Chapter 487 Old Zhou, I feel a little sorry for you.
The morning air in Shanghai was slightly chilly. Zhou Mubin, carrying a strawberry cake he had bought in advance, stood at the kindergarten gate just as the morning health check was ending.
He spotted Xiao Nuomi in a pink dress at a glance. The little girl was holding her teacher's hand, standing on tiptoe and looking towards the school gate. The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up like two stars.
"Uncle Zhou." Little Nuomi broke free from the teacher's hand, took her short steps and rushed to him, her nose still covered in a little milk stain.
Zhou Mubin squatted down and handed over the cake, his voice softer than usual, "Little Nuomi, Uncle is going back to Hong Kong today, so I came here to say goodbye."
Little Nuomi's smile faded slightly, and she gently tugged at his sleeve with her little hand, "Will Uncle come again?"
Yes, it will.
Zhou Mubin ruffled her hair, took out a note with a number on it from his pocket, and stuffed it into her little backpack. "If you miss your uncle, just call me with your smartwatch. This number will always be able to reach your uncle."
He watched as the little girl nodded solemnly, hugging her schoolbag tightly, and gave her a few more instructions, such as "Listen to your mother" and "Eat well to grow tall." Only after the outdoor activities ended did he watch her run into the classroom with the teacher, turning back every few steps.
After saying goodbye to Xiao Nuomi, Zhou Mubin did not linger and drove directly to the airport.
The view of Shanghai outside the porthole gradually shrank into a blurry outline. He leaned back in his chair, his fingertips unconsciously stroking his phone case.
That was the little sun that Xiao Nuomi drew at the hospital last time. He laminated it and stuck it on the back.
The lawyer's work piled up after being stranded in Shanghai for more than half a month.
That is indeed the case.
The day after returning to Hong Kong, Zhou Mubin plunged into the law firm, not even bothering to drink a sip of water.
The office lights stayed on until late every night, the sounds of keyboard typing and printer humming intertwined into a familiar melody. It wasn't until Friday evening that he finally finished dealing with the most urgent matters, slumped into his office chair, and let out a long sigh of relief.
The phone rang suddenly, and Xibei's name appeared on the screen. Zhou Mubin answered and heard a cheerful voice on the other end, "Attorney Zhou, you've finally decided to come back? Nanzhi and I are waiting for you at our usual spot. Hurry up and come over, we're just waiting for you."
...
When Zhou Mubin arrived, Xie Nanzhi and Xibei had already ordered his usual whiskey, and there was fruit and snacks on the table.
As soon as he sat down, Xie Nanzhi pushed her wine glass in front of him, her eyes full of inquiry. "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Xibei nodded in agreement, her tone filled with concern, "Nanzhi said you have a child, it startled me. Old Zhou, is it really your child? What are your plans with Cui Xiao? Has she forgiven you? Is she willing to raise the child with you?"
A barrage of questions came at him, making the whiskey Zhou Mubin had just drunk taste bitter.
He paused, his hand holding the wine glass, looking at the amber liquid swirling within, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
The neon lights outside the window shone through the glass onto his face, half bright and half dim, and for a moment he didn't know where to begin.
He paused, his hand holding the wine glass. Looking at the amber liquid swirling in the glass, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he finally spoke in a low voice, "Cui Xiao didn't accept me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xibei sat up straight, and Xie Nanzhi frowned.
He added, his voice even softer, "Little Nuomi doesn't know I'm her father yet. I haven't dared to say it, and I can't say it."
"Wait, what's going on with you?"
Xi Bei slammed her hand on the table in her haste, drawing a glance from the next table. She quickly lowered her voice, "Old Zhou, Old Zhou, I'm starting to feel sorry for you now."
Xie Nanzhi tugged at Xibei's arm, then turned to look at Zhou Mubin, her voice full of worry, "What happened back then was indeed your fault, but so many years have passed, and you're not the naive young man you were back then anymore. Haven't you had a proper talk with Cui Xiao?"
Zhou Mubin took a swig of whiskey, the spiciness sinking down his throat. "We talked, but she was quite adamant and didn't want me to disrupt her and Xiao Nuomi's lives."
Xie Nanzhi wanted to persuade him again, but he raised his hand to interrupt her.
“I have plans.” He looked up at his two childhood friends, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination. “After I finish these cases, I plan to go to Shanghai. I don’t need to specifically look for Cui Xiao. I’ll just go see Xiao Nuomi and play with her.”
"That's it?" Xibei raised an eyebrow.
Zhou Mubin smiled and tapped the little sun on his phone case with his fingertip. "Xiao Nuomi is the breakthrough point, and it's also what I owe them, mother and daughter. Once Xiao Nuomi gradually accepts me, there will always be an opportunity with Cui Xiao... I'm not in a hurry, I can wait as many years as I want."
...
It was nearly midnight when the gathering ended. Zhou Mubin returned to his apartment to wash off the smell of alcohol, looked at the picture of the little sun his daughter had drawn on his phone for a long time, and then fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, he threw himself into the law firm's affairs in a fully awake state.
As the founder of a top law firm in the port city, he is currently handling three commercial disputes involving over 100 million yuan. One of these cross-border M&A cases has stalled because the other party suddenly changed the chain of evidence.
Even with a schedule so packed with tasks that he had to fill his time with memos, Zhou Mubin still maintained amazing efficiency.
On Monday, he spent just two hours reviewing all the case files and identifying logical flaws in the opposing side's evidence. On Wednesday afternoon, he organized a mock trial for the team, personally playing the role of the opposing lawyer and posing tricky questions, forcing team members to revise their defense strategies. By Friday morning, he had already presented two plans with a success rate of over 80% at the project debriefing meeting, his accurate judgment leaving the team members in awe.
At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, with only ten minutes left before his meeting with the parties involved in the cross-border merger and acquisition case, Zhou Mubin was checking the supplemented evidence list word by word on the computer screen, his fingertips rapidly typing notes on the keyboard.
There was a sudden knock on the office glass door, and the receptionist whispered, "Attorney Zhou, Sun Lu is here. She says she has something very important to tell you."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Sun Lu arrived at the office door.
Zhou Mubin looked up when he heard the sound. When his gaze fell on her, his gentle expression, which had been due to his focus on work, instantly turned icy, and his fingers gripping the mouse tightened involuntarily.
Five years ago, Cui Xiao left without saying goodbye and fled the city overnight. After being discharged from the hospital, he immediately notified the administration department to fire Sun Lu.
She was hired as an assistant back then purely out of respect for Cui Xiao.
At that time, Sun Lu had just graduated and was having a hard time finding a job. Coincidentally, he also needed to use this relationship to achieve what she wanted.
But now that the person for whom he was willing to make an exception has left, he naturally no longer wants to keep this person who got in through connections and who frequently makes mistakes at work.
"Who gave you permission to come into my office?"
Zhou Mubin's voice was as cold as the winter sea breeze in the port city, devoid of any warmth, and his tone was serious, "Xiao Chen, take her out and don't let her step into the law firm again."
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