First-Class Lawyer

Chen Zhang shook his head. “I didn’t.”

He looked extremely sincere. It was a pity that during questionings, Yan Suizhi didn’t care a whit for expressions. He merely swept a cursory gaze over it, calmly saying, “Keep going.” 

At times without anything to rely on, people would usually try to clutch hold of a thread of trust, letting themselves feel more at ease. But he couldn’t catch hold of anything from Yan Suizhi at all. Unable to glean the other’s thoughts, he involuntarily began to panic. “I really don’t know.”

“Yeah, I heard you. You can keep going.” Yan Suizhi smiled.

“Really.” Chen Zhang emphasised again, visibly defeated. But he had to go on. “The timing of their appearance made me think that the so-called help should occur during Mr Joe’s party. Also, since I was a diving instructor, I guessed that the incident should most probably be related to diving. So when I got to Yaba Island, I kept feeling uneasy, afraid that something was going to go wrong during the dive.”

“That day, the other instructors took two guests on their dive, but when it came to my allocation, there was an odd one out and I had to take three.” Chen Zhang said, “Frankly, I was already in a state where anything would seem suspicious to me. So when I saw something a little bit different from the others, my heart was all tensed up…” 

He wasn’t innately a bad person. Despite agreeing to help under duress, he still subconsciously wanted to stop anything from happening. Thus, he intended to tell the coordinator handling the groupings that he couldn’t bring three people; it would be safer to allocate the extra person to another instructor more skilled than him, that he could only bring two like most others, or even only one.

Humans were just that contradictory. He obviously needed the money, and had caved, agreeing to help because of the money. But when the time actually came, he would rather bring one less person and get less money, so that the calm wouldn’t be disturbed

“But the coordinator told me that the groupings weren’t up to him. The list of instructors was given to the guests, and they discussed it among themselves and made their choice. It wouldn’t be good to go against what they wanted,” Chen Zhang said.

“Did you seek confirmation on this later?” Yan Suizhi asked.

“Yeah. In fact, Chief Kane came to me to take a statement after the diving accident,” Chen Zhang said, a little embarrassed. “But I didn’t say anything too specific to him at that time. Actually, I was spooked by everything when I was at Yaba Island. Anyone I looked at would seem like one of those who approached me. I didn’t believe what the coordinator said, of course. I checked with the guests afterwards when I saw them, and they did in fact pick the instructors themselves.”

“The lawyer who had gotten into an accident because he wore the wrong diving suit, Jason Charles, said that he had patronised Hardymont Club a few times. He didn’t really like the instructor assigned to him at that time, finding him tiresome as he was always nagging at him to get into shape. There was once afterwards when that instructor wasn’t around and I substituted in, leaving him a good impression of me. Maybe because I’m not very chatty. Only, I didn’t really have much of an impression of Lawyer Charles…”

However, this didn’t stop Jason Charles from picking him without any deliberation when seeing him on the list.

As for Zhao Zemu, Chen Zhang could understand why. After all, Zhao Zemu was a regular at Hardymont and Chen Zhang had always accompanied his dives in the past. 

George Manson was probably the only one who didn’t give any reason. He simply dismissed Chen Zhang’s question with a perfunctory statement: “No particular reason. I randomly picked whichever looked good to me from the list.”

The young master was notorious for his personality. It was difficult to make him change his mind about what he had set his mind on, whether or not it had any basis.

Also, Chen Zhang had his own ulterior motives…

“That was my second mistake,” Chen Zhang said. “I didn’t know beforehand that I would run into Mr Manson at Mr Joe’s party. I changed my name and appearance, and he didn’t recognise me. It’s also possible that he wouldn’t have recognised me even if I had not changed. After all, I was only a substitute coach at Champagne and didn’t know him well. But I recognised him. Even though it has been over a decade, I must confess that I still hold a grudge for what happened back then. So when Mr Manson said that he was too lazy to change instructors, I didn’t urge him otherwise, simply accepting it.” 

Chen Zhang’s unresolved grudge wasn’t an intent to do anything in particular to Manson. Rather, he was desperate to prove once and for all in front of Manson that if the bodyguards hadn’t intercepted him back then, he would never have let Manson get into an accident under his capacity as an instructor.

“I got carried away with my emotions at that time. If I had insisted on transferring a guest to another, more experienced coach, then both Lawyer Charles and Mr Joe could have been spared some trouble,” Chen Zhang said.

Yan Suizhi listened calmly throughout, occasionally using a special pen and paper provided by the wardens to record a scant few words. Even Gu Yan, seated next to him, couldn’t understand a word of this divine scripture he was writing, let alone Chen Zhang.

But when he heard Chen Zhang say this, the pen that Yan Suizhi held paused for a moment. He lifted his eyes to look at Chen Zhang. 

