Qian Tong was on the verge of death
Playing the victim requires capital. If you're not miserable enough, where does the misery come from to play the victim? If others don't see the misery, why would they think you're playing the victim? The fact that you can play the victim means that it's meant to have that effect.
Li Chengjian made it clear that he would stand by Wen Dai's side and proposed a plan similar to Lai's father's—to hire a lawyer for Wen Dai. However, owing one person too many favors was not as good as spreading them out, so she ultimately chose to politely decline.
"You're a thoughtful girl, but with your experiences, you wouldn't be able to do it without being thoughtful. I admire you for being able to handle so many things on your own."
Contrary to Wen Dai's expectations, she originally thought Li Chengjian would dislike her actions, but she agreed to help because of Li Qingyu. Unexpectedly, Li Chengjian actually expressed his appreciation for her.
The man crossed his arms, leaned back on the sofa, and stared at Wen Dai with a solemn face when he wasn't smiling. "You got here by accident. Remember the person who contacted you for me? His name is Dong Ming. He's a high-ranking official in the central government. His wife and father-in-law are both influential figures in the central government. He currently has evidence against Sun Ping."
“We’ve been investigating these people for a long time. Sun Ping is Long Fangqi’s confidant. We can’t rush to find them. They’re like beads strung together on a thread. If you find one bead, you can’t just grab it. The others will know to roll away.” Li Chengjian raised his hands and hovered them in the air, demonstrating the action to Wen Dai.
“Dong Ming and I are old friends. We don’t intend to tolerate corruption within our region, but some things are destined not to be exposed too soon. Your arrival was both a stroke of luck and provided us with new evidence. The long line we’ve cast out is ready to catch the big fish.”
It's true that people are in high spirits when they have a happy occasion. Wen Dai was more relaxed when she came down from the second floor than when she came up. She could even take a happy step, and her dimples showed faint traces.
The main reason Wen Dai was oblivious to the others was that she was engrossed in thinking about how she could exonerate her parents, but the others seemed intent on waking her from her reverie—
"Your smile is stupid."
Who usually makes those irritating remarks?
As soon as she stepped onto the ground floor, Wen Dai instinctively turned her head toward the source of the sound. What came into her view was Chen Sizhe, wearing a work jacket. The man, who had taken off his suit and let down his slicked-back hair, looked quite like the kind of cool and aloof young man that many wealthy women longed for.
so……
She turned a corner and walked up to Chen Sizhe, raised her hand in a greeting gesture, and said in a good mood, "Hi, little dog."
Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the "puppy," Chen Sizhe frowned. He took a step back, his chin seemingly raised even higher, and his scrutinizing gaze swept over Wen Dai, whose face was covered in an innocent expression. He smirked, "Are you having an episode?"
The curse that had been rising in her throat almost burst out, but Wen Dai suddenly realized that she hadn't thought things through and had called him a dog first. Luckily, she hadn't called him a "little wolfhound," or she would probably have been framed by this guy again.
"Why are you here too?" This was Wen Dai, who was preparing for a friendly exchange.
"What? You're the only one allowed to come, but I'm not? You're pretty domineering." This was Chen Sizhe's sarcastic remark.
As the man parted his lips, his droopy eyelids lifted slightly. To be fair, the languid charm he exuded was indeed alluring. But Wen Dai only sensed snobbery.
She rolled her eyes at her business partner and said with a forced smile, "Did I say that? Don't let your imagination run wild, Attorney Chen."
After being rebuffed, Chen Sizhe finally changed the subject, saying, "You seem to be in a good mood... Did you manage to close the deal?" He tilted his head, and as he raised one eyebrow, his fox-like eyes lazily lifted their eyelashes, their dark pupils reflecting her.
With a triumphant and beaming smile, Wen Dai couldn't contain her joy at the initial victory. She imitated him, twitching one eyebrow, raising her chin, and giving a slightly arrogant "hmm."
If I had to find a general word to describe her right now, it would probably be—tsundere.
Someone's cuteness was unknowingly touched.
"Oh, and I have more good news for you." His Adam's apple bobbed noticeably, though he tilted his head slightly. Chen Sizhe said slowly, "My parents have information on the collusion between Sun Ping and Peng Zheng, but above them is—Long Fangqi. You should know that, right?"
