“What are you looking at me for? Did I reveal the truth?” Gu Nianzhi walked up to Bai Jinyi’s side, “Your eyes aren’t closed anymore? Looks like I hit the nail in the head. Does it feel awful to be have your lies in court exposed to so many people?”
If Bai Jinyi’s eyes could spurt fire, Gu Nianzhi standing in front her would already be reduced to ashes.
“Tell us, what did you do in Luo Xinxue’s room that night? Gu Nianzhi continued her barrage.
Huo Jialan shouted, “She’s the murderer! I went to my mother’s room after she left and my mother had fallen on the ground! If I knew she forced my mother to take sleeping pills, I would’ve called the police right away!”
Bai Jinyi’s mouth trembled, but she couldn’t get a single word out.
Lawyer Jin shot her a look to prevent her from saying anything else, then turned to Gu Nianzhi, “Lawyer Gu, we haven’t seen the new evidence you presented before, please give us some time to verify the authenticity of this footage.”
“Go ahead.” Gu Nianzhi agreed immediately, it was the truth and it didn’t faze her to have it examined.
Huo Jialan refused to let it go and asked hastily, “Why isn’t she saying anything? Why won’t she say what did in my mother’s room that night? Why did my mom fall on the ground as soon as she left? The room was turned upside down?!”
Gu Nianzhi then turned to Huo Jialan as she quietly said, “Huo Jialan, this video isn’t over yet. Would you like to continue watching?”
“Not over yet?” Huo Jialan repeated dumbly, but the video on the large screen already resumed before she could even react. After fast-forwarding through a portion, the large screen showed Bai Jinyi rushing out of Luo Xinxue’s room and shutting the door. She turned the corner and went inside another room. Bai Jinyi once had a room at the Huo manor to stay in because she was treating Song Jinning. Shortly after Bai Jinyi left, Huo Jialan walked over from the opposite end of the hallway. She knocked on the door and waited for a while before opening it herself when no one answered. Huo Jialan bit her lip and remained quiet. She did testify she also went to her mother’s room that night, so it was normal that she was filmed too. It was all she could do to comfort herself. The video was fast-forwarded again and Huo Jialan was seen running out her room with her head down and wiping tears away. She stormed out of Luo Xinxue’s room without looking back.
The video stopped and the image on the display faded gradually until the lights came on again in the courtroom. Everyone’s vision was still adjusted to the darkness prior and some were uncomfortable in the sudden bright light.
Gu Nianzhi paused before walking up to Huo Jialan and asking gently, “Huo Jialan, why did you lie?”
Huo Jialan jerked her head up, “Lie? Since when did I ever lie?!”
“Still denying it?”
“I already said that my mother called me that night, so I went downstairs to see her. Are you a goldfish? Your memory is only for seven seconds? Aren’t you the ‘genius girl’ who graduated from university at the age of 18? Did you forget what you heard just a few days ago?!” Huo Jialan’s words were laced with venom and she seemed hostile towards Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t upset at all and smiled, “Goldfishes have more than a seven second memory, where did you see such an urban myth? That’s not scientific at all. Fine, let’s not talk about goldfish and get back to talking about your selective memory.”
Huo Jialan, “Don’t slander me!”
Gu Nianzhi raised her brow then signaled at the personnel to replay the video. This time, she only played selective footage and kept the lights in the courtroom on. She wielded a small laser pointer and marked the frozen image on the display as she looked at Huo Jialan, “See it? That’s where you’re lying.”
Huo Jialan looked at the display with bewilderment and glanced at Huo Shaoheng’s direction before saying to Gu Nianzhi, “I still don’t understand. Gu Nianzhi, are you really a qualified lawyer? Are you just mucking through my mother’s case?”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head with a sigh, “Huo Jialan, you’re intelligence is really worrying. –Fine, I’ll cut to the case. Look at the video and I’ll tell you why you were lying.”
“Don’t try to frame me. You’re representing my mother, not the murderer Bai Jinyi!” Huo Jialan clenched her hands into fists and admonished Gu Nianzhu for betraying her cause.
The Bai’s legal team could barely contain their laughter.
Gu Nianzhi looked back at them, her huge dark eyes had a touch of coldness and disdain in them. The smiles froze on the elite lawyers’ faces and they looked away uncomfortably. “You previously stated that you witnessed Bai Jinyi leave your mother’s room, is that right?” Gu Nianzhi began interrogating Huo Jialan.
Huo Jialan grew even more impatient, “Yes, yes, yes! I said it a thousand times already! Do you really not have the memory of a goldfish?!”
“Well, let’s look at this video. By the time you arrived, Bai Jinyi already went back to her room a long time ago. All you could see was an empty hallway. From where did you see Bai Jinyi come out of your mother’s room?” Gu Nianzhi finally dealt the lethal blow against Huo Jialan.
Huo Jialan’s face turned ashen, “Nonsense?! I clearly…”
“Please play the footage once again.” Gu Nianzhi didn’t hesitate to interrupt Huo Jialan and gestured behind her. The lights in the courtroom dimmed and the earlier video began replaying on the screen. With Gu Nianzhi’s reminder, everyone was especially focussed on the interval between Bai Jinyi leaving Luo Xinxue’s room and Huo Jialan appearing in the hallway. Luo Xinxue’s room was at the end of the hallway. Huo Jialan had come down from the second floor, so she must turn a corner before arriving to that hallway. Before she turned, there was no way of seeing what was happening in Luo Xinxue’s hallway. The video made the sequence clear–Bai Jinyi left first and went into another room, then it was at least another 5 minutes until Huo Jialan appeared in the hallway. With such a long period of time in between, Huo Jialan couldn’t have possibly seen who actually came out of Luo Xinxue’s room. After the video finished, the lights in the courtroom were turned on again. All eyes were on Huo Jialan’s blanched face, and even the coral lipstick she wore seemed to be faded.
“Tell me, Huo Jialan. Why did you say that you saw it when you clearly didn’t see Bai Jinyi leave your mother’s room? Why were you crying when you left?” Gu Nianzhi spoke slowly to stab each word into Huo Jialan for the maximum impact. “…Was your mother in fact not passed out on the ground? Did she personally tell you that Bai Jinyi just left?”