Chapter 86 Court Opening

"On May 20th, he tricked me into going to his house. When I went, they asked me to drink. I refused, so they grabbed my hair and forced me to drink one drink after another, then dragged me into the room..."

Xiao Dan's body was shaking violently as she recounted what happened that day.

Nan Xuqiu also learned that it was not only Nie Jiang who committed the crime that day, but there were also two other people who followed him that day, one named Guan Man and the other named Yan Feng.

The three of them committed the crime together and assaulted Xiaodan.

He had previously investigated Guan Man and Yan Feng. They and Nie Jiang were all members of the student union. In the eyes of teachers and students in the school, they were representatives of both good character and good academic performance.

But who could have imagined that these three seemingly well-dressed people were actually beasts in a place where no light shone.

During the crime, he not only physically abused Xiaodan, but also constantly insulted her psychologically.

And the crime actually lasted for a full six months.

But because Xiaodan was afraid, she never called the police.

She thought that when they got tired of her, they would let her go.

But what he didn't expect was that he would be subjected to continuous torture and humiliation.

Make her play the piano naked and eat the food they vomited.

He used every possible means to torture her.

As he was saying this, the door suddenly opened, and Xiaodan's father rushed in, grabbed the fruit knife on the table, and went out.

Nan Xuqiu stopped him and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill those beasts!" Xiaodan's father said with bloodshot eyes.

Xiao Dan ran off the bed, stumbled and fell at her father's feet. She grabbed his hand and cried, "Daddy, don't."

"Xiao Dan..." Xiao Dan's father squatted down, holding the knife tightly, and said angrily and self-blamingly, "It's Dad's fault. I failed to protect you. I can't even afford a lawyer. Dad is a loser!"

"No, no..." Xiao Dan burst into tears.

Looking at the scene before him, Chi Jinjin seemed to have made a decision. He walked over, slowly squatted down, and said to them, "If you are willing to believe me, for two hundred yuan, I will fight this lawsuit for you."

Xiaodan's father looked at her.

Chi Jinjin said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Chi Jinjin. I graduated from the Law Department of Fuhua University and am currently a lawyer at Fengheng Law Firm. Here are my IDs."

Chi Jinjin took out her work badge and showed it to him.

"Two hundred yuan, are you really willing to fight for us?" Xiao Dan's father asked in disbelief.

Chi Jinjin nodded.

"Girl." Xiaodan's mother immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said with a choked voice, "Thank you, girl. You are really a good person."

"Auntie, don't be like this." Chi Jinjin quickly supported her and said, "There is something I still need to make clear to you first. I have never fought a lawsuit independently, but if you are willing to trust me, I will do my best."

"Xinxin, we believe in you, even if you are just a student, we still believe in you. We have met many lawyers these days, but when they heard that it was the Nie family, they either refused or asked us to pay a high price, but we simply can't raise that much money. Miss, no, Lawyer Chi, thank you for helping us. Our family is very grateful to you!" As she said this, she kowtowed again.

Chi Jinjin hurriedly helped the man up, then turned to Xiaodan's father and said, "I will seek justice for you, but I also hope that no matter how angry you are, you will not act impulsively and do anything illegal. Only then can I protect your rights."

"Uncle, you have to think carefully about sacrificing the rest of your life for a group of beasts like this. The law has always only protected those who abide by it." Nan Xuqiu reminded Xiaodan's father.

Xiaodan's father fell silent and turned to look at Xiaodan. Xiaodan shook his head, his eyes full of pleading.

Finally, he loosened his grip on the knife handle and it fell to the ground.

I hugged Xiaodan and cried bitterly...

There was a new breakthrough in Nan Xuqiu's case, but he did not feel happy. Instead, he felt even more heavy-hearted after hearing about their experiences.

Chi Jinjin stepped forward and took his hand, holding it in both hers.

Nan Xuqiu held her hand in return, his eyes showing his affection, and a warm feeling rising in his heart. Even without saying a word, they could understand what the other wanted to say.

The next day, Chi Jinjin began to prepare to collect various materials, write a lawsuit, and then submit it to the court.

Soon after, the court accepted the case, summoned the Nie family, issued a complaint, asked the other party to respond, and opened the trial five days later.

But when Chi Jinjin received the other party's defense letter, she was surprised to find that the other party's lawyer was Gao Yi!

Gao Yi has taken over several cases and has done a good job. He is much more experienced than Chi Jinjin.

Chi Jinjin is a complete novice in front of him.

Chi Jinjin closed the information.

Soon, the people in the department also learned that Gao Yi was the person involved in Chi Jinjin's first case.

There was a lot of discussion at the moment, and people even started placing bets privately.

