Chapter 405 Is that all you think of me?
My gaze swept across the narrow alley to the right.
Cui Xiao was squatting on the bluestone road, surrounded by five or six stray dogs with messy fur. A lame mongrel was affectionately rubbing against her wrist.
Zhou Mubin parked his car under the shade of a tree not far from the alley entrance. He rolled down the window and fixed his gaze on the figure.
Cui Xiao took a can of dog food out of her canvas bag and carefully placed it in her palm. The most timid calico stray dog hesitated and came closer. She slowed her breathing and said in a voice as soft as cotton, "Don't be afraid, eat slowly."
The setting sun shone through the mulberry leaves at the alley entrance, casting dappled light on the top of her hair.
At this moment, Cui Xiao's face did not have the standard polite smile typical of the workplace; instead, her eyes and brows were filled with a soft smile, and even the dimples at the corners of her mouth were brimming with warmth.
Zhou Mubin slowly loosened his grip on the steering wheel, his fingertips occasionally pinching his chin.
The Cui Xiao he knew was a woman with meticulous logic at work, who could remain calm and composed even in the face of danger, never the one before him who had let down all her guard.
He didn't move until Cui Xiao finished feeding the last bit of dog food, patted the head of the fattest yellow dog, stood up, and turned around, bumping into his line of sight.
The smile on her face froze instantly, and she subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter. The softness she had shown just moments before vanished like fog in the wind, and a familiar sense of distance crept back in.
She didn't say anything, but her expression returned to normal, and she walked straight over.
Just as he was about to pass by his car, Zhou Mubin opened the car door and got out. His gaze first fell on the stray dog curled up at the alley entrance, and then hurriedly shifted to Cui Xiao's face.
"Cui Xiao, I've never seen this side of you before."
He paused, his gaze falling on her hands, and his voice softened, "These dogs...do you feed them often?"
Cui Xiao's shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly. She looked down at the calico dog wagging its tail and a faint but genuine smile appeared on her lips. "Yes, I found them here last winter, so I've been coming twice a week."
She crouched down, and the lame mongrel immediately came to her feet. "This one is called A-Que. It was hit by a car last time, and I took it to get stitches, so I named it that."
Zhou Mubin also squatted down and tried to reach out to touch Ah Que, but Ah Que dodged away warily.
Cui Xiao couldn't help but laugh out loud, gently tapping Ah Que's head with her fingertip. Looking up at Zhou Mubin, her eyes held a hint of slyness. "It's shy around strangers, but... You've been with me since the East Asia Group. The car is moving 30% slower than usual. Is something wrong, Lawyer Zhou?"
These words made Zhou Mubin's face turn pale instantly. He looked away in embarrassment, then turned back and said sincerely, "When I called you down yesterday, you were running for vice president. Why didn't you tell me?"
If she had spoken up, how could he have been so unreasonable as to force her to come down?
Cui Xiao's smile held a hint of helplessness as she reached out and patted the yellow dog crouching at her feet. "If I said I was busy, would Lawyer Zhou believe me?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Mubin paused.
His already cold gaze turned even colder. "Cui Xiao, is that all you think of me?"
She stood up, patted her skirt, and looked at Zhou Mubin's gloomy face. "It doesn't matter anymore. I decided to come downstairs to see you, which means I've already given up the position of vice president."
Zhou Mubin also stood up, "Cui Xiao, you shouldn't think of me like that."
He was domineering, but after spending so many years with Cui Xiao, Zhou Mubin knew exactly what kind of person she was. If she said she was busy, it must be because something was holding her back.
Even though Zhou Mubin was angry yesterday, he would never let her miss such a good opportunity just because he wanted her to come downstairs.
Cui Xiao took out her phone from her bag and glanced at the time, seemingly not taking Zhou Mubin's words to heart. "It doesn't matter anymore, it's all in the past anyway."
After saying goodbye to a few stray dogs, Cui Xiao walked straight ahead.
However, with Zhou Mubin there, how could he let her leave like that? He grabbed Cui Xiao's wrist and threw her into the car.
"I'll take you home."
Cui Xiao, unusually, did not resist. "I don't want to go home, take me to a hotel."
Zhou Mubin placed his hands on the steering wheel, looking puzzled. "Why aren't we going home?"
Cui Xiao looked out the window, her tone cold, "I don't want to go back."
Zhou Mubin frowned, perhaps thinking of something, and without asking any further questions, he drove away.
The car stopped downstairs at the hotel. Cui Xiao got out of the car, paused in her steps, and glanced at Zhou Mubin's profile out of the corner of her eye.
He was looking at her, staring at her intently.
But only for a moment, and Cui Xiao picked up her feet and strode forward again.
Zhou Mubin got into his car after seeing her go upstairs.
As soon as I turned the corner, my phone started vibrating incessantly, with the words "Sun Lu" flashing on the screen.
He frowned. This was the fifth call Sun Lu had made in half an hour. He had deliberately put the phone on silent when he was feeding the stray dogs with Cui Xiao earlier, but the vibration was making him annoyed. When he answered, his tone was filled with undisguised impatience. "Speak."
Sun Lu, on the other end of the phone, seemed to have grasped a lifeline, her voice trembling, "Attorney Zhou, you finally answered the phone. Please come back quickly, the client in that loan dispute case in Chengnan has come to the firm, saying that we didn't help him get all the money back, and now he wants a refund of the lawyer's fees. He's even blocking Attorney Qiao's office door, saying that he won't let Attorney Qiao leave work today unless the money is refunded."
"knew."
Zhou Mubin responded in a deep voice, hung up the phone, and then sharply turned the steering wheel. The car made a clean turn at the intersection and sped off towards the law firm.
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in the parking lot downstairs from the law firm. As soon as I entered the lobby, I heard a noisy argument.
The young receptionist stood helplessly to one side, while several middle-aged men in coarse cloth coats were arguing with Attorney Qiao, and several documents were scattered on the ground.
“You promised you could get my 800,000 back, but you only got 500,000. The remaining 300,000 is gone. Why are you charging me 100,000 in legal fees?”
The man in the lead had the loudest voice. He slammed the contract on the reception table, saying, "You have to refund me 50,000 yuan today, or I'm not leaving."
Attorney Qiao's face flushed red as he tried to explain, "The contract we signed clearly states that attorney fees are charged as a percentage of the amount in dispute. Regardless of the final amount recovered, the attorney fees remain fixed. Moreover, the other party truly has no assets available for execution. We have done our best to find clues to the assets he transferred and helped you recover an additional 100,000 yuan. You can't be unreasonable."
"I don't care about any contract, all I know is that I didn't receive the full payment." The man said stubbornly, and the two men behind him echoed him, causing a brief commotion.
At this moment, Zhou Mubin strode over and asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange sense of intimidation.
The troublemakers paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.
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