Chapter 19 Those two deserve...
When Xie Tang sat down at the breakfast table, Chu Song was already dressed and ready to go out.
He noticed her tired face and asked, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Xie Tang rubbed his dry eyes. "It's not that I didn't sleep well, it's just that, as you wished, I had 'good dreams' all night long, but they were a bit too long."
Chu Song smiled and said, "It seems it was my fault. I shouldn't have wished you 'sweet dreams'."
Xie Tang teased, "Then next time you can wish me a 'sleep well and dreamless night' instead."
"Okay." Chu Song replied, glancing at his watch—8:30—before sitting down on the sofa and swiping his long fingers across the iPad screen.
Xie Tang was somewhat surprised.
Aunt Yu brought her breakfast to the table and whispered, "Eat up, Ah Song is waiting for you."
"wait for me?"
"Ah Song just asked you how you've been getting to the law firm lately, and I said I've been taking taxis. I think he's offering you a ride since he's going that way."
Upon hearing this, Xie Tang, afraid of wasting his time, quickly began to wolf down his food.
Aunt Yu chuckled, "Slow down, it won't make a difference."
After quickly finishing her meal, Xie Tang picked up her bag and walked up to Chu Song, smiling slightly, "Brother Song, I'm done."
Chu Song hummed in agreement, put away his iPad, and went out with her.
The driver wasn't driving a Range Rover today; he was in a Rolls-Royce Phantom. After getting in the car, Chu Song fiddled with a black gold card and asked her, "Any cars in the garage that you like? I can drive one to work."
Xie Tang shook his head: "Those are all too valuable, what if they get damaged..."
She subconsciously felt that she couldn't afford that potential pressure.
Chu Song hesitated for a moment, then handed over the black gold card in his hand: "The password is my birthday."
Xie Tang smiled and politely declined, "No need, I have some money on hand..."
“During the agreement period, I will cover all your expenses, as clearly stated in black and white,” Chu Song said calmly.
"This..." The terms were indeed generous, but Xie Tang felt uneasy, as if she was taking advantage of him.
"Do you feel uncomfortable?" Chu Song smiled meaningfully when he saw her hesitation. "There's no need to feel burdened. In the days to come, there will be many areas where your cooperation will be needed. No matter what happens, just keep a calm mind."
Hearing this, Xie Tang's concerns dissipated, and she no longer declined, accepting the card: "Thank you, Brother Song."
The car came to a stop downstairs at the law firm.
As soon as Xie Tang got out of the car, she felt several surprised gazes from those around her, among which Yin Xi looked on in disbelief.
The phantom vanished in a cloud of dust, and the crowd dispersed.
Yin Xi then hurried over, her voice filled with barely suppressed shock: "My God... a Rolls-Royce Phantom?! Tell me, whose car is it? I've only ever seen it in movies! You actually got out of this car..."
Xie Tang pulled her into the building, casually making up an excuse: "A client."
"Which client is so extravagant?" Yin Xi asked suspiciously. "Could it be the party involved in that options case worth tens of millions?"
Xie Tang nodded in agreement: "Yes."
Yin Xi sighed dramatically, "I'm so envious I could cry my eyes out! When will my team be able to land a case this big? I should have chosen Attorney Li's team with you back then, one wrong step..."
Xie Tang patted her on the shoulder: "There will be bread."
As soon as I entered the law firm and made some tea, Li Zan came over and asked warmly, "Sister, have you had breakfast? I brought an extra one."
"I've already eaten." Xie Tang said without looking up, organizing yesterday's case files in her notebook.
Li Zan, with a soup dumpling in his mouth, slid back in his office chair and asked vaguely, "Sis, did you read the case analysis I sent out last night?"
"I've seen it." Xie Tang turned to look at him. "What do you think is the key evidence to overturn this case?"
Li Zan confidently stated, "We will obtain evidence proving that the stock options are joint property of the couple, thus overturning the other party's chain of evidence!"
Xie Tang raised an eyebrow: "Then what is your analysis? It's completely irrelevant."
Seeing him shrink back like a quail, she softened her tone, "You haven't been an intern for long, it's normal to be dealing with such a complex case for the first time. There are two key issues in this case: first, who is the actual grantee of the options? Second, does the profit after exercising the options belong to the joint property of the couple? We must focus our efforts on finding evidence and making arguments on these two points, otherwise we have no chance."
Li Zan suddenly realized: "I understand, sis! I'll go dig deeper right now!"
Xie Tang nodded and continued writing her legal analysis report.
Just as she was writing and feeling dizzy, Li Zan leaned close behind her in a low, anxious voice: "Sister, something terrible has happened! Ms. Mao Lan has come directly to our door..."
Xie Tang glanced at the time; it was 11:30, and she hadn't received any notification.
Mao Lan's sudden visit surprised her slightly.
"Take her to the meeting room," Xie Tang said as she deftly printed out the legal analysis report she had prepared.
In the reception room, Mao Lan leaned back in her chair, legs crossed.
Dressed in designer brands, her well-maintained skin and neat short hair made her look much younger than her actual age. However, her disdainful eyes, ambiguous smile, and arrogant aura made people hesitate to approach her.
Li Zan had experienced her temper firsthand; apart from her mother, Li Qing, few people could control her.
He silently served the coffee and stepped aside.
Xie Tang's first impression upon entering was that she resembled an aggressive hedgehog.
With a smile on her face, she calmly knocked on the door and went inside.
Mao Lan didn't even lift her eyelids, and went straight to the point: "I'm not seeing anyone, I'm just waiting for Li Qing."
Xie Tang was used to all kinds of clients and didn't take this arrogance to heart.
