Chapter 65 – Threat

It was already past midnight when Bian Ji returned home. Knowing that Yan Ankuo had to drive for some time more and fearing that night driving could be dangerous, he didn’t dare to sleep. Instead, he lay in bed, scrolling through videos of Yan Ankuo’s court proceedings.

Bian Ji usually had fragmented time, either on a plane or in a car, but now that he finally had some free time, he decided to learn more about his lover’s work.

Some courts would livestream and replay their public trials online, so Bian Ji estimated the time and location, sneaking into the website to precisely locate the relevant video.

As if the big data algorithm was too accurate, halfway through, when Bian Ji switched to another video platform, he found that the homepage recommendation was exactly the edited and reposted version of the livestream.

The uploader was a legal education area UP main with tens of thousands of followers. Out of curiosity, Bian Ji clicked in and watched for a few minutes, discovering that there were quite a few people watching simultaneously.

The video condensed three hours of trial into ten minutes, leaving only the most intense parts of the evidence examination and courtroom debate, accompanied by subtitles explaining the background of the event.

As expected, the comments weren’t kind, filled with: [This man, clearly not a good person!][The plaintiff cried so pitifully, I feel sorry for her, she must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to fall for such a scumbag.][Her parents must be heartbroken in heaven / broken hearted, their precious little darling hurt by such a dog of a man / sobbing][So, sisters, when finding a partner, you must open your eyes wide!][A wise person does not enter love.][Disgusting man! Cheating and preying on the vulnerable! Go die already!] Bian Ji fast-forwarded the video, which showed both sides debating the legitimacy of the evidence.

On the screen, Yan Ankuo’s facial features were blurred, but his outline could still be seen. He calmly said, “Evidence collected in violation of legal procedures, copies or duplicates that cannot be compared with the original, and audiovisual materials with questionable points, cannot be used as grounds for conviction.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Huixin nearly broke down, wailing in her seat as she repeatedly claimed she had done nothing wrong, her voice hoarse and moving.

The direction of the comments changed, even cursing at the lawyer: [This defense lawyer looks decent, how can he take on any case? Not a good thing!][What nonsense is he talking about? For money, he doesn’t care about his face? Truly, scum empathizes with scum!][That’s how litigators are! As long as they win, whoever pays them becomes their master.] The angrier Bian Ji got, the more he directly turned off the comments, kicking his legs back and forth in bed in anger, almost doing a set of military boxing moves.

Late at night, Yan Ankuo sent a message saying he had arrived home.

Bian Ji stopped kicking his legs, hesitating whether to tell Yan Ankuo about the video. Considering that he wanted him to have a good night’s sleep, he only sent a [Goodnight], deciding to talk about it the next day.

The next morning, Bian Ji forwarded the video link to Yan Ankuo, asking: [Last night I stumbled upon this, I don’t know if it has any impact on you, but just be cautious anyway.]

Yan Ankuo replied quickly, in a voice message: “I saw it, I’m going to the law firm first.”

“Okay.”

Bian Ji then contacted the real estate agent, asking if he could meet the landlord according to the original plan.

However, the agent said that the landlord felt the market wasn’t good now and had changed his mind about selling.

Bian Ji himself was also in a wait-and-see state, didn’t say much, and took advantage of the precious spare time to catch up on sleep.

He slept until mid-afternoon, Bian Ji opened his eyes dazedly, discovering that he had missed two calls. It was the legal manager of X Airlines who reached out to him, asking if he was available to come to the company to go over the most recent developments.

Bian Ji didn’t want to leave the house, directly asking, “Can we do this over the phone?”

Tang Xiaoge didn’t expect him to refuse, pausing before replying, “Yes.”

“Alright, go ahead,” Bian Ji opened his notebook at hand, ready to take notes.

“The child was discharged from the hospital today, recovering well, with no major aftereffects. Therefore, Qian Feng and Wang Huaimeng updated their demands.” Tang Xiaoge said systematically, “First, they require the company to pay a total of 260,000 yuan for medical expenses and mental distress. Second, they require the provision of the in-cabin audio recordings at the time. Third, they demand an official apology statement published by X Airlines.”

