A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 24.1

Today was the day of the hearing.

Shi Tian woke up very early. He groomed himself from head to toe and even used styling hairspray for the first time in a long while, all to leave a good impression on the judge.

Putting on the formal suit sent back from the dry cleaners and tying his bowtie, he examined the person in the mirror for a long while, silently giving himself a 90 out of 100.

He spent so much time tidying his appearance that when Assistant Chen knocked and entered, he almost thought he had walked into the wrong room.

Assistant Chen scratched his head and spoke hesitantly, “Brother Shi, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were going on a blind date today…”

Shi Tian, however, was very satisfied with his look. They say “clothes make the man”—even if he ultimately lost the case, he couldn’t lose face in front of Ji Yuanlin and outsiders.

Before leaving, Shi Tian specifically went online to find a fortune teller for a reading.

The master in the video kept shaking his head, saying today was a day of “great misfortune” and that nothing was suitable—especially not marriage, financial transactions, or meeting friends and family.

He didn’t believe in such superstitions, so he simply sent Ji Yuanlin ’s birth details over and asked the fortune teller to check those too.

The fortune teller slapped the table in surprise, saying this person’s day was “greatly auspicious,” perfectly suited for lawsuits and litigation.

“…”

After transferring the money, Shi Tian immediately blocked the fortune teller.

After eating breakfast with his lawyer, Shi Tian arrived punctually at the People’s Court of the Economic Development Zone at 10:00 AM.

According to the court staff, this hearing had a public gallery. His former colleagues from Fengyu had already been granted permission to attend. Sure enough, after he finished registering and walked into the courtroom, he saw several familiar faces in the gallery—all old acquaintances from the company.

These people hadn’t contacted him since Fengyu ran into trouble; they had likely been bought off by Ji Yuanlin long ago.

To Shi Tian’s surprise, fifteen minutes before the hearing began, he and his lawyer received a notice from the court. As a non-essential attending plaintiff, Ji Yuanlin chose not to appear today and had entrusted his legal representative as a special agent to participate fully in the litigation.

He had originally planned to tear off the mask and go head-to-head with Ji Yuanlin in court. He didn’t expect that, in the end, the one to chicken out first would be the plaintiff himself.

“It’s actually a good thing that Mr. Ji doesn’t plan to attend in person,” the lawyer patted Shi Tian’s shoulder to comfort him. “Debt disputes can sometimes drag on for a very long time. Because of overlapping evidence and courtroom arguments, they often require a second or third hearing to finish. If Mr. Ji’s representative handles it today, and the evidence is solid, the efficiency should be quite fast.”

A mocking, cold smile curled Shi Tian’s lips. “He doesn’t ‘not want’ to attend; he’s too ashamed to face me.”

After all, he might have just finished three hundred rounds in bed with his lover last night; coming to court today to see his original spouse would indeed be a bit much to ask.

“But it doesn’t matter,” under the guidance of the staff, he pressed his red thumbprint onto the defense statement. “For next month’s divorce litigation, I am the one suing. He won’t be able to skip it then even if he wants to.”

At 10:30 AM, due to the absence of the plaintiff, the Fengyu Group Bankruptcy Creditor Dispute case officially began with the legal representatives presiding.

The hearing started with individual statements. Ji Yuanlin ’s representative was a very seasoned financial dispute lawyer; his overall statement was practically flawless. In just a few minutes, he shifted the responsibility for the debt dispute onto Shi Tian.

“After investigating and organizing Fengyu Group’s internal audit documents, we can preliminarily conclude that the vast majority of financing channels and balance sheet items were fully controlled by the company’s CEO—the defendant,” Ji Yuanlin ’s lawyer told the judge. “In the past five years, none of these funds passed through the plaintiff’s hands, let alone generated debt disputes with the outside world.”

Shi Tian’s expression was neutral, but his voice was clearly sarcastic. “Then where did the money for his mistress come from? Did it fall from the sky?”

A wave of whispered discussion broke out in the gallery. Ji Yuanlin ’s lawyer raised a hand. “Your Honor, the defendant is narrating verbal material meant to insult the plaintiff’s character; it is irrelevant to the facts of this case.”

Shi Tian was about to argue back when he heard his own lawyer let out a soft cough, clearly reminding him not to speak out of turn to avoid being cited for disrupting court order.

Throughout the rest of the hearing, except for the defense and legal representative segments, Shi Tian did not speak again.

He gradually realized that Ji Yuanlin ’s lawyer had come prepared with a lot of evidence stacked against him. The lawyer didn’t aim to prove who was more responsible for the debt; instead, he kept emphasizing that the plaintiff was completely unaware of all the debts.

Since the morning session yielded no substantial progress, the judge announced a temporary recess to resume in the afternoon.

While eating lunch in a private room at a restaurant outside the court, Shi Tian’s lawyer went out to make a call. When he returned, his expression was solemn.

“Mr. Shi,” the lawyer showed him materials on his phone. “Our team just checked. The high fine paid by Mr. Ji to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce is currently marked as ‘Received, Pending Approval.’ This proves that Mr. Ji has already shown proactive behavior in repaying the company’s debts. If his representative brings this up in court this afternoon, it could be very unfavorable for you.”

