Chapter 19 — The Wedding House Was Destroyed, I Want It All Back

There are people on my side, there are people who doubt the article "oriented public opinion", there are also accounts claiming to be people who used to work in that company, leaving a few vague sentences like "this story will be revealed sooner or later". In just one night, the story was no longer just between two families. It was pulled into the light. Immediately afterwards, the prosecutor's office made a new move. The previous decision to return the file was reviewed, the prosecutor in charge read the additional documents we submitted, and re-evaluated the entire case. Tham Du told me on the phone, his voice could not hide the tension mixed with relief.

"There was a very fierce debate internally, but the final trend was... to approve the arrest of Chu Tinh."

“This is the turning point.”

“To you… and to the whole case.”

The Chu family clearly did not expect things to turn around so quickly. The messages "advising to turn back" that appeared continuously suddenly fell silent. Occasionally there is some news, but the words are much more reserved. Chu Da called me several times, but I didn't answer. His messages also changed — from pleading, promising to "make up for it for the rest of my life"... To blaming, resenting... In the end, only one stone-cold sentence remained:

“You will regret it.”

Tham Du told me I didn't need to answer anymore, all conversations related to the case were handled by the lawyer. I did exactly that. The day the trial opened, the sun was so bright that it made people squint their eyes. In front of the court gate, a few reporters and curious people gathered, cameras and flash lights flashed each time. Tham Du adjusted my vest collar for me, his voice was low but steady.

“Tense?”

“A little.” I said frankly, "but it's not as good as the first time I followed you to the police station."

“So you have gotten stronger.” She smiled slightly, then turned serious, “remember, you didn't come here today to listen to their stories.”

“You came to tell the truth… and defend yourself.”

“You are not the one who passively endures, you are the one who chooses to stand up.”

Entering the courtroom, I saw Chu Tinh being led in from the opposite side. She became noticeably thinner, her hair was messy, she wore a detention camp shirt, her face was pale but her eyes were still stubborn as before. As soon as she saw me, her eyes immediately burned, like a fire fueled by fuel.

“Are you satisfied?”

Her voice was very low, but each word seemed to bite out.

“I'm here, you've vented your anger, are you happy?”

I didn't respond, just calmly looked at her, then looked away, as if all emotions had been swept away by the wind a long time ago. In the upper row, the people's jurors and the presiding judge were seated, a steady voice reading the verdict rang out in the courtroom, confirming the identities of both sides, then announcing the official start of the trial. The prosecutor presented the entire development of the case, every detail, from the scene examination report, camera extraction, list of destroyed assets, to the damage assessment of more than 4,000,000 yuan provided by the judicial inspection center. On the court's large screen, each photo of the smashed wedding house appeared slowly, broken, distorted, cold... Each photo was like a silent knife, recalling all the expectations, efforts and days I once believed that it would be "home". Chu Tinh's lawyer quickly changed direction, trying to drag the story towards "family conflict", "emotional agitation", emphasizing that she was just "revealing". momentarily", but "really regrets it later", and "willing to compensate". When he mentioned the word "compensation", he deliberately glanced at me, his eyes like a silent suggestion. As if saying: if you take a step back, everything still has a way to go back. When it was my turn to testify, I stepped up to the podium, took a deep breath, raised my hand to swear an oath. The judge asked me to recount the events on the day of the incident, I answered briefly, accurately, without adding anything else. The opposing lawyer continuously interjected and asked:

“Did you act aggressively at that time?”

“Have you ever provoked your opponent?”

They try to drag everything down into an emotional argument.

“From beginning to end, I did not move a hand, nor was I present at the scene.”

I looked straight at him, my voice was not high but clear.

“Cameras can prove it. At that time, I was somewhere else. It was the residential area manager who called me, and I learned that the house had been destroyed."

“So do you admit that you then refused to communicate with the other person's family and acted tough, causing the conflict to escalate?” he continued to press.

“I refuse…” I paused for a beat, “to refuse to be asked for ‘unconditional forgiveness’ when they do not have any admission of wrongdoing or responsibility.”

“If the so-called ‘apology’ is only in exchange for a written dismissal to escape criminal liability, without any real remorse…”

“Then it's not an apology.”