Judged in the Court of Scumbags

I stood in the defendant's seat in Scumbag Court as a bailiff put the memory-retrieval helmet on me.The judge, Aiden Faire, mechanically informed me of the precautions, "Once the Judgement Helmet has been worn, you'll be deemed guilty if you back out midway. Your life will be forfeit. Are you sure you wish to put on the helmet, Hanson Quill?"My heart did not waver in the slightest. I nodded firmly.Charlene Weber looked at me with a trace of guilt in her eyes.That was right. Charlene, my wife, whom I'd been married to for five years, had taken me to trial in Scumbag Court.It was for no other reason than to divorce me, leaving me with nothing to my name. She wanted me chained and thrown into prison, after which she would take my money and live happily ever after with her dream man.However, they had no idea that I'd been reborn.In my previous life, I didn't wear the Judgement Helmet at all on account of our past affections. I pleaded guilty in the face of public opinion.If

Fragments of my memories began playing out on the big screen."You must be tired, dear. I've heated up some milk for you. You should drink it while it's warm."In the memory, I was facing the computer in my study. When I saw that Charlene was here, I hurriedly motioned for her to leave. My expression probably looked a little scary.The viewers started to flood my view with comments."What's with this attitude? You're being so impatient with your wife when she went out of her way to bring you some warm milk late at night! How ungrateful!""If I were his wife, I'd have thrown the milk in his face."I could tell that the audience's resentment toward me had increased.After watching the memory, Aiden frowned and pronounced his verdict. "No scumbag behavior has been displayed in this instance. Hanson Quill is not guilty."Viewer comments instantly started flooding in."There must be some mistake. How is this not considered scumbag behavior? He's showing his wife such a terrible att

When I walked into the courtroom once more, Charlene's pupils constricted, and she stared at me in disbelief.I just smiled and didn't spare her another glance.The live broadcast was resumed. The number of viewers watching it reached a shocking 80 million."He wasn't putting on an act just now, was he? Someone like him should just be put to death. Why waste all this time?""On the other hand, I'd like to see just how he's going to justify the domestic abuse incident! Unless we're all blind, that definitely happened!"I took a deep breath and put the Judgement Helmet back on.I had to go through the same pain twice, but to me, it was worth it.My chest heaved at the memory of Charlene and Joel tossing my bones down the toilet in my previous life.Even if I were to die here today, I still wanted to expose the truth.The display changed, and my memory appeared on the large screen once more.I was holding Charlene by the neck, and veins were bulging on the back of my hand. "Gold

I guessed that Charlene probably wasn't sure if I knew the truth. Therefore, she was deliberately making a show of being generous in order to cut her losses.However, she didn't seem to be done with her performance just yet."You may be a cheating bastard, but I don't blame you. I took you to court only because I wanted to let all my fellow women know that they should love themselves properly from now on. Men's hearts change easily, after all."I'm willing to let bygones be bygones, Hanson. I only hope that you'll turn over a new leaf after serving time in prison. Let's end things on a good note."What a show of generosity. If I hadn't gone through such a tragic experience in my previous life, I'd have been deceived by her incredible acting skills just like everyone else."End on a good note? Dream on," I replied frostily.Charlene looked even more aggrieved. "Even a brief marriage leaves a long-term bond of affection. I don't want to see you continue walking down the wrong path.

After the investigation, it was determined that Joel was the one who had tampered with the Judgement Helmet.Nowadays, there were punishments for this sort of thing. Additionally, Joel had colluded with Charlene to plot against me. He was sentenced to a year in prison.I visited him in prison, and he glared at me with venom-filled eyes."Don't get too full of yourself, Hanson Quill. Don't think you can rest easy just because you sued me. Charlene's still out there. People like you don't deserve to live such a good life at all."The depths of their devotion to each other were actually quite enviable.Although if I thought about it, a bastard and a bitch were a match made in heaven.I'd certainly like to see if they could still be so dependent on each other when faced with a desperate situation.I smiled and replied, "Do you know who reported you? It was Charlene. She's not having an easy life either, though. She's being plagued by bad luck, and her face has even started rotting.