Chi Jinjin looked through the documents and walked into the elevator. After pressing the elevator button, she found that Gao Yi was also there, and he was the only one there.

For a moment, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

Chi Jinjin closed the document and stared at the changing floor number.

Gao Yi smiled contemptuously and said, "Chi Jinjin, don't blame me for not reminding you. It's not too late to withdraw the lawsuit now."

"Why should I withdraw the lawsuit?" Chi Jinjin asked him.

Gao Yiyan said, "Do you think your first case will end in failure? Once a lawyer fails in his first case, the road ahead will be difficult."

"Thank you, Lawyer Gao, don't bother with it." Chi Jinjin replied with a fake smile.

At this time, the elevator door slowly opened and Chi Jinjin walked out.

Gao Yi watched her leave, sneered, and said, "You don't know what's good for you. If that's the case, I'll let you know what it means to be completely defeated."

The day before the trial, Chi Jinjin and Nan Xuqiu went to Xiaodan's house to discuss some matters for the next day.

"I heard that Nie Jiang's lawyer is very good. He has fought more than a dozen lawsuits and only lost two. Can we... win?" Xiao Dan asked Chi Jinjin worriedly.

Chi Jinjin said, "Are you afraid that I will lose?"

Xiao Dan shook her head and said, "I'm just afraid of hurting my sister. I'm your first case. If I lose, it will be very embarrassing for you, right?"

"There's nothing embarrassing about it. It's embarrassing to retreat without fighting." Chi Jinjin said fearlessly.

"Sister." Xiao Dan was puzzled. "Why would you want to help me? The other party is the governor's son. Even if I win, I'm afraid the future will be very... Why did you take on this hot potato?"

Nan Xuqiu was at the door and heard Chi Jinjin inside say, "Because I'm a lawyer."

The voice was neither loud nor urgent, but firm and decisive.

"The principal's son broke my things, but it was my family who apologized. A grandfather in my village studied hard to get into a prestigious university, but someone else took his place. With nowhere to seek justice, he died of depression. My sister, born in the countryside, has seen so much injustice, but it's almost always ignored. That's when I started thinking, I must become a lawyer."

She wants all the injustices she encounters to be able to see the light of day.

Nan Xuqiu leaned against the door, quietly looking at Chi Jinjin inside, lowered his head and smiled knowingly.

The next day, Chi Jinjin took the documents, put on her lawyer's robe, and waited for Xiaodan and the others outside the court gate. The lawyer's badge in front of her was shining in the sunlight like a bright star.

At this time, a police car drove up and Nan Xuqiu, wearing a police uniform, got out of the car.

Then Xiaodan and the others got off the car.

Nan Xuqiu walked up the stairs and came to Chi Jinjin. He extended his hand to her and said, "Hello, Lawyer Chi."

"Hello, Officer Nan." Chi Jinjin shook his hand and the two smiled at each other.

Several people walked into the court together.

There are six seats in the courtroom. The one in front is the judge's seat, the lower one in front is the clerk's seat, the plaintiff is on the left and the defendant is on the right. There is also a witness seat next to the plaintiff, and opposite the judge's seat is the audience seat.

Nan Xuqiu and Xiaodan's parents went into the gallery first to wait, while the parents of Nie Jiang and others also came in.

Nie Jiang's father, Nie Changyong, glanced at Xiaodan's parents with a look of disdain and disgust on his face.

Then Chi Jinjin took Xiaodan to sit in the plaintiff's seat.

Next is the clerk.

After the clerk sorted out the documents, he checked the time and stood up. He said, "Everyone, please stand. Please invite the presiding judge and the judges into the courtroom."

Chi Jinjin, Xiaodan and others stood up.

The presiding judge and the judges, a total of three people, slowly walked in from the door next to the bench and then stood behind the seats.

"Reporting to the presiding judge, the defendant has been escorted to the remote interrogation room. The advance preparations are ready. The court can begin. Report completed." The clerk turned to report to the presiding judge.

The presiding judge nodded and said, "Please all take a seat."

Everyone on the field took their seats.

The presiding judge picked up the gavel and banged it, saying, "The First Criminal Trial Chamber of the C Province People's Court is now in session. Defendants Nie Jiang, Guan Man, and Yan Feng are summoned to the courtroom."

Soon, the three people and Gao Yi came over and sat down opposite them.

When Xiao Dan saw the three people, his hands began to tremble violently involuntarily.

Chi Jinjin caught a glimpse of her, reached out and placed his hands on her trembling hands, and said softly, "Don't be afraid."

Xiaodan nodded.

The judge began to read out the court rules, informing the trial personnel and the rights and obligations of both parties in the litigation.

Then the court process began.

