To claim a power-for-favor deal, one needs evidence.

Did Xia Xiao Lan and Harold dine together? Book a hotel room? Or spend the night at Harold’s residence?

It was complete nonsense.

No photos, no videos – what kind of power-for-favor deal was this?

Harold continued his denial:

“The C·W Architecture Design Competition doesn’t exist for any individual. The bidding for the Washington Wilson Hotel project was the result of fair competition, not my personal choice. If you believe I would recklessly hand over a multi-million dollar project to GMP firm for personal reasons, my business would have failed long ago.”

This was true.

Even if Harold considered Xia Xiao Lan his soulmate, he wouldn’t have given the project to GMP if their proposal wasn’t good enough.

As a mature businessman, Harold knew where his advantages lay.

Career was always a man’s most important advantage. A man could sacrifice some benefits for a woman, but to start treating his career as a joke for a woman’s sake… This was something Harold would never do!

“My relationship with Cynthia and Ivan is very poor. I wouldn’t confide in them, and we rarely meet. Recently, my brother Ivan Harold went bankrupt. Neither he nor Cynthia are good at managing business. He asked me for financial help, which I refused. I suspect they might harbor resentment and deliberately provide false testimony to damage my reputation.”

Harold didn’t leave any face for Mrs. Wilson.

What nonsense about trying to please him by helping advance Xia Xiao Lan’s career?

They weren’t even close!

Just bankrupt relatives causing trouble after being refused money.

Harold’s appearance was convincing.

When wealthy people speak, even their words seem to carry the scent of money. If a wealthy man likes a woman, why would he need to hide it?

After Harold’s testimony, the jury’s discussions grew louder.

Perhaps due to his overwhelming presence, or his courtroom threat to sue rumormongers into bankruptcy, Lisa’s lawyer Myers didn’t dare ask more pointed questions!

Myers requested a recess!

The trial had lasted all morning.

The judge decided to reconvene at two o’clock.

While the plaintiffs and defendants might go without food, the judge and others needed lunch.

Xia Xiao Lan stayed in the rest area, surrounded by concerned supporters.

Harold’s court appearance had caught Lisa’s group off guard.

“Will Xiao Lan win?” Liu Fen sought confirmation from Hu Ying.

She felt the tide had turned but wasn’t entirely sure.

Hu Ying nodded confidently, “Definitely. The opposition attacked the credibility of Xiao Lan’s witness testimony, but without any proof of power-for-favor dealings, Xiao Lan’s evidence is more than sufficient.”

She wasn’t even worried about Monde’s pending testimony.

The same questions Myers used to challenge Tina could be used against Monde: Did you personally see Lisa drawing the designs?

On Xia Xiao Lan’s side, they had Matthew and Kissinger’s testimony. As long as their credibility wasn’t questioned, their role in the evidence chain was extremely significant!

Having absorbed legal knowledge from her daughter Wen Manni’s years as a lawyer, Hu Ying understood litigation well and felt Xia Xiao Lan had a strong chance of winning.

…

“Mrs. Wilson, you said Harold wouldn’t appear in court—”

“Well, he did appear, could I have stopped him?”

Mrs. Wilson didn’t spare Myers any face either:

“Can you still win this case? If you can’t win, it’s because of your inadequate legal skills. Don’t blame your mistakes on me! I’m tired and need to rest!”

She had said most of her testimony.

Originally, she had planned to emphasize that during the theater renovation, she had only communicated with Lisa.

Now with Harold’s sudden appearance denying everything she said, Mrs. Wilson felt frustrated. If they couldn’t win the case and teach Xia Xiao Lan a lesson, wouldn’t all her efforts be wasted?

She and Ivan had wanted Harold to return to America, but not like this, out of their control.

Her testimony in court today would also upset Tina.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Wilson started looking for Tina.

Myers called her several times, but she ignored him.

Lisa looked unwell. Myers tried to reassure her, “We still have Mr. Monde. Mr. Monde’s testimony is crucial!”

Monde?

Lisa didn’t have much confidence.

Monde had already indicated he couldn’t be involved in this matter. Lisa herself didn’t know what Monde would say in his afternoon testimony—if they could win the case, Monde would help without hesitation; if they were going to lose, he would abandon her.

As Lisa pondered this, she looked up and saw Monde.

He had arrived with his daughter Heidi.

“Mr. Monde—”

“I heard the trial isn’t going well, and the opposition has a heavyweight witness testifying.”

Monde stopped there.

Even in the rest area, he remained extremely cautious, keeping his thoughts to himself in front of Lisa and Myers.

…

Outside the courthouse, the crowd hadn’t dispersed.

Supporters of both Xia Xiao Lan and Lisa remained, including reporters.

The trial had unexpectedly continued from morning into afternoon, with uncertainty about whether a verdict would be reached today. The case was complex; people had expected a quick judgment. Lisa’s supporters thought Xia Xiao Lan must have powerful backing to make the case so difficult, while Xia Xiao Lan’s supporters felt American law was unfair to Chinese people.

Both sides had strong opinions.

Before the trial, Xia Xiao Lan had presented them with a challenging task. After careful selection of what they considered good design work, they dared not speak up. Lisa’s supporters feared they might have chosen Xia Xiao Lan’s work, which would be extremely embarrassing—

Xia Xiao Lan didn’t care about their embarrassment.

She hadn’t brought this embarrassment upon them. If they were simple-minded enough to be deceived by Lisa, why should Xia Xiao Lan respect each of them?

This was about dividing these people, pacifying them, and dissolving the pressure they created for the trial!

The lunch break passed quickly, and Xia Xiao Lan hoped the litigation would end that afternoon.

Eric indicated it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Professor McCarthy is our trump card.”

“We shouldn’t put all our hopes on the professor. I hope what I prepared will be useful.”

Eric glanced at her, “You’re too modest. That was your idea, not my wisdom at work.”

After their brief exchange, the afternoon session officially began.

This time, it was Professor McCarthy’s turn to tell everyone a story!

Myers’ story was about power-for-favor deals and an intern stealing Lisa’s work.

McCarthy’s story was equally compelling: about a Pritzker Prize winner with a narrow mind who didn’t want to see a Chinese student succeed, especially since this student had once offended the famous architect’s wife, leading to the Pritzker Prize winner’s furious revenge—this was a story the judge and jury would appreciate!

Evidence?

There was no concrete evidence.

Everyone was selling stories and playing on emotions, so it came down to who told it better.

The power-for-favor story had been debunked, and now it was Professor McCarthy’s turn to perform. This was truly out of character for McCarthy; he would never expose Monde’s actions to gain public sympathy for himself, but he would do it for Xia Xiao Lan—

From the witness stand, Professor McCarthy narrated this “story.”

In the gallery, Mao Kangshan rubbed his nose.

McCarthy genuinely cared for his apprentice, but don’t think this meant he would hand his apprentice over to the other side—no way!