4. Has he never made his relationship public?

Liu Yuwei returned home alone, not even bothering to change her clothes, and sank directly onto the sofa. Ding, ding, ding! Her phone beeped repeatedly. She frowned, hoping she'd be called in for overtime because of her badmouthing. Unlocking her screen, she saw Xiaohe had sent her over a dozen photos and videos on WeChat. She casually clicked on a video, and Jin Lang's voice reached her ears again, "What exactly did you want to talk about today?" Eighteen seconds passed in silence, her whispered words picked up by the microphone. "I want to ask you, do you still want me?" Three seconds later, the video abruptly ended. There were no more videos, just pictures of hugs and group photos. Liu Yuwei opened various social media apps again, searching online for any clues that might prove she wasn't hallucinating. This was the first time in years that she had proactively dug up information about Jin Lang. As her numb fingers typed the words "Jin Lang" into the search bar, she suddenly felt the folly and absurdity of her own ostrich-like behavior. It was like a child playing hide-and-seek, knowing the person was nearby but deliberately closing their eyes, deceiving themselves that they didn't exist. When they opened their eyes and couldn't find them, they became furious that they were hiding so well. As expected, after searching through fan videos posted on various platforms, no one had captured his last two words. Liu Yuwei couldn't explain what she was expecting. Even if he had said them, and it wasn't just an auditory hallucination, what would it matter? Zhuangzi said, "People awake but are still in a dream." Life is like a play, a dream, an illusion. … On Monday's subway, everyone seemed to exude the resentment of waking up early, their expressions agonizing at the prospect of a five-day workday. Countless times on the crowded Line 10, Liu Yuwei had witnessed people arguing over each other's shoving, even resorting to physical violence to force the other person to admit their mistake. Even more ironic, a carriage seemingly unable to squeeze in could yield a few square meters to two people fighting. Everything that happened over the weekend was a minor incident, but life, like this daily subway ride, must return to its pre-set routine, and everyone clearly knows where the next and final stops are. Arriving at her workstation, Liu Yuwei changed into her high heels, made herself a cup of coffee, and prepared to begin a busy day. With the end of the year approaching, some contracts need to be reviewed, filed, or renewed, and some special client bills need to be rechecked. Only if the current work can be successfully completed will there be an opportunity to switch teams next year. Ding-ling-ling~ "Yuwei, come to my office."…

Liu Yuwei returned home alone, too lazy to even change clothes, and just curled up on the sofa.

Ding, ding, ding! Her phone beeps rang out in quick succession. She frowned, hoping it was because of her bad luck that she would be called in to work overtime.

When I unlocked the screen, I found that Xiaohe had sent me more than a dozen photos and several videos on WeChat.

I casually clicked on a video, and Jin Lang's voice came into my ears again, "Why did you come to see me today? What exactly do you want to talk about?"

After 18 seconds of silence, my whispered words were picked up by the microphone, "I want to ask you, do you still want me?"

After 3 seconds, the video abruptly ended. There were no other videos after that, just photos of hugs and group photos.

Liu Yuwei opened various social media apps again, trying to search online for clues that could prove that she was not hallucinating.

This was the first time in years that she had taken the initiative to dig up information related to Jin Lang. As her stiff fingertips typed the words "Jin Lang" in the search bar, she suddenly felt that her absurd behavior of burying her head in the sand was so stupid and ridiculous.

It's like a child playing hide-and-seek. He knows the other person is nearby, but he deliberately closes his eyes and tells himself that the other person doesn't exist. When he opens his eyes and can't find the other person, he gets angry that the other person is hiding too well.

As expected, after searching through videos posted by fans on various platforms, no one could record his last two words.

Liu Yuwei couldn't explain what she was expecting. Even if he really said it and it wasn't an auditory hallucination, so what?

Zhuangzi said, people in the world are awake but unaware, they are still in a dream.

Life is like a play, like a dream, like an illusion.

…

On the subway on Monday, everyone seemed to be exuding resentment from getting up early and wearing painful expressions as if they were about to start a five-day workday.

Liu Yuwei had witnessed countless instances of people shoving and pushing each other on the crowded Line 10, sometimes resorting to physical violence to get the other person to admit their mistake. Even more ironic was the fact that a carriage that seemed almost unable to accommodate another person could actually yield a few square meters to two people fighting each other.

Everything that happened over the weekend was like a small episode, but life, like the subway we take every day, will return to the preset track, and everyone knows clearly where the next stop and the terminal are.

When she arrived at her workstation, Liu Yuwei changed into a pair of high heels, made herself a cup of coffee, and prepared to start a busy day.

As the end of the year approaches, some contracts need to be reviewed and archived or renewed, and some special customer bills also need to be checked again. If the work at hand can be completed smoothly, there will be a chance to change teams smoothly next year.

Ding-ling-ling~

"Yu Wei, come to my office."

Half an hour later, Liu Yuwei walked out of her boss's office with mixed feelings.

The good news is that this time, Lawyer Wang finally gave in and agreed to let her transfer to the Public Welfare Affairs Group next year.

The worry is that there are two prerequisites for changing teams. The first is to win the bid for Ling'an Group's external hiring of Changfa next year; the second is that after the change of team, if the clients or projects he was previously responsible for need him, Liu Yuwei must be available on call.

Regarding the second point, he had already spoken to the leader there, Lawyer Tong, and told Liu Yuwei not to worry.

