Justice System: I Litigate for the Whole City

Chapter 29 : Who Set the Ninety Days?

The smell of scallion oil from the noodle shop drifted up through the gap in the door while Shen Zhixia was pulling on a second pair of socks. In the Old Town District in December, the little cotton in a pair of socks didn't do much.

He Xiufen stood at the foot of the stairs holding an army-green thermos.

"Today, just ask one question."

"Which one?"

"Who set the ninety days." She screwed the cap tight and pushed the cup toward her. "If he says 'company policy,' you ask, from what date do they count. After he answers, sit down. Don't jump in again. Last hearing you talked from first word to last, and they didn't put a single sentence in the record."

"What about my first and second items?"

"I've written them out. Read them exactly." He Xiufen walked toward the kitchen, then looked back. "They're fighting over the scope. You're fighting over the date. Let the judge draw the scope. You nail the date down yourself."

At 9:10, the lobby of the Municipal People's Court was already full. The metal bins at the security checkpoint were piled with phones, key rings, and a folding umbrella. Someone shouted across the bins for people not to crush their documents. She took out her phone and set it in a bin. Through the doorway, she could hear people one by one pushing their own cases forward: child support, work injuries, a neighbor who had taken half a meter of wall foundation.

On the second-floor hallway, the radiators were clanking. She spotted him at once.

Lu Jibai stood at the door of the Ninth Adjudication Chamber in a dark gray coat, holding a thin document envelope. Lü Hang saw her first, stepped over in two strides, and unfolded a page halfway to show her.

"That notice we sent a few days ago—you received it," Lü Hang said. "Everything to be discussed today is our commercial information. If you let out so much as one word—"

"I've never been the one letting anything out."

Lü Hang pulled the paper back halfway. Lu Jibai switched the envelope to his other hand and said, not loudly, "The subject listed on that notice is wrong. The registered entity for the system involved in this case is the respondent company itself, not Sutong."

Lü Hang's mouth stalled for a second, then he stuffed the paper back into the envelope.

Outside the hallway window, a plane tree had lost all its leaves. Only then did Lu Jibai turn to her, as if just now recognizing her. "What you're asking for today is far more than those dozen-odd words I rattled off last time."

"I remember those dozen-odd words too."

"Good memory," he said. "I'll give you one more—questions you plan to ask, if they're not written into your application items, the judge will not put them into the record for you."

At 9:30, the door opened. Judge Cheng, who was handling the case, was in his forties, his glasses sitting low on his nose. On the desk lay her two applications, the other side's "Explanation on Dispatch System Data Retention," and a tightly capped pen. The clerk's keyboard clicked a couple of times.

"No substantive matters today," the judge said. "We'll only hear arguments on collection and preservation. Applicant, state your requested items first."

She spread the two pages side by side and read from them.

"Three items. First, the dispatch, attendance, and settlement records in the system held by the respondent, plus the account opening, authorization, and operation records. Second, the access logs, operation logs, and backup records held by Yunfan Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. Third, the respondent's data retention and cleanup rules, plus the records of how those rules were made and amended."

"The scope is overbroad," Lü Hang said quickly. "The dispatch data contains the names, locations, and phone numbers of thousands of riders. It is our trade secret and also involves the personal information of non-parties. We have already applied for preservation, limited to Rider App order data. That is sufficient."

Lu Jibai added two points, speaking slowly. "One, the dispute in this case is the employing entity, and the relevance of these records to the dispute is for the court to consider. Two, riders register and accept orders voluntarily, and the agreement states that pay is settled per order. We do not oppose the court investigating in accordance with the law. What we oppose is moving an entire operations backend into the courtroom."

The judge's pen point paused over the page. "The applicant may respond."

"First, on 'voluntary.'" She opened the case file. "The company on the first line of the User Service Agreement is the defendant. Ma Jianjun's exact words were: if you don't click, you can't get in; every time you reinstall it, you click again. He clicked voluntarily. But who sent that order, who deducted the thirty-yuan overtime charge, and who grayed out his account—those three things aren't written in the agreement. They're written on the machine. Today I'm not asking for anything he signed. I want the accounts that machine kept for him."

She took her hand from her pocket and pinched the corner of the page.

"Now on scope. The other side says data is kept for ninety days and the July segment has already been overwritten. I only ask one question—who set the ninety days?"

"The respondent's data retention rules," Lu Jibai answered.

"From what date do they count?"

"From the date the data is generated."

"Then today is one hundred forty-seven days from July 18," she said. "By this company's own counting, the court's lens can only reach back to September 13. That means what can be seen and what cannot is being chosen by the exact side that may have touched this data."

She pushed the second page forward half an inch.

"So I request that the respondent be ordered to explain two things in writing: what these rules say, when they were set, and when they were amended; and any purging that has already happened—when it was purged, what was purged, which account did it, and who approved it."

The judge wrote these down item by item, then looked at the other side. "Second item—what is the relevance of the logs held by Yunfan Cloud to this case?"

"Two points," she said. "First, who accessed this machine, at what time, and with which account. Second, overwriting and purging themselves leave traces. If no one touched it, these logs prove nothing—which would actually clear them completely. If someone did touch it, then custody of this data should not be up to one side alone."

Lu Jibai glanced at her. "The applicant is speculating."

"The applicant is asserting relevance," the judge said, setting down his pen. "Speculation is for evidence examination."

Lü Hang opened a compartment of his folder. "One more matter. The applicant has repeatedly posted case materials in the rider group chat. The notice already states that they may not be disclosed outside. We ask that this be entered into the record."

