Ch70 - Great white shark

Xiao Meng caused such an unprecedented mess that despite Xiao Sui Guang doing his best to create distance, Xiao Meng himself still had Xiao blood flowing in his veins, so him being convicted of such a grave crime would do Mei Teng no favours. Therefore, Xiao Sui Guang ultimately couldn’t leave him to lie in his own grave.

Before Sheng Min Ou had established his own law firm, Mei Teng had been partnering with another law firm in Qing Wan. The contract between the two later expired and was not renewed as Xiao Sui Guang was planning to sign a new contract with Sheng Min Ou’s law firm instead. The process of drafting a new contract between the two companies had almost been completed when the whole Xiao Meng fiasco had occurred. Negotiations between the two companies completely fell through, leaving Xiao Sui Guang no choice but to reach out to the previous law firm again. He promised that if they were able to win Xiao Meng’s lawsuit and reduce the impact the case had on the company, he would sign a ten-year long contract with them. 

“Didn’t you say that Mei Teng might not even have enough to cover the legal fees?” I asked. We were on the way to the courthouse, and Wu Yi and I conversed on how things were progressing, while Sheng Min Ou was quietly on his mobile phone handling work related affairs.

“A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. For Jin Tai law firm, profit comes above all else. If there’s money involved, they’ll take any case. I assume there was an advance payment given.” Wu Yi explained, turning at a green light and taking the car through the gates of the courthouse. “Jin Tai’s Chen Shun Lai is a jackal among wild beasts, a great white among sharks, so beware of him.”

 

 

“Is he that amazing?” I glanced at Sheng Min Ou, who was focused on sending emails, and deliberately asked, “He’s better than my brother?”

Wu Yi was instantly stuck, “Uh… you can’t really make comparisons like this within the legal field. It’s not like we have different gradings and hierarchies here, right? Laoshi hasn’t been a trial lawyer for long, so how well known he is is going to be different when compared to a lawyer who has represented many clients in many cases. This is a totally normal thing.” 

I nodded as I responded, “So Chen Shun Lai is better than my brother.”

 

Wu Yi froze again, his voice quieter this time as he replied, “He is the type of person who would be name dropped in textbook examples…”

Since he was a textbook-level figure, then there would be a lot to learn just from listening to his defence. Wu Yi parted ways with us outside of the courthouse as he left for the public gallery whilst Sheng Min Ou and I came to the waiting room as we waited to be summoned.

In the waiting room, Yi Da Zhuang had already taken his seat. He had a computer in his arms and was typing intermittently, the pauses in his rhythm accompanied by a frown in his face.

 

“What are you doing?” I asked, as I kicked his foot.

Yi Da Zhuang suddenly came back to his senses as he closed his computer and greeted us, “Feng ge, Lawyer Sheng, you guys are here. I’m not doing anything, just writing up some drafts. I’ve been thinking all day and I’ve only got five hundred words. I’m fretting so much I’m going to go bald.”

The seats in the waiting room were set up as rows, resembling park benches. I sat down next to Yi Da Zhuang, and leaned against the back of the bench as I stretched.

 

“No wonder, I felt like recently you’ve been looking more haggard, turns out it’s because you’re becoming bald.” 

Yi Da Zhuang was startled, and hurriedly took out his phone to check his reflection as he fiddled with his bangs.

“Am I really losing hair?”

I laughed inwardly and didn’t answer him.

Perhaps it was because he didn’t want to squeeze in with us, but Sheng Min Ou chose to sit in front of me instead of sitting with us. 

Yi Da Zhuang was still absorbed in looking at his reflection, so I leaned forward and rested my arms on the back of his bench, as I tilted my head and whispered in his ear, “Ge, is this the first time you’ve been seated here before? Are you nervous?”

Sheng Min Ou finished replying to the last email he had and then put away his phone, as he brought his arms up in a circle motion as he leaned back.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“It’s not me who should be nervous.”

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Yi Da Zhuang stood up nervously and ran his hands over his clothes as he walked out through the door.

 

After the door was closed again, I leaned in close and pressed my ear against the door, trying to make out what was happening on the other side. However, I could only hear muffled voices.

