Blank Charge

Presented with those two options, Jin Zhou didn’t want either of them.

Yang Shi Yu was obviously his wife, how could he be his husband?

But compared to the former, if Yang Shi Yu gave up being a judge, it would be even more unacceptable for Jin Zhou.

Everyone had their own unique preferences. Some people liked clear eyes, some liked magnetic voices, and Jin Zhou just liked when Yang Shi Yu wore gold-rimmed glasses, sitting on the judge’s bench, untouchable by anyone but him.

“Anything is fine,” Jin Zhou chose to stabilize Yang Shi Yu first, “as long as you continue being a judge.”

Compared to Yang Shi Yu’s career as a judge, who becomes the husband or wife was less important.

However, Yang Shi Yu wasn’t convinced that easy. He looked at Jin Zhou quietly and said, “There is no option for ‘anything is fine.'”

“Do you really want to give up being a judge?” Jin Zhou asked anxiously. “Is it necessary to go to this extent?”

“It is necessary,” Yang Shi Yu said calmly, with a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

Damn it.

Those two words popped into Jin Zhou’s mind.

“Okay, okay, I give in,” seeing that Yang Shi Yu wouldn’t back down at all, Jin Zhou finally had to compromise, “you be the husband, you’re the top.”

“Good,” Yang Shi Yu held Jin Zhou’s hand again, his expression still calm and devoid of the joy of winning a bet.

Jin Zhou immediately realized that Yang Shi Yu wasn’t gambling with him this time.

He really didn’t care about being a judge. No matter what choice Jin Zhou made, he would remain indifferent.

Jin Zhou couldn’t help but feel a bit scared. He tightened his grip on Yang Shi Yu’s hand and said, “We’ve made an agreement. No matter what happens, you’re not allowed to quit your job.”

“Okay,” Yang Shi Yu replied calmly.

Jin Zhou thought about how Yang Shi Yu always acted alone without informing him. He said worriedly, “If you quit being a judge, you will lose your wife, you know?”

Yang Shi Yu smiled softly in response, “Then call me husband for starters.”

Since they reunited after all those years of being apart, Yang Shi Yu rarely smiled. But now, he seemed to have known  the secret to making Jin Zhou submissive. He smiled so comfortably, even the cold chains under the moonlight appeared softer.

“Cough, cough,” Jin Zhou uncomfortably turned his face away, looking at the other side, “Let me get used to it first.”

When Jin Zhou mentioned getting used to it, he was actually referring to getting used to calling him husband.

It was just a title, so how could it influence his position in bed?

A few days later, the wrongful retaining case finally went to trial.

Jin Zhou and Liu Qian agreed to meet in the court lobby. Liu Qian wore an exaggerated pair of frog-eyed glasses. When she saw Jin Zhou in a suit, she slid the glasses up to her nose and looked at Jin Zhou, saying, “Zhouzi, why do you look so handsome today?”

Jin Zhou sighed, “Sis, do you want your watch back or not?”

“Hey, I’m just saying you look really handsome today,” Liu Qian walked up to Jin Zhou’s side. “I have a few good girlfriends. Do you want me to introduce them to you?”

Liu Qian didn’t often attend social gatherings with Liu Yongchang, so she didn’t know that Jin Zhou was gay.

“Forget it,” Jin Zhou tactically leaned back. “I don’t want to be a wealthy woman’s plaything.”

Liu Qian slapped Jin Zhou on the shoulder. “Stop talking nonsense!”

That day Zhang Rui also brought his lawyer. The lawyer appeared young but carried an air of confidence.

The presiding judge had not entered the court yet. Perhaps the lawyer’s demeanor made Liu Qian uneasy. She tapped Jin Zhou’s arm and whispered, “Zhouzi, can we really get the watch back?”

Before Jin Zhou could reply, Zhang Rui, sitting on the defendant’s seat, took the initiative to speak. “Sister Liu, I never took your watch. Why do you insist I took it?”

There was no one else in the spectator seats, and the entire courtroom was silent. No wonder Liu Qian’s quiet remark could be heard by Zhang Rui.

