“There’s a misunderstanding, let me explain.”

The look in Xiu Ma’s eyes was sending this signal.

“Won’t listen, you’re trash. You’ve been bought off by Li Sa, haven’t you?”

Even the typically composed Xia Xiao Lan, who had maintained her calm until now, was ready to glare. Xiu Ma retreated from the courtroom under these stern gazes.

The next witness was Ti Na.

The situation was becoming somewhat precarious, as Attorney Mai Er Si, whom Li Sa had hired, was formidable.

When Ti Na took the stand, she appeared somewhat distracted.

However, she answered all of Attorney Ai Li Ke’s questions with careful attention.

“Yes, that was my first meeting with the plaintiff. She came with Xiu Ma to deliver the design drawings to Aunt Xin Xi Ya’s house. It was my first time seeing the theater renovation proposal. I thought the plan was excellent, though Aunt Xin Xi Ya wasn’t one hundred percent convinced at first. She felt the design was too modern, but the plaintiff persuaded her with a survey report.”

“Aunt Xin Xi Ya introduced the plaintiff to me as an architect from China, saying she was very capable.”

“Yes, Aunt Xin Xi Ya fully acknowledged the plaintiff’s capabilities. Since I also had related business needs, she recommended the plaintiff to me. I wanted to hire the plaintiff, but she declined, citing her commitment to the theater renovation project.”

“Did she conceal her status as a GMP intern? No.”

Attorney Ai Li Ke seemed to regain some momentum.

Ti Na’s testimony was favorable to Xia Xiao Lan.

Xia Xiao Lan was somewhat surprised – Grandmother Yu was truly remarkable, managing to straighten out even such a stubborn mind.

Ti Na clearly understood what she was doing.

Speaking effectively was an art.

Xiu Ma didn’t quite grasp this art, which was why he fell into Mai Er Si’s trap, turning his testimony into a “confession.”

Ti Na was different. Her testimony favored Xia Xiao Lan – not overtly, but with powerful implications.

Ti Na was helping her.

Xia Xiao Lan reaffirmed her judgment – Ti Na wasn’t bad. Though willful and somewhat gullible, these traits were quite different from being “bad”—

“Ti Na, thank you for testifying. Your Honor, I have no further questions.”

Attorney Mai Er Si glanced at Ti Na and asked just one question:

“You saw the plaintiff and Xiu Ma bringing design drawings to the Wilson residence. Did you personally witness the plaintiff’s creative process?”

Ti Na frowned.

She hadn’t known Xia Xiao Lan then, so how could she have witnessed her creative process?

This question was a trap.

“Will the witness please answer the question!”

“…No, I did not witness it.”

Ti Na deflated.

What had the world come to?

Xia Xiao Lan had drawn the designs herself, yet now had to prove it.

Would people need to record themselves 24 hours a day from now on, just to prove their actions if questioned?

Ti Na felt defeated by the world’s absurdity.

She believed Xia Xiao Lan wouldn’t plagiarize someone else’s work, but would the judge believe that? Today’s testimony had been such a failure!

The hearing had been going on for over two hours when Attorney Ai Li Ke requested a recess, which the judge granted.

So far, two of defendant Li Sa’s witnesses have yet to testify.

“She has two witnesses: Xin Xi Ya Wilson and Meng De Dao Sen.”

Xia Xiao Lan nodded, “It’s about what we expected. Li Sa’s lawyer Mai Er Si is not only unscrupulous but also very skilled.”

Mai Er Si hadn’t dwelled on Attorney Ai Li Ke’s motion to modify the claims at the opening.

Originally, Xia Xiao Lan had sought $100,000 in economic damages and $100,000 for reputation damage and emotional distress from Li Sa.

When filing the complaint, they hadn’t anticipated Li Sa would go to such lengths – appearing on TV interviews, and giving newspaper interviews. Xia Xiao Lan’s reputation had been severely tarnished. Increasing the reputation damages from $100,000 to $500,000 might seem excessive, and Attorney Ai Li Ke had hoped Mai Er Si would challenge this – then Attorney Ai Li Ke could declare in court that his client was suffering from media violence, violence instigated by the defendant Li Sa!

This wasn’t evidence.

It was meant to prevent the judge and jury from having preconceived negative impressions of Xia Xiao Lan.

As the saying goes, when people dislike someone, everything they do is wrong, every reasoned defense is seen as sophistry, and even breathing is wrong.

“We must stay focused. Xin Xi Ya’s testimony is our breakthrough point. Meng De Dao Sen is a complete opportunist. If he sees Li Sa losing the case, he won’t sink with her. His testimony will distance himself from Li Sa.”

Breaking Li Sa during Xin Xi Ya’s testimony was the strategy Attorney Ai Li Ke and Xia Xiao Lan had agreed upon.

Though Meng De possessed strong professional expertise, he was someone who only added flowers to brocade, never risking sending charcoal in snowy weather – this was Meng De’s nature. By targeting this personality trait, Attorney Ai Li Ke could render him speechless with just a few questions.

Earlier, Mai Er Si had been finding holes in the testimonies of Xia Xiao Lan’s witnesses. Now it was Attorney Ai Li Ke’s turn to find weaknesses in Li Sa’s witnesses’ testimonies.

At first, Xia Xiao Lan’s side appeared to be attacking but was defending.

In the second half of the trial, the situation would reverse.

No testimony could be perfect – as the Chinese saying goes, “Even the tightest defense has a weak spot.” As the attacking side, finding flaws in the opposition’s testimony was always easier!

Liu Fen contained her anxiety.

“Xiao Lan, you’ll win this case. Mom believes in you. You’ve always been strong-willed since childhood, and you never lie about important matters.”

Well, that was true.

Xia Xiao Lan disdained to lie.

The original ‘Xia Xiao Lan’ was a straightforward, competitive person who naturally believed everything she did was right. With such a personality, there was no need for lies – someone who didn’t even try to hide wrongdoing did not need deception.

Liu Fen was very worried, but she wasn’t the same uninformed village woman as before. Showing anxiety now would only affect Xia Xiao Lan without offering any help.

Xia Xiao Lan squeezed Liu Fen’s hand, which felt cool despite the air conditioning, showing just how worried her mother was.

“I will win. I’ve never claimed to be a good person, but I won’t admit to wrongdoings I haven’t committed!”

The recess was brief.

Many reporters outside the courthouse were trying to get in for interviews, desperately seeking information about the trial results, but this hearing wasn’t public. They could only wait anxiously for the verdict.

When court resumed, Mrs. Wilson took the witness stand.

“Thank you for agreeing to testify. Now, as the defendant’s counsel, I’d like to invite you to share with the judge and jury your thoughts on why you chose to designate a GMP firm intern, the plaintiff in this case, as the project lead. Was your choice at the time influenced by others, such as GMP partner Mr. Kissinger—”

“Objection! Leading question!”

“Sustained! Defense counsel, mind your questioning method!”

Leading questions, also known as suggestive questioning, occur when lawyers inappropriately restrict or manipulate the respondent’s answers. In the first half of the trial, Mai Er Si frequently used leading questions.

However, he had always skirted the line, making it difficult for Attorney Ai Li Ke to catch him.

But this time it was too obvious – Mai Er Si was leading Mrs. Wilson to say that designating Xia Xiao Lan, an intern, as the lead was demanded by GMP partner Kissinger!