He was sowhat embarrassed. It seed only he was busying himself over a re eighteen yuan.
But he did not regret it. If he hadn’t stepped forward, these classmates probably wouldn’t have thought of suing. It was very possible they would’ve accepted their loss silently, feeling that if the money couldn’t be recovered, then so be it; they would just suffer the loss. This ntality was common among many people.
"That’s good. This lawsuit... I will definitely give it my all and strive to help you get your eighteen yuan back!" The lawyer heaved a sigh of relief and spoke with hearty assurance, patting his chest. His deanor was as if what was being sought was not eighteen yuan, but one hundred and eighty thousand.
"The defendant has arrived, the defendant is here!" Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the public gallery. All the classmates turned their heads to look at the doors of the civil courtroom.
At nine-fifty, ng Lei arrived on the dot with his wife, Tian Shulan, both appearing relaxed as they entered the civil courtroom. The two of them didn’t take this lawsuit too seriously. They didn’t have a so-called lawyer with them; they were completely on their own for the defense.
However, the sight of the packed public gallery seriously shocked ng Lei.
"This... this... this..." Looking at these "creditors," he suddenly felt at a loss.
「Four days earlier.」
After that incident in the group, he had decisively left and ignored those classmates asking for their money. In his mind, after graduation, everyone would go their separate ways, and it was unlikely they would ever et again. Whether or not he returned the money didn’t matter. He had never imagined that this group of people would actually rush to Yangcheng, sit in the public gallery, and even change his title from ng Lei to "the defendant"!
"The defendant is really lucky; his wife is so beautiful."
"What’s the use of a pretty wife if soone doesn’t repay debts? His character has already deteriorated."
"If I owed soone money and I had it, I’d pay it back first thing; otherwise, I’d constantly think about it and wouldn’t be able to sleep at night."
"People are different. So defendants feel so entitled when they owe money that they act like lords."
"..."
In the public gallery, after seeing ng Lei, the classmates started to sneer and jeer. After the public exposure in the group, they all beca aware of ng Lei’s actions and held even more disdain for his character. Not to ntion anything else, not paying back eighteen yuan definitely indicated a moral issue!
ng Lei and Tian Shulan, listening to everyone’s undisguised discussion, were both so angry their faces turned crimson. Just as they wanted to engage in a verbal battle and harshly rebuke everyone... they saw the Judgnt Chief leading the judges and jury mbers into the courtroom.
BANG—
The gavel struck. The courtroom instantly beca solemn.
"Today, at the Yangcheng District Court, we will formally hear the case of Ma Ming suing ng Lei over an unpaid debt of eighteen yuan. I..."
After the main cause of the lawsuit was stated, the court moved to the reading of court rules. The clerk recited the various court rules aloud.
Five minutes later, after the rules were read, the Judgnt Chief continued, "Now, will the plaintiff please read the statent of claim and state the reasons for the case."
From the plaintiff’s bench, Ma Ming heard this and promptly stepped forward. In a deep voice, he said, "I am suing ng Lei for borrowing eighteen yuan from a year ago, a sum he has still not repaid to this day."
"A year ago, when I t ng Lei..." Imdiately following, he briefly described the circumstances under which the money was borrowed, as well as the nurous tis he had asked ng Lei for repaynt. ng Lei, however, would brush him off and even tried to borrow more money.
Finally, Ma Ming took a deep breath and concluded, "Therefore, I earnestly request the court to order the defendant to repay the eighteen yuan, publicly apologize to , and bear the costs of this lawsuit."
anwhile, at the defendant’s bench, ng Lei watched with a cold gaze, finding Ma Ming’s actions sowhat ridiculous. For a re eighteen yuan... he was actually stating the case so seriously, blowing such a trivial matter out of proportion. It was just eighteen yuan he owed, the cost of a pack of cigarettes! Yet it was being made out as if he owed one hundred and eighty thousand!
After hearing Ma Ming’s statent, the Judgnt Chief asked, "Defendant, in response to what the plaintiff has said, do you have any defense?"
ng Lei shrugged. He retorted, "Just because he says I owe it, does that make it true? Is there evidence? I have never owed him money; this is complete slander!"
He had prepared this defense long ago. He clearly rembered that no written IOU was made when the money was borrowed. In fact, in all these years, he had borrowed so much money but had never written any IOUs. There were no receipts either, let alone any interest. As long as he firmly denied it, there was nothing the other party could do to him! Before coming, he had specifically sought legal advice. In a loan dispute, if the plaintiff’s evidence was insufficient, the court was highly likely to dismiss the claim on those grounds!
The Judgnt Chief considered for a mont before summarizing, "It appears the central dispute between the plaintiff and defendant hinges on whether a lending relationship existed—one party affirms it, the other denies it. Therefore, the case will now proceed by examining if such a relationship can be established. I ask both the plaintiff and defendant to present their respective evidence to substantiate their claims."
Afterward, the trial entered the evidence presentation and cross-examination stage.
From the plaintiff’s bench, Ma Ming glanced at his lawyer. The lawyer, grasping the cue, quickly stood up and began to display the organized evidence one by one. This evidence wasn’t direct proof like IOUs or loan notes, nor was it indirect evidence like surveillance videos or photos. Mainly, it consisted of chat logs between the two, communication records, chat logs from the class group, and so on.
After being reminded by Ma Ming, this lawyer had already grasped the core of the lawsuit: to aim for establishing a high probability.
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