“Did you hear anything?” Sheng Min Ou asked from behind me. 

I turned back, indignant, and took my seat next to him as I responded, “No, I couldn’t hear anything.”

Sheng Min Ou stared directly at the doors leading to the courtroom, as if his vision could penetrate the solid wooden panels of the door and see everything which occurred beyond it.

“Do you know the difference between a lawyer who goes to court and a lawyer who doesn’t?”

I thought about it carefully, but I couldn’t figure out the answer he wanted, so I could only be honest and shake my head. 

“I don’t know.”

“The difference is that lawyers who go to court use the courtroom as the stage. The witnesses become props, and they themselves as the protagonist, with the jury as the audience. Your acting must be good enough to evoke genuine emotions to convince the audience that every word you’re saying is the truth.”

No wonder his acting skills were so good, since he was always able to fool me into running circles around him. Turns out it came down to the choice of career.

“So the excellent lawyers who attend court, all of them have acting skills that can rival the top actors… right?” 

Sheng Min Ou seemed to understand the hidden meaning in my words, as he cast a sidelong gaze at me, the corners of his lips curving up slightly.

“Why don’t you take a guess?”

Him doing this, acting in a way where it was hard to tell whether he was being provocative or a tease, truly aroused the flames in a man’s heart too easily.

I approached him slowly, with a clear goal, my target being his beautifully curved lips. 

“There are surveillance cameras here.” Sheng Min Ou said, without evading my approach or coming any closer. He raised his eyelids slightly, as he stared at a point behind me.

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“Then I’ll just… kiss you faster?” I responded, placing one hand against the back of the chair as I leaned in to press my lips against the corner of his.

I didn’t think the kiss was going to escalate, as I placed a few cautious licks in between his lips first. I planned to leave as soon as it started getting good, but when I withdrew Sheng Min Ou gave chase, initiating a full frontal assault. Our tongues intertwined, as he showed no hints of minding the surveillance camera. If it wasn’t because of where we were currently at, things might have really escalated into being a non PG-13 activity.

Twenty more minutes passed and Yi Da Zhuang was escorted back by the bailiff. He looked out of it, his complexion pale, as if he had gone through a brutal and scrupulous interrogation. 

I saw Yi Da Zhuang return in this state and alarm bells immediately went off in my head. This Chen Shun Lai guy – he was so good that he returned Yi Da Zhuang in this state?

“Mr. Lu, please come with me.” The bailiff asked, politely inviting me to the trial.

 

I looked back at Sheng Min Ou, as he lifted his chin in response and said encouragingly, “Go.”

The prosecutor in this case was quite young, and was full of energy. This was exactly the time when one strived to carve a legacy for themselves. Prior to this hearing, he had scheduled many meetings between himself and Sheng Min Ou and myself to go over the details in the case. It was evident that he placed great importance on Xiao Meng’s case. 

However, he was currently sitting on the counsel table with a solemn expression, his forehead drenched in sweat. He had completely lost his earlier air of complacency, instead he seemed to have turned from the hunter who was brimming with confidence to the pitiful prey that was now being hunted.

There was only one defendant, Xiao Meng, sitting in the dock. After Jin Ya was arrested, he confessed to his crimes. He knew very well that he was not like Xiao Meng, who had an esteemed lawyer defending him. He was so experienced that he had long agreed to a plea deal, and had now turned state’s witness in Xiao Meng’s case.

Xiao Meng was dressed in a suit, his expression grave. The middle-aged man sitting next to him however appeared much more relaxed. That person was probably his defence lawyer, the textbook-level character Chen Shun Lai.

“Mr Textbook” was about forty years old, who sported a neatly groomed and elegant beard. His temples were just peeking grey, and he had a tall build. Though he didn’t look similar to Sheng Min Ou at all, the feeling they both gave were quite incredibly identical. 

They were both the kind of people who looked dignified and respectable, as if they weren’t a threat at all. However, the moment you finished shaking hands with them and turned around, that’s when they would swing a metal bat at you and strike you in the back of your head.

