Chapter 383: I Just Don't Want to Accept Mediation, Is There a Problem?

"You few, after you go into the Mediation Room in a moment, you must remember what I taught you. Just apologize and say the words of apology; don't say anything else, understand?" Zhang Wei said there, trying hard.

It was fine at first, and Zhuang Qiang trusted him, believing that with Lawyer Zhang there, everything was steady.

But as it turned out, Xiang Yuyu was arrested last night, and their whole family was calling frantically.

They really interrogated him all night, as if it was because of him that Xiang Yuyu was arrested...

Zhang Wei wanted to retort several times; if you don't commit a crime, can people arrest you?

It's just a pity, he needs to make money, no choice.

So today, he is desperately teaching the other party how to speak, what can be said, and what cannot be said; this is actually something that needs to be taught by a lawyer.

In this regard, our situation is a bit better; after all, even if you are lured by the opposing lawyer into saying something wrong, it doesn't necessarily mean anything will happen.

But it's different over in the old rice country.

The lawyer is working so hard to persuade not the judge, but the jury, and the jury is theoretically composed of ordinary people.

Xiang Yuyu's father, the sixty-year-old Xiang Jinjun, heard this and said: "Lawyer Zhang, we know how to speak."

His daughter was suddenly arrested, which was simply a bolt from the blue for Xiang Jinjun, who had been strong his whole life!

As a result, after knowing the reason, he didn't even know what to say. In his words, if you really have to go to jail for scolding someone, then everyone in our country might as well go to jail.

However, he is the kind of grassroots-natured rich person who went into business in the early years of reform and opening up, relying on his boldness and carefulness to earn a lot of money.

If you want to talk about the advantages of this kind of person, there are a lot, but the disadvantages are also a lot.

The simplest one is being opinionated; this is a problem that many successful people of a certain age have, because he succeeded.

Soon the Court opened, and Zhang Wei brought a few people to the Court's Mediation Room and sat down.

Not long after, Zhou Yi came in with Fang Dazhuang and Zhou Xinran.

Enemies are especially jealous when they meet; Zhuang Qiang wanted to stand up and say something instantly, but was quickly pulled back by Zhang Wei next to him.

It's just that he can pull one back, but he can't pull the other.

"You are Zhou Yi?" Xiang Jinjun asked in a deep voice.

This remark seems like nothing elsewhere; after all, on one side is an elderly person, and on the other is just a young man who hasn't even grown all his hair.

Here it refers to the beard...

Anyway, many elderly people have a feeling of being old-fashioned. If they have been an official or are the rich kind, they make people feel like they are ordering me around just by speaking.

Zhou Yi feels a bit uncomfortable now; the other party coming up with "You are Zhou Yi, right?" makes him feel as if he is being lectured by an elder.

"I am not Zhou Yi, I went to the wrong place, sorry!"

Zhou Mouren finished speaking and stood up to leave, and Fang Dazhuang next to him was too lazy to even speak.

As a Civil Litigation lawyer, he has seen too many Criminal Cases; there are plenty of family members who don't understand the situation.

If they still think the other party is just a young man now, then they should stop the Mediation early and just let them eat prison food.

And it is very likely that these cases cannot be sentenced to an Actual Sentence, and the possibility of a Suspended Sentence is very high.

What the hell? Xiang Jinjun was stunned; he had never seen such an unreasonable young man.

He was just asking habitually, and in his heart, he naturally felt that the other party was too young.

It's just... is it really not Zhou Yi?

Subconsciously, Xiang Jinjun looked at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei had already stood up and said hurriedly: "Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhou, and Teacher Fang, please forgive us for anything wrong here. Old Mr. Xiang and Mr. Zhuang are very sincere about wanting Mediation."

At the door, Li Xusheng, wearing dark circles under his eyes, walked in, and upon seeing the situation between the two sides, he felt tired.

This Mediation is a Criminal Private Prosecution with incidental civil and Civil Litigation, which should have been presided over by a judge from the Criminal Division.

But they were too busy... couldn't attend to it, and when it comes to doing the work, civil judges have an innate advantage.

Considering the relationship between Li Xusheng and Zhou Yi, he was sent here.

Tired as he was, Li Xusheng still said: "Zhou Yi, what's wrong? I haven't arrived yet, and you guys have already talked?"

After all, he is Judge Li, who has sacrificed his hair for his serious career, so Zhou Yi would still give him face.

"Judge Li, since you are here, then I will talk a bit more." Zhou Yi finished speaking and sat back in his original position.

Then he looked at Zhang Wei and said:

"I forgive? Lawyer Zhang, give me a reason to forgive!" Zhou Yi did not deny it and said.

