The lawyer handed him a jewelry box and said, "After I applied, Miss Xi refused to see you and asked me to return this to you, saying you would understand when you saw it."
"If she doesn't want to see me, so be it." Ai Yifeng put away the jewelry box and asked, "By the way, you mentioned last time that her case would only have a chance if we found a few breakthroughs?"
The lawyer didn't pry further into his relationship with Xi Xianya, only knowing that President Xiao had instructed that Ai Yifeng was the closest person to Xi Xianya and could make decisions on her behalf.
"Yes, there are two breakthroughs. One is to obtain a letter of understanding from the victim's family, and the other is to find witnesses present at the scene. If even one person can step forward to corroborate Miss Xi's account, I will at least have grounds to argue self-defense on her behalf."
Ai Yifeng asked, "So, to prove she was acting in self-defense under duress and threat?"
"Exactly," the lawyer replied professionally. "If the self-defense argument holds, she may not be sentenced. Even if it's excessive self-defense, the sentence will be very light."
"I understand," Ai Yifeng said calmly. "Can you give me a complete list of the witnesses present at the time? I want to approach each of them and perhaps persuade someone."
"Of course." The lawyer took out a document from his briefcase, always carrying relevant case files with him.
Ai Yifeng took the document and scanned it briefly, planning to study it carefully later. He needed to inform Qin Tianyi about taking a long leave of absence and would return to work after resolving Xi Xianya's case.
The lawyer knew it would be difficult to get these people to speak the truth. He had tried before, even offering incentives as President Xiao suggested, but without success.
"You don't need to look for this particular server among the witnesses. I've already spoken to him. He has nothing to hide, but he only saw Miss Xi attacking the victim and didn't know what happened before. Therefore, his testimony is unlikely to help reduce Miss Xi's sentence."
"Alright, I understand."
The lawyer further cautioned him, "The others are all associated with the victim. If the victim intended to harm Miss Xi, they are all accomplices, and they don't want to get into trouble themselves. If they tell the truth, they will also be brought in for questioning."
"Okay, thank you."
Seeing that he was still determined to try, the lawyer said, "Then you go try to get the witnesses to tell the truth, and I will continue to contact the victim's family and do my best to obtain a letter of understanding from them."
After parting ways with the lawyer, Ai Yifeng did not return to his residence but went to the hospital where Xi Xianya's mother was undergoing surgery. He inquired around and found Xi Xianya's mother's ward. He knocked on the door, and someone inside asked, "Who are you looking for?"
He pushed open the ward door and saw a shared room. He stated Xi Xianya's mother's name, and someone immediately came out from the bed at the far end. "Excuse me, who are you? Miss Xi is away on a business trip and hasn't been here. I am her mother's caregiver."
"Oh, I know," Ai Yifeng said with a smile. "I'm her colleague. She asked me to come and check on Auntie."
The caregiver sized him up and said, "Her mother is in the restroom. Please sit down, and I'll get you some water."
Ai Yifeng placed the nutritional supplements he was carrying on a chair and sat down. The caregiver poured him water and complained, "Where on earth is Miss Xi on this business trip? She hasn't even called. I can't reach her old phone either. Her mother has recovered quite well, and the doctor said she can be discharged in a couple of days. Without any arrangements from her, how can I handle the discharge procedures for her mother..."
"You don't need to worry about that. Just notify me when she's ready for discharge, and I'll pick Auntie up," Ai Yifeng said, taking out his phone to exchange numbers with the caregiver.
At that moment, the door to the shared restroom in the ward opened from the inside. A woman in patient clothes emerged, her head still bandaged from surgery. She appeared to be in her fifties.
Ai Yifeng stood up and called out, "Auntie."
Xi Xianya's mother was surprised to see him but quickly smiled and said, "You must be Xiao Ya's boyfriend, right?" She then looked him up and down, her expression that of a mother-in-law increasingly pleased with her prospective son-in-law.
Ai Yifeng quickly replied, "No, no, I'm her colleague. The company sent her out of town for an important matter, and she can't come back right away, so she asked me to help look after you and take care of things."
Xi Xianya's mother said, "Oh," and before she could say more, the caregiver interjected, "What kind of company do you work for? Is it a confidential company, that you can't even contact your family when you're on a business trip?"
"Something like that," Ai Yifeng smiled. "It requires a high degree of confidentiality." The caregiver, who hadn't asked about Xi Xianya's specific job, was indeed fooled by Ai Yifeng's explanation and assumed they were all in some sort of sensitive work, so she didn't pry further.
Xi Xianya's mother lay back on the hospital bed, many questions in her mind but hesitant to ask. She simply said, "Thank you. It's very thoughtful of you. It's truly fortunate for our Xiao Ya to have a colleague like you."
"You're too kind, Auntie. A few days from now, when you're discharged, I'll pick you up and you can stay at my place first. Xianya will come to pick you up when she returns from her trip."
"Okay." She knew deep down that Xiao Ya was likely in serious trouble. She had been unable to sleep soundly at night worrying about her. She couldn't even imagine what had happened to Xiao Ya. Ever since someone had suddenly informed her that Xiao Ya was on a business trip, she had a bad premonition. If it were a normal business trip, Xiao Ya would have definitely told her herself; there would be no need for someone from the company to notify her. Now, with a colleague specifically coming to pick her up from the hospital and arrange her accommodation and living situation after discharge, she truly feared for Xiao Ya, that Xiao Ya was gone...
Ai Yifeng noticed the worry in her eyes and said, "Auntie, Xianya is fine. For now, you need to focus on recovering so you can be here when she returns."
"It's good that she's fine, it's good that she's fine," Xi Xianya's mother sighed. "This child is lucky to have found such a good internship company right after graduation."
"Our company is quite people-oriented, so please rest assured and recover," Ai Yifeng said. He chatted with her for a while, then repeatedly instructed the caregiver to take good care of her before leaving the hospital.
Back home, he quietly opened the jewelry box. The silver bracelet was inside. He lifted the velvet lining, and the bank card was beneath it, the note pressed underneath seemingly untouched. Had she not seen the bank card in the jewelry box, which is why she continued to be controlled by Zhao Jianhua? He was truly regretful, wondering why he hadn't directly told her about the bank card that could have saved her in an emergency!
The next day, he went to the group to request leave from Qin Tianyi. Qin Tianyi likely knew the reason for his request and agreed without much questioning.