Skin - Chapter 50

Chapter 50 – Meeting Lu Chengze Ten Years Ago

　　”Xiaoshu, why isn’t the air conditioner on?”

　　Meng Ruoshu remembered that day when Meng Zhao pushed the door open, stood at the entrance changing his shoes, and shouted this at her.

　　Eleven-year-old Meng Ruoshu walked out of her room, stood at the door and looked at Meng Zhao.

　　It was a hot July. Meng Zhao had just come back from outside and was sweating all over. He went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

　　He wore a black baseball cap, a simple white T-shirt and jeans. The boy had a tall and straight figure, and his collarbones below his neck were like two thin knife handles, glistening with sweat.

　　Half a month ago, the court’s first-instance verdict came out and Meng Xiangyu was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. This news cast a depressing atmosphere over the family.

　　That night, Meng Ruoshu couldn’t sleep. When she got up late at night to go to the bathroom, she passed by the study and heard her mother’s suppressed crying and Meng Zhao’s low voice coming from the closed door.

　　Seventeen-year-old Meng Zhao was comforting Song Ning: “Aunt, there is still a second trial. It’s not the end of the road yet. I will look for another lawyer in the next few days. When I came out of the court today, an uncle who was attending the trial told me that if we hire a good lawyer for the second trial, there is still hope.”

　　Song Ning has a quiet personality and has never suffered since childhood. She and Meng Xiangyu are childhood sweethearts. She married Meng Xiangyu after graduating from college. Before marriage, she was spoiled by her family and never suffered. After marriage, Meng Xiangyu took care of everything. She has never worried about anything in her 35 years of life. Everyone said that Song Ning had a good life, but they didn’t expect that she would suddenly encounter such a change.

　　Song Ning was at a loss. After Meng Xiangyu got into trouble, she went to give gifts and beg for help for several months in a row. Not long after, she fell ill. Unexpectedly, it was her nephew, Meng Zhao, who was still in high school, who took care of the matter.

　　Song Ning wiped her tears and said, “We don’t have any connections at home. How can we find such a lawyer? Even if we do, whether we can afford it is also a problem. The money in our family has been almost used up by using connections in recent times…”

　　”Don’t worry, auntie. Just focus on your recovery and leave the matter of finding a lawyer to me.” Meng Zhao comforted Song Ning in a low voice. The boy’s voice was clear and a little immature, but the calmness in his words actually made Song Ning feel a little relieved.

　　Meng Ruoshu listened at the door for a while, then left with light steps.

　　She slept uneasily that night and woke up again at four in the morning.

　　When going to the bathroom, she had to pass through the living room. Meng Ruoshu found that the door of Meng Zhao’s room was not closed tightly. Then she smelled smoke, which came from the half-open door.

　　Meng Ruoshu never knew that Meng Zhao smoked. Before high school, Meng Zhao was an excellent student in both character and academics. He was good at every subject, with no bias. Even in sports, he was at the level of a long-distance running champion in the city. Before Meng Xiangyu went to prison, he often used Meng Zhao as an example to Meng Ruoshu at the dinner table.

　　In Meng Ruoshu’s eyes, smoking had nothing to do with Meng Zhao.

　　Meng Ruoshu walked closer to the half-open door as if she was possessed. Through the narrow gap, she saw Meng Zhao standing in front of the open window, smoking one cigarette after another. The bluish-white smoke was soon blown away by the wind.

　　The wind outside the window blew through his shirt, outlining the boy’s thin back. Meng Ruoshu then realized that the torture Meng Zhao had suffered because of this incident was no less than anyone else in the family.

　　The wind blew outside, and the half-open door hit the door frame, making a slight noise. Meng Zhao then realized that the door was not closed tightly. He turned around and looked in the direction of the door. Meng Ruoshu had no time to hide, so the brother and sister looked at each other for a moment without warning.

　　Meng Ruoshu saw that the cigarette between Meng Zhao’s fingertips was half smoked, with golden sparks flickering. In the next second of staring at each other, Meng Zhao calmly turned the cigarette between his fingertips, covered it with his palm, and then, using his body to cover himself, extinguished the cigarette in the tin foil tray on the windowsill.

