"We are willing to compensate..."
In the room, two men in sharp suits were speaking in the presence of a notary public, but they were cut off mid-sentence.
BANG!
Suddenly, a door on the side of the room was kicked open.
The lawyer, Zhang Wei, paused. He frowned and turned to look at the door.
He saw Xu De and Sun Zhigang stride into the room.
Fury was written on Sun Zhigang’s face as he grimly surveyed the room.
There were four people inside: two lawyers, a woman in a uniform, and finally, a gloomy-looking 14-year-old boy, Yang Huan, who sat on the sofa with his head bowed.
"Who the fuck let you in!?" Sun Zhigang roared at the two lawyers.
’Those words he’d just heard at the door...’
’They were completely pressuring Yang Huan into signing the letter of understanding!’
"You must be Mr. Sun, correct?"
Zhang Wei, however, showed no strong emotion. Instead, he smiled faintly, stood up, and said:
"Hello, I am Zhang Wei, a lawyer from Zhenghe Law Firm. I am also the defense counsel for the defendant, Liu Jingqi."
"You may be misunderstanding. We didn’t come here privately..."
As he spoke, Zhang Wei pointed to the silent, uniformed woman next to him.
"This is a staff member from the Civil Affairs Bureau, serving as Yang Huan’s state-appointed guardian. We are conducting a standard discussion in the presence of a notary public."
After he spoke, Sun Zhigang looked at the civil servant who was the state-appointed guardian.
She shook her head with a troubled expression but did not deny his words.
The state has clear regulations: when a minor’s parents are deceased and there is no other guardian, the Civil Affairs Bureau will appoint a state guardian. Any negotiations by lawyers must be witnessed by this guardian to be considered compliant with the rules.
Sun Zhigang’s face turned livid. He held back his anger for a long moment before roaring:
"Get out!"
Zhang Wei just smiled, unbothered. He stood up and said:
"I hope he considers our offer carefully. We’ll be on our way."
With that, Zhang Wei left with his assistant, shooting a quick glance at Xu De on his way out.
Only Yang Huan’s state-appointed guardian, He Miao, remained.
"You get out too!" Sun Zhigang roared.
He Miao first quietly ushered Yang Huan into the bedroom.
Then she turned to Sun Zhigang, her expression serious, and said, "I am the state-appointed guardian. According to the law, my rights supersede yours!"
"Mr. Sun, control your emotions. You are just... Zhao Li’s boss, not her relative."
"You!"
Sun Zhigang’s face was a mask of fury, but he was rendered speechless. Finally, he spoke through gritted teeth.
"And you call yourself a guardian? What was that man doing just now? He was making Yang Huan sign a letter of understanding!"
"I know!"
He Miao grew angry as well, her hands clenching into fists as her voice rose.
"I know that Zhao Li and Yang Jiale are both... gone."
"Yang Huan has every right to be angry. He needs to be furious, to demand justice! He should want to take Liu Jingqi down with him!"
"You people always talk about morals, ethics, emotions, and justice, but..."
He Miao paused, taking a deep breath and unclenching her hands, her expression deeply troubled.
"We have to be realistic."
"Even if you pursue criminal charges, the most Liu Jingqi will get is 15 years. That will likely be reduced to 12, and in all probability, she’ll serve less than ten!"
"And what about Yang Huan? Zhao Li is gone, and so is Yang Jiale."
"He’s only 14. With no compensation, you tell me how he’s supposed to live!?"
Sun Zhigang felt as if a fishbone was caught in his throat, leaving him speechless.
’She saw the situation quite clearly. Under the circumstances, pursuing criminal charges to the bitter end was pointless. Yang Huan, on the other hand, had to face the reality of his life.’
’Zhang Wei was willing to offer a huge settlement in exchange for the letter of understanding. Shaving a couple of inconsequential years off Liu Jingqi’s sentence... would be of more substantial help to Yang Huan.’
’In other words, survival took priority over emotional satisfaction.’
’Most importantly, from He Miao’s perspective, getting that emotional satisfaction was impossible anyway!’
"I’ll support him."
Sun Zhigang added, "I have money!"
"Can you support him for a lifetime? Can you take full responsibility? You can’t! Only Yang Huan can be responsible for himself."
"And I am not willing to entrust Yang Huan’s future to your verbal promise, for which you bear no legal responsibility!"
He Miao shook her head.
The two argued heatedly, yet both had their own valid points.
Xu De ignored the two of them.
His gaze shifted to the bedroom. He then walked past the arguing pair and slowly approached it.
CREAK~
The door opened.
Yang Huan sat at the foot of the bed, expressionless. He was staring blankly at the wall, seemingly in a trance.
Xu De stood beside him, looking down at him. After a long moment, he suddenly spoke:
"Yang Huan, I am your legal representative for the civil suit."
