82 The most important thing in this case is you
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Tang Mei." Liu Yuwei leaned on the balcony railing. "If you find it inconvenient, I can hand your case over to other lawyers at Tiancheng. They will also do their best to help you!" Liu Yuwei was worried that she would be misled by the comments on the Internet, and there was a hint of pleading in her tone. "Please believe us, okay?" "Lawyer Liu, you misunderstood." A long sigh came from the receiver, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." "What happened?" Liu Yuwei's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly thought of the worst scenario. His voice suddenly rose, "Yang Bin threatened you, you can't back down now!" "Yang Bin is deliberately discrediting you..." Tang Mei's voice trembled, "I don't know how he found out where we live, mother and son. He told me through the door all the rumors about you on the Internet, saying that you destroyed other people's families and asked me not to believe you." "He asked me to withdraw the lawsuit, otherwise he would make your itinerary public on the Internet in two days and let the media block you at the door of the court." She became more and more anxious as she spoke, "I said that divorce is a matter between the two of us, and it has nothing to do with the lawyer, but he believed that it was because of you that I was determined to get a divorce... He finally threatened that he had plenty of ways to ruin you and me." "Lawyer Liu... I'm sorry, it's all because of me that I implicated you..." The other party's voice faded, and Tang Mei's words confirmed Liu Yuwei's previous suspicions. Apart from Yang Bin, she couldn't imagine anyone else who could have such a grudge against her. "Tang Mei, this isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize for this scumbag! He's just using such despicable tactics to force you to give up." "I didn't expect him to be so extreme. Lawyer Liu, what do we do now? How about we withdraw the case this time? Or re-file it later?" Liu Yuwei immediately retorted, "No! Repeated divorce lawsuits will affect the judge's judgment!" "Then maybe we can request a postponement?" Tang Mei was still struggling. "There's no provision for requesting a postponement for personal reasons." Liu Yuwei rubbed her brow, the wind blowing through the screen window onto her face. Tang Mei's trust meant more to Liu Yuwei at this moment than any words of comfort. As the attorney representing Tang Mei, her mission was to pull her out of this quagmire. How could she stop at this crucial moment? "Tang Mei, what we need to do now is how to help you obtain a favorable verdict. Even if we request a closed trial, we can't rule out the possibility of unpredictable events happening again." "I've clearly organized the evidence of domestic violence. I'll submit all the materials later..."
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Tang Mei." Liu Yuwei leaned on the balcony railing. "If you find it inconvenient, I can hand your case over to other lawyers at Tiancheng. They will also do their best to help you!"
Liu Yuwei was worried that she would be misled by online comments, and there was a hint of pleading in her tone.
"Please trust us, okay?"
"Lawyer Liu, you misunderstood."
A long sigh came from the receiver, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."
"What happened?" Liu Yuwei's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly thought of the worst-case scenario. His voice suddenly rose, "Yang Bin threatened you. You can't back down now!"
"Yang Bin is deliberately slandering you..."
Tang Mei's voice trembled. "I don't know how he found where we lived. He told me all the rumors about you online through the door, saying you were destroying other people's families and told me not to believe you."
"He told me to withdraw the lawsuit, otherwise he would publish your itinerary online in a couple of days and have the media block you at the court entrance."
She grew increasingly anxious. "I told him this was a divorce between us, and it had nothing to do with the lawyer, but he insisted it was you who had made me so determined to get a divorce... He even threatened to ruin both your reputation and mine."
"Lawyer Liu...I'm sorry, it's all because of me that I implicated you..."
The other party's voice became smaller and smaller. Tang Mei's words confirmed Liu Yuwei's previous guess. Apart from Yang Bin, she couldn't think of anyone else who would have such a grudge against her.
"Tang Mei, this isn't your fault. You don't have to apologize for this scumbag! He just wants to use this despicable method to force you to give up."
"I didn't expect him to be so extreme. Lawyer Liu, what should we do now? Should we withdraw the lawsuit this time? Or file another lawsuit later?"
Liu Yuwei immediately retorted, "No! Repeated divorce lawsuits will affect the judge's judgment!"
"Then maybe I can apply for an extension?" Tang Mei was still struggling.
"There is no provision for applying for a postponement of a court hearing due to a lawyer's personal reasons." Liu Yuwei rubbed his eyebrows, and the wind blew through the screen window onto his face.