　　Because he might have the smell of cigarettes on him, Meng Zhao hesitated for a few seconds before walking towards Meng Ruoshu. Meng Ruoshu grew up late, and at that time she was only as tall as his chest. He leaned over, supported his knees with his palms, looked at Meng Ruoshu straight in the eyes, and asked her in a low voice, “Can’t sleep?”

　　Meng Ruoshu shook her head. She was speechless and could only look at Meng Zhao.

　　”It’s not dawn yet, go back to sleep.” Meng Zhao raised his hand and rubbed her head.

　　Meng Ruoshu didn’t move and still looked at Meng Zhao.

　　Meng Zhao understood her look and explained, “I went to bed early last night and I’m already awake.”

　　Meng Ruoshu knew Meng Zhao was lying, but she nodded and turned away.

　　In the period of time after that, Meng Ruoshu woke up several times in the middle of the night. Although Meng Zhao remembered to close the bedroom door tightly later, Meng Ruoshu could see light slipping out through the crack of the door.

　　Meng Zhao suffered from insomnia frequently. Although he always tried to stay awake in front of Meng Ruoshu and Song Ning, Meng Ruoshu could sense that because of the misfortune at home, the youthfulness in Meng Zhao was almost exhausted. Occasionally, his back even reminded Meng Ruoshu of Meng Xiangyu.

　　But on this day in July, Meng Ruoshu noticed that the lively aura in Meng Zhao had returned, and the weight on Meng Zhao’s shoulders seemed to be lightened a little. She used her eyes to ask Meng Zhao what happened.

　　Meng Zhao put the cup back in its place, then waved to Meng Ruoshu, and Meng Ruoshu came over.

　　Originally, Meng Zhao planned to wait until everything was settled before telling Meng Ruoshu and Song Ning, but when he saw the expectant look in Meng Ruoshu’s eyes, he couldn’t help but reveal the turning point in Meng Xiangyu’s case.

　　He half squatted down, holding a photo in his hand and handed it to Meng Ruoshu: “Remember? This is your deceased aunt.”

　　Meng Ruoshu looked at the photograph and nodded.

　　”The person next to her is her friend, lawyer Lu Chengze.” Meng Zhao said, unfolding another newspaper and handing it to Meng Ruoshu. It was an old newspaper from a few years ago, and the entire page was a report on the eight-year-long migrant workers’ wage claim case that Lu Chengze had won.

　　The photograph in the middle of the report showed Lu Chengze walking out of the court, surrounded by dozens of migrant workers, looking high-spirited.

　　Meng Zhao found the photo by accident. When he couldn’t sleep at night these days, he often sorted out Meng Jing’s belongings, hoping to find the strength to support himself from Meng Jing. When he was looking through Meng Jing’s photo album, he found this photo. On the back of the photo was written “Photo taken with my friend, Lu Chengze, on XXXX-X-X”.

　　Meng Zhao then remembered that he had met this uncle before Meng Jing passed away. He vaguely remembered Meng Jing mentioning that the man was a very capable lawyer.

　　”Look at this report. Lawyer Lu spent eight years helping a group of desperate migrant workers recover tens of millions of yuan in wages. I think if there is one person in Mingtan City who can help my uncle overturn the case, it must be him.” Meng Zhao said to Meng Ruoshu and stood up. “You can read the newspaper at home. I’m leaving first. I hope to bring back good news.”

　　He raised his leg and walked towards the door, but Meng Ruoshu grabbed his arm.

　　Meng Zhao looked down and saw Meng Ruoshu pointing at herself and then pointing outside the door, meaning that she wanted to go with Meng Zhao.

　　”You’re going too?” Meng Zhao was a little surprised.

　　Over the past year, Meng Ruoshu had resisted going out, and Meng Zhao and Song Ning never forced her to go out. Unexpectedly, Meng Ruoshu actually took the initiative to ask him to go out.

　　It was a good thing that Meng Ruoshu was willing to go out. Meng Zhao thought about it and nodded: “Then change your clothes, I’ll take you with me.”

　　Meng Ruoshu changed her clothes and went out with Meng Zhao. Together, they took the bus to Haoze Law Firm.

　　Meng Zhao brought Meng Ruoshu into the law firm, walked to the front desk and told that he wanted to see lawyer Lu Chengze.

