âRight.â Xie Miao nodded, âAnd several times the people who answered the phone were not the same Mercury Network employees, but they all said no, and they never heard the name Tian Mu. They didnât even hesitate when answering, so it really didnât seem like they were lying. I even once found a few couriers responsible for their companyâs side of the business and asked them directly to help me keep an eye out when delivering the courier, but in the end the answer I got was the same, there was no Tian Mu.â
Speaking of which, Xie Miao was also a little helpless, âIn short, I have tried all the methods that can be tried. I even found someone to squat at the gate of Mercury Network Company for a month to see if I could get a picture. There are no photos of Tian Mu entering the company. It turned out that Tian Mu had never been there. He stayed at home most of the time, just like what he told me, playing games and watching TV series at home, and only going out occasionally, also just to go to the gym. Thereâs really nothing suspicious about it.â
Bai Duanduan asked a few more questions, and Ji Lin also added a few more, and the three of them combed through all the current events thinking together, including the rest of the missed evidentiary possibilities, yet in the end none of them could find signs that Tian Mu had joined Mercury Network.
In response, Xie Miao was also a bit embarrassed and rushed, âWhile Mercury Network bears a strong resemblance to that game from our company, it does not preclude them from developing it independently and bumping ideas with us, so perhaps Iâm overreacting.â
Before the launch of a new game, if a competitor happened to be the first to launch a highly similar game of the same model, anyone would think twice about it. But now itâs hard to find evidence that the departing employee joined Mercury Networks, so all suspicion is just suspicion.
Although rare, it is true that, as Xie Miao said, it is not impossible that Tian Mu is innocent and that the Mercury Network just happens to have thought of the game design in the same way as YuWen Games.
Without evidence, and relying only on oneâs own imagination, it is true that Tian Mu cannot be wrongly accused. Even if he had been guilty of misconduct when he was with YuWen Games, it does not follow that he must have violated the non-compete agreement because of his poor character.
Xie Miao naturally knew this too, and now the situation was actually a bit embarrassing.
Ji Lin analyzed the situation for him straightforwardly, âNow you have almost no confidence that you can prove that Tian Mu violated the non-competition agreement. Of course, you can choose to go to labor arbitration and apply for the arbitration tribunal to help obtain evidence together, such as visiting Mercury Network to further investigate, etc., but you have to think clearly, once you embark on the road of arbitration and subsequent prosecution, the relationship between you and Tian Mu will be torn apart. In case the arbitral tribunal cannot obtain relevant evidence, then you will completely offend Tian Mu, which will irritate him instead. He holds the important business secrets and game project information of the company. So donât let him do anything wrong to the company and be stimulated by you to do something instead.â
âAfter all, resorting to the law is an after-the-fact remedy, and it would certainly be better if no infringement could occur.â
Xie Miao was not unaware of the pros and cons. He nodded and said, âI know, given the current situation, in fact, even if I go to arbitration, I might not be able to retrieve any evidence in the endâ¦â¦â he pursed his lips, âso Iâm going to ask Tian Mu out tomorrow.â
âI will directly bring the information of that similar game newly launched by Mercury Network this time. Iâll take it out by surprise, to see what his reaction is, and then have a good chat with him based on his reaction, and then just rely on my own free mental evidence to make a judgment, if I do feel that it is still too suspicious, then itâs not too late to go for arbitration.â
Since Xie Miao, who was the person in question, had made a decision, then Ji Lin and Bai Duanduan naturally expressed their support as well.
âBut when the time comes, Iâll also trouble you two to accompany me.â Xie Miao was a little embarrassed when he said this, âIâm good at technology, but Iâm not very good at this kind of negotiation. So if Tian Mu reveals signs of really violating the non-compete, then Iâll have to trouble you guys to help me fix the evidence together.â
He smiled, âAnd I might be more intimidating to Tian Mu with two lawyers. I always have to put up a good front, and have a strong presence, so that he will have some psychological pressure when he lies.â
âNo problem!â
Bai Duanduan immediately agreed, and Ji Lin also nodded his head.
Bai Duanduan received a call from a client out of the blue, so Ji Lin sent Xie Miao away by himself.
After Xie Miao finished talking about his business, he and Ji Lin were the only two people left in the conference room, so he finally relaxed a little. He looked at Ji Lin and couldnât help himself, âYou never let anyone else touch your business, why did you call that lawyer Bai?â
Although Xie Miao and Ji Lin are usually busy since they graduated from university, and do not frequently contact each other or get together, and often do not even say a word for more than half a year, however, Xie Miao knows that although Ji Lin looks quite cold, he is a very reliable person to turn to once he is in trouble.
Now that he has encountered a problem in the field of labour disputes, according to Ji Linâs personality, no matter how small the subject matter of his case is, or even if it is of a voluntary nature for him to help out for free, he will not leave it to others and will definitely help out from start to finish himself. This is because he is the kind of person who is difficult to get along with, and often even spits bad words, but is very sincere at heart, and will do anything for his friends that he believes in.
He treats other clients well, but when it comes to the people he cares about, Ji Lin is a bit of a compulsive person who canât trust anyone and is afraid that someone else will mess up his friendâs work, so he always takes on the job himself.
Once Xie Miao came to consult on a few very minor employment contract issues. At that time Ji Lin was busy with a multinational labour dispute and he could only sleep for a dozen hours a week. Xie Miao asked him to find another reliable lawyer in the firm, but Ji Lin held out and answered the questions in detail himself. He is such an axial person.
Therefore, Xie Miao was very surprised when Ji Lin called him yesterday to tell him that another lawyer was involved, and even thought that Ji Lin was joking for a while. If it had been a male lawyer, Xie Miao would have thought that it was a colleague that Ji Lin could trust 100%, but this was a female lawyer, and she was very pretty, so Xie Miao couldnât help but think otherwise.
âYou like her?â
Ji Lin gave Xie Miao a calm and light-hearted look, âSheâs very professional.â
After he finished, he did not want to explain any further and sent Xie Miao away.
But Xie Miao couldnât help but laugh.
She was professionalâ¦
That meant that he liked her.
Because with Ji Linâs character, if he didnât like her, he would have answered ânoâ, instead of answering the question and trying to explain that she was worthy and reliable âshe is professionalâ.
[Small Theater]
Xie Miao: Do you like Lawyer Bai?
Ji Lin: She is very professional.
Xie Miao: You think Ms. Bai is pretty too, donât you?
Ji Lin: She is willing to work overtime.
Xie Miao (jokingly testing): Then shall I chase after Lawyer Bai?
Ji Lin: No, I like her.