Blank Charge

“Damn it, I’ve never regretted so much in my life.

In the noisy private room, all the brothers were chatting lively, but Jin Zhou was  absent-minded.

When Yang Shi Yu had earlier approached him, he should have taken the initiative to kiss him, gnawing at his lips, to see if he still dared to call him a coward.

Jin Zhou put down his glass with a fierce expression, scaring the handsome guy next to him, who shrunk his shoulder and asked, “Jin Zhou, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, baby.” Jin Zhou embraced the young man’s waist, no longer thinking about Yang Shi Yu, and continued to listen to Liu Yong Chang talk about the legendary stories in the field.

After a while, Liu Yong Chang finally stopped talking.

While being absent-minded, Jin Zhou had also listened to a lot. He followed up, asking, “So, this twisted brother has been to prison?”

“He has committed many crimes, and it’s unclear when he was released.” Liu Yong Chang flicked off the ash from his cigarette. “Is he related to your parents’ case?”

If that twisted brother was Wang He Tai’s henchman, then the whole chain of events would be complete.

In order to quickly obtain compensation for demolition, Wang He Tai must have decided to drive away all the businesspeople. He might have found someone to seriously injure the businessmen, and later, Jin Zhou’s father, Jin Wei, must have discovered Wang He Tai’s involvement. He then had Wang Da Rong hit and kill Jin Wei.

“Their people are not easy to mess with.” Liu Yong Chang put out his cigarette, his expression carrying a hint of seriousness.

If even Liu Yong Chang said they were not easy to mess with, then they must be truly dangerous.

There is a big difference between ordinary hooligans and real organized criminals. Jin Zhou had many idle brothers, but none of them dared to kill or set fire, they only caused small troubles, behaving obediently in front of the police.

“When I was the manager of the bathing center, the twisted brother’s group was collecting fees everywhere.” Liu Yong Chang said, “In recent years, the crackdown on organized crime has been strong, and I haven’t heard much about them. They should be in hiding.”

“Is that so?” Jin Zhou picked up his glass and took a sip.

No wonder Yang Shi Yu hadn’t made any progress for so many years. It was indeed not easy to expose that group of people.

“What about Wang He Tai? Did he have any presence in the underworld before?” Jin Zhou asked again.

“I haven’t heard of any .” Liu Yong Chang shook his head. “His hands should be pretty clean; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risen to that position.”

“Not necessarily clean,” Jin Zhou looked at his glass and said, “but definitely cautious.”

“Are you talking about the owner of the Wang He Tower?” The young man in Jin Zhou’s arms suddenly interrupted. “He’s from our area. I heard that he used to do business with his brother, but they had a falling out, and his brother died.”

“How did he die?” Jin Zhou asked curiously.

“I’m not sure.” The young man shook his head. “It seems like an accident. People who opposed him would mysteriously die, according to the rumors in our area.”

“I’ve heard about that too.” The accompanying beauty on Liu Yong Chang’s side also joined the conversation. “They say anyone who goes against him would suffer.”

Normally, Jin Zhou didn’t like to gossip with neighbors, so he naturally didn’t know about rumors regarding Wang He Tai in the community.

But if all those things were true, Jin Zhou wouldn’t believe  such things as “mysterious.” It could only mean that Wang Hetai was a ruthless person who would fight fire with fire.

“Let’s not talk about that for now.” Liu Yongchang picked up his glass again and said to Jin Zhou, “Do you know that someone has been inquiring about you recently?”

“Inquiring about me?” Jin Zhou looked puzzled, clinking his glass with Liu Yongchang’s. “What are they inquiring about?”

“Your love life,” Liu Yongchang said with a smile. “Seems like there’s a young handsome guy interested in you.”

“Our Brother Jin isn’t easy to pursue,” the boy in Jin Zhou’s arms immediately hugged his neck. “If Brother Jin wants to date, I’ll be the first to sign up.”