Hearing the voice, Yang Huan finally snapped out of his trance. He looked up, staring dazedly at Xu De.
"Zhao Li is gone. Yang Jiale is gone too."
Xu De spoke abruptly, laying out the reality of the situation in the starkest possible terms. He watched the boy with an expressionless face.
"You can seek compensation, or you can pursue justice. Whichever you choose, I will support you."
"Now, you can tell me what you want."
At his words, Yang Huan opened his mouth. His lips trembled, and he swallowed hard, as if trying to speak.
But the next second, he felt something wet on his lips. Yang Huan reached up to touch it and discovered that, without him even realizing it, two hot tears were sliding from the corners of his eyes.
For the past three days, he had been like a rubber ball, a string puppet, huddled in a corner and kicked around at will by others.
This was the first time anyone had asked his opinion.
In that moment,
the 14-year-old Yang Huan could no longer hold back. Like a bursting dam, hot tears streamed down his face in a surging, crashing flood.
"I... I want her dead..."
Yang Huan pressed his head against Xu De’s abdomen, as if trying to vomit out his very soul. He cried out hysterically:
"I don’t want the money..."
"I’m begging you... I just want her to die!!!"
With that, Yang Huan broke down, wailing as if to howl out his soul. Snot and tears soaked Xu De’s only suit.
Xu De didn’t seem to mind. He patted the boy’s head with his left hand while pulling out his phone with his right and dialing a number.
RING RING RING~
The call connected.
Xu De said slowly:
"We’ve got a case..."
"A tough one."
...
...
"So you’re saying..."
「4:00 PM.」
「Yang Huan’s residential complex.」
Wang Chao, who had rushed over, stood at the main gate. He pointed at himself, a look of astonishment on his face.
"Me? Going after a minor?"
At that, Wang Chao couldn’t help but laugh.
Xu De shook his head and corrected, "Us."
To the side, Lin Yue rested her forehead in her hand and sighed, "Close enough."
She knew he was bold.
But she’d never imagined he was *this* bold!
To dare take on this case... and one involving three minors with shared liability, no less!
’But... he’s clearly not a reckless person.’
Lin Yue looked up and said with a frown:
"You didn’t call us over just to chat, right?"
"How are you planning to approach this?"
Xu De nodded and began to explain his line of thought.
"There’s something suspicious about Yang Jiale’s death."
Wang Chao was confused. "Didn’t Liu Jingqi kill her? There were signs of bullying on the rooftop..."
"No, what I mean is, the reason that led to the bullying itself is suspicious!"
Xu De shook his head and corrected him.
"I’ve asked Yang Huan and Sun Zhigang."
"Yang Jiale was a normal girl. She wasn’t a pushover or withdrawn. Logically speaking... she might not have told Zhao Li, but she definitely would have gone to a teacher!"
"And on the day of the incident, it’s clear from the police interviews."
"The defendant Liu Jingqi’s behavior was different from usual, more extreme. And this extreme behavior was targeted specifically at Yang Jiale, not just a simple emotional outburst."
"That’s not normal."
"In countless bullying cases, the aggressor is emboldened by the victim’s weakness and acts with impunity. But... it’s even more common for bullying to escalate because the victim fights back!"
"You mean... Yang Jiale fought back?" Wang Chao asked, puzzled.
"Yes and no. At least, she most likely didn’t fight back against the perpetrator, Liu Jingqi. If that’s the case, then there’s only one answer left."
Looking at the two of them, Xu De’s expression was serious, his thinking crystal clear. He said:
"The homeroom teacher of Class 4, Lv Guangjun... is the problem!"
’With such long-term bullying, it’s impossible that Lv Guangjun wasn’t aware of it.’
’And yet he never stopped it.’
’Combined with my theory about why the conflict suddenly escalated...’
Lin Yue instantly realized what he meant, and because she did... she was momentarily stunned.
"Lv Guangjun is the problem? You’re saying he’s the one who told Liu Jingqi that Yang Jiale had reported the bullying to him!?"
"It’s highly probable," Xu De said.
’In this case, there’s no question what Zhang Wei’s side is doing. They’re trying to get Liu Jingqi’s charges reduced and frame the case as an ’accidental death.’’
’Never mind intentional homicide; they’ll probably deny even intentional injury. They’ll most likely claim they were ’just fooling around’ and that it was an ’accident.’’
’So.’
’My first step is...’
"To get Liu Jingqi convicted!"
’A conviction will be difficult. There were no other eyewitnesses. Besides the body, there isn’t much evidence on the rooftop to prove intentional homicide.’
’So, if the homeroom teacher Lv Guangjun is really involved...’
’He is the perfect opening!’
’So...’
Thinking of this, Xu De pictured Yang Huan’s face. His own expression hardened, and he said in a cold voice:
"We’ll draw first blood with him!"
Lin Yue started, her expression turning serious.
"How do we take him down?"
...