2.22

Feng Mian was made to exchange seats with Hao Junli on the podium. Sitting ramrod straight, with both her hands clasped, her handsomeness did not diminish amidst the dull court surrounding.

One of the ways to let a person's guard down was to ease them in with light conversations. Attorney Han started out by arbitrarily complimenting CEO's Li's looks. "CEO Li, you sure look well dressed today."

What he didn't expect was to be shoved with dog food not a moment later. "Thank you, Junli picked it out for me."

LXT's CEO attitude was a bit too spontaneous.

"Let me ask you this, is it true that you are, or were in love with Ms Chun Hua not too long ago?"

"Not true." Her answer was fast and direct.

Attorney Han loured. "Are you sure? If you lie in court, you'll be committing perjury which is-"

"I know what perjury is. My answer is an honest no."

The attorney questioning her laughed sarcastically. "You should just tell the truth, Mr Li. Every man makes mistakes once or twice, it is not surprising that someone of your status will stray. Especially when the affections between you and Ms Chun Hua are so long-lasting."

Feng Mian turned the tables on him in a tick. "You've cheated before, Attorney Han? No wonder you're single! But it's wrong to put every man in the same shoe box as you, my father specifically told me that raising a family means making an honest person out of myself. Scums who lie to their families also lie to themselves."

Attorney Han felt like he was directly attacked. His tone unintentionally showed hints of hounding. "Chun Hua, Yu Yan. With all the rumours surrounding you and women, are you saying that you're really innocent, Mr Li Xiaocheng?"

Feng Mian was unruffled. She wasn't Li Xiaocheng, why should she feel guilty?

"What can I do? Could I blame my parents for giving me my good looks? I don't know what I did in my past life, but God had been particularly good to me, and even the people around me are blessed with good looks. There's a reason why rumours can't be considered evidence. Speaking of evidence, you claim that I'm a cheater, do you have any evidence?"

Li Xiaocheng indeed had to thank God aka the author of this goddamn book for his good fortune.

Feng Mian turned towards the judge. "If I weren't straight- I mean loyal Your Honor, tsk, tsk, tsk. But alas… there are thousands of trees in the forest… but I only wanted this one oh~" she lamented sentimentally.

[SYSTEM PROMPT: OOC level is 25%. Cautioning host to be more prudent.]

Hao Junli caught the wink his playful housemate relayed and was almost unable to restrain his chuckles. The air between the two of them made the judge and juries felt as if they were fed with spoonfuls of involuntary dog food. The interrogation had evolved to become a public confession.

Attorney Han became agitated. "Then are you saying Ms Yu Yan's confession was a lie?"

"Are you saying someone who attempted murder can give an unbias testimony? Not only was she an attempted murderer, but she's also a sexual harasser!"

As if she had just remembered something important at the nick of the moment, Feng Mian's head whipped to the judge. "Your Honor~!" she wailed nasally.

"I have my pride as the man of the family, but as to not implicate my wife further, I can only tell the truth! I had a hunch that Ms Yu Yan held inappropriate feelings for me during the time she worked at my company. But I thought it would be spiteful of me to fire someone just based on their emotions. Not to mention, that her private life is also pitiable. My wife who felt for her lent her money, but who knew that she was so ungrateful. This Yu Yan is like the train on Indiana Jones, she just keeps bumping into me at every direction! Not even one-tenth as pretty as my wife, didn't she look in the mirror before coming onto me? It's- it's, what's the idiom for it…?"

Hao Junli answered her from across the table. "A toad wanting to eat a swan meat."

"Yes! Yes! That's the one!"

Feng Mian enthusiastically complained to the judge. "I haven't even asked her to pay Junli's debts yet, yet she has the balls to slander me. Your Honor~ Is this person trustable ba?!"

[SYSTEM PROMPT: OOC level is 27%. Cautioning host to be more prudent.]

If Feng Mian had a handkerchief, she would have used it to wipe the nonexistent tears from her eyes to complete the play.

The female judge looked at the extremely aggrieved look on CEO Li's face with a wooden stare. Was she their mother? What was this pair of couple complaining to her for?

