Zheng Zhihe provided recordings and call logs as evidence.
The recordings were provided by Wen Ying herself, capturing her conversation with Han Qin about publishing terms during Han Qin’s last visit to Rongcheng. There were two recordings, which, when played in court, seemed lengthy due to their detailed nature, but this very detail proved they were unedited.
The first recording covered the entire negotiation process between Han Qin and Wen Ying regarding publishing terms.
The two failed to reach an agreement on tiered royalties, with Han Qin urging Wen Ying to think carefully before deciding.
The second recording was from the morning after the negotiation, when Zou Weijun informed Han Qin that Wen Ying had chosen to sign with the Rongcheng Publishing Group. Zou Weijun hoped to discuss the continuation of Youth Idol’s serialization with Han Qin. During the call, which was on speakerphone, Wen Ying was listening nearby. Having already dealt with Han Qin, Wen Ying opted to record this second conversation, and her foresight proved correct, as the second recording established the relevance of the evidence.
Han Qin’s cold and uncooperative attitude was vividly displayed in the second recording.
The call logs were records of Zou Weijun’s multiple attempts to contact Aige magazine afterward.
The Fish Against the Current had no intention of breaching the contract, and the Rongcheng Publishing Group was sincere in wanting to discuss serialization matters with Aige, but it was always Editor Han and the magazine refusing to communicate.
Aige’s July issue published a false contract termination statement, which harmed my client. Han Qin’s post on the Tianya Forum was a second blow to my client, who is not yet eighteen and lacks the life experience to handle such situations. She even registered an account on the forum to plead with Han Qin to stop, but Han Qin remained unmoved by my client’s pleas.
Zheng Zhihe had long prepared the recording evidence and call logs.
He hadn’t revealed them earlier to see what tactics Han Qin’s side would employ.
Though Lawyer Xiong was skilled, he wasn’t invincible. With his mentor in the gallery, Zheng Zhihe had no intention of dragging out this civil infringement case and played his trump card.
Lawyer Xiong was indeed left reeling.
How could there be recordings?
Han Qin and the magazine were completely unaware of their existence.
Han Qin had just been playing the victim, her eyes still teary, but now her face was full of shock.
Han Qin didn’t believe Wen Ying had recorded it, she suspected Zou Weijun had set her up, and that traitor Xiao Ni.
Han Qin’s eyes swept viciously over Zou Weijun and Xiao Ni.
Zou Weijun wasn’t afraid at all, and Xiao Ni boldly glared back.
This was a courtroom, what could Editor Han do to them here?
In the gallery, a lean man in a grey suit studied Wen Ying with interest.
Zhihe was right, this girl is sharp, worth considering for law studies.
Feeling her mentor’s gaze, Wen Ying sat up straighter.
She felt a mix of nervousness and quiet pride.
Back in school, she wasn’t her mentor’s top student, and even after achieving some success in Modu, she paled in comparison to her truly outstanding senior peers.
Yet her mentor never looked down on her for her average talent, treating her the same as others, including Senior Zheng.
Without these mentors’ influence, Wen Ying, in her past life, could never have developed an independent character or had the courage to venture to Modu alone.
Lawyer Xiong, dazed by the bombshell, came to his senses.
Your Honour, my client was unaware of these recordings, they’re illegally obtained.
Not all recordings are admissible as evidence.
Evidence obtained by infringing on others’ legal rights or violating prohibitive legal provisions cannot be used to determine case facts.
Han Qin was unaware, making these recordings illegal, and Lawyer Xiong clung to this point.
Zheng Zhihe remained calm, watching Lawyer Xiong flounder.
Illegal recordings, of course, cannot be used as evidence.
However, if a recording doesn’t infringe on others’ legal rights or violate prohibitive legal provisions, it can be submitted to the court as evidence.
To put it simply, in a divorce case, if a wife captures photos or videos of her husband’s intimacy with another in a public place, such audiovisual materials can be used as evidence. Even footage from a camera installed at home showing the husband’s infidelity is admissible, as no law prohibits installing cameras in one’s own home.
But if the wife barges into her husband’s lover’s home, kicking down the door to photograph their affair, such evidence is typically excluded by the court, as the setting for collecting it was improper.
Moreover, evidence gathered using illegal devices like prohibited eavesdropping equipment or pinhole cameras is also inadmissible, as the method is improper.
The recorder Wen Ying bought was sold at an electronics store with a receipt, not an illegal eavesdropping device.
She didn’t use coercion, threats, or violence to force Han Qin to say those words.
Whether Wen Ying’s recordings are admissible isn’t for Lawyer Xiong to decide, it’s up to the judge.
On the bench, the young judge asked Wen Ying directly why she recorded the conversations. When Zheng Zhihe tried to answer, the judge signaled for Wen Ying to respond herself.
This was my first time negotiating with an adult and my first time publishing a novel. I wasn’t sure if Aige would agree to my terms, or if I could handle it well. I recorded it not to use as evidence today, but to review later, to improve my negotiation skills. I’m just an ordinary person with average talent, I don’t have a photographic memory.
No, it was purely professional habit.
Lawyers are accustomed to recording.
Recordings help accurately capture a client’s needs without missing details.
But lawyers inform clients beforehand, never recording secretly.
Wen Ying’s audio files were unedited, whether the court would accept them depended on how the judge characterized them.
She hadn’t obtained Han Qin’s permission before recording, the only point the opposing lawyer could use to challenge the evidence’s legality.
But Wen Ying didn’t feel she was wrong.
Recording was her professional habit, if Han Qin hadn’t tried to ruin The Fish Against the Current’s reputation, Wen Ying would never have produced these recordings.
Not harming others meant it wasn’t a malicious scheme.
She thought to record because she had seen Xiao Ni’s QQ message beforehand, saying Editor Han was furious.
As the saying goes, never intend to harm others, but always guard against being harmed.
Wen Ying’s words weren’t entirely true, but she remained composed, feeling no guilt, meeting the judge’s gaze without flinching.
Han Qin had played the victim card, so Wen Ying shed her initial timidity.
Judges might sympathize with the pitiful, but they might also favor the rational.
