novelraw Chapter 282 - 180. Each displays their prowess, an eye for an eye (2nd shift, 1st Chapter)
Chapter 282 - 180. Each displays their prowess, an eye for an eye (2nd shift, 1st Chapter)
Chapter 282: 180. Each displays their prowess, an eye for an eye (2nd shift, 1st Chapter)
An Cheng walked to the witness stand, leaning against the railing, gazing pitifully at Mark.
Her demeanor suddenly changed, no longer was she the An Cheng known in the courtroom as the venomous spider ready to bite her opponent at any moment.
The fervor in Mark’s eyes flickered, reinforcing her thoughts.
Years of being a lawyer had accustomed her to being aggressive towards opposing witnesses, even overbearing, grasping the questioning rights tightly; but this time she held back, merely gazing at Mark with eyes full of emotions, not rushing to speak.
Otherwise, once her original demeanor surfaced, the illusion created by her disguise today would collapse.
Seeing An Cheng in this state, Xiang Yuan felt a thunderous shock, knowing something was wrong, he immediately stood up: "Objection! Does the prosecutor have any questions for my witness? Then let my witness leave."
The judge also focused on An Cheng, somewhat bewildered.
"Prosecution, please hurry with the questioning. If you’ve no questions, we’ll call the next witness."
An Cheng was unmoved, turning to glance back at the judge, still with the same pitiful eyes: "Yes, Your Honor."
She weakly turned back, her gentle gaze entangling Mark: "Mark, look, the judge and your lawyer are so stern. If I cannot make you speak, they will take away my right to talk to you."
Many emotions intertwined in Mark’s dark blue eyes, but he was obviously more relaxed, more adept at handling the situation. He tilted his head slightly to glance at the judge, then lifted his chin, gazing distantly at Xiang Yuan, silently smiling: "You’re truly a poor little thing. Compared to them, you’re so weak, just being bullied by them."
"So you need to help me."
An Cheng’s eyelashes fluttered, she lowered her head slightly, hiding the sharpness in her eyes: "You found out Shi Nian was secretly recording you, that’s why you decided to kill her. What exactly did you say at that time that you were so afraid Shi Nian would record?"
Mark locked eyes with An Cheng, squinting.
Xiang Yuan promptly stood up: "Objection! The prosecutor is leading my witness to admit to the charge of ’deciding to kill.’ I need to reiterate to the court and jury, my client reacted to a journalist’s invasion of privacy out of anger."
An Cheng slowly turned back, her gaze regaining its usual sharpness when it swept toward Xiang Yuan.
"That’s why I need to know exactly what Mark said that he feared Shi Nian would record, to determine if Shi Nian did invade his privacy. If it really involves privacy, then I will understand how to define it instead of believing the defense attorney’s words blindly."
An Cheng smiled charmingly at the jury: "What if what Mark said wasn’t privacy but a confession of crime? Is the defense attorney anxious because he already knows the witness’s answer is extremely unfavorable to him?"
The judge nodded: "Witness, please answer the prosecutor’s question."
Mark pressed his lips tightly.
An Cheng gave him a quiet smile: "See, you just said I was too weak, being bullied by the judge and your lawyer; but now you’re in the same situation as me. Especially your lawyer, he even wants to control whether you should speak. Mark, were you also weak and helpless like me?"
A haze flashed through Mark’s eyes as he proudly lifted his chin, gazing distantly at Xiang Yuan.
Xiang Yuan sat anxiously at the defense table, pressing his hands on the table, leaning forward.
An Cheng’s tactics today caught him off guard.
Mark was already slightly resistant to him, and even because of Shi Nian, he had punched Mark, leading Mark to be grounded by his father, the two had internally formed a grudge.
An Cheng used her \"vulnerability\" to dismantle Mark’s psychological defense, seizing the chance to stir up Mark’s resentment inside, so Mark was likely to say something extremely unfavorable to their side!
Sure enough, Mark stared indifferently at Xiang Yuan for a moment, then snorted: "Who said I have to listen to him?"
An Cheng quietly cheered in her heart: YES!
Her face continued to show vulnerability: "Then tell me, what were you saying at that time?"
Mark raised his chin high, looking disdainfully at Xiang Yuan’s gray face, and slowly said word by word: "...I was telling her I killed Sean."
"I killed Sean to avenge Zhou."
An Cheng silently cheered again inside...
But she continued to gaze softly at Mark, shyly giving a thumbs up: "You’re truly brave."
