Ch71 - Don’t you feel like you’re holding back?

I inched closer to the door, but despite my numerous attempts I couldn’t make out anything that was happening on the other side, as I was left scratching my head in frustration.

It was at this point that Yi Da Zhuang came over from behind me and gently patted my shoulder, indicating for me to get out of the way. 

He crouched down and slipped his ultra-thin phone through the crack of the door, before standing up and passing a bluetooth earbud to me.

As soon as I put one earbud in, all kinds of sounds from the courtroom were instantly clearly transmitted, and I could even hear the distinct sound of a jury or audience member coughing.

 

 

“…Can you tell everyone what the kidnapper said to you after you saw him?” A voice said, which I recognised belonged to the prosecutor.

After a short silence, Sheng Min Ou spoke. 

“I took the ransom to the place designated by the kidnappers, and it was there where I saw the first kidnapper, Feng Jin. The first thing he said when he saw me was: ‘Xiao Meng often speaks of you, you are indeed exceptional,’ and I quote him saying this verbatim.”

 

“And then, what did you say?”

“I realised that this matter may be related to Xiao Meng, so I asked him whether Xiao Meng had instructed them to carry all of this out, and he did not deny it.”

“Okay, thank you. Your Honor, I have nothing further to ask.”

 

The judge then announced that the defence would conduct their cross-examination next.

Chen Shun Lai’s current strategy was to extract Xiao Meng from the kidnapping case. Xiao Meng’s only involvement was to ask Jin Ya and the others to retrieve the evidence from Yi Da Zhuang which was to Mei Teng’s detriment, but he did not instruct them to kidnap anyone. Moreover, he had no knowledge about the kidnapping being carried out. Therefore, any evidence or witnesses who directly identify Xiao Meng’s involvement in the kidnapping case would be questioned by Chen Shun Lai.

I heard footsteps, followed by Chen Shun Lai asking, “You didn’t actually see Mr. Xiao Meng present at the scene with your own eyes.”

 

“Correct.” 

“The kidnappers also never mentioned that Mr. Xiao Meng had planned this kidnapping case.”

“Yes.”

“And when you asked him if Xiao Meng had planned all this, he didn’t deny it.”

“Yes.” 

“But he didn’t admit it either.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you think the kidnapper said that phrase?” Chen Shun Lai suddenly lowered his voice as he reiterated, ‘Xiao Meng often speaks of you, you are indeed exceptional.’”

For no particular reason, as soon as these words came out of his mouth, I felt like he was setting up a trap. The ensuing questioning then confirmed my guess that he did in fact, set up a trap by digging a pit, and was just waiting for Sheng Min Ou to fall into it. 

“I don’t know, however I would guess that it is as he says, because Xiao Meng indeed mentions my name to them often, that he had paid special attention to my existence.”

Chen Shun Lai spoke faster, as if he had discovered an important breakthrough, “For Mr. Xiao Meng to have paid this much attention to you, could it be that this was because both of you were the leading candidates to be Xiao Sui Guang, Mr. Xiao’s successors? Between the two of you there existed a sort of rivalry, where you two were pitted against each other, correct?”

 

Sheng Min Ou did not answer immediately, as he replied, “You are implying to the jury that my testimony carries an ulterior motive.”

“Please answer my question, your role is to be a witness right now.” 

My palms were a little sweaty, but I didn’t think Sheng Min Ou would fall into the trap so easily.

“He indeed has seen me as a rival, however, that is a matter of the past. After breaking up with Miss Xiao, I left Mei Teng and therefore, I am effectively no longer in the running to be the successor. Moreover, just two months ago, Mr. Xiao drew up a will which I oversaw as he distributed the properties under his name. Xiao Meng is aware of all of this, so if he truly believed that I was prejudiced against him, then how would he have agreed to Mr Xiao appointing myself as his lawyer and to have full authority in carrying out the will?” Sheng Min Ou’s tone carried a trace of indignation, just like any ordinary person would when they were misunderstood. “Of course, after this incident, that will has been rescinded. I have also obtained consent from Mr Xiao, so if it is deemed necessary, matters surrounding the will can be further discussed in court.”

