Blank Charge

The flyers were distributed two days prior, but there was no response from Zhang Rui.

Jin Zhou, on the other hand, was not in a hurry. After preparing all the litigation materials, he went to the filing section of the district people’s court to file the case.

That day, the person sitting behind the window was an unfamiliar face to Jin Zhou, a young man dressed in a neat work uniform, presumably a new staff member.

Jin Zhou handed over the documents, and the person quickly flipped through them and asked, “charge of wrongfully retaining property?”

“Yes,” Jin Zhou calmly replied, already prepared for the questioning.

“Did the plaintiff give the watch to someone else?” the person continued, “Did they agree on a specific time for its return?”

“They  didn’t agree,” Jin Zhou said, “The defendant took the watch while  the plaintiff, was not paying attention.”

The person flipped through the materials again and asked, “What about the evidence?”

“We have surveillance footage,” Jin Zhou said, “We will retrieve it after the case is filed.”

Last time when the police went to the Temple of Paris to view the surveillance footage, Liu Qian was not given the footage, and technically, she did not have the right to it.

And now, if they wanted to review the footage again, they would have to wait until after the case was filed. Jin Zhou, in his capacity as a lawyer, would have to bring the necessary documentation to retrieve the surveillance footage.

“Since there is surveillance footage,” the person closed all the materials and looked at Jin Zhou, “you can go to the police for mediation. There’s no need to file a case in court.”

Just as expected, it was the same old story.

There was never a smooth filing process.

“We have already approached the police, but there are doubts regarding the surveillance footage,” Jin Zhou patiently explained, “We need to continue the investigation, so filing the case is necessary.”

“In that case, it means you can’t prove that the defendant took the watch, right?” The person opened the materials again and casually flipped through them. “It says here that the plaintiff went to a bar. Are you sure they didn’t just lose it?”

Jin Zhou took a deep breath and tried to maintain a smile. “Regardless of whether they lost it or not, I still need to investigate, don’t I? If you don’t file the case, how can I investigate?”

Contrary to what was often portrayed in TV dramas, besides the police and the judiciary, only lawyers had the legitimate right to conduct investigations.

However, for lawyers to exercise their investigative rights, they had to have a case registration certificate in hand.

“You can’t just investigate without cause, can you?” The person pushed the materials back and said impatiently, “The facts and reasons are unclear. You need more materials before coming back.”

Jin Zhou was extremely frustrated. It was evident that the person wanted to push the matter to the police and have Jin Zhou figure it out with them.

If the police could determine that Zhang Rui took the watch, they would certainly mediate the situation, and it wouldn’t need to be taken to court.

On the other hand, if even the police couldn’t determine the whereabouts of the watch, the case filed in court would be a sure loss, simply adding to the workload of the judge.

Of course, in the eyes of that person, it might be a guaranteed loss, but Jin Zhou didn’t necessarily see it that way.

“The police didn’t file a case for the charge of wrongful retaining, so how can I add more materials?” Jin Zhou tried to suppress his anger, but his tone became more confrontational.

“Well, you must have a reason, right? What’s your reason?” The person clearly sensed Jin Zhou’s displeasure and became impatient. “You’re coming to court without any evidence. Are you comfortable accepting attorney fees from your client?”

“If you don’t file the case, how can I gather evidence?” Jin Zhou almost swore. He really wanted to say, “Are you just not interested in doing your fucking job?”

But upon second thought, it was pointless to clash with the court staff, so he didn’t waste any more time and turned to go upstairs to find Yang Shiyu.

Everyone needed connections, right?

That day, Yang Shiyu was presiding over a case of obstructing official duties.

Plainclothes police officers were squatting in an alley, waiting for a suspect, but the owner of a nearby shop mistook them for criminals. The shop owner got into a conflict with the plainclothes police officers, using a mop and other tools to attack them, resulting in the escape of the suspect.

“We are now entering the courtroom debate phase,” Yang Shiyu raised his chin slightly and announced the court procedures to both the prosecution and defense.

And his gaze inevitably fell on Jin Zhou, who was sitting at the corner of the gallery.

There was a brief pause for a second, and then his gaze was withdrawn.

His clean and fair fingers flipped through the thick case file, and the anti-slip chain reflected a serene light under the courtroom’s illumination.

Looking at the figure sitting upright on the judge’s bench, Jin Zhou suddenly felt a dryness in his mouth.

You see, those beautiful fingers had once done extremely filthy things to him.

If Yang Shiyu had worn his gold-rimmed glasses that night, and the cold chain had freely slid on his heated skin, he probably wouldn’t have lasted even three minutes, right?

His thoughts drifted farther and farther away, and Jin Zhou quickly bit his tongue to prevent his mind from being filled with more explicit thoughts.

That was a sacred courtroom, where the judge representing justice was delivering a verdict. How could he have such obscene thoughts?

“Are you suggesting that undercover police officers need to have ‘I’m in action’ written on their faces?” The prosecutor’s firm voice interrupted Jin Zhou’s thoughts.

“Hiding among the crowd is a strategy of the police operation. Do you think the police should conduct prior surveillance and inform the ordinary people around, thereby leaking information in advance?”

The prosecutor, a young man sitting at the prosecution’s table, had well-defined facial features and a compelling aura when speaking, leaving the defense lawyer sitting across from him defenseless.