　　Seeing a 16- or 17-year-old boy with a younger girl coming over and saying they wanted to see lawyer Lu Chengze, the receptionist was a little surprised: “Do you have an appointment?”

　　”No. My mother and Lawyer Lu are friends,” Meng Zhao handed over the photograph, “I came to see Lawyer Lu for something.”

　　”I see…” The receptionist tilted her head and looked at the photograph. “But Lawyer Lu is very busy. How about this? Leave your contact information and I’ll call you when we confirm a meeting time.”

　　Meng Zhao had no choice but to leave his contact information and then left Haoze Law Firm.

　　He had met some well-known local lawyers in the past and had experienced this kind of thing several times. At first, he was waiting for the call with great anticipation, but later he found out that the so-called leaving contact information was just an excuse. It meant that he was politely rejected.

　　Meng Zhao planned to not go to school next week. He will wait for Lu Chengze at the door of the law firm. If he can mention Meng Jing to Lawyer Lu in person, Lawyer Lu will probably agree to talk to him about Meng Xiangyu’s case.

　　Just as Meng Zhao was holding Meng Ruoshu and standing on the street waiting for the bus to go home, his cell phone rang.

　　The receptionist called: “Have you gone far? Come back.”

　　Meng Zhao didn’t know why things suddenly took a turn for the better, but since the front desk called him to go back, it meant that he could meet lawyer Lu Chengze.

　　He took Meng Ruoshu back to Haoze Law Firm. The front desk introduced him to the woman in professional attire next to him, saying that she was Lawyer Lu’s assistant.

　　Meng Zhao asked Meng Ruoshu to sit on the sofa in the reception area, then took off his baseball cap and put it on Meng Ruoshu’s head. He bent down and said to her, “Wait here first. I’ll go upstairs and talk to Lawyer Lu.”

　　Meng Ruoshu’s face was hidden in the shadow of the hat brim. She looked at him and nodded.

　　”Dad will be fine.” Meng Zhao raised his hand and patted her head gently.

　　After getting on the elevator, the assistant escorted Meng Zhao to the office door and left. Meng Zhao stood in front of the solid wooden door, took a deep breath, calmed his anxiety, then raised his hand and knocked on the door.

　　”Come in.” A man’s voice came from inside the door. Meng Zhao pressed the door handle, pushed the door open, and saw Lu Chengze sitting behind the desk, working with his head down.

　　”Uncle Lu.” Meng Zhao took a few steps towards Lu Chengze.

　　Hearing this address, Lu Chengze looked up in surprise and sized the young man in front of him. The young man stood straight, like a slender and straight spear. He asked, “Who are you?”

　　Meng Zhao took a few more steps forward, walked to Lu Chengze’s desk, took out the photograph and handed it to him: “Uncle Lu, I am Meng Jing’s son. When I was a child, you often contacted my mother because of work. I met you at that time.”

　　Lu Chengze took the photograph and looked at it, then looked up at him: “Are you Meng Zhao?”

　　Seeing that Lu Chengze still remembered his name clearly, Meng Zhao’s eyes lit up, as if he saw hope.

　　Lu Chengze asked again: “What’s wrong? Did you encounter any difficulties when you came to see me?”

　　Meng Zhao nodded and said, “Uncle Lu, I came here for my uncle Meng Xiangyu’s case.”

　　”Meng Xiangyu? Is it the case that was just judged in the first instance?” This case was a news case in Mingtan City that was recently on TV. Lu Chengze understood the purpose of Meng Zhao’s visit as soon as he heard it. “You came to see me, it must be about the appeal, right?”

　　”Uncle Lu,” Meng Zhao said anxiously, “My uncle was wrongly accused. He didn’t kill the rapist.”

　　”You mean to say that this is a wrongful conviction and you want me to help overturn the case?”

　　Meng Zhao nodded immediately, the anticipation in his eyes unable to be concealed.

　　Lu Chengze thought for a moment and picked up the phone at his desk: “I’ll ask my assistant to retrieve the case files and take a closer look.”

　　Meng Zhao handed the file bag in his hand to Lu Chengze’s desk: “Uncle Lu, no need to bother, I brought all of these.”

