The moment his words landed, Lin Yue shot straight up, staring at Xu De in pure disbelief.
What did he mean, steal the child?
Wasn't that exactly what human traffickers did? And wasn't human trafficking illegal?!
"Sigh, why are you getting so worked up? We're surrounded by people just trying to run their errands. What if you scare them?"
Feeling the confused gazes of bystanders locking onto them, Xu De looked at the shocked Lin Yue with obvious displeasure.
Lin Yue stared blankly.
"Are you kidding me? Why aren't you considering whether you've scared
me
?"
Lin Yue curled her lips and eventually sat back down in her chair, though she discreetly scooted outward, as if trying to put some distance between herself and Xu De.
Seeing this, Xu De added, "Don't worry, what we're doing is entirely legal!"
Lin Yue took a deep breath and slowly said, "Let's put aside the legality for a second."
"I'm more confused as to why... why would you want to steal a child in your free time?"
With that, she widened her clear eyes, staring at him in bewilderment.
The court had already concluded the trial regarding the custody of Wang Mei's child. It was a complete victory, granting Wang Mei full custody rights.
Even if Li Youcai and Liu Cui refused to hand the child over... they could always apply for mandatory police enforcement later on, and the child would still be returned.
Therefore...
No matter how you looked at it, stealing the child was utterly unnecessary.
However...
"Do you really think she can keep custody right now, given that Wang Qiang has been arrested?" Xu De suddenly asked.
"That..."
Lin Yue hesitated, then shook her head. "No, she can't."
"Why can't she keep it?"
Xu De sat in his chair. He didn't seem nervous at all, appearing completely relaxed as he spoke.
Without waiting for a reply, he provided the answer himself.
"Because Li Youcai and Liu Cui believe that, to Wang Mei, the child could never outweigh the life-or-death crisis facing Wang Qiang!"
That was the truth.
If Wang Qiang's case continued down a desperate path, Wang Mei would absolutely trade her custody rights in exchange for them changing their testimonies.
In other words, winning the custody case was useless.
The main focus was still Wang Qiang's case. If Xu De performed poorly, Lin Yue would only be left with empty sorrow and wasted effort.
This was also why she was willing to converse with him for so long. Their interests had long been firmly tied together!
While Lin Yue was deep in thought...
Suddenly.
Xu De spoke up again.
"Have you ever thought about... why they proposed this condition in the first place?"
"You have to remember, Li Erniu was their own flesh and blood, and they have a deep blood feud with Wang Qiang!"
"In theory, they should want nothing more than for Wang Qiang to die!"
"Yet right now, they're demanding the child in exchange for letting Wang Qiang off the hook... don't you find that strange?"
The moment those words fell.
Lin Yue paused, her eyes widening slightly.
He was right.
The child was their grandson, but Li Erniu was their biological son, someone they had raised for thirty years!
Yet, after Wang Qiang had literally sliced their son's stomach open, Li Youcai and Liu Cui were surprisingly devoid of grief. They were even using it as leverage to demand custody!
If it were Lin Yue, she would try to find a way to kill Wang Qiang even if it meant risking her own life!
Why was this?
"Because of ignorance."
"Lijia Village is utterly backward, and Li Youcai and Liu Cui are the epitome of archaic feudal thinking!"
Xu De didn't waste time and decisively gave the answer.
He crossed his right leg over his left, a cold sneer flashing across his face.
"Li Youcai and Liu Cui care about their descendants, but they only care about what they consider the 'continuation of the bloodline'!"
Put simply.
The more ignorant a person was, the more manic their obsession with 'carrying on the family line' became.
This was something younger generations, like those born in the 90s and 00s, could feel deeply.
Some parents constantly pushed for marriage. They wanted you to get married and have children, to birth a chubby little boy just to continue this so-called bloodline. As for why...
Did they have a throne to inherit?
Or a commercial empire to pass down?
Neither!
Yet they absolutely insisted on 'carrying on the family line,' even if it meant destroying your future upward mobility or saddling you with a burden of childcare you couldn't afford.
In short, no matter what... they would force your head down and make you produce offspring!
If you had a child, you 'had face,' you 'could stand tall,' and you had 'completed the mission'!
If you didn't, you were unfilial! A rebellious child! A disgrace! Someone who couldn't lift their head in society!
Was there any logic to it? No, but if there were logic, it wouldn't be called 'ignorance.'
"Among them are the most obsessive people."
"They merely treat children as tools for continuing the bloodline. While they might hold some affection, that affection is nothing more than a byproduct of 'carrying on the family name.'"
Xu De's eyes revealed a calm detachment.
From the moment Li Erniu died, he knew that Li Youcai and Liu Cui were exactly this type of people!
As his words sank in.
Lin Yue instantly understood. All the inconsistencies regarding Li Youcai and his wife finally made sense in her mind.
A hint of astonishment crept across her face. Covering her mouth, she subconsciously muttered:
"So, even though Li Erniu was their child, they don't feel heartache over his death."
"Because the bloodline has continued. They have a grandson!"