“Don’t play innocent with me,” Liu Qian, true to her association with Liu Yongchang, never spared her words even when uncertain. “If it wasn’t you who took the watch, I’ll take off my head and kick it like a ball. That’s how sure I am that you took it.”

At that moment, the courtroom’s front door was pushed open, and the presiding judge walked in. Jin Zhou quickly signaled Liu Qian with his eyes not to say anything unnecessary.

The facts of the case were not complicated. Judge Chen was too lazy to read the case file and simply listened to Jin Zhou and the opposing lawyer’s statements.

“So, the whereabouts of the watch are still unknown, right?” After hearing the demands of both sides, Judge Chen crossed his hands over his chest and rested his elbows on the table, asking.

“Yes,” the opposing lawyer said, “the plaintiff claims that my client took the watch, but the watch is not in my client’s possession.”

“Alright,” Judge Chen nodded. “Now let’s proceed to the evidence and cross-examination stage.”

Jin Zhou first presented the surveillance video from the Paris Temple. As expected, the opposing lawyer refuted it, stating that such indirect evidence couldn’t prove that Zhang Rui took the watch.

Next, Jin Zhou presented another surveillance video, also from the Paris Temple, but a slightly later time. It clearly showed Zhang Rui drinking with another person while wearing a shiny watch on his hand.

“This is my client’s own watch,” the opposing lawyer continued to argue and picked up an ordinary men’s watch from his side. “It’s this one.”

Since the list of evidence had been submitted before the trial, Jin Zhou was not surprised. He knew about the existence of this witness and had prepared a counter-argument: the witness was a friend of Zhang Rui’s, and his testimony was not reliable.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the person testified, Jin Zhou immediately caught a loophole.

“You’re saying that on that day, when you went home together with the defendant, he wasn’t wearing a watch?” Jin Zhou looked directly at the person and asked.

“Yes,” the person confidently replied, standing tall and firm. “I swear I’m not lying.”

“Then may I ask, what is this?” Jin Zhou presented the surveillance footage again. “The opposing lawyer just claimed that the defendant was wearing his own watch. So why, when you went home together, wasn’t he wearing a watch?”

The defendant’s lawyer didn’t expect such a flaw to appear and quickly interjected, “My client is accustomed to keeping some small items in the employee locker room. He probably just took off his own watch.”

“Or is it that he wasn’t taking off his own watch at all?” Jin Zhou asked aggressively. “Otherwise, why would he specifically take off a regular watch and store it in a locker?”

“The opposing lawyer is making malicious speculations. We all know that wearing a watch for a long time can make the wrist sweat, which is uncomfortable. My client taking off his watch was just an unintentional act.”

Jin Zhou also knew that that loophole was not enough to disrupt the opponent’s logic, let alone make the judge biased towards his side, so he refrained from further commenting.

“Do the plaintiff’s lawyers have any further questions?” Judge Chen asked.

His tone carried a hint of impatience, indicating that he believed further questioning was unnecessary.

During the process of presenting evidence and cross-examination, Jin Zhou had been under pressure from the opposing side. The case simply didn’t need to continue; Jin Zhou was bound to lose.

Zhang Rui, sitting across from Jin Zhou, crossed his hands behind his neck and even crossed his legs, forming a sharp contrast with the anxious Liu Qian.

But Jin Zhou was waiting for that moment.

He deliberately glanced at his phone, then raised his head and said, “Judge Chen, I request to submit new evidence.”

“Now?” Judge Chen frowned upon hearing that.

No judge would appreciate the plaintiff springing a surprise with evidence because the defendant could immediately request a postponement, which would only prolong the case.

“I just received it,” Jin Zhou had to fabricate a lie to ease the judge’s displeasure, and continued, “This evidence is very important.”

“Then show it to us,” Judge Chen said.

Jin Zhou went outside the courtroom for a moment, and when he returned, he held a piece of evidence in a bag, which contained Liu Qian’s Patek Philippe watch.

Liu Qian had no idea what was happening and asked in surprise, “Isn’t that my watch?”

Zhang Rui’s face turned pale, looking at his lawyer beside him with a bewildered expression. The lawyer, who had previously been confident, was clearly panicking.

“What’s going on?” the lawyer asked Zhang Rui in a low voice.

“I…” Zhang Rui stammered.

