30 We are destined to be together
"Flowers? What flowers?" Liu Yuwei didn't react, her face filled with confusion. The moment she finished speaking, an idea flashed through her mind, the bouquet of golden sunflowers. Her eyes widened, her lips parted, and the words slipped out of her mouth. "Did you send me those flowers?" her tone was filled with surprise. After being confronted by Jin Lang that day, Shen Cheng had been thinking about how to "retaliate." As luck would have it, he passed by the sink and saw a female employee sorting fresh cut flowers, so he came up with this idea. Now, seeing the surprise and flash of disappointment in Liu Yuwei's eyes, he suddenly understood. "Who else do you think sent them, Lawyer Liu?" Upon hearing this, Liu Yuwei quickly composed herself, regaining her composure and rationality, her eyes full of inquiry. "Mr. Shen... why did you send me flowers?" "To wish us a happy cooperation in advance!" Shen Cheng explained with a smile, his tone particularly sincere. "I don't mean anything else, don't think too much!" He shrugged, putting on an innocent expression. Shen Cheng's words made it seem as if Liu Yuwei, the second party, hadn't grasped the situation properly. The subtext translated to: "Please don't be so self-indulgent." Liu Yuwei immediately put on a standard business smile, the corners of her mouth curling up just the right amount. "Thank you so much, Mr. Shen, for your kindness. It just so happens that sunflowers are my favorite flower! We're destined to be together." Shen Cheng stroked his chin, a mischievous look in his eyes, thinking that fate should be left to those who are meant to be. "There aren't so many coincidences in the world. Someone helped me choose the flowers." He remembered the first time Jin Lang came to the company. While walking through the hallway, he suddenly stopped at a workstation. After a moment, he smiled at the woman sitting at the computer and said, "Sunflowers are nice!" Since then, Starlight Media has not only gained a loyal fan of Jin Lang, but the female employees have also placed a month-long order for sunflowers from the park's flower shop. ... Liu Yuwei returned to the law firm from the industrial park and headed straight to the partner's office to briefly report on the afternoon's negotiations with Starlight Media. Although Starlight Media is only a relatively new company, it's undoubtedly the first step in Tiancheng's foray into legal services for the entertainment industry. For the company's commercial affairs team, this represents another breakthrough. After all, sometimes going from 0 to 1 is even harder than going from 1 to 100. Lawyer Wang watched Liu Yuwei nod repeatedly, his eyes filled with approval, and now he felt a surge of regret for agreeing to let her go. Finally, he gave another earnest warning. "Yuwei, while cooperation with Starlight Media is certainly important, our immediate focus remains Ling'an's legal tender. You've made a commitment..."
"Flowers, what flowers?"
Liu Yuwei didn't react, and his face was full of confusion.
The moment the words fell from his mouth, the image of that bunch of golden sunflowers suddenly appeared in his mind.
Her eyes widened, her lips opened and closed, and the words slipped out of her mouth.
"Did you send those flowers?" His tone was full of surprise.
After being confronted by Jin Lang that day, Shen Cheng had been thinking about how to "retaliate." Coincidentally, he passed by the sink and saw a female employee sorting cut flowers there, so he came up with this idea.
Now, he saw the surprise and the flash of disappointment in Liu Yuwei's eyes, and he suddenly understood.
"Otherwise, who does Lawyer Liu think sent it?"
When Liu Yuwei heard this, he quickly adjusted his emotions, regained his rationality and calmness, his eyes full of inquiry, "Boss Shen... why did you send me flowers?"
"I wish you a happy cooperation in advance!" Shen Cheng explained with a smile, his tone particularly sincere. "I don't mean anything else, don't think too much!"
He shrugged and put on an innocent expression.
When Shen Cheng said this, it seemed that Liu Yuwei, the second party, did not know how to handle the situation well. The subtext translated into please don't be so self-indulgent.
Liu Yuwei immediately put on a standard business smile, with the corners of her mouth raised at just the right angle.
"Thank you so much for your kindness, Mr. Shen. Sunflowers happen to be my favorite flowers! We are destined to be together."
Shen Cheng stroked his chin with a mischievous look in his eyes, thinking that fate should be left to the person it belongs to.
