Chapter 69

Another Lunar New Year's Eve has arrived in the blink of an eye, and the streets and shopping malls are deserted.

That's how megacities are. Normally, they gather people from all over the country, but during the Spring Festival, everyone goes back to their hometowns. Even the locals mostly have an ancestral home. During the Spring Festival, they either go abroad for vacation or return to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors.

Haixi has become a lonely city swaying in the cold wind.

However, Li Ye was already used to it. Whether it was loneliness or coldness, she had lived like this day after day, year after year. Moreover, unlike others who had a place to return to, this apartment by the Wu Su River was now her true home. Apart from this, she had nowhere else to go.

She cooked herself a sumptuous dinner, turned on the TV, and unusually turned up the volume. The lively atmosphere of the Spring Festival Gala brought some of the festive spirit.

She watched silently for a while, opened a bottle of red wine, and sat down at the dining table to finish this year's New Year's Eve dinner. It's another new year; sometimes I feel eagerly anticipating it, and sometimes I feel it's meaningless.

Li Ye suddenly thought of Xu Wanyi. She should be having a lively New Year's Eve dinner with her mother and her group of girlfriends right now. That night, she finally added Xu Wanyi on WeChat. When she opened her phone, there were many New Year's greetings on WeChat and text messages, but none of the messages were from Xu Wanyi.

Li Ye originally wanted to send a New Year's greeting to Xu Wanyi, but after thinking about it, he gave up. Since her mother was back, he didn't want to go through the trouble of sending her a greeting. The most important thing during the New Year is to be happy and harmonious. Nobody wants to have any arguments during this time.

She locked her phone, placed it on the coffee table, walked to the balcony, and looked at the river and sycamore trees swaying in the cold wind. The sky was ablaze with light, not fireworks, but the ever-burning neon lights of Haixi.

Just as she was gazing into the distance, lost in thought, her phone screen lit up, and the phone itself began to vibrate and jump around on the coffee table.

"Hey, Happy New Year, my little wife! Why are you calling me instead of watching the Spring Festival Gala with your wife?" Li Ye said cheerfully, taking a deep breath. It was obvious that the person on the other end of the line was Zhuang Ke.

"Oh, how could that be? I have a wife and kids, a warm bed, and Judge Xiang is completely under my thumb. Even Fat Pig Cat is obediently lying on the sofa watching TV today. Unlike you, a lonely old man."

Zhuang Wei knew that Li Ye would be spending the New Year with Xu Wanyi this year. Although she didn't approve of Li Ye getting together with Xu Wanyi again, she could only watch helplessly as this usually shrewd and cunning fool fell into it again. As for Xu Wanyi, although she was cold and aloof, she wasn't entirely without feelings, so she stopped trying to persuade them to break up.

Unfortunately, unlike when she was in business, Attorney Li's skills were not up to par, and he ultimately failed to win the heart of his beloved this year. He will once again spend the Lunar New Year alone, walking along the cold, hard main road of Haixi.

"Hey, I'm telling you, Su Che from the second year of junior high, my partner, and I are coming to visit you. You'd better prepare some food and wash yourselves up before we arrive!"

"Uh, aren't you going to your wife's house for the New Year's visit? Couples usually spend part of the New Year here and part of the New Year there."

“Go where? I’m afraid her dad will test my legal knowledge again. I’m just an ordinary university teacher, not Professor Wang Zejian. How would I know so much?”

Xiang Nuo's father is a leader in the political and legal system. He has a JD and studied in the United States in his early years. He was very excited when he saw Zhuang Ke, a junior who teaches law. He pulled her aside and asked her a lot of questions. Zhuang Ke already had the mentality of a daughter-in-law meeting her in-laws. After being bombarded with questions, she felt so nervous that her brain could hardly function.

"You seem to know everything, yet you always make fun of me," Li Ye grinned.

"My relationship with you is like a dimensional reduction attack, while my relationship with Xiang Nuo's father is like three dimensions versus four dimensions. How can they be the same? I'm not going to say anything more, I just wanted to let you know."

"Su Che is here too?" Li Ye was puzzled. It was one thing for Zhuang Ke to come, but Su Che was usually too busy with work and rarely went back to his hometown throughout the year. So he was a model of staying at home during the Spring Festival. Why would he come out?