Shi Tian held his chopsticks and pondered for a long while before finally looking up. “Is there any other way?”

The lawyer shook his head heavily. “The three company executives who could prove your innocence are currently facing their own various lawsuits and cannot testify for now. Unless you can immediately find a key witness to testify—either to prove that the payment made by Mr. Ji was authorized by you, or to prove that those funds were obtained illegally through other means.”

“Let me tell you something funny, don’t laugh,” Shi Tian raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, smiling bitterly. “In the past few years, I was the one who bought all our investment and wealth management products, but I never asked him for a cent. If he hasn’t touched that money, it should be enough to pay the fines now.”

Strictly speaking, Ji Yuanlin had a high executive salary from his position as chairman. However, their daily living expenses usually came from Shi Tian’s account. Consequently, Shi Tian almost never questioned Ji Yuanlin ’s spending.

He only realized now how foolish he had been.

From this perspective, Ji Yuanlin was nothing more than a high-end “freeloader.”

Hearing Shi Tian’s words, the lawyer sighed slowly but sat back down to seriously organize the materials for the afternoon. “Mr. Shi, we’ll do our best. There should still be a slight chance this afternoon.”

The lunch break ended, and the second session officially began.

To force himself to stay alert and deal with the afternoon session, Shi Tian drank a cup of completely sugar-free black coffee for the first time. The bitterness nearly took him out, making him stand under a tree and dry heave for a while.

By the time he stood back in the defendant’s box, the root of his tongue was still slightly bitter and numb.

There weren’t as many people in the gallery in the afternoon, but there were still one or two rows scattered about. Shi Tian sat at the defendant’s table, head down, silently memorizing his statement for the second half, when a sudden commotion broke out in the gallery behind him.

He looked up and saw several old Fengyu employees whispering together, their eyes all fixed on the direction of the court’s security checkpoint.

Shi Tian followed their gaze and saw a familiar figure appearing at the entrance.

The man was wearing a dark gray business shirt with a ring pendant hanging around his neck that Shi Tian had never seen before. Half of his shirt was tucked loosely into his waistband, making him look completely different from his usual office appearance—he actually looked a bit dashing and unrestrained.

It was none other than his haunting ex-boyfriend—Zhou Sifu.

As for why Zhou Sifu appeared at the hearing, that wasn’t the main point right now. The main point was that Zhou Sifu was… actually holding a little boy’s hand.

The little boy was chubby and looked like a lucky mascot, very honest and cute. He was hugging a small backpack and standing with Zhou Sifu at the checkpoint, undergoing security.

As luck would have it, Shi Tian also recognized this little boy.

Before Shi Tian could fully process this, the little boy suddenly stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes at him.

While his small hand was obediently holding Zhou Sifu’s large hand, he raised his other chubby arm, pointed at Shi Tian, and shouted at the top of his lungs: “Daddy!”

…

The vast courtroom fell into a dead silence.

Zhou Sifu clearly hadn’t expected the little boy to suddenly blurt that out. The expression on his face froze for a moment.

Under the gaze of everyone in the courtroom, Zhou Sifu held the little fatty’s hand and froze in the aisle, locking eyes with Shi Tian, who was sitting in the defendant’s box.

“…”

Shi Tian felt like he wanted to kill someone.

With his mouth suddenly covered by Uncle Zhou, Pangpang Qiu felt a bit breathless, and his already rosy face turned even redder.

Seeing him stay still for a long time, the veins on Uncle Zhou’s forehead slightly throbbed. After a moment, he simply bent down, tucked the boy under his arm, and scooped him up.

Brought to the gallery and seated, Uncle Zhou took a lollipop out of the small backpack, tore off the wrapper, and stuffed it into the boy’s mouth.

“What did you call him?” Uncle Zhou asked, pointing at the figure in the courtroom.

Sucking on the milk lollipop with satisfaction, the boy answered with a giggle, “Daddy.”

“…Why do you call him that?”

The boy thought seriously in his head and blinked his eyes. “My classmates in the toddler class used to tease me, saying I was a kid who only had a mom and no dad. Uncle Shi used to pick me up from school a lot. They all thought Uncle Shi was cool—handsome, rich, and driving a supercar. So, every time I said Uncle Shi was my dad, no one in class dared to bully me!”

Zhou Sifu: “…”

Turns out he had overthought it.

He threatened the brat under his breath for a few sentences until Pangpang Qiu was terrified into sitting obediently, not even daring to breathe loudly. Only then did he pick up the prepared court documents and lean back in the gallery chair.

The second session was about to start. He looked up and saw Shi Tian sitting alone in the defendant’s box, just like him, focusing intently on the materials in his hand.

This person had only glanced at him with an astonished look when he first walked in and hadn’t looked at him again since.

Based on his understanding of Shi Tian, as long as Shi Tian was focused enough to face something, he definitely had the determination to win.

Below the bench, entering the party statement phase, Shi Tian let out a slow breath and stood up from the defendant’s box.