Chen Zhang didn’t quite get it. This lawyer in front of him was clearly a freshly graduated intern not even half his age. Yet when being looked at by him, Chen Zhang felt like he was back at school. He was like a student who had flunked another paper, trembling with trepidation as he waited for his teacher to give him his grades. When he was glanced at, his heart could rise up to his throat.

This time, however, the words Yan Suizhi spoke were normal and agreeable to the ears. “In spite of all the years of resentment towards Manson for the accident, when you met him again you didn’t thinking of causing him trouble, but of taking more care to keep him safe. If what you told me is true, regardless if it’s of a desire to prove something to yourself or anything else, it’s still a commendable and admirable sentiment.”

Chen Zhang jolted, and his trembling heart finally landed on the ground, taking root.

And this was the first smile he showed since the incident. It brought with it slight remorse and humility, flashing by like a dying light. “I actually didn’t… Yeah. Thank you.” 

Yan Suizhi’s expression was the spitting image of someone who had casually given his student a word of encouragement, and Chen Zhang’s performance was the spitting image of a student who had just been praised.

Gu Yan, “…”

Once he received this offhanded affirmation, Chen Zhang immediately settled down. Without even needing Yan Suizhi to remind him, he poured out everything that he could think of in a torrent like a reservoir that had opened its floodgates.

Yan Suizhi listened to a few sentences and casually wrote a few more words on the page by his hand. 

When he finished writing, out of his peripheral vision, he saw Gu Yan’s expression turn a little… um, well, he didn’t quite know how to describe it.

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Gu Yan apathetically said, “It’s nothing. Continue your class.”

Yan Suizhi, “???”

Chen Zhang, “…” 

Professor Yan felt that Student Gu’s physical and mental problems might be a persistent problem that had accumulated over the years and couldn’t be cured overnight. Therefore, he only silently turned away his gaze, saying to Chen Zhang, “Keep going.”

“Um…” Chen Zhang nodded and continued from before he was interrupted. “I always felt very wronged by Mr Manson’s accident ten years ago. But this time, the accident that occurred underwater with Lawyer Charles was really my responsibility. This was the third mistake I made…”

After running into George Manson once more, he was so intent on proving himself that his full attention was on Manson’s safety, and spent far more time keeping an eye out for Manson than he did for Zhao Zemu and Jason Charles.

He didn’t have bad intentions; it was the contrary. Still, his attitude was a little topsy-turvy. During the first dive, he was apprehensive and jittery during both the descent and the ascent in water. 

The first dive went smoothly and safely. But this wasn’t able to set his mind at ease.

Such that even when Manson and the others went ashore midway, Chen Zhang did not stray a step from them. He followed them into the changing room, and followed them when they drank chilled wine and rested at the beachside. Manson appeared really to have forgotten him, even chatting to him more than he did to Zhao Zemu and Jason Charles. He praised his diving skills, even saying that he would patronise Hardymont in the future to dive with him in the future.

On one hand, Chen Zhang still couldn’t let go of the accident back then and his subsequent scrappy life. On the other hand, he felt that Manson wasn’t quite the same as the bossy and unreasonable young master as the one in his memories, even if he was still as headstrong and free-willed as before.

The discrepancy between the new and former impressions distracted Chen Zhang, which was why he hadn’t noticed anything wrong when checking Jason Charles’ and Zhao Zemu’s diving suits for the second dive. 

Of course, only the diver themself would be the clearest of whether or not a diving suit fitted well. At that time, Jason Charles only mumbled a sentence about it on shore but never brought it up again. Likewise, Zhao Zemu also hadn’t noticed anything off. This was the main reason that Chen Zhang didn’t notice any issues when checking.

“It shames me to admit that my attention remained fixed on Mr Manson when underwater.” Chen Zhang said, “When I saw the sea snake, my heart thumped. Because sea snakes weren’t commonly seen in that region. I thought to myself that this must have been what those two were after.”

Chen Zhang had subconsciously thought that this was what those two had approached him for. The sea snakes were initially heading for Manson. Chen Zhang was glad that he was keeping an eye out for Manson, thus was able to resolve the problem in the quickest possible time.

Zhao Zemu also deserved credit for this. 

“His reaction was even quicker than mine. When the sea snakes appeared, he only froze for a moment before swimming over. However, he didn’t know how to deal with it neatly, so I went over to help. It was a little bit of a rough process, but fortunately, we all made it to shore.”

Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan were well aware with what happened afterwards. While Chen Zhang and Zhao Zemu were tangled up with the sea snakes, an accident happened on Jason Charles’ side.

“I was very confused after coming back ashore.” Chen Zhang said, “I thought that after taking care of the sea snakes, I would be free. I never expected something to end up happening to Lawyer Charles, which made me start to wonder if I had gotten the wrong person, that maybe Lawyer Charles’ was their actual target.”

