0012 Inviting You into a Trap
People who come to see a lawyer all have clear purposes. Some want to seek justice, such as creditors in loan disputes or workers owed wages; some want to resolve difficulties, such as the party breaching a sales contract or the tortfeasor causing losses; and some want to avoid risks, such as hoping that a lawyer can help draft and review various agreements to nip unfavorable factors in the bud during the contracting stage.
The most likely reason for this woman's plea for help is that she has been drawn into a criminal case, a matter of professional interest.
Looking at the woman with a worried expression, she calmly gestured to the conference room behind her: "Don't worry, go inside and wait for me for a moment, I'll be right back."
She had to go greet a client, but the reception desk couldn't be unattended. After thinking for a moment, Qu Zhong walked over to Xu Yanru's workstation: "Attorney Xu, are you free?"
Qu Zhong's arrival was too sudden, and Xu Yanru was too engrossed in the game, so when Qu Zhong walked up behind her and asked this question, Xu Yanru didn't have time to close the Spider Solitaire interface. She could only nod awkwardly and ask, "Attorney Qu, what's the matter?"
Qu Zhong didn't care whether she was slacking off or not, and said directly, "I have a client who has arrived. Would it be convenient for you to sit at the front desk for a while?"
Xu Yanru didn't agree immediately, but got up and walked towards the racing god's office: "Okay, I'll go tell my master."
The moment she finished speaking, Qu Zhong was dazzled by the smile on her face, and her heart trembled for a very short time. She didn't want it to be like this, but a subtle emotion welled up inside her, like a drop of ink accidentally spilled onto a tie-dye fabric, small and light, but it spread densely and rapidly the moment it touched her.
At Guanzheng, there are several pairs of mentor-apprentice relationships like Xu Yanru and the racing god, as are Qu Zhong and Xu Tianlin. Everyone else can naturally call their supervising lawyer "Master," but Qu Zhong is the only one who cannot.
Because her master, Xu Tianlin, was the director of Guanzheng and the head of the entire Guanzheng, from the moment Qu Zhong applied for the job as his assistant, it was destined that Xu Tianlin's position would always take precedence over Qu Zhong's position as her master.
At the beginning, Qu Zhong complained in her heart more than once why she had to be the director's assistant, why she had to bear more public affairs in the institute, and why she couldn't have the same opportunity as others to call him "master".
No one has ever answered these questions for her.
Qu Zhong, then an intern lawyer, will never forget that day. Xu Yanru proudly showed off her thick stack of 52 internship journals, saying that the "Car God" had personally written comments on every single one of them.
Her rapid flipping through the pages resembled a butterfly about to take flight. Qu Zhong, who always projected a strong image, stood there watching, lost in thought, and in that instant, she felt a sense of loss she had never experienced before.
When she calmed down, she had to admit that what had surged up was a jealousy that she hadn't felt much since she became an adult.
Xu Yanru was a pampered child, her happiness blatant, but Qu Zhong was not. Xu Tianlin was busy with many things and rarely had time to work on cases with her, so Qu Zhong learned most of her practical skills from the racing expert Su Rongqin.
When Qu Zhong first joined the firm, drug crimes were rampant. The firm handled an average of one drug crime case every two weeks, and many of the perpetrators were Black men from Africa. Qu Zhong suspected that a large part of the reason she passed the interview at Guanzheng Law Firm so easily was because her undergraduate major was listed as translation.
After passing the two-month probationary period, Qu Zhong began to accompany Su Rongqin to visit these African blacks in the detention center.
In those two years, there were so many drug-related crime cases where Qu Zhong acted as the translator that if she ever traveled to Africa in the future, she would likely be listed as the most popular person and receive the highest level of courtesy.
Not only that, Su Rongqin also took Qu Zhong to meet clients, taught her the etiquette of business emails, and revised her written complaint word by word.
It's no exaggeration to say that Su Rongqin made Qu Zhong who she is today. Therefore, she can disregard anyone else's opinions, yet she cautiously asks him if the charge is important. She can be arrogant and domineering in front of Zhai Shi in court, yet she specifically wants to hear his words of triumph. The first thing she did upon receiving the verdict was to share her joy with him.
But Qu Zhong also knew that she could never sit side by side with Su Rongqin in the legal representative's seat like Xu Yanru. As a spectator, Qu Zhong had witnessed one of their court hearings; the two, teacher and student, worked together with the perfect chemistry of a badminton mixed doubles team.
