The second court session, the weather is still bad.
I woke up early and arrived at the courthouse before the appointed time.
For the protection of the victims, although the media allowed to report this case, they were not allowed to disclose the names and faces of Mo Qiu and me. No matter how many speculations are made by the outside world, whether online new media or offline paper media, Mo Qiu can only be referred to as "a man surnamed Mo", and I am only a "man surnamed Lu". So as long as I don't read those malicious slanders on the Internet, it doesn't really have a big impact on my life.
On the other hand, Mo Qiu, after the last trial, some unscrupulous media or Luo Zhengyun fans who were watching leaked his professional information, which led to a large wave of people threatening to rape him on the Internet.
Later, it was also human flesh, but the human flesh was wrong, and another innocent illustrator was involved, and there was a lot of indiscriminate Internet violence. For a while, the fan-black war was bloody, and the Internet was turned into a miasma, and countless accounts were shut down.
These are all Shen Xiaoshi told me, and he also said that he also participated in this century war, fighting with the brain-dead fans for 300 rounds, and finally killed them all.
I took it as a joke, but I don't know if it's true or not, but it should be quite lively anyway.
Even though it was the second trial, Mo Qiu was still very nervous, trembling uncontrollably from the moment he stood outside the court. I patted him on the shoulder, trying to make him relax, but he was startled by me, like a severely stressed rabbit.
When entering the arena, Luo Zhengyun and his party were in front of us. Since Mo Qiu's mental quality is not very good, Meng Xuanjun and I subconsciously protected him behind us to prevent him from facing Luo Zhengyun directly.
"That's their new lawyer this time, Wang Xian." Meng Xuanjun raised his chin, motioning for me to look at the middle-aged man standing behind Luo Zhengyun.
The other party looked in his forties, with a well-groomed beard, a straight body, and a silver-gray suit, with a red triangle handkerchief peeking out of his breast pocket. The hoarfrost on the temples did not make him look old, but added to his mature and intellectual charm. It's more like coming to a dinner party than going to court.
Meng Xuanjun said: "He is an old fritter, he is not easy to deal with, you have to be mentally prepared. He may ask questions about your relationship with Mo Qiu, and use your criminal record to question your credibility."
This is one of the trump cards in Sheng Minou's mouth.
I nodded to Meng Xuanjun and said, "I understand."
Yi Dazhuang finally got a ticket for the audience this time. When I entered the arena, I saw him at a glance, and I also saw Sheng Minou and Wu Yi sitting in the second row.
The eyes of the three focused on me at the same time, but I just looked at Sheng Minou and blinked at him.
Sheng Min'ou frowned unobtrusively, and moved his gaze elsewhere without hesitating.
The trial began, and after taking oath, Mr. Meng Xuan asked me to state the general situation on the day when the crime happened, and what Luo Zhengyun did to me when I was in the clubhouse.
I unreservedly confide everything that happened that day, including the motivation for shooting the video, and my old schoolmate relationship with Mo Qiu.
When it came to the stage of cross-examination, Wang Xian really made a fuss about my honesty as Meng Xuanjun expected.
"Mr. Lu, here is a copy of your criminal record when you were sixteen years old. You have been in prison."
"Yes."
"Can you tell everyone what crime you are in prison for?"
"Intentional homicide."
With his hands behind his back, he has an arrogant smile that belongs only to the elite class, as if everything is under control, and he is confident that he can solve any small stones that stand in the way.
"You swore not to lie in court, now I ask you a question, can you answer me truthfully?"
I nodded: "Yes."
"Have you ever regretted your actions?"
I was taken aback, I didn't expect to be able to play like this.
Meng Xuanjun immediately objected, saying that this issue has nothing to do with this case.
The judge looked at Wang Xian.
He immediately explained: "This question is just to confirm Mr. Lu's attitude towards crime and whether he himself is on a moral level recognized by the public."
The judge thought for a while, saying that the objection is invalid, and let me answer this question.
Sitting on the witness stand, facing the public gallery and the jury, I felt as if I had returned to ten years ago in a trance.
Did lawyer Wang read my court records? In court that year, the prosecutor who undertook my case also asked me the same question.
"Have you ever regretted your actions?"
How did I answer back then
I looked at Sheng Minou in the auditorium, and looked at him from a distance. Complicated and bitter emotions haunted me, making me ask myself over and over again: "Do you regret it? Do you regret it? Do you regret it?"
The minutes and seconds passed without anyone urging me.
"No, I will never regret it." By the time I realized it, I had already answered the prosecutor's question in a volume that everyone could hear.
At that time, I was really stubborn, full of stinking problems, rebellious and unruly, and stubborn. Obviously, I can change to a less forceful answer, but no, I just want everyone to know that I will never regret what I have done.
Now, I am sitting in the witness stand and Sheng Minou is sitting in the gallery, everything perfectly coincides with that year. Time seems to be reversed, and the years seem to stand still.
I looked at him again and answered the same question as before. And he looked at me calmly and indifferently as before, and he didn't seem to be shaken by any of my answers.
I am devastated by the pain I have caused, I am wistful about the uncertain future, and I am deeply sorry for breaking the law.
But you have to ask me if I have any regrets...
"No, I never regret it." I turned my gaze to the middle-aged lawyer dressed in fancy clothes.
I will not regret anything I did for Sheng Minou, not even for a minute or a second.
You can say that I will never change my nature, and indeed I will never change my nature.
Everyone on the court was shocked by my answer, and the auditorium began to whisper. The judge knocked on the hammer to signal silence and asked the bailiff to maintain order.