This is no longer as simple as someone bringing you a pillow when you're just dozing off.
It was almost as if God was feeding her cakes.
"What information about collusion?"
“Going back quite far, to twelve years ago, they all had dealings with a man named He Shaoyang. I guess it’s related to your family’s matter. He Shaoyang used to be a capable assistant to the owner of Nanxi Chemical Plant. He currently runs his own porcelain slab shop. My parents found him and contacted him through connections, but I won’t go into details.”
Chen Sizhe glanced at the person who had involuntarily moved closer to him out of curiosity, and he subtly moved back a little.
"In short, he broke with Qian Fei, the owner of the chemical plant, because of a conflict, and now the porcelain shop is also completely broke. He is short of money, very short of money, because his mother has uremia, his father has been paralyzed in bed for several years due to a stroke, his child has been diagnosed with leukemia and also has asthma; his wife passed away six or seven years ago due to leukemia and lung cancer, and during that time his wife also suffered a stroke and became paralyzed."
A series of illnesses stunned Wen Dai. What circumstances could cause all of a person's closest relatives to suffer from incurable diseases? Even as a top disciple, Wen Dai didn't believe that past actions were the cause of this retribution.
The idea that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished is just empty talk. It's merely self-consolation.
"Doesn't he have any illnesses himself?" Realizing the ambiguity of her words after posing the question, Wen Dai quickly added, "I didn't mean to curse him with illness."
Fortunately, Chen Sizhe wasn't the type to nitpick over language. In his glance, he seemed more puzzled by her attempt to add explanations.
"Of course he is; he also has lung cancer. It is precisely because he has lung cancer and is in dire need of money that he is willing to be a witness."
Wen Dai now deeply understands a truth: things that money can solve are really not problems.
She clenched her fists, her two dark eyes like gems set in their sockets, clear and bright, revealing hope and joy. She leaned forward slightly. "How much money does he need? Leaving aside the lawyer fees for you and the money for gifts for the others who helped me, I can provide up to five million."
In return, she received a furrowed brow from Chen Sizhe. The man slightly raised his chin, his tone revealing a hint of disdain: "You seem to have a good grasp of things. Have you set aside some living expenses for yourself? Or are you planning to empty your family's coffers just by overturning a case? My parents have already taken care of the money issue; you won't have a chance to interfere."
"This won't do..."
As if he had anticipated Wen Dai's response, Chen Sizhe crossed his arms, tilted his head, and calmly looked down at her, interrupting, "Why not? My father is a man of great loyalty. His former friend was murdered, and the killer is still at large. It only costs a little over ten million to get a key figure in the case to turn against him and become a witness. Why not? Ten million is nothing to my father. He can earn it back in a day."
"For you, to live on dew and the northwest wind in the future, do I really need to teach you the principle of living within your means?"
Seemingly noticing the struggle in Wen Dai's brows, Chen Sizhe paused for a moment before continuing to speak: "Don't feel embarrassed. If my father had found you when you were young and knew about this, he would not only have paid to help your parents overturn the case, but he would have also raised you."
He had thought that these few words of his had been quite lengthy and tedious, which would have relieved Wen Dai of some of her psychological burden. But to his surprise, Wen Dai just raised her chin and looked at him with hazy eyes, as if she was looking at him, or as if she was looking at something else.
For many years, I've kept everything on my mind all by myself—not just carrying it, but keeping it inside; I couldn't keep it all inside, so I could only keep it inside, doing my best to keep it inside.
Even with her eyes stinging, she still had to hold back her tears. The painful past was the past; she had come through it all and was now in the present, and she didn't want to relive the past suffering.
She used to think her hobbies were far away, but everything she had was taken away, leaving her alone. The world didn't love her, and fate, under the pretext of tempering her, stifled her youth. The ten-year-old girl skipped the most intense stage of growth in her life and fell into the territory of maturity.
Now, the world suddenly loves her and tells her—look, you can be loved, and there will be people willing to catch you almost unconditionally.
What an absurd farce.
The important characters only appeared when she was about to make it big.
