A madman in France? How come he's always at crime scenes!

Court mediation room.

There was only one folder in front of Wu Liang, not very thick, but Su Lili's eyes were fixed on it ever since she entered the room.

Lu Chen sat beside Wu Liang, looking much more somber than before.

The mediator, surnamed Zhou, is in his fifties and has been handling family cases for many years. He is used to seeing people crying, shouting, and cursing, and he has also seen people who are talking about the kindness of being husband and wife one second and want to dig up each other's ancestral graves the next.

So at first, she spoke as usual.

"Both parties are here today mainly to see if there's a basis for mediation. They're husband and wife, and they have children together; it's best to resolve the conflict through negotiation and not escalate it."

Su Lili, who had been keeping a straight face, finally found a way out when she heard this, and looked at Lu Chen with red eyes.

"Lu Chen, I admit we have a little disagreement, but do you really want to escalate things like this?"

Tears can come suddenly.

"You froze my accounts, seized my house and car, and even sent documents to my mother and brother. Have you considered how our daughter will view us when she finds out?"

The mediator looked at Lu Chen.

Lu Chen remained silent with a serious expression, only turning his gaze to Wu Liang.

Su Lili then realized that Lu Chen didn't even bother to argue with her today.

Wu Liang opened the folder and pulled out a document.

"Teacher Zhou, let's not talk about feelings today."

Su Lili's lawyer, surnamed Qian, was in his forties. He originally wanted to maintain a respectable image, but when he saw Wu Liang immediately pushing the documents away, he spoke up.

"Attorney Wu, today is a mediation, not a court hearing. If both sides present evidence from the beginning, it will only escalate the conflict."

Wu Liang completely ignored him.

"Vehicle transfer appointment scheduled for 10:26 AM on October 2nd."

"Property transfer application, October 4th, 4:15 PM. The transferee is Su Lili's mother."

"The statement regarding the store's profit-sharing loss dates back to October 5th. However, the corresponding quarterly profit statement already confirmed a profit by the finance department on September 4th."

"On October 6th, 120,000 yuan was transferred from both daughters' education fund accounts. After the funds entered Su Lili's brother's account, his personal credit loan was repaid on the same day."

With each word she spoke, Su Lili's face grew increasingly grim.

The mediator, who had initially intended to offer some words of advice, became more serious upon hearing this.

In family law cases, it's not uncommon for couples to tear each other apart over property.

But once children are involved, the nature of the situation changes.

Attorney Qian, who was initially somewhat dissatisfied with Wu Liang's disregard, now turned her head toward Su Lili, her expression turning grim.

The woman hadn't mentioned this to him before she came.

Su Lili felt somewhat apprehensive as she saw all eyes on her.

This was just a spur-of-the-moment idea; her younger brother was urging her to use it, so she figured it wouldn't be a problem to use it first and she could make up for it later.

She never expected Lu Chen to make trouble for her at this time.

"That money was just for temporary use, I... I'll make up for it later."

Wu Liang finally looked up at her.

"Ms. Su, you can use your own money, or you can use your share of the marital property that is rightfully yours."

He paused slightly and smiled faintly.

"But you have no right to take the child's money to pay off your brother's loan."

Su Lili's lips moved slightly.

"That's my daughter too!"

"So you should know even more that who deposited that money for her and what it's intended for."

Lu Chen slowly clenched his fist under the table.

The mediation room was silent for a few seconds.

The mediator took the statement and glanced at it; his expression was no longer as gentle as before.

"Ms. Su, how do you explain this education fund account?"

Su Lili's eyes reddened again.

"My brother really needs it urgently, he'll pay it back in a few days! Really!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Liang's smile deepened, but he still tried to remain serious.

I've been waiting for you to say that!

He took out another document from the folder.

"Excuse me, Ms. Su, but this car purchase contract is your brother's, isn't it?"

Su Lili turned her head, her gaze falling on the paper, her entire face turning pale.

The contract clearly stated the buyer's name, car model, deposit amount, and delivery date.

Her brother was still on the phone yesterday, confidently saying that nobody knew about it.

"How did you get this?"

Su Lili's voice suddenly changed, and her gaze abruptly turned to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen didn't speak, but his expression was even colder than before.

Wu Liang answered for him.

"Coincidentally, Mr. Lu has a friend who happens to work at a 4S store."

The voice was relaxed.

"I didn't buy that! I had no idea he'd use it for this!"

Wu Liang ignored her and looked only at the increasingly silent lawyer Qian.

"Attorney Qian, do you still intend to explain this as a temporary financial need for the family?"

Attorney Qian's expression was not good.

Before he came today, Su Lili only said that Lu Chen had frozen the accounts and properties, but did not clarify the matter of the education fund.

"Attorney Wu," Attorney Qian said in a deep voice, "we can reach an agreement on the issue of returning the education funds first; there's no need to mix all the issues together."

"Oh, sorry, they've already gotten mixed up."

Wu Liang's voice wasn't loud, but every word he said was substantial.

