Lawyer Xiong had a strange feeling that the young presiding judge on the bench seemed to smile.
What was so funny!
Young people were just too careless, unaware of how serious this occasion was.
Lawyer Xiong was being overly suspicious. Though the situation was somewhat amusing, the presiding judge was professionally trained and had seen all sorts of oddballs in court. Some defence lawyers aggressively cornered plaintiffs, while others were made fools of by plaintiffs. Legal knowledge wasn’t always necessary; some people were sharp-minded and logical, never falling into traps set by lawyers, truly clear-headed. But today’s plaintiff was so young, no wonder Lawyer Xiong was frustrated.
The presiding judge reviewed the evidence provided by Zheng Zhihe.
The judge’s robe gave the young presiding judge a solemn and dignified air. With amber eyes that carried an innate authority, the judge’s gaze met Lawyer Xiong’s, who couldn’t help but look away.
“Defence counsel, do you have any evidence to submit?”
On the issue of submitting one manuscript to multiple outlets, Lawyer Xiong had no evidence.
Before the trial, Lawyer Xiong had spoken seriously with Han Qin.
Prohibiting multiple submissions was a common industry rule, as authors, especially new ones, often did this.
New authors, unsure of magazines’ preferences, were most likely to face rejections and eager to get published. Submitting to multiple outlets became their norm.
Lawyer Xiong tried to use this to undermine Wen Ying’s character, but he didn’t expect her to be an unconventional new author!
When Wen Ying was reborn last year, her mind was filled with regret for giving up her writing dreams. Confident she understood the demands of youth literature magazines, her creativity and confidence surged. With so many stories to write, why would she need to submit to multiple outlets?
With no evidence to present, Lawyer Xiong cleared his throat and continued questioning.
This time, he asked about Wen Ying’s relationship with Xiao Ni.
Why was Xiao Ni so kind to a new author?
“As far as I know, you published three short stories in Aige before starting the serialisation of Youth Idol, and your editor, Ni Sisi, played a key role, didn’t she?”
Lawyer Xiong stated facts, which Wen Ying couldn’t deny.
“Indeed, from my first submission to Aige to serialising Youth Idol, Editor Ni helped me greatly. Without her professional guidance and encouragement, Youth Idol wouldn’t have been published.”
Xiao Ni was the main reason Wen Ying chose to submit to Aige.
Even when rejecting manuscripts, Xiao Ni patiently pointed out Wen Ying’s shortcomings. This didn’t need Lawyer Xiong’s emphasis; their frequent email exchanges spoke for themselves.
“It seems you and Ni Sisi are quite close. You trusted her so much that when she jumped ship to Chengdu Publishing Group, it influenced your decision. You didn’t want to submit to Aige anymore because Ni Sisi and Chengdu Publishing Group offered you better publishing terms.”
Lawyer Xiong finally steered the topic toward Wen Ying’s “breach of contract.”
Wen Ying actively wanted to break the contract, having found a better option and no longer wishing to submit to Aige. With no further manuscripts for Youth Idol, what could Aige do but terminate the contract?
Thus, Aige’s “termination statement” was true, and Han Qin’s anonymous posts on Tianya Forum were also true. Being factual, they didn’t infringe on “Against the Current Fish”’s reputation!
Facing Lawyer Xiong’s accusations, Wen Ying firmly denied them:
“I signed with Chengdu Publishing Group after negotiations with Editor-in-Chief Han failed. Editor-in-Chief Han represented the magazine’s stance. The magazine had priority signing rights, but when they didn’t sign, I chose to work with Chengdu Publishing Group. I signed with them before Editor Ni was fired from Aige. She lost her job and naturally had to find a new one. This is separate from the magazine and Editor-in-Chief Han infringing on my reputation.”
Lawyer Xiong thought it was the same issue.
He presented evidence in court.
All chat records between “Xiao Ni” and “Against the Current Fish,” especially Xiao Ni asking for subsequent manuscripts and being refused by Against the Current Fish, proved the latter breached first—though the one requesting manuscripts wasn’t actually Xiao Ni, the chat records didn’t show this.
“Presiding Judge, my client has worked at Aige for many years. She is a professional and experienced editor-in-chief who has discovered many authors. No author has ever acted like the plaintiff. During the plaintiff’s time submitting to Aige, though Editor Ni Sisi handled direct communication, she was guided by my client, her superior. My client values every talented new author. After Youth Idol received positive reader feedback, my client proactively raised the plaintiff’s payment from 130 yuan per thousand words to 180 yuan.”
Lawyer Xiong paused to let the judge process his words.
“When a subordinate jumps ship, taking a valued author the magazine heavily supported, it’s a double blow to my client’s career and emotions, leading her to vent anonymously on an online forum. Considering the plaintiff’s age, my client’s actions were certainly inappropriate, but her statements were true and do not constitute reputational infringement.”
Raising the payment was Xiao Ni’s idea.
But Han Qin approved it.
The judge wouldn’t know how much Xiao Ni had to negotiate with Han Qin. Lawyer Xiong’s evidence only favoured Han Qin.
Lawyer Xiong aimed to attack Wen Ying’s character while building Han Qin’s.
A professional editor-in-chief who cared about authors posting anonymously online was indeed improper, but given Han Qin’s position, it didn’t infringe on Wen Ying’s reputation.
Lawyer Xiong was skilled.
Court proceedings were recorded.
In this lawsuit, Lawyer Xiong aimed to drag Xiao Ni into it. After this case, he’d target Xiao Ni’s lawsuit. Today, he’d establish that Xiao Ni took a key author when jumping ship, making her case against the magazine and Han Qin easier to win.
Neither Zheng Zhihe nor Wen Ying wanted Xiao Ni to testify today, as her move to Chengdu Publishing Group made her testimony biased.
Zheng Zhihe also felt Xiao Ni’s testimony wasn’t needed.
In the gallery, Xiao Ni was furious at Lawyer Xiong.
How could he twist the truth?
After Lawyer Xiong spoke, Han Qin’s eyes glistened with tears.
The arrogant Editor-in-Chief Han outside court was gone; now she was just a pitiful person hurt by her subordinate and author!
“Gen—”
Xiao Ni started to speak but was stopped by Zou Weijun.
The gallery was for observing, not speaking.
Zheng Zhihe gave Xiao Ni a calming look, and Wen Ying remained unruffled.
Seeing the calm Xie Qian nearby, Xiao Ni blushed.
How could she be less composed than two high schoolers? If they could stay calm, why was she anxious?
She should trust Lawyer Zheng!
Zheng Zhihe wanted to see what key evidence Lawyer Xiong had. After all that, Xiong only had words.
This was a courtroom, not a debate.
Twisting the truth was useless without solid evidence!
What Lawyer Xiong couldn’t produce, Zheng Zhihe could, thanks to Wen Ying’s cleverness!
