Chapter 33 Your Self-Preservation Awareness? ...
Chapter 34
Xia Zhiyu's friend, who works as a criminal defense lawyer in her hometown, advised her to be patient, offer some money as an apology, and settle the matter as soon as possible. There was no need to get entangled with this kind of person, as it was no different from stepping in poop.
The supermarket owner had a particularly bad reputation. He had been arrested during the anti-gang campaign for participating in a criminal gang and was only recently released. Even after his release, he was still not behaving himself and frequently ended up in jail for fighting.
His mentally challenged son was even more outrageous. He had been arrested by the police before for attempted rape, but because he was indeed mentally ill, they couldn't hold him criminally responsible, so they had to release him and educate and punish his parents, who were his guardians.
After all, the measures for compulsory medical treatment in my hometown are not very sound, and it is difficult for the police and the procuratorate to deal with such a thoroughly mentally ill person.
“So there’s really no need to take this kind of person seriously. There aren’t even any security cameras around there, and we have no advantage if we can’t collect any evidence,” my friend sighed. “The rule of law in our small town is not as good as in the north of the city, and many of our ideas are quite outdated.”
"Besides, I heard that the boss has some kind of family connection with the higher-ups. It's really not worth offending him. Just apologize. You're only offering him humanitarian compensation because his wife is lying in the hospital screaming. I'll find someone to go with you, bring some gifts, and say some nice things. You might even get the evidence you want. There's no need to fight for this."
Xia Zhiyu understood her friend's meaning. She was silent for a moment, then smiled and said:
"It's alright, thank you for your help these past few days. I'll go back and think about it some more."
She felt a lump in her throat, stuck in her chest, making Xia Zhiyu feel embarrassed and angry.
Xia Zhiyu understood her friend's difficulties and position, but she couldn't swallow her anger, which only intensified.
Xia Zhiyu bid farewell to her friends and left the office as the sun set. The golden sunset shone on the towering buildings, the shadows of the trees on both sides swayed, and the streets were deserted with only a few pedestrians, making it seem desolate.
Next to the law firm was the junior high school she attended when she was a child. It was during class time, and Xia Zhiyu walked along the street. Suddenly, she found that the place that should have been very familiar to her seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
The building that seemed incredibly tall and grand to her when she was young now appears covered in a layer of gray and dilapidated color. In the corners, invisible cobwebs and thick dust are hidden. A light step will cause a cloud of dust to rise up, making people cough.
"How strange," Xia Zhiyu smiled wryly, "I'm actually feeling a bit out of place here."
Back home, my parents chatted and cooked as if nothing had happened, but in a corner of the living room, there were expensive wines and gifts, several gold and red gift boxes stacked up, which were glaringly conspicuous.
As Lao Xia served her food, he asked cautiously, "If you don't want to go, Dad will go and give them a message for you. This isn't entirely your fault. Once our two families reconcile, this matter will be over."
Xia Zhiyu ate her meal in silence, finding it tasteless and unappetizing.
What do you mean by saying it wasn't entirely her fault? What did she do wrong in this situation?
Xia Zhiyu couldn't understand, nor did she want to understand, how could she stand up for justice for others if she couldn't even protect her own sense of fairness and justice?
The small sun at my feet was scorching and tightening my skin, but my hands holding the chopsticks were ice-cold and my joints were stiff.
There's no heating in Chuancheng, so even at home it's cold enough to make your hands and feet shiver. A couple of days ago, her mother teased her for being pampered in Beicheng. It's not even that cold yet, but Xia Zhiyu is already grumbling about wanting to turn on the heater.
Seeing that she didn't respond, her parents had no choice but to change the subject and talk about random things. However, Xia Zhiyu could still see the clear worry in her parents' eyes when they looked at each other.
Xia Zhiyu could understand her parents. They had always lived in a society based on personal connections, and she was a part of that social chain, just like her friends, and had long been assimilated.
Before Xia Zhiyu could be assimilated, Jiang Zhiyan had already shown her a larger and more inclusive world.
As graduation from university approached, Xia Zhiyu hesitated for a while about whether to return to her hometown to take the civil service exam.
There are many reasons why she persuaded herself to return to her hometown. Her parents are getting old and their health is not very good, so she can take care of them when she goes back. Secondly, there is less competition in her hometown, and life is peaceful and stable, so she will not encounter too many difficulties.
Xia Zhiyu could list out all the benefits of returning to her hometown in a table.
After all, ever since she got into university, her parents would mention it every time they called, telling her to prepare for the civil service exam in their hometown. They even started compiling information on the positions she could apply for when she was a junior in college, and they even wanted to enroll her in a prep course.
Xia Zhiyu was very quiet during that time and couldn't muster any energy for anything. Jiang Zhiyan saw that she seemed lost and took the initiative to ask her what was bothering her.
Xia Zhiyu initially thought it would be difficult to bring up these things in front of the person she secretly admired, after all, Jiang Zhiyan was so outstanding and had clear goals and plans for his life. Xia Zhiyu secretly wanted to establish a good image for herself in front of the person she liked, so that Jiang Zhiyan would appreciate her more.
But when Jiang Zhiyan looked at her quietly, all her worries and anxieties suddenly vanished.
A steady stream of warmth flowed from the coffee in her palm to her heart. With each expression of her worries, Xia Zhiyu felt the heavy burden in her heart lighten a little, and the question of her future path in life seemed less daunting.
After listening to her, Jiang Zhiyan put his fingers together and tapped them lightly on the table a few times. This was his usual action when he was thinking, which he usually did at seminars on major cases.
Xia Zhiyu suddenly regretted revealing all her troubles in such detail. How could Jiang Zhiyan, a prodigy, possibly understand her little worries?
