Chapter 62: Indifference

  Zhang Songwen looked at his cousin, and in his heart, he was absolutely not as calm as he appeared on the surface. A chill spread from the bottom of his heart.

  From the moment she knew her mother had stabbed someone, Fang Zixuan did not show a hint of fear, horror or panic like her younger brother Fang Zipeng. She remained absolutely calm and analyzed the situation, and what she came up with in such a short time was exactly what their lawyer team had discussed.

  What shocked him the most was not a 16-year-old girl's legal knowledge, after all, she was Mr. Zhao Wenpu's disciple, and it wasn't strange that she knew these things. What was terrifying was the calmness on her body, he couldn't help but shudder, this was absolutely something a normal person couldn't do. At this moment, he finally understood why he admired her but could never get close to this clever cousin - there was no human touch on her!

  Absolute rationality, absolute calmness, even when her own mother is in trouble, she can analyze the problem with the most rational attitude without moving a single emotion. Compared to Zhang Yun's father who has aged several years, his angry and furious older brother, and his panicked son, this cold and calm daughter of hers is really too terrifying.

  Fang Zixuan never cared about what others thought of her, even if several people's expressions changed, she didn't put it in her heart at all. What she cared about was only Fang Zipeng behind her, who was trembling with fear and didn't dare to look at Zhang Qi, who was furious.

  A hint of discontent flashed through her mind. Fang Zipeng was still a child after all, and Zhang Yun had brought trouble upon himself, but Zhang Qi vented his anger on him instead. Not only was it meaningless, but it also put great pressure on him.

  "Now that mom has gotten into trouble, it may bring disaster to the Zhang family. My sister and I won't be able to stay here anymore. We'll head back home tomorrow. Since we're both minors, we'll have to bother our uncle to take care of mom's affairs. He can hire a few good lawyers, and with some effort, big troubles will become small ones, and small ones will disappear. It shouldn't be too difficult."

  She was originally a lawyer, so she naturally understood that as long as the higher-ups were willing to make concessions and Shen Qin wasn't dead, it would be easy to turn the criminal case into a civil one. It's just that Zhang Yun's side had to compromise and pay a bit more.

  She thought it wasn't a difficult case. But in the eyes of Zhang's family, it was not that simple. She was still a young girl with a heart as cold and hard as this, even Zhang Qi felt sorry for his own sister. Zhang Yun had risked everything for her two children, but hadn't stirred up any emotions in her daughter, not even half a tear, clearly she had inherited Fang Jianlin's personality, no wonder she was a white-eyed wolf.

  Mr. Zhang, however, couldn't hide his worries and ultimately felt that his son's previous words had hurt Fang Zixuan, which was why she decided to leave the Zhang family. Since being frightened by the psychologist's words a few years ago, he had been working hard on Fang Zixuan, trying to make her have normal emotions like other people. With great difficulty, he saw that she had more friendly and patient feelings towards Fang Zipeng, and was also closer to him than before. Before he could even feel happy about it, he feared that Zhang Qi's words today would undo all his efforts.

  Fang Zikai is still a twelve-year-old kid after all, although he's in junior high school, when faced with such things, he still habitually relies on Fang Zixuan, where would he have any objections, everything depends on her decision, as long as they are together.

  "Are you guys going to go see your mom?" Cheng Li couldn't help but speak up, normally kids in this situation would be eager to see their mother, but these siblings haven't mentioned a word about it from start to finish.

  Fang Zixuan seemed to have thought seriously, feeling that as a daughter she should show concern at this time. She looked at Fang Zipeng with an inquiring expression, and seeing his face was completely leaving it up to her, she finally blurted out one word, "Good."

  Looking at her expression as if it were a routine, Zhang Qi didn't even have the energy to get angry, only feeling sad and helpless.

  Fang Zixuan saw Zhang Yun in the detention center, a wealthy woman who was always full of confidence, but now her face was pale and she looked dazed. With an older brother serving as the director of the Public Security Bureau, her life inside couldn't be too difficult, and she was even being well-fed and supplied. However, the huge mental blow and pressure seemed to have crushed her entire person, and her listless expression made Fang Zixuan almost unrecognizable.

  When Zhang Yun saw the two children, his eyes finally had a hint of spirit. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything, and just stared at them blankly with tears streaming down his face.

  Fang Zikai still tightly grasped Fang Zixuan's hand, staring blankly at his mother who had aged a lot, without any expression.

  "Mom, are you okay?" Although it was a sentence of concern and inquiry, being said by her without any emotion made people feel that the person sitting opposite was not a relative, but a lawyer handling official business.

  Zhang Yun's mind was in a mess, and she couldn't care about these delicate feelings. She just grabbed the hands of her children and burst into loud sobs, shaking her head incoherently, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! She wanted to kill me first!..."

