ATLAS TRANSLATES

Chi Yundai glanced over and knew this was just an ordinary criminal case.

He originally thought Chief Chen was being so mysterious because something big had happened again, or it was some major case.

But this…

Not to mention him, anyone from Young Master Jiang’s legal team could handle it.

For a case with such clear causes and consequences, the outcome wouldn’t differ much.

“If you need to find me for this kind of case, those lawyers might as well pack up and leave…” Chi Yundai tossed the case file on the table and sneered.

Hearing Chi Yundai’s arrogant words, Chief Chen’s forehead veins pulsed several times. He coughed, covered his mouth with his left hand, and lowered his voice, “Lawyer Chi, this person is Miss Bai’s friend.”

“I’ll… I’ll work myself to death,” Chi Yundai immediately sat up straight. He reached out and picked up the file again, “Miss Bai, to be honest, criminal litigation is my specialty.”

His expression was solemn and reverent.

If only he didn’t have that chef’s hat on his head.

Bai Lian sat opposite, leaning slightly against the chair back in a somewhat lazy posture. Her slender, pale fingers tapped the back of her phone intermittently as she quietly listened to their conversation.

“Alright, thank you for your trouble.” Her fingertips stopped as she expressed her gratitude.

Chi Yundai waved his hand and directly started flipping through Zhang Shize’s file.

Five minutes later, he slightly furrowed his brow and looked up to ask: “What kind of sentence can you accept?”

Bai Lian didn’t speak, only slightly turned her head to look at Yan Lu.

Yan Lu had consulted lawyers about this on the first day, including two lawyers from top firms introduced by Xu En.

This case had witness testimony, physical evidence, and surveillance footage. It was a malicious intentional homicide. In similar cases, normally it would be over ten years of imprisonment. But the opposing lawyer was Zhao Jingzhou…

So the best possible verdict for Zhang Shize would be 15 years in prison.

In fact, they all guessed that with the Liu family’s methods, it was very likely to be life imprisonment or… the death penalty.

Yan Lu looked at Chi Yundai.

She and Sister Xin had never heard of Chi Yundai’s name, especially since Chi Yundai was neatly wearing a chef’s hat.

Before Chief Chen spoke, Yan Lu and Sister Xin didn’t even consider him as a lawyer.

“Fifteen…” Yan Lu looked at Chi Yundai as she said the first word, and clearly saw Chi Yundai’s eyes narrow, “No, as long as it’s not the death penalty, anything but the death penalty is fine.”

“Anything but the death penalty is fine?” Chi Yundai said blankly.

He looked at Yan Lu, unable to scold her, so he turned his head and looked at Chief Chen somewhat helplessly—

[They want him to make sure it’s not a death penalty for this kind of case?]

He could do that with his toes.

Chief Chen: “…”

Possibly noticing Chi Yundai’s speechlessness at not being trusted.

“Lawyer Chi,” Sister Xin explained for Yan Lu on the side, “The plaintiff in this case has some background, and most importantly, they’ve hired Zhao Jingzhou as the defense lawyer.”

There was no need to mention the Liu family.

Just Zhao Jingzhou’s name was enough to intimidate everyone.

The “Undefeated General of Top Law Firms,” the title netizens gave him wasn’t given lightly.

Sister Xin originally thought that after saying this name, this Lawyer Chi would show signs of hesitation, but unexpectedly, he didn’t even raise his eyelashes.

“Alright,” Chi Yundai closed the case file, expressionless, “I roughly understand the requirements. If you have any other information, contact me promptly.”

After saying this, he stood up and bid farewell to Bai Lian, “Miss Bai, I’ll go back to take out the cake first, then I’ll go to the police station to follow up on the situation. Oh right, today’s cake is a new product, low in sugar, very suitable for the elderly. I’ll have Yang Lin bring a piece to school later.”

Calculating the time, the cake should be ready to come out of the oven.

Chi Yundai left after saying this.

Chief Chen was used to this. After saying goodbye to Bai Lian, he followed Chi Yundai to discuss the case details, “There’s a problem now, the suspect isn’t cooperating, won’t meet anyone or talk…”

This was the difficult part. If he doesn’t say anything, not just Chi Yundai, even if a celestial being came, it would be useless.

** Close to one o’clock.

Bai Lian still had to go to school. She comforted Yan Lu: “Don’t worry, leave this matter to us for now.”

Chief Chen and his team hadn’t dropped the ball on big matters before.

