Chapter 8 Didn’t treat him as a man

It was only Zhu Shan's first day at work and she was already feeling tired.

Because at this moment, the sound of Zhuo Mou crying hoarsely in the sample film was still lingering in her mind.

Zhu Shan weakly raised her hand to enter her fingerprints, then opened the door and saw a small lamp left in the foyer.

She put the bag of porridge on the shoe cabinet, then took off her boots and put on slippers.

After walking a few steps, Zhu Shan returned sensitively and picked up the uneaten millet porridge.

She walked to the kitchen counter and poured the porridge into the kitchen garbage disposer.

He clicked the switch key on the control panel with his fingertips, and heard a slight mechanical hum in his ears.

Zhu Shan remembered Qu Lianjie asking her why she became a reporter.

She chose the profession of journalist not because she liked it since she was a child.

She was trying to investigate the truth about her father Zhu Xiaowen's case.

At that time, Zhu Xiaowen was a professor of economics at the university and led a group of graduate students. In the end, one of the female students reported him to the police for indecency.

Before the police investigated and decided to file a case, public opinion was already fermenting.

At that time, Zhu Shan saw the horror of public opinion for the first time.

But Zhu Shan didn't believe that her father would do something like molesting his own student.

He loves his mother so much, loves himself so much, and loves this family so much.

However, Zhu Xiaowen suddenly committed suicide by jumping off the building before the case was filed.

For this reason, the female student decided to withdraw the complaint.

Some say that Zhu Xiaowen committed suicide out of fear of crime, while others say that Zhu Xiaowen committed suicide due to pressure from public opinion.

But Zhu Shan didn't believe it. Dad was obviously in a good mood and firmly believed that the judiciary would give him justice.

As soon as she thought about what happened back then, Zhu Shan felt full of doubts.

Because Zhu Xiaowen suddenly committed suicide by jumping off a building before filing the case, the case became a no-brainer case.

But public opinion remains.

It was clear that the judiciary had no jurisdiction over the matter, but those people convicted him with their words.

And my mother never gave up on seeking justice for her father, and kept pursuing it, but... not long after, a car accident accidentally took her life.

Zhu Shan wanted to finish what her mother had not finished.

No matter what, she wanted an answer.

A truth.

Zhu Shan was young back then, and her family was unwilling to talk too much to a child like her, so she didn't know the details of the incident.

But she can still remember that her father was interviewed by a legal column of Yuhe TV station. At that time, there was a thin reporter uncle who kept following the report.

But later, she didn't find out the broadcast of the program.

That's why she came to Yuhe TV Station.

She wanted to find the reporter who interviewed her father to learn about the incident, or maybe find some relevant information.

Because she had too few clues.

"What are you doing?"

There was a sudden sound from behind, and Zhu Shan trembled, startled.

She turned around and saw Ling Xiao, wearing a full set of home clothes, with his arms folded across his chest, his chin slightly raised, staring at her critically.

Zhu Shan glared at him, then patted her heart, "You don't sleep in the middle of the night? Why do you come out to scare people?"

Ling Xiao chuckled, "Am I scary?"

"It was silent when walking, which scared me."

Zhu Shan clicked the on/off button on the control panel, and the buzzing of the kitchen garbage disposer stopped.

Ling Xiao glanced at the kitchen sink with lowered eyelashes, and then returned to Zhu Shan's face.

His eyes were sharp, and the sharpness between his brows was undisguised.

Zhu Shan didn't notice his sudden dangerous look. She cursed in her heart but didn't dare to show it. She was really frustrated.

She turned around, washed the David cup, and put it away.

Without looking at him, and without intending to stay any longer, Zhu Shan turned around and walked away from him. Before she could even take two steps, fate suddenly grabbed her by the throat.

Ling Xiao pulled her sweater and hat back casually, and Zhu Shan was dragged back, leaving only one slipper.

She stood on tiptoes, grabbed the collar and pulled it to make sure it couldn't be pulled, and her brows furrowed even more.

She was no longer polite, "Ling Xiao!"

Ling Xiao lowered his head slightly and moved closer, saying in a lecturing tone, "Who had the stomachache last night? Who was the one who shouted about life or death? Who can't control his mouth like that?"

Zhu Shan was only as tall as Ling Xiao's shoulders, and she gently raised her head to meet Ling Xiao's aggressive eyes.

She swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said depressedly, "You misunderstood, I didn't eat anything spicy, I just drank porridge."

Ling Xiao snorted slightly and tilted his head slightly. The geometric lampshade on the top of the kitchen was printed on the side of his face, bright and dark.

He spoke very slowly, with a sense of oppression in his low and hoarse voice, "Criminal Law 67, truthfully confessing one's crime is considered surrender."

Surrender?

Can this also involve criminal law?

Zhu Shan felt that he was used to bullying her.

She began to resist. She grabbed the collar of her sweatshirt and tugged on it. Her movements were wider than before. Her whole back hit Ling Xiao's chest, and she twisted her body hard.

Fortunately, in the next moment, Ling Xiao let go of his hand and took half a step back.

Zhu Shan didn't pay attention to him and jumped forward on one foot to put on her slippers.

She wanted to go back to her room, but was afraid that he would hold a grudge, so she turned around and explained, "My colleagues invited me to eat in the cafeteria. I thought that we should build a good relationship on the first day, so I went with them."

When Ling Xiao didn't respond, Zhu Shan emphasized, "I also ate vegetable porridge in the cafeteria."

Ling Xiao glanced at her, turned and walked towards the room, walking fast and big, as if he didn't want to dwell on the matter anymore, and said, "Go to bed early."

? ? ?

Why are you so crazy at night?

To popularize the law?

Zhu Shan was stunned for a moment and trotted up.