But either way, he and Zhao Zemu were out of life-threatening condition, and Jason Charles’ body vitals returned to normal. This was a real relief to Chen Zhang, as he thought that what should have happened had already happened. No one was killed, the incident was determined to be an accident, and all was well. 

For a day and a night after the diving accident, he kept waiting for those two to contact him with more news.

He felt that whatever the outcome, there ought to be closure. However, the other party never contacted him, and he grew increasingly antsy.

“I didn’t even think at that time that it was because the matter hasn’t occurred. I was worried that I might have foiled their plans and implicated my family over at the welfare hospital.” Chen Zhang said, “So I called the welfare hospital several times, troubling those nurses to take good care of them. They treat my family very well, but they don’t really like me much…”

Saying this, he smiled bitterly. “I know why. I can understand why too.” 

“There wasn’t a peep all the way until afternoon.” Chen Zhang said, “It was the afternoon that most of you had been cleared of suspicion. You left Yaba Island first and the police withdrew their men from the villa compound. We were told that we might need to go back to the police station for another statement within the next few days, but other than that the whole thing seemed to be closed. The guests at the villa started making plans for a celebratory party. I could hear the noise below from my room upstairs. It was that afternoon, towards the evening. I went downstairs to the kitchen and when I went back up, I found a communication device and a black bag deposited in my room.”

“Communication device?” Yan Suizhi asked. “The old-fashioned kind?”

“Yeah, the sort that you’d find on the black market with no way to trace the user. The signal doesn’t even go through the current communication networks.” Chen Zhang said, “There was a message in the device, telling me to stay in my bedroom at night and not to go out, not even downstairs. My heart was thumping. I was really nervous and worried, but I didn’t dare not to do as instructed.”

“What about that black bag?” 

“The black bag contained… contained the sleeping vials that were later found scattered by Mr Manson’s hand.” Chen Zhang said, “There was only one at that time, which was the regular dosage for an adult.”

Yan Suizhi stared at him. “Did you take the vial out of the bag to look at it?”

Chen Zhang nodded. “Yes. Because the black was black, I… I unconsciously opened it and took out the vial from inside to take a look. I didn’t know what to do with it at that time, so I put it back and didn’t dare to touch it anymore.”

“Is that where the fingerprints left on the medicinal vial came from?” 

“It should have been…”

“After that?”

Chen Zhang thought for a moment. “I spent most of that night seated by the door clutching the communication device, listening to the noise downstairs.”

Hearing the sounds of laughter and merrymaking downstairs, everything seemed peaceful, and the knowledge of that reassured him slightly. 

“During that time, Ms Laura and Mr Joe came up and knocked on mine and Mr Zhao’s doors. I had the perfect excuse because of the snake bite. I simply used that as an excuse, telling them that I was a little tired and didn’t feel like going down. They didn’t suspect a thing. Further, Mr Zhao was in the same situation as me, so it didn’t appear too out of place.”

“It wasn’t until midnight that I got the second message,” Chen Zhang said.

The message told him to place the black bag on the garbage disposal downstairs and instructed him to go down through the window.

The window on the second floor wasn’t very high from the ground and even had a small platform. It wasn’t difficult for Chen Zhang to go down quietly without alerting anyone. 

“Were you wearing the slippers provided by the villa?” Yan Suizhi asked.

“Yeah. I was so nervous when I went down that I didn’t think that much into it. But I did take care to only step on the window ledge, and not the mud in the garden,” Chen Zhang said.

However, it was also this point that made it easier for someone to plant falsified evidence.

“Even stepping on the window ledge of Manson’s suite as you walked along the ledge.” Yan Suizhi praised. “You really have some talent.” 

Chen Zhang’s face turned glum, like he was heading to a funeral.

Later, after putting the black bag as instructed, Chen Zhang received another message telling him to leave the communication device behind as well.

“He said I would be free in ten minutes,” Chen Zhang said. “After that, no matter what came up, just stay silent. Think of my family in the welfare hospital, and not to say things I shouldn’t. Those ten minutes were probably the most torturous and longest ten minutes in my entire life, because I had no idea what was going to happen.”

At that time, Chen Zhang was literally counting the seconds, staring at the clock as it ticked down. In the end, only eight minutes had passed when Glenn and the others, who had one too many drinks, came upstairs, noisily insisting to drag Chen Zhang and Zhao Zemu down. 

It had yet to reach ten minutes. But Chen Zhang was desperate to get rid of his apprehension. Wanting to check that nothing had happened, he opened the door himself and walked out before the drunk young masters could even pound at his door.

By nature impervious to reason, Glenn had actually fished out the villa’s spare key as he went up to call people to drink, messily jostling it around and opening Zhao Zemu’s bedroom door straightaway.

