Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

At seventeen past three, I returned to the office. The hearing has been going on for a while.A court stenographer sits behind Bu Aixi's desk and takes down every sentence in shorthand.Ke Baisha sat in the witness chair with a smug expression on her face.A man in his fifties with a pointed chin and greedy eyes who was eager to get rich was sitting next to Lawyer Shang. He should be one of the plaintiffs, Mr. Lu Liye. Lawyer Mi may have dealt with Ke Baisha and Wei Yansu again.He sat Miss Wei behind him, and angrily scribbled on a notepad.Evidently he was making a note of what he was going to ask Betha when it was his turn later.

Everyone looked up at me as I entered.Lawyer Shang sat there and continued to ask questions. He put his hands on his chest, his fingers spread out, the fingertips of both hands were facing each other, and he tilted his head slightly, his bony face was expressionless.Mrs. Ko, tell us what you did then? Before the intersection, I slowed down the car.Baisha said: Then I heard the horns of the cars behind me. Yes, yes, please go on. Then, in the heavy traffic, Miss Wei turned her car around and came around to me. What did she do? She bit her tongue at me because she was dissatisfied with the way I was driving.

Did she pull over to bite her tongue at you? She didn't, she yelled at me and slammed her foot on the accelerator. Then of course she is facing you?Lawyer Shang's tone seemed like a person was stating a matter of course rather than asking a question. I was pretty sure she was facing me.Baisha said. did you see her eyes I see two eyes and her teeth. Wei Yansu twisted on the chair. Attorney Mi looked back, patted her knee with his hands, and told her to calm down. The brilliance of victory appeared in Shang Maolan's eyes: So, you mean, when Wei Yansu drove past your car, she was looking at you and talking to you, right?

Completely correct. Let's proofread your testimony again, Mrs. Ko, I believe you said that when you came to the intersection, you almost stopped the car. correct. Now, in order not to misunderstand each other, please listen to me carefully.When Ms. Wei drove past you, she was looking at you and talking to you, and your car was at an intersection, right? Yes. So the front of her car must have been at a crossroad? Yes, it is. Was she looking at you, talking to you? Yes. During the whole process, her car has been moving at a fairly high speed? There was nothing wrong with her slamming on the accelerator.

When did she turn her head to look in the direction in front of her?Lawyer Shang asked. Suddenly, she seemed to remember that she hadn't looked ahead Please note the objection.Lawyer Mi said: Witnesses cannot testify about things that suddenly appeared in my client’s mind, she can only testify Yes, yes, lawyer Shang interrupted: You can only testify to the fact that it happened.Mrs. Ke, you can't rely on your imagination to testify. Not to mention what do you think my clients are thinking.Attorney Mi said sarcastically. Lawyer Shang gave him an angry look. Lawyer Mi moved his upper lip rapidly, brushing his mustache against his nose.

All right.She suddenly wanted to dodge, and the other car hit her.Bai Sha said very simply. The other car you mentioned refers to the car that Mr. Lu Liye, sitting here on my right, is driving. Yes. This other car is turning left, isn't it?So it is facing the more northerly Monte Carlo? Yes. Based on your testimony just now, we can conclude.Ms. Wei drove blindly towards the intersection of Park Avenue and Monte Carlo at the speed you mentioned by slamming on the accelerator, and rushed in the direction Mr. Lu was driving, didn't she? Yes. Lawyer Shang leaned back on the chair.Bring your hands down and place them on your stomach.He turned to Lawyer Mi politely: Do you want to ask me too?

Wei Yansu began to wriggle on the seat again. Lawyer Mi patted the back with his hands in almost the same direction twice to express his comfort.He said: Of course, of course. please!Shang lawyer said. Thanks.Lawyer Mi still responded with a bit of irony. Lawyer Mi deliberately adjusted the position of the chair.Ke Baisha glanced at me arrogantly, as if to prove what she said, there is no thief lawyer in the world who can confuse her thoughts, so she turned her head and looked at Lawyer Mi with her eager eyes. Lawyer Mi cleared his throat: Now let's start over and see if we have figured it all out.Mrs. Cole, are you going west on Park Avenue?

