Chapter 203: Jane: For Love and Peace, I'll Create a War Zone!
After the forensics team arrived, Chuck directed them to collect the necessary evidence, then took Gold, with his ponytail, to the police station.
Faced with Harrison Powell's application for bail, the judge, after hearing Chuck and his team's account, didn't dare to disregard common sense and grant it outright, as was customary with other prominent and wealthy individuals.
After all, the case seemed to have solid evidence, and if Gold fled, the judge who granted the bail would have a black mark on his record.
"See you in court!"
Harrison Powell, humiliated, could only watch his client reluctantly enter the jail, turning back every few steps. When he finally turned back, he flashed a forced smile with perfect white teeth, extended his index and middle fingers, and waved them in front of his temple, mimicking a salute, but the message was clear: We're at war!
"You know perfectly well what happened, yet you insist on defending this scumbag who meticulously planned to murder his wife. How do you sleep at night?"
Jane looked at the suited man with his forced smile, genuinely puzzled.
"I sleep like a baby in my king-sized bed."
Harrison Powell didn't hide his mercenary philosophy, smiling smugly. "Sweet dreams every night."
"Oh, she will,"
Chandler couldn't help but tease. "Better than your king-sized bed and baby-sleep experience."
Jane glanced sideways.
She didn't know why Monica's friend was teasing her and Chuck's private life, nor did she understand his angle in the teasing... Although she knew Chandler wasn't gay, his appearance, mannerisms, and occasional expressions were too ambiguous.
Chandler was nodding and smiling when he suddenly caught Jane's sidelong glance. His smile froze. He was all too familiar with the implications of such a look.
Harrison Powell glanced at Chandler, who seemed a bit odd, got into his Porsche 911, and sped away.
"Chuck, got plans?"
Chandler saw Chuck heading towards his car and quickly followed.
"Yes,"
Chuck nodded.
"They can wait,"
Chandler teased. "Someone's going to lose it if they don't see you soon."
He then glanced at Jane walking towards another car and whispered, "You haven't really forgotten about the old flame for the new one, have you?"
"Compared to Jane, Monica is the new one,"
Chuck said bluntly.
"..."
Chandler looked at the serious Chuck, his lips twitching. "New or old, you haven't seen Monica in forever. Go see her."
Chuck paused, giving him a look.
Chandler dropped his teasing tone and looked Chuck seriously in the eye.
"Chuck, I think we should take this trial very seriously."
Jane suddenly stopped and turned around. "Let's go back and review the case, and rehearse what might happen during the trial."
"Are you sure?"
Chuck looked at Jane.
Jane's eyes flashed, and she slightly averted her gaze, nodding and saying, "I'm certain. This case is extraordinary, a landmark case, and we can't be too cautious."
"Hmph!"
Chandler said with dissatisfaction, "Competition should be fair competition, don't drag other things into it. This is crossing the line. What difference does a little time make?"
He couldn't help but add sarcastically, "Don't think I don't know—for Chuck, he's always the one who gives you plenty of time, while you're the one who won't ask for more."
"You!"
Jane, her secret exposed by Chandler, glared at him with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Seeing his composure, she immediately realized that this was probably something her rival, Monica, had openly revealed. Compared to Monica, a girl from the big city of New York, Jane, coming from small-town America, was more conservative. She didn't know what to say for a moment, simply looking at Chuck and waiting for his decision.
"Are you sure?"
Chuck looked at Jane and asked the same question.
"I'm sure!"
Jane was initially a little embarrassed—after all, it was essentially a declaration—but now that Chandler, the representative of her rival, had challenged her, she stopped pretending and bravely stated her position.
"Okay."
Chuck looked at Jane for a while, until she started to feel uneasy again, before nodding.
"Okay?"
Jane and Chandler exclaimed in unison.
Jane was delighted.
Chandler, however, asked with a wry smile.
"Okay."
Chuck nodded: "Let's go see Monica."
Chandler and Jane were both stunned; this was completely different from what they had imagined 'okay' to mean. Then Chandler quickly caught on, pursed his lips, nodded, and smiled: "Okay!"