If it is deemed necessary… that was to say, he wasn’t sure himself whether this information would be used, but he still chose to plan ahead for it, and it turned out that this piece he prepared for actually came into play. It felt as if each development, every fork in the road were all within his expectations, and he was also well aware of how everyone would react.

To be able to secure victory from a thousands miles away, just by strategizing in advance. In addition, personally witnessing the situation unfold wasn’t necessary, if one could simulate the scenarios in their head and thereby control the flow of events. That summary was probably an apt description of what kind of person he was. 

And… although I couldn’t see his expression, I was sure that he would mobilise every cell and every strand of hair in his body to make everyone see him as an honest and credible person.

Chen Shun Lai wanted to use the past rivalry between Sheng Min Ou and Xiao Meng to imply to the jury that Sheng Min Ou’s testimony was not credible, however, it unexpectedly led to Sheng Min Ou divulging the situation surrounding the will. Through this, he was able to indirectly assert his stance towards Xiao Meng, which was a fair and impartial one, devoid of favouritism.

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It appeared that Chen Shun Lai had dug a pit and was waiting for Sheng Min Ou to fall in, when In fact, Sheng Min Ou had taken advantage of this hole, and instead kicked Chen Shun Lai to the bottom of it.

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Almost the next second, the door to the waiting area was pushed open, and Sheng Min Ou returned to sit with us.

“Welcome back.” I tilted my face up and smiled at him, “Congratulations on your success in knocking out the great white shark with one flip of your tail.” 

Sheng Min Ou pressed his hand on my head and ruffled my hair, not without quite a bit of force.

“No one told you that witnesses aren’t allowed to listen in on the trial?”

He sat down beside me, stretched out his long legs and crossed his arms around his chest, as he stared once more at the set of wooden doors that were slowly closing.

I had both hands in my hair as I straightened out the mess and mumbled quietly, “It was Yi Da Zhuang’s idea, none of my business.” 

Sheng Min Ou looked back sideways at Yi Da Zhuang who was sitting diagonally behind us, and I heard a rather unnatural cough from behind me, before Sheng Min Ou turned his head around again.

“Next, the prosecution will call the state’s witness to court. His testimony is very unfavourable to Xiao Meng, and is the most damning out of all the witnesses. However, it is also the easiest to impeach.”

 

“Why is that?”

“Because he is both a witness and an accomplice. Though he has agreed to a plea bargain and no longer attends this trial as one of the accused, human beings all carry inherent flaws. A despicable person won’t suddenly become a noble character just because their prison sentence is reduced, instead they’ll just continue to pin all the blame on someone else instead.” 

“So he’s going to lie in court?”

Sheng Min Ou looked at me as he responded, “Rather, Chen Shun Lai definitely would make him lie. That way, he would be able to prove to the jury that the other party is someone who is not an honest and credible witness.”

He guessed right. Jin Ya lied in court about planning a burglary in the past, saying that he was only an accomplice. It was something that happened many years ago, and it had occurred in another city. Jin Ya thought it was okay to say a little lie, but Chen Shun Lai seized this opportunity and threw his credibility into question .

At that moment, his testimony was no longer trustworthy in the eyes of the jury. 

The prosecutor was furious over this. After the trial, he called Sheng Min Ou into a discussion room alone, and no one knew what they said.

On the way back, Wu Yi was in the car discussing today’s court trial, as he seemed to have more to say on it.

“That was spectacular, that pro really showed his expertise today. The rhythm during his questioning was practised as he did it with ease, and apart from the slight slip up when he was questioning Laoshi, in all other places, he was essentially flawless.”

I was a little envious of his spot in the public gallery, which allowed him to listen in on the trial openly as I asked, “Is it too late for me to file for civil compensation now? Can I appear in court as a party in this lawsuit as long as I become a participant in the case?” 

