Chapter 46
A single sentence brought Xu Wanyi back to reality.
This dimly lit environment, filled with decadent hormones, unknowingly drew her into the ambiguous atmosphere created by Li Ye's gaze, and only then did she remember what she had come here for.
She took a deep breath: "I've come to see Attorney Li to help me with some legal matters."
"Chairman Xu, please sit down. Since this is a legal matter, how can we talk without sitting down?" Zhuang Ke seemed to have sobered up a bit and started shouting again.
Xu Wanyi glanced around and saw that it was a four-person booth. If she wanted to sit, she could only sit next to Li Ye. She was there to ask someone for help, and she was afraid that deliberately choosing a chair would make Li Ye lose his temper on the spot, which would destroy her last remaining hope.
So she stopped being coy and sat down next to Li Ye.
Li Ye had been watching her the whole time, but when she sat down, instead of moving up to her, he moved closer.
A smell of alcohol mixed with a familiar fragrance entered her nostrils. Xu Wanyi quickly placed her bag between the two of them, unsure whether she was afraid of Li Ye or afraid that she might do something outrageous.
Li Yeren was still a little confused. Some time ago, she had been thinking about getting back together with Xu Wanyi, but unfortunately, her feelings were unrequited. Xu Wanyi's rejection was obvious, but she still ordered her around, keeping her at arm's length, which made her feel somewhat depressed.
Today, because she went out drinking with Zhuang Ke, she had no intention of restraining herself and wanted to drown her sorrows in alcohol. She had already drunk an unknown amount.
Zhuang Ke and Xiang Nuo knew she was upset, so they didn't try to comfort her. One of them drank with her while the other didn't drink at all and was responsible for seeing people off.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Zhuang Ke, for some unknown reason, said this and ran off in a flash.
Li Ye glanced at Xu Wanyi's bag, and even though he was drunk, he understood what she meant. So, he stopped trying to make a fool of himself, shrank further into the booth, and took a sip of his drink. Xu Wanyi, on the other hand, sat there stiffly, her back ramrod straight.
Xiang Nuo watched the scene with great interest, and then suddenly said, "Attorney Li, the person who said he wasn't coming is walking this way."
They had just sat down when two women arrived uninvited, each carrying a bottle of wine, insisting on drinking with the three of them. After they finished their drinks, one invited Xiang Nuo to their table, and the other invited Li Ye to their table, leaving Zhuang Ke standing to the side.
These people are so clueless; they can't tell which of the three has the sharpest tongue, or who's the one who's all talk tonight. Then Zhuang Ke simply turned Xiang Nuo's face towards him and kissed him without a word, leaving the other two looking at each other in bewilderment.
The person who had invited Xiang Nuo understood and calmly smiled, "Ida, it seems you're the only one left with hope tonight. Keep up the good work, I'm leaving now." He then tactfully withdrew.
The remaining lady, Ida, plopped down in the seat where Xu Wanyi was sitting, and instead of inviting Li Ye to their table, she insisted on sitting there and offering him a drink.
Li Ye didn't say anything. Anyway, someone bought wine for her and Zhuang Ke, so she might as well drink it. She figured that once this person realized they weren't getting anything out of her, they would leave on their own. She knew these kinds of people quite well; they had clear goals and would leave immediately once they realized there was no hope.
And indeed, after his eighth drink, Ida finally couldn't sit still any longer and returned to his table dejectedly. It seems she hadn't given up and was still hoping to get away with it.
Unfortunately, just as she reached this side, she was shocked to find someone sitting next to Li Ye. Unable to retreat or advance, she happened to run into Zhuang Ke, who had returned from who-knows-where.
"Oh, Ms. Ida is here again. This time, unfortunately, our handsome young lady's girlfriend is here. Look at this one. Now you know why she didn't leave with you." Zhuang Ke teased Li Ye to the extreme, while also testing Xu Wanyi's tolerance.
Ida glanced at the woman beside her and saw that she was a stunning beauty. Her features were striking yet delicate, and her clothes were all luxury items. She sat there like a work of art, exuding an aura that seemed somewhat out of place. Her eyes, however, held little emotion, as deep as the ocean, and her thin lips were tightly closed.
Upon seeing this, Ida felt a chill. "I didn't expect Attorney Li to be married. I won't bother you then."
After saying that, he turned and left, as if he couldn't leave if he didn't.
Xu Wanyi didn't refute this time. She just quietly watched the man's back, recalling some old memories. But before she could think about it further, the waiter came over with two bottles of wine.
"Hello, guests, here is the xx wine you ordered."
The other three took one look and realized that this was a well-known fine liquor, possibly one of the best vodkas in the bar, extremely strong and pure.
Is one bottle... a bit... too much? Li Ye looked at Zhuang Ke, who had shrunk back behind Xiang Nuo, with a puzzled expression.
Zhuang Ke smiled mysteriously at her, giving her a look that said, "You'll understand in a moment."
She sat up, picked up an empty glass, and poured herself a full glass.
“Mr. Xu, it’s been a long time since we last met. Since we’re at a bar, you’ll surely do me the honor of drinking this, right?” Hearing this, Li Ye understood what Zhuang Ke was planning.
Xu Wanyi can't drink at all. In the past, when they went out, Li Ye would drink most of the alcohol for her.
Zhuang Ke looked at Xu Wanyi with a smug smile, as if to say, "Since you two are no longer together, you have no reason to let Li Ye drink for you. You can drink it yourself!"