Facing the empty plaintiff’s seat, he put down his script.

As the right to speak was handed to Shi Tian, Zhou Sifu clicked the stopwatch on his phone and set it to three minutes.

The “Golden Three Minutes Rule”—this was a bet Shi Tian had made with him during the period they were looking for jobs after graduation.

Shi Tian said that during an interview, as long as he was given three minutes for a self-introduction, he could win over any interviewer.

He had asked Shi Tian back then: What if you fail once?

Shi Tian had smiled wickedly: “Zhou Sifu, if I lose, I’ll let you have your way with me all weekend.”

Sure enough, in the next second, he heard the person in the defendant’s box speak calmly, “Your Honor, please allow me three minutes for my opening statement.”

The statement phase ended. After reading the rules of debate, the judge closed the file. “Now, the witness for the defense will testify.”

Hearing the judge’s words, Shi Tian’s expression froze, and he instinctively looked in Zhou Sifu’s direction.

Quickly realizing that a member of the gallery couldn’t be a witness, Shi Tian hurriedly looked away, his ears flushing with embarrassed red.

The judge asked, “Witness for the defense, have you been informed before the hearing that you must testify truthfully, and are you clear on the legal consequences of perjury?”

A woman in a formal suit stood up from the witness stand. “I am clear.”

“Good, please begin your testimony.”

Taking a deep breath, Qiu Jing, the Secretary of the Board of Fengyu Group, picked up the testimony in her hand and nodded to the judge on the bench and the clerk below. “Hello, Your Honor. Hello, everyone. I am the witness for the defendant, Mr. Shi Tian.”

“I am testifying today to prove that there are several large debt payments in the company’s account flowing overseas, and the defendant was unaware of this.”

Handing three sets of documents to the staff coming to verify them, Qiu Jing continued, “I have already submitted the originals of the above materials to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce for investigation. Next, I will explain the details regarding the abnormalities in these debt payments.”

It wasn’t until then that Shi Tian finally understood why Pangpang Qiu had appeared at the hearing.

Because his mother, Board Secretary Qiu Jing, had chosen to testify on the weekend last minute, there was no one home to stay with him, so Pangpang could only follow her to court.

Listening to the familiar yet strange terms mentioned by Secretary Qiu—”overseas property,” “California special tax reduction plan,” “investment immigration”—Shi Tian was a bit dazed for a moment.

He had always thought Qiu Jing was Ji Yuanlin ’s person, belonging to his camp.

First, Qiu Jing herself was a member of the board managed by Ji Yuanlin and wasn’t his direct subordinate. Second, after falling out with Ji Yuanlin, he had never returned to the company or contacted Qiu Jing privately.

He didn’t expect Qiu Jing to suddenly “turn” and choose to stand on his side.

…Was it possible that Qiu Jing had been holding this trump card all along, waiting until they went to court to bring it out?

No.

If Qiu Jing had long held evidence of Ji Yuanlin transferring assets overseas, why didn’t she inform him earlier to stop the whole thing from happening?

There was only one possibility: someone had given the evidence to Qiu Jing and asked her to testify as the Secretary of the Board.

At this thought, Shi Tian’s pupils suddenly contracted. He turned his head from the defendant’s table and looked at the gallery once more.

Could it be—

“I have finished my testimony,” Qiu Jing put down her materials. “Please, Your Honor and lawyers from both sides, ask your questions.”

In the plaintiff’s box opposite, Ji Yuanlin ’s lawyer’s face had already changed color as soon as he heard the evidence Qiu Jing mentioned. Once Qiu Jing finally finished her statement, he hurriedly flipped through the files in his hand and then raised his hand to the judge. “Your Honor, this evidence is irrelevant to the debt distribution issue we are currently discussing. Please support the plaintiff’s litigation request.”

Hearing the lawyer say this, a sincere smile finally appeared on the corner of Shi Tian’s mouth.

“I guess President Shi wants to file a counterclaim while preparing the defense statement?”

Zhou Sifu had asked him this question during their meeting at Danofe.

Zhou Sifu was right.

His ultimate purpose in appearing for this lawsuit was never to fight for a final victory. It was to catch the opponent’s flaws, thereby turning his passive position into an active one.

True enemies always cross paths. After all these years, that man with the surname Zhou was still the roundworm in his stomach.

He didn’t look back at the gallery, but he knew that man was watching him.

Propping his hands on the table, Shi Tian looked up and spoke directly to the judge: “Your Honor, I apply to file a counterclaim regarding the plaintiff Ji Yuanlin ’s cross-border creditor-debt dispute and add further litigation requests.”

“…”

The entire hall fell silent in an instant. No one expected the case to take such a sudden turn.

In civil proceedings, once a party files a counterclaim, if conditions allow and it is compliant, the court must accept it on the spot. Such a trial process requires more time; based on the evidence currently held, it would be difficult to reach a conclusion in just one hearing.

After comprehensive consideration, the judge ultimately ruled that a verdict for this debt dispute case between the couple would be announced on a later date.

Support