Tang Mei's trust was more important to Liu Yuwei than any words of comfort. As her attorney, she was supposed to pull Tang Mei out of the quagmire, so how could she stop at the most critical moment?
"Tang Mei, what we need to do now is to help you obtain a favorable verdict. Even if we apply for a closed trial, we cannot rule out the possibility of uncontrollable events happening again."
"I've already sorted out the evidence of domestic violence very clearly. I'll hand all the materials over to a more experienced lawyer later. Don't worry, there will be no problem!"
"But... you helped me so much before... and now you're being scolded online because of me..."
Tang Mei was still immersed in self-blame.
"Tang Mei, the most important person in this case is you, not me!" Liu Yuwei interrupted her, her tone gentle but firm, "What's online is fake, it won't be real. It will all be over one day!"
After hanging up, Liu Yuwei immediately called Lawyer Tong to explain Tang Mei's situation and her decision. The online incident had clearly caused considerable trouble for the firm and her colleagues, and she felt deeply guilty. After Tang Mei's case was transferred, she had no urgent work to do, so she asked Lawyer Tong for a few days' leave.
Lawyer Tong was silent for a moment on the other end of the line. She had long seen the vile comments online. As it happened, she'd handled a cyberbullying case the previous year, witnessing a bright and cheerful girl's smile gradually fade away due to the endless insults and obscene rumors, ultimately leading to depression and suicide. She wanted to tell Liu Yuwei, "If you have any difficulties, please share them. We can all bear them together," but she also knew that one could never truly understand someone else's suffering without having experienced it. As a superior, all she could do was approve the leave and do her best to prevent the rumors from spreading further within the firm.
...
Seeing Liu Yuwei coming out from the balcony, Xiaohe, who was sitting at the dining table busy in front of the computer, looked up and asked, "How are you? Are you okay?"
Liu Yuwei smiled and shook his head.
"Ling An's official account just released two statements," Xiao He said, turning the laptop towards him. "One is about the Changfa project bidding process, stating that the entire process was legal and compliant, and welcoming public oversight. The other is about spreading online rumors about Ren Yian and his family, and that those who spread them will be held legally accountable."
The seemingly standard legal statement made Liu Yuwei's heart stagnate. The most innocent people in this farce were probably Ren Yian and his wife. She had heard Ren Yiming mention that a new family member was coming. Even though she knew those rumors were absurd and nonsense, for a pregnant woman, any emotional stimulation was unbearable.
Liu Yuwei was quite annoyed by her self-pity. She quickly opened her address book and called Ren Yiming. However, no one answered after several calls. She could only send a WeChat message to express her apology. Unexpectedly, an hour later, this person showed up at Xiaohe's door.
Liu Yuwei looked at the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, frowned, and asked worriedly, "Were you beaten by your father?"
Ren Yiming raised his hand and rubbed it casually, his words vague, "No..."
"Are you okay?"
"How's home?"
The two spoke in unison, and then were stunned for a moment.
"I'm fine. Xiaohe almost follows me everywhere." Liu Yuwei forced a smile and then asked anxiously.
"Have you returned home? Are your parents, brother, and sister-in-law all right? Have you seen a family doctor? The baby shouldn't be affected, right?"
She threw out a bunch of questions, her eyes full of worry.
Ren Yiming noticed that she was blaming herself and quickly replied, "You underestimate my father and brother. As long as it doesn't affect the stock price, it doesn't matter to them. As for my sister-in-law, she's fine and asked me to comfort you!"
In fact, his sister-in-law had also told him that girls who married into the Ren family would always have to face the criticism of others, so he should consider it as a preview of the situation. Of course, Ren Yiming didn't convey the latter part of the sentence.
Liu Yuwei finally breathed a sigh of relief, and her eyes fell on his face again, "So... did you... have a fight with someone?"
After she finished speaking, she seemed to suddenly think of something, "Are you going to look for Jin Lang?"
Ren Yiming said with a little anger, "Why, you can't bear to let go?"
"Shouldn't this grandson be beaten? If he had stood up and said something right away, there wouldn't have been all this mess!"
Xiaohe found a small mirror and an iodine cotton swab from the drawer, stuffed them into Ren Yiming's hands, and signaled him to deal with it quickly.
"I disagreed with him posting on Weibo."
Ren Yiming wiped the wound himself, "I know, his agent said so."