"The house, car, bank cards, shop dividends, education funds—all these actions occurred after the divorce disputes were clarified. Ms. Su's behavior was not dealing with a single asset in isolation; she was systematically transferring assets."

"Don't label me without my permission!"

Wu Liang ignored her again and looked at the mediator.

"Professor Zhou, our opinion is very clear. The transferred assets should be recovered according to law or included in the assets already distributed to Su Lili at a discounted price. The education fund for the minor children should be fully returned within three days and supervised by Mr. Lu Chen for exclusive use."

The mediator nodded.

This request is not excessive; in fact, it can be described as quite restrained.

But before Su Lili could even catch her breath, Wu Liang continued speaking.

"Regarding the remaining portion of the marital property, we will request a smaller share for Su Lili in accordance with Article 1092 of the Civil Code..."

"Or not distinguishable."

The mediation room fell silent, and Attorney Qian's expression finally changed.

Su Lili hadn't fully reacted yet.

"What do you mean by 'less or no'?"

Wu Liang looked at her and slowly began to explain.

"According to Article 1092 of my country's Civil Code, if one spouse conceals, transfers, sells, damages, or squanders jointly owned property, or forges joint debts in an attempt to seize the other spouse's property, the other spouse may receive a smaller share or no share of the jointly owned property during divorce proceedings."

"Ms. Su, you could have received half."

Wu Liang pushed the list of unusual property disposals in front of her.

"But you think half is too little."

"So the issue now is not whether Mr. Lu Chen is willing to divide the property with you."

"It's about how much of your qualifications you still have to sit here and demand an equal division."

The words struck Su Lili's heart.

She could no longer bear it. Faced with this young lawyer, she felt nothing but a deep sense of powerlessness and couldn't find any way to fight back.

The lawyer he had found through connections was also standing silently beside him.

So they placed their last hope on Lu Chen, who had been sitting in his chair without saying a word.

"Lu Chen, are you just going to watch him pressure me like this?"

Lu Chen turned his head, looked directly into Su Lili's eyes, and finally spoke.

"You were the one who couldn't hold back first."

The voice was light and airy, but Su Lili understood immediately.

There's absolutely no affection left between husband and wife today.

Just then, Attorney Qian whispered a few words to Su Lili.

Su Lili's eyes widened little by little.

"You want me to compromise!?"

Attorney Qian's voice was even lower.

"Ms. Su, continuing this fight under your current circumstances carries even greater risks. If it goes to trial, the court may not simply order a refund; they might even..."

Attorney Qian fell silent and looked across at the other side.

He knew Wu Liang; he was definitely not someone to be trifled with in court, but he never expected him to be so proficient in civil matters as well.

Su Lili was breathing rapidly, her nails almost digging into her palms.

The mediator looked at both parties and his tone became serious.

"Ms. Su, mediation is not about letting either party gain an advantage. The evidence is right here, and you really need to show a willingness to resolve this."

Su Lili's tears fell in large drops.

This time it really wasn't an act.

In her mind, divorce is simply about two people dividing their assets. Even if things get out of hand, the final result is just splitting the assets equally.

As for transferring things out in advance, it's just to keep a few more cards up your sleeve.

Many of my friends do the same thing. If it really comes to court, they can just take back what they transferred and redistribute it.

The worst outcome is nothing more than this.

But it was only at this moment that she suddenly realized that her supposedly clever actions, her meticulously designed transfers, ownership changes, concealment, and separations, were not clever schemes at all in the eyes of the law.

Finally, a settlement agreement was placed on the table.

The education fund will be returned within three days.

The property shall be restored to its original condition. If restoration is not possible, the property shall be included in the assets already distributed to Su Lili based on the market appraisal value.

The depreciation of the vehicle is also included.

For any abnormal transfers, Su Lili shall return them to the joint property account within fifteen days; any unreturned portion shall be deducted from her share.

Of the remaining marital property, Lu Chen obtained the majority share.

Su Lili stared at the few pages of paper, her hands hesitant to move.

Wu Liang and Lu Chen did not urge them; it was just a matter of time.

Finally, Su Lili picked up the pen and signed her name.

As the pen fell, she felt as if a part of her body had been drained away. Finally, she gritted her teeth, stood up, grabbed her bag, and rushed out.

Attorney Qian followed behind, his expression also not good.

The door closed.

Lu Chen sat there for a long time without saying a word.

Mediator Zhou filed the agreement and glanced at Wu Liang.

"Attorney Wu, the materials are very well prepared."

"Of course."

Lu Chen seemed to have all his strength drained away, and asked in a low voice:

"Attorney Wu, does this count as a victory?"

Wu Liang looked at the mediation agreement in his hand and slowly began to speak.

There are no winners in divorce cases.

Lu Chen was taken aback, then recalled the previous events and nodded silently.

Just then, the phone rang; it was Li Mu calling.

Mediator Wu Liangchao nodded to Lu Chen and left the mediation room first.

"Attorney Wu, Diao Wei has been found."

Expected.

Wu Liang asked the question.

Where are they?

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"He's dead."