“I had my men investigate all the pawnshops in the city,” Jin Zhou handed the watch to the judge’s assistant, “My colleague just brought this watch. If needed, I can request the witness to appear in court. This watch is the one Zhang Rui pawned a few days ago.”

Jin Zhou didn’t just send Xiao Wu and Hu Zi to find witnesses; he had also arranged other brothers to loiter around Zhang Rui whenever possible.

Disguised as gas company employees, they entered his home to inspect the gas meter. They infiltrated the employee locker room at the Temple of Paris, deliberately tampering with Zhang Rui’s locker. They took the opportunity when Zhang Rui approached the parking lot, pretending to break his car window.

In fact, all those actions were just for show. Jin Zhou’s original intention was not to conduct a search but to create pressure on Zhang Rui, making him anxious and uneasy.

On the other hand, Jin Zhou had his associate contact Zhang Rui, offering him convenience and safety in laundering and selling stolen items. When Jin Zhou’s accomplice appeared around Zhang Rui’s parents’ house, he couldn’t resist and finally took out the Patek Philippe watch hidden there.

On the day Jin Zhou sent Sun Yi and others to lure and capture  Zhuang Yu, Yu He had to leave temporarily because his associate informed him that the watch was found.

However, Jin Zhou did not immediately submit that evidence to the court, as it would likely end the lawsuit. Zhang Rui would find a way to settle with Liu Qian, and Liu Qian and the judge would also lean towards that outcome.

Although it would be beneficial for everyone to avoid escalating the situation, Jin Zhou had other plans. He didn’t mind causing trouble for Liu Qian because that whole matter was a trouble she had brought upon herself.

“That indeed is the watch I pawned,” Zhang Rui swallowed his saliva, trying to come up with a rebuttal. “But you can’t prove that it belongs to Liu Qian.”

“Don’t worry,” Jin Zhou confidently said, “My colleague has already had the police verify it, and the watch is covered in the fingerprints of my client.”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Zhang Rui blurted out, “I definitely wiped off the fingerprints–“

Before he could finish his sentence, the lawyer next to him interrupted him, but it was too late.

“Defendant, do you have anything else to say?” Judge Chen asked with patience.

“We can return the watch,” the opposing lawyer immediately said, “The elements of the case state a refusal to return, and we haven’t refused to return it. We can return it now, and I believe the plaintiff is also willing to settle.”

Before the evidence was presented, Zhang Rui had consistently refused to return the watch, but now he was changing his tune.

However, Jin Zhou wouldn’t let him off so easily.

 Jin Zhou shook the evidence bag, “The watch is in my possession, what will you give in it’s place?”

“Plaintiff, since the defendant is willing to admit his mistake, why don’t you discuss and resolve this matter?” Judge Chen suggested.

“Okay,” Jin Zhou leisurely looked at Zhang Rui and said, “Let’s discuss it.”

The value of the watch was already a substantial sum. If Jin Zhou insisted on pursuing the case, Zhang Rui would be in serious trouble and could potentially face imprisonment for a term of more than two years but less than five years, along with a fine.

However, Jin Zhou’s goal was not to go that far, and Liu Qian also wanted to settle the matter as soon as possible. He couldn’t drag it on endlessly.

Zhang Rui’s lawyer, having been deceived by Zhang Rui, had already left him and walked away.

Jin Zhou took him outside the courtroom, the two of them embracing each other’s shoulders, and said warmly, “You don’t want to go to jail, right?”

“Of course not,” Zhang Rui nodded, “Big brother, please spare me. If you have any more requests, feel free to ask.”

Speaking with a guilty conscience, he added, “I have two elderly parents to support, and I have limited resources in terms of money…”

“Don’t you have hundreds of thousands in savings?” Jin Zhou asked.

“No, and if you drain my savings, how am I supposed to live?” Zhang Rui pleaded, “Liu Qian is so wealthy, this watch means nothing to her. I was just momentarily foolish. Please give me a break and let me go.”

“You’re quite persuasive,” Jin Zhou smiled and said, “Here’s the deal, I’ll ask you something, and you need to be honest with me.”

“What?” Zhang Rui asked.

“Do you know Zhao Qing?”