He Zhichu smiled airily and ignored Gu Nianzhi’s teasing. He pointed to the other side of the driveway and motioned her to drive in.
Gu Nianzhi nodded and got back in the car to start the engine. She drove into the courtyard of He Zhichu’s villa in the west ,ountains.
She parked the car at the end of the driveway and got out of the car to enter He Zhichu’s new villa.
The lobby on the first floor was also made of cherry wood. In the middle of the lobby, there was a vividly colored Persian carpet with intricate patterns. It was a stark contrast to the collection of snow-white sofas.
The lobby was very deep inside, and the spiral staircase wound upwards as it lead to the second and third floors. There was also a basement at the bottom where one could walk outside.
Gu Nianzhi glanced at it roughly and tutted, “Professor He, why does this villa of yours look so familiar to me? It seems to be on par with your big American country villa in Boston.”
They were both in top-tier locations, and the villas were of the same size and were almost as expensive.
He Zhichu poured a glass of milk for Gu Nianzhi and examined her closely, ” … You’ve lost weight. Didn’t Huo Shaoheng feed you enough food in Russia?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled as she took the milk, “Of course I was fed enough. Isn’t it good to lose weight? Professor He, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He Zhichu: ” … ”
Gu Nianzhi looked He Zhichu up and down again and said earnestly, “Professor He, you’ve really lost weight. What exactly caused the illness this time? Will it continue to happen again?”
He Zhichu shook his head and said firmly, “It won’t happen again. It was an accident this time.”
“Alright, I hope that you’ll be treated properly if you’re sick. You can’t be afraid of the doctor ” Gu Nianzhi gazed at He Zhichu intensely and handed him the gift she had bought for him.
“Professor He, this is a small gift I bought for you in Russia. I know you don’t lack anything, and I can’t afford anything too expensive. I thought this set of dolls was cute, so I bought it for you. Gu Nianzhi smiled and opened the gift box.
Inside the box was a famous Russian gift — a Russian nesting doll.
Gu Nianzhi picked up the pink, round-faced, large-eyed wooden doll that was dressed in traditional Russian costume and compared it to her face. “Her name is Matryona. Isn’t she cute?”
Other than the shape of the doll’s face, the rest of its features were similar to Gu Nianzhi’s. However, its full moon-like face was similar to the doll that Gu Nianzhi had carried since she was a child, and also somewhat similar to Wen Shouyi’s.
He Zhichu’s almond-shaped eyes sparkled as he silently watched Gu Nianzhi take out a smaller doll from the doll’s stomach. One by one, she took out new dolls from the previous doll’s stomach, in the end, there were a total of fifteen dolls of different sizes placed on the coffee table in front of he Zhichu.
The largest one was the size of He Zhichu’s palm, while the smallest one was only the size of a pinky finger. The workmanship was exquisite, the color was delicate, and the expression was charming. It was very cute.
He Zhichu wasn’t unfamiliar with this toy. He used to have many at home, and they were more exquisite and luxurious than this one.
However, Gu Nianzhi had given them to him, and they meant different things.
He Zhichu picked up the largest doll and looked at it. He said coldly, “If this doll had a smaller and narrower face, it would look a little like you.”
“Do we look alike? I don’t think so… ” Gu Nianzhi blinked, but the doll looked familiar to her, so she bought it along the way..
Was there really a psychological reason behind it?
Gu Nianzhi didn’t have time to think about it. He Zhichu had already put the dolls back in one by one. He said nonchalantly, “If you don’t think it looks like you, then it doesn’t. Maybe I was wrong.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and didn’t argue with He Zhichu. She finished her milk and returned to the topic at hand.
“Professor He, I’m relieved to see that you’ve recovered.” Gu Nianzhi took out the draft of the lawsuit she had written last night. “I shouldn’t have bothered you since you’re so busy. But I hope I can discuss this with you to broaden my thinking.”
He Zhichu knew that Gu Nianzhi had no reason to visit him for personal reasons.
He took the folder that Gu Nianzhi had handed him and opened it to read.
He Zhichu finished reading it in one glance, and said in a low voice, “…You’re going to represent Song Jinning and sue Luo Jialan for attempted murder?”
Gu Nianzhi nodded solemnly and said seriously, “Yes, I must sue her for attempted murder.”
“But based on your statement, wouldn’t it be easier to sue for ‘mental abuse’ or ‘domestic violence’?” He Zhichu said calmly. He was looking at Gu Nianzhi’s lawsuit from a purely legal point of view.
Gu Nianzhi was a little overly emotional. “Yes, I want to sue her for attempted murder! How would it be enough to only sue her for ‘abuse’?”
It had to be attempted murder!
“Why?” He Zhichu looked up and calmly fixed his gaze on Gu Nianzhi… “Convince me first.”
“There’s no murder in our criminal law, only intentional murder. There are two types of cases: manslaughter and attempted murder.”
“Ms. Song didn’t die, so it can only be attempted murder.”
“I think this is the maximum legal punishment for Luo Jialan’s actions. It’s many times more serious than “domestic violence” or “mental abuse. ”
Gu Nianzhi was filled with righteous indignation and her little face appeared stiff.
He Zhichu smiled, “What’s the point of telling me all this? You have not a word to prove why you want to sue Luo Jialan for ‘attempted murder’, and you’ve only been saying that this is the only way to get the maximum punishment for Luo Jialan. This will make the police and the prosecution think you are carrying out a personal vendetta and deliberately leaning on attempted murder.”
“If you can’t even convince me, how can you convince the judicial branch to prosecute Luo Jialan?”
“If it’s mental abuse or domestic violence, you don’t need to file a public prosecution through the police or the judicial branch. You can file a private prosecution in the court and sue Luo Jialan yourself.”
“But if you want to sue for attempted murder, you have to convince the police department to file a case. At the same time, you have to get enough evidence to convince them that it is indeed ‘attempted murder’. Only then can you file a public prosecution against Luo Jialan in court.”
“Because according to Huaxia Empire’s Law, a case like attempted murder can only be prosecuted by the prosecution, not by the court.”
Gu Nianzhi understood all of He Zhichu’s reasoning. That was why she had first thought of He Zhichu and wanted to discuss the case with him.
Gu Nianzhi let out a sigh of relief and sat back on the sofa. She let out a long sigh and said, “I know, that’s why I wanted to discuss it with you to see if I can prove that Luo Jialan had intentionally attempted murder.”
“That won’t be easy.” He Zhichu handed her back her folder. “Do you still remember what was taught in the criminal law class? If you want to prove that she had attempted to kill on purpose, what evidence and arguments do you need?”
Gu Nianzhi counted on her fingers.
“First, we need to determine that she had a subjective motive for deliberate murder.”
“Second, we need to prove that she had the objective conditions to kill on purpose.”
“Third, we need to prove that she had committed an act of intentional killing, and that she knew that the direct result of this act would be the death of the plaintiff.”
It wasn’t easy to prove that Luo Jialan had done any of this to Song Jinning.
He Zhichu nodded and said without any expression, “First, we need to prove that she had a subjective motive for intentionally killing Song Jinning. How do you suggest we prove it?”
Gu Nianzhi was at a loss for words.
“Also, why are you suing Luo Jialan again? It’s an arduous task where the odds aren’t in your favor. Tell me, do you have any reason to sue her? ” He Zhichu could tell at a glance that Gu Nianzhi must’ve had a particular reason, so he pressed on.