Bai Lian walked towards the school.

Behind her, Sister Xin looked at Yan Lu: “I think Miss Bai’s friends should be quite reliable. I believe they can fight for a reduced sentence for little Zhang.”

“I hope so…” Yan Lu took a deep breath and gathered her spirits, “If there are any job offers for me recently, keep the trial day open, I’ll take everything else.”

No matter what the outcome, she couldn’t collapse now.

If something really happened to Zhang Shize, Zhang’s parents were still waiting for her.

“Let me think,” Sister Xin pondered. After the news of Yan Lu being blacklisted spread, no collaborators were looking for her, “I have a classmate who’s the producer of ‘The Great Prosperous Era,’ I’ll ask if he can give you an audition opportunity.”

“Thank you,” Yan Lu looked at Sister Xin sincerely, “Sister Xin.”

Sister Xin waved her hand.

Meanwhile.

Bai Lian returned to school.

At the stairs in front of the teaching building.

Wen Qi had just returned and was arguing with someone at the bottom of the stairs, surrounded by layers of students.

“Say that again, you bastard?!”

The crew-cut boy shouted at him: “I’ll say it again, so what? Who doesn’t know Zhang Shize is a murderer, pfft, even killed a great philanthropist.”

Wen Qi was about to go forward and fight, but was held back by the students from Class 15, “Wen Qi, forget it, let’s try not to cause trouble for Teacher Lu.”

“No wonder the school is at the bottom of the rankings, having murderers is no surprise, scum of society, disgrace…” The crew-cut boy spat.

“Say one more word?”

A voice rang out from the crowd.

Light and slow.

The crowd instinctively parted, making a path.

Revealing Bai Lian behind the crowd.

She had taken off her school uniform jacket, casually holding it in her hand, exposing the snow-white undershirt inside. Her hair was tied up casually, with a few strands blown messy by the wind. She walked slowly, step by step, towards them against the wind.

Each step seemed to tread on bones, stepping on everyone’s hearts.

The voices in the crowd gradually disappeared.

Only faint breathing sounds remained in the silence.

Bai Lian stood in front of the crew-cut boy. She was taller than the average girl. She reached out, her snow-white fingers easily gripping the boy’s neck, forcing him to crouch down. She lowered her head, looking down at him, raising an eyebrow, saying lightly: “Go on? Why aren’t you talking now, hm?”

The crew-cut boy was very arrogant.

He was jealous of Zhang Shize.

But his arrogance didn’t mean he was stupid.

The warning sirens in his heart were blaring wildly. He had a feeling that this Bai Lian was even crazier than that madwoman Chen Wei in the school!

His neck was restrained, unable to speak. He could only look up at her in fear.

“The disciplinary teacher is coming!” Someone shouted from afar.

Wen Qi tugged at Bai Lian’s sleeve, “Sister Lian.”

Bai Lian gave the crew-cut boy one last glance, unhurriedly lowered her hand, then shook out her school uniform and put it on leisurely.

The boy quickly gasped for air, retreating several steps backwards.

“What are you all gathered here for? Fighting?” The disciplinary teacher came over with a black face.

In the center of the crowd, Bai Lian lowered her head, slowly zipping up her school uniform.

When she looked up again, her face had returned to its usual lazy expression. She looked at the disciplinary teacher, lightly lowering her long eyelashes, “Teacher, I was just explaining a problem to Wen Qi, they were watching.”

“Oh, it’s student Bai Lian,” As soon as the disciplinary teacher saw Bai Lian, his face immediately changed from gloomy to sunny, smiling particularly amiably. His gaze touched on the crew-cut boy behind her, “Student Bai Lian, no one bullied you, right?”

The disciplinary teacher looked vigilantly at the crew-cut boy who often caused trouble in school.

Bai Lian lowered her eyes obediently: “No, sir.”

The disciplinary teacher nodded, but his eyes clearly didn’t believe it: “No problem, Bai Lian, you go upstairs first. The teacher will stand here and watch.”

Crew-cut boy: “…”

Surrounding students: “…”

This was ridiculous.

** Police station.

When Jiang Fuli arrived after finishing his business, Chief Chen and Chi Yundai had already been waiting at the entrance.

“Young Master Jiang, this kid hasn’t said a word in three days.” Chief Chen frowned. The most feared thing in a case was an uncooperative suspect.

“Mm,” Jiang Fuli’s face was expressionless as he spoke concisely: “Take me to see him.”

