novel bin Chapter 25 Lifesaving Money
Chapter 25 Lifesaving Money
After signing the engagement contract and power of attorney with Han Chichi, Yu Xingge readily paid the fee. Without even a moment to reflect on the first lawyer's fee he had earned through his own efforts, Yu Xingge went to find Zhou Yuxuan early the next morning.
She pushed open the glass door and placed a Starbucks paper cup on Zhou Yuxuan's desk, the sweet aroma of a caramel macchiato immediately filling the room. "Attorney Zhou, I'm taking this case!" She pulled out the contract she had been carrying, Zhou Yuxuan's name and the words "intern lawyer Yu Xingge" next to it, the legal fee of 60,000 yuan gleaming. "You get 70%, I'll take 30%, I'm begging Attorney Zhou to help me out in this emergency!" She clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture.
Zhou Yuxuan was proofreading the manuscript for the public interest legal education column when Yu Xingge, with her sharp eyes, spotted the name Gu Lezhi.
"Thirty-five thousand yuan is no small sum. If you need help urgently, it's not an easy job. Let's make it clear first, no reward without merit."
Yu Xingge took a bite of her unsweetened, milk-free coffee. "This is really a lifesaver!" she sighed. "You know, Senior Brother Gu has never taken me under his wing. It's so awkward for me to be nominally part of the criminal team, but actually handling other cases while working in real estate. You said that as long as I can get things done with Attorney Gu, Director Shen won't be a problem. But how exactly do I get things done with Attorney Gu? I'm out of options, so I can only ask you to lend a hand."
Zhou Yuxuan laughed loudly: "Director Gu is heartless, and even my attempts to persuade him won't work. I think I shouldn't take this money. It's too hot to handle."
"No way," Yu Xingge flattered, "Everyone knows about your relationship with Attorney Gu. If we're talking about the only person who could persuade Attorney Gu, it's probably you."
"Stop flattering me. Okay, okay, I'll try my best."
Yu Xingge then beamed with joy: "Thank you, Attorney Zhou!"
Just as she was about to leave, Zhou Yuxuan's words slowly came from behind her: "You need to be strong yourself to succeed. You should know that."
With Zhou Yuxuan's assurance, Yu Xingge felt much calmer. Despite Zhou Yuxuan's easygoing appearance and cheerful demeanor, seemingly unconcerned about her case, he was the pillar of the criminal investigation team, responsible for communication and networking with various officials. Just like Wei Ling was to Director Shen, and Ren Jiaying was to the law firm. Previously, although she had worked with him on cases, she had never heard a single word about the criminal investigation team from him. Only with Zhou Yuxuan's confirmation could her involvement with Gu Lezhi on the case truly begin.
"Singing in the Wind".
When Wei Ling returned from outside, she saw her coming out of Zhou Yuxuan's office. She smiled meaningfully and said, "You and Attorney Zhou work together quite well, which makes you seem out of place on the real estate team."
Yu Xingge smiled: "If I have the opportunity to work on real estate cases, Sister Wei Ling will definitely feel that we are even more compatible."
"Really?" Wei Ling said, "Then I'll be watching."
As the two passed through the office area, Liu Lin rushed over: "Sister Wei Ling, the court replied that there are too many cases right now and they won't accept any more cases for the time being. What should we do? Are we just going to let this drag on?"
Which court?
"Luncheng District Civil Division II"
Yu Xingge paused slightly; this was the place she was going to file a case that afternoon.
"Okay, I understand. Think of another way. If it really doesn't work, I'll take care of it," Wei Ling comforted her.
"Then I will contact the case filing division of the court and request them to issue a 'Ruling of Non-Acceptance of Case'. If they refuse to issue it, I will file a complaint with the Intermediate Court."
Yu Xingge understood. The case registration system had been in effect for nearly ten years. Although Article 7 of the Civil Procedure Law required courts to accept case materials and decide whether to accept the case within seven days, and if the materials were complete and met the requirements, the court had no right to refuse to accept the case on the grounds of "too many cases," the reality was different.