“Mr Zhao was really unlucky too,” Chen Zhang said. “It was obvious from the blinding darkness of the room that he was asleep, but was forced out of bed by Glenn and the rest. I could tell that he wasn’t particularly happy at the time, causing the drunk young masters to give him a cheeky apology as they dragged him down. I was in a cold sweat. Nothing had happened but I was already scared out of my wits. I must have looked terrible. Thankfully, they were all gathered next door disturbing Mr Zhao, and no one noticed anything off about me.”

At first when the drunks had pressured everyone down, Chen Zhang didn’t notice anyone missing from the swarming hall. 

Apprehensive, he accompanied them for a few drinks. Then, he took a video.

“It’s probably about an hour-long,” Chen Zhang said. “Glenn and the others then remembered that they still hadn’t pulled out Mr Manson. And that’s when… you know, everything that happened afterwards.”

Chen Zhang told them everything that occurred to him that night in broken parts. By the time he finished, the visiting time was almost up.

Yan Suizhi took note of a few things with a calm expression. 

From his face alone, it was hard to tell whether he had the case in a bag, whether the available information was enough for him to defend it in court, whether he would lose or win…

Chen Zhang tried hard to glean some information from him in vain. Finally, he could only say, “Now… that I’ve told you everything, I’ve violated the deal with those two guys… My family in the welfare hospital, they don’t know a thing either…”

This time, Yan Suizhi didn’t mince his words, consoling, “Don’t worry, the police have put a watch on them. I’ve dealt with the police in Zone 3 before, they’re quite reliable. As for after the case, if you need it, I can help you contact those at Wine City.”

Hearing this, Gu Yan gave him a sidelong glance. 

Yan Suizhi clarified a few more details with Chen Zhang, then packed his things and prepared to leave.

Chen Zhang was a little bit of a tunnel mind. If a certain matter never received closure, he would never be able to let go of it. So, before Yan Suizhi left, he seemed to think of something and added, “The recording of when those two people came to discuss the deal with me—”

“Why?” Yan Suizhi turned his head over towards him, thinking that there might be some kind of turnaround for the better.

Chen Zhang said seriously, “I might not have gotten the full recording, but the other side was recording too. I watched them, they recorded it both times.” 

“…”

The gaze Professor Yan set on him was like he was looking at a mentally handicapped student. After a moment of deliberation, he picked a somewhat less caustic way of putting it, smiling, “Are you suggesting that we find the real culprit and ask for a recording? That’s very clever of you.”

Chen Zhang, “…”

Yan Suizhi opened his mouth, probably about to speak even more euphemistically. But before he could utter a word, Gu Yan pressed his shoulders and spun his shoulders, making a ‘this way, please’ gesture towards the door of the interview room. 

Yan Suizhi, “…”

Slightly discontent, he turned over to speak, only to hear Gu Yan, lowering his head slightly behind him, say in a low-pitched voice by his ear, “I suggest you hold yourself back a little. Another two words and your cover as an intern will be blown.”

Gu Yan’s voice was very pleasant to listen to. The close proximity inexplicably made him feel a twinge of unease at the base of his ear.

Yan Suizhi angled his head to the side a little, but the margin was extremely slight and virtually imperceptible. Even so, he didn’t forget to talk back to Gu Yan. “I wasn’t even trying.” 

Gu Yan coldly said, “…And you’re proud of that?”

Yan Suizhi, “Tch.”

But ultimately, Lawyer Gu still took advantage of his superior height and physique to herd a certain someone out of the visiting room, saving Chen Zhang from imminent danger—such that Chen Zhang wouldn’t share the same miserable fates as those students in the law school back then, who still had silly smiles on their faces even when being mocked.

After coming out of the detention centre, Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan went to Chen Zhang’s house again. 

Even if that recording pen had not recorded anything important, they still had to retrieve it.

The police officer who was surveilling the house and the notary they had contacted en route went into the house with them. Like what Chen Zhang had mentioned, they found a recording pen in a compartment above after removing a ceiling board.

The audio file was immediately backed up. They took one copy with them, the police officer took one copy, and another copy was authenticated by the notary to be submitted as evidence.

Just as they had predicted, the recording did not last long. As it wasn’t fully charged, it only lasted the better half of a day. 

The first part of the conversation that Chen Zhang described was recorded, though the audio quality wasn’t very clear because it was through a partition. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t make a difference even were the audio quality better, for the other party was speaking very politely. The recording alone couldn’t prove any hints of extortion.

It wouldn’t be a reach to interpret this conversation as a wealthy family offering to employ Chen Zhang for a private diving gig, with the intention to pay him generously for it.

But even if there was nothing important, Yan Suizhi still listened to it carefully thrice over in the evening. Until he received a new message on his smart device.

The message came from the public number of the courthouses in Zone 3, reminding him once again of the date of the hearing. It wasn’t too far off, nor was it too close at hand. It was the day after tomorrow.