Chapter 55 Career Fans and CP Fans
"Wesley, let's talk about the academic tool you want to make later. I have to call my ex-husband first."
As Kuang Jia finished her words, Li Yingxuan handed her the ringing cell phone. Meng Weishen nodded wisely and retreated to the windowsill of his office, leaning against the succulent potted plant, pretending to be a silent plant.
The lawyer, like a plant skilled at strangling, remained silent, yet always lurking at his client's side. He then handed over a recording pen, shaped like an ordinary signature pen. Following the lawyer's silent instructions, Kuang Jia pressed the hands-free button.
A hoarse man's voice came from the receiver: "Xiao Jia, I want to have a good chat with you. Let's make a deal first. No one is going to record this conversation today, and no one is going to tell the lawyer."
Kuang Jia fiddled with the recorder with a red light on it and said calmly, "Well, don't worry, Chen Tao. We've known each other for many years, and we still have some trust."
"Well, no one has known each other longer than us." The man smiled bitterly. "In fact, I've regretted it every day since the court hearing. Do we have to get a divorce? Are we both too impulsive? I've thought about it carefully. I still love you, and I don't want to divorce you."
Kuang Jia frowned as if she had swallowed a plate of flies. "Chen Tao, aren't you disgusting? You idiot, you still dare to mention 'love'? You love shit, you only love yourself."
"I know that incident... caused you a lot of harm. But we are still young and we will have children in the future. Let it go and move on."
"Don't mention that," Kuang Jia suddenly interrupted. The lawyer shook his head at her, signaling her to remain calm. "Think about it carefully. I asked you to stay by my bedside at the hospital. What were you doing?"
"I'm working out with a client and can't leave. It's a really important client, I'm not kidding."
Kuang Jia clenched the recorder in her hand, a red light flashing anxiously between her fingers. "You mean, you were 'exercising' with three female clients in the hotel? What kind of exercise requires stripping naked?"
The man hurriedly explained: "Oh, you really misunderstood. Nothing happened between me and them. The hotel's swimming pool is open to the public. We were practicing swimming in it..."
Kuang Jian said seriously, "Chen Tao, it's fine that you lied in court. But you can't even be honest with me in private. There's really no chance for us to be together."
A long silence fell on the other end of the line. Kuang Jia still hadn't turned off the recorder, gently stroking the dim red light, as if stroking the blood scab after a wound healed.
"I'm sorry, Xiaojia. It was my fault that day. I know I was wrong."
"Do you know what's wrong?"
"I shouldn't have lied to you. I was wrong."
"You've lied to me more than once. You even lied to me that your father had cancer back home and was in urgent need of money. That 'sister' who collected the money on your behalf wasn't actually your biological sister at all, right?"
Out of guilt or shame, the man almost begged, "Stop it, stop it. I know I was wrong. I was young and impulsive... I won't do it again. Please forgive me?"
"Impossible, Chen Tao." Kuang Jia gritted her teeth. "Your father is dreaming. You don't deserve to spend the rest of your life with that uncontrollable dick of yours. See you at the next court hearing. If you have any questions, contact my lawyer."
Kuang Jia hung up the phone, wiped her face vigorously, and buried her cheek in her palms. After a long while, she asked Li Yingxuan, "Lawyer Li, is this enough to prove that the other party has committed infidelity and transferred property?"
Li Yingxuan put away the recorder for her. "The source of the recording isn't very legal, so I'm not sure if the judge will accept it. But it can damage Chen Tao's impression in the judge's mind, and the judge's mind will tilt towards the weaker party."
"Okay. If you need any evidence before the next court session, feel free to contact me." Kuang Jia finally remembered Meng Weishen who was waiting. "Wesley, tell me about your product design ideas."
Meng Weishen's thoughts had already flown far away.
Looking out from the thirty-fourth floor, Chang'an Avenue below stretched as thin as a steel wire, its pavement gleaming sharp in the glaring sunlight. Rows of vehicles climbed over the wire, arriving at a bizarre world beyond: the houses looked not like houses, but like wine glasses, boxer shorts, and alien nests; the cars looked not like cars, but like shards of broken glass.
The thirty-fourth floor wasn't the maximum height he could reach. He remembered there was a restaurant on the eightieth floor of the China World Trade Center. He could come there with Jiang Ranxu next time...