"There aren't so many coincidences in the world. Someone gave me advice on how to choose the flowers."
He remembered the first time Jin Lang came to the company. He suddenly stopped in front of a workstation while walking through the corridor. After a moment, he smiled at the girl sitting in front of the computer and said, "Sunflower is good!"
Since then, Starlight Media not only gained a loyal fan of Jin Lang, but the female employees also ordered sunflowers from the park flower shop for a whole month.
…
Liu Yuwei returned to the law firm from the industrial park and headed straight to the partner's office, where she briefly reported on the afternoon's negotiations with Starlight Media. Although Starlight Media was only a relatively new company, it was the first step in Tiancheng's expansion into legal services for the entertainment industry.
For the company's commercial division, the business sector has achieved new breakthroughs. After all, sometimes the leap from 0 to 1 is more difficult than the leap from 1 to 100.
Wang Lu looked at Liu Yuwei and nodded frequently, his eyes full of approval. At this moment, he felt a little regretful that he had agreed to let her go a while ago.
Finally, he gave serious instructions again.
"Yu Wei, while the cooperation with Starlight Media is certainly important, the focus of our recent work is Ling An's Changfa bid. You've already signed a military order. Only by winning this client can we successfully switch teams."
"Of course, if you need any resources or cooperation from others during this period, please feel free to ask and I will fully support you."
After her last meeting with Ling An, Liu Yuwei felt about 70% confident she could win the bid. However, she also knew that even with perfect materials, there would still be many uncertainties.
She had already counted all the law firms Ling An had worked with, and counting them on her fingers, she could only count less than ten. For a client like Ling An who had plenty of money, a firm with a gold or red circle was always the easiest and most direct choice.
When he was young, Liu Yuwei never believed in fate. He always felt that he could get everything he wanted through his own efforts.
But as she grew older and gained more experience, her motto had long since become "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."
Liu Yuwei recalled the darkest moments in the lives of non-litigation lawyers that were widely circulated online, and realized that he had experienced them all.
When I first started working, the senior lawyer I was supervising told us a joke about an intern who once submitted materials for a "death shareholder meeting," which got everyone laughing. But when it comes to me, faced with a mountain of project materials, who hasn't made basic mistakes like typos and misspellings on the signature page?
Liu Yuwei once set her mobile phone screen saver to "I can make a lot of mistakes, but the words and numbers cannot be wrong."
But even so, I still can't avoid being scolded by clients, "I have never seen a lawyer as bad as you."
When Liu Yuwei was able to stand on her own, she realized that the problems that can be solved with hard work are often the easiest.
That year, she stayed up all night for several days, made all the necessary preparations, and confidently won a legal consulting project from a small giant technology company.
She thought she was about to land her first "big deal" and was full of anticipation. But when they arranged to sign the contract, the client's legal affairs director suddenly changed his mind and asked Liu Yuwei to meet him on the weekend.
As the second party, a lawyer is supposed to be on call 24 hours a day, not to mention that the other party made an appointment at the company's office. Although Liu Yuwei felt that it was a bit inappropriate, she still agreed.
But unexpectedly, when they met, the middle-aged male leader changed his mind without waiting for her to take out the contract and said that instead of talking about work on the weekend, it would be better to chat about young people's interests and hobbies at the dinner table.
We forced ourselves to smile while eating, but because we didn't get along, the matter ended up coming to nothing.
That experience was a huge blow to her, but it was also the pain that pushed her to grow rapidly. A few years later, Liu Yuwei had become Wang Lu's most capable subordinate.
At this moment, she leaned back on the ergonomic chair she had purchased at great expense, her eyes unconsciously falling on the bunch of sunflowers on the corner of the table again.
Shen Cheng's last words were ambiguous. Who sent the flowers? With the explanation of "it's not a coincidence", it became even more unclear.
Sometimes it is better to put aside things that you cannot figure out, and time will give you the answer.
…
The busy days passed by like a stream. Without those numerous "interferences", Liu Yuwei's life seemed to return to normal.
On weekdays when I'm not working overtime, I grab my bag and head to the gym. After all, a healthy body is the foundation of revolution. Someone online has calculated that over 20 young lawyers under the age of 45 die suddenly each year. No one wants to be one of the heartbreaking 1 in 20.
