In fact, the judge already knew all about these issues during the first trial.
During the first trial, there were also "family and friends" who testified that Gu Yanqing had indeed cheated on his wife, and that he had done so in an unusually high-profile manner, making him a laughing stock in the city.
I simply cannot understand how he has the audacity to file an appeal and rehash the disgusting things he has done.
It seems that in order to survive, and to cling to me as his lifeline, he was willing to shamelessly humiliate himself.
As I recounted my accusations against Gu Yanqing, he stared at me intently from two negotiating tables away, his emotions extremely restrained.
I know that if this weren't in court, and if he weren't so weak and unable to stand, he would have already rushed over and yelled at me.
It only took us a few short months to go from loving each other to being hysterical.
The day before yesterday, he told me on the phone to look in the mirror and see if I still recognized myself.
This should be said to him personally.
Did he not realize that he had transformed into this demonic form?
After I finished speaking, the courtroom fell silent.
Gu Yanqing clenched his fists tightly, and even managed a smile, but it was a very sad and dejected smile.
"Jiang Wan, you've been listing these accusations against me in your mind for a long time now, haven't you? You've fallen for someone else, and you've shown this despicable face just to get a divorce sooner."
I calmly retorted: "Everyone knows you cheated on me. You stole my wedding, my wedding dress, my jewelry, forced me to be your witness, and even tried to steal the things my mother left me. Weren't you despicable then? Should I play those videos again so the judge and everyone else can have a good look?"
I didn't respond to him to avoid getting caught in a self-justifying trap. Instead, I focused on his mistakes and discredited him.
The scene fell silent instantly.
The judge tapped his gavel and looked at Gu Yanqing, asking, "Does the defendant have anything else to say?"
Gu Yanqing simply said, "I do not agree to a divorce. I believe our relationship has not broken down yet."
I scoffed and didn't respond.
The female judge, however, couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "Then what do you think constitutes a breakdown in the relationship?"
This question stumped Gu Yanqing.
I couldn't help but smile inwardly and give the judge a thumbs up.
My lawyer told me long ago that if Gu Yanqing cannot produce new and favorable evidence to prove that our relationship has not broken down, it will be difficult for the second instance to overturn the verdict.
While it is true that he is ill, simply playing the victim is not enough to attract the judge's attention.
More importantly, today she is a female judge, who is better able to understand and sympathize with the pain and suffering women experience in marriage.
Therefore, this second trial ended more decisively than the first trial.
"After hearing the case, this court finds that the relevant evidence is conclusive, the marital relationship has broken down beyond reconciliation, and the case does not involve issues of child custody or division of marital property. Therefore, this court upholds the first-instance judgment and grants the divorce between the plaintiff Jiang Wan and the defendant Gu Yanqing!"
The judge delivered the final verdict, ending this protracted and drawn-out divorce case.
I sat in my wheelchair, feeling calm.
Compared to the tension and anxiety during the first trial, I am very calm this time.
I know that Gu Yanqing is already at his wit's end and can't make any waves anymore. His insistence on appealing and insisting on a second trial is nothing but a death throes.
So when I heard the result, I didn't have a strong reaction; I just felt that everything was within my expectations.
I watched him quietly, and seeing that he still looked unwilling and clenched his fists tightly, I felt only sorrow in my heart.
I feel sorry for him.
What made me feel relieved was that after announcing the verdict, the female judge specifically reminded Gu Yanqing: "Defendant, this is the final judgment of the second instance, and you may not file an appeal."
Gu Yanqing immediately retorted, "I want to apply for a retrial!"
My heart skipped a beat, and I thought to myself, "He's really gone mad!"
"The application is rejected, and the judgment in this case takes effect immediately! The trial is over." The female judge decisively rejected him.
"I refuse to accept this, I will appeal!" Gu Yanqing had indeed gone mad; his ferocious and twisted face was indeed as rumored online, as if he had been cursed.
But the judge ignored him completely, got up, tidied up the case file, and walked away without looking back.
As the lawyer pushed me away, we passed the defendant's dock.
Gu Yanqing suddenly turned his wheelchair around and grabbed me.
"Jiang Wan...we've had a relationship for over six years, no...you've liked me for more than six years, eight years? Even longer...you really, just like that, stop loving me?"
His face, which had just been contorted and grotesque, instantly changed, becoming one of immense grief and reluctance, with his eyes even reddening.
I looked at him, my heart as still as water, and calmly asked, "Gu Yanqing, do you know what I've figured out these past few days?"
He was stunned, and following my words, asked, "What?"
“I suddenly realized that the feelings I had for you all those years could not be called love. I just had such an unhappy and miserable childhood and adolescence, so when you showed me even the slightest kindness, I fell for you. I craved that warmth, mistakenly thinking it was love, and very naively and sincerely reciprocated with more love—but now I suddenly realize that it wasn't real love, I was just using you as a refuge.”
As I said those words, I felt a pang of sadness, my nose stung, and I almost couldn't hold back my tears.
But it's not that I can't bear to part with it.
I just feel like I only realized this so late, and I've wasted so many precious years.
“You might be angry, feeling that I used you, but actually you didn’t lose anything. As I said, I gave you even more love in return. Gu Yanqing, ask yourself honestly, do you really love me? Or are you just using me as a free life-saving tool? If you really loved me, you would never have abandoned me without hesitation to marry another woman on the eve of our wedding, for such a ridiculous reason.”
Gu Yanqing's hand, which was gripping the armrest of my wheelchair, began to tremble inexplicably, and even the look in his eyes was no longer so firm.
I realized that my words had struck a chord with him.
"Since we don't love each other, why torture each other? A sick person should be more open-minded. There is medicine to cure physical illness, but if the heart is sick, even Hua Tuo would be powerless to save it."
After I finished speaking, he lowered his eyes, looking dejected and sad, and murmured, "No..."
I didn't know what he was denying, and I was too lazy to ask him clearly. In the end, I just left him with the words, "You'd better watch yourself."
After saying this, the lawyer continued pushing my wheelchair forward, and his hand was forced to let go.
"Jiang Wan..." he called me again from behind.
The lawyer's efforts did not stop.
"Jiang Wan, I truly love you now. I deserve it; I only learned to cherish you after I lost you..."
I didn't turn back, nor did I feel any joy because of those words.
His voice suddenly became urgent, "Jiang Wan, if it weren't for Su Shenglin, would you be willing to give me another chance? Jiang Wan—"
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