The other party repeated: "Wesley?"
Meng Weishen finally pulled his thoughts back.
He quickly reported his tool development ideas and progress to Kuang Jia. He planned to create a research tool for the field of dentistry, with the idea of connecting academic databases to AI models and using AI to accurately search for papers and review opinions.
He worked on the technical part himself for half a month and had almost finished it. He just needed Kuang Jia to test the preliminary results and help with some suggestions for function optimization.
"Where do you get your private work?" Kuang Jia asked. "Is it just in the dental field? That seems too narrow of an audience. I'm afraid the product won't have much profit value."
Meng Weishen said frankly, "This isn't a product meant to be profitable. It's a special gift for my... how should I put it, boyfriend? But we're already married. Yes, the one I agreed to marry before."
Ever since Kuang Jia left, she'd been busy dealing with the chores of her new company, while Meng Weishen had been busy tending to his new boss's quirks. The two of them had indeed had very little communication. To Kuang Jia, it was like he'd gone from straight to gay, from a single mother to a married man, overnight. The transformation was as swift as a ghostly curse.
Kuang Jia was startled and cast a look at Li Yingxuan for confirmation, but Li Yingxuan dodged her question. She could only scold him, "Meng Weishen, you're crazy! Do you understand the difference between dating and getting married? Tell me, how can the order of the two be reversed?"
——
Although Kuang Jia agreed to help him optimize the product, Meng Weishen was also scolded.
As someone who had been through a divorce, his partner advised him not to be impulsive. He was already 28, well past the age of 18, when he could freely fall in love with any bastard. He should carefully weigh the pros and cons of every relationship and consider the consequences with all due respect.
Meng Weishen left Kuang Jia's office, dusty and grimy. The elevator creaked up to the 34th floor. He stepped inside and saw Li Yingxuan hold the door shut with his hand before going down with him.
It was awkward riding in an elevator with someone you barely knew. Especially since they always had that air of "keep away from strangers." Meng Weishen wasn't good at socializing, and after a long pause, he finally managed to come up with a topic for small talk: "Lawyer Li, does Mr. Kuang have a chance of winning his divorce lawsuit?"
Li Yingxuan glanced at him and knew he shouldn't ask this question: "This is my client's privacy. You can ask her for the specific details, but don't ask the lawyer."
Meng Weishen would rather continue to pretend to be a silent plant.
"But you should learn from other people's failures. People can pretend. Chen Tao was a young talent before his marriage. Who could have seen that he was a scumbag?" Li Yingxuan said, "So, do you fully understand Jiang Ranxu now?"
Meng Weishen finally had something to talk about, and there was so much to talk about. He rambled on, "Of course. I know he likes seafood and shrimp with sweet and sour sauces, but hates cilantro, minced garlic, celery, and carrots. He loves autumn and hates the perpetually sweaty summer. He can ski, and he said he'd take me there in the winter. He loves going to the Arabica coffee shop near our company. In middle school, he often stayed up late studying at McDonald's. He's wanted to study medicine since he was a kid, and he was lucky on the college entrance exam, just making it to the medical school cutoff. Also, I guessed right before, his advisor is indeed a jerk, always squeezing him out."
"Who asked you that?" the other party corrected him. "I'm talking about the economic situation. You should understand."
Meng Weishen was stunned, and returned to a confused state: "Anyway, he can pay the mortgage, pay the water and electricity bills, and support himself."
"That's all?"
"Isn't that enough?"
"Also, you said you've started a serious relationship and want to cancel your prenuptial agreement. What about the 10,000 yuan you pay each other every month? Shouldn't that be canceled?"
"Oh, thanks for the reminder. I set up a monthly scheduled transfer for a full year, and it hasn't expired yet. I forgot to cancel it..."
For some reason, Li Yingxuan sighed deeply, the sorrow of a highly educated parent helping their child with math homework. Before the elevator reached the bottom, he asked, "When are you exchanging gifts? Do you have an approximate price for his gift? If it's a valuable item, make sure he agrees in writing that it's an unconditional gift."
"Sunday, let's go to Teacher A's bar to exchange gifts and record the second interview."
Meng Weishen was caught off guard and told his lawyer everything.
——
Based on Asher's life experience, being a broker is essentially the same as being a matchmaker. It's all about taking money, recommending anything worthwhile, and making the fake seem real, and the real seem fake. A successful IPO is equivalent to a successful matchmaking.