She adjusted her mood, her eyebrows curved, and she looked completely different from the angry image just now.

The tone was also flattering, "Brother Ling Xiao, I still have questions."

Realizing that Ling Xiao had no intention of paying attention to her, Zhu Shan ran directly to him and supported his body with both hands, "Wait a moment."

Ling Xiao lowered his head and fixed his gaze on her hands.

His face is so dark.

Zhu Shan hurriedly took back her little hand and extended her index finger to make a 'one' sign, "I just have a question."

Ling Xiao looked at her for two seconds, then sighed slightly and said in a somewhat impatient tone, "Say."

"I want to ask, is Ren Xingyan really innocent?"

Ling Xiao didn't expect her to ask this, and his brows instantly furrowed.

Zhu Shan took in his expression completely, and moved her little head closer, "You are his defense lawyer, you should know the truth."

Ling Xiao looked at her little face so close that he could clearly count her eyelashes. So he put his index finger on her forehead and pushed her away, "Whether he is guilty or not is not up to me."

"Then you haven't asked?"

"..." Ling Xiao said nothing, looking at her forehead, where he poked red.

"Ling Xiao, tell me, I want to know." Her expression was truly sincere and serious.

Ling Xiao unconsciously rubbed his fingertips and said, "He told me that he was unjustly accused."

Zhu Shan couldn't understand this and asked, "What then?"

"What then?"

"He told you that he was wronged, do you believe him?"

Ling Xiao's tone was confident, "What else?"

"Then what if he did commit a crime and lied to you?"

Ling Xiao narrowed his eyes, "What exactly do you want to say?"

Zhu Shan raised her little face and gently tested, "If he is really guilty, will you defend him?"

At night, it's especially quiet.

Ling Xiao's words also seemed particularly clear.

He said, "I am a lawyer. First, I must firmly believe in my client. Second, I must firmly stand on my client's side and defend him."

"I'm asking, what would you do if you knew he was guilty?"

Ling Xiao raised his eyebrows and said in a calm tone, "Those who break the law also have rights."

"Is this the professional ethics of a lawyer?"

"yes!"

Zhu Shan does not understand the professional ethics of lawyers, nor does she understand the beliefs of lawyers.

But she believes that reporters should be impartial and reveal the truth of the matter.

Zhu Shan took a good nap, and the heavy feeling in her heart became less intense.

At noon, she and Wu Jing went to the cafeteria to eat.

When choosing dishes, Zhu Shan's eyes were fixed on the spicy chicken for two seconds, and Ling Xiao's eyes that seemed to be able to see through everything suddenly appeared in her mind.

She didn't want to listen to him preaching the law, and repeating those few points meant surrendering.

So I was spineless and ordered a portion of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and a portion of shredded pork with chives.

Halfway through the meal, Zhu Shan said obediently, "Sister Jing, why didn't you see Brother Hui and Sister Wenwen today?"

"They went out for interviews."

"Oh." Zhu Shan said in a low tone, "When can I follow you?"

"Don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities."

Zhu Shan licked her lips and carefully introduced the topic, "Sister Jing, will all the interviews be broadcast?"

"That's not necessarily the case."

"Then what is usually done with interviews that are not broadcast?"

"Well..." Wu Jing lowered her head and played with her mobile phone, speaking slowly, "Generally, it will be kept for a while, and after a long time, it will be destroyed."

"How long do you usually keep it?"

"A few months, a year or two."

How many months?

A year or two?

But eight years have passed since Zhu Xiaowen's incident, and those interviews should have been destroyed long ago.

Zhu Shan quickly took off her chopsticks, "Sister Jing, I have been a loyal fan of Yuhe TV Station since I was a child. I remember there was a legal column called 'Inside and Out of the Court' when I was a child. Do you remember it?"

"Ah, didn't that column stop several years ago?"

"Yes, do you know who were the reporters in charge of this column at that time? Are they still at the TV station?"

Wu Jing finally put down the phone in her hand and looked at Zhu Shan doubtfully, "Why do you ask this?"

"I, I just liked that show, and I particularly admired a reporter at the time. I was wondering if I could ask him for an autograph or something."

Wu Jing laughed and joked, "I remember that the reporters in this column are all a little older. Do you like this?"

Zhu Shan nodded wildly.

Wu Jing held her cheek with one hand and thought for a while, "Not long after I joined the TV station, that column was stopped due to restrictions. There were quite a few reporters in that column, but the turnover was very high... ..”

Zhu Shan lowered her eyes in disappointment.

"Shanshan, what's the name of the reporter you like? I wonder if he is still on the TV station."

Zhu Shan didn’t remember the name at all, "It’s been too long, I didn’t remember the name.”

Wu Jing comforted, "It doesn't matter, what if we meet one day?"

Zhu Shan sighed, she could only hope for this.

Wu Jing, "By the way, Shanshan, do you live in your own home or rent a house now?"

Live in...your own home?

Zhu Shan thought for a while, "I'm staying at a friend's house."

Wu Jing immediately started gossiping, "Male or female?"

"male."

"Boy friend?"

"No." Zhu Shan averted her eyes guiltily, lowering her head to pick up the rice in the bowl, "It's an older brother, a neighbor who grew up together."

"It's just a neighbor brother? Wouldn't that be inconvenient?" Wu Jing added, "After all, he is a boy."

Zhu Shan shook her head, "I didn't regard him as a man."

Two seconds later, Wu Jing came to the conclusion, "Is...not good-looking?"

Ling Xiao's angry face appeared in Zhu Shan's little mind.

When he was little, no one ever told him that he was not good-looking.

Zhu Shan's childish desire for revenge came over, so she nodded heavily, suppressing a smile and told the lie very seriously, "Ugly! It's so ugly that you can't think of anything!"