17 Childhood Sweethearts
◎Hello, I am an old friend of the rules of conduct◎
Time flew by and another Wednesday arrived.
After finishing his work for the day, Xue Lu prepared to drive to the hospital to pick up Song Qinggui.
Today is the day they return to the Xue family's old residence to meet with their lawyer.
Lawyer Xue was in a bad mood. He had a fight with Song Qinggui a few days ago over the settlement of a medical dispute.
He just couldn't understand how a woman who was usually so ruthless could become a living saint when it came to things like being beaten and suffering losses herself.
Furthermore, the prenuptial agreement displeased him. He, Xue, valued his reputation; divorce was not a concept in his dictionary. If Song Qinggui married him, she would be widowed for life. Why bother signing this ridiculous prenuptial agreement? It was one thing for his father to be a Qing Dynasty loyalist, but for Song Qinggui to insist on signing it was utterly unreasonable!
These two things happening at once gave Xue Lu a headache. It turned out that in Song Qinggui's eyes, he, Xue Lu, was just a pushover who was easy to bully.
Xue Lu walked to the B2 parking lot with a gloomy face. As soon as he got off the elevator, his phone rang. It was an unknown number. Xue Lu instinctively wanted to hang up, but when he glanced at the IP address of the number, he saw that it was from Cangcheng.
He answered: "Hello?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Xue Lu frowned and asked, "Hello?"
Perhaps sensing the impatience in Xue Lu's tone, the man opposite him quickly spoke up: "Hey Xue, you said before that you would cover all of Meng Yuxing's food, lodging, and medical treatment when he goes to Lancheng. Does that still stand?"
Xue Lu recognized who it was: Feng Zhe.
“It counts,” Xue Lu replied in a deep voice, “but I’m only responsible for Meng Yuxing.”
"Heh... damn it." Feng Zhe sneered and spat out a curse: "Don't worry, I don't care about your stinking money."
Xue Lu wasn't annoyed: "When are you coming?"
Feng Zhe turned to look at Meng Yuxing lying on the hospital bed. She had an IV drip in her right hand and a bandage wrapped around her left wrist.
"I estimate about ten more days," Feng Zhe said.
Lawyer Xue: "I will give you the address in three days. You can stay there when you arrive. Also, do not tell Qinggui for the time being."
After hanging up with Feng Zhe, Xue Lu sat in the driver's seat for a while, pondered for a moment, and then called his assistant.
"Chen An, find a house within three days. It doesn't need to be too big, but it should be near a general hospital and in a quiet environment."
Xue Lu had previously considered having Meng Yuxing treated at Jingtian Hospital, but after much deliberation, he decided to have her go to another public hospital.
Jingtian's treatment costs would be much higher than at a public hospital, and he was worried that Meng Yuxing would feel burdened. Most importantly, he didn't really want Song Qinggui to be too close to Meng Yuxing and Feng Zhe, especially Feng Zhe.
A man who suffers from chronic illness, struggles at the bottom of society, has an extremely strong sense of self-esteem, and has violent tendencies is undoubtedly dangerous.
Feng Zhe, who was at Cangcheng People's Hospital, was unaware of Xue Lu's evaluation of him, and of course, he didn't care.
He simply sat on the hospital bed, staring intently at the unconscious Meng Yuxing.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her hair.
"Foolish woman, people like us go to hell after we die. How dare you die alone?"
After saying that, he viciously planted a kiss on Meng Yuxing's pale, bloodless forehead.
...
At 11 a.m., Xue Lu and Song Qinggui arrived at the Xue family's old residence.
The Xue family members arrived unusually in full force today. On Li Jinghe's birthday, several younger relatives were absent, but today they all showed up, clearly indicating their desire to see a good show.
Song Qinggui observed proper etiquette, greeting each of the elders one by one. Finally, together with Xue Lu, they looked at a handsome man who was older than Xue Lu.
"Seventh Brother," Xue Lu said, and Song Qinggui nodded in response.
The man known as "Seventh Brother" is another prodigy of the younger generation of the Xue family—Xue Tan, the head of Tianlan Securities.