"Ah, she's been hanging out with some childhood friend of hers in some godforsaken corner these past few days, where there's no cell phone signal. Her friend is flying to England on the second day of the Lunar New Year, and she's just here in Haixi to see him off, so she's giving you a free opportunity to entertain him."

"Thank you both!"

"You're welcome, you're welcome. We've been friends for decades. Remember to cook early. I just want to eat, I don't want to help with the cooking, and I definitely don't want to order takeout." Zhuang Ke was still wary of Li Ye's lazy attitude when she wasn't working. Every time she said she was going to visit Li Ye's house, she ended up being the hostess. It was infuriating.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the sky was overcast when I woke up in the morning. A sliver of light peeked out from behind the thick clouds, bringing a little light to the earth.

Seeing this, Li Ye knew it would snow soon. Sure enough, snowflakes soon began to float in the air, then turned into hexagonal snowflakes, slowly dancing in the wind.

Just as Li Ye put the casserole on the stove, the doorbell rang. This time, she didn't keep her guests waiting. She turned the fire to medium and quickly went to open the door. The three people outside were dressed in bright red and were warm and cozy. Each of them was carrying a lot of things in their hands.

"Quick, quick, make way, let us in, we're about to fall to the ground!" Zhuang Ke rushed in, followed closely by Xiang Nuo and Su Che.

When Li Ye took a look, he was shocked. This was enough to buy her a year's worth of things, from food and drinks to daily necessities, and even a five-piece bedding set.

"Stop looking, this is what my mom gave you." Zhuang Ke saw Li Ye holding the bed sheet with an incredulous expression.

"Uh, please thank Auntie for me." Zhuang Ke's parents were among the few older generation who knew about her personal situation, so they always treated her like another daughter and considered her in every way.

"I'm speaking on their behalf. If you can avoid making things difficult for yourself, then your efforts won't be in vain."

Zhuang Ke rolled her eyes at her. Li Ye had clearly lost weight again. People say you gain three pounds every holiday, but she's actually lost weight instead of gaining it over the New Year. This person used to be carefree and easygoing about food and drink, but now, looking like this, it's obvious she's heartbroken again. It's like all those years have been wasted; she hasn't grown at all.

"Hey, tell me, are you still thinking about your Miss Xu? What's going on between you two? Why isn't she spending the New Year with you in Haixi?"

Su Che was far away in Beijing, and Zhuang Ke relayed everything. It seemed like he knew everything, yet everything felt vague.

"Ah, uh," Li Ye looked constipated, groaning and groaning for a long time, unable to find the right words to say it.

"Friends with benefits?" Judge Xiang was truly a man of few words, but when he spoke, he made a startling remark.

"Well... I wouldn't say that..." Li Ye was speechless, but upon closer reflection, it wasn't entirely unreasonable, though she definitely didn't think that way.

"Seriously, Attorney Li? How come you've suddenly changed your mind at your age? Before, you couldn't live without her, wanting both her and her heart. Now, you only want her and don't care about her heart anymore. What has the world done to you?"

"You think I don't want a heart? What can I do if I don't want one?" Li Ye spread his hands, looking helpless.

"So that's why she went back to Beijing for the Chinese New Year?" Su Che continued to ask.

"Her mother is back, um." Li Ye's eyes darkened, and everyone else fell silent upon hearing this.

"What do you mean? What happened? Wasn't her mother here before?" Xiang Nuo, unaware of the situation, looked completely bewildered.

“Her mother had been living in Australia on and off for a while. After divorcing her father, she lived there for many years. She came back this time because she found out that I was her lawyer,” Li Ye said calmly.

"Old Xiang, you don't know, her mother played a big part in that idiot's disappearance back then. But, you can't blame her mother entirely, you were partly to blame too. Sigh, I can't explain it clearly." Zhuang Ke gave Xiang Nuo a look.

"Alright, what's past is past. People should look forward. A tree dies if it's moved, but a person thrives. You've moved around so many times, even a crooked tree would grow into a towering crooked tree." Su Che quickly smoothed things over, saying that it was the New Year, and they shouldn't bring up these unpleasant memories.

