I feel dignified standing in front of him.
A sweet aroma filled the air, and on the coffee table lay delicate cookies and macarons on a plate.
Next to the plate were several cups of black tea with a thin layer of steam rising from them.
Wearing baking gloves, Lai's mother carried a tray over. Her eyes curved gently as she smiled and said, "Oh, I didn't expect you to come so early. Wenyi told me yesterday that you were coming today, and her father and I were very happy. We were thinking that we would definitely get up early today to make our best desserts to welcome you... but I didn't expect that I wasn't early enough, and you arrived just as I was making the desserts."
"No, no, it's me who's bothering you. I only mentioned wanting to visit today so late at night." Wen Dai got up from the sofa and bowed apologetically.
Sitting beside her, Lai Wenyi took her hand and pulled her back to sit down. That night, on WeChat, Wen Dai had already told her the purpose of her visit and recounted her past.
Lai Wenyi easily encircled her wrist with a few fingers, the pad of her thumb brushing against the protruding bone in her wrist, her sigh filled with heartache.
“Don’t be so polite. You’ve helped our family with something very important, even risking your life. If you need help, our family will do everything we can. The fact that you only contacted us close to midnight shows how urgent and important the matter is. You see, if we asked you for help in the middle of the night, would you come? You would, wouldn’t you?”
Somewhat confused, Lai's mother, her hands covered in baking gloves, hung limply in the air. She leaned forward slightly, raised one eyebrow, and asked hesitantly, "What...what are you talking about? Xiao Dai, is there anything we can help you with? What happened?" The gentleness in her voice was easily discernible, and her tone gradually softened.
After Lai's mother returned from taking off her baking gloves, Wen Dai briefly summarized her situation again. She didn't intend to portray herself as pitiful; there was no need to label her as "playing the victim." She was simply stating the facts, though the description sounded rather heavy.
“I don’t have any resources to fight them, but luckily I met someone who was willing to support me. I think my only connections are my clients, so I feel a bit confused about this situation… but I have no choice but to do it.”
Wen Dai's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if they were about to come together; her eyes were dry, as if they would never shed a tear.
Hearing this, Lai's mother still had her hand on her chest, sighing repeatedly and patting her chest with her palm. She gently shook her forehead and said, "This world is still so chaotic, it's been like this for so many years. Wenyi's father had some business a couple of days ago, he should be back by noon today, you'll have to wait a little longer. Have some biscuits first, with some black tea."
It was past 1 p.m. when Lai's father returned, and the story was told for the third time.
The empty teacup was placed back on the coffee table. Feeling her throat was parched, Wen Dai licked her lips and turned her gaze to Lai's father.
The man who caught her eye had his hands crossed on his lap, leaning forward, and the solemnity in his eyes was even greater than that of Wen Dai, who had personally experienced the situation.
After a long silence, he let out a long sigh. "I'll take you there this afternoon to restart the retrial process, right? I'll file a case for you. It's just that the arbitration institution is still a problem... Let's not worry about that for now, we'll take it one step at a time. In any case, I'll help you with starting the retrial process."
One of the heavy stones in her heart was lifted, and Wen Dai smiled knowingly, secretly praying for things to go smoothly.
Wen Dai went home briefly and took out the original judgment. Besides providing the case number, the names of the parties involved, and the original court, she also shared two video files with Lai's father.
It was at the request of Qian Yan and Cui Lin that the videos were filmed. Both videos contain their accounts of the past, and Cui Lin mentions being threatened to keep quiet.
The first video was filmed by Qian Yan sitting at a table, and the beginning shows her adjusting her phone.
The woman seemed a little flustered, sitting upright, her hands constantly scratching the fabric of her trousers. "Back then, I was a nanny for a family in Huayuan. As usual, I was preparing to go to the villa at four o'clock in the afternoon to cook dinner when I saw a person with their head down, whose face I couldn't see, come out of Wen Dai's house..."
“At that time, I didn’t know it was Wen Dai’s house, but later I found out that the villa was on fire. I only met Wen Dai a few years ago. If you don’t believe me, you can go and check. I am willing to take legal responsibility for what I say, and I am willing to appear in court as Wen Dai’s witness.”