The marriage of Song Qinggui and Xue Lu was quite sudden for the Xue family. In addition, her status was not a good match for Xue Lu, which angered the old master of the Xue family. Li Jinghe also wanted to take the initiative to set rules for Song Qinggui and wanted the young couple to live in the Xue family's old house.
It was only through Xue Lu's insistence, and with the help of Xue Tan's persuasion, that Song Qinggui was able to move into Xue Lu's own house.
Xue Tan was one of the few people in the Xue family who was willing to give Song Qinggui a kind look, and Song Qinggui appreciated this kindness.
"Is your health better, sister-in-law?" Xue Tan asked politely. "I just got back from abroad and haven't had a chance to visit you in the hospital."
"I'm much better, thank you for your concern, Seventh Brother," Song Qinggui replied politely.
Xue Tan smiled and lowered his voice: "Don't be afraid, our whole family is just a paper tiger. If you have any requests later, just say so. Even if Little Fourteen can't hold on, I'll help you."
Song Qinggui smiled and nodded.
She wasn't nervous at all; in fact, she felt she was probably the calmest person in the room right now.
The Xue family had all arrived. Old Master Xue cleared his throat and said, "I have an appointment with Ya Lin for 11:30. We'll have a casual meal together and talk more afterward."
Not long after she finished speaking, Su Yalin entered with a young man.
The man was tall and handsome, but his handsomeness was different from Xue Lu's. Xue Lu's handsomeness was sharp and aggressive, but this man was very warm, with a gentle face, wearing a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, and was very refined.
Xue Rao couldn't help but tease, "Ya Lin, people who don't know better would think you brought a lawyer with you, or that you picked up a handsome young man from some university."
Before Su Yalin could respond after Xue Rao finished speaking, the man spoke with some surprise.
"Rules and regulations?"
Song Qinggui also looked surprised: "Luo et al."
The two naturally approached each other and gave each other a polite hug.
"Long time no see." Luo and the others looked delighted.
“Yes,” Song Qinggui smiled as well. “It’s been more than ten years.”
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xue Rao rolled her eyes: "You vixen!"
Old Master Xue's face also darkened.
Xue Lu stared at Luo and the others with some wariness; this was the first time he had seen such a gentle smile on Song Qinggui's face.
Okay, very good. Xue Lu gritted his teeth.
Su Yalin sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly spoke to the two of them, asking them to explain: "Do you know each other?"
"Yes." Song Qinggui said frankly, "My deskmate in high school."
Regardless of what others thought, Song Qinggui was happy to be reunited with Luo and others.
Luo and others, to some extent, guided her through a period of her youth.
Song Qinggui was abandoned by her family on Changli Island at the age of five. She was sensitive and not well-liked by her classmates. She was a loner and had few friends. However, she showed extraordinary talent in her studies, skipping two grades in elementary school and one grade in junior high, entering high school before she was fourteen.
Thirteen or fourteen is the age when girls are most determined, but because of poverty, she only had two sets of clothes all year round. The rainy season in Cangcheng is long, and the clothes she washed could not be dried, so she had to go to school wearing clothes that were as dirty as they could possibly be.
Her classmates were all sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys who had developed a sense of gender but hadn't yet established proper values. So, while the boys said she was pretty and wanted to date her, they also said her clothes smelled bad and wondered if her body smelled bad underneath. Whenever the ringleaders started gossiping, the whole class would stare at her and cover their mouths to laugh.
Because of this class atmosphere, Song Qinggui, who was already taciturn, became even more withdrawn.
When she heard these words, she often remained expressionless, but the eraser in her hand was pinched into tiny pieces by her fingernails, much like her fragile dignity that was about to crumble.
Just as the eraser scraps were piling up on her textbook, the boy sitting next to her handed her a book—"Past Exam Questions for the Mathematical Olympiad".
Song Qinggui looked over blankly.
“Don’t listen to these words,” Luo said. “Do the problems. There is truth and enlightenment in mathematics.”
By this time, Song Qinggui and Luo had been deskmates for two months. The teacher arranged for them to sit together because they were the same age and both were "child prodigies".
However, Luo and others came from wealthy families, and their parents were both educated and paid great attention to their children's upbringing, so he was considered a "disciple of the sect," while Song Qinggui followed a different path.
