Chapter 15 "Busy? Well..."

Lin Chaoyue drove the car back to Tianhe City at nine o'clock.

By 9:10, people were already sitting in the bar ordering their food.

"Madam, what would you like to drink?"

"A 'Cuba Libre,' no ordinary white rum as the base spirit, let me see." Lin Chaoyue glanced at the liquor shelf in the dim light of the bar, her gaze settling on the top shelf.

Lin Chaoyue pointed and said, "Let's use that bottle of base liquor."

The bartender looked in the direction Lin Chaoyue was pointing and reminded her, "Madam, that bottle is Colombian aged rum, it's a bit more expensive."

"It's okay, don't worry about mixing. If I can't pay up, you can make me work here to pay off my debts. I've also learned bartending, I'm just afraid of taking your job."

The bartender realized Lin Chaoyue was joking and smiled, saying, "Madam, our shop has all the necessary permits and licenses; we won't do anything illegal."

Lin Chaoyue knew, of course, that the shop was legal.

After all, the owner here was an old acquaintance of hers. So was the former bartender, but that girl left last year to travel the world.

Lin Chaoyue smiled and said, "Thank you for your help. I'm going to the restroom. Could you please take this wine to the number 1 outside later? Remember to use the Dictador as the base wine. The other white rums here don't have a sweet enough finish to match my happy mood right now."

Lin Chaoyue snapped her fingers and left.

This bottle of 'Dictator' is not commonly seen in the country.

The bartender noticed that Lin Chaoyue could recognize the brand of the bottle of liquor at a glance.

She must have known the price of the wine.

And it sounds like she's a regular here; seat number 1 is on the second-floor balcony.

Those who aren't regulars rarely sit there, because it's not considered a proper spot.

After Lin Chaoyue got up, the bartender stared at her back for a long time. He suddenly felt that the girl looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he had a bad memory and couldn't remember where he had seen her.

Lin Chaoyue has a good memory; she rarely forgets things she has carefully memorized.

As she was heading to the restroom, she tripped over a painting on the wall in the hallway.

Tan Wen is frighteningly nostalgic. Last time I heard he was going to renovate the paintings in the corridor, it turns out he didn't change any of the paintings, he just changed the frames from metal to wood.

After Lin Chaoyue went to the restroom, she went up to the second floor. From the balcony on the second floor, she could hear the singing from the resident singer downstairs, neither too far nor too close.

A candle was placed on the table. A breeze blew by, and she leaned back comfortably in her recliner.

This is what life should be like after returning to China.

The prepared drinks were served quickly, and Lin Chaoyue readily paid in cash.

She took a small sip from the rim of the clear glass. The alcohol wasn't strong; instead, it had a rich, mellow lime aroma, just as she had imagined.

have a look.

How wonderful it is to not have to work.

Such a pleasant and comfortable night can sweep away all worries.

In the meantime.

Lin Chaoyue suddenly thought of Pei Shuwen.

The Pei family is considered a prominent family in Ningcheng, and Grandpa Fang's family is also very wealthy. The yellow jade bracelet he casually gave her was priceless. Why does Pei Shuwen insist on working so hard? And she suffers along with him.

She even thought that if Pei Shuwen were also a rich second-generation who just wanted to live a life of leisure, she might not be so resistant to the marriage alliance with the Pei family.

At worst, we can remain a couple in name only; we'll still have money to spend.

But he wasn't.

"Sigh... I've really fallen from grace, actually thinking that getting married isn't so bad..."

"...Not bad at all! How could I be so unlucky as to end up with him, and I can't even find someone else? How am I going to live from now on?!"

Who's so good at interrupting?

Lin Chaoyue looked down following the sound and realized that the sound was very close. It turned out that two people had come downstairs at some point and were whispering loudly in a corner.

When she was bored, she would listen to Li Cong gossip, but she would never go so far as to gossip about even the corners of strangers' walls.

She still has some principles.

Lin Chaoyue wanted to change her seat.

But the recliner was too low; it was easy for her to sit up, but it took a lot of effort to stand up, and it also made quite a noise.

"Who? Who's eavesdropping?"

Lin Chaoyue: "..."

She shouldn't be considered eavesdropping, since she was already sitting here.

But this voice sounds somewhat familiar.

