Chapter 58

The next day, the snow that had been falling on and off for several days finally stopped. Although the sun was still hiding behind Shen Yun, at least the flight was no longer at risk of being canceled due to the heavy snow.

Li Ye was woken up early by Xiao Chenyue's phone call and made a point of reminding her not to forget today's schedule.

"I understand, Mr. Xiao. You said it eight hundred times last night. I didn't bring anything except myself. Really, I swear I'll be at the airport on time."

After making that call, Li Ye was wide awake. This guy was unbelievable! His flight was in the afternoon, and it was only a little before seven o'clock—was it really necessary to make such a fuss?!

However, Xiao Chenyue was right about one thing: Li Ye hadn't started packing yet. She simply got up and slowly packed a few clothes into her suitcase. Looking around, she realized she was only going to Japan and didn't really need to bring anything. So she put the suitcase and her newly bought bag together on the dining table.

Haixi Airport.

No matter the time of day, Haixi Airport is always packed with people. Tomorrow is New Year's Day, but the airport is already bustling and noisy today. Li Ye finally managed to find Xiao Chenyue in the crowd.

She was pushing a huge pile of luggage all by herself. Looking at the mountain of luggage, Li Ye finally understood why she kept reminding and urging him—if he had so much luggage, he would have been busy with luggage from last night to today.

Seeing this, Li Ye quickened his pace, thinking that Xiao Chenyue was a big client after all, so he had to do something to help her push the luggage cart.

"Ms. Xiao, let me help you push it?" she said, handing the bag to Xiao Chenyue. "A New Year's gift, I hope you like it."

A smile instantly appeared in Xiao Chenyue's eyes. She immediately opened the packaging, looked at the small bag over and over, and couldn't put it down.

“Our lawyer Li really understands me. He not only knows what brands I like, but also what styles I like.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice suddenly rang out from the side: "Attorney Li certainly has a good eye."

Li Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he almost had a heart attack: "Damn it, why is Xu Wanyi here?"

"Oh, what a coincidence, Mr. Xu. I was just thinking of calling you. I didn't expect to run into you like this. Perfect timing, saves me from having to search all over the place. There are just too many people at the airport."

"Come here, let me introduce you. This is the person I was going to bring, our company's legal counsel, Li Ye, Attorney Li." Xiao Chenyue smiled and pulled Li Ye over, pushing him in front of Xu Wanyi.

Li Ye had an urge to rush out of the terminal immediately, but then she thought that if the person ran away, things would be even more complicated. "Xiao Chenyue, I really thank you and your ancestors for eight generations. You've really ruined me!" She had an urge to sigh deeply.

"Hello, Attorney Li. What a coincidence! It's so nice to see you again so soon. It's a pleasure to meet you again."

Xu Wanyi's face showed no "pleasure" whatsoever. She crossed her arms and looked at Li Ye with ill intent, her gaze filled with mockery and ridicule.

Feng Jing followed behind Xu Wanyi, her expression complex. As soon as she and the chairman entered the gate, they saw Li Ye hand something to Xiao Chenyue and take the luggage cart from her. Xiao Chenyue immediately beamed with joy. When she unpacked it, Feng Jing was shocked to find that it was a handbag.

Feng Jing saw this scene and immediately realized that the chairman must have seen it too, since she was walking in front of him and might have seen it even more clearly.

"Attorney Li, do you know what you're doing? You were so intimate with the chairman, and then you turned around and gave gifts to other women. What do you mean by that? Do you still want to live a normal life? Which of these two women is easy to mess with? Let's see what you're going to do then!" Thinking of this, Feng Jing actually felt a little sorry for Li Ye, and the expression on his face became even more interesting.

"Good luck to you." Feng Jing thought for a moment, feeling helpless, and could only offer his best wishes to Attorney Li.

"What? You two know each other?" Xiao Chenyue asked, somewhat surprised.

"President Xiao should have just told us that the person you were bringing was Attorney Li. We have all her information. Feng Jing only needed to buy the plane ticket once. There's no need for you to trouble yourself."

