When they heard that a suspicious person was caught, Lin Qiupu and Lin Dongxue immediately ran down. It was a thin, middle-aged man with a document file and glasses. His hair was combed neatly. From the streaks of white hair, they judged him to be about 40 or 50 years old. He was explaining to the police who stopped him, “I'm not a suspicious person. I'm a lawyer. I’m here to talk about something with Mr. Zheng. You have my sympathies for the homicide case, but I don't want to waste time. Let me go!”

Lin Qiupu came forward and said, “I am the captain of the second team of the bureau’s criminal task force. My surname is Lin. May I have your surname?”

The lawyer's attitude eased and he stretched out his hand. “My surname is Bai. This is my business card... I came to see Mr. Zheng today to talk about some business matters. I just learned of the bad news. Although I’m very distressed, there’s nothing I can do. You saw me too. I just entered the community. Not only is there nothing to suspect me of, but I wouldn’t be of any assistance either. We shouldn’t waste each other’s time.”

Lawyers really knew how to talk eloquently, but Lin Qiupu refused to let him go like this. He asked, “Zheng Guohao has already retired. Does he have any business disputes?”

“That's the customer's secret and I can't tell you that confidential information.”

“Now that he’s been killed, I must know everything about him, especially about those who have disputes with him!”

Attorney Bai smiled and shook his head. “Who does he have disputes with? I can't help you with that. Sorry.”

Lin Dongxue got his business card and checked it with her mobile phone. The result of the search surprised her. Attorney Bai was not a business lawyer. He was only responsible for one type of defense and held a small reputation in the field.

Lin Dongxue whispered, “Captain Lin” and handed the mobile phone to Lin Qiupu. Lin Qiupu was also surprised. Looking at the contents of the phone and looking at the lawyer in front of him, he said, “It’s not a good habit to lie in front of the police.”

Attorney Bai seemed to understand something and still calmly emphasized, “I don’t have any malicious intent. I’m just trying to protect the reputation of the deceased. The deceased are the most superior[1]!”

“Thank you for your kindness... So, you defend people accused of rape?”

Attorney Bai knew he couldn't hide it any longer and answered, “Yes!”

“On the Internet, you have represented over a thousand rape defense cases and pleaded innocent for hundreds of clients successfully. It seems that you are an expert in this field... There seem to be a lot of people scolding you online.”

“Since I’m in this field, I don’t care about being scolded. As for my motivation, I admit that it’s for the money. The parties charged with sexual assault and rape are mostly rich. I can get a good commission from them. Moreover, this isn’t an evil practice.”

Lin Dongxue was shocked by this thick-skinned person. She just took a look at the online evaluation of him and it was all very negative. He described the raped woman as sex workers, sluts, scammers, and nymphomaniacs through twisted truths and fabricated evidence. He actually said this wasn’t an evil practice.

Of course, she kept calm in front of Lin Qiupu, but she looked at Attorney Bai with contempt.

Attorney Bai had long ignored this kind of gaze and smiled slightly. Lin Qiupu said, “Why are you telling me this so frankly? Is it to pave the way for your next words? Has Zheng Guohao recently sexually assaulted someone and asked you to rid him of his crimes?”

“...”

“Zheng Guohao's troubles have reached the point where he is ready to go to court?”

“...”

“If you don't want to talk about it, then let's change the place where we’ll talk!”

Attorney Bai knew that he couldn't hide the truth and said, “Then, let’s change the place. Standing around is making me too tired. Let's go sit in the cafe outside. I’ll treat you.”

“We. Will. Stay. Here!” Lin Qiupu alliterated, “The victim is still lying upstairs. I have no mood to go to a cafe.”

“It can be seen that Captain Lin is very dedicated,” Attorney Bai said with a fake smile, “In fact, Zheng Guohao intended to sue another person.”

“Who?”

“A man named Li Min. To sue him for extortion.”

“That isn’t your specialty though?”

“It really isn't, but...” Attorney Bai slowly said, “There are some other things mixed in. One month ago, he sexually assaulted Li Min's underage daughter. Li Min was so angry then that he was going about to kill him. In his anxiety, Zheng Guohao promised to compensate 1,000,000 yuan to him and wrote down the IOU. Afterwards, he gave out about 100,000 yuan, but Zheng Guohao felt that the compensation was too much, so he hoped that I would sue Li Min for extortion.”

“What the hell!” Lin Dongxue felt that her views of the world were shattered. “He sexually assaulted someone else's daughter, promised compensation, and in turn sued the other person? Does this man have no shame?”

“Officer, whether you ‘have shame’ is beyond the scope of my discussions with my client. My responsibility is only to design an optimal stop-loss plan.”

“Rape is a public prosecution case. You can't turn it private when you go to court. The other party promised to be private, but he even dared to sue the other party. Isn’t this person too ballsy?” Lin Dongxue couldn't help but spat.

“The person’s already passed, so I might as well be honest!” Attorney Bai said, “Technically speaking, it has been a month since the sexual assault and the person didn’t get pregnant or infected with sexually transmitted diseases. All the evidence is long gone and the only the statements from the parties remain. A rape case without evidence can’t! Be! Won! I can completely win the case and retrieve the money that was compensated too!” Attorney Bai's confidence grew from nowhere. “Stall! It’s my magic weapon when representing such cases! There is no evidence once things are dragged on. Furthermore, women want to save face. The more it drags out, the more face they lose and the more they won’t continue to take a stand. It all fizzles out in the end!”

Lin Dongxue opened her mouth in surprise. She saw the lower limit of human shamelessness.

Lin Qiupu mocked, “I’ve learned so much.”

Attorney Bai took out a business card and handed it to Lin Qiupu. “I’m guessing Captain Lin usually has a lot of meetings. The world is full of temptation. Men, right? You might make a mistake one day. In an unfair society like this, men should learn to protect themselves. You can contact me if needed.”

After he said his piece, he showed a row of bright teeth.

Lin Qiupu turned away his hand. “Don't advertise here. I don't have the need... You said that Li Min wanted to kill Zheng Guohao. Do you have any way to contact him?”

“Yes!”

Attorney Bai pulled out his mobile phone, gave Lin Qiupu a number, and said, “There’s nothing else you need me for, right?”

“Last question. At about noon today, where were you? Don't get me wrong. I’m just asking this as part of standard procedure.” Lin Qiupu remembered Zheng Guohao's schedule with Attorney Bai’s name on it.

Attorney Bai laughed. “I have an alibi of course. I was in court until 3:00 in the afternoon. Remember to read the newspaper headlines tomorrow. I won a lawsuit beautifully for a senior official's children in Long’an. I wonder how many people will scold me sourly again. Hahahaha, goodbye!”

1. It’s an expression where people essentially disregard whether the deceased did good or bad deeds in the past, as they are already dead.