Song Qinggui never really understood why she was able to skip grades. She had never attended any tutoring classes, and she hadn't even paid much attention to the teachers' lectures. She just felt that the elementary and middle school courses were simple, and she could learn them by reading and practicing once. She could sleep in class and still get first place in the exams.
However, the difficulty of high school courses increased dramatically, and the skill of achieving high scores could not be acquired through "heretical practices." Her grades dropped significantly in the first monthly exam, and the teachers talked to her, questioning the rationale behind her skipping a grade.
This book of Olympiad questions by Luo et al. can be said to have opened the door to her sect's path.
From this point on, her learning no longer relied on talent, but on methods. And the one who taught her those methods was Luo Deng.
During the year they were deskmates, whenever Song Qinggui encountered math or physics problems she couldn't solve, Luo would generously explain them to her, often using more than one method to help her broaden her thinking.
In the second semester of her first year of high school, she gradually got the hang of it and began to appreciate the fun of math and physics. At that time, her happiest moment every day was to compete with Luo and others in solving Olympiad problems after finishing all her homework.
For Song Qinggui at that time, this busyness and ambition were undoubtedly a kind of "salvation".
It's a bit of a pity, though, that she got on the right track too late. Although her grades got better and better, she never skipped a grade again.
At the end of the first year of high school, Luo and others skipped a grade and went to the third year.
They never saw each other again for the next ten years.
Later, Song Qinggui only heard through various channels that Luo Deng had been admitted to a university specializing in political science and law, and went to the United States after graduation. She never expected to reunite with Luo Deng at the Xue family home.
After listening to Song Qinggui's brief introduction, Luo Deng looked at everyone and said, "Hello everyone, I am Qinggui's old classmate and Ya Lin's friend. You all know my name. My name is Luo Deng, and I am currently a partner at Dadao Law Firm."
Su Yalin glanced at Old Master Xue, whose face was full of anger, and then at Lawyer Xue, whose face had turned as black as charcoal. Her lips trembled as she tried to smooth things over, saying, "That's great. We're all on the same side. Things will be easier to move forward."
The group proceeded to the Xue family banquet hall and took their seats. Old Master Xue straightened his collar, intending to test Luo and the others.
He knew about Dadao Law Firm; it was a rapidly growing young firm, known for its criminal defense. He had also heard of the name Luo.
Last year, there was a big news story in Lancheng: a seventeen-year-old boy, along with several thugs, bullied a classmate. During the beating, the boy suffered a ruptured spleen and brain hemorrhage, and died despite attempts to save him.
The criminal's father had some business dealings with the Xue family. When his son went to jail, the father became desperate and went to Mr. Xue, hoping that Mr. Xue could help him pull some strings and get a lighter sentence.
Aside from having exploited some loopholes for money when he was young, Old Master Xue mostly respected the law. Unwilling to get involved in this matter, he comforted the man, saying that a minor committing a crime wouldn't necessarily face a harsh sentence.
As Mr. Xue had predicted, the trial lasted twelve years.
However, the plaintiff appealed. The plaintiff's lawyer argued that the victim was tortured to death, the perpetrator's methods were extremely cruel, and the perpetrator showed no remorse after being arrested. Through his efforts, the perpetrator was ultimately sentenced to death.
This is also one of the rare cases in China where a minor has been sentenced to death.
The plaintiff's lawyer became famous overnight; this lawyer was Luo Deng.
Old Master Xue looked at Luo and the others, his eyes, which were somewhat cloudy with age, now full of amusement: "Young Luo, I've always heard that you're quite skilled in criminal defense. Why would you condescend to my humble abode to handle such a trivial matter as a property agreement?"
Luo and others remained composed and assertive: "In China, I mainly handle criminal defense, but in the United States, I did several years of marriage and family law services. I was responsible for many Hollywood stars' prenuptial agreements. Don't worry, Professor Xue, I won't let you down."
Having said all that, Old Master Xue naturally had nothing to say.
He hadn't intended to make things difficult for Song Qinggui today, but seeing Xue Lu's jealous and envious expression made him furious.
The men of the Xue family have always been the ones who manipulate women; when have they ever been manipulated by women like this?
How embarrassing!
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