Chapter 76

After Li Ye was injured, Xu Wanyi took care of him personally. After staying in the hospital for another week, she insisted on going home. The conditions here were very good, even better than her own home, but the space was too small. She didn't want to make Xu Wanyi feel uncomfortable staying on the single bed next to her.

"Wanyi, you can usually be discharged after a week of this kind of surgery. I've been here for so long, let's go home," Li Ye said softly.

Xu Wanyi knew exactly when she could be discharged from the hospital. The main issue was that once she was discharged, Li Ye would have to go home. Was she supposed to go back to Li Ye's house with her? Thinking about it carefully, this was the most reasonable and logical approach. But she just didn't want to go directly to Li Ye's house. What would that make her?

Unfortunately, she didn't have a house in Haixi. Why not just buy one? When she first had this thought, it really startled her. This showed that she had at least planned to live permanently in Haixi. And the reason for this plan was self-evident.

However, Li Ye has been nagging her to go out these past few days, so she really can't stay any longer, otherwise her intentions will be too obvious.

"Okay, I'll go ask the doctor. If the doctor says there's no problem, we'll be discharged."

And so, in mid-March, Li Ye finally returned home.

"Wanyi, put your luggage here." As soon as Li Ye entered the door, he felt relaxed and happily pointed here and there for Xu Wanyi to see.

"where?"

"This room."

Xu Wanyi walked over and saw that it was a very cozy room with a gray color scheme, simple furniture, and even a small bookshelf, an armchair and a small table in the corner, with a floor lamp taller than a person standing quietly beside it.

This sight startled Xu Wanyi. There used to be a corner like this in their shared bedroom. During her university years, Xu Wanyi spent most of her time participating in or planning various activities, but late at night, she liked to sit in her bedroom and read a book under a light that wasn't too dim but also not too bright.

Xu Wanyi didn't speak, her eyelids lowered, making it impossible for Li Ye to see her expression.

"Is Attorney Li genuinely interested in learning or just pretending? There isn't a single book on the bookshelf."

"Uh..." Li Ye hadn't expected Xu Wanyi to have such a unique perspective, and he knew she was changing the subject, which meant she had noticed this completely. Thinking of this, Li Ye smiled smugly.

"I think this corner is suitable for literary books, but as someone who's a literate person, I only have professional books at home. How about you help me pick out some another day?"

"Dream on. Choose for yourself. How come you're becoming more and more ignorant? All you lawyers know how to do is argue illogically and scheme. Choose for yourself, read some literary classics, and cultivate your mind. Wait, there are literary books on your bookshelf. I even saw a book by a Nobel Prize winner last time."

As Xu Wanyi spoke, she put her luggage aside, turned around and went to the balcony, seemingly to make a phone call. Unfortunately, she closed the balcony door, so Li Ye couldn't hear who she was talking to or what she was saying. Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief, as she was afraid that Xu Wanyi would press her about why she knew which literary classics.

"Hey, Feng Jing, you don't need to wait for me. Just go back to the company. I'll be working online today. That project... this contract... contact me if you need anything." Xu Wanyi made some arrangements for Feng Jing on the spot.

"Okay, Chairman." Feng Jing put down the phone, thinking to himself, "That's more like it, Chairman. Attorney Li's right hand isn't very good yet. If you don't take care of her, what if she starves to death?"

Wow, let me catch up with Jiang Yu: the chairman and lawyer Li are living together!

Thinking of this, Feng Jing looked around and, seeing no one, burst out laughing without restraint. Then, he stepped on the gas and drove the car away from Li Ye's building.

Over here, although Li Ye couldn't hear what Xu Wanyi was saying, even without listening, she could guess that this person was definitely arranging the next steps. Thus, Li Ye smiled even more brightly, but she had to restrain herself. If Miss Xu saw her smug look and got upset and left, she would be at a loss.

In fact, Xu Wanyi originally planned to return to the hotel after settling Li Ye in, but seeing her expectant look, and considering that her right hand was not very nimble and that she had even arranged a room for herself—a room that, in Xu Wanyi's opinion, was even more spacious than the master bedroom—she decided to stay for a few days. After a few more days, when Li Ye's hand could move freely, she would leave. She found a good excuse for her selfishness.

Thus began their peculiar cohabitation.

Li Ye gave the study to Xu Wanyi. During the day, Xu Wanyi worked in the study while she worked in the dining room. But every day before Xu Wanyi went to work, she would prepare everything for her, make tea, cut fruit, arrange the backrests, and even prepare slippers—because Li Ye liked to go barefoot at home, and Xu Wanyi was afraid that she would catch a cold, so she insisted that she wear shoes.

In the end, Li Ye didn't have anything urgent to do while sitting there. Jiang Yu was overseeing the old projects, and given her current disabled state, it wouldn't be difficult for her to take on new projects. Instead, she felt rather idle.

Once he's not overworked, well-fed and clothed, and there's a beautiful woman sitting in his study, Li Ye can go in three times an hour, bringing a plate of fruit, pouring a cup of tea, or making small talk.

"Get out of here! Don't send any more things over. Do you even want your hands anymore?" Xu Wanyi really wanted to kick her a few times.

“I still have one hand, don’t worry, my left hand works just fine too,” Li Ye replied without hesitation.

As soon as these words were spoken, something seemed amiss in the air. Xu Wanyi seemed to remember something, her face flushed, and Li Ye also realized something. He took a long stride and quickly stepped out the door, swiftly closing it with his left hand. With a "bang," a book slammed against the door.

