0023 Procuratorial Recommendations

After the court hearing that day, the negative comments about Qu Zhong on Weibo disappeared overnight, as if a deep scan and cleanup had dragged all the bad reviews into the recycling bin as garbage.

Every now and then some new comments pop up, but they are quickly filtered and censored.

Shortly after, Weibo issued a solemn statement, stating that it would comply with the prosecutor's recommendations, fulfill its platform obligations, clean up the online environment, and that the internet is not a lawless zone.

Soon, Chen Xi's first-instance verdict was handed down. As Qu Zhong had expected, the court adopted the prosecution's sentencing recommendation, and Chen Xi was sentenced to six years in prison and will be taken into custody soon.

Shen Yun does not intend to appeal. Qu Zhong went to the detention center to see Chen Xi again, wanting to hear his opinion.

He appeared from behind the glass barrier, handcuffed as before, calm and composed. Only now, he had a thick, dark beard around his chin, and a hint of weariness in his eyes.

"Mr. Chen, have you read the judgment? What are your thoughts?"

Chen Xi nodded, then shook his head. He remained silent about the outcome of the negotiation, only saying, "I just signed the divorce agreement she sent me a couple of days ago."

He used the single word "she" to refer to Shen Yun, his wife, and his former lover.

Qu Zhong saw relief in his eyes; her long-awaited wish had finally come true.

He was about to go to prison, but he regained his freedom.

This contradictory conclusion was something Qu Zhong had never heard of before, yet it did indeed appear in Chen Xi's case.

Qu Zhong couldn't easily evaluate or comfort him with just a few words. She stopped staring at him with any emotion and asked to confirm, "Is there anything else I can do?"

Chen Xi pondered for a few seconds, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't utter a single word.

Qu Zhong could probably understand his thoughts; he simply wanted to apologize to Bai Qing. Most defendants would do the same before going to prison.

Unfortunately, this kind of apology is meaningless.

Because criminal law is not a form of redress, once the harm suffered by the victim is fixed, it is irreversible and can never be compensated with money or anything else.

At the end of the meeting, Qu Zhong told him to take care.

The next second, Chen Xi did something she didn't expect. He stood up, facing her directly, and bowed slightly.

This bow has multiple meanings. It is atonement, farewell, and, more purely, gratitude.

His defense lawyer was moved to tears and deeply grateful to her.

Qu Zhong stood there stunned, feeling as if a tropical wind had been poured into her chest, quickly spreading to her internal organs, leaving her unable to calm down for a long time.

Chen Xi possessed the pride of a scholar, yet he didn't hesitate to humble himself before her once.

She had never received such a grand gesture.

Since becoming an intern lawyer, Qu Zhong has handled countless criminal defense cases, some handled by the clients themselves and others assigned by the legal aid center.

Those who paid her believed it was her duty to solve their problems for their own benefit. Those assigned by legal aid felt it was her responsibility and were happy to accept it. Not only did she never say thank you, but sometimes she was even verbally abused for being incompetent.

At this moment, she finally understood the lyrics: "Love and hate cannot be treated lightly." Chen Xi had committed an unforgivable crime against Bai Qing, but Qu Zhong, as his defense lawyer, could not deny being moved by his actions.

The case is finally over. The heavy burden on my shoulders has been lifted, and my tense nerves have relaxed. Qu Zhong feels like a white porcelain bowl that has just survived a calamity in the kiln.

On her way back from the detention center, she felt utterly empty and desperately needed a box to hold her and her unsettled emotions.

While on the subway, a new message popped up on WeChat: Where are you?

From Zhai Shi.

She stared at those two words for a long time, without replying until the subway arrived at its destination. She didn't know how to respond; she didn't want to appear before him as a defeated person.

Unexpectedly, Zhai was waiting for her downstairs at her law firm. No, it should be said that he was blocking her way.

She saw him from a great distance because of his outstanding figure and the fact that he was standing in a conspicuous position, waiting for her to notice him.

Qu Zhong pretended not to see him, kept her eyes straight ahead, and walked past him into the office building without stopping.

Very close to the revolving door, Zhai blocked her with his body.