"The disclosure matter may be raised separately," the judge said. "Today we only address collection and preservation. Put it on the record."

"We can provide an explanation of the retention rules," Lü Hang said. "Whether any purging occurred will be as stated in our written explanation."

"On the item of obtaining records from Yunfan Cloud." The judge turned to her. "Does the applicant request to obtain them yourself?"

"I don't have a Legal Professional Qualification Certificate, so I can't get an Investigation Order," she said. "I ask the court to obtain them on its own authority. I will be present."

The judge looked at Lu Jibai. He paused for a second. "No objection, limited to the accounts involved in this case." Another second. "On the day of collection, we will be present."

She raised her eyes. He was looking at the corner of the desk on the judge's side, the document envelope resting on his knees, both hands pressing down on its opening.

Judge Cheng picked up his pen and read out three paragraphs.

First: Preservation measures shall be taken over the respondent's dispatch, attendance, settlement, and account operation records. From the date this ruling is served, they shall not be deleted or modified. Within three days, the respondent shall submit the above records to this court and provide a written explanation of the data retention and cleanup rules.

Second: This court will obtain from Yunfan Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. the system's access logs, operation logs, and backup records. Both parties may be present to witness. The materials shall be used only for this case, and both parties shall sign a Confidentiality Undertaking. Where material is confirmed as trade secret, a party may apply for non-public evidence examination.

Third: The written explanation the respondent submits within three days, if data cleanup has already occurred, must include the time, scope, operating account, and approval process of the cleanup. Concealment or failure to report will be handled by this court according to law.

"The respondent is advised of the right to apply for reconsideration," the judge added.

"We reserve the right to apply for reconsideration," Lü Hang said.

"Confidentiality Undertaking," the judge said. "If you can sign today, sign."

Lü Hang flipped through the envelope and said he would need to go back for instructions. She took a pen from her pocket. "I'll sign."

When she signed, her hand did not shake. The pen tip pressed a little harder in the box, leaving a small dot that bled through the back of the page.

"Beyond the ruling, the applicant asks that one more item be added to the record." She looked up after signing. "Request that the system's backup and recovery records also be obtained from Yunfan Cloud."

The judge did not look up. He said to the clerk, "Put it on the record."

"The collection letter will be sent this afternoon," the judge added. "Tomorrow morning, both parties will go to the East Suburb. The clerk will notify you of the time."

"Still the same service address as last time?" the clerk asked her.

"Zhengping Law Firm." This time she answered without hesitation.

Lü Hang muttered something under his breath that she didn't catch. She only heard Lu Jibai answer, his voice still flat, "Everything she said is in the application items—the line and the box."

As she left, the hallway had grown crowded. Two people passed by her. Lu Jibai walked behind and stopped for a step at the door.

"The wind in the East Suburb is harsher than in the city," he said.

She did not answer. He did not wait.

Downstairs, Ma Jianjun was still on the bench, the old phone on his knee lit, the screen showing a cycling map, one grid square after another gray.

"Did you get it?" He stood up.

She showed him the paper. He couldn't read those sentences. He only recognized the red seal on the page. His finger hovered above the seal for a moment, not daring to press.

"I'll go with you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow the court people are going. I'm going along," she said. "Today, copy out the things in your phone by hand. After you copy them, don't delete the originals."

"The station manager asked me to come to the station again yesterday."

"Did you go?"

"No." He buttoned his padded jacket. "I'm afraid he just wants me to sign another paper."

He pressed the phone against his chest and added, "I lay awake half the night. I don't want that thirty yuan anymore. I just want to know who I really belong to."

"Before tomorrow, no one is willing to say you belong to them," she said. "Starting tomorrow, you are the applicant in this case. On the plaintiff line, write your own name."

Xiao Duan's message came a little later, just one line: The station hasn't been printing orders these last few days. Before, if you asked, the station manager could still give you one. She copied this line into her notebook too, at the very end.

A little after ten, He Xiufen brought two bowls of noodles upstairs and asked how many lines the ruling had. She read them out one by one. When she reached "reserve the right to apply for reconsideration," He Xiufen's chopsticks paused.

"Reconsideration is about stalling." He Xiufen pushed a bowl toward her. "Stall past your evidence submission deadline, and the people scatter. Tomorrow, get your hands on the work orders first."

"What's a work order?"

"Anyone who enters a door has to be registered," He Xiufen said. "The landlord has a Register Log. Go look through it tomorrow."

At 11:30, she called Yunfan Cloud. The front desk put her through to an engineer on duty, surnamed Ruan.

"Tomorrow morning works," Engineer Ruan said. "Once the court's document number comes through, come to the East Suburb gatehouse to register. Someone on our side will receive you."

"One more question." She turned to a fresh page in her notebook. "For July through September this year, do you still have the logs on this machine?"

There was the sound of typing on the other end—three or four keystrokes—then it stopped.

"That period you're asking about..." Engineer Ruan said. "From what I can see, the logs on this channel have been purged once."

"When were they purged?"

"I need to pull the work order. When you come tomorrow, I'll print the work order out together with the rest."

She wrote the words onto paper: purged once. After them she put two dots and added one more line—when it was purged, check the work order tomorrow.

Outside, the Old Town District had gone dark. Downstairs, He Xiufen was settling an account with someone, her voice carrying through the floor: one jin of green beans is five yuan two, you shorted me three mao, I remember.

[Thud. Someone got there before you.]