"go out!"

After a few seconds, seemingly still not satisfied, he said again, "You are not allowed to enter the study without my permission. Close the door!"

Li Ye obeyed her advice, gently closed the door, and touched her nose sullenly. She knew that the young lady had changed a lot, but she only now personally experienced the true meaning of "completely different".

In the past, unless it was late at night, if you wanted Xu Wanyi to stay at home quietly for a while, you had to beg and plead. Now, she can sit there for hours without moving. I really don't know how she forced herself to become like this.

He must have suffered a lot. Li Ye sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the door of the study.

The two of them bickered and teased each other for three months, and before they knew it, it was April. April was the end of spring, but Li Ye was still lying on the sofa "recuperating" as usual. Just as he was thinking about whether he should go on a spring outing, the phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, Attorney Li, this is Jiang Yu."

"Of course I know you, Jiang Yu. Can't you even recognize your voice? I hurt my shoulder, not my head."

"Judging from your tone, it seems your injury has almost healed." Although she said that, there was no hint of happiness in Jiang Yu's voice. Li Ye knew that something must have happened.

"What's wrong, Attorney Jiang?"

“I just passed by Zheng Shengmao’s office and heard a few people talking inside. They mentioned words like ‘Yuzhou,’ ‘investigation,’ and ‘Li Ye.’ I didn’t dare linger for long, and they weren’t speaking loudly, so I didn’t hear clearly. But… Attorney Li, you know these words…”

Of course, Li Ye knew about it; she had often heard the criminal lawyers at the firm talk about it. She quickly concluded that something must have happened in Yuzhou.

"Jiang Yu, don't worry. This matter is still undecided. Just continue doing what you're supposed to do. You're upright and honest, and no one can do anything to you, nor can the rest of the team. So, just like the Leguang project last time, understand?"

“Attorney Li, I estimate that they won’t be able to find you at the office, so please be prepared.”

"Okay, I'll hang up now. Contact me again if anything comes up." Li Ye hung up the phone.

"Knock knock," Li Ye gently knocked on the study door, and after a while, a voice inside said "Come in."

Just as Xu Wanyi was about to confront him, she suddenly noticed that Li Ye's expression was a little off. After being so nonchalant in front of her for so long, he had surprisingly adopted the solemn and composed attitude he had shown when they first met last year. But Xu Wanyi couldn't be happy at all; she had a feeling that something had happened.

"What's wrong?"

"Wanyi, are you in Chairman Xu's mindset right now?"

Xu Wanyi was filled with questions. What did that mean? Did she have to listen just because she wasn't the chairman?

"Do you want me to be like that?"

"Um."

"Then that's me."

“Okay.” Li Ye took a deep breath. “Last time, in order to uncover the secrets behind Yuzhou Company, I had someone send money to the local officials.”

Xu Wanyi frowned, not entirely surprised. She had long expected Li Ye to take some less-than-honorable paths; in fact, such things were practically an unspoken rule in today's society. Based on her understanding of herself and Li Ye, neither of them approved of these methods, nor did they choose to act in this way. But individuals are so insignificant, swept along by the torrent of the times, only able to roll forward, carrying away both the good and the bad.

"Then what?"

"I suspect that this official has run into trouble, or someone in this line of work has run into trouble and leaked some information."

Xu Wanyi frowned even more deeply. Unspoken rules are unspoken rules, but once they are brought to the forefront and scrutinized, it can be a very, very serious matter.

“Chairman Xu, listen to me now. What I just told you is that you absolutely cannot leave this room. Feng Jing and Jiang Yu don’t know the situation, so you certainly don’t.”

"So, if someone comes to you and you know nothing about it, you have to pin the blame on me, understand?"

Xu Wanyi remained silent for a long while, finally understanding why Li Ye had asked her if she was now Chairman Xu. If she were, this would be the choice she should have made without hesitation. However, the person in front of her was now not only Le Guang Group's lawyer, but also someone she, Xu Wanyi… cared about…

"Don't overthink it. Just do as I say. The fact that it was discovered means that the person investigating is no ordinary person. Although the nature of this matter is serious, the consequences are not serious. It is even somewhat reasonable in terms of reason and emotion. I think even if it is confirmed in the end, it won't be that serious."

Li Ye had completely shed the shameless, lazy demeanor he had shown in the past few days, clinging to Xu Wanyi. The shrewd, capable, and clear-headed lawyer Li Ye instantly came online.

“Okay.” Xu Wanyi thought about it carefully for a while. What Li Ye said made sense. She was worried, but she couldn’t act rashly right now, at least not until she knew who was behind it.

"Beep~Beep~Beep~" Li Ye's phone rang again.

"Attorney Li? This is Attorney Zheng. There are some leaders from Yuzhou who want to talk to you about something. I told them you were injured and are resting at home, but they insist on seeing you. Do you have time to come to the office now?"

"Hello, Director Zheng! Sure, I'm coming right away. Is there anything I need to prepare?"

"Oh, no need. They said they just want to ask about your situation; you just need to come in person."

"good."

After hanging up the phone, Li Ye looked at Xu Wanyi, who was staring intently at him, walked to her side, and said, "You know where the key is. Take this one, it's especially for you. I don't know when I'll be able to come back, but believe me, I will definitely be back."

Xu Wanyi stood up and gently hugged Li Ye tightly. "Mmm."

Li Ye glanced at the calendar on his desk. What a coincidence, today was April Fool's Day.