Chapter 105 - 79: The Death-Exemption Gold Medallion Breakthrough

18th High was a good school, and its leadership had a decent reputation. Unfortunately, Lv Guangjun had screwed them over. The school would definitely hold Lv Guangjun accountable later, which meant there was a chance they could get dragged into it.

But the threat wasn’t significant.

As it stood, there were only two major threats.

First, the reporters who knew the details of the case... They couldn’t imagine how sensational the news would be once they left this infirmary.

’Plaintiff’s Counsel Questions Gold-Medal Defense Attorney into Fainting...’

’Damn it, those reporters are so unprofessional!’

’Fainting was actually amazing. Zhang Wei clearly went above and beyond. A normal person would have probably fainted the moment the evidence was presented!’

"Okay."

Zhang Wei sighed in relief, the weight on his chest finally lifting.

It was just as Sun Bing had said.

The defense held the Juvenile Protection Law—a hard-and-fast legal principle!

’Bringing this thing up means a guaranteed win. Overturned? Don’t be ridiculous.’

’There isn’t the slightest chance of a hard-and-fast rule like that being overturned!’

’Forget Xu De; even if all the lawyers from Yanjing, the very center of political power, joined forces, they couldn’t budge it one bit.’

’Even if the presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin, was completely biased toward the plaintiff, the most he could sentence Liu Jingqi to was fifteen years!’

He was already giving guidance on what constitutes "good behavior," meaning Liu Jingqi could possibly get out in ten years.

So...

’They couldn’t lose.’

’No matter how he looked at it, there was no possibility of losing the case!’

Zhang Wei was finally at ease.

...

"Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"Is it because I put some pressure on you during the trial?"

「Meanwhile.」

「At the detention center.」

「In the attorney-client meeting room.」

Xu De sat in a chair, a faint smile on his face. His gaze was calm, yet it could make anyone who met his eyes feel flustered and panicked.

Behind him stood Wang Chao and Lin Yue. The three of them silently watched Qiao Wang, who was behind the bars.

"N-no..."

Inside the meeting room, Qiao Wang’s heart raced, her breathing grew heavy, and her hands clenched into tight fists. Her body trembled uncontrollably.

She kept her head down, not daring to look at him.

"Heh, your attitude is quite different from before..."

"Do you have any regrets?"

Xu De was still smiling, his tone nonchalant. He sat before the iron bars, saying nothing more for a moment.

Qiao Wang wasn’t sixteen; she was seventeen. If Xu De decided to target her...

She could get a life sentence. Although in theory, it could be reduced to a minimum of ten years, Qiao Wang clearly didn’t meet the criteria. She didn’t even know how to get her sentence reduced.

Even if she got out of prison... she’d be around forty by then. After being cut off from the world for so long, that feeling would not be pleasant.

Most importantly...

"I can see you don’t regret it."

Xu De suddenly spoke, his words piercing through her facade.

"You’re just scared."

"Afraid I’ll make an example out of you?"

Qiao Wang froze. An uncontrollable shudder ran through her, and her pupils constricted.

’It was true. She was just scared.’

’Killing someone?’

’She had certainly panicked after the death, and she did feel regret, but that regret was predicated on the punishment the court was going to hand down!’

’If there were no punishment... she would go on laughing and joking, no different from anyone else.’

’As for... Yang Jiale?’

’Naturally, she had fallen to her death on her own. It had nothing to do with her.’

"What do you want from me?"

Qiao Wang suddenly spoke. Although her breathing was still heavy and her body was terrified, her eyes still held a trace of viciousness born from the shame and anger of being exposed. It was precisely this viciousness that gave her the courage to speak.

"Let’s talk about Liu Jingqi."

Xu De paused to think for a moment, then said, "From what I understand, you, Jiang Yu, and Liu Jingqi were all from the same batch at the orphanage?"

That was correct.

Besides Liu Jingqi, Qiao Wang and Jiang Yu were also orphans from the Jiaqin Welfare Institute.

But unlike Liu Jingqi,

after Jiang Yu and Qiao Wang were adopted, the former gained a younger brother—the adoptive parents’ biological son.

The latter, meanwhile, gained a pair of fraternal twins.

As a result, both sets of parents no longer valued Qiao Wang and Jiang Yu. They didn’t even come for the court sentencing, unwilling to so much as stand at the courthouse door.

"Miss Qiao, there’s something I want to say, but I’m not sure if it’s my place."

Suddenly, Xu De’s tone shifted. He sighed, a note of pity in his voice.

He said:

"To be frank, and speaking as an outsider... it’s really not worth it for you to keep your mouth shut like this."

"Think about it. You all came from the same welfare institute, so why is it that Liu Jingqi’s adoptive parents showed up in court?"

"Why is it that out of all the orphans, she’s the one who gets doted on by her adoptive parents!?"

"And... why is it that she’s the main culprit in this case? Whether you call her the principal offender or the ringleader, it’s all Liu Jingqi."

"So why were *you* the one who got dragged into this?"

"And yet, even now, you’re still keeping silent for her..."

"You have to understand, if you keep this up... you’ll be the one getting a heavy sentence in the end!"

Xu De paused.

Then, his voice dropped a few notches. He looked at Qiao Wang, whose fists were clenched tight, and said slowly:

"But Liu Jingqi... she has parents willing to spend two or three hundred thousand to arrange for her sentence reduction."

"And you?"

"Miss Qiao... are your adoptive parents willing to spend two or three hundred thousand to get your sentence reduced?"

’Would they?’

’Of course not!’

’Two or three hundred thousand for an adopted daughter... an unloved one, at that? Impossible.’

’But Liu Jingqi...’

Qiao Wang kept her head down, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. She gritted her teeth.

Xu De’s words were deeply seductive, like a devil whispering in her ear.

’Why?’

’Because he was right!’

"And what I want to ask is very simple."

"It’s this... when did Liu Jingqi show up at the Jiaqin Welfare Institute?"

Xu De’s voice wasn’t loud, but his enunciation was exceptionally clear, every word landing perfectly in Qiao Wang’s ears.

After he spoke, he paused for a moment, then continued as if he had just remembered something.