"Actually, I didn't want to do it, but seeing how calm he was, I couldn't help myself!"
Xiaohe gave a thumbs up to the man opposite her. Ren Yiming couldn't help grinning when he saw that someone was on the same side with him, but he ended up pulling his wound again and gasped in pain.
Liu Yuwei looked at the scene in front of him with mixed feelings. No one had expected things to turn out like this.
"Don't let the wound get wet. Be careful these next two days." She warned, "And don't be impulsive anymore. Fighting won't solve the problem."
Ren Yiming curled his lips, which was considered as agreement.
"So what are you going to do?" He casually threw the cotton swab into the trash can. "What do you need us to do? We can't just sit there and wait for death!"
"I'm already collecting evidence!" Xiao He immediately responded, his fingers sliding rapidly across his laptop. "If you're okay, come record the screen with me. We can't let these idiots go. Why are they hiding behind the internet and lashing out at us?"
Before Liu Yuwei could say anything, Xiaohe was already preparing to assign a task to Ren Yiming.
"Do I need some more help?"
"Stop it, both of you!" Liu Yuwei tried to dissuade them, her voice somewhat helpless. "I know you're just standing up for me!"
Her expression grew serious. "Xiao He, you must know the criteria for defamation and insult: 5,000 views, 500 reposts! Screenshots and recordings need to be notarized, and then you need to sue the platform to get these people's information, and then add defendants... This process is too long! There's no need to exhaust everyone over a few half-hearted apologies!"
"So that's it?" Xiao He's eyes widened. "Why? Those keyboard warriors can ruin someone's life's work with just a few casual words, and they even have the audacity to tell the person being scolded to learn to adjust their mindset!"
Liu Yuwei knew that Xiaohe was talking about the Tong Lu case last year. After the girl died, those who insulted her continued to say that she was mentally fragile, had poor tolerance, and would not be able to accomplish anything great in the future even if she did not commit suicide.
She sat down next to Xiaohe and held her wrist. "Everything will change. Lawyer Tong said that several departments of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate are already drafting new regulations. The threshold for criminalizing cyberbullying will be lowered! We might as well save our energy. This will eventually pass!"
Liu Yuwei gently leaned her head on Xiaohe's shoulder and rubbed it coquettishly.
"Besides, I just asked for leave from my boss, so I can stay at your house and take a few days off! Unplugging from the internet, reading, and playing with little deer and building blocks—what a rare day."
"Then I'll live here too and be your security guard!"
Ren Yiming suddenly spoke, stretched out his long legs, and lay flat on the sofa.
"Don't make things worse!" Xiao He reached out to tug at his arm. "This is the girls' dormitory! I'm already doing you a favor by letting you have lunch!"
Liu Yuwei also walked over to help pull the other people away. When the three of them were arguing fiercely, Xiaolu came back from the neighbor's house and gave the three people, who were almost a hundred years old in total, two words: "Childish!"
…
Lingan Group's carefully worded statement didn't stir much online. The public didn't seem to buy it, and the comment section continued to be filled with speculation and doubts, suggesting this was just a routine operation by capital.
Even more intriguing is that the legal professional quietly deleted the widely circulated Weibo post about the incident. This supposedly conciliatory move only further provoked protests from keyboard warriors. They flooded the blogger's old posts with comments, lambasting him for "bowling to capital" and "deleting posts after receiving payment." The blogger, overcome by the criticism, remained silent and closed the comment section, completely disappearing.
Liu Yuwei resolved to stop caring about the online chatter, but by evening, her phone suddenly began receiving a steady stream of harassing calls from unfamiliar numbers. After declining the calls, she received a barrage of obscene and abusive text messages. Only then did she realize she had been "opened," meaning someone has had their personal information published online.
Xiaohe was so angry that she was shaking all over. Liu Yuwei forced herself to calm down, and they immediately turned on the computer to look for the person who originally posted the information.
As I struggled to find clues amidst the barrage of insults, Tong Lu sent me a compressed file with a message: [Yuwei, the screenshots and recordings are all in it, uploaded to the cloud notarization and storage system. We will all support you!]
Liu Yuwei's eyes were a little red and hot.
By the time she emerged from the Cyber Security Detachment, daylight had already set in, the darkness pressing down like a heavy curtain. She used Xiaohe's phone to send a message to Jin Lang, telling him not to worry.
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