Blank Charge

In high school, Jin Zhou studied liberal arts.

There were several island nations in the Pacific Ocean that he always forgot. Yang Shiyu told him, “If you treat these small islands as me, you might remember them more.”

Jin Zhou slouched on the desk and said, “Then there are many Teacher yang in the world.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Yang Shiyu rubbed Jin Zhou’s head. “You are a little boat, so you have support all over the world.”

No matter how long a little boat drifts on the sea, it will always sail towards an island.

After going around in circles for so many years, Jin Zhou returned to Yang Shiyu’s side, as if truly responding to the bond between the boat and the island.

Yang Shiyu decided to work overtime at the court. Jin Zhou dropped him off and then returned to his own car repair shop.

Recently, Jin Zhou had been busy with Luo Xueqing’s case, and because he didn’t allow Xiao Wu to touch Yang Shiyu’s car, the damaged car was being repaired very slowly, with large dents still remaining.

From noon until evening, working tirelessly, Jin Zhou finally saw the dawn of victory.

By that time, Xiao Wu had already finished work and left, most of the shops on the street had closed their doors. Jin Zhou decided to continue the next day, but just as he was about to close the shop, a familiar luxury car suddenly drove up to the storefront.

Liu Qian got out of the car, took off her sunglasses and glanced around discreetly. Seeing that there was no one else in the shop, she walked over with relief and said, “Zhouzi, why is your phone turned off all the time?”

Liu Qian was Liu Yongchang’s wife, and she had a good relationship with Jin Zhou.

She was around thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, with a slightly plump figure. She usually dressed well, and although she was adorned with famous brands from head to toe, she didn’t look vulgar and had a certain elegance.

“I’ve been busy all day and didn’t notice it was off.” In fact, Jin Zhou had just noticed that his phone was out of battery, but he didn’t know where Xiao Wu had put the charger in the shop, so he didn’t bother. “Liu Qian, why are you here?”

To specially come to the shop at that time, it seemed like there was something urgent.

“I need your help with something.” Liu Qian said, glancing outside again, as if afraid of attracting attention. She pulled Jin Zhou into the office area of the shop.

Jin Zhou really wanted to say, your Porsche is parked right outside the door, anyone who sees it will know it’s you.

“I went to ‘Paris Temple’ for a drink a couple of days ago,” Liu Qian sat down on the office chair, hesitantly said, “I met a manager there who looks especially handsome.”

Jin Zhou’s butt was already on the chair, and when he heard this, he immediately jumped up, “You got seduced by a playboy?”

Liu Yongchang and Liu Qian, had been married for more than ten years, and their love had long turned into family affection. They both secretly indulged in affairs outside.

It was okay to play around but they had one rule: they couldn’t touch their joint assets.

Before, when Liu Yongchang took a liking to a girl and gave her a house, Liu Qian found out about it and it caused a big argument. It was Jin Zhou who helped them retrieve the house.

This time, it was Liu Qian who came to Jin Zhou, and Jin Zhou’s first reaction was that Liu Qian had gotten herself into trouble again, and he had to clean up the mess.

“Rest assured, it’s not a playboy.” Liu Qian had an expression of “how is that possible.” “i’m not that careless”

Jin Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Then what’s the matter?”

It couldn’t be that she wanted him to help chase someone, right?

Paris Temple was rumored to be a “rich woman’s paradise,” with security guards who were supposedly male model-level. It was located on the other side of the city, not a place Jin Zhou frequented.

And the reason Liu Qian went there for a drink was also because it wasn’t Liu Yongchang’s territory, so she could let loose and have fun.

“Uh, it’s a small matter.” Liu Qian said awkwardly, “I got drunk and gave my watch to that manager. Can you help me get it back?”

“A watch?” Jin Zhou suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. “It’s not the one Li Yongchang gave you for your wedding anniversary, is it?”

“You hit the mark. It is.” Liu Qian said with embarrassment, “That day I happened to be wearing it.”

Jin Zhou sat down on the chair, rubbing his temples with a slight headache.

Although that watch was just a classic and simple style from Patek Philippe, it still had a market value of over four hundred thousand.

“Sis, even if you’re dating, things you give away don’t necessarily have to be returned,” Jin Zhou was truly frustrated, “Why would you give such a valuable thing to a stranger?”

It would be better if it were a playboy.

At least in the case of a playboy, it was clearly illegal and could be resolved through legal means. But how could he get back something that was given away to a random person?

“To be precise, it wasn’t a gift.” Liu Qian said, “I remember clearly, at the time I said, ‘If you want to wear it, take it,’ and then he took it and wore it, and he never gave it back to me.”

“When you gave him the watch, were there any other witnesses present?” Jin Zhou asked.

“No.” Liu Qian shook her head. “I reported it to the police, and the police checked the surveillance at Paris Temple. It was just the two of us , and he did wear my watch.”

“So, no one can prove that you verbally didn’t agree to gift the watch to him.” Jin Zhou immediately emphasizing the key point.

“That’s right,” Liu Qian said, “but I clearly remember that I didn’t say it was a gift.”