After Lin Chaoyue stood up completely, she walked to the railing and asked, "Why are it just the two of you?"

"Lin Chaoyue?"

"Chaoyue?"

It turned out that the person sobbing downstairs was Nie Shanshan. Having gotten used to her fiery and aggressive side, this was the first time she had seen her so 'delicate'.

Lin Chaoyue was in a good mood: "Shall we come up? I'll treat you to drinks."

"I won't drink!"

"You can order whatever you like."

"Drink whatever you want?" Nie Shanshan asked, her voice trembling with tears.

"Drink whatever you like!"

She has money tonight, and she wants to experience the joy of paying the bill again.

Two more glasses of the same 'Cuba Libre' were served, and Lin Chaoyue also ordered an extra fruit platter for 588.

Lin Chaoyue forked a cantaloupe into her mouth and casually asked, "Don't you all live in the south of the city? Why are you drinking here?"

Wen Ya comforted Nie Shanshan all night before finally having a chance to catch her breath: "We just got off work."

"Oh, you're getting off work so late." Lin Chaoyue glanced at Nie Shanshan, who looked aggrieved and was still sobbing. "Why is she crying? She's so agitated."

Nie Shanshan wanted to speak, but after opening her mouth for a long time, she couldn't utter a single word.

Wen Ya sighed: "Let me explain. It was during the afternoon group assignments. She was busy in the afternoon and didn't check the group messages in time. She ended up in a group with her ex-boyfriend."

"Huh? Ex-boyfriend? What a coincidence! Which one? That Wang Wei, what's it?"

"You mean Chen Wei? No, it's another tall guy. You should have seen him before. He's fair-skinned and wears gold-rimmed glasses."

With so many people at the law firm, she was mostly distracted at the dinner party and didn't really remember much about it.

Lin Chaoyue shook her head: "I don't remember much. I'm not very familiar with anyone in the institute now."

Wen Ya was also present when Lin Chaoyue was called to be the driver today.

She hadn't thought about why Lin Chaoyue was at the bar until now, but now she realized it was probably because she was in a bad mood.

She comforted Lin Chaoyue across the table: "Sigh, you're pitiful too. You've been targeted by Pei Lu, so you really don't have much time to get to know other people."

Wen Ya: "Anyway, that's the gist of it. It was just a coincidence. Shan Shan even went to ask the HR department after work, but she got a lecture from them. They said that it was definitely impossible to change the group this month, and if she wanted to change it, she would have to wait until next month when she was changing business roles."

Lin Chaoyue: "Isn't this great? Maybe I can even rekindle my romance with my ex-boyfriend."

"Continue...continue my ass!" Nie Shanshan finally managed to utter after holding it in for a long time.

Wen Ya whispered, "No, that boy cheated on you. The girl he cheated on you with is from your group."

Lin Chaoyue said "Oh," indicating that the relationship was quite complicated.

She pushed the wine glass towards Wen Ya: "What's there to cry about? Are you afraid you won't find something better? Is it really that regrettable to throw away a piece of trash? Here, have a taste, this wine tastes very good."

Lin Chaoyue said "try it".

Nie Shanshan still had small pearls on her face, but her movements were very 'bold' as she raised the cup and drank it down.

Nie Shanshan: "Another cup, please!"

Lin Chaoyue: "..."

Lin Chaoyue: "Are you sure?"

Nie Shanshan: "I...I'm sure."

Of course, she couldn't go back on her word, and within half an hour, Lin Chaoyue ordered four 'Cuba Libre's'.

Nie Shanshan stopped crying after finishing the last cup, because she immediately fell asleep.

Wen Ya called out twice but couldn't wake up.

Wen Ya asked with some concern, "Is she alright after drinking so much?"

Seeing that Nie Shanshan had completely fallen asleep, Lin Chaoyue said, "It's okay, only the first cup was wine, the rest were drinks."

This small amount of rum will only get you drunk, it won't cause any serious harm.

Lin Chaoyue: "Do you know where she lives?"

Wen Ya: "I know, we live quite close by."

Good to know.

After asking for the address, Lin Chaoyue helped arrange a car: "I'll have someone help her downstairs. On the way, call her family and ask them to come pick her up. Let me know when she gets home."

"knew."

