Original subtitles

=Hold a Court Now=

=Episode 25=

The plaintiff claims the defendant

should return the child support for Wang Yuanbao from birth until now,

covering twenty-eight years,

totaling 1,387,000 yuan.

No, forget it.

Sir,

do you confirm that you are giving up this claim?

Yes.

Reason?

If I am giving it up, what reason is there?

I need to confirm with you

whether you fully understand the consequences of this decision,

to avoid any future disputes.

Judge Shen, do not worry.

I know exactly what I am doing.

Confirmed,

I'm giving up the claim.

What is the reason?

I owe her.

Could you be more specific?

Back then,

she was quite good-looking,

and had many suitors.

Among them was the village chief's son.

She chose me at the time.

If she had chosen the village chief's son,

she would have been living in a three-story house long ago.

Anyway, she cannot pay me back,

so I will just treat this money as compensation for her.

Please wait a moment.

What is going on?

The computer lost power.

Restart it quickly.

Why are you not using a laptop?

The laptop is broken. It is being repaired.

Sorry, Judge Shen.

Part of the document was lost.

How much was lost?

About from

when madam and the village chief's son were dating.

I... I did not.

No, I...

I did not say she was dating the village chief's son.

I said the village chief's son was pursuing her,

and she chose me.

Sir,

sorry about this,

you will have to say it again.

From where?

From

Madam Qiu,

when she was young, was very pretty.

Well, when she

was young,

was the beauty of the village,

a well-known beauty.

Young men from all the surrounding villages,

none of them did not have their eyes on her.

Yes, I mean she looked decent,

and had many suitors.

She chose me.

Dad.

Dad.

Dad.

Dad.

Dad.

B... Ba.

Ba.

Dad.

Ba.

Ba.

(Conference Room In Use)

Ms. Shu,

Shi Xiaomei has really found a job.

She has even planned out

the children's future lives.

Given the current conditions,

is it possible to support awarding

all three children to her?

I think that would be difficult.

Shi Xiaomei said

that her job is in content creation.

Although she does not need to clock in,

and the income is not low,

it is unstable.

Maintaining their current standard of living

would be unlikely.

So she still needs

child support from the man.

Then Duan Ziping will definitely have to pay child support.

Child support is a mandatory legal obligation.

The parent who does not have direct custody must pay child support.

However, there may be uncertainties in enforcement.

Duan Ziping's income

mainly depends on his mother.

He does not have much money.

If all three children

are awarded to Shi Xiaomei,

and the man refuses to pay child support,

we cannot gamble with

the children's future.

That would be too irresponsible.

Then what if we use

a joint custody arrangement?

We could have

the grandmother and the mother take turns raising the children,

on a cycle of one to two months.

The children have not yet started school,

so changes in environment would have less impact.

As I recall, some of our counterpart courts

have made rulings like this.

But the main conflict in this case

is not Duan Ziping,

but the children's grandmother.

The grandmother insists

on raising two of the children herself,

and wants all the children to stay by her side.

So that will be difficult to resolve.

Then after all this discussion,

it seems the only option

is to award the twins to the father.

At present, that seems to be the case.

And I think

we should have both sides reach a settlement as soon as possible.

Every hearing

is not only tormenting the three adults,

but also very painful for the children.

Then we must ensure

Shi Xiaomei's visitation rights.

I hope she can understand.

What she said is not correct.

My mother disliked her because she

does not talk much,

does not greet people, and cries easily.

Back then, I was working at the mine,

and she was at home making steamed buns.

Just because they did not look good,

my mother said a few harsh words to her.

Then, in the middle of heavy snow,

she ran over twenty miles by herself

to the mine to complain to me.

By the time she arrived,

she was almost frozen stiff.

When she saw me,

she threw herself into my arms and cried.

After she finished crying,

she took out a big steamed bun from her coat

and asked me to judge.

This...

This bun

was as big as a piglet.

So I said,

my mother was not wrong about you.

And she cried even harder.

Yes, the buns did not look very good,

but they tasted great.

Thin skin, generous filling, sweet and fragrant.

She had been keeping it inside her coat,

and when I ate it,

it was still warm.

I am very sorry.

What is it this time?

The power is out again.

This computer really needs fixing.

Okay.

Sir,

I am very sorry,

but I may have to trouble you

to say it again.

From where this time?

From

the part where Madam Qiu

ran over twenty miles in the snow to find you.

Right.

She was at home making steamed buns,

arguing with my mother.