Xu Wanyi turned to talk to Xiao Chenyue, as if Li Ye didn't exist.

Xu Wanyi hosted the trip, inviting Xiao Chenyue to Japan. However, before departure, Xiao Chenyue said she wanted to bring one more person, but then added that she wasn't sure, so she asked Xu Wanyi not to worry about this person. Xu Wanyi privately thought that Xiao Chenyue might take the opportunity to bring her lover, and it wasn't convenient to reveal the person's personal information to them, so she didn't ask any further questions.

Unexpectedly, this "lover" turned out to be that bastard Li Ye!

Xu Wanyi was so angry she was speechless. This guy had specifically asked Feng Jing about buying gifts, and it turned out the bag he bought was for Xiao Chenyue. Li Ye, what do you mean? You're chasing after me while stringing Xiao Chenyue along? You're living the gigolo life like a fish in water, getting both hands on something and not losing out.

Luckily, this happened today, otherwise I might have been kept in the dark again. My mom is very experienced; she told me long ago that good-looking, eloquent people who are successful in life, regardless of gender, are not good people.

When Xu Wanyi was packing her luggage yesterday, she saw that pen drawing again. She recalled all the little things that had happened between Li Ye and her during this time: taking her to see a doctor, helping her with her plans, and acting out one play after another with her. It would be impossible for her not to be moved at all.

Besides, she knew that Li Ye had never left the depths of her heart. That kiss, that night, reminded her of this. She knew that if she didn't want to, no one could force her to do anything intimate, just like the past ten years. Looking back, she actually enjoyed it and even had some unrealistic expectations of Li Ye.

She even felt a pang of regret for being too cold and heartless towards Li Ye. If she really couldn't let go of her, she should at least treat her better in the future, no matter how things turned out.

Suddenly, her mother called her, and the two chatted for a long time, catching up on their lives. Somehow, her mother found out that her lawyer was Li Ye, and they discussed lawyers' professionalism for a long time, telling her to look at other lawyers, that there are countless lawyers in China, and not to put all her eggs in one basket, and so on.

However, seeing that she firmly believed that Li Ye's professionalism was among the best in the industry, her mother did not try to persuade her further. She only said: "Then you should be careful. People who are good-looking, eloquent, and successful, regardless of gender, are not good people."

Sure enough, experience counts! I was thinking of treating you better, but it seems there's no need. You've been blinded by greed and haven't seen your true colors, Li Ye. Xu Wanyi thought bitterly.

"The main reason is that I don't know if Attorney Li will do me the honor of coming along, so I won't trouble you for now." Xiao Chenyue's reply brought Xu Wanyi back to reality.

It was only then that Li Ye finally realized that these two had known each other for a long time. Miss Xu had invited President Xiao on a trip, and President Xiao had cleverly used this opportunity to bring me along. I said to President Xiao, "Your calculations are really sharp; this time, you've completely and thoroughly included me in your plans."

Li Ye wanted to sigh to the heavens at this moment. She knew Xu Wanyi too well; all her efforts over such a long time seemed to have gone down the drain. The fallen flowers may have their own intentions, but the flowing water is heartless.

“President Xiao, Chairman Xu’s company has an acquisition project in my hands, so Chairman Xu is also my client.” Li Ye glanced at Xu Wanyi discreetly and decided to introduce himself first to clarify his identity and stance, so as to avoid being ganged up on by Xu Wanyi and Xiao Chenyue.

Mentioning the acquisition project was a way of telling President Xiao there was no conflict of interest, and saying that Chairman Xu was "also a client" was simply an implication that both parties were clients. Whether the two women understood this or not was none of Li Ye's concern. Rain or marriage are beyond human control.

Xiao Chenyue completely ignored her words, but Xu Wanyi glanced at her thoughtfully, though her expression remained unchanged before she silently looked away.

"That's great. Since everyone knows each other, it saves us the trouble of introductions and getting to know each other, so we can have fun together," Xiao Chenyue said with a smile.

Feng Jing pretended not to see anything and walked past Li Ye without looking to the side...