Zhang Wei had no chance to speak again because Zhuang Qiang stood up.

"Mr. Zhou, look, since we are here, we definitely want to solve the problem. The car is broken, we will fix the car for you, and if you feel uncomfortable being scolded, we can apologize to you. We can all solve it, no need to make it so big, right?"

If possible, many Criminal Defense Lawyers want to solve the problem themselves.

Zhou Yi turned his head to look, still with that expression on his face, and said:

"I still say the same thing, give me a reason for a settlement. Even if you don't pay for the car repairs, you must pay if the lawsuit is won."

"I was scolded; even if you don't apologize, you will still have to apologize publicly if you lose the lawsuit. So tell me, why should I agree to Mediation and withdraw the lawsuit?"

Zhou Xinran was a bit surprised; this aggressive appearance doesn't look like Zhou Yi at all.

Although the outside world says A Yi is unforgiving and will attack in various ways as long as he stands on the moral high ground.

But Zhou Xinran knows that Zhou Yi actually eats soft and not hard, and doesn't hit a smiling face. If people have a good attitude, he won't say he must do something.

In this regard, Zhou Yi is indeed like this. The system's task is also to let the other party be educated; Mediation does not mean they have not been educated.

Today is a bit abnormal!

Fang Dazhuang next to him seemed to see her thoughts and whispered: "Expression."

Zhou Xinran looked again and understood instantly.

Whether there is an attitude of apology, this is actually easy to see, and you don't need to say too much.

This family, Xiang Yuyu's parents and Zhuang Qiang, sat there without any expression, all extremely serious; those who didn't know would think they were debt collectors.

It's not that you must force a smile, but that you need to show your sincerity.

Zhuang Qiang was a bit bewildered; hadn't he already stated the reason? Why did he have to state it again?

In their view, paying for the car repairs, providing Mental Damage Compensation, and offering a public apology already demonstrated sincerity, as these were the very demands in the Indictment.

Of course, the Indictment contained more than just that; the most critical point was for Xiang Yuyu to go to jail.

Zhou Yi's point was that things like car repair fees, mental damage fees, and public apologies could be achieved even without Mediation.

However, after Mediation, Xiang Yuyu would have no way of going to jail, so you all must compensate for that part; that is what is called Mediation.

Otherwise, why should I agree to Mediation? Just because you are relying on your age to act entitled?

Zhang Wei had already spoken up: "Mr. Zhou, I think we can have a good chat about this. After all, you were subjected to Internet Violence because of this incident..."

However, Lawyer Zhang's words were interrupted before he could finish.

"Zhou Yi... Mr. Zhou, I understand what you mean. You want more compensation, right? That's no problem. You just name a number, and I will absolutely not haggle!" Xiang Jinjun said directly.

Zhang Wei wanted to cover his face.

He had warned them a thousand times not to speak recklessly, especially not to bring that business-world talk here!

Some people might think that the business world is also about attitude, and that is true, but that is built on the premise of achieving similar benefits.

Mediation also depends on the person; this Mr. Zhou is not short on money!

Sure enough, Zhou Yi stopped talking after hearing that, and Li Xusheng even looked at Zhang Wei—what kind of Lawyer are you? Did you not teach them how to speak beforehand?

Is asking the other party to name a number something that can be said here?

Using money to talk is the simplest way, but it is also the hardest.

You must first put your price on the table, and then the other party can weigh it; otherwise, if you just tell the other party to name a number, what if they say ten billion? Are you going to pay it?

The scene froze once again, yet no one knew that among the few people present, Zhou Xinran was already so happy she was about to pound the table!

She had such deep memories of this Mediation Room; her first stop when she was fresh out of school was right here, with Xu Yufeng sitting beside her, and Zhou Yi and Lawyer Fang sitting opposite.

That time, too, she hadn't even said much before the scene had already collapsed.

Now, seeing another Lawyer like this, you know, it really couldn't feel better!

Li Xusheng, as the judge presiding over the Mediation, still spoke up: "Um, Mr. Xiang, if you intend to provide additional compensation, it is better for you to propose it first."

"After all, Mr. Zhou is the victim in this matter."

However, it was unclear which of Li Xusheng's words were wrong, but beside them, Xiang Yuyu's mother suddenly exploded.

They say sons take after their fathers, and daughters take after their mothers.

This saying actually has no basis, but in a family, the mother's personality will very likely influence the child.

Xiang Yuyu was not a reasonable person, and her mother naturally was not always thinking about being reasonable either.

At this moment, she roared directly: "Who is the victim? My daughter has already been arrested, okay? She has hardly ever left my side since she was little!"

