Chapter 111: Mediation Failed, the Lawyer is Trapped (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Hello, my lords and ladies of the audience, I am A Yi. Welcome to this episode of 'My Affairs with Property Management'."

"Actually, I don't even know if I can continue this series up to this point, because... something big has happened."

"Manager Xue from Property Management has been removed from his post due to tax evasion, and that Manager Xu who was always giving me a hard time has been arrested..."

"Actually, what the Up Master wants to say is that this matter really has nothing to do with me... I just went to the Tax Department to report the issue of Property Management not issuing invoices..."

The facts are indeed like that; I call it reporting an issue, and it is a fact that Property Management didn't issue invoices, but how would I know whether or not they committed tax evasion? What if they didn't issue invoices but still voluntarily declared the full amount, right?

Zhou Yi can swear on his conscience that Manager Xue probably has something to do with him, but Manager Xu definitely does not!

That was all Lawyer Fang exercising his own subjective initiative; what could I do about that?

Zhou Yi does not intend to hide this matter from others; if it was done by him, then it was done by him!

If Property Management feels there is a problem with doing this, then let them bring it on.

He, Zhou Yi, is really not afraid of threats now; if this momentum is lost, it will be very difficult to build it back up later.

"Because there is no footage of the specific process, I can only explain it to everyone through animation."

"Everything must start from the rent of that parking space..."

Next was the crude animation that Zhou Yi had the Company produce, with character designs that were all very exaggerated.

For example, Manager Xue, with that round face, lets anyone who sees it know that this person is very slick.

And Manager Xu, with his dark face, always tense, as if the whole world owed him money.

The dialogue between the two sides was also dubbed by Zhou Yi. After questioning Manager He and many Property Management Employees, Zhou Yi roughly reconstructed the scene of the audit and Manager Xu's arrest.

You have to admit, even a small animation like this is actually quite interesting to watch!

Especially the shock on Manager Xu's face when he saw the police arrive, and his regret and tearful breakdown when he was taken away—that was truly extremely authentic!

No issues, upload.

Although he thought this video might go viral, Zhou Yi didn't expect it to be this explosive!

The review speed was much faster than usual, and not long after the video passed review and was posted, there were already quite a few people in the comments section and bullet comments expressing their shock.

"Namo Gatling Bodhisattva": Holy crap, the property manager was removed, and the security manager went in? Is this the power of the District Bully?

"Wind Clear Moon": Another one. I said it long ago: when the District Bully and the Lawless Fanatic join forces, even the wild dogs in the Small Residential District will be sent in to eat prison food.

"Yuan Jie": Well done, A Yi. That's exactly how they should be dealt with!

Of course, the core viewpoint is that the District Bully is confirmed.

As far as anyone who dares to fall out with the Up Master is concerned, three have already gone in, and everyone has expressed that they expect there will be many more people on this list in the future.

Zhou Yi's mouth twitched as he looked at these comments. I already said this matter had nothing to do with me, but it turns out this group of people clearly only read the title before rushing out to comment.

Not only that, they all only read half of it, and they directly chose to ignore the sentence after the title: "The Up Master states this has nothing to do with me"...

How could I possibly be the District Bully? You bunch of people are slandering me!

Forget it, you are the lords and ladies of the audience; you have the final say.

Of course, the "District Bully" stuff is just teasing; everyone is still focusing more on the issues within it.

For example, Manager Xu's crime of Job Embezzlement, for example, the issue of Property Management not issuing invoices...

"Holy crap, it was only after watching this video that I realized you actually need to get an invoice when paying the Property Fee. No, I have to go ask Property Management for an invoice too. If they don't give it, I'm going to report them too!"

A Netizen named "Guan Guan Ju Jiu" expressed great surprise.

And at this moment, in Lincheng, Handong Province, "Guan Guan Ju Jiu" put down their phone and went straight to change clothes.

"Guan Guan Ju Jiu"'s real name is Guan Yan. Because of Zhou Yi's video about confronting the upstairs neighbor for disturbing the peace, they got hooked. Now, seeing this video, they remembered that it seems the Small Residential District where they live doesn't give invoices either!

That must be requested!

Before leaving, "Guan Guan Ju Jiu" commented again on the video: "Copying the homework now, will report the results to everyone later!"

Not long after, "Guan Guan Ju Jiu" started replying to messages.

"Holy crap, the Property Management here is the same, making all kinds of excuses not to give invoices. Now they say in two days; I think I can wait a bit. If there's no result in two days, then I'll go straight to the Tax Bureau, haha!"

"The Up Master is so handsome!"

Zhou Yi was also very pleased when he saw this. Regardless of anything else, being able to provide some legal education results for everyone made posting this video worthwhile.