She sat down opposite Mao Lan, speaking gently and politely: "I'm sorry, teacher went to meet other clients and won't be back for a while..."
"It's alright, I have plenty of time to wait." Mao Lan turned her gaze to Li Zan, looking him up and down. "I saw you last time, you look familiar. What's your relationship with Li Qing?"
“Li Qing is my mother, and my name is Li Zan,” Li Zan replied politely.
"No wonder," Mao Lan replied, then lowered her head to play with her phone, leaving them standing aside.
In the quiet living room, only the faint sound of a phone screen swiping could be heard.
Li Zan tried to ease the tension: "Ms. Mao, it's lunchtime. Why don't we have lunch together while we wait?"
"I've already eaten." Mao Lan didn't even look up, coldly refusing, and continued playing Candy Crush, showing no intention of letting him leave.
Li Zan looked at Xie Tang helplessly.
Xie Tang smiled and said, "Hello, Ms. Mao, I am Xie Tang, a student of Professor Li Qing. I will be handling the follow-up to this case..."
"You?" Mao Lan abruptly looked up, interrupting her, her face full of displeasure. "How old are you? Li Qing dares to entrust such a big case to you? She may trust you, but I don't! I have to call her..."
He was about to dial a number.
Upon seeing this, Li Zan immediately sent a message to his mother.
Li Qing replied very quickly, with only five words: "If you need anything, contact Xie Tang."
Li Zan felt a little uneasy after reading the reply.
Mao Lan noticed that Xie Tang was still gesturing for her to leave, which fueled her anger. She slammed her phone on the table and confronted Xie Tang, saying, "You don't look that old. How many years have you been out of school? How many cases have you been involved in? How many have you won? How could Li Qing dare to entrust such an important case to you?"
Xie Tang's expression remained unchanged, and her smile was still sincere: "Ms. Mao, what do you think of my teacher's professional abilities?"
"Nonsense!" Mao Lan scoffed. "Why would I bother with her if I didn't trust her?"
“Since you trust the teacher’s professional abilities,” Xie Tang replied calmly, “why don’t you trust her judgment of people?”
Mao Lan's lips curled into a mocking smile: "You're quite the smooth talker..."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Xie Tang seized the opportunity and took control of the conversation, her tone sincere. "Actually, I personally admire you quite a bit."
"Admiration?" Mao Lan narrowed her eyes, her gaze scrutinizing, but her tone unconsciously softened. "Why?"
Xie Tang paused, her voice tinged with emotion: "You remind me of my mother... If she had a bit more of your resilience, she could probably have lived as freely and unrestrainedly as you."
That clearly hit the nail on the head.
Mao Lan's taut jawline relaxed, and she even pursed her lips slightly.
Flattery will get you everywhere.
Do you know how many people outside are calling me greedy?
Xie Tang shook his head, his gaze open and honest: "I only see you tirelessly protecting and fighting for your legal rights. Your daughter will definitely be proud of this."
"Oh?" Mao Lan's pride was boosted, and she was amused. She found the girl in front of her quite interesting, with a calm and composed demeanor, unlike the stereotypical lawyers she had encountered. "Li Qing told you that?"
“Teachers are very busy and don’t have time for these things,” Xie Tang continued. “Actually, you don’t need to care about what others say. Just stick to what you believe is right.”
Mao Lan remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief, as if a crack had appeared in her previously tense guard.
“I know this case will be tough, and I don’t really care that much about winning or losing,” she said in a lower voice, “but I just can’t swallow this pride…”
"I understand." Xie Tang gently pushed the coffee towards her. "A tree lives by its bark, and a person lives by their breath."
Mao Lan picked up her coffee and took a sip, as if she had opened a floodgate: "My ex-husband and I have such a long history. We met when we were 20, got married at 23, and had my daughter at 25. My work ability is no worse than his, but he made me quit my job and stay home as a full-time housewife, saying he would support me for the rest of my life..."
She gave a bitter smile, "I was bewitched and believed him. I was a liar for 14 years. And what was the result? He got involved with his assistant! And she even had a son with him!"
The old story was brought up again, and hatred swept in like a storm.
"I can't tolerate any nonsense! Divorce! He was in the wrong, so he readily gave me and my daughter ten million each."
"Men are all the same!" Mao Lan suddenly cursed.
"..." As the only male in the room, Li Zan pursed his lips and kept his eyes downcast.
"I only found out after we got divorced!" Mao Lan's anger suddenly escalated. "He deliberately concealed over 70 million yuan worth of stock options! No wonder he was so 'generous'! Turns out the bulk of it was hidden in the stocks! When I confronted him, that shameless woman argued that the options belonged to her, and my ex-husband was just holding them on her behalf. She said it had nothing to do with me and I wouldn't get a single penny!"
She glared at Xie Tang resentfully: "Do you think that's possible? What great contributions has a newly hired assistant made to the company? Why would the company give her such valuable stock options? They must have conspired to use nominee shareholding to transfer assets! Just to prevent me from getting any!"
Xie Tang nodded.
“Ever since then, that bitch has come to disgust me every few days! She calls me an old hag and says I can’t have a son…”
Mao Lan's chest heaved with anger. "I can't swallow this, so I'll sue my ex-husband! I have plenty of time and energy to fight them! Even if I don't get a single penny back, I'll make their lives a living hell! I'll let them know that I, Mao Lan, am not someone to be trifled with!"
"You did the right thing," Xie Tang said firmly. "People like that shouldn't be allowed to have it easy!"
Mao Lan, as if she had found a kindred spirit, slammed her hand on the table excitedly: "You also think I did nothing wrong, right! Those two scoundrels deserve their retribution!"
A note from the author:
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That's all for today's update. Goodnight!
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