“Behave,” Jin Zhou patted the boy’s arm. “Let go of me for now.”

Since coming out of the closet, Jin Zhou had been pursued by many people, some genuinely and some not so much. He had experienced all sorts of advances, so when Liu Yongchang mentioned someone inquiring about him, he didn’t think much of it.

The event ended early that night as Liu Yongchang’s wife returned from her trip, and he had to pick her up at the airport.

Jin Zhou didn’t feel satisfied with the amount of alcohol he had consumed; he wasn’t even mildly intoxicated. The designated driver dropped him off at the entrance of his residential complex. As he walked inside the complex, he felt restless so he changed direction and wandered to Yang Shiyu’s apartment building.

How was he a coward?

Jin Zhou looked at the dim light in Yang Shiyu’s window and thought that he would make Yang Shiyu see for himself he wasn’t a coward.

Who would dare tease someone and not kiss them? When Yang Shiyu opens the door later, he would definitely press him against the wall and kiss him until he couldn’t breathe!

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Jin Zhou pounded on Yang Shiyu’s door with his fist, but as soon as he withdrew his fist, his momentum vanished.

He regretted it.

What if he really angered Yang Shiyu and never saw him again?

He didn’t even know if Yang Shiyu was straight or gay. What if he found him disgusting?

Or perhaps the judge would call the police immediately and accuse him of sexual assault. What would he do then?

What was the sentence for sexual assault?

In that instant, countless chaotic thoughts flashed through Jin Zhou’s mind, all with the same theme—escape was the best option.

He quickly turned on his heel, intending to leave. But just as he turned around, he saw Yang Shiyu holding a convenience store bag, standing silently at the stairwell, looking at him. It nearly gave him a heart attack.

“Damn it,” Jin Zhou patted his chest,  “What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you that,” Yang Shiyu said, putting down the two cans of beer in his hand and opening the door. He glanced at Jin Zhou indifferently. “Why are you so childish?”

“I…” Jin Zhou suddenly realized that in Yang Shiyu’s eyes, he had come to knock on the door and run away, which indeed seemed childish.

“Yang Shiyu.” Jin Zhou called out.

Yang Shiyu changed his shoes and turned to look at him.

Jin Zhou’s thin red lips were just a meter away. He swallowed his saliva and suddenly had an image of Yang Shiyu wearing a judge’s robe, sitting solemnly on the judgment seat. He didn’t know why, but his lips moved. “It’s nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, then you can leave,” Yang Shiyu said, about to close the door. Jin Zhou quickly squeezed inside. “No, I came to see you about something.”

“What is it?” Yang Shiyu asked.

“Just…” Jin Zhou’s mind turned. “I wanted to consult you about some legal issues.”

“Legal issues?” Yang Shiyu raised an eyebrow.

“I recently took on a case of false advertising,” Jin Zhou said, changing into slippers on his own and closing the door for Yang Shiyu. Then he glanced at the beer in Yang Shiyu’s hand. “You’re drinking alone so late at night? What’s bothering you?”

After saying this, Jin Zhou walked straight to the sofa without noticing the look Yang Shiyu gave him, which had a big word written in it: you.

“What false advertising?” Yang Shiyu casually placed the beer on the coffee table. Jin Zhou opened both cans and placed one in front of Yang Shiyu.

“Downgraded car features,” Jin Zhou gulped down a big sip, easing the restlessness in his heart.

“There’s not much to sue about that,” Yang Shiyu took a sip of his beer. “So what do you want to consult?”

Actually, Jin Zhou didn’t have anything specific to consult, but he still nervously said, “The case has already been filed. The manufacturer’s promotional materials do not match the actual vehicles. What do you think are the chances of winning?”

“It depends on the circumstances,” Yang Shiyu said. “The promotional materials are considered either an invitation to treat or an offer. It depends on how you argue it.”