In the second video, Cui Lin's filming technique was obviously much better. It was probably timed filming. After playing it, she paused for a moment and then began to narrate: "Counting from this year, it should be twelve years ago. I was a full-time mother."
“I witnessed the fire that day with my own eyes. I also know that a person wearing dark clothes went in and out of the house. He was thin, of medium height, and wearing a hat... the hood of a hoodie. I didn’t see his face.”
"The reason I remember it so clearly is because I feel guilty. After that incident, people came to threaten us, and not just us. I'm a cowardly woman, call me selfish if you want, but my first priority was to protect my family. Besides, what good would it do to speak out? It would only bring trouble upon myself. In those days, it was so easy for powerful people to kill an entire family, otherwise this case wouldn't have been hastily classified as an accident."
"After all, Xiao Dai's father was the deputy manager of the water department back then, and he was always upright; her mother was a chemistry teacher. If she couldn't even smell the gas, ha..." The woman in the video lowered her eyelashes, and a faint sneer appeared on her lips as they were pulled.
Then she raised her eyes and said seriously, "I am willing to take legal responsibility for my words, and I am also willing to appear in court as a witness for Wen Dai."
Things gradually became serious. There was no lighthearted expression on Lai's father's face; each of his features held its own thoughts.
When Lai's father dropped Wen Dai off at her apartment building, he looked at her as she was about to get out of the car and called out to her as the car door opened, "As for lawyers, if you don't have a suitable candidate, I can help you find one; if you want to find one yourself, that's fine too, but I'm afraid most lawyers won't take the job."
Wen Dai, who had already stepped out with one leg, turned her head. She blinked and knew perfectly well that Lai's father meant well, but the idea of having to take advantage of someone else was really unbearable for her.
Her guilty conscience made her decline: "I know that my partner is actually a lawyer. I'll ask him if I need anything. Thank you for thinking of me, Uncle."
"If you need anything, just let me know. If you're too embarrassed to contact me directly, just talk to Wenyi. Don't be shy." After giving Wen Dai a few more instructions, Lai's father watched her leave, his complex emotions swirling up through the car window as he gazed at her retreating figure as she walked into the building.
After taking a shower, her body was exhausted. Wen Dai felt as if she had no hunger or fullness left. She washed up and went back to her bedroom. When she got to the bed, she just collapsed onto it.
Buried in the fragrant blankets, she didn't even want to lift her head. Her anxious heart made her unable and unwilling to do anything.
The day I had been looking forward to finally arrived was terrifying, making me want to back away, and I couldn't help but think about the worst-case scenario.
The phone was retrieved and used to allow her to post a message on her WeChat Moments saying, "No live stream or orders today."
She buried herself under the covers again, but then the thought of finding a lawyer came back to her. A lawyer was essential, but who should she choose? The ideal candidate was somewhere far away, yet right there in her phone.
Too lazy to ask, or perhaps unsure how to bring it up, Wen Dai cowardly chose to run away.
She turned her face to the side, pressing it against the blanket, and murmured to herself, "I'll text him in a little while, I'll rest now; I'll ask him later..."
In reality, this "short while" is an hour and a half.
And it was Chen Sizhe who called her.
The curtains weren't fully drawn, leaving half the room exposed, letting in the darkness of the night. The room was dark and gloomy.
She lay there for an hour and a half, and her neck and face ached. She hissed as she propped herself up to sit up, grabbed her phone, and casually pressed the answer button.
What happened?
The question that rang out was very direct, delivered in a deep, crisp voice.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Wen Dai tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear with one hand and held her phone up to her face with the other, watching the call time gradually change on the screen. As if her reason had been taken away, she asked cheekily, "What, you're concerned about me?"
I feel like slapping myself for saying it. I clearly needed something from them, and they just happened to call me, but I had to show off my verbal arrogance.
But the response from the other end caused her brain's CPU to overheat—
After a moment of silence, Xiaoxi finally answered, saying, "What else?"
My heart sank for a moment, stuck in my throat, and the jokes I wanted to play with him vanished.
Wen Dai felt as if she had choked on her breath. It seemed like only a short while had passed, perhaps not even as long as a commercial on a TV, but she could clearly feel her heart, which had gone from a state of deathly stillness, bursting with life.