On weekends, unless she's engaging in public service activities, Liu Yuwei spends most of her time at her desk, studying the Supreme Court's guiding cases or reviewing excellent indictments and legal briefs, learning the logic and techniques behind them. After all, as a public interest lawyer, litigation may become a new area of her career, and she needs to be fully prepared.
As for Jin Lang, ever since he was driven out of the house by Liu Yuwei that day, if we don't count the little episode caused by the bunch of sunflowers, he has never shown up or contacted anyone again.
Liu Yuwei would occasionally pass by his billboard and her heart would still be rippled, but she would quickly put it behind her and focus on her own life.
But because of the existence of Xiao Meng, a fan, she can always passively receive some news and updates about Jin Lang.
Xiao Meng and Liu Yuwei failed to meet Jin Lang as they had hoped when they went to Xingguang for the first time. Later, they volunteered to deliver the stamped paper contract, but unfortunately they were disappointed again.
On Friday afternoon, during slacking time, everyone was discussing their weekend plans in the tea room when Xiao Meng's scream shattered the harmony. Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, only to see her face flushed and waving her phone excitedly.
Ten minutes later everyone knew the news: Xiao Meng was going to Italy for his annual vacation and would take the same flight with the superstar Jin Lang.
The girl was excited to upgrade to first class, but after checking the price, she realized it was enough to buy a direct flight to Milan and back. She could only lament that her money limited her ability to be with her idol.
…
On Saturday, Liu Yuwei slept until she woke up naturally, which was a rare occasion. The room was dark because of the blackout curtains.
She reached for her phone by the bedside table. The screen lit up. It was just 8:30. She sighed helplessly. One of the early signs of aging is decreased sleep duration. Another is decreased sleep quality.
The days when she could sleep until noon seemed like a distant memory. She lay in bed, enjoying a moment of laziness and thinking about her plans for the day.
The cleaning lady who was supposed to come in every two weeks to clean the house had to take a leave of absence today due to family matters. Liu Yuwei decided to clear her mind and replace exercise with housework.
People say invisible housework shackles women's lives. But in this respect, Liu Yuwei feels her mother can be considered a pioneer in the practice of women's liberation.
Because of her busy work schedule in Yuyao, Liu Yuwei remembers Liu Wenjun taking care of almost all the household chores. Twenty years ago, families where the wife worked outside the home and the husband stayed at home were rare. During an argument, Liu Wenjun once confided that he'd never seen a wife completely abandon her duties, from washing to cooking.
Yuyao was unceremonious, demanding to know whether he was looking for a wife or a nanny. If he needed part-time labor, she could pay for it. But the man, accustomed to hardship in the countryside, had some deeply ingrained beliefs; he couldn't bear to pay for someone to clean. So he could only continue to self-satisfy his efforts for the family, while harboring resentment towards his wife.
In love, perhaps, equal effort is not necessary. But in marriage, everyone cares about who cooks and who washes the dishes.
What may be troubling women is not the housework itself, but the virtues and selfless dedication that society advocates.
…
Two hours later, Liu Yuwei was standing in the bathroom, smiling with satisfaction at the shower head that had been polished to a shine, when the ringing of her cell phone broke the tranquility.
When the call went through, it was a colleague from the public interest affairs team. They said there was a legal education lecture scheduled for Sunday morning, and the lawyer originally scheduled to give the lecture had already rushed back to Beijing from a business trip. But who could have imagined that his client would casually offer, "Please issue a new legal opinion along these lines and send it to me Monday morning."
Having no other choice, the colleague had to cancel the promised lecture. After all, the customer is God.
Liu Yuwei felt deeply sympathetic towards the lawyer. This kind of thing was too common, and the topic of the lecture happened to be "Inheritance Law", which she had prepared before, so she readily agreed without saying a word.
However, she never expected that after going around in circles, those people who could not be avoided would always meet again by chance.
Author's Note
Lazy Cat on the Cloud
author
03-09
Yesterday, on Women's Day, I wrote this chapter, and I couldn't help but say a few words about housework. It may not be related to the main plot, but I wrote it down because I thought of it (luckily, the word count is OK, otherwise it would seem like I was just slacking off, hahaha)
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