Xu De nodded. "Exactly."
"Li Youcai and Liu Cui are already in their sixties. They've lost the ability to reproduce."
"Their only son is dead, and they only have one grandson."
"Losing this grandson... to them, is no different from their entire family line dying out!"
Even if the child was taken away by Wang Mei and lived a perfectly good life.
In the hearts of Li Youcai and his wife, it was no different than the child dying and their lineage being extinguished.
"In summary, we can draw a conclusion."
Xu De took a deep breath. Looking at Lin Yue, he continued to explain at a steady, methodical pace:
"Currently, between the 'Wang Qiang' case and the custody case."
"Our priority is the 'Wang Qiang' case, while Li Youcai's priority is the custody case."
Both sides had different needs.
This was exactly why Chen Wei, the lawyer from Yang Teng Law Firm, believed he could achieve a win-win situation with Xu De, where everyone got what they needed!
But herein lay the problem.
"Now that we understand their motives, let's circle back to the very first question."
In a flash.
Xu De's gaze sharpened, reeling the entire conversation back to the starting point.
"【Why do we have to steal the child?!】"
"Before I answer that, I must raise another question."
"Namely."
"【Why do they dare to threaten us when both sides clearly need something from the other?!】"
As the two questions dropped.
The thoughts Lin Yue had just managed to organize spiraled back into chaos, her mind buzzing.
He was right.
The other party wanted the child, fearing the end of their family line without him.
Their side, Wang Mei, didn't want her father to die, knowing she would live in agony for the rest of her life if he did.
Since both sides clearly had strong reservations and major demands... what gave Li Youcai the confidence to directly threaten them?!
"Because of the urgency brought on by time!"
Xu De declared decisively, not mincing words.
Lin Yue froze, her slender brows knitting together, her eyes brimming with confusion.
She leaned her upper body slightly toward Xu De, her scattered hair releasing a faint, creeping scent of gardenias into the air. Staring at him, she asked, "What urgency?"
"It means that because the timelines of the two cases are different, the mentality and the urgency of the demands are also different."
Xu De, unbeguiled by her beauty, maintained a perfectly clear mind. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Wang Qiang's case is imminent."
"Half a month... half a month at most. The trial starts on November 9th. By then, whether Wang Qiang lives or dies will likely be decided!"
"Conversely, what about the matter of the child's custody?"
Wang Qiang faced a life-or-death crisis in just half a month. When the time came, if he was sentenced to death... and if they failed to appeal in the second trial, the man would truly be dead!
They only had half a month!
As for the child's custody...
"Even though the verdict was delivered half a month before Wang Qiang's case, how long is the actual execution period?"
Xu De countered, "Lawyer Lin, you couldn't possibly be unaware."
Lin Yue paused.
She was a professional lawyer; she naturally understood what he meant.
Custody cases were notoriously drawn out.
First, after the court awarded custody to Wang Mei, they would grant Li Youcai and Liu Cui an execution period—a timeframe to comply with the ruling and hand the child over. Let's say, a month.
And after a month... what if the time ran out and Li Youcai still refused to hand him over?
Then they could only apply for mandatory police enforcement. But... usually, the police wouldn't step in to forcibly remove the child until the execution period had been exceeded by a year, or even two or three years!
Lin Yue remained silent for a moment before finally saying dryly, "Two... two or three years."
"I won't even say three years, or even two."
Xu De shook his head, directly contrasting the timelines of both parties.
"Let's just assume mandatory enforcement happens in a single year!"
"That still leaves Li Youcai with a whole year. He won't experience the feeling of 'his family line ending' until a year from now. Whereas we..."
His voice lowered, spitting out a sobering number.
"Only have fifteen days!"
Fifteen days versus one year.
Li Youcai was in no rush, but Wang Mei was utterly desperate.
In business logic, the more anxious you were, the greater your demand, which made it vastly easier for others to exploit you and pull stunts like impromptu price hikes!
"This is why, despite having mutual needs, they have the guts to directly threaten us!" Xu De stated.
Lin Yue paused, then fell silent.
Looking at the current situation.
It was a dead end.
The execution periods for the two cases were entirely disparate. Unless Dongguo suddenly amended its laws, they would forever be more desperate than Li Youcai!
But that was obviously impossible.
"Hmm... why did you zone out again, Lawyer Lin?"
Beside her, Xu De raised an eyebrow and lowered his head, trying to prompt her.
Lin Yue snapped back to reality. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her delicate features betraying a trace of desolation.
"It's nothing. I just think this case is a bit difficult..."
Difficult?
"Difficult how?" Xu De blanked.
Hearing this, Lin Yue also blanked.
He had just laid the situation out so thoroughly himself, and the timeframe couldn't possibly be altered... how did he not know what was difficult about it?!
"Never mind, we'll talk about it later. Anyway, let's bring the problem back to the very beginning."
"Namely, 【why do I want to steal the child!】"
Xu De, uncaring of her thoughts, waved his hand dismissively and dragged the topic back to the start.
"Because I need to..."
"Artificially manufacture urgency!"