Blank Charge

e, Yang Shi Yu led Jin Zhou astray .
Yet, now this person had become a judge himself.

It was like two brothers who both had someone they loved.
For the sake of brotherly loyalty, they agreed not to pursue a relationship.
But in the end, one of them secretly won over the beloved person, which was something that should never have happened.

But speaking of which…

Jin Zhou let out a sigh and put aside his thoughts of cursing.

He and Yang Shiyu were already like strangers.
Even if they were to encounter each other in the courthouse corridor, they wouldn’t even exchange greetings.
Jin Zhou naturally had no right to accuse Yang Shiyu of lacking  loyalty.

As Jin Zhou had expected, the final verdict in court was intentional homicide, but with a lenient punishment.

The defendant’s mother broke down in tears, claiming that her son had a pure and good-natured character and had encountered a bad woman, cursing her to have an unfortunate fate.

Jin Zhou had witnessed many such dramas in the courtroom.
Initially, he would reflect on the various aspects of human nature and the diversity of life.
However, now he had gotten used to it – his heart remained unaffected.

Coming out through the side door of the public gallery, Yang Shiyu coincidentally walked out of the courtroom through the main door.
The elevator wasn’t far from the main door, so under normal circumstances, Yang Shiyu should have walked straight toward the elevator without looking at the side door.

However, as Yang Shiyu exited the courtroom, he glanced in the direction of the side door, though seemingly unintentional, before proceeding towards the elevator.

Although this action happened in an instant, Jin Zhou accurately caught it.

—Yang Shiyu was looking at him.

Reaching this conclusion, Jin Zhou couldn’t help but feel amused.
After all those years, it seemed that he finally had some presence in Judge Yang’s eyes.

“Yang Shiyu,” Jin Zhou called out.

With numerous court personnel around, Jin Zhou was always polite and never directly called people by their names.
Only Yang Shiyu could “enjoy” this treatment.

A tall figure stopped upon hearing the voice and turned to look at Jin Zhou.

The corridor wasn’t lit, and the lighting was dim.
Various people walked past Yang Shiyu, but he remained in place, his expression hidden in the shadows, waiting for Jin Zhou to approach.

“I heard about Wang Darong’s case.” Without any need for Ren Wenli to remind him, Jin Zhou could tell from the headlines alone.

Jin Zhou approached Yang Shiyu, intending to continue speaking, but he suddenly noticed something that displeased him.

Since cutting off contact with Yang Shiyu, Jin Zhou had grown taller and had reached a height of 1.83 meters, where he had remained.
He remembered Yang Shiyu had once said that he was 1.82 meters tall.
In other words, Jin Zhou had always believed that he was taller than Yang Shiyu.

However, now that he got closer, he realized that while he had been growing taller, Yang Shiyu hadn’t stopped either and was still slightly taller than him.

Jin Zhou reluctantly glanced at Yang Shiyu’s shoes but couldn’t find anything special about them.

He suddenly realized his own behavior was somewhat childish, so he lifted his gaze and looked at Yang Shiyu again, only to catch Yang Shiyu glancing at his flamboyant shirt, his expression showing a hint of displeasure.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Yang Shiyu quickly masked his expression and maintained the usual distance when speaking to Jin Zhou.

“Has Wang Darong been found?” Jin Zhou asked.

He had asked Ren Wenli the same question, but she hadn’t said much, only mentioning that it couldn’t be disclosed for the time being, presumably afraid that Jin Zhou would act impulsively.

Jin Zhou could understand because he and Ren Wenli were only acquaintances, not close friends.

But it was different with Yang Shiyu.

Yang Shiyu didn’t have any relatives, and when Jin Zhou was in his senior year of high school, Yang Shiyu even spent the Spring Festival at Jin Zhou’s home.

Even if they hadn’t spoken for a long time, at least about Jin Zhou’s parents’ case, they should at least share information and come to a consensus.

However, Jin Zhou was mistaken.
He heard Yang Shiyu say indifferently, “I can’t disclose such matters to you.”

Jin Zhou was a bit surprised by that response.
“why??”

“A prosecutor will follow up,” Yang Shiyu said, “Don’t get involved.”

“Big brother, we are talking about my parents, okay?” Jin Zhou unconsciously used the tone he would use when talking to his gang of friends.
With an annoyed tone, he added, “Big brother,” emphasizing the estrangement between them.

“I understand how you feel, but I’m not obligated to disclose the details to you,” Yang Shiyu said, “Once the prosecutor’s office investigates thoroughly, they will provide you with a result.”

Jin Zhou suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with Yang Shiyu’s words.
The mention of “understanding feelings” and such.
Upon careful consideration, it turned out Yang Shiyu regarded him as a victim’s family member, using the same rhetoric to appease him.

If it were someone else’s case or a different presiding judge, Jin Zhou wouldn’t mind not knowing the details.

But the problem was that, for Yang Shiyu, were his parents and he merely ordinary “victims” and “victims’ family”?

“Yang Shiyu,” Jin Zhou couldn’t hold back anymore, furrowing his brows, he asked, “What exactly is going on?”

When he was eighteen, Jin Zhou was still an ignorant youngster who was constantly confused by a lot of things.

Looking back now, the thing he couldn’t understand the most was Yang Shiyu’s indifferent attitude with him.

How could a person be so heartless? His dad even treated Yang Shiyu as his own.

“I remember my dad often discussing cases with you,” Jin Zhou suppressed the anger welling up inside him, “Do you know anything about what happened back then?”

“I’m busy,” Yang Shiyu didn’t answer.
He raised his wrist, checked the time, and said, “Let me make this clear one more time, don’t interfere in this matter.”

Yang Shiyu’s figure quickly disappeared into the elevator, as if the brief conversation had never occurred.

Jin Zhou suddenly realized that the glance Yang Shiyu gave him wasn’t meant to convey any message; from beginning to end, he just wanted him to stay out of it.

In the past, Jin Zhou would have unquestioningly obeyed Yang Shiyu.

But just as Yang Shiyu misunderstood Jin Zhou, Yang Shiyu had also misunderstood something.

The current Jin Zhou was no longer the naive little kid from back then.
Even Liu Yongchang couldn’t control him.
So what position did Yang Shiyu hold?”