Chapter 39 Chapter 39

The coffee shop on the rooftop of the hotel overlooked the entire city. From where Wen Ying sat, the azure blue not far away was reflecting a series of fragmented lights.

The person opposite had been silent since he sat down. His face was about three times longer than usual, and his eyebrows were drooping slightly with an old look. Without him saying anything, you could tell that he was in a very bad mood at the moment.

Wen Ying had already finished half of the coffee in his cup, but the person opposite him showed no sign of speaking.

She raised her wrist to check her watch, unwilling to continue this seemingly endless endurance race.

"Yan Lu," Wen Ying tried her best to control her tone, so as to hide her rising irritation. "Your time is precious. I wonder what you want to discuss with me?"

Yan Huai finally met Wen Ying's gaze, frowned slightly, and spoke slowly: "Wen Lu is smart, how could he not know my intention of asking you to meet."

Wen Ying shook her head. "Being able to guess and wanting to guess are two different things. Mr. Yan, we lawyers are best at countering the opponent's moves. At least we have to see the opponent's moves before we can start thinking."

Yan Huai stared at Wen Ying for about a minute before speaking: "Wen Ying, going solo and then trying to poach your old employer's clients is not a moral thing to do."

Wen Ying was not surprised that they had come for this matter. The moment she saw Yan Huai's caller ID, she had guessed Yan Huai's intention to ask her to meet.

Wen Ying didn't answer his question directly, but instead threw another question at Yan Huai: "Promising a promotion and then going back on your word is even more unethical. Yan Lu, you're my first boss in this industry, and I consider you my mentor. A disciple should learn from their master."

Yan Huai's expression became unnatural for a moment.

It's not that he hadn't thought that Wen Ying would bring up this matter, but he didn't expect Wen Ying to say it so bluntly, tearing off the fig leaf called "decency" in the middle without any disguise.

Wen Ying had made remarkable achievements in Jiangcheng at that time. As a senior partner of Zhongsheng, it was Yan Huai who personally selected Wen Ying and planned to focus on training her as a potential in the echelon construction of the law firm.

But it was also him who took his anger out on Wen Ying just because of the trivial matter of Yu Jiaran eating breakfast in the VIP room, thus catalyzing Wen Ying's departure.

If we trace the root of the problem, Yan Huai himself is actually the culprit for the current situation. From this perspective, Yan Huai does not have enough confidence to accuse Wen Ying of betrayal.

After all, it was Yan Huai himself who was the first to betray his loyalty.

Seeing that he remained silent, Wen Ying pressed the issue, "Yan Lu, you've been in this industry for decades, personally nurturing Zhongsheng from a small sapling into a towering tree. I'm sure you're familiar with the rules of the workplace. Since you've already passed the information internally and had a one-on-one conversation with me, you can't arbitrarily cancel my promotion, especially since I haven't committed any major offenses. Yan Lu, you've not only unilaterally destroyed the contract and consensus between us, but you've also severely humiliated me at Zhongsheng."

Yan Huai adjusted his sitting posture slightly, making himself look more upright. "Wen Ying, don't forget, this all started because you didn't manage your subordinates well. If you can't even manage an assistant, how can I trust you to lead the younger group of lawyers at Zhongsheng after your promotion?"

Wen Ying refused to be forced into a self-justifying cycle: "The law firm has clear rules and regulations. Your punishment was entirely based on your own emotions and did not follow the rules. This is too subjective. I cannot accept it."

Yan Huai has always been known for his strictness in the circle. If the original Yan Huai had been repeatedly contradicted and refuted in person, he would definitely be furious now.

But Yan Huai was acting out of character at the moment—or rather, he had been acting out of character since he had arranged to meet Wen Ying yesterday. As a senior partner at Zhongsheng, Yan Huai would never bother to discuss matters with Wen Ying alone, let alone personally invite her.

"Wen Ying," he even cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down. "Ultimately, all of this is in the past. No one is perfect, and I'm sure there are things I haven't done well enough. There's no denying that."

Wen Ying chuckled softly, "Yan Lu, you've condescended to come all the way from Min City to Jiang City to meet me. It shouldn't be just to call me to task, right? Why don't you just speak frankly? It'll be better than the two of us wasting our breath on a meaningless debate."

Yan Huai took a sip of his coffee and continued, "Wen Ying, I understand and recognize your abilities. Otherwise, I wouldn't have transferred you back to Min City from Jiangcheng and even promoted you to partner. Zhou Boyu's divorce lawsuit is a perfect example of this. You were able to handle this case so well even though you were fighting alone, and you were able to satisfy someone like Zhou Boyu. That's not easy."

"Thank you for your praise and recognition. I have always been grateful for your appreciation and training." This is not flattery, but the truth.

Yan Huai frowned again: "But Wen Ying, I admire you and cultivate you, but you don't seem to fully trust me and Zhongsheng."

Wen Ying raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"

Yan Huai's eyes were sharp and pointed: "You never said that you and Shen Li were husband and wife."

Wen Ying shrugged, feeling both amused and annoyed. "Law firms don't have a policy requiring disclosure of marital status, and no one at Zhongsheng has ever asked me this question. Do I need to have a speaker installed on me that plays the phrase 'Shen Li and I are husband and wife' on repeat every day?"

Yan Huai was very dissatisfied with her attitude, but he had to suppress his anger due to other considerations: "Wen Ying, pay attention to your attitude when speaking, don't be picky about words."

Wen Ying was helpless: "Just tell me, what are your requests? What do you want me to do? What conditions do you want to offer me in exchange?"