As dusk settles, time unfolds leisurely, and a gentle breeze stirs the air.

He was wearing a white sweater, his bangs hanging down in front of his eyes, and his quiet, dark eyes were gazing intently at her, as if he had a lot to say.

Qu Zhong avoided seeing him, stepped back, and coldly said, "Get out of my way, you're blocking my way."

Zhai stepped forward, staring intently at her: "How long are you going to keep hiding from me?"

The word "hiding" ignited a fire in Qu Zhong's heart, which quickly spread like wildfire. She raised her eyes and questioned, "What do you mean I'm hiding from you? Have you been looking for me these past few days?"

Zhai was stumped by the question and couldn't answer it. The feeling of being helpless made him very frustrated, but he had no intention of letting her go.

If the performance of the contract is affected by force majeure, the negotiations between the two parties fail, and a stalemate occurs.

It was a little past five in the afternoon, and people were already leaving the building one after another. Looking at the sparse crowd around them, Qu Zhong made up her mind and pulled him to a reliable corner between the two office buildings.

This cautious, stealthy action made Zhai Shi's heart clench. He suddenly realized that their relationship had always existed only in the shadows, and could never be brought into the light.

The twilight was gentle, unlike the sunlight, but as it fell, he felt a sudden stinging pain in his eyes.

Qu Zhong deliberately kept her distance from him, suppressing her emotions as she urged, "Speak quickly if you have something to say."

Zhai moved closer, looked down to find her eyes, and hesitated, then said, "You before..."

"What?"

"During my undergraduate years..."

He remained hesitant and evasive, but Qu Zhong immediately understood when she heard the words "undergraduate degree." She gave an incredulous smile and said, "You investigated me."

Her reaction told him that he seemed to have made things worse. He had come to tell her in person that he didn't know her past, that he had misunderstood the meaning of criminal defense, and that in retrospect, most of his words during that argument were insincere.

No, he hadn't thought that far ahead. He came to her simply to create an opportunity for them to thaw their relationship, nothing more.

"I'm sorry." He had wanted to say those two words for a long time, but when he actually said them, he didn't even realize that there was a slight tremor in those two short syllables.

Perhaps it was because he subconsciously tried to take her hand, but she avoided it.

"Apologize for what?" Qu Zhong looked directly at him, her tone as calm as if she were reading a statement of testimony. "If it's because of the investigation, then there's nothing to apologize for. Only criminal records will be remembered, not suffering."

Moreover, compared to those serious sex crimes, what she encountered was just a minor misfortune, a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Therefore, he didn't need to put on a pitiful act and specially run over to show weakness to her.

She tried to appease him to show that she didn't intend to continue arguing, but Zhai Shi's thoughts were in turmoil, as if every step she took was out of her control.

He didn't understand that his life had been smooth sailing and unobstructed, and he had never experienced any real setbacks.

Even though nothing around him had changed drastically, he gradually found it difficult to move forward, simply because of her.

As evening fell and he became slightly tipsy, his eyes gleamed: "Qu Zhong, what exactly do you want from me to be satisfied?"

Zhai remained silent for a while before finally asking this question, a question that seemed completely out of character for the prosecution, who had just won a victory.

Qu Zhong could no longer pretend that she knew nothing.

Satisfied? How much more satisfied could she be? He even sent a prosecutorial suggestion to Weibo for her sake. What more could she ask of him?

Unlike indictments, prosecutorial recommendations do not require the prosecutor's name to be written at the end. Everyone assumed that the prosecutorial recommendation that quelled the controversy was simply the C District Prosecutor's Office performing its duties, but only Qu Zhong knew who had written it.

Issuing a prosecutorial recommendation is no easy task. It requires that the behavior of the recipient be directly related to the case itself, that the person in charge draft it personally, and that the chief prosecutor approve it before it can be finally made public.

How exactly did he manage to send her client to jail while simultaneously doing all this for her without leaving a trace?

The timing was perfect.

Whatever he wanted, she would give it to him, just like many times before.

After gazing at him for a moment, Qu Zhong gave a faint smile, raised her chin, and gestured to the tall building behind him, the place where they had started: "Come with me there, and I'll be satisfied."