I sat down in the witness box, and the prosecutor took a few deep breaths before he got up and walked towards me, as he began to question me.

“Mr. Lu, can you tell everyone what happened on the evening of October the 9th?”

I nodded as I began to recall the events, “I came home that day and found the house a mess. I thought a thief had broken in and was just about to call the police…” 

“When you woke up, you found yourself in an unfamiliar environment, and at the same time heard Xiao Meng and the kidnappers conversing, correct?”

“Yes.”

Following this, the young prosecutor asked a few more questions before he finished with his questioning. He returned to his seat, and the defence attorney was to begin his cross-examination.

When Chen Shun Lai stood up and walked towards me slowly, I could vaguely seem to see a great white shark swimming towards me with a mouth full of teeth and a tail swinging behind it. I couldn’t help but begin to feel nervous. 

Chen Shun Lai stopped when he was in front of me and asked, “You mentioned that you heard three people talking. At this time, you should have been locked up in another room. How could you be certain that the kidnapper was talking to Mr. Xiao Meng?”

“I recognize Xiao Meng’s voice, besides, they also referred to him as ‘Xiao’.”

“Did you and Mr. Xiao know each other before?”

“I’ve met him twice.” 

“And if you were to add both those interactions up, would they amount to ten hours?”

“No.”

 

“So, just by meeting him twice, you were able to determine that the voice you heard belonged to Mr Xiao. It seems like your memory is superb compared to the average person, Mr. Lu.”

“Thank you.” I replied, gladly accepting his compliment. 

“What did they talk about?” Chen Shun Lai asked, continuing with his line of questioning.

“Jin Ya and the others had screwed up, so Xiao Meng was furious. He berated them and said that they shouldn’t have kidnapped me. Jin Ya reassured Xiao Meng and said that they were all committed to the plot and everyone was in it together now, so they wouldn’t purposely mess up the plan. Then Xiao Meng emphasised that they had to execute things better and be cleaner next time they made a move. He left after saying all that.”

“So there was some sort of conflict brewing between the two kidnappers and their client. Furthermore, throughout your one day and one night in captivity, you had never actually personally seen the man which they referred to as ‘Xiao’.”

“……Yes.” 

“While you were beaten, coerced, and shot, aside from the two kidnappers, my client, Mr. Xiao Meng, was not present, and you have no evidence that he knew what was going to happen to you, do you?”

Oh, now I finally understood why the prosecutor and Yi Da Zhuang’s complexions looked so terrible. He knew exactly what he was doing with the way he posed these questions, and he really wasn’t much worse than Sheng Min Ou.

He was implying to the jury that I hadn’t actually seen Xiao Meng at the crime scene, and that Xiao Meng had no idea what the kidnappers were doing to me. Xiao Meng may have just wanted to retrieve an item, but he didn’t actually participate in the kidnapping incident, nor did he want me to be harmed. Further, the man that had been at that shack might not even be Xiao Meng. After all, I had never actually seen him there.

Fortunately, Jin Ya hadn’t died in the incident and was still alive. If he was dead, he would probably push all the blame on the two kidnappers and turn himself into a white lotus flower. 

“Mr. Lu, since you have such a good memory, don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten what happened then?” Chen Shun Lai asked, seeing that I hadn’t responded to his question.

His mouth curved into a smile, but there was a knife hidden in that smile of his. I held his gaze and reluctantly responded, “That’s correct, I never saw him at the scene, and I also have no proof that he knew about what happened to me.”

Chen Shun Lai nodded in satisfaction before turning to the judge and saying, “I have nothing more to ask, Your Honour.”

As I was led back to the waiting room, I went in, and managed to catch a glimpse of Sheng Min Ou walking out. I only had a few seconds with him. 

“He’s a great white shark that devours people and their bones whole. Be careful.” I whispered into his ear as we passed each other.

In response, I received an extremely disdainful snort from Sheng Min Ou.

I turned my head back to look, and beyond the wooden door that was slowly closing, was Sheng Min Ou strolling to the witness stand. He was like a large shark that had caught a whiff of blood, without any fear of getting into an all out brawl with the other predator.

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