"I have never seen someone who loves to cause trouble as much as you. From the beginning, it was you who hit my daughter's dog, and now you are the one who wants to file a Lawsuit. Fine, we admit it now, we are willing to give you money, why is giving money not enough?"

"Is this forcing us to kneel down? Come, I'll kneel for you, is that okay!"

Despite all sorts of precautions, he hadn't expected that while the husband and the father hadn't exploded, the mother had.

As Xiang Yuyu's mother spoke, tears were already streaming down; even though Xiang Yuyu was already thirty, she was still her baby.

Just thinking about her daughter being arrested and suffering made her feel like her heart was breaking.

Looking at their age, one could actually tell that this couple had their child at an older age, and since she was their only one, they naturally doted on her immensely.

Seeing that she couldn't be stopped, the sixty-year-old woman went straight to kneel on the floor.

Judge Li sighed.

Zhou Yi had originally felt a tightness in his chest because of these words; many times during Legal Aid, the other party would think he was doing it for money.

It was as if filing a Lawsuit for money was some kind of heinous act.

But after thinking about it, he felt there was no need to say anything; arguing was unnecessary.

So Zhou Yi said directly: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, I am just doing it for money, but I don't want to do Mediation anymore."

Xiang Yuyu's mother roared upon hearing this: "What is this for? We already said we would give you money!"

"It's not for anything; I just don't want to do Mediation anymore. Is there a problem?"

"Even if you give me more money, I won't accept it. Is there a problem?"

As he spoke, Zhou Yi turned to look at Li Xusheng: "Judge Li, there doesn't seem to be any law that says one must accept Mediation, right?"

Li Xusheng had an "I already expected this" look on his face: "Of course not."

"Then good!" Zhou Yi stood up and left.

Lawyer Fang and Zhou Xinran beside him said nothing more; it was standard procedure, and they were already used to it.

Seeing the other party about to leave again, the group became anxious.

"What is going on? Judge Li, and Lawyer Zhang, look at what is happening, wasn't it agreed that we would have Mediation?" Zhuang Qiang asked hurriedly.

Zhang Wei didn't speak, and Li Xusheng explained: "This doesn't mean the other party is guaranteed to agree to Mediation."

From his perspective, he certainly should have put in the effort to facilitate the Mediation.

But since the other party was Zhou Yi, there was no point in wasting his breath...

What? Xiang Yuyu's mother immediately retorted: "But we already agreed to give the money."

"What kind of judge are you?"

Li Xusheng hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say the words, "Although the Mediation didn't succeed, I am still the judge for your case."

After all, that did not befit his status.

So he could only leave; just because judges are keen on Mediation does not mean they have an obligation to mediate.

It was only because of some reasons that were inconvenient to mention that it was like this.

They all left, leaving behind the shouts of Xiang Yuyu's mother: "You are irresponsible, I am going to report you..."

Zhang Wei no longer wanted to earn this money, but he could not afford the penalty for Breach of Contract.

The Mediation was unsuccessful, and he had to inform Xiang Yuyu of the situation; Zhang Wei now had a splitting headache.

The current focus was still this case.

If he could achieve a Not Guilty Defense, then with Fang Dazhuang on the opposing side, wouldn't that be a stunning debut!

Thinking from a different angle, this was also an opportunity!

No, he still had to hurry to see Xiang Yuyu; he needed to understand the details of the whole matter clearly.

Inside the Jingzhou City First Detention Center, Xiang Yuyu was waiting for her parents to take her out.

She was different from the others in criminal detention; as long as the other party withdrew the lawsuit, she would be fine.

Of course, she also had the idea of a Counterclaim in her heart...

A Yi had now become a walking gossip-generating machine.

Celebrities, big influencers, and dog lovers had never been so neatly gathered together as they were this time.

Zhou Mouren naturally did not post a video; he had discussed it with Fang Dazhuang, and to avoid making people think they were influencing the judiciary through public opinion, it was better to wait until there was a result from the verdict before posting a video.

The family members of the dog lovers had already posted online about their family members being arrested.

The theme was: Should loving dogs lead to jail time?

All kinds of Small Essays appeared, though this time they didn't dare to target A Yi.

They just posted various pictures of self-funded adoption of stray dogs, explaining how difficult it was to do charity work.

As a result, now they had to go to jail just because of a few words online; was this fair?

On one side were internet celebrities who were serious about things while holding money, seemingly bullying others with their power, and on the other side were ordinary people enthusiastic about public welfare.

Theoretically, public opinion should have been one-sided, but unexpectedly, very few people spoke up.

Those who usually seemed very enthusiastic were all silent this time.

First update

(End of this chapter)