Then she turned and walked away, bowing with a smile to the judge: "I have no further questions for now."
.
During the lunch recess, Xiang Yuan brought Mark back to the rest room and couldn’t help but lose his temper: "Mark, what’s going on with you! I explained to you so clearly before the court that you absolutely must not say you killed Sean, no matter how they ask. Why did you forget everything?!"
The courtroom situation took a sharp turn for the worse, yet Mark seemed to feel this had nothing to do with him. He stared mockingly at Xiang Yuan with sympathy and shook his head: "Lawyer Xiang, isn’t it your job to help me get acquitted? My family paid you so much money to do what other lawyers can’t. If you can’t beat the prosecutor in court, that’s your problem. I have no obligation to listen to everything you say, even when it comes to speech control."
Xiang Yuan was annoyed and covered his forehead: "Mark, you fell into the prosecutor’s trap. She is using your emotions, she has seen through your psychology!"
"Really? That’s great." Mark remained detached, smiling: "Then be like her too, see through the psychology of the prosecution’s witnesses. Especially Shi Nian, aren’t you very fond of her? Isn’t she your wife? I heard during your four-year marriage, you were once her god, able to firmly control her in the palm of your hand."
"What, can’t do that anymore?"
Mark sneered: "A man who has lost control in front of a woman, ha, what a waste."
Lu Zhao walked in, glanced at Mark, and pulled Xiang Yuan aside: "Looks like we can’t count on him anymore. Might as well temporarily set him aside to avoid any more harm."
Xiang Yuan took a deep breath: "Alright, let’s have Doctor Huo testify in the afternoon."
.
In the afternoon, when the court resumed session, Xiang Yuan requested that an expert witness be allowed to testify.
When the expert witness turned out to be Huo Danru, An Cheng, Tang Yanxi, and Tang Yanqing were stunned.
But An Cheng’s surprise lasted only a moment, and she quickly regained her composure, following Huo Danru with her eyes until she took the oath at the witness stand and sat down.
Her lips couldn’t help but curl into a sneer as she glanced back at Tang Yanxi on the gallery. When he met her gaze apologetically, she snorted silently and abruptly turned her head away.
Tang Yanxi’s heart sank instantly, helplessly looking at Tang Yanqing.
Tang Yanqing murmured softly, "Ouou, it looks like my brother has encountered a problem he can’t solve."
Tang Yanxi frowned, "How could it be such a coincidence?"
"It’s not a coincidence." Tang Yanqing smiled: "Lawyer Tang, don’t forget your own identity. You’ve been a victorious general in court for years, surely you haven’t forgotten that in court, there’s always strategy, never coincidence."
Tang Yanxi squinted: "Are you saying this is Xiang Yuan’s deliberate strategy to disrupt An Cheng?"
"It’s working, isn’t it?" Tang Yanqi raised his eyebrow and patted his brother’s hand: "It’s too late to worry now, better to watch and wait."
.
Huo Danru was somewhat surprised to see the prosecutor as An Cheng, and her son sitting in the gallery.
However, her age and experience made her relatively unfazed, remaining composed, and merely nodded at An Cheng as a gesture.
Xiang Yuan was the first to stand up and walk over.
"Doctor Huo, is my client your patient?"
"Yes." Huo Danru answered calmly.
"Please tell us your opinion of my client. For instance, why did he, under your hypnosis, mistake himself for another person and forget his actual identity?"
Huo Danru nodded: "Regarding Mark’s condition, I have conducted a rather thorough examination during treatment. Including the allegations against him for harming a female college student as well as the things he said before and after the incident."
Huo Danru gestured, as the court allowed the slideshow to be played. The slideshow included key phrases Mark said to Shi Nian on that day. Xiang Yuan held a laser pointer and first highlighted Mark’s words about liking Shi Nian.
"Your Honor, members of the jury, one significant reason that recordings cannot be solely taken as courtroom evidence is that they are indirect evidence and may be subject to later alterations, which can lead to a one-sided interpretation of the recording by listeners. Therefore, the confession in the recording, claiming my client admitted to murder, should not be viewed in isolation but should be considered in context."
"Take this sentence for example: ’I once thought we were so like-minded that his preferred girls should also match my aesthetic. Indeed, when I first saw you, I knew I had fallen for you.’... Doctor Huo, could you please offer your professional interpretation about whether this sentence is normal?"
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[Second update this morning]