Then it's halftime.
Li Gaoyi was already panting as soon as he entered the lounge. He loosened his tie violently; he truly hadn't expected Wen Qi to be so difficult to deal with.
"Mr. Li, our advice is not to dwell on Wen Qi's call to the police anymore. At most, he will face some public scrutiny for calling the police, but the matter itself is not a big mistake. We should focus on his attitude towards Ms. Li's failure to help her in her time of need."
"Okay, let's go with your pace. We still have a trump card in our hand, so don't worry!"
After Li Gaoyi composed himself, the trial continued.
His lawyer spoke up again, "Mr. Wen Qi, I believe this matter should not only focus on the current situation, but I also hope that you can honestly tell me the truth about your statements from your childhood."
Not again?
Wen Cheng frowned. Were these people a bit too cold? Why did they always have to bring up that painful history?
"Bear with it, your brother isn't someone to be trifled with!" Wen Yunyi had more confidence in Wen Qi than in his father.
"Excuse me." Wen Qi calmly loosened his sleeve.
"Twenty years ago, you went to the Li family with your parents. At that time, the Li family's birthday banquet was held at a different location. Your parents died in an accident on the way. Do you attribute all of this to the Li family?"
"...Yes." Wen Qi would not back down on this one thing!
The blond lawyer was clearly in much better spirits.
"Mr. Wen Qi was about seven years old at that time. Do you think you can really remember everything that happened back then? If you do, please recount it."
Wen Cheng's breathing became increasingly rapid. The two people beside him, Yan Luan and Gu Yuning, held him tightly. They knew he wanted to stand up for himself, but at this moment, they always had to believe the person involved.
Wen Qi turned his head as if sensing something, his handsome eyes falling on Wen Cheng. He gave him a reassuring look and mouthed two words, "Don't worry." The only tenderness in his eyes was reserved for Wen Cheng, whose nose tingled with emotion.
He knew that because of him, Wen Qi had forcibly accelerated his plan. If it had been any later, he wouldn't have had to pay these prices to bring down the Li family, and he wouldn't have had to expose his wounds in public.
"Ms. Li cut off all of my mother's financial support from the moment my parents got married. From the time my mother was pregnant with me until I was seven years old, Ms. Li never contacted her. When I was seven, my mother said she had to go back to visit them no matter what, because the family business was gradually improving. My parents mustered up the courage to take me there. When we arrived at our old home in the United States, the old house that we had arranged to meet when we boarded the plane was empty, and there wasn't even a trace of decoration."
"Mr. Li, are you sure there's not a trace of decoration at all?" the blond lawyer suddenly interrupted.
Wen Qi raised his head and looked directly into the blond lawyer's eyes. The sharp gaze and imposing aura made the lawyer feel a sudden urge to retreat, and he subconsciously swallowed.
"It's confirmed. The chef didn't come that day, so there was no intention of preparing dinner. I also checked the weather forecast later, and the heavy rain forecast was accurate for three consecutive days, down to the hour. Under such circumstances, the Li family chose to go to the mountaintop villa, a place they wouldn't normally visit for years."
These words, which were almost an explicit implication, suggest that this story of a wealthy family is quite dramatic.
"We went to the villa on the mountaintop because it was here that my mother and father met. Wen Qi, please don't make malicious speculations!"
Despite saying that, Li Gaoyi's palms were sweating slightly.
Author's Note:
Good night~
Chapter 171 Regret
Wen Qi was not upset by Li Gaoyi's rude interruption. He stood calmly in his place, like a king that no one could offend.
It was Wen Qi's calm demeanor that gave Wen Cheng the courage and strength to believe.
"Mr. Li, please let Mr. Wen finish speaking before you speak!" The judge wasn't blind; on the contrary, having seen many cases, he immediately saw through the trickery, so he was somewhat stern with Li Gaoyi.
Li Gaoyi reluctantly shut his mouth.
"Mr. Wen Qi, would you like to continue speaking?"
Wen Qi: "No need."
Wen Qi's concession energized Li Gaoyi. As long as he didn't delve into the past, he wasn't afraid at all.
“Your Honor, I would like to return to the issue of my mother herself. Since my mother has already cooperated with the police investigation and proven her innocence, then Wen Qi’s forced detention of her is a crime!”
Wen Qi's gaze fell on the lawyer beside him.
“Mr. Li, the court will not accept public opinion as evidence. Please provide real evidence to prove your claims,” said Wen Qifang’s lawyer.
Li Gaoyi sneered without any sign of panic.
He gestured to his assistant to transmit the evidence.
"Could it be that Li Gaoyi really found some evidence?" Gu Yuning asked nervously.
"Brother Qi wouldn't do such a thing, so where did he get any evidence?" Wen Cheng scoffed.
Gu Yuning: ......
Wen Cheng turned around in surprise.
Gu Yuning pretended to look at the ceiling.
Li Gaoyi stood confidently in front of the screen.
"Here is the evidence that Wen Qi detained my mother. He knew perfectly well that my mother's health was deteriorating, yet he chose to appeal against her at this critical time, preventing her from returning to China for treatment and ultimately leading to her critical condition."
A murmur rippled through the audience and media. Li Yuxi, convinced of his effective advocacy, grew even more passionate, until his lawyer tugged at his sleeve.
"Mr. Li, you've put the wrong one in!"
Li Gaoyi's expression froze, and he turned around amidst everyone's surprised gazes.
On top was an enlarged image of his own face, his hair and face soaked by the rain, with the words "Hello everyone, I'm here to rob you!" photoshopped in red.