Chi Jinjin read out the indictment first.

"On May 20th, the plaintiffs Nie Jiang, Guan Man, and Yan Feng lured our client to their home, forced him to drink a large amount of highly concentrated alcohol, and dragged him into the bedroom to assault him..." Chi Jinjin read the lawsuit slowly in a sonorous voice.

After reading, Gao Yi and others will defend their papers.

Then both parties present evidence.

Chi Jinjin cited the chat records of Nie Jiang coaxing Xiaodan that day, a video of Xiaodan going to the intersection of Nie Jiang's house, and the DNA report of the miscarriage in her womb.

"Your Honor, from this report, we can conclude that Nie Jiang is indeed the biological father of the child in Xiaodan's belly, and the child's period coincides with the date when we were last assaulted." Chi Jinjin said.

The judge looked at Gao Yi and motioned him to answer.

Gao Yi stood up and said, "Your Honor, I believe the evidence presented by the plaintiff's lawyer does not prove that we committed any infringement on the other party. It only proves that sexual acts occurred between the two parties. And this report also proves that this matter has nothing to do with our Yan Feng and Guan Man."

"There was no infringement. Did my daughter do it willingly?" Xiaodan's father couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up angrily and cursed at Gao Yi.

The judge banged the gavel and said sternly, "Family of the plaintiff, this is a warning!"

Nan Xuqiu grabbed Xiaodan's father's hand, shook his head at him, and motioned him to sit down.

Xiaodan's father had no choice but to sit down.

Yan Feng and Guan Man's parents all smiled contemptuously.

"Your Honor, I believe that the plaintiff voluntarily engaged in sexual activity with us." Gao Yi presented two pieces of evidence.

One of them contained three love letters, and all three were actually written by Xiao Dan to Nie Jiang!

But Chi Jinjin knew nothing about this matter, and Xiaodan never told her.

What shocked Chi Jinjin the most was the second piece of evidence.

Several chat records.

In the records, Nie Jiang clearly stated that he wanted to have sex with Xiao Dan and promised to give her 50,000 yuan. She accepted the transfer and agreed to him.

And the date was a few days before the last one.

"Your Honor, judging from these chat records and the money transfers, the plaintiff had a relationship with our client voluntarily, and there was no infringement as the plaintiff's lawyer mentioned. Therefore, I claim that our client is not guilty." Gao Yi said, looking at Chi Jinjin with contempt.

"Does the plaintiff have any objection to the defendant's allegations?" the presiding judge asked Xiang Xiaodan.

Xiaodan clenched her palms and looked at Chi Jinjin anxiously.

Chi Jinjin said, "If it's true, it's true. If it's not true, it's not true. Don't tell lies."

Xiao Dan gritted his teeth, shook his head and said, "No."

In an instant, Chi Jinjin was at a disadvantage in this game.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, Chi Jinjin was unable to engage in debate.

The trial ended here, and both parties temporarily left the court, awaiting the presiding judge's decision.

"What's going on?" Chi Jinjin turned around and asked Xiang Xiaodan.

"I..." Xiao Dan didn't dare to look at Chi Jinjin and stammered.

Chi Jinjin sighed and said, "Xiaodan, failure is not scary. What I need is the complete truth."

"You kid, tell me!" Xiaodan's parents said to her anxiously.

Seeing this, Nan Xuqiu stepped forward and took them away, leaving Chi Jinjin and Xiaodan alone.

Xiao Dan finally spoke up, "Sister, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide this from you. I did like Nie Jiang before, but I didn't know he was such a beast at the time."

"What about the money?" Chi Jinjin asked.

Xiao Dan replied, "My father was seriously ill and my family needed money so badly. I agreed to it in a fit of madness, but later I returned the money to him."

"Is there any transfer record?" Chi Jinjin asked.

Xiaodan shook her head and said that she gave cash.

"Sister, I know it's despicable to have such an idea for fifty thousand, but I have never volunteered, and I have never lied to you. Everything I said is true." Xiao Dan burst into tears.

Chi Jinjin fell silent.

As expected, the final verdict was that Nie Jiang and others were not guilty.

The presiding judge asked Xiang Chijinjin and the others, "Counsel for the plaintiff, do you have any objections to this verdict? Do you intend to appeal?"

Chi Jinjin stood up and glanced at Xiaodan who was standing beside her with tears in her eyes.

She looked at Gao Yi, Nie Jiang and others opposite her. Nie Jiang and others were looking at her with a slight smile, a playful and smug look on their faces.

She was struggling internally, not knowing whether she should believe this girl who said 70% but kept 30% to herself.

After a while, Chi Jinjin closed the documents in his hand, looked at the presiding judge, and said, "We appeal."