The pounding of her heart made Wen Dai realize that the idiom "heart pounding like a drum" was not just a made-up story.
"Why do you care about me? It's so strange. You wouldn't happen to have feelings for me, would you? Wow, Chen Sizhe, you're so scary! A good horse doesn't eat the grass it already grazed, and a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow. You're not human!" Her mouth, which was out of control, spewed out nonsensical words. Wen Dai knew that her language system was messed up, and her sense of frustration was even greater.
Before Chen Sizhe could answer, she apologized again: "I'm sorry."
Then there was silence again, both on this end of the phone and on the other end.
This scoundrel of a man rarely acted like a dog; his voice was incredibly gentle, enough to kill Wen Dai—
"What happened? Hmm?"
"Your voice is so beautiful." I have something I'd like to ask you.
It had a slight hint of its usual harshness, but unfortunately, it softened again: "...Don't keep things bottled up inside. Our partnership hasn't ended. I personally feel obligated to help my partner manage her emotions. After all, if she slacks off at work because of her emotions, I'll suffer a loss."
She opened her mouth.
What should I say? I should say—I have a favor to ask of you, could you be my defense lawyer?
I can't bring myself to say it.
She raised her hand and placed it on the top of her head, as if to scratch. Wen Dai felt a lump in her throat, not from feeling wronged, but from thinking that she was useless, that she looked down on herself, and that she was clinging to her dignity when she shouldn't have it.
She is clearly someone who has long lost her dignity and should never have had any dignity. How many times has she shamelessly done this?
When she was using her cunning to get Chen's parents to work for her, she wasn't like this. She had long since abandoned her dignity time and time again. How many times had she played the victim? So why did she always try to be strong and proud in front of him, refusing to bow her head?
She didn't speak, and the other end remained silent. The call wasn't disconnected; he was waiting for her.
The light from the screen was soft, falling on her face. Unaware of her own appearance, a few tears welled up in her moist eyes.
Things are probably going to get very bad.
"I want..." But the words didn't come out of her throat. Wen Dai reached out with her other hand to grab the blanket, scratching it with her nails.
She used other conversations to buy herself time to prepare herself mentally: "Today, Uncle Lai and I submitted the materials. He said he would help me restart the retrial and also told me to find a capable lawyer as soon as possible. Sister Qian Yan and Aunt Cui Lin both recorded videos as witnesses, and they are willing to attend the court hearing."
"I sometimes feel pretty useless."
"Before things really started, I made myself appear so brave and indestructible. Now that things are about to begin, I'm afraid the outcome won't be what I want; afraid the truth will never come to light; afraid all my efforts and sacrifices will be in vain; afraid that those people will still be able to cover up the truth and then crush me and those who are willing to help me."
"To dare to do something but not to face the consequences is ridiculous."
The sob slowly emerged, and Wen Dai's tears flowed unknowingly down her face, a wetness colliding with the brightness in the air, dry and cold.
Perhaps scheming had long been a subconscious weapon in her mind. Chen Sizhe's next words suited her: "I can be your defense lawyer. I have handled some criminal cases in previous years. I believe I am capable. No matter what industry you are in, it all comes down to talent and experience. I believe my talent and professionalism are sufficient."
"But if you have other ideas, I can introduce you to a criminal lawyer. She is very capable, but she is not good at sophistry."
"The sophistry I'm referring to here isn't the negative sophistry defined in the conventional sense, where criminal lawyers can't do things that contradict facts and the law. It simply means that this lawyer isn't quick to exploit loopholes or attack the opposing lawyer's logical structure; they lack flexibility and tend to be a shield lawyer. What you need is a spear."
The voice from the receiver filled the room, echoing in her ears: "It depends on how you think about it. A shield formation can also be reliable, and its advantage lies in long-term legal maneuvering."
Chen Sizhe is probably only 27 years old this year. In terms of experience, he is certainly less than most partners and definitely not as experienced as the lawyer he mentioned.
But in the nearly one year they spent together, Wen Dai had actually developed an inexplicable trust in him, and... a subtle dependence on him.
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