However, even the astute Xiao Chenyue couldn't discern anything amiss in the back-and-forth between Attorney Li and the Chairman, demonstrating just how good their acting was. Feng Jing felt a surge of anticipation—this was going to be a very interesting trip!

"President Xiao, Chairman, let Xiao Jiang and I go and arrange the shipping first. There are a lot of people today, and we might not have enough time," Feng Jing said as he walked to Xu Wanyi's side.

Xiao Jiang is one of the drivers in the Dong office. He's a young, strong, dark-skinned guy. He can be taken along to do physical labor and also protect the young ladies.

"Then you guys go ahead. I'll take President Xiao to the VIP room. Come find us there later." Xu Wanyi suppressed her anger and acted as if nothing had happened, pulling Xiao Chenyue towards the VIP room.

Xiao Jiang took the luggage cart from Li Ye. Li Ye looked at the backs of Xu Wanyi and Xiao Chenyue and felt a headache coming on at the thought of having to stay with these two.

"Mr. Feng, how about I help you with the security check? With so much luggage, two people might not be able to handle it."

“Li Lu, you’re a guest, you should go and rest. The two of us are enough. We’ve taken care of the rest of the luggage, so don’t worry.” Feng Jing didn’t want to keep this bomb around. It would be terrifying if either of her sisters remembered her and found out she wasn’t there.

"Hey, Attorney Li, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and catch up!" Xiao Chenyue shouted as she turned around after walking for a while without seeing Li Ye.

It seems there's no way to escape now, so Li Ye had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

As soon as the three left, Feng Jing immediately sent a WeChat message to Jiang Yu.

"Attorney Jiang, is Ms. Xiao Chenyue your client?"

Jiang Yu was dozing off while reading an industry report when she suddenly saw Feng Jing's message. Her drowsiness vanished instantly. She thought to herself, "President Xiao is such a flirt. Everyone in Haixi knows her, even Feng Jing, who has only been here for a short time."

Although the two are gossip buddies in private, they couldn't quite figure out what Feng Jing meant at this moment. "Yes, that's right, what's wrong, Mr. Feng?"

"What's her story with your lawyer, Mr. Li?"

When Jiang Yu saw this, her eyes practically popped out of the screen. Wasn't this just something circulating within the industry? How did even the clients know? Is this a blessing or a curse, boss?!

"Uh... what does Mr. Feng want to know?"

Seeing her roundabout way of speaking, Feng Jing decided to stop beating around the bush, since she just wanted to have some gossip.

"I happen to be at the airport right now, checking in my luggage with the Chairman, General Manager Xiao, and Attorney Li, who are on a trip together. I just wanted to know, so...?"

Jiang Yu immediately understood, realizing that this wasn't anything serious; it was just Feng Jing's gossipy nature acting up. The thought of President Xiao and Chairman Xu being there meant Attorney Li was doomed, and she silently prayed for Li Ye. But for some reason, she also felt a sense of regret at not being able to watch the show live, and her prayer turned into envy for Feng Jing.

"Well, I'll tell you this in a secret, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone else, especially Chairman Xu! Xiao Chenyue has been pursuing Attorney Li for several years now."

"Huh? Did you catch them? Hmm... do they... have anything going on?" Feng Jing was startled. Suddenly, she realized that she couldn't just focus on gossiping about Lawyer Li on this trip; their relationship was too complicated, and she might end up getting caught in the crossfire.

"No, absolutely not. Attorney Li always refuses cleanly and decisively, and there's no way anything could have happened." Jiang Yu said firmly. She knew that Attorney Li had definitely not agreed to President Xiao's request, but whether anything had happened... well, she didn't really know. She wasn't Attorney Li's tagalong, so how would she know so much?

But both she and Feng Jing knew that Chairman Xu and Attorney Li had an unusual relationship, and from the perspective of maintaining the client, she had to say so at this time.

"Oh, that's good. I was so scared that I thought Attorney Li was such a womanizer, actually two-timing, and two big ones at that. He's really courting death."

Well, Li Ye was sitting on the sofa in the VIP room, facing Xu Wanyi directly and Xiao Chenyue at an angle, almost to the point of being deadly.