Money isn't important; the main thing is wanting to hear everyone shout "The Up Master is so handsome" a few more times.

Whether he is handsome or not isn't actually important, at least at this moment, Zhou Yi, who had arrived at the entrance of the Guangming District Court, was still a bit sleepy.

"Morning, Su Dama!"

"Little Zhou, morning. You're here again."

"That's right. Isn't this what you said last time? People nowadays only listen to us properly when they are at the police station or the Court."

Su Dama smiled upon hearing this: "Is the case complicated? If not, I can go listen in when you have the hearing."

"It's not complicated!" A slightly balding man beside him stepped forward; it was Lawyer Fang, who smiled: "It's just that I heard the opposing Lawyer is quite capable, so I wanted to see."

Because they didn't arrive very early today, they didn't chat for long before the three of them headed toward the Court.

According to Lawyer Fang's introduction, Zhou Xinran has been performing well during this time, so he estimates that after this case is finished, she will be able to practice independently.

Just need to be careful not to take cases from those strange clients.

They went into the Court all the way, arriving at the door of the Mediation Room with familiar ease, feeling as if they had arrived home.

Pushing open the door, they discovered that Qiu Xiaoshuai from the other side had already arrived, and a Lawyer around thirty years old was sitting beside him.

Seeing the other side arrive, Lawyer Wang looked up for a moment, then lowered his head.

That slightly balding man looked a bit familiar; he must be a peer.

It's just that Lawyer Wang was a bit suspicious as to why he was staring at him intently the moment he walked in, as if he had a grudge against him.

What is this for? Isn't today supposed to be for Mediation?

Zhou Yi looked up, eh, the person in charge of Mediation is actually an old acquaintance, Judge Li Xusheng.

"Eh, Judge Li, we meet again."

Zhou Yi spoke up to greet him.

Li Xusheng nodded; he had known it was Zhou Yi again the moment he saw the case file, feeling that the frequency with which the other party filed Lawsuits was almost catching up to the frequency with which he presided over cases.

As it turned out, before Zhou Yi had even sat down, Qiu Xiaoshuai had already started shouting, "Hey, how do you two know each other? This, Lawyer Wang, this isn't right, this is unfair to us..."

Lawyer Wang turned back and said helplessly, "This is Mediation; everyone is allowed to appear in court."

However, Lawyer Wang's explanation could not satisfy Qiu Xiaoshuai, who continued, "So what, so what if it's Mediation? Even in Mediation, they shouldn't, they shouldn't know each other!"

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yi and Fang Dazhuang turned their heads in unison to look at Zhou Xinran.

The rookie Zhou still kept a straight face, but judging by her constantly twitching shoulders, the girl was holding back quite painfully.

And so...

"Pfft, hahaha..." Zhou Mouren could not help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at? I understand now, is this how you rich people fight Lawsuits? You haven't even done anything yet and you already know the judge, so how are we supposed to fight!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yi stopped laughing and simply said, "I hope you see clearly, this is Mediation, this is not a court hearing. Do you know what Mediation is?"

"Looking at you, you clearly don't. Mediation requires the consent of both parties to be called Mediation; the mediator is merely presiding from the middle."

Zhou Yi did not even understand why this guy was reacting so strongly.

Mediation itself is not a mandatory procedure before a trial; it is merely to reduce the waste of judicial resources. After all, for civil disputes, if both parties agree, there is no need to hold a court hearing.

The mediator himself really does not count for much here; the role he plays is nothing more than giving both of you a chance to communicate properly.

Assuming there was no mediator here, the two parties involved would not even be able to sit together.

It is just a pity that although Zhou Yi explained it very clearly, the other party did not want to listen at all.

"I don't care, get me someone else. If you don't change them, then I won't do the Mediation!"

Qiu Xiaoshuai did not care about any of that; in any case, you know each other, and isn't there a Court rule that says if you know each other, you can change the person?

Lawyer Wang on the side already did not know what to say and tried to persuade him, "Mr. Qiu, it really isn't necessary. Whether the other party knows them or not has no impact on the Mediation at all."

Unfortunately, Lawyer Wang's words even drew a counterattack from Qiu Xiaoshuai.

"Lawyer Wang, I am the one who paid the money; who are you speaking for!"

Zhou Yi, on the opposite side, laughed upon hearing this: "Didn't you say your brother was a great Lawyer? How come this brother of yours is calling you Mr. Qiu?"

On the side, Li Xusheng's face revealed helplessness as he said, "Since you have submitted an application, I can recuse myself, but the judges at our Guangming District Court are all one-to-one; there is no extra manpower right now."

"If you need to change the person, it will take a few days."

