Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 27

The next day, Great-Grandmother was moved to the ICU for closed treatment. The attending physician’s words suggested that the family should prepare themselves, as the old lady could… But even so, Xu Miao’s attitude was still very firm. She was determined not to give up on the old lady for even one last minute. Ling Yu knew she was trying to buy time for her grandfather to see her one last time.

The ICU was a closed unit, and family visits were limited to half an hour a day. Ling Yu and Xu Miao couldn’t stay long, so the next day, Xu Miao went back to the old house to rest, and Ling Yu went to work at the law firm. It was as if everything was back to normal, but it also felt like the calm before a storm.

In the morning, Ling Yu went to the courthouse with Sister Wang to handle some paperwork. Just as they were about to submit the documents, the staff member looked at Ling Yu and Sister Wang with a strange expression.

“Your lawyer Gu’s reaction speed is pretty fast, isn’t it? There’s actually a witness who can reverse the Jiang Wei case?” The staff member clicked his tongue and sealed the folder. Whether he meant it or not, he added, “With Gu Qing there, your law firm’s performance is skyrocketing. After all, you can take on any case without hesitation… If you don’t make money, who will?”

Sister Wang mumbled a few words and didn’t argue at all. She kept her head down, and her cheeks were still flushed with a strange sense of guilt and shame even after they left the courthouse.

Ling Yu hadn’t been to work because of the old lady’s condition, so she wasn’t very clear about the law firm’s preparations for the second trial of the Jiang Wei case. But just by looking at Sister Wang’s expression and the sarcasm in the staff member’s eyes, she immediately realized what was going on.

It was… Gu Qing again… She had once again crossed Ling Yu’s bottom line. She was able to find evidence to help a rapist like Jiang Wei overturn his case without batting an eye.

On the way back to the law firm, Ling Yu tried to subtly ask Sister Wang about the case’s progress. But Sister Wang refused to say anything, only giving her a single explanation: “I signed a confidentiality agreement. Yu Yu, don’t ask anymore… The more you know, the worse it is for you.”

Ling Yu wisely stopped talking.

As she was about to get off work, she called Li Juan. Because after thinking about it, there was only one possible breakthrough for a reversal in the Jiang Wei case: Li Juan.

It took a long time for the phone to be answered. Li Juan’s voice sounded a little rushed. “Little sister?”

Ling Yu hummed. “Sister Juan, how have you been doing lately?”

Li Juan mumbled, “I’m doing okay.”

Ling Yu: “It’s New Year’s Day today. Are you free?”

Li Juan was silent for a few seconds.

Ling Yu continued, “Aunt Yu told me to get in touch with you more. You know, I’ve only been in Yuncheng for two months, and I’m not familiar with anyone. It’s New Year’s Day, and all my friends have gone home.” Ling Yu repeated, “Are you free? We can get together.”

She had said everything so perfectly, bringing up her relationship with Yu Xin and casually mentioning that it was a holiday. Normally, Li Juan would have agreed without a second thought. But at that moment, her tone was a little hesitant.

“I’m sorry, little sister. I have to go to a party tonight. Let’s do it another day. If you don’t mind, you can contact me anytime.” On the other end of the phone, Li Juan clearly didn’t want to continue the conversation. She asked stiffly, “What have you been busy with lately?”

Ling Yu narrowed her eyes and didn’t answer. She only pretended to be disappointed. “What kind of party is it that it would be on a special day like New Year’s Day?” Ling Yu’s tone paused, and she changed the subject, pretending to be sad. “Sister, did you misunderstand me? Did I offend you with my tone the last time I called you? You don’t want to see me as your little sister anymore.”

As soon as she said that, Li Juan’s breathing suddenly hitched. She quickly explained, “Little sister, don’t say that. You’re a good person. I’ve met all kinds of people over the years, but you’re the only one whose appearance and values are so aligned. Thank you for what you said to me that night. When I went to court last time, I kept thinking about what you said. Justice may be delayed, but it will never be denied.”

Ling Yu pushed open the revolving door of the law firm and edited a text message to Xu Miao: “Not coming home for dinner tonight.” At the same time, she said to Li Juan, “You’re a good person, too, because you’re willing to believe…”

But this sentence seemed to hit the other person’s breaking point. Li Juan suddenly started to sob like a child. Then she cried uncontrollably on the other end of the phone.

Ling Yu’s expression tightened. She stopped walking and stood under a tree. “Sister Juan,” Ling Yu asked again sharply. “What happened to you?”

Li Juan’s psychological defenses completely crumbled. She cried for about five minutes before she stopped. She told Ling Yu, in a choppy voice, everything that had happened since the first trial, about Jiang Wei’s threats and coercion.

“Shu Shu’s dad has stomach cancer. He needs surgery.” “If Shu Shu were alive, she would never want to see her father die. Jiang Wei offered me five million dollars for a fake confession. I was desperate and confused that day. They talked me into signing a confidentiality agreement. They gave me five million, and I was going to give false testimony for Jiang Wei in court.”

