Chapter 26 Chapter 26

Chen Li packed up the most famous lobster in Min City and took it home, and also took away a box of duck products.

When he entered, Wen Ying had just finished a shower and was pouring water by the sideboard with her hair loose. Seeing the bag carried by Shen Li, she was stunned for a moment: "I can't eat spicy food."

Chen Li said, "Lobster is thirteen-spice, duck is five-spice, no chili."

Wen Ying was very happy. She volunteered to take the bag from him and go to the kitchen to pack the dishes. She urged Chen Li to change his clothes and wash his hands first.

The lobsters were wrapped in an insulating layer, and the steam was scalding hot the moment they were opened. Wen Ying took out a white porcelain bowl, and the red lobsters were piled up in the bowl, forming a pointed peak, a pleasing sight.

The braised duck was equally fragrant. Knowing her preference, Chen Li bought a whole bag of duck collarbones. Duck necks are too bony, and duck tongues are too small, so Wen Ying only liked to nibble on the collarbones.

Wen Ying came out with two bowls, looked around, and put the bowls on the coffee table in the living room.

Shen Li came out of the bedroom and asked her if she wanted to eat anything else.

Wen Ying had already found a cushion and sat down casually. "Isn't this enough for the two of us?" She laughed. "What happened today? Didn't you have enough to eat at the court for lunch?"

Chen Li sat down next to her, using the remote to select a movie. "Congratulations on your behalf. Congratulations on ending a difficult lawsuit, and on your career taking a new turn. I'm afraid my congratulations aren't strong enough."

Wen Ying looked at the lobster on the table and laughed, "Inspector Shen, your congratulations are really...meaningful."

They had agreed not to watch romance films, but Wen Ying immediately spotted the cover of Titanic. "Look at that," she pointed, "let's watch that."

Chen Li frowned: "Have you watched it twenty times?" Although he said that, he still clicked the play button for Wen Ying.

He put down the remote control, put on gloves and peeled the shrimp, while Wen Ying took a piece of duck and nibbled it in small bites.

"Chen Li," she called him, "Do you remember that I watched this movie with you for the first time?"

Shen Li couldn't help laughing. "Of course I remember. We went to a movie together as classmates, and you insisted on coming along. But you ran out halfway through, calling me a hooligan, and you didn't talk to me for a week."

Wen Ying giggled, her eyes curved into crescents. "I was young then, and had never seen such straightforward scenes," she said, then sighed. "Such passionate emotions hit my soul so directly. I was really shocked the first time I saw it, but the second and third time, I could only feel the beauty of love."

In the dirty and chaotic casino, the man got the boat ticket.

Shen Li peeled the shrimps and stuffed them into Wen Ying's mouth at the right time.

She watched intently, and it took her a while to realize that Chen Li was feeding her. She felt a little embarrassed: "I'll peel it myself."

Chen Li looked at the shrimp in his hand seriously and chuckled, "Wen Lu, please think back to the past twenty-two years. Have you ever peeled a shrimp by yourself when you were with me?"

Wen Ying suddenly fell speechless, as if... it was true.

"Thank you for your care," Wen Ying said seriously, "When I was a child, I was in poor health and picky about food, and you took good care of me."

Chen Li shook his head: "Not only is your mouth picky, but your words are also sharp. Wen Ying, from childhood to adulthood, you have never said five good words to me."

Wen Ying snorted, "Thank you for letting you practice what it's like to deal with a lawyer in advance. Without me, Prosecutor Shen might not have achieved what he has today."

Shen Li stuffed her with another bite of shrimp: "That makes sense."

On the windswept deck, a romantic and uninhibited poor boy saved a noble girl who was about to jump into the sea. The girl's lively eyes were filled with vigilance and despair.

Chen Li looked up and sighed for a long time: "I have seen such eyes once before."

Wen Ying gnawed on the duck clavicle and mumbled, curiously asking him, "Where? Who is it?"

