Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 533 The Person Who Arrived at an Unknown Time

The defendant's lawyer made a lot of random guesses, guesses without any evidence.

These are all statements that cannot be upheld in court.

However, these disregarded statements also serve a purpose—to dilute the credibility of Nan Zhuren's evidence.

Because, in a sense, Nan Zhuren's consultation records do indeed have credibility issues; and after the defendant's lawyer provides numerous examples, this credibility will be further reduced.

There was nothing that could be done, since the materials provided by Nan Zhuren were indeed limited.

Therefore, it was to be expected that the defendant's lawyer would relentlessly pursue the case.

Attorney Zhan, sitting next to the young man wearing a watch, reacted immediately.

Although there were minor disagreements between Attorney Zhan and Nan Zhuren, once they went to court, their overall goals were ultimately aligned.

Attorney Zhan shouted, "Protest! Your Honor, the opposing side has only raised speculative questions and has not provided any concrete evidence."

The presiding judge nodded: "The protest is valid. Defense counsel, please present evidence to assist with the questioning."

The defense attorney remained silent, seemingly lacking evidence, and was thus silenced by the judge's request...

--wrong.

Nan Zhuren narrowed his eyes, looking at the defendant's lawyer.

Lean your body and neck forward at a high angle, tuck your chin in.

[A focused gaze, pursed lips, restraining oneself from speaking?]

This is not merely about achieving the goal (satisfaction), but rather about...restraint in one's own highly aggressive desires?

The information gleaned from the micro-expressions made Nan Zhuren instinctively feel that something was amiss.

Although the defendant's lawyer in front of him did not speak when the presiding judge asked him to present evidence, he did not seem to be without any cards to play.

Instead, it resembled a spider spreading out its web. Its fangs were not without venom; its current restraint was merely a preparation for the crucial moment when its prey would fall.

Then deliver the fatal blow.

Nan Zhuren instinctively considered how to respond.

But the next second, the judge spoke up: "Does the witness have anything else to say?"

Nan Zhuren stopped herself from saying what she wanted to say.

This is a court hearing; there are rules and procedures here.

Any unnecessary words or statements uttered at this time and place could be seen as disrupting the trial.

After pondering for a moment, Nan Zhuren could only try to refute the defendant's lawyer's statement from his own professional perspective: "The opposing lawyer just questioned why the victim only came for psychological counseling and intervention three months later, but post-traumatic stress response has a time lag."

Nan Zhuren’s voice was calm and steady: “After being traumatized, individuals will have multiple stages of self-protective response. This is a normal stage in which individuals try to process negative emotions. In the early stages, victims may be in a state of shock, numbness or trying to suppress their emotions.”

“Only after an individual’s self-regulation fails will a post-traumatic stress disorder occur—this period can last for weeks or even months.”

This answered the first question raised by the defendant's lawyer.

The second point is: "Before the victim was subjected to the psychological abuse inflicted by the defendant through fraud, the victim did not exhibit any of the symptoms described in the consultation script."

However, upon hearing this, the defense attorney's eyes suddenly lit up.

It's like finally seeing its prey enter the trap, baring its fangs.

"When you were describing the psychological trauma of the victim, Nan Zhihao, you emphasized... 'stress abnormalities'," the defense attorney glanced at the documents in his hand. "And that ultimately led to [social phobia], right?"

Nan Zhuren narrowed his eyes and nodded: "Yes."

The defense attorney seemed to only want this answer, then turned to the presiding judge: "Among the evidence submitted by the prosecution are chat logs between our defendant and the victim. This evidence proves that we did indeed impersonate staff members responsible for veterans' affairs, such as those from the People's Armed Forces Department or former work units, to screen veterans' information." The prosecutor's expression gradually changed. Although it was unclear what the defense attorney was going to say next, this opening was already ominous.

It's as if they're trying to use the evidence provided by the plaintiff to attack the plaintiff in return.

Sure enough, the next second the defendant's lawyer revealed a confident expression: "In the chat records between our defendant and the victim Nan Zhihao's comrade-in-arms, Nan Zhihao's comrade-in-arms made several statements regarding Nan Zhihao's social issues."

He flipped through the materials in his hand, as if he had been prepared in advance; all the original texts had been compiled onto a single sheet of paper.

“For example—'I don’t have much contact with Nan Zhihao. Our relationship was just so-so back then. It seems like he has just so-so relationships with everyone.'”

"It's probably because he's more educated; he doesn't usually hang out with us."

"He's very proactive in his work, but he's always alone in his private life."

"When everyone was playing together, he was either reading a book, saying he was preparing for an exam, or he was doing his own thing."

The defense attorney read the statements aloud, his voice loud enough to completely fill the courtroom.

The veterans sitting in the plaintiff's seat looked at each other in disbelief, never expecting that their careless complaints would now become weapons used against them by the other side.

"These dialogue materials fully demonstrate that the victim, Nan Zhihao, is an 'unsociable' type of person, or even someone with 'social anxiety'!" the defendant's lawyer exclaimed.

Nan Zhuren frowned: "Preferring solitude, being introverted, and having limited social interaction in certain environments are normal personality preferences or adaptations, far from meeting the diagnostic criteria for 'social anxiety disorder.' The core characteristic is significant and persistent fear or anxiety in social situations, accompanied by avoidance behavior, leading to functional impairment or significant distress. Not to mention 'social phobia'..."

The defense attorney pressed his advantage: "What if what he's showing is just a facade? Mental health issues are so common now; many people only find out they have these problems after they've been diagnosed. At least the evidence we've provided proves that the victim has social 'problems'."

His fangs release venom: "It can also challenge your claim that 'the psychological trauma suffered by the victim, Nan Zhihao, was caused by our client!'"

The water was completely muddied.

Nan Zhuren lowered her eyes.

The defense attorney's arguments were indeed unprofessional, and he was able to refute them point by point.

However, these things are particularly powerful in the face of the limited evidence provided by Nan Zhuren.

Does Nam Ji-ho have any definite psychological trauma?

Were these traumas caused by fraud?
Furthermore—should the fraud gang bear no primary responsibility for Nan Zhihao's psychological trauma? Did they merely act as a catalyst?
If any of the above issues remain in doubt, the sentencing outcome will be very different.

……

The photographer in the gallery watched as Nan Zhuren gave further professional explanations, exchanged several rounds of arguments with the defendant's lawyer, and then stepped down from the stage.

That concludes Nan Zhuren's segment.

Next, Bai Qinghua took the stage as an expert witness to examine the fraud gang's recordings and chat logs to confirm that the fraud gang had the intention of "subjective mental torture" during the fraud process.

Although the presiding judge remained expressionless, the cameraman glanced at the reporter beside him and hesitated, saying, "Was that witness a bit problematic at this stage?"

The reporter, who seemed to have observed many court hearings and had some experience, sighed upon hearing this: "It's pretty much a loss. The defendant's lawyer presented very strong evidence and defense."

"Although this therapist does seem very professional, he submitted too little evidence."

The cameraman sighed, "What a pity."

They were quite experienced, while the others in the gallery might not have been so objective.

Immediately, comments like "This young man isn't very capable," "He looks good but is useless," and "We can't just apply everything to the plaintiff" began to circulate.

The rustling sounds had to prompt the presiding judge to slam his gavel twice and reiterate the importance of maintaining court order before the noise subsided.

The cameraman and reporter didn't see that behind them, a man completely covered up was sitting down.

At that moment, he clenched his fists.

(End of this chapter)