As long as performance indicators and evaluation systems exist, and given the constraints of judicial resources and case-handling capabilities, courts in various regions will inevitably have to control the number of cases filed in order to allow judges sufficient time to handle cases in order to meet their performance targets.
At 2:30 p.m., Yu Xingge arrived at the court's case filing hall on time. There were more than twenty people queuing in front of the case filing window, the air filled with the smell of sweat and burnt ink from the printer. The number display was stuck on "017" for nearly ten minutes, and the crowd began to stir.
The staff member, frowning as he typed, impatiently told the person at the window, "Your complaint doesn't even have the defendant's ID number. Go back and complete it before you come back. Next!" The middle-aged man in the floral shirt, clutching his documents, retorted, "I've been queuing for almost two hours! Where am I supposed to find the defendant's ID number now?"
The staff ignored them and quickly moved on to the next problem.
The last person in line, clutching the case file, nudged the lawyer beside him with his elbow: "Attorney Xu, didn't you say my case was outrageous? What if they don't accept it? But I saw the lady ahead of me file a case; her husband's reason for wanting a divorce was that she had 'emotional infidelity' with the guild leader on Tianya!"
"The world is so big, there are all sorts of wonders."
The lawyer, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, pushed them up and chuckled, "Last year I represented a couple fighting over a Bitcoin mining rig. During the trial, the judge asked, 'What does a mining rig look like?' The defendant immediately pulled out his phone and searched for orange-colored software… But your case…" He tapped the case file in his hand; it certainly deserved a spot in today's top 3 most absurd cases.
"If you ask me, in this day and age, have you heard of that case where an AI companion was used as evidence of infidelity? It's said that..."
Attorney Xu stopped talking, "It's our turn."
The air conditioner hummed as Yu Xingge sat on a bench in the waiting area, two middle-aged women gossiping excitedly beside her. The curly-haired woman whispered, "The husband next door has been keeping his mistress upstairs from his wife for three whole years! He can seamlessly switch mistresses while he's out for a smoke. Isn't that amazing?!"
The short-haired woman across from me said with a gossipy look, "What's that? My best friend caught her cheating, and the woman pulled out a mental illness diagnosis and said that having sex was the cure! Doesn't she have any shame?"
The two women, who had exchanged stories, quickly began researching how to use videos from the website as evidence of infidelity and started searching for divorce lawyers on the spot.
Of course, there were people handing out business cards. With such fierce competition for cases, Yu Xingge spotted several people handing out business cards.
I waited patiently for a while longer.
"Number 26!"
"They're here."
She carried a folder covered in index labels: "Hello, I'd like to confirm whether the divorce case filing materials I mailed on July 5th have passed the initial review?"
The staff member, without looking up, said, "Case number." "Case No. 2022Jiang0115Minchu3192, Plaintiff: Han Chichi." The keyboard clicks stopped abruptly. The staff member finally looked up, sizing up the still somewhat immature young man before him: "The materials are fine. Just wait for notification to pay the court fees."
"This is supplementary evidence of the other party's infidelity. Please file it as well." She handed over a PDF organized chronologically, with the law firm's QR code in the header.
In divorce proceedings, parties often fail to grasp the line between legality and illegality when collecting evidence of infidelity. The infidelity photos obtained by the private investigator hired by Han Chichi through stalking and secret filming are typically not recognized by the court due to violations of privacy rights. Fortunately, Han Chichi wasn't naive; she negotiated with her husband early on and obtained a handwritten and signed letter of apology from him. After all, those in a marriage of convenience fear nothing more than their parents' words.
Yu Xingge didn't even have time to sigh.
Ding dong.
I received a message from Han Chichi on WeChat: [Attorney Yu, have you submitted the appeal? Is it still possible to withdraw the case?]