He looked at her. Her handsome, rugged features were dimly lit by the wall lamp, and her deep eyes were lost in the shadows. "Twenty-two years ago, I first met five-year-old Wen Ying."

Wen Ying was stunned and even forgot to chew the bone in his mouth.

Finally she came back to her senses, drank some water as if to cover up, and turned her gaze back to the screen: "Is there?"

Chen Li said, "This is the first time I've seen such intense vigilance in a girl's eyes. She's clearly like a hedgehog, yet she's also cautious, like a glass bottle about to shatter."

The emotions in the movie enter a period of uncontrollable heating up, and the singing and dancing in the underground cabin are integrated with the passionate and crazy young man and woman.

Amidst the singing, Wen Ying said softly, "Chen Li, I never told you about my life before I came to the Wen family, right?"

Shen Li lowered his head to peel shrimps and listened quietly to her story.

"I remember very early on that the director of the orphanage often said, 'You need to talk less and act well, so people will like you,'" Wen Ying said with a sigh. "Before coming to the Wen family, I was adopted by another family for a while, but before I even knew the names of that family, I was returned to the orphanage. Of course, I don't know why. I just remember the director sighing with a headache whenever he saw me."

"Later, I met my father, and he took me home. My mother hugged me and cried, saying I was a pitiful child. But during the first year after I came to the Wen family, I was very scared and terrified. I even dared not sleep every night. I felt as if after that day, I would be sent back to the orphanage without any warning."

Shen Li lowered his head and peeled the last few shrimps: "They love you very much."

Wen Ying's voice finally crackled with laughter. "Yes, they love me. It took me a year to finally be sure of this. It was through them that I first learned that true love can be unconditional and unrequited."

Shen Li pushed the shrimp meat in front of Wen Ying and said without warning: "Wen Ying, I love you too."

She was startled for a moment, then smiled and reached out to take the shrimps: "I know," she stuffed the shrimp meat into Shen Li's mouth with her backhand, "I didn't dare to believe it before, but now, I think I can believe it."

Shen Li swallowed the shrimp meat, his mouth filled with a sweet taste.

He stared at Wen Ying for a few breaths and said, "Zhou Boyu likes you very much."

Wen Ying laughed dumbly: "Why are you mentioning him suddenly?" She shook her head, her face full of teasing, "He will fall in love with any beautiful woman around him."

"Men understand men," Shen Li said solemnly, "He treats you differently."

Wen Ying felt really absurd and helpless now: "I'm not an object, Shen Jian. I won't go home with whoever likes me the most. I have my own opinions and views, and I will only choose the one I love."

She reached into Shen Li's arms, and her long hair spread softly on Shen Li's arms.

"I know what you want to say, Shen Li," she said in his arms, like a well-behaved cat. "I believe in your love, and you have to believe in me too. Mutual trust can form a spiritual contract."

Chen Li took off his gloves and stroked her back gently: "It's not that I don't believe you, I just want to say that men like Zhou Boyu are too cunning. I'm afraid you will fall into his trap."

He reminded her, "Zhou Boyu's lawsuit is over, but the final verdict is still pending. He's the subject of media attention right now, and I'm afraid you'll get hurt if you get too close to him. Just like the rumors that flooded the internet last time, completely unfounded things can still cause trouble. Your law firm will open soon, and I don't want you to be slandered."

"I'll pay attention." She looked up at him, her eyes still shining brightly under the dim light. Wen Ying said something shocking: "Chen Li, I'm so close to you, you don't want to kiss..."

Shen Li didn't give Wen Ying a chance to finish her words; the last syllable was trapped between their lips and teeth.

The glass of the black car on the screen was covered with fog, and a hand slapped it with a crazy rhythm, leaving a clear mark.

There was a warm carpet under Wen Ying's back. She was able to think at this moment. Fortunately, it was heated...

Chen Li only gave her a moment to distract herself. The unprecedented experience came like a wave, and Wen Ying was finally overwhelmed and had no room to breathe.