She was staring intently at the pattern on the table, secretly regretting how stupid she had been to pour out all her troubles at once.
A deep male voice rang out, "You've listed so many rules and regulations, but aren't these just other people's ideas and suggestions? What do you want yourself?"
Pedestrians hurried past the window. In June, Haicheng was scorched so much that even the air was humid and hot, but Jiang Zhiyan seemed completely unaffected by the sweltering heat.
He was impeccably dressed in a suit, his expression calm, and his dark eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses gazed at her quietly, deep and tolerant.
Xia Zhiyu unconsciously clenched her thumb into her palm, her throat tightened, and her heart pounded more and more violently in her chest.
...
What does she want?
Everyone advised her to be patient, saying that she hadn't really suffered any loss, and that an apology would be enough to resolve the matter; there was no need to dwell on it for so long.
But what does she herself think?
Does the difficulty or lack of necessity justify not striving for it? If she chooses not to pursue this matter, wouldn't that be tantamount to helping the boss and his gang bully her?
She's not the one who did something wrong, so why should she have to swallow this grievance and apologize?
She didn't know if she would regret her stubbornness later, but Xia Zhiyu knew that if she chose to apologize, she would regret it immediately.
"Don't think about the future, and don't think about others. Parents and responsibilities shouldn't be obstacles in your life. Tell me what you want?"
Whenever Xia Zhiyu was confused at a crossroads, she would always remember Jiang Zhiyan's words.
Although Jiang Zhiyan hurt her a lot later, it is undeniable that when she was confused and bewildered by countless choices, it was Jiang Zhiyan who helped her out of her depressed state.
A week later, the sun shone brightly, a rare sight in the winter of Sichuan.
Xia Zhiyu was at the police station entrance. She had just finished meeting with her client and was now back to working on her own case, while the supermarket owner was still threatening to sue her. Xia Zhiyu applied for a forensic medical examination, requesting the authorities to conduct a proper assessment of the injuries sustained by the owner's wife, to determine whether the injuries were caused by Xia Zhiyu's actions or something else entirely.
When she saw the boss's wife, there were faint blood spots on her face, and she was in very poor condition. Xia Zhiyu knew her self-defense stun gun well. The voltage and current of that thing were very low, mainly to temporarily paralyze people, and it didn't have much of an offensive effect.
However, as everyone knows, the efficiency of appraisal agencies is inherently low, especially in this small county town. Xia Zhiyu would have to wait at least half a month to get the results.
But her client's case was urgent, so Xia Zhiyu applied to the court to retrieve the surveillance video. The court approved it, but the unscrupulous boss refused to hand it over. Xia Zhiyu was so anxious and upset that she developed two styes under her eyes.
The prosecutors felt sorry for her and, after dealing with her a few times, couldn't help but advise her that there was no need to insist on a not guilty plea. It's not like she couldn't plead for a family dispute, and she wouldn't earn much money anyway, so why make things difficult for herself?
Xia Zhiyu was unwilling to do so. Every day, she busied herself riding her electric bike through the village, going door to door to find witnesses and ask for evidence. It was just a little tiring and troublesome, but it was something she could do.
Over the course of several days, Xia Zhiyu traveled to most of the village and actually found two people who had passed by the village entrance and witnessed the man about to swing a wooden stick at the woman.
But that wasn't enough; Xia Zhiyu knew the importance of the chain of evidence corroborating each other.
Jiang Zhiyan was able to win every case in court before because he considered everything thoroughly before the trial and never let go of any potentially useful evidence. He was very attentive to even the smallest cases.
They used to bring several suitcases full of evidence when they went to court, and they had to buy extra baggage allowance for the evidence every time they went on a business trip.
She was Jiang Zhiyan's prized student, and if Jiang Zhiyan could do it, she could definitely do it too.
After resolving her emotional issues, everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction. Xia Zhiyu even rediscovered a long-lost sense of accomplishment in helping others at work.
"Mom, I bought some cold dishes. Can you cook some porridge for dinner?"
Xia Zhiyu kicked off her shoes at the door and put on cotton slippers. She was carrying fruit she had bought downstairs. Before she even entered the house, her voice could be heard for miles.
Upon entering the room, he was met with Ren Yu's gloomy face.
When she had a dispute with the supermarket owner a while ago, Ren Yu had to go back to Wangtcuo for something. Xia Zhiyu thought he was also very busy with work, so she didn't tell Ren Yu about it, so as not to make him worry.
So when Xia Zhiyu saw Ren Yu's long face, she instinctively assumed that her parents must have told him about the supermarket owner, and immediately offered words of comfort:
"Hey, it's nothing serious. I'm perfectly fine now. I was worried something might happen when I went there, so I brought a stun gun. That shows I have a good sense of self-protection."
"Self-protection awareness?"
The deep, familiar male voice suppressed his anger, as if a volcano was about to erupt at any moment.
Xia Zhiyu turned around in disbelief, and a familiar face appeared before her. The well-fitting suit under the black cashmere coat outlined Jiang Zhiyan's almost perfect proportions and figure. He was mature, sexy, and handsome, with a powerful aura that made people unable to help but admire him.
Some people are just born to be lawyers, Xia Zhiyu thought inappropriately, but if only Jiang Zhiyan didn't look at her with such an oppressive gaze.
"Your self-protection instinct is to go alone to a supermarket in an urban village at 5:30 pm to look for evidence?"
Upon hearing Jiang Zhiyan's words, Ren Yu's expression visibly worsened.
"5:30 is afternoon, it's not evening yet."
The words to Jiang Zhiyan slipped out of her mouth, and Xia Zhiyu was stunned for a moment after saying them.
Damn it, how come arguing with my boss has become an instinct since I quit my job!
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