Sisters "Thick as Thieves"

As night deepened, the city's neon lights shone through the gaps in the blinds, casting cold bands of light across the floor of Zhang Qian's slightly cluttered office. She had just finished a lengthy meeting and was exhausted in body and mind, but a feverish, obsessive excitement burned deep in her eyes. The case file on Lin Feng lay open on her desk, beside several sheets of draft paper filled with key points for the courtroom battle and possible contingencies.

Just as she was rubbing her temples and preparing to go over her thoughts again, her personal phone began to buzz. The name flashing on the screen was "Tingting."

Zhang Qian frowned, took a deep breath, and adjusted her expression before answering. Her voice instantly became warm and full of strength. "Hello? Tingting, why are you still up so late? Are you letting your imagination run wild again?"

From the other end came Sun Tingting's voice, deliberately softened and tinged with grievance and dependence. It was cloying, like a strand of spider silk coated in honey. "Sister Zhang~~ You're still awake? I... I can't sleep... I'm so anxious, and I keep getting scared..."

She paused, letting just the right hint of tears enter her voice. "Online... so many people online support me, and I'm really touched, but... but lots of people are cursing me too, saying I lied... They even say they're waiting to watch me get slapped in the face at the trial... Sister Zhang, I'm really scared... What if... what if, when the time comes..."

Sun Tingting left the sentence unfinished, leaving Zhang Qian plenty of room to fill in her fears. At that moment, she was curled up on the soft princess bed in her bedroom, the call on speakerphone, admiring the hand cream she had just applied in the mirror as she spoke the most provocative words in the most innocent tone. Her eyes held none of the panic she showed over the phone, only a carefully calculated probe and a longing for the "victory" to come.

"Nonsense!" Zhang Qian immediately raised her voice, her tone firm and decisive, full of unquestionable "righteous indignation." "Those are all online trolls hired by Lin Feng's family! It's their dying struggle! They're deliberately muddying the waters for you to hear! Tingting, remember, you're the victim! You hold the moral high ground! What do you have to be afraid of?!"

As she spoke, she even slammed her hand down on the desk for effect, making a bang, as though she could send confidence through the phone line that way.

"R-really?" Sun Tingting sounded somewhat encouraged, but she was still so "fragile" that she seemed ready to break at a touch. "But... but the court needs evidence... Our... our plan... will it really work? What if I get nervous and say the wrong thing? Will Lawyer Zhou find something to use against me?"

She deftly turned "your plan" into "our plan," placing herself in the position of a passive participant who needed constant reassurance and guarantees.

"Put your heart back in your belly!" Zhang Qian sounded even more certain, with a hint of boasting and mystery. "How many years has your big sister been in this line of work? What great winds and waves haven't I seen? No matter how famous Zhou Wenyuan is, he's just a lawyer! In court, a silver tongue alone won't get you anywhere!"

She lowered her voice a little, as though sharing an earth-shattering secret, her tone full of confidence that everything was under control. "Tingting, I'll let you in on something, but don't tell anyone-the judge in charge of the trial has been a good sister of mine for years! We're thick as thieves! She knows exactly what this case is about! She'll definitely handle it impartially!"

She put special emphasis on "handle it impartially," but even a fool could hear what she was implying.

As Zhang Qian said this, she leaned back in her chair, a smug smile on her face. She was supremely confident in her network of connections, and she also felt it necessary to give her seemingly "timid" ally a shot of courage so she could deliver her best "performance" in court. She had no idea how much risk this private disclosure, in violation of the rules, could bring.

On the other end of the line, Sun Tingting's eyes lit up at once, like a fox that had discovered treasure, but her voice grew even softer and more grateful. "Really?! Sister Zhang! You're amazing! Even the judge is your sister! I... I really don't know what I'd do... Without you, I don't know how badly that Lin Feng would have bullied me..."

Her words were full of admiration and dependence, perfectly satisfying Zhang Qian's protective instincts and vanity.

"So you can put your heart right back in your belly!" Flattered into an even better mood, Zhang Qian waved a hand. "When the trial comes, just say what we agreed on before. Act a little more wronged, a little more scared, but be firm! Leave the rest to me... and Sister Judge! I guarantee Lin Feng will rot in prison! Let's see how arrogant he can be then!"

"Mm-hmm! I understand, Sister Zhang!" Sun Tingting's voice became "determined." "I'll make sure to do my best. I definitely won't cause trouble for you or Sister Judge! We'll show everyone that we girls aren't easy to bully!"

At just the right moment, she again expressed her determination as part of their "female alliance," binding Zhang Qian firmly to her chariot.

The two chatted "heart to heart" for a while longer. Zhang Qian repeatedly encouraged Sun Tingting, painting a picture of Lin Feng being convicted after the trial and the two of them winning a "resounding victory." Sun Tingting, meanwhile, played the part of an encouraged victim who had regained her confidence to perfection, her every word full of gratitude and trust.

At last, the call drew to a close.

"All right, it's getting late. Hurry and get some rest, and save your energy. We're going into battle the day after tomorrow!" Zhang Qian instructed her in the tone of a big sister in charge.

"Okay, Sister Zhang, you get some rest early too~ You've worn yourself out over my troubles~ Good night!" Sun Tingting's voice was sickeningly sweet.

"Good night."

The call ended.

Zhang Qian put down her hot phone and let out a long breath, feeling that she had finally calmed this "key witness" down completely. She looked at Lin Feng's photo in the case file and gave a cold laugh, feeling that victory was in her grasp.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, in a luxurious bedroom.

Every trace of obedience, fragility, and gratitude vanished from Sun Tingting's face the moment the call ended. All that remained on her delicate face was cold calculation and a faint, mocking smile.

She deftly unlocked her phone and tapped a red stop button in the recording app.

At the top of the screen, it clearly displayed: recording duration: 00:18:27.

A complete recording of the call, containing all of Zhang Qian's "guarantees" and even such damning material as "the judge is a good sister of mine," had been perfectly saved.

She looked at the audio file as though admiring a fine trophy.

"Heh, 'good sisters'? 'Handle it impartially'?" she murmured, her voice full of contempt and the pleasure of having something on her. "Zhang Qian, oh, Zhang Qian, you'd better really be able to make me win... Otherwise, who knows where this recording... might end up?"

She had never been a little white flower who could only cry. How simple it was to leave herself a way out.

She tossed her phone aside, turned off the bedside lamp, and slid contentedly under the covers, as though she could already see Lin Feng being condemned by the masses in court the day after tomorrow, while she basked in everyone's sympathy.

In the darkness, only the phone screen glowed faintly once more before finally going completely dark.