Bending down to enter the chess game

I will not sign Chapter 3

"Hello, Senior Brother Gu, I have a question for you."

The next morning, Yu Xingge waited outside Gu Lezhi's office on time. The legendary lawyer Gu was extremely particular about rules and always arrived at the office at 9:10 a.m. sharp, unless there was a court hearing.

"Junior Sister Yu, you're too kind."

Gu Lezhi opened the door.

Taking advantage of a lull in their conversation, Chen Zhao, who had been waiting at the door even earlier than Yu Xingge, slipped in silently. As an assistant to the criminal investigation team, Chen Zhao skillfully went to the tea table, gathered the teacups and teaware that had been left overnight onto a wooden tray, wiped away the remaining water with a cloth, and then took out a pack of women's face towels to wipe them again. He then picked up the tray and carried it out steadily, without making a sound throughout the entire process.

"Go ahead and say it."

Yu Xingge said, "Senior Brother Gu, a friend of mine committed suicide yesterday and is currently in the intensive care unit. According to her relatives, she couldn't bear her husband's insults and took poison to commit suicide. The two of them only held a wedding banquet when they got married a year ago, but did not register their marriage. Now her mother wants to hold her husband responsible."

"You could be charged with abuse. Are you worried that your relationship doesn't fall under the category of 'family members'?" Gu Lezhi pointed out incisively, "Then you should pay attention to collecting and organizing information about the fact that you two have been living together for a long time, the locations you've shared, the frequency and duration of your interactions..." He noticed Yu Xingge's unsurprised expression: "Is there anything else you need my help with?"

Yu Xingge noted his keen observation again: "Yes." She nodded: "Intern lawyers can't handle cases alone. I'm very interested in criminal cases and would like to learn more from you, Senior Brother Gu. I wonder if you would be willing to be my mentor?"

Oh?

To become a lawyer, obtaining a legal professional qualification certificate doesn't mean you can start taking cases. First, you need to join a law firm. Second, you need to find a mentor willing to guide you and internate with them for at least a year. After a year of internship, you'll need to take written and oral exams organized by the Bar Association. Only after passing these exams can you officially obtain your lawyer's license.

During this long, even two-year, period, not to mention whether the law firm might delay your internship application at any point, the countless graduates who join Hongjiang Law Firm all start as the lowest-level legal assistants, doing low-skilled tasks like serving tea and water, cleaning the office, driving, printing, and running errands—tasks that require no skill. It takes at least six months before the senior lawyers on the team gradually notice you (by diligently serving tea and water), accept you (by allowing you to continue serving tea and water), and agree to mentor you (by nominally giving you exclusive rights to serve tea and water).

Gu Lezhi did not believe that these tasks were useful for practicing law, but they were very beneficial for team management.

It's important to understand that most intern lawyers lack case leads and case-handling methods. Their mentors, at the very least, need over five years of professional experience. Even if you don't expect them to impart all their valuable knowledge and experience to you during your internship, the very act of mentoring you means you've come into contact with and become deeply involved with their clients—these are their resources.

Yu Xingge first joined Shen Changsheng's team through connections, and now he wants to skip a series of preliminary procedures. He directly approached Shen Changsheng, another first-level partner and head of the criminal team at Hongjiang Police Station, to be his mentor.

Gu Lezhi glanced at her; perhaps she had found out some inside information.

Interested in criminal cases? Not necessarily.

He became interested.

"Is that not allowed?" Yu Xingge stared intently at him.

"no."

Why?

"You're not worth me snatching you away from Director Shen," Gu Lezhi said bluntly.

Yu Xingge nodded: "How can I prove I'm worthy?"

Gu Lezhi shook his head. He thought for a moment and said, "For Professor Wei's sake, you can learn to handle cases with the team." He pressed the landline phone next to his desk, and a moment later, a tall, thin man in his thirties with dark circles under his eyes walked in.

"Director Gu, you called me?"

Gu Lezhi nodded: "This is Attorney Zhou Yuxuan. You two get to know each other. Yuxuan, Yu Xingge has a case; you could mentor her." Then, "Junior Sister Yu," he smiled, "Any other questions?"

