Chapter 129 - 88: The Eve of the Trial, Nothing is Missing

As he spoke, he paused and glanced toward the appraisal center to the side.

"And you show up here."

"Are you... here to get something appraised?"

Hearing this, Xu De’s heart skipped a beat.

’If he finds out my objective... Yang Huan’s case won’t be wrapped up in the next two months.’

Fortunately, he still didn’t betray any emotion. Instead, he let out a chuckle.

"Prosecutor Huang, you’re worrying too much. If you don’t have any evidence, what could I possibly have? I was just up all night investigating the age issue and hit a dead end in Lusen City, so I went out of town to clear my head."

"As for this appraisal center..."

"I’m mainly here to see a friend."

’A friend?’

’Meeting a friend at a time like this?’

’There are less than five days until the hearing... No, strictly speaking, it’s four days!’

’After all, the fifth day is the day of the hearing, which doesn’t count as prep time.’

’Would he really use this golden window, where every second counts, to see a friend?’

"For real?"

Huang Shi hesitated, his gaze growing more vigilant.

"Would I lie to you!?"

"Prosecutor Huang, when have I ever lied to you? I’m being serious. There’s really no breakthrough to be found for this case in Lusen City, Qingwu Province."

Xu De sighed deeply, a look of helplessness on his face.

"As for Lianshan County..."

"I only heard about the place from someone else. They said it has a lot of mountains."

"I was in a funk that day because I couldn’t find any leads in Lusen City. When I heard about Lianshan, and since I happen to love that kind of scenery, I decided to take a trip into the mountains to clear my head."

"Look."

As he spoke, he pointed to his own pant cuffs and the soles of his shoes.

"You can’t fake all this mud, can you? It’s all from the mountains in Lianshan County."

Huang Shi hesitated for a moment before looking down. The few professors with him also lowered their heads instinctively.

Sure enough, the man’s casual shoes were caked in dirt, looking worn and wrinkled, and his pant cuffs were covered in dried mud.

"You really don’t have any evidence?"

Huang Shi was still hesitant. He circled Xu De twice.

As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy.

Huang Shi truly couldn’t bring himself to trust the man before him.

"All I can say is that I’m not lying. Prosecutor Huang, why won’t you believe me?"

Xu De repeatedly professed his innocence.

"You can’t possibly think I’d pull the same trick—ambushing you with evidence out of nowhere—twice, can you?"

"How is that even possible!?"

"Do you really think I’m not afraid of the judge’s wrath?"

"Besides, the hearing is imminent. If I really had ironclad evidence that could be quickly verified, why wouldn’t I present it?"

His words were meticulously logical, making one subconsciously believe him.

The professors were convinced.

"Indeed, Prosecutor Huang. Lawyer Xu is right. Unless it’s ironclad, the judge generally won’t admit evidence that hasn’t gone through discovery and verification."

"I know Lianshan County... isn’t that a place in Your Province? It’s two thousand kilometers away. There’s really no reason it would be connected to a case in Lusen City."

"..."

Huang Shi was convinced.

Huang Shi looked at the sincere man before him and finally nodded.

He was a prosecutor with the utmost professionalism, having handled at least eighty criminal cases, if not a hundred.

His seasoned experience allowed him to tell at a glance that Xu De showed no signs of lying.

However...

But, true to the ’trust’ he had in Xu De’s character, he still remained on guard.

That’s right. You don’t need to be on guard when you trust someone. But when trusting Xu De, you *must* be on guard. It’s a bit convoluted, but that’s the gist of it.

"Which one is your friend?"

Huang Shi narrowed his eyes and asked again.

"Prosecutor Huang, you still don’t trust me! Is my credibility really that low in your eyes!?"

Xu De looked heartbroken, but seeing the other man’s unruffled expression, he turned around, raised a hand, and knocked on the glass door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

The sound was clear, causing a graduate student inside to turn and look.

Xu De smiled at him and made an ’OK’ sign with his hand, touching the tips of his thumb and index finger while holding the other three fingers up.

The graduate student in the lab saw the three raised fingers.

’Three? Three days?’

Although he was wearing a mask, you could still see a brilliant smile form on his face.

He raised his hand and returned the ’OK’ sign.

Seeing this, Xu De retracted his gaze.

"Prosecutor Huang, I’ll be taking my leave. I’m a bit tired from driving back right after hiking."

"The hearing is about to start, so I need to go back and get some rest."

With that, he walked past Huang Shi with a deadpan expression and headed for the exit.

Watching his retreating back, Huang Shi was full of suspicion, stroking his chin in thought.

After a long moment, he sighed.

He felt a little ashamed.

’There should be some trust between people, and it’s not like he’s done anything wrong,’ he thought. ’I’ve just been made overly suspicious by those orphanage cases that were dumped on me.’

"Forget it."

He looked at the professors.

"Can you help me test some of the... things I brought?"

...

After Xu De left the Medical University, he didn’t go anywhere else. He just found a hotel near the law firm for Sun Miaohua and then quickly departed.

Lin Yue and Wang Chao were already exhausted and fast asleep.

’It was only two thousand kilometers, and they’re this exhausted,’ Xu De mused. ’They have absolutely no stamina.’

He woke them both up, one by one. The three of them then parted ways to await the court hearing.

...

...

「December 24th.」

Three days remained before the second session of the first trial for the No. 18 Middle School case.

Huang Shi set his other cases aside, and the No. 18 Middle School case once again consumed his energy.

The court’s examination of evidence was complete. His tense nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath.