like squeezing an empty tube of toothpaste. Ten thousand renminbi would come in one year, then in the next year perhaps another twenty thousand renminbi. Even when I went to jail, there was a hundred thousand renminbi left that he still owed us. 

Then, one day my mother came to see me and mentioned the other party out of the blue. She said that the money had finally been paid in full to us, and she wasn’t sure if they suddenly had found some extra sympathy within them, but they also transferred an additional one hundred thousand renminbi to her.

“It probably was a case of someone who had rotten luck now suddenly getting incredibly lucky and making a fortune. Ai, it really is what they say, good people don’t live long, but calamities in the form of humans prosper on for thousands of years. If the heavens could see this, then they should really send one lightning strike to kill off all the demons and deviants.”

She had another meaning hidden in her words, and it was evident what she was signalling to. I could only pretend that I didn’t understand what she was referring to, as I quickly skipped over this subject.

“There’s only five more minutes before the hearing starts again. Mrs Yang, if you can’t continue, I can submit a request to delay the commencement of the hearing.” Sheng Min Ou looked at his watch, “However, if we do so, there may be a delay for when you and your daughter can receive the compensation you are entitled to.” 

Mrs Yang after hearing so scrunched the tissues handed to her in her hand, as she hurriedly shook her head, “I can do it, I can do it, there’s no need to delay the hearing!”

From the beginning, Sheng Min Ou had no intention of delaying the hearing, and he even was starting to become impatient hearing Mrs Yang’s continuous sobs. He politely offered a choice to her, then mentioned the pros of cons of the choices in a casual manner, all so the other party could follow along and make a decision according to his plan.

Mrs Yang was shocked by him, and her tears stopped flowing as she threw out the tissues in her hand and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her emotions.

When the hearing began again, Wang You Quan had also calmed down following his earlier outburst after the court officers had educated him on the procedures and expectations in attending court. The judge asked whether or not he had anything more to say and received a shaking head in response. 

The judge brought the gavel down again, and announced that the case would now begin examination-in-chief procedures.

Sheng Min Ou stood up, “Your Honour, I’d like to summon the first witness, Li Jun Shan. He shares the same occupation as the defendant Wang You Quan, also being a cargo truck driver.”

 

The truck driver Li Jun Shan was then escorted into the witness stand by the court officers, and then sworn in by an assistant to the judge.

After swearing in the oath to tell only the truth, Sheng Min Ou began questioning him. 

“Could you please confirm whether your occupation is a cargo truck driver?”

The man, who was bull-necked and boorish, nodded in response, “Yes.”

“Have you bought an insurance policy to cover your vehicle with An Qi insurance company?”

“I have, the insurance amount was for two million renminbi.” 

Sheng Min Ou leaned against the cane as he walked towards the witness stand, “Have you read through the terms and conditions of the contract in detail?”

“I’ve roughly skimmed through it.”

“Are you aware of the fact that if in the case of an accident and your vehicle is found to be even one kilogram over the legal weight, the insurance company is within their rights to not be liable for any payouts?”

Li Jun Shan was stunned, “I’m not too sure about this. Our line of work is a bit peculiar, if we’re in the cargo delivery business, it’s extremely rare for the job to not go over the legal limits. You mentioned not being able to go even one kilogram over the limit, but that’s too stringent for us…” 

The defence lawyer immediately stood up, “Objection…” He struggled to think of a valid reason for a long time, “The situation asked by the plaintiff’s lawyer cannot be applied to the case! The witness isn’t the party involved in this case, so his word cannot be taken into account.”

Sheng Min Ou looked as if he had long since prepared and anticipated for this situation as he looked towards the judge and replied easily, “Indeed, he is not one of the parties involved, but every word that he has uttered represents a common occurrence which happens to the drivers in this industry. It is only through giving the jury more insight on understanding how this industry operates that we can comb through and examine the core problems to this case.”

The judge contemplated his words for a while then announced, “Objection overruled.”

The defence lawyer reluctantly sat back down after hearing so. 

If this wasn’t a serious hearing, I could’ve burst out with cheers and a raging applause for Sheng Min Ou’s strong performance.

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