After listening, Bian Ji asked, “What do you need me to cooperate with?”

“You can’t cooperate with anything.” Manager Tang was decisive, sighing, “The last point, the leadership will never agree to it, they’d rather pay a bit more money than do it.”

Bian Ji spoke frankly, “But why didn’t the company agree when they didn’t ask for a public apology the first time, but just wanted a few hundred thousand more?”

Tang Xiaoge entered X Airlines together with Bian Ji, had three years of legal experience, and had interned in a court. With a silver tongue for debate, she was also lively and likable, so Bian Ji didn’t have to be too restrained when talking to her.

“At the time, wasn’t it for maximizing benefits? If I didn’t even negotiate, wouldn’t the leadership criticize me?” Tang Xiaoge treated him as a friend, speaking bluntly, “This is for your own good! You should be on my side.”

Bian Ji wasn’t swayed by this, half-jokingly saying, “They said there was no fault in the rescue, the special investigation team said I had no problem, you can’t morally blackmail me.”

“Chief Attendant Bian,” Tang Xiaoge didn’t beat around the bush, seriously saying, “I’m synchronizing the negotiation progress with you! I want to hear what you, the client, thinks.”

Bian Ji maintained an attitude of not hitting someone with a smile on their face, “I feel that the company cutting staff and not having emergency medical equipment on hand did indeed affect the rescue results to a certain extent. Under these circumstances, the child’s parents wanting explanation from isn’t excessive.”

“Ah, that’s true, but…” Tang Xiaoge spun several times in her chair, shaking her head, “Reputation and image are the foundation for retaining members, getting the company to publicly apologize, the leadership will definitely not accept it.”

After a long silence, Bian Ji said, “But the parents have already made concessions, reducing the compensation amount by more than half, you and Lawyer Chen worked hard to get this.”

Tang Xiaoge sighed, “Will the leadership care about how much effort I put in? The leadership will only see if I achieved results!”

“Bitter workplace chicken soup, you’ve got it down pat.” Bian Ji was amused, “Why not give it a try? If it doesn’t work, I’ll join you in looking for Old Gao?”

Gao Jian was the leader of the group business division, more amicable than the other top executives, and his management style was also relatively open-minded. However, he had been traveling on business recently and wouldn’t return until next week.

Tang Xiaoge nodded repeatedly, “Finding Old Gao is fine, he’s easy to talk to. Just in time, you understand the whole thing, let’s go together.”

“Tsk, just waiting for me to walk right into the line of fire?” Bian Ji pretended to be angry.

Tang Xiaoge confessed, “Otherwise, why would I make this call?”

Bian Ji hung up the phone and arranged for an administrative meeting, planning to find Old Gao as soon as he returned and discuss this with him. Then he called Lawyer Chen, carefully understanding the details of the negotiations and the other party’s demands, and spent two hours with Tang Xiaoge preparing a report.

After finishing up, Bian Ji pinched his throbbing temples, estimating that Yan Ankuo should be done with his work, planning to tell him about this situation. But when he made two calls, he couldn’t get through.

Bian Ji got up to take a refreshing shower, not forgetting to carry his phone in his pocket, for fear of missing a call.

This call indeed came, but it dragged on until close to midnight.

Bian Ji was half-asleep from exhaustion, startled awake by the vibration reminder, sitting up abruptly to answer, “Just finished?”

The noise on the other end was chaotic, with many people moving around.

“Mm, haven’t you gone to sleep yet?” Yan Ankuo sounded extremely tired.

Bian Ji yawned, “Nope, waiting for you. Back home?”

“No, I’m staying at the law firm tonight.”

“Pulling an all-nighter? What happened, so urgent?”

“The entrance was blocked by many reporters, unable to leave.” Yan Ankuo looked up at the clock, “Sorry, I’ve been in the conference room. You tried reaching me this afternoon?”

Distracted by this, Bian Ji had no interest in chatting about himself, only caring about his safety, “How come there are reporters? Are you alright?”

Yan Ankuo sighed, saying, “Yesterday’s video was forwarded by Mr. K.”

Mr. K was a famous legal circle influencer, with over a million followers, popular among netizens due to his live broadcasts and variety shows. His repost meant the incident quickly went viral, with a flood of negative comments pouring in as many passersby became aware of it.