He then pulled open the passenger door and got in.
Compared to Chandler's joy, Jane stood there silently, looking dejected.
"Drive, follow!"
Chuck got into the driver's seat, started the car, stopped beside Jane, and said to her.
"What?"
Chandler and Jane exclaimed in unison again, both looking completely bewildered. Chandler couldn't help but protest, "I know, you're just messing with us, aren't you?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Chuck asked, staring at him.
"You don't,"
Chandler retorted, already somewhat immune to Chuck's questions. "Because if I said you did, you'd definitely say, 'Great, keep thinking that way.' Actually, no matter how stone-faced you seem, a lot of what you say is a joke. Otherwise, why would you go crazy and ask her to come along to see Monica..."
"Are you sure?"
Jane shared the same thought, looking at Chuck uncertainly.
"I'm sure,"
Chuck said. "I asked you, and you said you wanted to review the case and rehearse the trial. This case is of great importance, and we can't be too careful. So get in the car and follow us."
"Why?"
Jane and Chandler exclaimed in unison again, completely baffled by Chuck's logic.
"Trials are inherently very awkward situations."
Chuck explained in a serious tone, "And this lawyer, who's known as the top criminal defense attorney on the East Coast, is notorious for attacking people rather than cases. The level of discomfort you'll experience will far exceed your imagination. The few court hearings you've had before are nothing compared to this. And since you're absolutely certain you want to rehearse the trial, get in the car and follow along!"
"..."
Jane was completely dumbfounded after hearing the explanation.
"OMG!"
Chandler's mouth fell open in surprise, then he couldn't help but say, "That makes so much sense! What could be more awkward than going to meet your boyfriend's girlfriend while surrounded by all his friends? Even as an outsider, I get goosebumps just thinking about it, and I feel so uncomfortable I could die. Imagine how mortifying it must be for the person involved! I can imagine that if you can get through this, the embarrassment of the trial will be greatly reduced. For such a significant case, being extra cautious is never too much."
He couldn't help but add, "Chuck, your thought process... just a few words and you've got such dramatic emotional swings, it's incomprehensible. Now I understand why Monica only dared to verbally push back. If it weren't for taking things slow, who could handle it?"
"Shut up!"
Jane finally snapped at the motor-mouthed Chandler.
She finally understood why some people said he talked too much.
"Okay."
Chandler put his hand to his mouth, making a zipping motion. He knew Jane wasn't in a good mood and that no joke could smooth things over.
Jane looked conflicted for a while before turning around, getting into her car, and honking the horn at Chuck.
Chuck drove ahead, Jane close behind.
"She's really going?"
Chandler exclaimed in surprise when he saw Jane's car following closely in the rearview mirror.
"Strange?"
Chuck asked calmly.
"Not strange?"
Chandler shook his head, protesting.
"Not strange to me,"
Chuck said bluntly.
"..."
Chandler was speechless for a moment.
He suddenly realized something. Since becoming Chuck's comedic sidekick and working on several of Chuck's cases, he knew Chuck's abilities, especially his unbelievable ability to 'read people' and observe micro-expressions. Was Chuck so certain he could bring his girlfriend to meet her rival because he was already convinced he could handle her?
Then he thought of Ross's frequent pronouncements, "Monica, are you under his spell? How can you tolerate this?"—those seemingly bizarre speculations... He suddenly shuddered, stealing a glance at Chuck, hesitant to speak.
Chuck saw him but ignored him.
He'd speak when he wanted to, and remain silent when he didn't.
Chandler hesitated the whole way until the car arrived at Monica's apartment building. After getting out, he couldn't help but weakly ask, "Do you know hypnosis?"
He thought perhaps only hypnosis could give someone the confidence to do something so audacious.
"You want to quit smoking?"
Chuck countered.
"What?"
Chandler was taken aback by this abrupt response and quickly shook his head. "I don't need to quit, I already have."