Tiancheng isn't a major law firm that law students flock to. Liu Yuwei chose it after studying abroad because few law firms focused on public interest law at the time. Tiancheng not only has professional public interest lawyers but also has an independent public interest legal affairs team. Liu Yuwei felt that if she could find like-minded people, a spark could spread like wildfire.

But on her first day at the job, partner Wang Lu valued her abilities and suggested that she work as a business lawyer for a few years. He then gave her three reasons that were enough to convince her, a newbie in the workplace.

First, being a business lawyer can help you quickly become familiar with the domestic legal knowledge system, accumulate a lot of practical experience, and explore the dynamics and legal pain points of different industries.

Second, connections and resources. China's public interest legal work cannot rely solely on lawyers. Some large corporate clients can become potential supporters or partners of public interest projects. With such support, we can go further in the future.

Finally, during the business lawyer stage, one can also arrange work reasonably, increase the proportion of participation in public interest legal services, and ensure a certain economic income.

Liu Yuwei was deeply grateful to her immediate superior for planning her career as a student who had just stepped out of the ivory tower. She could not deny that what Wang Lu said made sense, so she did this for five years.

…

Liu Yuwei returned to his workstation and thought about what Wang Lu had just said.

She wondered if she should ask Ren Yiming for some backdoor advice to learn more about Ling'an's future development direction, which would be crucial for her bid. However, given his personality, he would never want to get involved in any of the group's operations.

Ren Yiming once joked with her, "Ling'an Group is left to Ren Yian. The old man had already thought of the name when he was choosing it. If you want me to contribute, you have to change your name to Ling Ming."

The phone at her desk rang again, interrupting her thoughts. "Yuwei, there are two small things I forgot to tell you. Last week, Starlight Media reached out to me, hoping to collaborate. Could you please take some time this week to liaise?"

"Also, a client in Shanghai has invited me to a training session. Please go in my place. I'll forward the email to you later."

"Okay, Wang Lu, no problem."

When Liu Yuwei opened the email and saw the words "Starlight Media Co., Ltd.", the gossip he heard last Friday and Xiao Meng's phone screensaver flashed through his mind.

A quick online search revealed no public information linking this client to Jin Lang. I had already readily agreed, but now I couldn't explain that there were rumors that this client was related to my first love. I asked my boss to find someone else.

Keeping public and private affairs separate is also a basic principle in legal practice.

…

At noon, Liu Yuwei was having lunch in the cafeteria of the building. Just as she sat down, Xiao Meng came over with a plate in his hand, smiling.

"Sister Yu Wei, I saw you on the Internet~" She blinked deliberately.

Liu Yuwei guessed that she was talking about the cinema, and sure enough, a photo of her and Jin Lang hugging immediately appeared in front of her. At this moment, she could only thank the enthusiastic netizens for their contribution.

"Before, I thought you didn't like Jin Lang! How about it, is my handsome man handsome, and does he smell good?"

The noodles Liu Yuwei picked up slid back into the bowl along with the chopsticks, and she was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

But the smell on his body is like a memory anchor, which will pop up immediately when someone mentions it.

"I forgot, I was too nervous at that time." What adults say is always true and false.

"Yeah, my mind would be completely blank too. I really envy you!"

Xiao Meng, holding chopsticks in his mouth, continued, "Sister Yu Wei, tell me, what kind of woman would Jin Lang, who has never had any gossip about his love life, like?"

"Ah!" The girl was startled, as if she had figured something out. "He doesn't dislike women, does he?"

Liu Yuwei coughed awkwardly, carefully recalling Song Miao's appearance in high school, and slowly said, "He should like the kind of sunny, enthusiastic and brave girls!"

Xiao Meng originally thought that Liu Yuwei would at most mention a few female celebrities in the entertainment industry, but he didn't expect her to use such specific adjectives.

"I'm just guessing." Liu Yuwei curled the corners of her mouth, and then asked nonchalantly, "Hasn't he ever made his relationship public?"

"Since his debut, he has only talked about work in public. It seems that he rarely even mentions his parents, let alone his relationship."

Xiao Meng picked at the green leafy vegetables on the plate.

"However, my woman's sixth sense tells me that he must have a white moonlight!"

Hearing the words "Bai Yueguang", Liu Yuwei suddenly lost his appetite. He swallowed the sticky knife-cut noodles, and the oily smell remaining in his mouth made him nauseous.

She put down her chopsticks and said righteously, "Although we are non-litigation lawyers, we still need evidence for everything."

She was clearly the one who knew the truth, and she had seen them together with her own eyes.

Xiao Meng didn't say anything, picked up the phone again, clicked for a while, and handed it to the person opposite.

"I guessed this from watching the trailer for this variety show, but the main episode hasn't aired yet. Sister Yu Wei, please click on it and take a look!"

Taking the phone, Liu Yuwei saw that it was a promotional page for "Super Debate".

This program is a language variety show with a lot of traffic on Tudou TV this year. In each episode, two celebrities will be invited to debate hot topics based on film and television plots, and promote the works by the way.

The trailer is very short, less than two minutes, and the theme of the next episode has been revealed in the video title - "Should you pursue your first love if you meet it again ten years later?" Jin Lang should have gone to promote "Summer Like You", and naturally he was assigned to the affirmative side.

"When we were young, we might have missed out on someone we could have been with due to hesitation and cowardice. We thought love was the best way to make up for regrets, but in the end, love created the biggest regret in life."

"Life is a series of fluctuations. Past encounters have pushed the emotional curve to the bottom. Reunion is a variable, but only by changing the direction can we return to the peak."

Liu Yuwei silently turned off the video. There were some things she could understand and accept, but she was still sad.