Wan Zhongyuan sat at his desk, habitually reviewing various requests within the nursing home, such as the Nursing Department's equipment and medication purchases, and the Administration Department's personnel transfer approvals.

Huh? Taking leave again?

Subsequently, as he continued reviewing, he came across a leave request from Qin Mu of the Nursing Department.

He recalled that Qin Mu had already taken no less than five days of leave this month. The crucial point was that Qin Mu's direct supervisor, the manager of the Nursing Department, had approved it every single time! And then it was submitted to him for final review!

Filled with doubt, he clicked on the "Reason for Leave" field. The familiar phrase "attending a lawsuit" appeared—simple, to the point, and without any embellishment.

With a hint of anger, he summoned the Nursing Department manager.

He scolded, "What's the deal with this Qin Mu? There are thirty days in a month, and he's taken six days off this month! Why did you approve it? Do you really think our nursing home is a charity organization?"

Their nursing home was privately operated. Its primary goal was to make a profit, not to be a charity. He was extremely averse to employees who frequently took leave for no good reason!

"Vice Director Wan, it's like this," the manager began with a wry smile. "Qin Mu... he informed me in advance. This time, it's mainly because the lawsuit is urgent; he has a legitimate reason."

He continued cautiously, "Moreover, he's taking personal leave, which means a corresponding deduction from his salary. He also completed all his assigned work in advance..."

In fact, there was another point he hadn't mentioned: he didn't dare disapprove Qin Mu's leave requests. Qin Mu's job didn't pay well, roughly equivalent to Jin City's minimum wage, so his workload was usually light. The manager truly had no grounds to deny the leave.

"Even if he finished his work, his reason for taking leave is too outlandish!" Wan Zhongyuan snorted, still somewhat dissatisfied. "Five leave requests in one month, and the reason is always either 'attending a lawsuit' or 'on the way to a lawsuit'?"

The Nursing Department manager could only offer another bitter smile and briefly recounted Qin Mu's previous "glorious" achievements. All those arrogant and rampant individuals had ended up as defendants and were probably now serving time in a Jin City prison. Even online trolls hadn't escaped this fate.

After Wan Zhongyuan heard this, his anger instantly subsided. It took him several minutes to process the information. Then, he took a deep breath and said with approval, "This employee is quite commendable. He manages to handle his work before taking leave, has sound values, and a proactive sense of responsibility. He's a worthy role model for our other employees."

Having said that, he acted as though nothing had happened and approved Qin Mu's leave request on DingTalk. As for his earlier anger, it had vanished without a trace.

Having lived for over forty years, he knew very well that one simply couldn't afford to offend people who understood the law like Qin Mu. If he did, and if any compromising information about him fell into their hands, he'd be finished.

...

「Jin City Court.」

The First Civil Tribunal. Ten o'clock sharp.

BANG—

As the gavel sounded, the trial officially began.

Qin Mu stood alone at the plaintiff's stand, looking at the unfamiliar judge and other members of the judicial panel before him. This was his first time in a civil tribunal, participating in a civil lawsuit. The judge wasn't Zhou Quanmin, and he didn't recognize the other panel members either.

But on the defendant's side... he saw a familiar face again: Zhang Wei.

Didn't expect to be up against an old rival again, Qin Mu mused.

Actually, this was quite normal. There was only one major court building in Jin City, and a limited number of cases. The legal circle wasn't large. Many lawyers knew each other from frequently facing off in court. Sometimes, courtroom confrontations were so intense they led to flushed faces and heated arguments, yet after the trial, they might share a hotpot meal together. This phenomenon occurred quite often.

"Today, the First Civil Tribunal of the Jin City Court will hear the lottery dispute case brought by Qin Mu against Chen Ping and Xie Lianqing," the judge announced gravely. The judge then proceeded to read out the court rules, solemnly warning both parties not to cause a disturbance or disrupt the proceedings.

"Plaintiff, please read your complaint and state the facts of the case!"

Immediately, the trial moved to the main agenda, and Qin Mu quickly stood up. He presented his statement of claim, recounted the facts of the case, and stated his demands.

In this case, due to his own negligence, he didn't have the winning lottery ticket in his possession, which had led to a series of problems. When he went to claim his winnings, the other party made the excuse that they had printed the wrong ticket, giving him only a fourth-prize ticket.

During the subsequent investigation by the prosecutor's office, he had obtained related evidence. Since the current case was a civil suit, the prosecutor's office provided him with these materials after making backups. For instance, computer backend records showed a log for the issuance of the first-prize ticket. The timestamp was only twenty minutes after he had paid, which corresponded roughly to the time it would have taken to queue and have the ticket issued.

Furthermore, the prosecutor's office had verified all the lottery numbers for tickets issued that day and found the corresponding purchasers for each one. The fourth-prize ticket Chen Ping had given Qin Mu also had a different purchaser. Only the ownership of the first-prize ticket remained unconfirmed.

The surveillance video, restored through technical means, also showed that Qin Mu had indeed visited the lottery shop at that time and provided a set of numbers. Although determining lottery ticket ownership was complex, the abundance of evidence collected by the prosecutor's office was sufficient to prove that the first prize rightfully belonged to Qin Mu.

"Defendants, do you have any objection to the plaintiff's statement?" After Qin Mu's presentation, the judge turned to the defendant's side.

On the defendant's side, Chen Ping glanced at his brother-in-law, Xie Lianqing, and took the initiative to stand up. "We have no objection."

Everything Qin Mu had said was already supported by conclusive evidence; further argument seemed pointless. He then repeated some lines Zhang Wei had coached him to say.

"We admit that at the time, we were led astray by greed and coveted the first prize. However, we afterward realized the seriousness of the issue and that our actions were likely illegal. We are willing to voluntarily return the 5.6 million yuan prize money that was redeemed."

In the courtroom, he no longer argued fiercely but instead displayed a repentant demeanor.

In civil litigation, such an admission is rare. Generally, both parties stick to their versions of events, engaging in endless debate, each believing they are in the right. Unless a court ruling is issued, neither can persuade the other.

But, as a law graduate, Chen Ping was acutely aware that his actions in this case bordered on criminal. Given what he had learned about Qin Mu from Zhang Wei, if he didn't admit it now, he wouldn't get another chance.

Meanwhile, in the public gallery, Xie Lianqing stared at his brother-in-law's sudden change of attitude, anger flaring within him. He lowered his voice and said in exasperation, "Brother-in-law, aren't you a law graduate? Argue with him! Didn't you say before that even if we went to court, we couldn't lose?"

"How can you concede before the fight has even started? I finally managed to claim the prize money from the province, how can you..."

He was filled with incomprehension. Ever since he returned from the province, his brother-in-law had barely spoken to him. Not only was Chen Ping dismissive, but he also seemed to harbor a deep grudge. He hadn't even shared any details about the court appearance. Now, just as the trial had begun, before they had even mounted a defense, their side had directly surrendered! How could they fight the case now?

"Shut your mouth!" Hearing Xie Lianqing's incessant complaints, Chen Ping's expression grew even darker. If it weren't for this brother-in-law, he wouldn't have ended up in such an embarrassing predicament.

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