Although Yan Huai had been annoyed by Wen Ying's evasiveness for the past half day, he also felt a little helpless when Wen Ying suddenly went straight to the point.

He swallowed and paused strategically for a few seconds before speaking: "Wen Ying, I would like to invite you back to Zhongsheng as an equity partner."

Hearing the words "equity partner", Wen Ying was slightly surprised that Yan Huai, who was always strict and stingy, could offer such generous conditions to invite her.

Equity partners are different from general non-equity partners. The former can not only participate in the daily management affairs of the law firm, but also receive dividends from the law firm's annual profits according to a certain proportion.

As the industry leader, Zhongsheng's "annual profit dividend" alone is enough to make people's eyes shine.

Seeing that Wen Ying didn't say anything, Yan Huai thought she was dissatisfied, so he continued to increase the stakes: "I know it was not easy for you and Yao Fangzhou to establish Henghe, and Henghe is now developing rapidly and will definitely achieve great things in the future. Therefore, I also invite the entire Henghe Law Firm to join Zhongsheng. Of course, Henghe does not have to disband and can still operate as an independent entity. It will just be merged into Zhongsheng as a subsidiary of Zhongsheng, which will be counted as a way for you and Yao Fangzhou to invest in it."

Yan Huai narrowed his eyes slightly, his face showing a determined confidence. "This way, not only will Henghe be able to rely on Zhongsheng as a powerful tree and share Zhongsheng's customer base, but you and Yao Fangzhou will also have two guarantees. You can also directly lead Henghe's future development as a member of Zhongsheng's management team."

Wen Ying suddenly laughed: "If Yao Fangzhou heard what you said right now, I'm afraid he would be so angry that he would vomit blood."

Yan Huai, however, was unconcerned: "In the workplace, the capable prevail, and seniority is a thing of the past. Wen Ying, your ability ceiling far exceeds Yao Fangzhou's, and your future potential is even more limitless. I am very optimistic about you."

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is no such thing as a free meal for no reason.

Wen Ying was not dazzled by the dazzling offer. She was very calm and asked: "If I accept your invitation, what do you want me to do for you?"

Yan Huai looked at the young Wen Ying in front of him with admiration: "First, I need you to work hard for Zhongsheng."

Wen Ying said, "This isn't a condition for exchange; it's simply the most natural thing to do. Regardless of whether you offer me additional favorable conditions or not, this is what I should do."

Yan Huai continued, "Secondly, I need you to deeply bind Zhongsheng to Zhou Boyu's Bosheng Group. Not only his personal legal needs, but also the legal counsel of the entire Bosheng Group must be met. We must achieve long-term cooperation with the Bosheng Group."

That's right. Bosheng Group is a leading enterprise in Min City and a nationally renowned name. Because Bosheng has its own legal team, no other law firm has been able to capture a share of Bosheng's profits over the years.

Wen Ying's representation in Zhou Boyu's divorce lawsuit is the key to opening this iron barrel.

"This is difficult," Wen Ying said frankly. "Zhou Boyu is a businessman, not a philanthropist. Why would he leave his own legal team unused and spend money instead?"

Yan Huai's eyes were full of meaning. He smiled gently, and a hint of greasiness appeared on his somewhat aged face. "I won't ask you to do anything that's not difficult. As I said before, Wen Ying, I have confidence in you."

Wen Ying was a little displeased, tapping her fingers on the table, trying to interrupt the uncomfortable expression on Yan Huai's face. "I think you should have a third condition. If it's just about Bosheng Group, you can just invite me. There's no need to go to the trouble of bringing in the entire Henghe."

Yan Huai laughed out loud: "I told you you're smart."

Wen Ying crossed her arms, her expression not as relaxed and cheerful as Yan Huai's. "The conditions of Bosheng Group are already very difficult. Let me hear your third condition. Do you want me to pick the moon from the sky or shoot the sun with an arrow?"

Yan Huai couldn't help laughing, and it took him a long time to calm down.

He put away the smile on his face, and said in a more serious tone than before: "Wen Ying, I need Chen Li."

Sure enough, this is no less than asking Wen Ying to pick the moon and shoot the sun.

Wen Ying asked, "'You need'? Perhaps you should be more specific."

"I know Chen Li's character very well, so I won't make things difficult for you," Yan Huai said word by word. "Wen Ying, I'll give you two choices. You can choose either one."

"Which two?"

"Or, open up a communication channel between Zhongsheng and Shen Li, and then establish a deeper connection with the entire legal and prosecutorial system."

It is not uncommon for some people in law firms and the judicial and prosecutorial organs to reach some kind of tacit understanding in private.

Under the sun, both sides stand on opposite sides of the scale, working tirelessly for fairness and justice. But when the sun fades, in the dark corners, there are always some stinking termites who transfer benefits to each other and secretly complete one dirty deal after another.

Wen Ying's heart suddenly became furious. They could get their hands dirty, but she would never allow them to put their dirty hands on Shen Li.

"Please tell me the other one as well." Wen Ying's voice had turned cold.

Yan Huai's eyes gleamed like a hungry mouse that saw a barn. "Or, convince Shen Li to resign and join Zhongsheng. I can promise him the position of senior partner and a 30% increase in salary compared to other senior partners."

Just as Wen Ying was about to speak, Yan Huai immediately interrupted her: "Wen Ying, don't be so hasty to refuse. Maybe you can ask Shen Li what he thinks. If Shen Li himself doesn't want to, it's not too late for you to refuse then. Maybe... maybe the person who will be surprised in the end will be you.