Meng Xuanjun suddenly stood up, and hurriedly said to the judge: "Please allow me to apply for a temporary adjournment."
The judge glanced at his watch and said, "I'll give you five minutes."
Meng Xuanjun was so angry that she slammed on the door of the discussion room, breathless and asked me if there was something wrong.
"How can you answer that? Are you crazy?"
Mo Qiu stood in the corner, huddling himself into a ball, trying to persuade him, but just as he uttered a word, Meng Xuanjun's voice overshadowed him.
"The jury doesn't care about the story behind you. If you answer like this, they will think that your moral character is questionable."
Mo Qiu also said that she was gentle before, but it seems that he missed her explosive point.
I picked my ear: "I thought you can't lie in court."
Meng Xuanjun was at a loss for words for a while, he wanted to scold me, but he didn't have any valid reason, but if he didn't scold me, he was really panicked.
Finally, she let out a long sigh: "Our ultimate goal is to convict Luo Zhengyun, remember? You said that if there is the first, there will be the second. If he is not punished, he will never stop."
Of course I do.
Because of her words, I quickly calmed down and realized that I was indeed a little emotional just now. The familiar environment of the court trial and the presence of Sheng Minou made me feel restless.
I thought I was stronger and more resistant to pressure than Mo Qiu, but in fact I was not much better.
Scratching my hair, I said to Mr. Meng Xuan, "Sorry, I will answer cautiously later."
In a few minutes, I greeted the two of them, and I went to smoke outside the court alone, only to bump into Sheng Mingou at the smoking spot in the corner.
Seeing me, the other person who was smoking with him quickly put out the cigarette butt, wiped me and left.
I followed her back for a while, and vaguely remembered that she seemed to be a member of the public gallery, and I had seen her in the front row during the first court hearing. She was wearing a black dress both times, and she looked haggard, but pretty, so I was kind of impressed.
I coughed lightly, and stepped forward holding a cigarette—"Bring me a fire."
Sheng Minou looked up at me, hesitated for a moment, then groped into his trouser pocket, as if looking for a lighter for me.
"It doesn't need to be so troublesome." I smiled, bit the cigarette and leaned closer, and lit my own cigarette with the cigarette in his mouth.
We were so close that I could feel his breath on the skin of my face.
After lighting the cigarette, I straightened up and brushed his lips, trying to restrain my eyes from being too revealing.
"How did you come?"
It's really strange, I seem to be born without the ability to be angry with Sheng Minou. He clearly said that he wanted to get rid of him completely before, but it only took a few days. When he saw him again, those bold words seemed to have happened in his previous life.
"Curiosity." Sheng Minou's Adam's apple rolled, exhaled a puff of smoke, and simply and forcefully dropped two words.
I saw that he had no guilt on his face when he faced me, and his attitude was even more arrogant than that of me, the sufferer. I couldn't help but admire his calmness.
I really know how to pretend, if I throw that video on his face, I don't know if he can maintain his calm and composed expression.
What on earth was he thinking when he did those things, wouldn't it be outright distasteful? Otherwise, his appetite is too heavy.
The angel of reason and the demon of emotion jumped out again at this time.
Reason told me not to dream, and I shouted: "Sheng Minou has no heart, after so many years, you still have unrealistic fantasies about him, can you wake up?"
Emotion also agrees with reason, but his face is still flushed and full of spring, and he just holds his chin and looks crazy at Sheng Minou: "If you don't have a heart, you don't have a heart, and you can have a kidney. If you can't get his heart, you can get his. "
Rational and angry: "You don't want to be so low!"
My requirements are that low.
"elder brother… "
I was just about to say that when this matter is resolved, everyone should find a place to sit down and have a meal and have a good chat, but he spoke at the same time as me.
"Do you know what a 'rich man's judge' is?"
I froze and shook my head blankly.
"Born in the bourgeoisie, he had no worries about food and clothing since he was a child, graduated from a prestigious school, went smoothly, and never encountered setbacks in his life. Although he sympathized with the poor and hated evil, he never really wanted to understand the thoughts of other classes of people. This is the rich Judge." Sheng Minou glanced in the direction of the court, "Judge Zheng is a typical example."
The judge who presided over Luo Zhengyun's case was surnamed Zheng.
I frowned: "What do you mean?"
"The prosecutor just needs to ensure a conviction, and he won't tell you anything unnecessary. Judge Zheng doesn't like victims with stains, such as you." He held a cigarette, and slowly approached, his sharp words were as choking as his mouth "He likes to get close to rich people of his class, such as Luo Zhengyun. Even if the jury finds Luo Zhengyun guilty, Judge Zheng will probably only sentence him to probation or community service. After all, forced indecency is not a felony." .”
He asked, "Is it worth it for a lost case?"
I was biting my cigarette, I didn't expect him to say this to me.
"Whether it's worth it or not, how do you put it? It depends on the individual." I flicked the cigarette ash and said with a smile, "I will do what I think is worth doing. In the same way, I think it is worth loving, No matter how bad it is, I love it."
I meant something, he understood it, but pretended he didn't understand, pressed the button to extinguish the cigarette, raised his hand and looked at the time: "It's time."
Five minutes to go, the trial is about to continue.
Ace lawyers, rich judges, scum stars, what a dream team.
Forget it, you can settle the score with Sheng Minou slowly, let's settle the immediate issue first.
"Let's go."
I threw the cigarettes I hadn't smoked into the trash can, and walked back with my pockets.