Chapter 464 So you've already refused to negotiate?

After a few seconds of stalemate, Zhou Mubin made the first move.

He strode towards the door, his neatly pressed light gray shirt swaying slightly with each step.

He unconsciously rolled up his sleeves to his forearms, revealing a simple mechanical watch on his wrist. His steps were steady and powerful, each step taking him into the gaps between the noisy crowd.

As he walked through the sparse crowd, his gaze remained fixed on Cui Xiao's face, without wavering. His eyes were filled with surprise, complex emotions, and a hint of hesitation that even he himself was unaware of.

Cui Xiao could clearly feel her heart pounding violently in her chest, as if it were about to break her ribs. The coolness at her fingertips spread up her arm, and she even subconsciously softened her breathing.

Her already tense shoulders stiffened even more, her ear tips turned red involuntarily, and her hands, hanging at her sides, secretly twisted the hem of her suit jacket.

She had even rehearsed countless opening lines in her mind, but the moment Zhou Mubin stopped a meter away from her, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his gaze suddenly and without warning turned to Xiao Hong beside him.

The emotions that had been building in his dark eyes faded, replaced by the calm and sharp demeanor of a professional lawyer. His tone was steady and without a trace of emotion. "Are you Ms. Xiao Hong? I am Zhou Mubin, your husband Li Da's lawyer. Regarding the divorce case he has entrusted to me, I wonder if you have time now to find a quiet place to talk?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Xiao's tense body suddenly relaxed, like a punctured balloon, and even her breathing became easier.

It turned out he was looking for Xiao Hong.

He is the lawyer representing Xiao Hong's husband.

For some reason, Cui Xiao felt a strange sense of loss, and the pressure on her fingers slowly eased, causing the folds at the hem of her suit to gradually smooth out.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong's face instantly turned deathly pale, devoid of any color. "You...you're Li Da's lawyer? He...he really hired a lawyer?"

She glanced at Cui Xiao beside her subconsciously, only to find that Cui Xiao's expression had returned to normal. She quickly looked away, her cheeks instantly turning bright red.

She had just thought the man was an old acquaintance of Cui Xiao and was there because of Cui Xiao. She never expected that he was actually the lawyer hired by her husband, with whom she was having a huge fight.

And just like that, they bumped into each other right downstairs at the company, right in front of their boss.

Several employees from the same company stopped in their tracks nearby, glancing at Xiao Hong out of the corner of their eyes, making her even more embarrassed.

She lowered her voice, "There are too many people here, it's not convenient to talk. Let's... let's find another place to talk. There's a coffee shop nearby."

Zhou Mubin put his hands in his pockets and said, "Okay."

Xiao Hong didn't forget to say to Cui Xiao, "Vice President Cui, it seems I can't treat you to dinner today. I'm so sorry."

Cui Xiao said calmly, "It's nothing, you go ahead with your work, I'm leaving."

Cui Xiao brushed past Zhou Mubin, her flowing hair brushing against his cheek in the breeze—it was a familiar scent to him.

It was the taste that haunted his dreams even in the dead of night for the past five years.

Zhou Mubin watched Cui Xiao's departing figure until she disappeared from sight before turning his gaze away. "Miss Xiao, please."

The two went to a nearby coffee shop.

The warm yellow light dispelled the chill of early spring. Zhou Mubin chose a corner seat by the window. After Xiao Hong sat down awkwardly, he first signaled the waiter to bring two hot Americanos.

“Ms. Xiao, let’s get straight to the point. I’m entrusted by Mr. Li Da, and my core demands are twofold: first, custody of our daughter, Li Nian; and second, the legal division of our marital property.”

Zhou Mubin pushed the printed copies of bank statements and chat logs in front of Xiao Hong, pointing his finger at the abnormal transfer records on the statements. "These are the account statements for the past three months. There are five large transfers to your brother's account, totaling 2.8 million yuan, and the transfer notes are all 'loans.' However, my client said that she was unaware of the loans and did not sign any loan agreements. Legally speaking, this constitutes malicious transfer of marital property."

Xiao Hong's hand holding the coffee cup trembled uncontrollably, spilling a few drops of hot coffee onto the coaster. She stared at the numbers on the transaction slip, her lips moving but unable to utter a word.

Zhou Mubin continued his objective analysis without pausing, "Regarding custody, my client provided his attendance records for picking up and dropping off the child at school for the past three years, photos of parent-child activities, and testimonies from the child's kindergarten teacher, proving that he spends far more time with the child than you do."

As the CFO, you have 16 recorded instances of working late into the night in the past six months, and three business trips exceeding one week each. When determining custody, the judge will prioritize the stability of the child's environment, and your current work situation is not advantageous.

He paused, his tone softening slightly, "If they insist on fighting for custody and refuse to return the transferred assets, my client will submit evidence of the asset transfer to the court. At that time, not only will they have to return the transferred funds in full, but they may also receive a smaller share or no share at all during the property division due to malicious asset transfer. Regarding custody, the probability of losing the case is over 70%, and they will also have to bear the litigation costs and preservation fees of this case."

Zhou Mubin placed a copy of the relevant legal provisions on top of the documents, leaned back in his chair, and waited quietly without urging him on.

Xiao Hong was left staring blankly at the documents piled on the table, her fingers unconsciously stroking the inside of her coffee cup.

A few minutes later, seeing Xiao Hong's furrowed brows and shifty eyes, Zhou Mubin added, "I understand your desire as a mother to keep your child, and I know you may have your own difficulties, but the law emphasizes the chain of evidence. To put it another way, if you agree to grant custody to my client, we can agree on visitation rights twice a week, and my client has already expressed willingness to compensate you an additional 200,000 yuan as child support during the property division. If you can voluntarily return the transferred assets, we can withdraw the 'malicious transfer' claim in the complaint, which will be more beneficial to your credit score and subsequent work."

He picked up his water glass, took a sip, and calmly looked at Xiao Hong's face. "Mr. Zhou's bottom line is custody. There is room for negotiation on property. I need to know your initial intentions in order to move forward with the subsequent mediation work."

Xiao Hong lowered her head; her nervousness was palpable.

After a long pause, Xiao Hong looked at Zhou Mubin and said, "Why should he fight me for custody of the child? What right does a cheating man have to fight for custody? If he wants the child, he can have his mistress give birth to it for him. Why should he fight me for the child?"

Zhou Mubin frowned slightly, realizing that Li Da hadn't told him the whole truth either. "Miss Xiao, the law requires evidence."

Xiao Hong clenched her fist. "He's heartless, so I'm indifferent. He wants both, but there's no such thing as a free lunch."

Zhou Mubin remained expressionless, raising a brow. "So, Miss Xiao is refusing to negotiate?"