Too Bad I Take Things Seriously-Chapter 477 - 202 Shi Liangping: Are You The Lawyer, Or Am I?_2

Given that she hadn’t yet cleared herself of suspicion for instigating a crime, trying to add to Meng Lei’s charges was tantamount to courting her own doom.

"So, Tian Shulan’s actions are a classic cautionary tale for the legally ignorant; she thought she was taking revenge on Meng Lei, but in reality, she was digging her own grave."

Ma Ming then couldn’t help expressing his thoughts in the group chat.

"The same crime? Doesn’t that mean if the instigation is confirmed, she’d also have committed fraud? Will both sentences increase?"

"Definitely a legal ignoramus. But I didn’t know about instigators being equally guilty either. Does that make me a legal ignoramus too?"

"Looks like I really need to learn some law so I at least don’t screw myself over."

"I finally understand why those defendants in the uploader’s old videos messed up their own cases."

"..."

The group chat became lively once again. After learning of Tian Shulan’s sentence, everyone was somewhat surprised. Just like Ma Ming, they were also similarly overcome with emotion. Tian Shulan had provided a vivid lesson with her actions, personally adding to her own sentence.

"Do you guys think there’s a possibility that these two actually liked each other?"

"I have that feeling too. Even if it means going to prison, they want to go together. Such moving love."

"We, who don’t know how to show tenderness, thought that dying for love was just an old tale, but they made me believe in love again."

"Are you all freaking crazy? They both wish they could kill each other, and you call that love?"

"..."

Unknowingly, the topic in the group chat gradually became more ridiculous. A perfectly good classmates’ group... seemed like it was about to turn into a shipping fandom.

「Jin City.」

「Nursing Home.」

In the following days, the person most mentioned by Zhang Qingyuan and the others was Meng Lei. Even during their usual quarrels, they’d bring up Meng Lei for no particular reason.

"Why are you like this? You do things just like Meng Lei!"

"Who are you calling Meng Lei? Your whole family are Meng Leis!"

"No idea when Meng Lei will be sentenced. I’ve been watching his live trial for so long; to be honest, I’m kind of going to miss him."

"Being able to take borrowing money to such an extreme, he’s quite talented. It’d be even better if he could pay it back."

"If he paid it back, we wouldn’t get to see him anymore."

"..."

During the days of waiting for the trial, everyone had more or less become Meng Lei’s devoted fans. They couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning Meng Lei. After attending other trials at the Jin City Court, they couldn’t help but compare Meng Lei with those defendants. Recently, there hadn’t been many impressive defendants in other cases. No case was as exciting as Meng Lei’s. Compared to Meng Lei, other defendants seemed quite ordinary and lost their luster.

These days, it’s not just anyone who can secure eight hundred thousand out of thin air, borrowing everywhere they go.

「Five days later.」

After a long wait, the nursing home welcomed an unprecedented event. Before nine a.m., all the elderly residents had voluntarily gathered in the large courtyard, waiting for Qin Mu’s arrival. Each person looked incredibly excited, as if the season finale of a highly anticipated TV series they’d been following was about to play out.

"Eh? Deputy Director, why are you here so early too?" Zhang Qingyuan looked around and suddenly noticed Wan Zhongyuan beside him.

They lived in the nursing home and normally woke up early. Added to that their preoccupation with Meng Lei, which led them to sit in the courtyard before nine, waiting. But Wan Zhongyuan was the deputy director. He didn’t live in the nursing home, yet somehow, he had blended into their midst.

"Ahem, well, I was just free," Wan Zhongyuan said, his old face flushing as he hastily offered an explanation. "I heard Meng Lei has been quite popular here lately, so I wanted to know his fate too."

Just like everyone else, he had watched the previous sessions of the trial. These past few days, he had been feeling very unsettled. He’d even dreamt of Meng Lei several times in the middle of the night and talked in his sleep. As a result, his wife had a huge argument with him. For the past two days, she had been watching him like a hawk, paranoid and even suspecting him of having an affair. No matter how he explained, his wife didn’t believe him. Out of options, he could only hurriedly leave that hornet’s nest of a home early in the morning and come to the nursing home.

At nine o’clock sharp, Qin Mu arrived at the nursing home right on time. Then he witnessed a scene of a group looking as eager as hungry chicks waiting to be fed. The courtyard was filled with elderly people, their hair frosted with age. Each of them was in high spirits, craning their necks in anticipation.

"Xiao Qin, hurry up and set up the screen! Don’t let us miss Meng Lei’s live stream," the crowd urged him as soon as they saw him.

Qin Mu’s mouth twitched. He quickly located Wang Dachui, and the two of them started setting up the screen in the courtyard, preparing for the ten o’clock trial live stream.

While they were setting up, a few middle-aged children, accompanying their elderly parents, walked into the nursing home.

"Our nursing home is renowned as one of the best in Jin City."

"We are committed to making the elderly feel the warmth of home, ensuring they feel as comfortable as if in their own homes, while also prioritizing their physical and mental well-being."

Ahead of them, a nursing home staff member was giving an introduction: "Here at our nursing home, the elderly can move freely, or engage in activities such as chess, calligraphy, fishing, ball games, and jump rope with the assistance of caregivers."

"This is the courtyard where the elderly normally entertain themselves, play, and rest. It’s a large space that can accommodate many people, so it doesn’t ever feel... crowded."

At that point, the nursing home staff member paused. The courtyard was already full of elderly people; it was packed.

Apart from the elderly, the remaining caregivers, canteen ladies, cleaning staff, and others had all gathered in the courtyard. Clearly, they were all anticipating a major event for the entire institution.