Jin Zhou didn’t believe this kind of talk at all. When the parties involved were giving statements to lawyers about the facts, they would hide unfavorable information about themselves. So he felt that Liu Qian probably said it was a gift and she wasn’t being truthful.

But fortunately, no one could prove it, and the item was indeed valuable. Besides, Liu Qian’s behavior was clearly influenced by alcohol, so the court would rule to revoke the gift.

“Well…” Liu Qian suddenly changed the subject, “There’s another problem.”

Jin Zhou’s temples throbbed with annoyance. “What is it?”

“That person denies that I gave him the watch,” Liu Qian said angrily.

“He denies it?” Jin Zhou said, “Isn’t there surveillance footage?”

“The surveillance camera was facing away from us. It did capture him wearing my watch, but he insists that he returned it to me later. The bar was dimly lit at the time, so I couldn’t see if he was still wearing my watch when he left the booth.”

In other words, no one could prove that Liu Qian said the words of gifting, but also no one could prove that the person took Liu Qian’s watch either.

“Liu Qian, you should just go directly to Liu Yongchang” Jin Zhou chose to give up, “Since you’ve already reported it to the police, you should know that it’s pointless to seek a lawyer’s help.”

He guessed that Liu Qian probably falsely claimed that the watch was stolen, causing the police to check the surveillance. When they found out that she had given the watch to someone herself, they asked them to resolve it privately.

That kind of situation couldn’t be considered theft; at most, it could be considered illegal possession. But even the police wouldn’t file a case for illegal possession. The only option was to go to court.

But going to court relied on evidence, and if the other party adamantly denied, Liu Qian couldn’t produce any evidence. How could she make the person return the watch?

“Please, Zhouzi,” Liu Qian said anxiously, “If Liu Yongchang finds out about this, he’ll be furious.”

“Then why don’t you…” Jin Zhou didn’t know what to say to her.

“How about this, you can have Hu Zi and a few other brothers go confront him and force him to return it to me,” Liu Qian suggested.

“What if he refuses to return it?” Jin Zhou said, “If the brothers can’t control themselves and resort to violence, will you let Hu Zi go to jail?”

Liu Qian frustratedly said, “Then you think of a solution, Zhouzi. You’re such a talented lawyer, right?”

Lawyers aren’t omnipotent. Sometimes you have to accept losses.

But considering that Liu Qian had taken care of Jin Zhou before, it didn’t sit well with him to just dismiss her like this.

Jin Zhou took a deep breath and exhaled, saying, “I’ll think of a solution.”

In any case, they first had to establish whether or not the person had taken the watch. Otherwise, everything else would be meaningless.

“Thank you, Zhouzi.” Liu Qian finally relaxed a bit. “And, please don’t tell Liu Yongchang about this.”

“I wouldn’t dare tell him,” Jin Zhou didn’t want to get caught in the middle of their issues.

After seeing off Liu Qian, Jin Zhou picked up his dead phone and walked slowly towards his residential area.

He wasn’t familiar with cases of illegal possession because most of them fell into two categories:

First, cases where it was evident that someone had taken possession of another person’s property. With persuasion from the police, they usually returned it, and there was no need for any further arguments.

Second, cases where possessions were taken but there was no evidence. In such situations, the only option was to file a criminal complaint with the court. However, since there was no evidence, it was highly unlikely to win.

In either case, there were limited opportunities for lawyers to be of use.

Therefore, based on the current situation, Liu Qian could only accept the loss.

But then again…

Jin Zhou suddenly remembered that there was a judge he knew very well. Consulting him wouldn’t be a bad idea.

He checked the time—oh well, the phone was dead.

The underwear he had taken off the previous night was still at Yang Shiyu’s place. Jin Zhou decided to go home first and get a set of clean clothes, and then go find Yang Shiyu. Perhaps he could crash at his place for another night.

—Not in the literal sense of crashing, but rather in an abstract sense.

—Maybe with a hint of literal action as well.

One set of clean clothes might not be enough; it wouldn’t hurt to prepare a few more.

And an electric toothbrush too. It wasn’t practical to keep using those plastic toothbrushes that cost five yuan each.

Oh, right. Skincare products too. Although Yang Shiyu’s were good, Jin Zhou could take his own and let Yang Shiyu use them as well.

Jin Zhou contemplated what items to bring to Yang Shiyu’s place while turning into a small path closest to his residential area.

On both sides of the path were old residential neighborhoods, and from one of the windows drifted the sound of variety shows and a family’s laughter.

Feeling good, Jin Zhou quickened his pace. But just then, an unfamiliar voice sounded from behind him, saying, “Jin Zhou?”

“Hmm?” Jin Zhou instinctively turned around, but before he could react, he saw a man with a scorpion tattoo on his hand, holding a gleaming dagger, stabbing straight towards him.

1The case of illegal possession is adapted from a real case in the novel “That’s How It Is, Your Honor,” with many differences.

 

1The case of illegal possession is adapted from a real case in the novel “That’s How It Is, Your Honor,” with many differences.