Attorney Han felt as if he had dropped the stone into his own foot when he summoned Li Xiaocheng to the stand. This wasn't what he had planned!

"You expect us to believe that one morning you just woke up and realise that you are in love with the wife you've been ignoring for years?! You don't even know each other prior to your marriage! I doubt you even know what her hobby is!"

"Objection! He's badgering the witness!" Attorney Zhou protested.

"Sustained! Attorney Han, you better start asking some questions!" The judge warned.

Feng Mian smiled goadingly at the incited attorney. "You can believe what you want to. If you're asking her hobby, it's too easy of an answer."

Attorney Han scoffed, thinking that she putting on a farce. "So what is her hobby, CEO Li?"

"Recently?"

She pretended to think. "It's cross-dressing."

Attorney Han thought that she was playing him and was about to shout to incriminate her for precipitous testifying, until Hao Junli, with his displeased expression, called out. "If I'm cross-dressing, then you are too."

Feng Mian had a big face and didn't care about labels. "Oh, would you look at that, we're a cross-dressing couple!"

[SYSTEM PROMPT: OOC level is 28%. Cautioning host to be more prudent.]

Attorney Han wanted to bash his own head against the wall.

"CEO Li, you're on the stand. Please be serious! You can't honestly tell me that your wife is a cross-dresser! Stop lying to the jury!"

Feng Mian slapped her hand on the wooden podium and complained to mother Judge once more. "Objection, Your Honor! Discriminating against a witness's hobby!"

The judge kneaded her temples and with a despondent tone, reminded, "Attorney Han, calm down. Mr Li, you're a witness, you can't call out objections."

Zhang Wei saw that the situation had deviated and gave Attorney Han a severe look. The latter nodded and tentatively looked for another angle to attack the opponent. "If you really have no feelings for Ms Yu Yan, and knowing that she could have possibly killed your wife when she pushed her, why did you decide to take back your decision to charge her with the highest punishment?"

The juries were silent as they wait for CEO Li's answer.

There was a saccharine glimmer in Feng Mian's eyes as they preserved contact with Hao Junli's, and her words seemed as if they were meant for him alone. "Because Junli said... that I should live my life with my head held high. He was afraid that I would become a person that lost myself due to my emotions. And I know that Hao Junli has my best interest at heart."

Feng Mian's gaze swept across the panel of juries. "I respected Junli's wishes and so despite my initial outrage, let Ms Yu Yan's fate be decided by the court's jurisdiction. It is also because I have deep trust for our justice system and the people who are sitting in front of me now that I'm willing to let go of my grudge. It's just that some people have gold for hearts, while some hearts are filled with leads. I trust that the juries will be able to tell which heart my Junli has."

The juries looked around at their colleagues to see the same expression of being moved by CEO Li's statement. Even before this trial is concluded, their hearts had already leaned to one's side.

Attorney Han grew quiet as Attorney Zhou walked up to her stand. He asked her zealously, in confirmation, so that no one would be able to miss her answer. "CEO Li, do you trust Wan Junli?"

Feng Mian's smile was tender. "Other than my parents, Hao Junli is the person I trust the most in the whole world."

"Then why do you think your executive, or should I say your former executive, would accuse your partner whom you trust so much with espionage?"

Feng Mian had waited for this hammer to beat in the nail. "Because they wanted to get to me through her. And I won't standby and let them get away with it."

Attorney Zhou gave an approving nod, respecting her steel-iron resolve. He walked up to the middle of the floor and spoke righteously, "Your Honor! My client is suing Moza's Director, Zhang Wei for corporate espionage, defamation, and an added charge of corruption!"

None of these charges was light and Zhang Wei knew he was done for. He had done too many things in order to bring Li Xiaocheng down and it was impossible to cover up all his tracks. If they dig up evidence, they would no doubt be able to find it. He had wanted to at least bring Li Xiaocheng down with him through this event but was unfruitful in the end. He had thoroughly lost.

The judge pounded her gavel once more. "Approved! This trial will be held two weeks from now on!"