Qu Zhong couldn't recall the specifics of that court hearing, but it was after that hearing that she realized Su Rongqin wasn't her moon. Although there were moments when moonlight shone upon her.
Of course, all of the above are just occasional negative emotions that Qu Zhong has experienced. Her busy life doesn't allow her to be so sentimental all the time.
Instead of crying, run with all your might. Becoming a top lawyer in Shanghai is far more difficult than enduring all of the above.
Qu Zhong's thoughts were pulled back by the sound of Xu Yanru pushing open the door. She walked to her seat and began to pack her things: "Attorney Qu, you go and greet them. I'll go to the front desk for you now."
Qu Zhong smiled faintly and thanked her, "Okay, thank you for your trouble."
By the time Qu Zhong sat down opposite the woman with paper and pen, her emotions had stabilized considerably.
Qu Zhong needed to know some basic information, so he first asked her, "What is your name?"
"My surname is Yu, and my name is Yu Yacen."
Qu Zhong confirmed with her word by word, and finally wrote down these three words on his pen.
Yu Yacen, her future client.
"Ms. Yu, you just said you came to see me because of your daughter?"
The last two words were like a trigger for Yu Yacen's emotions; just mentioning them would cause her to break down, and her voice clearly betrayed a grimace: "Yes..."
Every client who comes to a criminal defense lawyer seems to have "The sky is falling, I'm doomed" written all over their face. The only difference is the nature and severity of their crimes. Qu Zhong was already immune to this; she continued, "What exactly happened?"
Yu Yacen should have expected Qu Zhong to ask this question, but she acted like a patient who was reluctant to see a doctor. Even after sitting down at the consultation table, she still had something she couldn't say.
She didn't speak, and Qu Zhong didn't urge her, just sat quietly waiting for her to speak. She knew that since they had specifically come to find her by name, she would definitely talk.
“My daughter is so confused…” Yu Yacen pounded her chest, paused for a long time, and finally said the crime that she found so despicable and shameful, “The police said that she distributed obscene materials.”
...Qu Zhong probably knew how Yu Yacen approached her. She guessed it was because she saw the article about her on the C District Legal Publicity WeChat account and thought that Yu Yacen was good at this type of case?
A sex crime defense lawyer... a career path Qu Zhong never imagined.
After Yu Yacen finished speaking, she began to sob. Qu Zhong pulled out a tissue from his side and handed it to her: "Is your daughter in the detention center or outside?"
For crimes like this that are not related to violence, if the circumstances are not serious, it is very likely that the offender will be released on bail pending trial.
Sure enough, Yu Yacen answered that her daughter was at home, and then, between sobs, she said, "Attorney Qu, you must help us. She's only a sophomore in college; her bright future can't be ruined like this..."
"Of course I'll help. Who wouldn't want a case that's within their grasp?" Qu Zhong readily agreed, "Don't worry, I'll take this case. I'll prepare the lawyer engagement contract and power of attorney for you to sign in a bit. Please wait here for a moment."
Qu Zhong quickly completed all the necessary procedures. Of course, a considerable amount of legal fees followed.
She asked Yu Yacen some more details about the case and gained a preliminary understanding of its background.
Yu Wen, Yu Yacen's only daughter, is currently a sophomore at the Medical School of D University in Shanghai. With this school and this major, her future is truly bright, just as Yu Yacen said. Unfortunately, not long ago, Yu Wen was reported for serializing a novel on a pornographic website.
After the incident, Yu Wen was summoned for questioning by the C District Public Security Bureau on suspicion of disseminating obscene materials for profit. The case has now been concluded and transferred to the C District Procuratorate. Yu Wen has been released on bail pending trial, awaiting the procuratorate's decision.
After seeing Yu Yacen off, Qu Zhong quickly used the pen name and title of the work she provided to bypass the Great Firewall and find Yu Wen's obscene novel.
"Please Enter the Urn" by A Fish
I clicked in and wow, it had over 10,000 favorites, and the comments section was full of readers urging me to update. The latest comment was posted two minutes ago.
It's so popular, if she doesn't go in, who will? Qu Zhong sighed.
Regardless, Yu Wen is now her client, and in order to better defend her, Qu Zhong directly opened her novel and read it from beginning to end without missing a single word.
After reading it, she exclaimed in admiration, "This is hardly obscene material!!"
"This is simply a work of art!!!"
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