Yes. How long did you drive down Park Avenue before you got to Monte Carlo? The distance from eight streets to ten streets.Baisha said. When you arrive at the Monte Carlo intersection, your car is on the right lane westbound on Park Avenue, which is the lane closest to the sidewalk, isn't it? Yes. How long have you been in this driveway? I have no idea. Would you say the distance from eight streets to ten streets? Won't. There was a time when you drove in the left lane, the one closest to the middle of the road, didn't you, Mrs. Ko? I say yes.Bai Sha replied. Part of the time you drive in the middle lane.

No. Lawyer Mi raised his eyebrows and said: Are you sure?Mrs. Ke. Absolutely sure.Bai Sha said bluntly. You're definitely not driving in the middle lane of Park Avenue, are you? Yes. But you've been in the left lane for a while? Yes. Were you in the right lane when the accident happened? Yes. Then, Lawyer Mi said in a well-crafted sarcastic tone: Can you please tell us how you can change from the left line to the right line without crossing the center line? Of course I had to go through the center lane.Baisha said. oh!Lawyer Mi said with embellished surprise: Then you did drive in the middle lane.

I used to go through the center lane. pass by now?Lawyer Mi asked. Yes. Do you want me to believe that when you change from the left lane to the right lane, the car and the lane are at a right angle of ninety degrees? Don't be silly, I'm turning from the left lane to the right lane. Oh, then you don't care whether there is traffic coming from the right lane, and suddenly turn right to the right lane. of course not.Baisha said: You can't confuse my thoughts, I squeezed through slowly and calmly. In order to squeeze through slowly and calmly, did you squeeze the distance of one street, two streets, three streets, or four streets?