　　Lu Chengze opened the file bag and took out the information inside to look at it. The information was very detailed and almost covered all the circumstances of Meng Xiangyu’s first trial. Lu Chengze flipped through the information and said, “You are still in school. It must have been really hard for you during this period.”

　　Meng Zhao pursed his lips and said nothing.

　　Lu Chengze lowered his head and looked through the information carefully for a few minutes. Meng Zhao stood quietly by the side waiting.

　　After a while, Lu Chengze spoke up, “Do you know, Xiao Meng, that there are several people every month who claim that they didn’t kill anyone and want me to help them overturn the case? How did you know that your uncle was wrongly accused?”

　　”Because I know what kind of person my uncle is,” Meng Zhao said firmly, “He is not the kind of person who would lie and claim he is innocent even though he killed someone.”

　　Lu Chengze nodded and continued, “Of course, people will stand on the side of their loved ones unconditionally, but how can you guarantee that the people you trust will not deceive you? I have been a lawyer for so many years, and I have witnessed too many cases where people were deceived by their relatives without knowing it, and even went bankrupt in order to overturn the case. I don’t want this tragedy to happen to you again.”

　　Seeing that Lu Chengze was skeptical about whether this was a wrongful case, Meng Zhao hurriedly explained, “It’s really not like that, Uncle Lu. My uncle told me that he did want to kill that man himself, but because of the difference in physical strength, he was unable to subdue that man. In order to protect my sister, he did take my sister away from the scene first, but when he returned to the scene again, he saw the man’s body and the murder weapon left at the scene.”

　　”Although my uncle had the intention to kill, he didn’t kill the person after all. No one can accept such a false charge. Moreover, my sister has developed aphasia because of this. She has to appear in court every time. If my uncle is really the criminal, he would not let my sister be repeatedly exposed in such public occasions, because this is the greatest harm to my sister.”

　　Lu Chengze closed the file, was silent for a moment and looked at Meng Zhao: “Xiao Meng, everything you told me was what your uncle said, you think, he can’t… Do you think it’s possible to overturn the case with these? The police handle cases and the courts try cases, and they always rely on evidence, not this kind of subjective unconditional trust.”

　　Evidence, evidence… Meng Zhao certainly couldn’t find any evidence. Now all the evidence pointed to Meng Xiangyu as the murderer.

　　Meng Zhao took the information in front of Lu Chengze, turned to one of the pages, and placed it in front of Lu Chengze: “Uncle Lu, look, the police have determined that the person died after my uncle returned to the scene for the second time. At that time, after my uncle sent my sister to a safe place, although he immediately returned to seek revenge, there was already enough time for the criminal who violated my sister to escape. But, the criminal was still waiting for my uncle to kill him at the scene. Doesn’t this go against common sense? This may very well mean that the person was killed from the time my uncle left the scene to the time he returned to the scene.”

　　After hearing what Meng Zhao said, Lu Chengze fell into deep thought. He looked at the page of information, then flipped through the details of other cases, and said, “Xiao Meng, emotionally, I believe you, but if I think from a lawyer’s perspective, without any substantial evidence, it would be impossible for even me to overturn the case.”

　　When Meng Zhao heard him say this, his heart sank. Could it be that even Lu Chengze was powerless?

　　”Honestly, Xiao Meng, I really want to help you, but out of a sense of responsibility for you, I have to consider this matter from the most likely outcome. To be honest with you, if you want to overturn the verdict and let me defend your uncle’s innocence, then the second trial will most likely uphold the original verdict.”

　　Meng Zhao was almost in despair. His lips moved: “Then…then what should I do?”

　　Lu Chengze pondered for a long time this time and said, “The outcome of the case is basically a foregone conclusion. What we can do now is to make the outcome less bad. In the second trial, I will do my best to defend your uncle and ask the court to reduce his sentence. After all, your uncle’s approach is what every father would do after his daughter was violated, even me. I believe that from the perspective of human nature and public opinion, the possibility that the judge will reduce your uncle’s sentence is still very high.”

　　‘Reduced sentence? Does that mean my uncle will still be in jail?’