She went out alone,

in the heavy snow,

and ran more than twenty miles at night

to the mine to find me.

(Qingcheng District People's Court) In order to further improve

(Joint Anti-Domestic Violence Working Conference) public awareness of anti-domestic violence,

and to enhance a multi-department coordinated mechanism,

Qingcheng District People's Court has joined hands with

the District Working Committee, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission,

the Publicity Department, the Health Commission,

the District Women's Federation, Tianhai Chenxi Legal Aid Work Center,

Qingcheng Student Community Service Center,

and other regional women's organizations

and related member units

to convene at our Qingcheng District People's Court

a seminar on a one-stop coordinated anti-domestic violence mechanism.

(Mediation Room 1 In Use) You do not want to help me anymore, do you?

I have found a job.

This is all true.

I am not lying to you.

I have proof of employment.

I... I am not lying. This is all true.

We are not trying to help one side over the other.

You and your husband

can no longer continue your marriage.

At this stage, the most important thing for you

is how to ensure

your children's future quality of life.

And we truly hope

that you can reach an out-of-court settlement.

Because in that way,

in the future we can still

revisit and discuss things,

and there will be room for further negotiation.

No.

I will not accept being separated from my children.

None of us want to separate you from your children.

But right now,

you need to put yourself in their shoes

and consider their future

quality of life.

If it is just a matter of child support,

I can go out and earn money.

Recently,

several of my articles have been accepted by the company.

My supervisor highly recognizes my ability.

I am confident

that in the future I can support my children.

I can rely on myself

to raise them.

We are all women.

Can you not help me?

I am a mother too.

I fully understand how you feel.

If all three children are placed with you,

the pressure on your side will indeed be very heavy.

Think about it,

Meng needs to attend dance classes,

Bei needs to attend football classes.

Aside from the cost,

there is also the time commitment.

Du is already twelve years old,

and Du

has clearly expressed

the wish to live with you.

In the days ahead,

we can allow Du to continue living with you.

As for Meng and Bei,

although the two of them

will live with their grandmother,

we will do our best to ensure

your visitation rights in their future lives.

We will also

fight for your maximum rights regarding child support.

We hope both of you can accept this.

Is there really no other way?

At the current stage, this may be

the best option for you and the children.

Let us play ball, okay?

It is not fun.

Hello.

Judge Yu.

What is the result?

Regarding the divorce case

between the plaintiff Shi Xiaomei and the defendant Duan Ziping,

after in-court mediation,

the outcome is as follows.

Given that

the plaintiff's current income is unstable,

while the defendant

has a clearly stronger financial position

and bears no major fault,

in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the minors,

Duan Mengmeng and Duan Beibei

will be raised by their father

and live with him.

The eldest daughter, Duan Dudu,

will be raised by her mother

and live with her.

At the same time, pursuant to

Article 1086 of the Civil Code,

both parties shall make every effort

to accommodate each other's visitation needs

and must not create obstacles.

Do both parties

have any objections?

No.

Ms. Shi,

do you have any other thoughts?

Please review the contents of the mediation agreement.

If there are no issues,

please sign.

Go on, sign it.

(Duan Ziping)

Xiaomei,

sign it.

(Party A Signature: Shi Xiaomei)

(Party A Signature: Shi Xiaomei)

Are you not going?

I want to stay with Mom.

Mom.

Sweetheart.

It is okay.

It is okay. Do not cry.

Domestic violence

is not a private family matter.

It is unlawful and a crime.

In recent years,

cases involving domestic violence

have shown several characteristics.

They are mostly concentrated in divorce proceedings.

The forms of violence vary,

with physical abuse

being the most common.

(What should be done in cases of domestic violence) In cases handled by the courts,

the proportion of cases

recognized as domestic violence is relatively low.

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly

formally adopted a resolution

proposed by the Dominican Republic,

with widespread global support

and endorsement

designating November 25 each year

as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,

marking the first international definition

and a global call to eliminate

gender-based violence against women.

That time when the accident happened at the mine,

I was alone,

trapped underground.

No matter how I called out, there was no answer.

I regretted it then.

I really wanted to slap myself

a few times.

Fengling warned me long ago that

this job was not worth doing.

It was risking my life for money.

Why did I not listen to her?

Down in the pit, I kept thinking,

if I were given another chance,

I would go find Fengling right away,

eat the big steamed buns she made,

as big as piglets.