Otherwise you won't know how good the person next to you is.
Xu Wanyi looked at the glass of wine and asked, "You mean, we can talk business after drinking this?"
Zhuang Ke nodded, but Li Ye remained silent.
She picked up her glass and downed it in one gulp. Li Ye was horrified; given Xu Wanyi's alcohol tolerance and the way she drank, she would be passed out before even leaving the bar.
"Alright, let's get down to business now." She wiped her mouth with a tissue, her eyes darting around, and said calmly.
Li Ye was still feeling dizzy, but after all that commotion, he had sobered up considerably.
"You really want to talk business with me?" She was somewhat skeptical. What business could be so urgent that it had to be discussed in a bar?
“Yes.” Xu Wanyi glanced indifferently at the wine glass. “I want you to find the people from the Yuzhou Economic Investigation Department and arrange for them to investigate that company.”
Li Ye's heart skipped a beat; he now understood why she had come to find him personally, and in such a hurry. His expression, however, remained flawless; instead, he smiled. For some reason, Xu Wanyi inexplicably felt a hint of melancholy and resolve in Li Ye's smile.
Xu Wanyi really doesn't care about past feelings at all. She gave us that evidence so subtly last time, and Li Ye didn't believe she didn't understand. Now she's making such a request. She really is heartless.
She thought for a long time and came up with this word.
"Yuzhou Economic Investigation Department?" Xiang Nuo, who had been watching the show for a long time, suddenly blurted out a sentence, and Zhuang Ke also suddenly sat up straight with a "thump".
"Report it to the police."
Before Li Ye and Xu Wanyi could ask any further questions, and before Xiang Nuo could say anything more, Zhuang Ke spoke up first: "Chairman Xu, drink this bottle of wine. If you can finish it, considering your kindness in treating me to dinner at the airport last time, I'll help you find the Yuzhou Economic Investigation Bureau."
Xu Wanyi stared at Zhuang Ke in astonishment. She had come to ask Li Ye for help because she knew that Li Ye had some unorthodox methods. Could it be that Li Ye's unorthodox methods were Zhuang Ke, a university teacher?
She looked at Zhuang Ke with a puzzled and uncertain expression.
Zhuang Ke looked confident and glanced across at the other side. Suddenly, he saw Li Ye looking at him sternly, so he changed his mind and said, "Half a bottle. After you finish half a bottle, I'll help you find one."
Actually, Li Ye was thinking, "Airport? What airport?" She didn't know that Zhuang Ke and Xu Wanyi had met before. But in Zhuang Ke's eyes, it turned into "a stern look."
After changing her mind, Zhuang Ke was indignant and grumbling in her heart, "Can't you change your infatuated ways and always think about Xu Wanyi?"
When Li Ye heard Zhuang Ke say that Xu Wanyi should finish a bottle, he really thought that with Xu Wanyi's alcohol tolerance, if she finished this bottle, she would either die or be hospitalized.
"Why should I believe you?" Xu Wanyi asked slowly, holding her cup in her hand.
"See this person next to me? Xiang Nuo, the presiding judge of the Second Civil Division of the Yuzhou Intermediate People's Court, her own brother, ah, her own brother, ah, he's in the Yuzhou Economic Investigation Department." Zhuang Ke's tongue was swollen, and he stammered as he spoke.
Xiang Nuo wanted to stop Zhuang Ke, as such unrestrained speech was not a good thing. Working in a government agency now, the most important thing is to be discreet, discreet, and even more discreet.
But Zhuang Ke had already told her about the twists and turns that Li Ye and Xu Wanyi had gone through back then. She also thought about how she and her older brother, although one was a judge and the other was a policeman, were absolutely upright and honest, and had nothing to fear.
Besides, if this Miss Xu really wanted to do something illegal or criminal, he could just refuse. So he simply let Zhuang Ke show off his wife.
"Are you sure?" Xu Wanyi still looked unconvinced.
Li Ye only learned today that Xiang Nuo's brother works in the Economic Crime Investigation Department in Yuzhou. She glanced at Xiang Nuo and saw that she didn't deny anything, neither denying that her brother works in the Economic Crime Investigation Department in Yuzhou nor denying Zhuang Ke's suggestion.
Based on her understanding of Zhuang Ke, Li Ye could confirm that what Zhuang Ke said was true.
“It’s true, I can indeed find people from the Economic Investigation Department in Yuzhou.” Xiang Nuo could tell that Zhuang Ke wanted to help Li Ye vent his anger.
She learned the whole story from Zhuang Ke, and in fact, she was on Li Ye's side.
"So are you going to drink or not?" Zhuang Ke pressed aggressively, then continued, "As for you, Attorney Li, don't give me a word, don't meddle. You two are nothing now, just a simple client relationship. A client relationship is purely a money relationship, understand?"
"I don't need her help. But you'd better keep your word!" Xu Wanyi said coldly, then picked up the wine bottle and poured the wine directly into her mouth without hesitation.
Li Ye was stunned for a moment; this was not the Xu Wanyi she knew.
Xu Wanyi gulped down the bottle, quickly downing almost half of it. Li Ye finally couldn't take it anymore and snatched the bottle from her hand. Xu Wanyi's hand loosened, and her first thought was to speak to Zhuang Ke and Xiang Nuo: "I've already drunk the wine. You two remember that, remember that!"
Then her body went limp and she leaned against Li Ye, who could only catch her.
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