Coincidentally, news broke last night in another province about a rich girl being murdered by her husband for insurance fraud, causing a flurry of criticism, and the firestorm even extended to the defense lawyer in the Wenshun case.

Some media found out Yan Ankuo’s workplace and called Hengtian. The receptionist, professionally trained, gave an official and impeccable response, which was reported and led to a new interpretation.

As more and more reporters camped outside Hengtian’s front door, the director couldn’t sit still anymore, urgently calling in those involved in the incident to discuss follow-up strategies. Yan Ankuo had been discussing it with them until now, and the crowd outside had just started to disperse.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to pick you up?” Bian Ji asked anxiously.

“No need, you should rest first, I’ll go home once the crowd disperses.” Yan Ankuo didn’t forget the matter at hand, “By the way, what did you need from me?”

With such a huge mess at Hengtian, how could Bian Ji dare to distract him for himself? “Nothing major, just worried you weren’t eating properly again since you didn’t reply to my messages.”

Yan Ankuo sensed something off in his tone, pressing, “Really?”

Bian Ji nodded, “Really, don’t worry.”

Yan Ankuo asked again, not getting anything out of him, and had to give up, repeating “Tell me if there’s anything.” Bian Ji laughed and said “Okay”, urging him to hang up the phone and go home quickly.

Bian Ji had previously known that the Wenshun case had a significant social impact, but he hadn’t expected it to be so big as to attract so much media attention.

News reports were more neutral in stance compared to the comments, but the description inevitably carried some subjective bias. If Bian Ji didn’t have an intimate relationship with the defense lawyer, after reading the news, he might also sympathize with the plaintiff.

Yan Ankuo didn’t return home until past two o’clock in the morning, reporting his safety to Bian Ji.

The more Bian Ji thought about it, the more anxious he became. Early in the morning, he sent several WeChats to Yan Ankuo, but received no reply. He couldn’t sit still any longer, grabbed the car keys, and prepared to go to Yan Ankuo’s place to check on him.

Bian Ji usually drove in a relaxed manner, praised for his steady driving in the past, but this time was an exception.

Due to traffic, he was only a few steps away from the car in front, and then encountered a string of red lights, making the wait very annoying.

Impatiently, he honked his horn, checking the rearview mirror three times a minute, and sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

At this moment, the phone suddenly rang, and after confirming the caller, he quickly answered via Bluetooth.

“Bian Ji,” Yan Ankuo was unusually tense on the other side, “where are you?”

Bian Ji replied, “Still stuck on the bridge, what’s up?”

“I…” Yan Ankuo hesitated for a moment before saying, “My home address seems to have been leaked, paint was splashed on my doorstep this morning, and the guardhouse received several dead rabbits.”

“Is anyone threatening you?” Bian Ji raised his voice sharply, “Where are you? Are you hurt?”

Yan Ankuo said, “No, I came to the office first. But there are still many people outside Hengtian, so Director Zhou suggested I take two days off.”

Bian Ji’s mouth opened, unable to say anything. After a while, his heartbeat calmed down, and he finally spoke, “How did those people get into your neighborhood?”

“We don’t know yet, the police have been notified, and they’re checking the surveillance footage.”

There was a two-second pause on the phone, Bian Ji took a deep breath, “So what are you going to do now? You obviously can’t stay at home.”

Yan Ankuo hummed in agreement, saying, “It’s fine, I’ll book a hotel. I’m just afraid that there might be related news this afternoon, and you’ll worry if you see it, so I’m telling you in advance.”

“You can’t keep staying in a hotel!” Bian Ji exclaimed anxiously, “Moreover, since your address has been leaked, how can your identity information not be leaked? Can you trust the hotel security? What if you get hurt?”

Bian Ji asked a series of questions, preventing Yan Ankuo from interjecting. Once he finished, Yan Ankuo said, “The police have already been notified, there won’t be any problems.”

“How do you know there won’t be any problems when the perpetrators haven’t been found?” The red light ahead turned green, and Bian Ji decisively changed lanes to the right without hesitation, “Come to my place, I’ll pick you up.”