Gu Lezhi picked up his teacup.

"No problem." Yu Xingge got up decisively and left the office with Zhou Yuxuan.

Hongjiang occupies nearly 4000 square meters, spanning two floors. Elevators divide the space into two concentric rings. Yu Xingge initially joined under Shen Changsheng's real estate team, so her workstation was on the 33rd floor, on the north side, with a good lakeside view. Zhou Yuxuan took Yu Xingge through the administrative procedures and moved her workstation to a location not far from the intersection of the two teams. When she sat down at her newly assigned workstation and looked up, she was immediately met with probing eyes from behind the office.

Gu Lezhi...

Autumn of 2010.

"Was it abduction or rape? Was the childbirth and marriage of a minor truly voluntary? The girl from the mountains, covered in bruises, was able to escape all of this only after seeking help from a lawyer. What is the truth behind it all? Today, 'Evening Talk' is fortunate to have invited Gu Lezhi, the lawyer representing the girl Yu Yu (pseudonym), to tell us her story."

The elegant female host paused for a moment, then gestured to the control room to shift the camera to the boy beside her.

"Hello, Attorney Gu."

"Hello, host." The 22-year-old boy spoke calmly.

Is this a lawyer? What is a lawyer? This is the first time 12-year-old Yu Xingge has seen this face.

"Hello everyone, I'm Gu Lezhi. Let me briefly introduce my client, Yu Yu, who is 30 years old this year. To be precise, she can no longer be called a young girl. But you probably can't imagine that 30-year-old Yu Yu has an 11-year-old daughter. Her daughter just celebrated her 11th birthday a couple of days ago and is in junior high school at a prestigious school. From this, we can infer that Yu Yu gave birth at the age of 19, and she was even 18 when she became pregnant... In 2011, she was even coerced into marrying a man 20 years her senior. Don't laugh at me, but when I received my client, who was covered in bruises, a victim of domestic violence, and had gone through countless hardships to find me, I vowed: no matter how difficult it is, I will use my power to seek fairness and justice for her."

"Here's some good news for you all," the boy said mysteriously, as the music started playing at just the right moment.

"Just today! The court has delivered its verdict! It has supported my client's claim! The court has ruled to annul the marriage between the woman, Yu Yu, and the man, Xing. As we see today, justice, though delayed, will never be denied, will it?"

He winked mischievously in the video, "I'm afraid by now, the judgment has already been delivered to the male party, Xing, and he has signed for it."

"Wow!" the host exclaimed at the opportune moment. "That's fantastic news... Attorney Gu, could you please give us a detailed account of the case and provide some legal information for our viewers?"

"Of course." As the narration and dialogue progressed, Gu Lezhi on television became increasingly at ease...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sound of knocking on the iron gate rang out. "Xing Wude, is Xing Wude here? We have your court judgment."

After waiting for a while, no one answered.

"Xing Wude? Xing Wude? Is Xing Wude there?"

The knocking sound grew louder and louder.

The television sound was completely drowned out, and Yu Xingge moved closer to her father with some fear.

"Is anyone home? Xing Wude! Xing Wude!"

Unable to bear it any longer, the father jumped to his feet: "I won't sign!"

"I do not accept this verdict! You are slandering me! I will sue you for slander! I will appeal!"

"What's the point of telling me this?" the voice outside said impatiently. "Whether you sign it or not, it's still considered delivered to you. If you don't sign it, I'll just have to put it on your front door. You don't want me to put it on your door, do you?"

Xing Wude was trembling, clenching his teeth to hold back the surging curses and resentment.

"I won't sign! Go ahead and post it if you dare, I'm not afraid of being laughed at, I..."

A soft little body came over and hugged his leg. Xing Wude lowered his head, and his shouts stopped abruptly.

The man in the blue uniform received the signed paper, carefully folded it, and tucked it into his pocket, unable to resist muttering, "If only you had known then what you know now! You looked so refined and respectable, but..." He looked at his pristine white uniform and shook his head, "Who would have thought... tsk, appearances can be deceiving..."

As winter approached, the tree branches rustled in the wind, and the father's face was distorted and deformed by the gale.