The person who had been forcing a smile couldn't manage one; they knew they should smile, but still didn't want to. Wen Dai irritably raised her hands to cover her head, scratching them with her fingers as she thought about how to respond to Chen Sizhe's words.
She lowered her chin and chuckled twice, saying, "Haha, you're so straightforward. It's so nice to be rich."
Some of the sounds were hoarse, and the characters stuck together formed sentences.
Her strange behavior was obvious, and Chen Sizhe remained silent for a moment.
He couldn't fathom what she was thinking.
"Going back? It's too noisy here."
Seemingly finding his own words a bit too dry, similar to Wen Dai's earlier statement, Chen Sizhe added, "There's a famous dessert shop in Changhai District. My mom specifically sent someone to buy some. Would you like to buy some? I can reluctantly do it on my way."
The person being questioned didn't back down. Wen Dai turned around, nodded twice, and then shook her head listlessly. "Let's go back. I won't go to the dessert shop. I don't have any money. I'm the kind of person who would empty my pockets to overturn a case and then have to live on dew and the northwest wind."
...The resentment was quite strong.
"Ha." A very low, breathy laugh escaped from her lips, and a hint of amusement spread across Chen Sizhe's eyes, his fox-like eyes finally losing their sharpness. He followed behind her, glancing sideways to catch a glimpse of her face.
She usually doesn't care much about her image when it comes to dressing. Her hair is only styled occasionally, and she usually does whatever makes her comfortable. Her most frequent outfit is a casually pulled low ponytail. She always dresses casually and relies on her figure to carry the show.
With one hand in his pocket, relying on his 1.9-meter height and long legs, he easily overtook Wen Dai, stretched out his arm to open the door for her to go out first, and said leisurely as she passed in front of him, "You don't need to spend any money, consider it a friendly subsidy from me to my partner. Even if an ordinary friend is short of money, I will provide basic support. Going to the dessert shop is my way of supporting your dopamine release."
Stepping outside, I was greeted by a cold wind. My eyes weren't sore anymore, but it was still difficult to open them because the sunlight was blinding.
Wen Dai raised her hand slightly and rested it on her brow. She snorted and replied, "Do you want it back?"
That's really cunning.
"Need not."
People who have been independent for too long are prone to common problems, but it cannot be ruled out that some people are not. In any case, Wen Dai is one of them.
She wanted to accept his kindness and sincerely thank him, but her mouth had its own thoughts: "It's fine if you don't have to pay it back. After all, I can hardly not suspect that you'll add interest to the loan. Who knows who's better, the loan shark or you?"
The bickering started again, and they were still arguing even as they got into the car and fastened their seatbelts.
But the vibrating phone in Wen Dai's coat pocket prompted her to request to leave the room first. She took out her phone, and after seeing that the caller was Qian Yan, she straightened up and swiped to answer the call.
"Sister, sister, please help me one more time, Xiaotong, Xiaotong suddenly passed away..." The voice trembled with sobs, making Wen Dai's heart tremble as well.
Without hesitation, she said, "Sister Qian Yan, calm down and tell me where you are. I'll head over right now."
The other party provided the address, which was a hospital in Feng'an District, near Nanguang District.
The destination was changed urgently. Wen Dai turned on the speakerphone, and Chen Sizhe naturally heard the conversation. His actions were no longer ambiguous. He started the engine, turned the steering wheel, and stepped on the gas in one smooth motion, saying concisely: "Turn on navigation."
As Wen Dai's heart pounded, she realized her fingers were trembling violently as she scrolled through her phone looking for navigation apps.
She frantically opened the navigation app and found the location Qian Yan had just described. She didn't rely on the car's built-in navigation system—at a time like this, no one had the mind to study the car's navigation; the closest thing to her was her phone, and the phone she was most familiar with was also her phone.
Inside the car, only the AI voice of the navigation software could be heard. Wen Dai's body was tense and trembling. She gripped the fabric of her clothes spread on her lap tightly with both hands. Her blank mind was unusually devoid of thought—incapable of thinking at all.
She looked out the car window and saw traffic flowing by as they entered the wide road.
The sunlight was still blinding, even more blinding. But she couldn't close her eyes, nor could she raise her hands, for she couldn't even lift them.
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