"Wrong screen! Close it! Close it!" Li Gaoyi lunged forward to close the window, but as soon as he closed one screen, a new one popped up.
They photoshopped him and Mrs. Li, who was in the hospital bed, into one scene.
An old mother is precious, but money is even more valuable!
Li Gaoyi felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing backwards, his face deathly pale as he kept clicking away at the videos that kept popping up like crazy.
He was filled with rage and wanted nothing more than to tear Wen Yunyi to pieces. But they were facing a nationally renowned media outlet. If this got out, public opinion would lose all its influence.
"Mr. Li, this is a courtroom! Please do not make such a ridiculous joke!" the judge warned.
"Your Honor, this is not what I wanted to present. My evidence has been switched!"
"Who switched this evidence? And what evidence do you have that person switched it? Mr. Li, if you cannot provide sufficiently convincing reasons, then this trial will not proceed."
"It was Wen Yunyi! Wen Yunyi couldn't stand Wen Qi, so he secretly approached me and gave me the evidence!"
Li Gaoyi sold people without any affectation or pretense; he sold them when he needed to, without any hesitation or ambiguity.
The media's cameras immediately focused on Wen Yunyi.
The Wen family: ? ? ?
Wen Yunyi: ??? I was just sitting at home when this trouble came out of nowhere!
Little Chacha almost burst into tears on the spot after being wrongly accused!
Li Gaoyi's venomous gaze landed precisely on Wen Yunyi and Wen Cheng beside him.
"My brother should have never met you, so how can you prove that the person who gave you the evidence is him? Unless you can identify him on the spot." In Li Gaoyi's eyes, Wen Qi's reaction was like a last-ditch struggle. See? The people you trusted before have all betrayed you.
Li Gaoyi stood up and walked towards Wen Cheng step by step. Wen Yunyi nervously moved closer to Qin Zhou. Qin Zhou looked at Li Gaoyi coldly. If he dared to come over, the Qin family wouldn't be unable to afford such a small amount of compensation.
"Mr. Wen, I have kept our chat history. You complained to me that day about how badly Wen Qi treated you, and said you wanted me to get justice for you. Is this how you play with me? Or are you afraid of offending Wen Qi now?"
Li Gaoyi stopped in front of Wen Cheng, and the tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.
If someone has already admitted to being wrong, how credible is their statement?
Wen Cheng: "My name is not Wen Yunyi."
Li Gaoyi sneered, "Wen Yunyi, in such a solemn courtroom, are you still going to deny your identity in front of so many media outlets?"
"Here, your ID card," Wen Cheng said, taking her ID card out of her pocket.
Li Gaoyi's smile froze. He took the ID card, and it seemed he looked up and down several times to confirm it.
His face practically screams "I'm such a fool!"
He Haobo, who was just watching the show, couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
Gu Yuning glared at him as if to reprimand him, and then she couldn't help but speak up herself.
A perfectly respectable courtroom scene instantly turned into a farce.
"You...you're Wen Cheng? You're lying to me?"
"When did I ever tell you I was Wen Yunyi?" Wen Cheng smiled. It was just a case of turning black into white, and he could do that too. He had been holding back for so long, and it was finally time for him to retaliate.
"you!"
Wen Cheng looked at him with a satisfied expression.
"Mr. Li, if you have no evidence, then this trial..." the judge said, growing impatient.
"Wait! Although there is no evidence that Wen Qi appealed against my mother, it is true that she is seriously ill, and it is also true that Wen Qi refused to help her. He clearly knew that the equipment in China could not meet my mother's treatment needs, but he still insisted on doing so!"
"Then why don't you take it back and treat it yourself?" Yan Luan asked, getting straight to the point.
The audience was overwhelmingly in agreement.
"Because Wen Qi never told me where my mother was! Wen Qi, are you doing this so that my mother will die here, and then you can have all the shares of my sister and brother-in-law by yourself?"
Wen Qi looked up. After all this time, they'd finally gotten to the point.
"What do my parents' shares have to do with your Li family?"
"How can it not be related? According to the law, my mother is entitled to inherit a portion of it! All these years you've been keeping it for yourself, just waiting for our mother to pass away so that this matter would be completely ruined!" After suffering several blows, Li Gaoyi could no longer restrain himself!
The blond lawyer, who was paid to handle the case, couldn't let a perfectly good lawsuit fall apart like this. "Mr. Wen, you are indeed highly suspicious in this matter. As long as your mother and Ms. Li are legally mother and son, and your parents did not make a will, you are not entitled to exclusively own the shares. Is there any possibility that your failure to come to her aid this time is related to this?"
“Heh,” Wen Qi suddenly sneered, “So, all of this is for the shares held by my parents?”
"How could that be! We just can't stand how selfish you are!" Li Gaoyi lied to himself.
“Your Honor, I request that my witnesses be brought up,” Wen Qi suddenly became assertive.
The judge nodded, and the courtroom door opened. An elderly woman with gray hair was ushered in in a wheelchair. In the month since the last meeting, she had visibly lost a lot of weight, her face was sallow, and her hands holding the wheelchair were trembling.
"Mom, Mom?" Li Gaoyi no longer had the arrogance he had at the beginning. Everything was like a pearl necklace that had collapsed in the reversal of time, and at this moment, the broken truth was revealed.
"Grandma Li!" Media cameras were pointed at Grandma Li, snapping photos frantically. The internet exploded with news, the twists and turns of the story leaving onlookers stunned.
The hashtag "The Rich and Powerful Are Really Chaotic" dominated the top three trending topics.