"That is your problem. Anyway, I don't care; if you don't change the person today, then don't even think about making me agree to Mediation!"

Zhou Yi had originally been a bit numb, but upon hearing this, he exchanged a look with Fang Dazhuang and immediately said, "Judge Li, I apologize, we have caused you trouble."

"However, right now, I see that the attitude of the opposing party is like this, so they probably don't intend to mediate. Let's just leave it at that; we shall just proceed with the court hearing at the scheduled time."

Zhou Yi felt that the other party had not recognized the situation at all—who is the Defendant and who is the Plaintiff, and who exactly is the one who wants Mediation!

Since they are just there blathering on endlessly, then let's just not have Mediation.

Everyone can just have the court hearing at the scheduled time and place and get a direct judgment; how nice that would be, why make it so troublesome.

Seeing that the three of them were about to leave directly, Lawyer Wang could no longer sit still.

"No, Mr. Zhou, please wait a moment. There is no need to change the person; we still want to proceed with Mediation..."

"Mr. Qiu, please, really, stop talking. We need to actively seek Mediation now; didn't I tell you that before I came? Why are you now..."

Zhou Yi, on the opposite side, spoke directly: "Sorry, it is no longer a question of whether you want Mediation; now it is that we do not agree to Mediation. That is all."

"Let's go!"

Seeing that the other party was about to leave directly, Qiu Xiaoshuai, who had been standing there with his neck stiff, suddenly became anxious.

There are actually quite a few people like him; no matter what they do, they always feel as if the other party will definitely compromise.

Before coming, it was agreed that he would take the initiative to request Mediation, but once his temper flared up, he assumed the other party also definitely did not want to go to court and would want to mediate...

Now that they were leaving, he panicked.

"Lawyer Wang, what is going on with you? Didn't you tell me you were a famous great Lawyer in Jingzhou, working at two law firms at the same time, and that both law firms were fighting over you? How has it turned into this now? I have already paid the money!"

What? Fang Dazhuang, who had originally stood up and intended to leave, suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Qiu Xiaoshuai.

Zhou Xinran was also completely bewildered. Although she was a rookie, she was very familiar with the Lawyer Law.

Working at two law firms at the same time...

Lawyer Wang was already stunned and hurriedly shouted, "What are you saying? Don't talk nonsense! Who is working at two law firms at the same time? Do I even know you?"

Seeing this reaction, even Zhou Yi felt a bit strange and asked, "What is it, Fang Dazhuang? Is there a problem with this?"

Fang Dazhuang did not speak, but Zhou Xinran on the side laughed: "A Lawyer cannot practice at more than two law firms at the same time; there are regulations regarding this..."

After roaring, Wang Daoren sat down in his chair; it was already useless.

Such things are indeed against the rules, but as long as they are not discovered, it is fine, and he could not keep this up for a long time anyway.

As it turned out, he did not know how this guy had found out!

And he had actually said it out loud in front of the judge and other fellow Lawyers...

Does he really hate him so much that he wants him dead?

Wang Daoren was very curious: did the two of them have such a deep grudge?

Qiu Xiaoshuai also realized that he seemed to have thought wrong, because the look in that Lawyer Wang's eyes was as if he wanted to eat him...

Lawyers understand the law, so does that mean Lawyers will not break the rules?

Are there few people in this world who know the law yet break it?

A profession is a profession, and an individual is an individual.

The Mediation naturally could not continue. Fang Dazhuang had said it very clearly: as long as the other party is indeed practicing at two law firms at the same time, then reporting it to the Judicial Bureau would allow them to find out.

The key is that they usually do not check, but once they do, this simply cannot be hidden.

Walking out of the Court, Su Dama was still outside drinking soy milk; when she saw the three of them, her eyes widened.

"So fast? You guys just went in, right?"

"That's right, it really was that fast," Zhou Yi said.

He paused, then added, "And the opposing Lawyer might be getting penalized..."

What the hell? You guys went in so quickly, the Mediation didn't happen, and as a result, the opposing Lawyer got trapped?

Even though Su Dama had been at the entrance of the Court for so many years, she felt this was a bit absurd; her soy milk was still hot...

Qiu Xiaoshuai walked out of the Court, and he felt like he hadn't even processed it yet; wasn't it supposed to be Mediation? Why did the other side just leave directly?

"Now, this, what do we do?"

Beside him, Lawyer Wang had an expressionless face: "Proceed with the court session as scheduled, proceed with the judgment as scheduled, and pay the money as scheduled; that is what we do."

"Whether you want to file a complaint or report it, that's up to you."

The update is here, I currently owe seven chapters. The content this morning was indeed filler, my apologies everyone.

(End of this chapter)