I have no idea. Maybe it took four streets? I don't know it's possible. So there's a long distance, Mrs. Cole, maybe four streets, and you're driving in the middle lane. I'm just pushing the car through the center lane. So why are you telling us you are absolutely sure you are not driving in the middle lane westbound on Park Avenue? I mean I'm wrong, I didn't drive on the center line and intentionally stayed on the center line and continued to drive. But have you ever driven across the center line? Passed, yes. Okay, so for a while, all four wheels of your car were indeed within the middle lane of Park Avenue, within the white lines on both sides.Yeah? I think there is nothing wrong, yes. I don't want any arguments.Lawyer Mi declared: I only want facts.Come, Mrs. Ko.If you can drive as you said just now, of course you will tell us honestly, tell us without puns, and tell us without misunderstanding in the future, when you drive within the distance of eight streets to ten streets, Have the four wheels of your car been within the two white lines on the left and right of the middle lane for a while? Yes, yes!Betha yelled at him. Attorney Mi leaned back in his chair, sympathetically, as if preparing to take a rest: So what happened to the testimony you just said?Mrs. Ke.Didn't you say you were absolutely sure you weren't driving in the middle lane? Baisha opened her mouth to say something, but her voice became indistinct because of her anger.The stenographer looked up at her. Please, please.Lawyer Mi said: Please answer this question. Baisha said: I have told you everything that happened. Yes Yes.But you told me two completely different things, and I don't know which one is true. Small drops of sweat appeared on Baisha's forehead.She said: Well, you can say whatever you like. No, no, not how I say it.Lawyer Mi said anxiously: What you want is what you say.Mrs. Ke.Allow me to advise you, you have exaggerated your reputation, so now tell the truth. All right.Betha screamed at him: I'm on the left line.I pass the middle lane to the right lane.okay, what's wrong? Many things can go wrong.Lawyer Mi seemed to be patiently explaining: It depends on how you do it.Did you give any signal when you were about to cut into the right lane? Yes, I turn on the turn signal. Have you ever looked behind you? Of course I have to look backwards. Turn your head away? No, I'm looking in the rearview mirror. Since your car is not going straight, it is cutting to the right lane, so you cannot see the situation behind the road from the rearview mirror.In other words, because, as you said, you're steering the car quite diagonally to the right, your rearview mirror can only see the car directly behind you.What I want to point out to you is that it is impossible for you to see Miss Wei's car because she is on your right lane. Yes, I can't see her car.Bai Sha had to admit. When did you first see it? When I came to the right lane, stopped, I looked up in the mirror and saw it was right behind me. oh!You stop. Yes, I stopped.Bai Sha said angrily: You try to find bones in eggs. When you stopped, did you give a stop signal? Yes, I did. What kind of signal? I put my arms out the car window.Angled down a bit. your whole arm? My whole arm, yes. And gave a stop signal. Give a stop signal. Baisha said with a firm tone. Mrs. Ke, why did you stop the car?You don't have any passengers in the car to get off, do you?Lawyer Mi asked. No. But you also know that there is no parking place. certainly. Are you at an intersection? is at the intersection. On the Monte Carlo intersection, there is a traffic signal? Yes. The traffic signal said traffic was clear on Park Avenue. Yes. But you parked? I just almost stopped the car. Not that you almost stopped the car.Mrs. Ke, I want to know if you stopped the car? I may be moving very, very slowly. But not long ago, Mrs. Ke, you yourself said you stopped the car. All right!Baisha yelled at him: I stopped the car, so what. Stop your car completely. Completely dead, if you want to say that. Not that I'm going to say that, Mrs. Cole, but you actually did. OK, I parked the car. dead? Without saliva, I stretched out a finger to see if my car was moving.Baisha said sarcastically. I understand.Now Lawyer Mi spoke as if everything had come to a conclusion: I think you misunderstood me, Mrs. Ke, or I misunderstood you.According to the testimony I have now from you, you don't even know yourself, your car was still completely stopped at that time, or it was moving forward. You are right. But you put your arm out to signal that you are coming to a stop. Yes. Stop signal? I mean this. Want to do the same? Of course I want to. Now, let me ask you again, Mrs. Ke, why did you stop?You can't think of it as a parking lot. Baisha said: After I let the car behind me go around me, I can turn left. Oh, you want to turn left?Did you signal to turn left? Of course I did. You said you gave the signal to turn left. Yes. What kind of signal?Mrs. Ke. How do others do it? No, no, Mrs. Ke, I want to know how you do it. Baisha said: I stretched out my left arm out of the car window and stretched it straight out. The whole arm outstretched? The whole arm, yes. So you see the car behind you. Yes. Seeing it for the first time? Yes. Are you asking that car to go around you? Yes. Did you signal the car behind.Tell it to go around. Of course there is. how do you do it I waved her forward. How to play? Wave with my arm. What do you mean by waving your arms, Mrs. Ko? Baisha stretched out her arms in a series of circular motions. Please write it down.Lawyer Mi said: Mrs. Ke stretched her left arm at this time and made a series of circular movements. When the hand was raised, it was higher than the head, and when it was lowered, it almost touched the ground.Isn't that right, Mrs. Ke? Yes, she said, and then added sarcastically: It's rare that you're right. After getting your signal, Miss Wei immediately bypassed you, didn't she? Bypass me and express quite a few of her opinions.Baisha said. The left front window of your car is open, isn't it? Yes. Where's Miss Wei's car window?Be careful, Mrs. Ke, I