She opened her eyes and looked at Chen Li, his eyes filled with the surging lust that he was trying hard to suppress. Wen Ying raised her hand to caress his face, and Chen Li lowered his head, finally becoming one with her.

A tear rolled from the corner of her eye into her thick black hair, disappearing without a trace. This was the mountain she had admired since her youth. The mountain bowed its head, the grass took root, and she wished they would never be separated again.

------

On the day the law firm opened, Zhou Boyu sent a whole row of flower baskets. He was very grand and there was a banner on the truck carrying the flower baskets, which read, "Bosheng Group congratulates Henghe Law Firm on its opening."

All the flower baskets are filled with precious fresh flowers, so full that it is no exaggeration to say that they are a riot of colour.

Zhou Boyu’s divorce lawsuit is currently a hot topic, and there are also rumors of a romantic affair between the two, so the insignificant matter of the opening of Henghe Law Firm still attracted a lot of attention.

Wen Ying came up from the back door and saw Yao Fangzhou's cheerful face. She couldn't help but teasing him, "Congratulations, Yao Lu. You'll be the boss from now on. I'll work hard for you."

Yao Fangzhou laughed impudently, "I wouldn't dare offend you. You're the face of our law firm now. We just opened today, and the front desk has already received over ten divorce inquiries, all directed at you."

Yu Jiaran walked up the stairs with a bunch of documents in his arms. "Congratulations to the two partners, but I don't have time to chat right now. Please help me sign the documents."

She pulled a folder out of a pile and handed it to Wen Ying: "Bosheng Group has invited us to participate in the rural legal education event. The time is set for the end of the month and the location is Daoxuan Mountain."

Wen Ying took it and looked at Yu Jiaran suspiciously: "Why give it to me? Yao Lu is in charge of administrative affairs."

Open the folder and the reason becomes clear.

Yu Jiaran tilted his head: "Because Bosheng Group specifically invited you."

Yao Fangzhou pretended to be pretentious: "You are now Zhou Boyu's Statue of Liberty. The rest of us have to step aside." He shook his head again, "Old Shen needs to work harder."

Wen Ying slapped the folder on Yao Fangzhou's chest and said, "You're more suitable than me. A partner's personal presence will demonstrate our firm's commitment to Bosheng."

She walked away swaying in her high heels. Yao Fangzhou frowned and complained to Jiaran, "I really don't know whether it's right or wrong to be in partnership with her."

Yu Jiaran rolled her eyes and nudged her chin to point him at the client waiting to meet with their lawyer in the waiting area downstairs. "Lawyer Yao, why don't you look at today's transaction volume and agency fees before asking this question?" She pushed the stack of documents forward. "These are all things you need to sign and confirm. Please hurry up, I still have to go through the subsequent procedures."

Yao Fangzhou took it obediently: "I dare not offend Wen Lu, nor do I dare to offend you. One of you is the golden signboard of the law firm, and the other is half of the sky of the law firm."

He suddenly whispered again: "Jia Ran, do you have a boyfriend?"

Yu Jiaran frowned: "Yao Lu, you are too old."

Yao Fangzhou laughed out loud: "I didn't say that the person I wanted to recommend was myself."

Yu Jiaran breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, then I don't have a boyfriend."

Yao Fangzhou chuckled twice and stopped asking questions. He obediently took the documents and returned to his office.

Wen Ying took photos by the window and sent them to Chen Li. Chen Li replied quickly, "So many people!"

Wen Ying: "Two-thirds of my presence here is due to Zhou Boyu."

Shen Li: "...He has a big face."

Wen Ying: "He also invited me to participate in Bosheng Group's rural legal education program."

Shen Li: "Are you going?"

Wen Ying: "Let Yao Fangzhou go."

Chen Li responded with a laugh: "He has the least time, so he has to take charge of this kind of activity."

Wen Ying nodded, it turned out that great minds think alike.

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