He had already prepared the interview script for the second episode. When the time came to reveal the gifts: Jiang Ranxu had prepared a spot on the South American rainforest animal expedition, and Meng Weishen had prepared an AI research tool for dental medicine. Both parties were very surprised. He struck while the iron was hot, setting the tone:
"You two must have telepathy, right? The gifts you give each other touch your hearts! Honestly, I've been in matchmaking for two years, and I've never seen a more compatible couple than you two. How could you two be so well-matched? Forget about the Great Wall building and all that. Your zodiac compatibility is perfect, your phone numbers both end in 5, and your MBTIs both start with I... It's all destined!"
Although Jiang Ranxu was a little disgusted by his exaggerated words, Meng Weishen was already bewitched by his exaggeration. The latter was the target of fraud in the investment and marriage markets.
The bar was busiest on Sundays, with bands performing all night long. After the recording session, the two planned to play for a while longer.
Asher was very considerate and mixed Jiang Ranxu a Summer Love, still a non-alcoholic drink, with cucumber slices and red berries soaked in sparkling lemonade. He recommended a Hawthorn Gin and Tonic to Meng Weishen, a hawthorn juice-infused gin, which also gave the drink a warm crimson color.
Asher gave the two of them some time alone and went to the bar to greet customers.
Amidst the roaring rock music, a customer walked up to the bar and said, "Boss, I want a bottle of Blue Label whiskey."
He was checking the ice hockey pucks and didn't look up. "Are you sure you want a whole bottle? It's much more expensive at the bar than outside."
"Yeah. A whole bottle."
Asher unlocked the glass cabinet and took out a heavy bottle of wine. As soon as he looked back at the guest's face, he locked the bottle back.
Asher gave the other man a fake smile: "Sorry sir, we don't sell alcohol to idiots."
"You are discriminating against consumers."
“Yes, I discriminate against people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities.”
The other party was naturally not so easily dismissed. He even occupied a high stool and leaned in front of the stage:
"By the way, madam, have you obtained a business license for your marriage agency? Is it specifically "matchmaking" on the license? How do you pay taxes every month? Do you pay personal income or corporate income? Also, are the fire safety measures in place for your bar? Have you identified a person responsible for safety? Do you sign labor contracts or service contracts for your bartenders? Do you provide them with five social insurances and one housing fund..."
Asher felt like his head was about to explode. He flew over and took out the blue square, slamming it down on the table in front of the opponent's arm. "Eight thousand five, pay up and get out of here."
The other party smiled rarely, supported his chin with one hand, and said imperatively: "I won't drink it today, save it for me."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Is it not possible? I've already scanned the code to pay. This bottle of wine is mine. I can do whatever I want with it."
The original price of the wine was less than 2,000 yuan. Since the other party had paid nearly four times the price for it, Asher put aside his old grudge and gave the other party a wine registration card and a fountain pen.
As a rule, alcohol storage information must be entered into the management system, and patients with mental illness and intellectual disabilities are no exception.
Asher went to operate the store's desktop computer. The other party didn't even fill out the registration card properly, and followed him closely. After he opened the wine storage system, he leaned over and peeked at his system interface:
"You haven't forgotten my name, have you? Did you register it correctly?"
Asher was so annoyed that he typed in the name: Sha Diao.
Asher said coldly, "The wine is only good for three months. I'll text you after that, so come get it quickly, idiot."
The man suddenly leaned in front of him, deleted the word "silly" and retyped his name. The man's suit buttons brushed his cheek, and he could smell the oriental perfume on his shoulder. All kinds of absurd memories chased after him like a bloodthirsty beast. He froze and subconsciously dodged.
By the time he came to his senses, the other party had already searched his management system thoroughly and even took a few photos with his phone for evidence. He felt a surge of anger in his chest, and he grabbed the other party by the back of the neck and threw him away from the screen.
"Go away and have fun. Don't even think about checking if I'm evading taxes. I pay my taxes on time every month."
Asher regains access to the system.
The search bar still contained the keyword the other party had just entered, just one word: Jiang.
The other party said with a half-smile: "Your friend really takes good care of your business. He obviously can't drink alcohol, but he has to stock up on it every three months. Can't you sell him something else? If he really is allergic to alcohol, my client will be very heartbroken."
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