"You've only quit temporarily,"
Chuck said. "You're prone to relapse when stressed, and it's beyond your control. If you really want to quit, you can try hypnotherapy. Find a real hypnotist; it'll be quite effective."
"Where can I find one?"
Chandler looked at Chuck. "Can't you?"
"I don't do hypnosis,"
Chuck shook his head. "You can try contacting Sheldon's philosophy professor. You can get his information from Leonard."
"How do you know I'm in contact with Leonard?"
Chandler asked, somewhat bewildered.
Chuck gave him a knowing look and went upstairs.
"...Okay."
Chandler's lips twitched.
He knew the reason. It wasn't that Leonard, as an enthusiastic fan, had spoken to Chuck on his own initiative, as he had initially thought; rather, Chuck had directly deduced it.
There was no way around it; he and Leonard shared many similarities, making them, despite being ten years apart, feel a kinship and become closer than most people.
They both had mothers who gave them headaches, and both were authors who had written about their embarrassing moments in books and published them. Plus, one was Chuck's comedic sidekick, and the other an enthusiastic fan...
So ever since the surprise birthday party for Paige at Monica's apartment, where Leonard had also attended, the two had kept in touch privately.
"I'll try."
Chandler quickly followed, then realized that Chuck hadn't actually answered his question, and that he had said "don't do hypnosis" rather than "can't do hypnosis"...
Monica's apartment.
"I'm here, I'm here!"
Ross arrived immediately upon receiving the news, unable to contain his excitement. "Monica, are you finally breaking up with that guy?"
"What did you say?"
Monica frowned at her brother while cleaning.
"Huh?"
Ross looked at the seemingly clueless Monica in surprise, puzzled. "Didn't you say that guy was coming? You called me here, wasn't it so I could have your back?"
Phoebe and Rachel burst out laughing at this.
Ross's face darkened, glaring at them. "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing."
Rachel was more polite, simply waving her hand with a smile. Phoebe, however, was less forgiving, bluntly asking, "Are you sure you can have Monica's back?"
"I... why can't I?"
Ross felt guilty but defiant. Seeing Phoebe about to speak again, he quickly interrupted, changing the subject. "If you didn't call me here to have your back, what's going on? Why did you call me here?"
His tone became somewhat bitter at the end.
Since his ongoing conflict with Chuck, he hadn't attended any gatherings when Chuck was present; it was always a case of "you're here, I'm not; I'm here, you're not."
And what caused this wasn't his sister and friends thinking of him as their brother and best friend, but rather trying to make Chuck more comfortable, which had been making him very resentful.
"We don't know either,"
Rachel said, her eyes full of curiosity. "We just got a text from Chandler saying there's some major drama we can't miss."
"Major drama?"
Ross scoffed. "Does that guy dare bring that 'Amazing Amy' again to rub it in everyone's faces?"
Knock knock knock.
Knock knock knock.
Knock knock knock.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Coming!"
Monica quickly went to open it, and Ross and the others also gathered around. When the door opened, Ross was speechless to see Jane standing gracefully beside Chuck.
Good grief!
This time it wasn't Amazing Amy, but she was just as stunning!
Why was this guy surrounded by beauties of this caliber?!
"Chuck, who is this?"
Monica's gaze was involuntarily drawn to Jane, her smile somewhat strained.
"Jane Banner."
Jane was far more experienced than Monica, having once faced Susan, who had a similar experience of being introduced to Chuck by her family on a blind date. She knew quite a bit about Monica, her rival, and, having constantly mentally rehearsed that this was practice for the awkward trial she was about to face, she confidently extended her hand to her rival.
"Monica Geller."
Upon seeing this, Monica also dropped her forced smile and shook hands with Jane.
Phoebe and Rachel were completely stunned.
This was truly massive drama, and even they, the observers, were overwhelmed by what they'd just witnessed.
"Let's go inside and talk,"
Chuck said calmly.
Since Jane was determined to rehearse the awkwardness of the trial, he naturally didn't mind conducting a new experiment while he was at it.
All eyes followed Chuck, but no one moved an inch; the entire apartment was utterly silent.
(End of Chapter)
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