The bartenders were very skilled and easily helped Nie Shanshan to the door, even thoughtfully providing her with a wheelchair.

Lin Chaoyue stood at the door with the two people waiting for the car.

Wen Ya hesitated for a moment, then said to Lin Chaoyue, "That girl is in the same group as you. Shan Shan said that girl is her cousin and has always loved to compete with her since childhood. This time, she deliberately tried to steal her away."

Lin Chaoyue raised an eyebrow. These cousins ​​are going this far?

Wen Ya had actually heard some other things as well.

But it's not appropriate to say much while standing on the street.

He could only vaguely mention that Lin Chaoyue should be careful.

Lin Chaoyue wasn't a career-driven person who worked hard, so what others did was none of her business. However, she still nodded to thank Wen Ya for her kindness.

At this point, Lin Chaoyue had not yet realized that she had oversimplified the problem.

She never expected that her cousin Nie Shanshan was so much more skilled than her.

Nie Shanshan muttered "bitch" all night while drunk, and Lin Chaoyue saw it first thing the next morning.

Because the people in the same group moved their workstations together for convenience, the girl sat opposite him.

As for the quiet girl sitting next to him, she must be the person Pei Shuwen wanted him to learn from.

"Hello, my name is Lin Chaoyue."

"Hello, my name is Meng Yuzhi, you can call me Zhizhi."

"Zhizhi." Lin Chaoyue thought the quiet girl's given name was nice, and her nickname was also very cute.

But some people clearly don't think so.

Meng Yuzhi's self-introduction earned her a not-so-kind "hehe" from the other side.

"The red circle in Ningcheng was originally used for making friends. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was some kind of small crawling animal."

It looks like a joke.

However, his words carried a clear element of aggression.

Everyone's not stupid; who wouldn't understand that this is an insinuation that Meng Yuzhi's nickname sounds like a mouse?

Lin Chaoyue frowned, looking at the name tag opposite her. The person speaking also had the surname Nie. Was this the mistress who stole her cousin's boyfriend? He was definitely not a normal person.

Lin Chaoyue opened her mouth to speak.

But Meng Yuzhi tugged at her sleeve: "We'll be exchanging and learning together later. Pei Lu has sent them the relevant documents for the assessment."

"What do you mean? What assessment document?"

Meng Yuzhi: "Lawyer Pei asked the four of us to work together. You and I are mainly responsible for organizing the files in the storage room. Drafting key documents and conducting preliminary due diligence work are handled by them, and the data is also with them."

Lin Chaoyue: "You mean, we also need the part of the information we gave them? But they don't want to give it to us?"

Although Lin Chaoyue was lazy, she wasn't stupid. She guessed what was going on from Meng Yuzhi's troubled expression.

The two girls opposite her rolled their eyes at Lin Chaoyue after hearing her words and quickly denied it.

“Lawyer Lin, you’re wrong to say that. Although Lawyer Pei said we should cooperate with each other, the work he assigns to us will definitely be mainly completed by the two of us, and of course we should have priority in reviewing the materials.”

"But those documents are electronic..."

Meng Yuzhi was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"Besides, you don't need any documents for your work of organizing the case files. Any intern you find in the institute can do it."

"We probably already know the saying 'don't bite off more than you can chew,' so just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You're so serious, do you really want to compete for first place in the group?"

Lin Chaoyue didn't really understand work-related matters.

But her intuition told her that this information was indeed quite important.

At least it's not like what those two people on the other side said.

Lin Chaoyue looked at Meng Yuzhi: "You said the information was given to you by Lawyer Pei?"

Meng Yuzhi's face was already flushed red: "Yes, Pei Lu said it himself."

Another girl said, "What, you guys want to tattle?"

Lin Chaoyue laughed directly, her expression saying, "Are you alright?": "A three-year-old? You want to tattle? Since you two don't want to share the information, we'll just call and ask for another copy."

Pei Shuwen's phone number was already pinned to the top of her chat list.

Make a phone call.

It was something that came easily to me.

This time, it was the two girls opposite who laughed.

"Pei Lu is so busy, who do you think you are? Why would you answer my call..."

Lin Chaoyue waited three seconds, looked at the connected call, raised an eyebrow and held up her phone: "Busy? I'll answer it now."