“I’m sorry. You and Lawyer Gu both told me that giving false testimony in court would land me in jail. I was so scared that day in court. I’m still terrified, and they maliciously used Shu Shu’s sexual orientation against me.”

Ling Yu raised her eyebrows. “So, you backed out?”

Li Juan cried and hummed. “But they said I was sick. After the trial, I was sent to the best psychiatric hospital in Yuncheng.” “They gave me twelve hours of electroshock therapy every day.”

“Everyone around me said I was sick, and every word I said was called nonsense.”

“After a while, even I started to think I was really sick.”

Li Juan’s voice was filled with a hint of sadness on this winter day. She said to Ling Yu, “I used to believe that justice would prevail, but little sister, the wait is too long, and I can’t hold on anymore.”

Ling Yu was silent for a long time. She had thought Li Juan would be threatened, but she never imagined that Li Juan would suffer such mental torture. This kind of tactic wouldn’t come from a brutal rich boy like Jiang Wei. It would only come from his father, Jiang Bochuan.

Ling Yu’s throat was dry. After a while, she managed to say two words.

“I’m sorry.”

Because the old lady’s condition had been so serious lately, she hadn’t had time to pay attention to Li Juan, and she never thought things would turn out this way. As the newest witness in the case, Li Juan should have been under special protection.

Unless Jiang Wei was an idiot, he would never have made a move on Li Juan at this critical juncture.

That’s why Ling Yu had always been confident about Li Juan’s safety. She just never thought… they would use mental torture.

At this moment, Ling Yu couldn’t say anything but “I’m sorry.” However, Li Juan’s sobs grew louder. She said in a muffled voice,

“Don’t apologize to me. I don’t deserve it.”

Because she couldn’t endure the torture of electroshock therapy and mental torment, Li Juan ultimately chose to live a cowardly life. She agreed to change her testimony for Jiang Bochuan.

Jiang Bochuan was not like Jiang Wei. He was cunning and skilled at manipulating people’s hearts. After shattering Li Juan’s psychological defenses, he didn’t give her another chance to recant her testimony in court. Instead, he created a new identity for Li Juan based on her previous testimony, which was not favorable to Jiang Wei.

She was Jiang Wei’s mistress, and she had developed a hatred for him out of love. She had fabricated the testimony to frame Jiang Wei, and she had also fabricated the case of Yan Shu’s assault. Yan Shu’s real cause of death was an accidental fall.

Li Juan, out of her hatred for Jiang Wei, had tampered with Yan Shu’s body on purpose.

Jiang Bochuan promised Li Juan that as long as she cooperated with the act, she would only be sentenced to one year. And after she got out, the Jiang family would give her a compensation of one billion dollars.

Li Juan was now sobbing uncontrollably. “Little sister, I had no choice. If I didn’t agree, I would have to stay in a mental hospital for the rest of my life… I’m not crazy, but I’m afraid I’ll be driven mad.”

A cold wind poured into her collar, and Ling Yu felt a chill all over. She rubbed her fingers together.

“So, the party you’re going to tonight is the investment conference reception hosted by the Jiang family in Yuncheng?”

Ling Yu had always wondered why Jiang Bochuan would choose to hold the conference in Yuncheng. Now she knew everything had a purpose. Li Juan had to be given an identity for her role as Jiang Wei’s mistress. The reception after the conference was her chance to establish her identity. This was all in preparation for the second trial.

As expected, in the next second, Li Juan sobbed, “I’m attending as Jiang Wei’s partner.”

Ling Yu gave a silent thumbs-up to the person who came up with this case reversal.

After she hung up the phone, she edited a text message to Kaihe Law Firm Gu.

Yu Yu: “Gu Qing, the extent of your perversion frightens me.”

“It’s true that meeting you brings bad luck.”

Kaihe Law Firm Gu: “Oh…”

“Since you’re scared, remember to stay far away.”

Ling Yu’s fingernail scratched the word “stay.”

A moment later.

Yu Yu: “I heard you have an episode every month.”

Ling Yu found a picture of a needle piercing a neck online and sent it to her.

The caption: “Do you like it?”

A few seconds after she sent the last two messages, Ling Yu unsent them. However, the other party replied almost instantly.

“I don’t really like it. The quality of the picture you sent me is average, and the needle holes are Photoshopped out. It loses its aesthetic appeal to me.”

Ling Yu stared at the screen absurdly. As she walked out of the Kaihe Law Firm, she almost ran into Jiang Wei.

He was stunned at first, and then he stared at her angrily.

“Ling Yu, are you hiding from me? Why aren’t you coming to the party tonight?”

At the same time, a short-haired woman in high heels walked over from ten meters away. Her voice came before she did.

“Yu Yu, want to go to a party with your auntie?”