don't want you to be deceived.I'll just test your powers of observation and see how much you remember.Is the window on the right side of Miss Wei's car open or closed? Bai Sha thought for a while and said: Her window is closed. Can you be sure? sure. All right side windows are closed? Yes. Glass closed to the top? I said close it. Tell me what Miss Wei told you.Say those words? A burst of self-righteousness flashed across Bai Sha's face: Don't use this method to deceive me.I won't fall for your tricks. Lawyer Mi raised his eyebrows and asked: What do you mean? I mean if the window on her right side wasn't open, I wouldn't be able to hear what she was saying.You also know what I mean.In fact, I could see her talking. But you can't hear her words? Of course, with the windows closed, I couldn't hear it. Can't hear a word? No, I hear no, I can't swear to hear. Then how do you know that what Miss Wei said to you is that you just expressed a lot of her opinions. I knew it from the look on her face. You can't hear a word she said? Can't hear. Then when you said just now, she expressed a lot of her opinions to you, did you use telepathy or spiritism? I could see the expression on her face. Do you have the ability to read the expression on someone's face and see what she is thinking? It's ok if her mouth is moving too. Attorney Mi moved his lips silently for a few seconds, and then asked: What did I say, Mrs. Ke? You didn't say anything. But my mouth is moving.I do say one thing, and I say it with certainty.Mrs. Ke, my mouth is moving, and you can see the expression on my face, can't you? Bai Sha did not speak. So you don't know what I'm talking about? Baisha was angry, troubled, and protected herself by not speaking. Lawyer Mi waited for a few more seconds before saying, "Please note that the witness could not answer this question, or was unwilling to answer it." Baisha began to sweat. Lawyer Mi continued: Mrs. Ke, you suddenly changed quickly from the leftmost lane on the main road to the rightmost lane, and drove right in front of the car driven by my client, Ms. Wei, when you suddenly gave a stop signal and changed your speed. Slow, you don't know how slow you are, because you don't know whether the car has stopped or is still moving forward.You suddenly signal a left turn, and then you suddenly signal a series of big arm movements, so you completely block traffic in the right lane.Do you have a reasonable explanation for everything you do? I told you I'm going to turn left, I want this car to go around and go first. Park Avenue direction is green, you know you can't stop at the intersection, don't you? If you must nitpick, yes. So you park illegally there. Even if it is. You also know that from the rightmost one of the three lanes, you are not allowed to turn left, right? Of course, that's why I want the car behind me to go first. So you signaled twice, one right after the other, for two violations, didn't you? You must say so, yes. May I ask you again, when did you see the car driven by Mr. Lu? Just before the crash. How long before the crash, exactly? I can't tell, maybe a second. Where was it when you saw it? It just swung left. Surely you know where the real crash is? Yes. where? right in front of my car.Block me completely, unable to move. exactly.Mrs. Ke, I don't want to frame you.Let me tell you, the survey found that it was exactly thirty-one feet from the car to the center of the intersection.Do you think this distance is about the same as what you imagined in your mind? About the same. This is clear through investigation, Mrs. Ke.I think the other party's lawyer can agree with this point. Lawyer Mi looked at Lawyer Shang, and Lawyer Shang nodded. Mrs. Ko, when you first saw that car, it hadn't reached the intersection? Well it's not yet in the center of the intersection. That's right.So the car had to go to the center of the intersection first, turn left around the center at the far end, and walk another 31 feet before hitting Miss Wei's car. I guess so.Yes. Distance, maybe fifty feet? Well that's about it, yes. According to your estimate, Mr. Lu's car traveled fifty feet from the time you first saw it to the time it hit the car, right? I think so. It was you who did testify that you saw the car driven by Mr. Lu a second before the crash. correct.Baisha said. Lawyer Mi said: Have you calculated, Mrs. Ke, that a car can travel fifty feet in one second and three thousand feet in one minute, and three thousand feet per minute is much faster than thirty-five miles per hour? Bai Sha blinked her small eyes. Therefore, Lawyer Mi said: From your own estimation, Mrs. Ke, I did not induce you, everything is your own estimation, this Mr. Lu's car turned at the intersection at a speed of more than 35 miles per hour, yes or no ? Baisha said: I don't think it's that fast. Then your other testimony must be wrong.Do you think the car is more than fifty feet from the center of the intersection? No, not more. But at least fifty feet from the crash site? Yes. Then your timing must be wrong.Do you think it will be a little more than a second? possible. But you said definitely that it was a second.Mrs. Ke, do you want to change your testimony? Baisha's forehead was completely wet with sweat.She said: "I don't know how fast that car was going.I just looked up and saw it and crashed. Oh, you look up and see it. Yes. So, before the crash, you were looking down. I don't know where to look. Oh, I totally get it.You don't know if your car is stationary or moving.You don't know whether you are looking at this side or that side. I am looking below. Then you are not looking at the side? no. Then you can't be looking at Miss Wei. I'm looking at Miss Wei. Think clearly. Bai Sha stubbornly did not speak. Lawyer Mi smiled triumphantly.I think, he announced: I'm done asking. Those who take shorthand, close the notepad.Wei Yansu smirked triumphantly at Baisha.Leaving proudly.Lawyer Mi wiped his nose with his toothbrush-like mustache. People left one after another.Once again Betha and I were left alone in the office.The scene was as lonely and desolate as a championship boxing match.