　　Knowing that Lu Chengze was trying to help him find a solution, Meng Zhao could not accept this compromise. Lu Chengze’s words meant that there was no hope for his uncle to overturn the verdict, and Meng Xiangyu would still have to bear the charge of murder and go to prison as a murderer.

　　Meng Zhao was not at all happy that his uncle’s sentence was reduced. He only felt more desperate. This despair was so overwhelming that it almost instantly wrapped him up tightly, making it difficult for him to breathe.

　　”How long can it be reduced? From fifteen years to ten years?” Meng Zhao shook his head. “Why should he go to jail for not killing anyone? Uncle Lu, I think this is meaningless.”

　　Lu Chengze also fell silent, and after a while he said, “Xiao Meng, sometimes reality is indeed cruel. But sometimes cruelty is something we have to face.”

　　He had too high expectations when he came here, and Meng Zhao was exhausted from running around these days. Lu Chengze was the last straw he was trying to grasp, but now this straw was about to break. Meng Zhao was overwhelmed by waves of despair and almost lost his rationality.

　　‘Is my uncle really going to spend the next fifteen years in prison?’ Is he going to leave this office like this, leaving Meng Ruoshu, who is full of expectations downstairs, to fall into despair again like him?

　　He suddenly thought of the bank card that Song Ning had stuffed into his hand. Song Ning had insisted that he accept it, saying that there was 100,000 yuan in it, which would be useful when he needed to ask others for favors in the future.

　　Meng Zhao has seen many lawyers these days, but has never used the word “beg”. He is proud and disdains to ask others for help, but now this bank card has become his last hope.

　　He pulled the card out of his pocket and pushed it in front of Lu Chengze. His voice was very low, and his tone was pleading and desperate: “Uncle Lu, you must help me, you must help me. This is all our family savings. I don’t want a reduced sentence, I just want to overturn the verdict. My uncle was really wronged.”

　　Lu Chengze sighed, looked at him, and pushed the bank card back. “At such a young age, I feel bad for asking you to face this kind of choice, especially since you are the child of my former friend. But Xiao Meng, we have to face reality. Take the money back. You will need money for many things in the future. If this case requires other expenses later, I will be responsible for it.”

　　”Is there really no chance, Uncle Lu?” Meng Zhao asked again unwillingly with a hint of tears in his voice.

　　Lu Chengze was silent for a moment and shook his head. “Many times, slim hope is just another form of despair, and may even be more terrifying than real despair. Xiao Meng, I don’t want to give you unnecessary hope. No matter what the verdict is, I hope you can face your life bravely.”

　　Meng Zhao lowered his head. How high were the expectations he had when he came here? How lonely he felt at this moment. He knew that he was now making unreasonable demands. Lu Chengze had obviously proposed a more feasible plan for him, but he just refused to accept it and insisted that Lu Chengze do it the way he wanted.

　　At this moment, Meng Zhao’s spirit seemed to be torn apart. On one hand, he was faced with the reality that his uncle was wrongly accused and his eagerness to help his uncle overturn the verdict. On the other hand, he had to admit the false accusation to obtain the best possible result at the moment…

　　‘What should I do? What should I do? What should I do… What is the right thing to do?’

　　Countless question marks almost brought Meng Zhao to the brink of collapse.

　　”Xiao Meng?” Lu Chengze could see that something was wrong with Meng Zhao’s condition.

　　Meng Zhao seemed to be awakened. He suddenly realized that he was on the brink of collapse. If he stayed any longer, not only would he be unable to maintain basic decency, he might even embarrass Lu Chengze.

　　”It’s okay, Uncle Lu,” Meng Zhao whispered, “I’ll think about it when I get back. Thank you.”

　　After saying that, he turned and left Lu Chengze’s office.

　　He walked to the door, but just as he grasped the doorknob and opened the door a crack, he saw Meng Ruoshu’s expectant eyes when she came, Song Ning’s desperate tears that night, and Meng Xiangyu who had aged ten years overnight in the detention center…

　　Meng Zhao let go of the door handle, suddenly turned around, and his knee hit the marble floor with a dull thud.

　　Seventeen-year-old Meng Zhao gambled his remaining self-esteem. When he collapsed, he looked at Lu Chengze with a firm look: “Uncle Lu, please help my uncle and defend his innocence for the last time, okay?”