“Yes,” he replied. “According to the law, as long as the crime committed has violated your personal and property rights, then you have the right to participate in this case as a plaintiff to the civil suit, collateral to the criminal proceedings. This way, you are both the victim and a party represented in the lawsuit, so you will be able to enjoy the right to be present during the trial, to conduct an inquiry, to raise a defence and even the right to appeal. Previously, in the case with Luo Zheng Yun, this was how you and Mo Qiu both attended court.”

I leaned back in my chair as I said, “Then I’m going to file a civil lawsuit. He turned my house upside down, and because of him, I even got shot, so I’ll have him compensate me…” I gave the compensation sum a good thought and came up with a number.

Wu Yi whistled as he remarked, “Nice, very nice.”

All my medical expenses were paid for by Xiao Sui Guang, and after I was discharged from the hospital, he had sent someone to discuss the issue of compensation with me. He hoped that I could write up a letter of understanding to forgive Xiao Meng for his wrongdoings in this matter. 

No matter how attractive the compensation sum was, I was committed to seeing Xiao Meng, the little bitch in prison so I didn’t agree. Of course, Yi Da Zhuang was also pressuring me with obscenities on the side to not cave in to his request.

However, things were different now. Now, I was making a reasonable claim as I was fighting to get the compensation I deserved. In doing so, I could also watch a brilliant sequence of events unfold for free, so why would I not do this?

I immediately flicked Yi Da Zhuang a text message, as I wanted him to file the lawsuit with me. Once he heard that he could watch the trial openly amongst the public, he agreed without hesitation.

When we got home Sheng Min Ou entered the apartment first, and I was changing out of my shoes when I heard the sound of the kitten meowing. I looked up and saw the little kitten speeding out of the bedroom as it raced to Sheng Min Ou and placed its front paws on him, its meows increasing in intensity as they became louder and louder. 

“You sneaked onto the bed and slept there again?” I said, grabbing the kitten by the back of its neck as I placed it back in its crate.

In order to better treat the kitten’s case of cat moss, I bought a cat crate for it and placed it in the sun during the day for the kitten to bask in its rays and to kill off the bacteria. Then, at night after the sun set I would let it out so it could get some time to freely roam around. However, the kitten was smart and had a mind of its own. Given that cats were made out of liquid, it often committed acts of prison breaking. Even though the kitten could sleep in its crate just fine, it was intent on sleeping on the bed, and it would always pick Sheng Min Ou’s side to sleep on without fail.

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“I’ll change the sheets.” I said, sighing as I walked towards the bedroom.

When I passed the locked room, I stopped and touched the electronic lock on the door as I asked Sheng Min Ou, “Ge, what’s the new password for this?” 

Sheng Min Ou was preoccupied by his coffee machine, and responded still with his back to me as he didn’t even turn his head around, “Why?”

He seemed to already know what I was referring to, to the point where he didn’t even have to confirm the subject matter.

“We can tidy up and clean out everything inside so we can free up the room for other purposes.”

“What other purposes?” 

The fragrant aroma of his coffee spread as he turned around. He held a small silver spoon in his hand as he slowly cast circles in the white coffee cup.

“For example… like a boxing room?” I responded, racking my brains for an answer. “There are too many things in the living room now, so it has become an inconvenient place to box. If we had a room dedicated to boxing, then you would probably have more space for your exercises. What do you think, ge?”

He took the spoon out of his strong black coffee and placed it on the tray. He was holding his coffee cup in one hand, and with the other, he brought out his phone as he flipped through it.

“I’m free this Saturday.” 

I waited for him to continue.

He took a sip of his coffee, put his phone back in his pocket, and looked up at me.

“I’ll unlock the door then and clean everything up. Afterwards, you can use the room however you want.”

Last time I had accidentally stumbled my way into the secret room, and again accidentally witnessed his most private and repressed thoughts. For him to install a lock on a room in his own apartment meant that this was a place where even he didn’t enter freely. The room guarded his secret, and his pride would not allow me to revisit it again, even though I already knew what was inside. 

“Okay.” I responded, taking a step back. I didn’t quite intend on tidying up the room with him together anyways.