Jin Zhou began to imagine, out of habit, how he would deal with such a dominant prosecutor if he were the defense lawyer.

First, he would not fixate on the point about undercover police officers since it was completely meaningless.

It depended on the specific actions of the defendant, whether they employed violence, threats, or other means to obstruct the police from carrying out their duties.

Could everyday objects like a mop handle constitute “violence” or “threats”?

Those were all good points of attack, but the lawyers in the courtroom were still insisting that the police should have communicated in advance, completely missing the essence of the crime of obstructing official duties.

If it were in the past, Jin Zhou would have watched anxiously, wishing he could go up and argue a few words.

However, having seen too many lawyers who failed to grasp the main points, he gradually calmed down and detached himself, choosing to appreciate the prosecutor’s performance instead.

One had to admit that the prosecutor was quite handsome.

He practically dominated the entire debate and overwhelmed the defense lawyer in every aspect.

Jin Zhou’s gaze exchanged between the prosecution and defense, but since the prosecutor’s speech dominated most of the time, he ended up watching the prosecutor for almost the entire proceeding.

Although that one-sided debate could hardly be termed as exciting, who wouldn’t enjoy admiring a handsome guy?

Immersed in watching for quite a while, Jin Zhou’s interest was finally interrupted by the sound of the gavel.

Yang Shiyu firmly struck the gavel and announced expressionlessly, “The court is now adjourned.”

Jin Zhou came out through the back door of the spectator’s seat and caught up with Yang Shiyu’s pace in just a few steps, asking, “This one probably won’t receive a light sentence, right?”

Yang Shiyu looked straight ahead, his expression indifferent as he replied, “Go online and read about the judgment yourself.”

Jin Zhou was utterly puzzled. Yang Shiyu usually wrote judgments in his own study at home, so why would he need to go online to read them?

Something was not right.

His wife was angry.

Jin Zhou didn’t know when he acquired that skill, but he immediately sensed that Yang Shiyu’s attitude was off.

He could only think of one reason and explained, “I didn’t go out aimlessly today; I came to the courthouse for some important matters.”

Yang Shiyu pressed the button for the elevator to go up, his expression plain. “Is that so?”

It was an obvious display of indifference.

“That wrongful retaining case,” Jin Zhou continued, “I went to file a complaint, but the person downstairs refused to accept it.”

“That’s normal.” Yang Shiyu glanced at the floor number displayed on the elevator. “Perhaps the evidence is insufficient.”

“No, he should have accepted my complaint so that I could add on it, right?” Jin Zhou couldn’t figure out what he had done to upset Yang Shiyu, but in any case, he lodged a complaint first. “He said I had no evidence and that my reasons were unclear, telling me to go find the police. The problem is the police can’t handle this.”

“You can look for other evidence.” Yang Shiyu, as he said that, took a step into the elevator when it “dinged” to arrive on the floor, but Jin Zhou grabbed his wrist.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jin Zhou glanced around, seeing no one else present. With a furrowed brow, he said to Yang Shiyu, “You will just let that person in the filing room bully me?”

In many cases, rules and regulations were not set in stone; there was ample room for interpretation depending on how responsible individuals chose to interpret them.

In fact, whether Jin Zhou’s case was filed or not was debatable. If he made a couple more visits, the person at the filing department would likely be fed up and file it for him.

But with a judge at home, all it would take is a word from Yang Shi Yu to easily resolve the matter. So why bother going through all the trouble?

Yang Shi Yu lowered his gaze, glanced at Jin Zhou’s hand, and gently pulled his wrist back, saying, “Let’s discuss it at home.”

Fine, Jin Zhou thought, it’s not convenient to talk about it here anyway.

Since Yang Shi Yu was willing to discuss it at home, it meant there was room for negotiation.

“Also,” Yang Shi Yu pressed the elevator button while speaking to Jin Zhou, “you’re not allowed to come and watch me in court anymore.”

A question mark popped up in Jin Zhou’s head. “Why?”

“It distracts me,” Yang Shi Yu said dismissively, then entered the elevator.

Jin Zhou had originally intended to say a few more words, but at that moment, he received a phone call from Luo Xueqing.

“Lawyer Jin, are you busy right now?”

Jin Zhou glanced at the time. It was a little past 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and he didn’t have any other pressing matters.

“Not busy. What’s up?”

“Could you do me a favor and pick up Zi Hao for me?” Luo Xueqing said, “I’m really sorry, but I have something urgent to take care of and can’t leave the office.”

Zi Hao attended the elementary school in that district, not far from Jin Zhou’s car repair shop. Luo Xueqing probably knew that Jin Zhou was usually free, so she thought of asking him to help pick up her son.

It was a small favor, and not a big deal, so Jin Zhou agreed and left the courthouse directly to go to Hongpingguo Elementary School.

Meanwhile, in the office of the courthouse.

A judicial assistant watched Yang Shi Yu packing up the case files and asked, “Judge Yang, are you going home directly today?”

“Yes,” Yang Shi Yu said, “You should go home too. No need to work overtime today.”

Carrying the case files, Yang Shi Yu stood on the roadside, looked around, and then squinted his eyes.

—Where was the person who was supposed to pick him up from work?