Court was in session!

Li Xuezhen could not quite understand Su Bai's approach. It was completely different from what she had been taught at school.

Well.

How could she put it? It felt very unorthodox, yet very effective.

She did not see much of a polished attorney's professionalism in Su Bai, but she had learned quite a lot from him.

Navigating social situations was one lesson, and finding witnesses today was another. That made two altogether.

Both were very useful!

"Stop standing there. Come help me make these calls. I can't get through all these numbers myself."

Hearing Su Bai's voice, Li Xuezhen snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh, right. Of course."

Ten that night.

After finishing the task, Su Bai took a sip of tea and let out a long breath. At last, all the preparations were complete.

Everything was airtight. Now all we had to do was wait for the trial!

As expected, Nandu Bank rejected the court's attempt at out-of-court mediation and declared that it would win the lawsuit.

Su Bai thought nothing of that boast. Who couldn't talk big outside a courtroom?

Once we face off in court, you'll learn how the real world works. Just wait and see how tough I am.

Before long, the day of the trial arrived.

Since the case had caused quite a stir online and offered plenty of material for a story, many reporters were waiting outside the courthouse before the hearing.

The moment Nandu Bank's lawyer arrived, reporters swarmed him.

"May we ask Nandu Bank's legal team whether you've seen the online discussion about this case? How confident are you of winning?"

"What do you think of the opposing firm, White Jun Law Firm?"

"What is your view of this case?"

Leading the bank's legal team in this lawsuit was Li Mo, a young lawyer in his twenties.

Li Mo cleared his throat twice, looking utterly confident.

"To answer your questions, Nandu Bank has reviewed the online comments, and we will provide an explanation later. As for our chances of winning, there's no need to worry. I believe everyone can judge that for themselves.

"This hearing will be livestreamed. Anyone interested is welcome to watch."

"As for the opposing law firm, you can look it up on Baidu. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment here."

Having finished speaking, Li Mo entered the courthouse surrounded by reporters, his head held high and his chest out.

Compared with the reporters crowding around Li Mo and Nandu Bank's legal team, things were much quieter on Su Bai's side. Almost no reporters noticed him.

"Lawyer Su, there's such a huge difference in how they're treating us."

Li Xuezhen sighed.

Su Bai raised an eyebrow. "The bigger the difference now, the more humiliating the media coverage will be for them later. Never mind all that. Let's go in."

"Okay!"

Just as they were about to enter the courthouse, a young-looking female reporter jogged over, carrying a camera herself.

"Excuse me, are you Su Bai from White Jun Law Firm?"

"Yes. And you are...?"

"Hello, I'm a reporter with Elephant Media. Could I interview you?"

The young reporter looked a little nervous, perhaps because she was still new to the profession.

The corners of Su Bai's mouth lifted slightly. "Of course."

The young reporter breathed a sigh of relief and adopted a professional manner.

"Hello, Su Bai. I heard that Nandu Bank's legal department once had an overall win rate of eighty-six percent at Nandu Court.

"Su Bai, what do you think White Jun Law Firm's chances of winning this lawsuit are?"

"Ahem."

Su Bai cleared his throat twice and straightened his suit.

"We at White Jun Law Firm are very confident about our lawsuit against Nandu Bank and the final hearing in Wang Li's case. Anyone who needs legal representation is welcome to engage White Jun Law Firm."

The reporter froze for a few seconds, looking slightly disappointed. That was nothing but an advertisement. Still, her professionalism kept her smiling.

"Then I wish you success in court, Lawyer Su, and hope your firm continues to grow."

"Thank you."

Su Bai turned with a smile and entered the courthouse with Li Xuezhen.

While they waited for the hearing to begin.

Li Xuezhen looked a little nervous. "Lawyer Su, this hearing is going to be livestreamed. What if something goes wrong?"

"What if? There is no 'what if,' unless the presiding judge deliberately rules incorrectly. If that happens... this case will cause an even bigger sensation."

The corners of Su Bai's mouth

curled upward as he signaled to Li Xuezhen not to worry about such things.

In this parallel world, the law was taken very seriously. It was genuinely sacrosanct.

Everyone was equal before the law, and judicial favoritism was not tolerated. Anyone who objected could apply for reconsideration, and then it would simply be a question of whether the judicial officials ended up behind bars.

Judges generally followed the law to the letter.

Su Bai had already looked into the presiding judge and the other judges assigned to this trial.

The presiding judge was a woman named Yu Caixia, the vice president of Nandu Court.

She had a deep understanding of the law and had presided over more than a hundred trials during her many years at the court. Her rulings were well reasoned and properly supported.

Yu Caixia would be presiding over this Nandu Bank robbery case.

Su Bai had no concerns about being treated unfairly, because Yu Caixia was renowned for her impartiality.

Li Xuezhen asked, "What do you mean...?"

"Never mind that for now. The hearing is about to begin."

A staff member had come over to Su Bai. After confirming his identity, the staff member indicated that he could enter.

Once the lawyers on both sides were seated, the court clerk began reading out the courtroom rules.

"To maintain order and uphold the solemnity of the court, the following courtroom rules will now be read out."

"One: parties, their legal representatives, and members of the public must follow the presiding judge's instructions."

"Two: everyone must rise when the judges enter the courtroom and when the presiding judge or sole judge announces the court's decision."

"Three: ..."

"Four: ..."

"That concludes the reading. Will the presiding judge and the other judges please enter the courtroom."

Everyone rose.

Yu Caixia and the other two judges entered the courtroom. She struck the gavel. "Court is now in session."

The identities and basic details of those present were then verified.

Meanwhile, many people outside the courtroom were watching the live broadcast of the hearing.

Inside Nandu Bank's legal department.

Wang Wu, the head of Nandu Bank, and Xu Zhiqiang, the director of its legal department, were watching the livestream.

Seeing that the hearing had begun, Wang Wu looked up and asked a question.

"Zhiqiang, the hearing has only just started, and there are already several hundred viewers in the livestream. Our legal department cannot lose this time. Understood?"

Xu Zhiqiang smiled and nodded. "President Wang, rest assured. Our legal department is thoroughly prepared. As you requested, we won't just win-we'll win convincingly. At the very least, we'll turn public opinion in our favor."

Wang Wu nodded in satisfaction.

Wang Wu nodded in satisfaction.

(End of chapter)