When I went to bed later that night, I laid on a clean bed, my nose filled with the soft and fragrant scent that came with new sheets.

I stared at the dark ceiling above me, and struggled to fall asleep. This sense of difficulty in falling asleep had now plagued me for a few, continuous nights.

I thought of the intimate kiss I shared with Sheng Min Ou in the waiting room, as I rolled over and stared at Sheng Min Ou. 

His side profile was a blurred silhouette as I reached out my fingers and traced the outlines of his cheeks, his neck, and his chest in the air. As I trailed downwards, I gently dropped my touch on his skin as my hands ran down his waist and abdomen.

My fingers left gentle taps on his body, as if his torso was an exquisite piano.

 

I leaned closer and whispered in his ear, “Ge….”

He shifted his body, tilted his head, and at the same time caught my hand which was busy messing around. 

“Go to sleep.” He said, his voice slightly hoarse in the darkness.

I chuckled as I backed away and withdrew my hand.

“I can’t fall asleep.”

Without waiting for Sheng Min Ou to say anything in response, I rolled over deftly and sat on top of him. He instantly opened his eyes and stared at me cooly beneath the dim rays of light spilling from the windows. 

With my hands placed on each side of his body, I leaned over slowly as I asked with utmost sincerity, “Ge, don’t you feel like you’re holding back?”

He remained silent, his arm wrapped around my waist.

I kissed his chin and then rubbed against his cheek, as my breathing became more hurried.

I moved his hand so that it was covering the gunshot wound on my left abdomen and whispered to him, “The scab has already fallen off, it’ll be fine.” 

He didn’t move for a long time, as he just ran his fingers back and forth over the patch of newly formed and sensitive skin without doing anything else. I assumed that he would continue to hold back, so my voice came out as if I was trembling, as I gently coaxed him with praises.

“Ge, you’re the best…” I pressed myself and rubbed against him as I breathed out, “Please help me here.”

“I’m going to die if you hold back any longer, would you really be okay with letting me die?”

“If I died, where would you go to find another adorable younger brother like me again?” 

“Ge ge, my good ge ge…”

Perhaps he really got annoyed by my antics, as with one forceful push from his hands, Sheng Min Ou shoved me back on the bed and then switched positions so that I was lying down, and he was sitting up instead.

“I can help you,” he said, poking his thumb deep into my mouth as he pried open my teeth and continued slowly, “But you can’t disturb the neighbours.”

Neighbours my ass, he was the only one residing on this whole floor, and the sound insulation between the upper and lower floors was so good that no one would ever complain even if someone was blasting rock music upstairs. He said all this just because he wanted to be mean. 

“En…” I nodded hurriedly as my response came out indistinct.

Afterwards, I kept my mouth covered the whole time, even when I had tears coming out from the corners of my eye, or when my saliva trickled through the gaps in my fingers, I never let myself disturb that neighbour from god knows where.

 

In the subsequent court trials, given the fact that Yi Da Zhuang and I filed an additional lawsuit, we were able to attend the hearing as parties related to the case and witness the whole process.

Though Sheng Min Ou had never mentioned it himself, from everything that had occurred I guessed that the young prosecutor may have sought some advice from him on strategizing and preparing for the trial. After all, from previous conversations, it wasn’t difficult to see that the prosecutor greatly appreciated Sheng Min Ou, and they were even alumni from the same school. 

The trial slowly came to a deadlock, dragging out and becoming a tedious affair. Chen Shun Lai was absolutely resolute on Xiao Meng having never stepped foot inside the small cabin, and also having no knowledge of Jin Ya and his accomplices kidnapping Yi Da Zhuang and myself. However, the prosecutor believed that Xiao Meng was involved in the whole ordeal, and was an accomplice himself in the kidnapping case.

One of the key witnesses on Xiao Meng’s side was Xiao Meng’s girlfriend. She confirmed that on the day I was kidnapped, Xiao Meng was by her side and did not leave all night.