I would tell my mother,

I would live with Fengling on our own,

and no one would be allowed

to say a single bad word about my wife.

Sorry.

I forgot to turn off the alarm.

It is time to take his blood clot medication.

All right.

I am not taking it.

You have to.

The doctor said

your condition is very serious right now.

You must take your medicine on time.

I am not taking it.

If you will not listen to me, then at least listen to the doctor.

Your emotions and blood pressure are unstable.

You need to take it on time.

I am not taking it.

Here.

I will not be able to take care of you in future.

Take good care of yourself.

Fengling.

I am sorry.

I did not take good care of you.

I should not have

sent you away.

That is enough.

I should have gone to bring you back, but I was too late.

Stop.

I

as a grown man,

I have been holding this in for so long.

Judge Shen,

we are not getting divorced.

All right.

Yuanbao is waiting for us at home.

Let us go home.

Ms. Qin,

what did you think of today's meeting?

I think it was very meaningful.

Legal aid

can help many people

who truly need it.

And I have thought about it,

if I have time on weekends,

I would like to come to Chenxi Legal Aid Center

and take part in legal aid work.

That would be great.

Some lawyers who came before

also spoke very positively at first,

but when they actually saw

the people who needed help,

some of them backed out.

Why?

Maybe

they were not truly committed to doing legal aid.

Do not worry.

Since I said I would come,

I will definitely come.

That is great.

Then let us grab a meal together.

I actually have something to handle later. How about next time?

Sure.

I will head off first.

See you.

Thank you, Ms. Shu.

Your case has been mediated?

Yes.

Both sides finally reached an agreement.

The two younger ones will stay with their grandmother,

and the older one will stay with the mother.

It is not a perfect outcome,

but for now,

it is the best arrangement for the children.

How about you?

I have finished mine as well.

In the end, both parties chose to reconcile

and decided not to divorce.

So,

this morning, you and Xiang Hui

were busy in the courtroom,

was it this case?

Yes.

I made a few small arrangements.

There are

indeed some issues between them,

but the foundation of their relationship is still strong.

She takes good care of him,

and he has grown used to her care.

Although neither of them says it out loud,

deep down,

they still care about each other.

Neither of them can truly let go.

So I thought,

in court,

I would help you both realize this,

which would also make mediation easier.

It seems during this time,

you have really grown in the Family Court.

You have even learned to take an unconventional approach in mediating cases.

A few months ago,

you were still the Shen Xiezhi

who could decide three cases in one morning.

I have indeed been through a lot lately,

and I have grown a great deal.

There is a saying,

if a person does not feel

that their past self from a year ago is unfamiliar,

then it means they have made no progress.

Xiezhi,

you really are quite talented.

Have you truly decided not to stay in the Family Court?

Ms. Shu,

you know that

going to the High Court has always been my goal.

I understand.

It is just a pity

the Family Court will lose someone as capable as you.

You two,

is there anything else you would like to eat?

Do not be upset.

Just tell me what you want to eat.

After buying it,

we will go home and have the nanny cook for you.

Do not worry,

once we get home,

I will take very good care of you.

Much better

than your mother ever did.

That is enough, Mom.

Can you say less?

If you are buying something, then go quickly.

All right.

I will be back soon.

Do not look at your phone.

Keep an eye on them.

What phone am I looking at?

Fine, just go.

Wait, baby.

Slow down.

(Candied Hawthorn)

Candied hawthorn.

Dad, I want candied hawthorn.

What candied hawthorn?

Where would you even find that?

Dad, it is over there.

I want candied hawthorn too.

This...

We want it.

What is so good about candied hawthorn? We have plenty of good food at home.

After your grandma gets back,

we will go home and eat, okay?

We want it.

We want it.

All right. I will go buy it for you.

You two stay in the car

and do not run around.

So troublesome. Why candied hawthorn of all things?

Dad is leaving.

Slow down.

You will fall again if you are not careful.

It is fine.

Why are you in such a hurry?

How can I not be?

What if later

Yuanbao wakes up and cannot find us?

I will call him in a bit.

Wait.

I... I will call.

So many missed calls.

Who is it?

(Li)

Li.

Li.

Mr. Wang,

you finally saw the phone.

What is going on?

Yuanbao just ran out,

said he was going to find you. We could not stop him.

Have you run into him?

What did you say?

This...

Do you want one?

Where are your parents?

Why is it just the two of you?

Go find your parents to buy it.

Zero, one, one, one... one, one.

