For the next few days, Liu Man did what she usually did. She went to school, practiced piano, and reviewed for the exam, trying very hard to get used to her new character. She couldn"t and didn"t let anyone see the difference in her personality. Even Zhang Pei didn"t realize that her own daughter was already a completely different person.
The weekend arrived soon, and after a discussion with Lawyer Sun, Liu Man and her mother were ready to go and visit the family members of the delivery man that"d died. Liu Chenyu had been kept in custody for the past few days, and except for the lawyer, no one was allowed to see him. Zhang Pei didn"t inform any of her family members. Firstly, Liu Chenyu"s parents were too old, so she didn"t want to startle them. Secondly, Zhang Pei had a good reputation, so she didn"t want her friends and family to laugh at her.
They appointed the rendezvous at a small room in an eastern restaurant.
Liu Man and her mother brought a hundred thousand in cash and arrived early with Lawyer Sun.
Lawyer Sun"s full name was Sun Yiyi. He was Zhang Pei"s high school cla.s.smate and a prestigious lawyer. He was also very famous in the industry and had a good relationship with Zhang Pei and her family. The two families often interacted with each other.
Lawyer Sun informed Zhang Pei several things to keep in mind during the negotiation.
Liu Man quietly looked at him. In her memories, Lawyer Sun"s family didn"t really like her. Both Lawyer Sun and his wife were straight A students that worked in the justice field.
They had only one child called Sun Weiwei, who was the same age as her. Sun Weiwei was also a straight A student that now studied in Capital City University. Because the two families were so close, Liu Man and Sun Weiwei were cla.s.smates during elementary school and middle school. But, Sun Weiwei had a much higher IQ compared to Liu Man, and it showed especially when it came to exam results. Her results were always compared to Sun Weiwei"s, which made her very angry.
But Sun Weiwei"s looks were average, and that was the only thing that made Liu Man feel better. Once, during a math exam in middle school, Sun Weiwei achieved a full score while Liu Man had failed. Liu Man, livid and jealous, told Sun Weiwei, "You"re so ugly. Does it even matter if you got a good score?"
Liu Man"s words severely harmed Sun Weiwei"s self-esteem. Sun Weiwei held back her tears until she arrived home. Then, she cried out loud, in front of her mother.
After that, the two families weren"t as close as they used to be. During high school, Liu Man"s grades were far below expectations and she had to become an art student. She and Sun Weiwei never contacted each other again.
Now, after seeing Lawyer Sun doing everything he could to help their family, she felt shameful of the old Liu Man. He did not seek revenge but instead helped them. It was quite obvious that he wasn"t caring about a young girl who had no brain.
The delivery man that had died was called w.a.n.g Chunhua. He was twenty-nine years old and had three children. The oldest one, a daughter, was seven years old. The younger daughter was five years old, and the youngest, a boy, was only two years old.
The family members who came to see Zhang Pei were w.a.n.g Chunhua"s wife, mother, and younger brother. They came to the capital city from their hometown, after receiving the news that w.a.n.g Chunhua pa.s.sed away.
The atmosphere was extremely awkward when the w.a.n.g family arrived.
The wife"s eyes were very red, and you wouldn"t be able to tell if they were red from crying or from anger. She glared at Zhang Pei, as if Zhang Pei was an accomplice who helped kill her husband.
Zhang Pei forgot all about her apologies when she saw the woman"s glare.
w.a.n.g Chunhua"s mother suddenly hollered at Zhang Pei, without them even starting the negotiation, "My son died such a horrible death, all because of you guys!"
She patted her chest with both of her hands with a sad and angry expression, screaming. Zhang Pei was scared by her spiteful glare and took a step back.
Liu Man, however, stayed calm and wasn"t scared at all. She had seen a lot of these crying and screaming women in the cold palace. She was already used to it, so she wasn"t scared at all.
"The event has already happened, so you"ll need to hope that the justice system gives your family a fair trial," Lawyer Sun said, while trying to make the atmosphere better, "We never wanted this to happen either. We invited you here today to try to fix our mistakes."
Lawyer Sun glanced at Zhang Pei, and Zhang Pei immediately said, "Yes, yes. We really want to apologize for what my husband did. Sorry, we really are very sorry for your loss."
Liu Man bowed with Zhang Pei. The apology was earnest and honest, because the delivery man did die.
"Apologize? Can an apology bring my brother back?" w.a.n.g Zhihua, w.a.n.g Chunhua"s brother, said angrily. He looked as old as Liu Man, and wore black framed gla.s.ses.
This somehow triggered Mrs. w.a.n.g, w.a.n.g Chunhua"s mother. Again, she howled and wept, "My oldest son had such a tragic life. In order to support his siblings for their education, he went to work before he"d graduated. A few years ago, he spent all his time working, in order to send his father to the hospital. He finally had gotten a wife, and his days had just gotten a little better, but then he was killed by your husband!"
Mrs. w.a.n.g"s sharp cries made Liu Man"s eyelids jump.
Zhang Pei glanced at Lawyer Sun. She had nothing left to say.
Lawyer Sun sighed in his head. The negotiation hadn"t even begun, yet Zhang Pei had already began to lose mentally. The other side had already taken complete control.
He"d known Zhang Pei for almost thirty years and knew Zhang Pei"s soft personality extremely well. He knew that she was used to relying on her husband, that she was always scared of things, and that she couldn"t decide on ideas. Liu Man"s personality was similar to her mother"s. She was a coward, arrogant, and would never be able to accomplish anything big. These two, the mother and daughter duo, couldn"t do anything. He"d have to solve it all by himself.
"Although the driver did commit a crime by drunk driving, your son isn"t completely innocent either," Lawyer Sun said.
Liu Man didn"t know how it happened, so she paid close attention to what he was saying.
"My client didn"t drive past the speed limit and didn"t do anything else, except for drinking wine before all of this had happened. w.a.n.g Chunhua was driving his motorcycle at a very fast speed and b.u.mped into my client"s car because he was driving the wrong way. According to the report from the traffic police, my client did step on the brakes during the time that the event had occurred." He continued to say.
w.a.n.g Zhihua interrupted Lawyer Sun"s statement and said sharply, "Nonsense, we"ve already seen the certificate of liability from the traffic police. Your client is the one that"s mainly responsible for this."
"That"s because the police are very strict about drunk driving right now, and my client just happened to commit that felony at this time," Lawyer Sun said with a steady tone, "Me and my client"s family did not invite you over today to argue, for we"re here to solve the problem. We all have a clear understanding of how and why this event happened. Furthermore, my client didn"t commit a hit-and-run. He did all he could and took w.a.n.g Chunhua to the hospital. Now that w.a.n.g Chunhua has pa.s.sed away, my client and his family feel very shameful and regretful about what had happened, so they really want to compensate you."
"Then, how much are you willing to compensate?" The lawyer from the other side, who had never spoken up, asked suddenly. He"d also stopped his clients from arguing anymore. He wasn"t scared by Lawyer Sun"s tone.
The lawyer on the other side was called Zhao Feng. He was a very young lawyer and looked as if he"d just graduated from college. Regardless of that, his eyes were still very astute. His eyes were observing Zhang Pei and Liu Man the moment he had entered the room. As if he was evaluating their value.
Liu Man didn"t know why, but she really hated the way he looked at her.
credits: sydney, dora, katimu, & hill