"What crooked tree? I'm so wise, handsome and dashing, how am I crooked? Haven't you seen the line of men chasing me stretching from our office to the lobby on the first floor?"

"Yes, yes, yes, after the New Year this year, you can choose one from among them. Don't hang yourself on Xu Wanyi." Zhuang Ke thought to herself, "You're looking for a big fish in the forest, but you're not going to pick a tree."

"President Su, didn't we hear that Leguang was going to buy your company? Why haven't we heard anything about it since?"

As Li Ye walked towards the kitchen, she asked Su Che. She didn't want to argue with Zhuang Ke about this anymore. If she could let go of Xu Wanyi, she would have done so long ago. Why would she have waited until now to have another fight?

Seeing this, Su Che rolled up his sleeves and followed her into the kitchen. Zhuang Ke unconsciously became the host again, helping Li Ye sort and put all the things into their proper places.

"Well, normally it should have been finalized before the end of the year, but this year our group is unlucky enough to be chosen by fate and has been favored by the inspection team. As soon as they moved in, the whole group was on high alert and everyone was focused on dealing with the inspection. Who could possibly have time to do any business?"

Su Che finally didn't have to wear the general manager's mask anymore and started his endless吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online commentary/criticism).

"Uh, are you still conducting assessments this year?" Li Ye knew how formidable the inspection team was, so she shrugged. Although she could talk to people in a way that suited them, she really didn't like the intricacies of the system. Only a powerful woman like Su Che could handle it.

"Of course, there are assessments. The business operations department is the business operations department, and the discipline inspection department is the discipline inspection department. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission investigates profits, and the Supervisory Commission investigates integrity. They are carried out in parallel without conflict, and multiple measures are taken simultaneously."

"No, no, no, stop, stop! If you say those four words a few more times, I'll be dreaming about that kind of meeting tonight. I've already thoroughly grasped the essence of President Su's speech. It's the New Year, there's no need for it, it's really not necessary."

"However, it should be able to start after the New Year. I think the inspection is almost done. They found a few people who always leave early or arrive late, who use fake invoices for reimbursement, and who don't dress appropriately during work hours." Su Che finally got this opportunity and really couldn't hold back his words.

"Will you still be her lawyer then?" Su Che suddenly remembered.

"I don't know either, probably, if her mother doesn't interfere."

To be honest, Li Ye wasn't sure either. Although she kept saying that she wasn't the same as before, she still hadn't figured out a specific way to deal with Xu Jing. The only thing she was a little more mature than before was that she wasn't as impulsive and didn't give up so easily.

"Is the food ready yet? I'm starving! Your CEO Su didn't even have a proper breakfast before heading straight from the airport to your house. Is your cooking any good?" As the two were talking, Zhuang Ke started wailing outside.

"Isn't this all the food? It's not enough for you. Let your family peel an orange for you. This is the last dish. It'll be ready soon." Li Ye didn't even look up, focusing on washing the lettuce in his hands.

"We'll talk about that later. Um... do you really still like Xu Wanyi that much?" Su Che asked one last time.

"Sigh." Li Ye finally raised his head, straightened up, and sighed deeply. "I've tried to forget her, after all, I'm not really unwanted, right? But it doesn't work, it really doesn't work. I even suspect she's bewitched me."

Su Che rolled his eyes. This guy was shameless. He couldn't let go of his feelings, and he was even pushing them onto the girl.

"Then you'd better be prepared to suffer. Not to mention her formidable mother, the current Chairman Xu is the most adept at tormenting people." Su Che recalled his dealings with Xu Wanyi and felt that this woman was even more difficult to deal with, and couldn't help but feel worried for his friend.

“Well, since we’ve chosen this path, let’s go all the way. Once we really fall off the cliff, it won’t matter how bitter it is.” Li Ye thought of the short day and night they spent together before the New Year, and a smile appeared in his eyes, but his heart was filled with bitterness.

"Dinner's ready, Uncle Zhuang, hurry up and get on the table!" he said, and began to bring the dishes to the table.

Su Che watched her retreating figure and shook his head. Everyone has their own destiny. It seems this person really won't give up until she's completely defeated.