Five yuan.

Five yuan each.

That is enough. Five yuan.

Dad.

Mom.

Mom is at the secret base.

Ba... Base.

Danger.

No dad,

no dad. It is dangerous.

Add two.

Do you want two more?

Yes.

Shen Xiezhi.

I

waited here for you

because I wanted to tell you something.

You are about to go to the High Court,

and become a judge there.

We will have

fewer chances to meet in the future.

I never had the chance to congratulate you in person before.

Congratulations.

You have finally achieved your goal.

Thank you.

I think

we will still have many chances to meet again.

After all, you are now a lawyer at a top-tier law firm.

Maybe one day,

we will meet again in court.

Ronghe has a strong reputation,

and the cases you handle will be more complex.

Naturally, you will face more challenges and scrutiny.

You need to learn to protect yourself.

I believe you can do it.

Thank you.

But,

I think in the future,

we will not meet in court.

(Client Mr. Wang)

What do you mean?

You are leaving Ronghe Law Firm?

But I saw the firm's announcement.

Was the misunderstanding not already cleared up?

No, I am still working at Ronghe Law Firm.

It is just that the firm has reassigned my work

to non-litigation matters.

Non-litigation?

Why switch to non-litigation all of a sudden?

Actually, what I mean is,

I will not be appearing in court anymore.

That means between you and me,

there will be no conflict.

Then

would you still be willing to be with me?

(Client Mr. Wang)

You should take the call first.

Hello, Mr. Wang.

What?

All right, I understand. I will be there right away.

My client just now,

his son suddenly went missing.

Then

you should go help look for him.

Wait for me.

Wait for me to come back.

Hello,

this is Shu Jing from the Family Court

of Qingcheng Court.

Chief Judge Shu,

my two children are missing.

What? Both children are missing?

Yes.

Let me tell you, Chief Judge Shu,

it must have been Shi Xiaomei who took them.

Ever since we left the court,

she must have

been quietly following us.

Please do not jump to conclusions yet.

Call the police immediately.

I will call Shi Xiaomei.

Mom, what did she say?

What did she say? Look at you.

Call the police.

Du, hurry.

What about Du then?

- Ms. Shu. - Should Du come with us?

What is going on? Why are you in such a hurry?

The child's younger siblings are missing.

We are about to go look for them.

This is the child's mother.

This is Lawyer Qin.

Hello.

Do you need help?

I can go with you.

No, it is fine. We can handle it.

You should go take care of your own matters.

The child is still young.

It would be inconvenient for you to bring her along.

How about this?

I'm waiting for someone here. I can help to take care the child for you.

That...

That would be too much trouble for you.

That... That works too.

Du, stay with this sister.

I will come back to get you after finding your siblings.

Listen to her and do not run around.

- Thank you, Ms. Qin. - It is nothing.

We'll be back soon.

When Xiezhi returns, I will ask him to come find you.

Go on, hurry.

Your name is Du, right?

Let me help you carry your bag. Come.

All right, sit here for a while.

Yuanbao,

can you take us to the secret base?

Base.

We do not have money for the bus.

No dad. Dangerous.

Dangerous.

Together.

Great. Thank you, Yuanbao.

Together.

Where do you think he could have gone?

This... This...

This child...

Sir, madam,

has Yuanbao been found?

No.

The neighbors helped search all around, and we have been waiting here the whole time,

in case he suddenly comes back.

If he is really lost,

what are we supposed to do?

Exactly.

Sir, madam, please do not panic yet.

Yuanbao is a grown man.

He will be all right. Let us think of a way together.

If all the nearby places

have already been searched,

does Yuanbao have anywhere

he especially likes to go, somewhere farther away?

No.

If it were farther away, he would have taken the bus.

Taken the bus?

If he took the bus,

we should be able to trace it through his ID information.

How about this?

Send me Yuanbao's ID card,

and I will ask someone to check.

All right.

Please be careful.

Where are you?

Hello, you little kid, where are you?

We are here.

(Tianhai Bus) Hurry up.

Yuanbao, we are here.

Yuanbao, come on.

Come on.

We are here. Come on.

- Yuanbao, look. - The secret base is over there.

The secret base is right there.

There.

Okay.

All right. Thanks.

I am hanging up. I will treat you to a meal another time.

Sir, madam,

we found it.

Yuanbao really did take the bus.

He took Route 13

and got off at Jinghongyuan Station.

Come on, let us go find him.

- Okay. - Hurry.