Jin Zhou knew that point too. He pretended to be ignorant and continued to humbly ask, “The promotional materials contain some features that have little impact on actual use. The opposing lawyer may focus on this. How do you think I should respond?”

“How should you respond?” Yang Shiyu’s hand holding the beer can paused in mid-air, uncertainly looking at Jin Zhou. “Are you asking me to teach you how to litigate?”

The emphasis in his words fell intentionally on the word “me,” as if reminding Jin Zhou, “Are you asking a judge to personally teach you how to litigate?”

Jin Zhou found it a bit amusing. If he really had a judge at home guiding him on how to litigate every day, other lawyers would probably envy and be jealous, right?

Although such a situation was impossible to occur (Note), it didn’t prevent Jin Zhou from playing his nostalgic game of being taught by a mentor.

“Professor Yang,” Jin Zhou adopted a sincere tone, “please teach me.”

Yang Shiyu: “…”

Yang Shiyu turned his face and took a sip of his beer, his prominent Adam’s apple moving up and down with the swallowing motion.

“Has the opposing party’s defense statement been delivered?” Yang Shiyu asked, placing the beer can down.

“Not yet,” Jin Zhou said, “the case was just filed.”

“False advertising cases have a high chance of winning because the compensation amount is usually small, and the judge will take it into consideration. However, you must perform well in court and not be caught by the opposing lawyer, as it will make you appear in the wrong as the plaintiff,” Yang Shiyu said.

Jin Zhou obediently nodded. He actually knew all of what Yang Shiyu mentioned, but he still liked to hear Yang Shiyu mentor him.

“And another thing,” Yang Shiyu added, “if you’re not good at civil cases, don’t take on such lawsuits. The compensation amount awarded in the judgment may not exceed your attorney fees, and the client may cause trouble for you.”

Jin Zhou only received a fee of eight hundred yuan, which led to Luo Xueqing helping him investigate his father’s affairs, but he didn’t intend to tell Yang Shiyu about those matters.

“It’s fine. My client is easy to deal with,” Jin Zhou said, then changed the subject. “By the way, how do you know that I’m not good with civil cases?”

“You’re not good at civil cases,” Yang Shiyu emphasized earlier, which obviously meant he deduced it from the fact that Jin Zhou seemed to know everything.

But the problem was, Jin Zhou pretended to be like a naive lawyer, and Yang Shiyu should have said in a general way, “Your skills are not good, don’t take on random cases,” instead of specifically singling out civil cases.

By saying that, he actually proved that he knew Jin Zhou was better at criminal defense.

Yang Shiyu took another sip of his beer and glanced at Jin Zhou, saying, “You turned ‘endangering public safety’ into ‘obstructing official duties.’ Who in the court doesn’t know your name?”

Jin Zhou smiled.

That was a case he defended before, where the defendant got into a conflict with the police due to parking issues. The prosecution charged the defendant with endangering public safety, but Jin Zhou argued that the defendant only obstructed official duties, reducing the prison term by at least four or five years.

The beer cans in their hands had unknowingly emptied. Usually, this little amount of alcohol wouldn’t be enough to quench Jin Zhou’s thirst, but it had gotten him a bit tipsy.

“Is there anything else?” Yang Shiyu stood up, threw the beer can into the trash bin, clearly indicating that he was preparing to see Jin Zhou off.

“Can I stay at your place tonight?” Jin Zhou raised his chin, looking up at Yang Shiyu.

The slightly intoxicated feeling was the best state for falling asleep, and Jin Zhou didn’t want to walk back home by himself anymore.

“No, you can’t,” came the unsurprising response.

“But I don’t want to go back,” Jin Zhou grabbed a nearby cushion, hugging it to his chest with a pouty expression. “There’s no one at my place, and it’s so lonely.”

“… ” Yang Shiyu took a deep breath, turned around, and went to the bathroom to freshen up. “You can sleep on the couch.”

A slight smile formed on Jin Zhou’s lips.

So, being Flirtatious actually worked. Noted.