In the first hearing, the prosecutor cross-examined her and Xiao Meng’s girlfriend swore solemnly that Xiao Meng had been with her the whole time. She provided a crucial alibi for Xiao Meng, and carried herself without guilt under the prosecutor’s intense questioning.

The prosecutor had no way to deal with her, but in the second trial, he presented a copy of her medical history and proved that the party in question suffered from severe anxiety and required sleeping pills every night to fall asleep. 

He then invited an expert witness to take the stand and asked them whether an individual would be able to notice that someone had left their side for two or three hours after falling into a deep sleep from taking the sleeping pills.

The expert witnesses responded that, based on their expertise in this area, this possibility was highly likely.

Then, in the third trial, the prosecutor finally found surveillance footage of Xiao Meng driving out in the middle of the night to a gas station near his house on the night I was kidnapped.

Although the picture was blurry, Xiao Meng’s car was easily recognizable. It was true that Chen Shun Lai could still cast doubt on the expert witness’ testimony, stating that given they couldn’t be certain, it meant that it could also be true that the party hadn’t fallen into a sleep so deep that they couldn’t even differentiate whether or not the person sleeping by their side had left during the night. However, everyone knew that once the surveillance footage came out, whether the sleeping pills were able to make one completely lose all sense of consciousness no longer mattered. Xiao Meng had lied, and now the jury will no longer trust him, or his little girlfriend again. 

Xiao Meng was identified as the main culprit and was found guilty, as he was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Yi Da Zhuang and I also received our respective compensations, which was not a small amount.

After the sentence was announced, the judge stated that the court was adjourned for the day. The prosecutor’s expression was beaming with happiness as he stood up and shook hands with Yi Da Zhuang and myself, in stark contrast to the dark clouds gathering on the other side.

“Good job, good job, everyone’s worked hard.”

Xiao Meng was immediately escorted away, as he maintained his stance, shouting that he was innocent the whole time. Chen Shun Lai walked out of the courtroom alone with a darkened expression, and when faced with the numerous cameras presented by the media, he had already lost the ability to even squeeze out a basic fake smile. 

He had failed, and he had lost to a newly fledged, young prosecutor. This wasn’t just the Battle of Waterloo for his professional career, but also a great, shameful stain in his life.

I walked out of the court and saw that Sheng Min Ou had stepped out of the waiting room, with both hands in his pockets as he quietly stared at the sorry figure of Chen Shun Lai, who was being shielded by his assistant.

The first time I saw him, that man was still in high spirits, his back straight as can be. It had only been a few trials since, but it felt like he had aged considerably.

The prosecutor followed the crowd out of the courtroom and saw Sheng Min Ou as he approached. “Thank you, Mr Sheng.” The prosecutor said, extending a hand out to him. 

He didn’t explicitly state why he was expressing his gratitude, so everyone has just regarded this as him thanking Sheng Min Ou for helping convict Xiao Meng, as a witness in the case.

Sheng Min Ou looked at him, smiled, and reached out to clasp the other’s outstretched hand as he replied, “You’re welcome.”

 

On the way to the parking lot, I became increasingly curious, so when Wu Yi and Yi Da Zhuang were talking amongst themselves and not paying attention, I approached Sheng Min Ou and asked how he would have thought to look through the surveillance footage from the petrol station.

Sheng Min Ou’s gaze flicked over to me as he did not deny that it was his idea. 

“It takes more than 100 kilometres to go from Xiao Meng’s house to the wooden cabin in the mountains. I asked the prosecutor to check the fuel level of Xiao Meng’s car and found that there was more than half the fuel tank left.”

I suddenly came to the realisation myself as I replied, “So there was a high chance that he would have departed after fuelling up.”

“It was just a gamble, I didn’t expect to win it.” Sheng Min Ou said, his tone relaxed and reflecting a rare cadence of modesty.

There will never be a shortage of experienced sharks in the shark pool, but they will grow old, forget to stay vigilant, and become conceited believing that they are invincible. In the end, a young, ferocious junior will come for them, and shred them to pieces. 

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