  "That knife wound was shallow and didn't even pierce her vital organs, she won't die, not even seriously injured." She looked at Zhang Yun's hand which had grabbed hers until it turned red, with several deep bloodstains, covered in snot and tears, expressionlessly pulling out a tissue to wipe clean.

  Her words did not have any comforting effect, the people in the detention center knew Zhang Yun's background and were careful to serve her. The situation outside with Shen Qin had reached her ears at the first time, but this pampered noblewoman could not withstand such mental torture and was unable to walk out of the shadow of that day, the blood on the ground and the sharp police sirens constantly stimulating her fragile nerves.

  "She did it on purpose! She deliberately provoked me to stab her!" Zhang Yun cried, "This cheap woman! You have to believe me, believe me..."

  These past few days, she's been repeating the same phrases over and over again, and while people don't necessarily disbelieve her, they're getting annoyed. Everyone knows that a simple-minded and reckless woman like her must have been set up by someone, but being nagged by her repetitive and unoriginal mutterings is just infuriating.

  "You'll be fine, the bail procedures will be done soon and you can leave immediately. This matter isn't as terrible as you think."

  "If nothing's wrong, why was I brought in?" Zhang Yun's eyes showed resentment. Her own elder brother was the director of the Public Security Bureau, so why didn't he help his own younger sister at this time?

  "No matter how you've hurt people, you still have to come in and go through the motions, even if it's just for show. You can't blame your uncle, there are many eyes watching him from above, waiting for him to make a mistake. If it weren't for your uncle, you wouldn't be able to get out so quickly." Even if she was strict and conservative, as a lawyer with nearly ten years of experience, she knew the unspoken rules all too well. It wasn't just in China, even in America's society governed by law, there were still spaces where one could move freely under the rules.

  On the other end of the monitor, Old Man Zhang and Zhang Qi sat in front of the screen, listening to what Fang Zi Xuan had said. Old Man Zhang gave Zhang Qi a meaningful glance.

  "I don't care! I've been stuck in this detention center for so long, what will they think of me when I go back?" Zhang Yun was furious and threw a tantrum like a child. What struck her the most wasn't that she had stabbed Shen Qin, but that Zhang Qi had actually arrested her. Didn't he know that Zhang Qi was her own older brother, who always protected her? As the head of the Public Security Bureau, it should be easy for him to manipulate the law enforcement system. If he just wanted to silence the witnesses, even if she had killed Shen Qin, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But since it was just a superficial wound, why did he arrest her without mercy and humiliate her like this?

  "The Fang family has always been one to flatter and belittle others. Now that I've arrived, how will they look at me? How will they look at the Zhang family? And Shen Qin is even more pleased with herself!" Zhang Yun exclaimed in a low voice, "She's doing it on purpose! This move is meant to force our Zhang family to agree to Fang Xinlan entering our household!"

  Zhang Yun's face turned gloomy, and Fang Zipei seemed to be frightened, his hands became cold, and he unconsciously leaned towards Fang Zixuan.

  She looked at the crazy Zhang Yun, and didn't know what to say either. As a family member, not a lawyer, it wasn't her place to give legal advice. But at this moment, she really didn't know what comforting words to say to her own relative, and estimated that if she continued speaking, she would likely provoke her even more.

  "Send them back." Old Master Zhang stood up, feeling extremely exhausted in body and mind. Things had come to this point, and he could only blame himself for agreeing to the marriage alliance with the Fang family in the first place. If he hadn't married Zhang Yun off to the Fangs, none of this would have happened.

  "Dad, Ah Yun will be fine." Zhang Qi, who was blamed by his sister, also felt guilty in his heart. For the sake of his own future, he sacrificed his sister's happiness and indeed did not help with all his might.

  Old Zhang simply waved his hand, "What you did was right, at this time we can't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture because of a small matter. You represent not just the Zhang family, but also carry too much weight on your shoulders. If Ah Yun wants to blame someone, let her be, we'll think of a way to make it up to her later."

  Even Shen Qin, who was bedridden at the time, knew that Zhang Yun would not actually go to jail, but in order to calm down this storm, the Zhang family had to compromise.

  What is called obtaining the victim's understanding is a process of compromise between the two parties.

  Zhang Yun's emotions were unstable, so as soon as she saw Shen Qin, she started shouting and screaming. Her representative in the negotiations with Shen Qin was her sister-in-law Cheng Li. Shen Qin had already woken up, and that little injury wasn't even enough to get her into the ICU. Lying on the hospital bed, she looked very weak.

  Her daughter Fang Xinlan was sitting on the edge of the bed gently stroking her hair, softly comforting her, with eyes as red and swollen as a rabbit's. From this point of view, Fang Xinlan was indeed more filial than Fang Zixuan. Cheng Li secretly sighed in admiration, even feeling a little envious, she had always wanted to give birth to a gentle and lovely girl like Fang Xinlan.