Detention room.

Zhang Shize was curled up, lying on the bed.

Arms wrapped around himself.

His entire face was buried in his arms, the hair on the back of his head was messy, and there were dried bloodstains on his clothes, showing a strong refusal to communicate.

Jiang Fuli came in, stood in the middle, observed for a moment, then lowered his eyelids and spoke: “Unable to face yourself now? Afraid of others’ gazes?”

Zhang Shize’s body stiffened.

Chief Chen respectfully brought in a chair.

Jiang Fuli held his windbreaker in his hand, exuding coldness from head to toe. He slowly sat down, then slightly raised his right hand.

Chief Chen understood immediately. He left this small room, gently closing the door.

“I’ve investigated the situation pretty thoroughly,” After he left, Jiang Fuli leaned back relaxedly, raising an eyebrow, “Do you think you did something wrong? But I don’t think you made a mistake.”

Zhang Shize lowered his hands, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes.

“In this world, no one can judge right and wrong. I don’t think the law upholds justice, it’s just a set of game rules constraining everyone’s behavior.” Jiang Fuli looked at Zhang Shize’s back, “Why don’t you believe in yourself?”

Zhang Shize suddenly sat up and turned his head to look at Jiang Fuli.

“Zhang Shize,” Jiang Fuli sat there, looking calmly at Zhang Shize, his tone unhurried, “Yan Lu will have a smooth path, paved by your own hands. Liu Xinming is just a sacrifice on this path, and you are the key to this path. Whether you destroy the key or choose to hand it to her is up to you in a moment’s thought.”

“I…” Zhang Shize’s voice was terribly hoarse.

He hadn’t drunk water for a long time, his lips were cracked. When he looked up again, there was finally some life in his wan face, “Thank you.”

Zhang Shize was afraid.

He was afraid to face his teachers, afraid to face his classmates, afraid to face his parents…

But he didn’t regret it.

If there were ten thousand possibilities, even if it was one in ten thousand, he would rather bear the possibility of not meeting her than let her encounter such a thing. But there wasn’t, so he felt that Liu Xinming dying ten thousand times wouldn’t be enough to repay.

“Awake now?” Jiang Fuli stood up, looking down at him.

Zhang Shize sat up properly and nodded, “Mm.”

“That’s good,” Jiang Fuli’s expression was cold and dignified. The dim light in the room blurred his overly sharp profile, “The trial is next Wednesday. I’ll have Lawyer Chi come in, try to cooperate with him as much as possible.”

Jiang Fuli left.

Five minutes later, Chi Yundai came in.

He looked at Zhang Shize, who seemed like a different person, his eyes flashing with burning light, “Did you listen to Young Master Jiang’s nonsense? Don’t listen to his ramblings, he’s just a lawless maniac. Listen to me, I’m a lawyer. No matter when, once I put on that suit, I won’t let any bad person escape.”

Zhang Shize came back to his senses and looked at Chi Yundai: “If Yan Jie and the others report the case, will he get the death penalty?”

“Every life has meaning.”

“What about Yan Jie? Doesn’t her life have meaning?” Zhang Shize stood up, grabbing his hair with both hands, “Why does she have to suffer all this?”

Before coming in, Chi Yundai had watched some videos.

After listening, he was very silent.

It had been a long time since he heard such naive thoughts.

The small room was quiet for about three minutes before Chi Yundai’s voice softly sounded.

“In my many years as a lawyer, I’ve amended five laws in total.” Chi Yundai looked at Zhang Shize with a complex gaze, “If you feel it’s unfair, I hope one day, you can also put on this suit, stand in court, and uphold your justice to amend this law.”

“I…” Zhang Shize hadn’t thought of this possibility and was somewhat stunned, “Can I?”

“Why not?” Chi Yundai took out a cigarette from his pocket and bit it, giving Zhang Shize time to calculate, “At most two years later, you can test into Jianjing, I’ll be waiting for you at the University of Political Science and Law. I didn’t want to take apprentices before, but I can reserve a spot for you.”

Smoking wasn’t allowed in the detention room, so he didn’t light it.

“Two years later?” Zhang Shize sat back on the bed and sincerely said to Chi Yundai: “At least ten years later, right? Will you still be willing to take me in ten years? I will study hard.”

He was very clear about what he had done.

Chi Yundai: “…?”

Ten years later? He might as well pack up and roll out of the chief position early.