Let us go.

Do not worry.

They

will definitely help you find your younger brother and sister.

They have all gone to look for them.

I know.

You know all that.

Help me think, okay?

If they got lost, where would they go?

Think carefully.

If the adults cannot find them,

and they run into bad people,

they will be in danger.

Bad people might take them away.

They

would really be taken by bad people?

Of course.

Think about it, these two children

do not have a phone

and have no adult with them.

If they cry for help,

no one will respond.

If something dangerous happens,

you might never

see your brother and sister again.

Think carefully,

where might they be?

We said before,

if we got separated,

we would find a way

to meet at the secret base.

Secret base?

Where is it?

Is it a place you often go to play?

Then how about this,

I will go with you.

Would you be willing

to take me to your secret base?

Hurry up, Yuanbao.

Quick.

Look, that is our secret base.

This is our secret base.

Base.

My sister and I found it.

No one else knows.

Do not tell anyone.

Sir, madam,

we have searched around the station.

This is a park.

I think Yuanbao might be inside.

Let us go in and take a look.

Okay, let us go.

Let us go.

(Jinghongyuan Park) (Ms. Shu.)

(Du brought me here)

(to look for Meng and Bei.)

There is news about the children.

(I will send you the location.)

Found them?

At Jinghongyuan Park.

Jinghongyuan Park.

Madam, there is news about the children.

They are at Jinghongyuan Park.

One, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, zero.

Hide well.

Hide well.

Six, six.

(The breakdown of a family caused by adult conflict)

(can make children feel abandoned.)

(They may hide their hearts in the dark.)

(Our responsibility)

(is to help them step out of the shadows,)

(and return to the light.)

This is your secret base?

Yes, almost there. It is just ahead.

How much farther?

We are almost there.

This is our secret base.

These are my brother and sister's schoolbags.

Meng.

Meng, Bei.

Meng, Bei.

Du.

Du.

You two little ones

really hid here.

You finally came.

Come with me.

Let us go.

Who are you?

He is our friend.

He brought us here.

All right.

Come with me first.

Your family is worried sick.

I do not want to go with Grandma.

Why not?

I want to stay with Mom.

Okay, we will go find Mom.

We will go find Mom, okay?

Hurry, talk to him.

Bei, let us go find Mom.

Mom will be worried if you stay here.

It is dangerous here.

What if there are bad people?

Mom is very worried.

Okay?

Yes, your family is very worried.

Let us go, let us go.

Come on.

- Take your bag. - Go, hurry.

Yuanbao, we are going.

Yuanbao, we are going.

The bag is over there. I will get it.

Let us go.

Let us go.

Do not run around again, understand?

There they are.

Bei.

Meng.

Where did you two run off to?

You scared me to death.

I thought

you had been taken away.

Where did you go?

Who are you two?

Meng, Bei.

Meng, Bei.

Bei.

Mom.

Why are you here?

Did you not say before

that the Mom took the children away?

Now that Mom has come to see them,

is that not normal?

Enough. The decision has already been made today.

Ziping, take them back now.

These two are not behaving. Come on.

Come on.

Hurry up, go.

Go.

- What is going on here? - Meng, Bei.

- Du. - Go.

Meng.

- It is okay, Du. - Meng.

♪All the little things between you and me♪

♪Woven into our lives♪

♪The building blocks of life♪

♪Shape the sky above us♪

♪Are you doing alright?♪

♪What are you struggling for?♪

♪Some questions weigh like mountains♪

♪How do we piece life back together?♪

♪So hate can fade and love feels new again♪

♪Reclaim the barren parts of life♪

♪Walking this road together, still hoping♪

♪Let me be the wind at dawn♪

♪Blowing away all the pain♪

♪Let me be the balance that holds the weight♪

♪Where fairness stands♪

♪Within every heart♪

♪So many voices calling♪

♪Struggling, lost, waiting for an answer♪

♪Light up the lamps♪

♪To answer those voices♪

♪You deserve to be happy♪

♪Loud and clear♪

♪All the little things♪

♪Woven into our lives♪

♪The building blocks of life♪

♪Shape the sky above us♪

♪Are you doing alright?♪

♪What are you struggling for?♪

♪Some questions♪

♪Weigh like mountains♪

♪Let me be the wind at dawn♪

♪Blowing away all the pain♪

♪Let me be the balance that holds the weight♪

♪Where fairness stands♪

♪Within the law♪

♪And within every heart♪