Chapter 6
When Chen Huanong was forming her criminal justice team, Old Xu and several other directors had a thorough discussion with her. Old Xu analyzed the pros and cons, revealing that the main drawbacks outweighed the pros. Perhaps the only one of the senior executives who supported her was Sun Defang, now retired and raising his grandchildren. Sun Defang was a tough guy, having worked in the field for over thirty years, a man who had weathered many storms and was quite uninhibited. They dined together at Sun's home. After a few drinks, Old Sun said, "Xiaohua, if you're willing to delve into this field, then go for it. Know your limits. Don't violate professional ethics or the law. What's wrong with that?" Then, looking at Old Xu and the others, he said, "You're really a fool! This girl finally wants to do something, and it's fine if you all don't support her, but you're actually trying to discourage her." Old Xu quickly defended herself, saying, "Of course I don't support her. Criminal cases are complex. If you don't handle them well, you'll offend both sides and face a thankless task. We're just worried about the burden on her." Chen Huanong was aware of what Old Xu had said, but for her, this path was the only one left.
Over the years, she has received complaints, and victims' families have often cursed her out. If Qin Huai were here, she would politely explain, "We are entrusted by others, and we must be loyal to them." But Chen Huanong would bluntly retort, "I didn't write the verdict. If you feel wronged, appeal according to the law. If you have the guts, go and block the judges and prosecutors. Don't take it out on me. I've recorded all your false statements. We'll see you in court next time, but you won't be the victims' families by then."
Old Xu had expected Chen Huanong to get into trouble. Her high-profile behavior in recent years had irritated many people. Fortunately, Chen Huanong was efficient and clean, leaving no evidence to criticize. With Qin Huai on hand to review and oversee the case, Old Xu wasn't particularly worried about legal matters. The problem was that criminal cases involved not only the police, procuratorate, and courts, but also the unstable factor of the victim's family. Chen Huanong's case was somewhat unique, but Qin Huai had reviewed the materials beforehand. Chen Huanong's defense of innocence was flawless, and the verdict was clearly written, with sufficient facts and reasons, leaving no room for criticism. The only problem was that the defendant's family was too rich. After the verdict was handed down, the victim's family insisted that Chen Huanong had bribed the judge. The victim's grandmother took advantage of her seniority and put on a show on Chen Huanong. She first cried and said that her only grandson was still lying in the hospital bed, and their family did not want any compensation, as long as the person was fine. When someone came to inquire, she changed her face and accused Chen Huanong of having no conscience and being morally corrupt, and that she must have accepted dirty money to bribe the judge to let a murderer go free.
Chen Huanong looked at a seventy-year-old woman, crying and tugging at him, calm as a pool of stagnant water. Behind her was a group of relatives of the victim, forming a wall to block Shen Song's men. Qin Huai signaled her not to be impulsive from outside the wall of people, but he was also extremely anxious. Chen Huanong did not move, allowing the old woman to be pushed and insulted. When the old woman could no longer cry, the court security personnel also came over, each holding the old woman to the side. Qin Huai and others also hurried out of the besieged crowd to protect Chen Huanong. Seeing that the old woman had lost her fighting spirit, the victim's mother rushed to Chen Huanong, pointing at her and cursing her again. The words were so ugly and vulgar that even passers-by could not bear to listen. Chen Huanong looked slightly impatient, took off his wrinkled coat and gave it to his assistant, saying in a voice that the assistant could just hear, "Throw it away, it's dirty."
"You guys keep saying that your sons and grandsons are still lying in the hospital, but you whole family came to the court to block me. Your intention in blocking me is very clear, which is to raise the compensation. The verdict has been handed down. We will transfer the compensation to the account you provided within the prescribed period. If you want to continue to extort money, I suggest you find a professional lawyer to come and talk to me. If you want to continue to make trouble, the police station is just behind the court, and the police should be dispatched quickly. In addition, I sympathize with your son, not because he was beaten and hospitalized, but because he was born in a family like yours and has a mother like you. It's you who didn't educate him well." Chen Huanong said and left without looking back. In this case, she had no sympathy for the victim. The gangster who graduated from junior high school was stopped for molesting a girl in a bar. He relied on his numbers and was arrogant. He never expected to encounter some real fighters. When the police first arrived, they thought it was a gang fight. From conviction to sentencing, Chen Huanong reviewed the materials over and over again, and the police station also had several collective discussions. According to Lao Xu, it was better to reduce the sentence and not to cause trouble. Chen Huanong refused and insisted on defending her innocence. The result was what she wished and what Lao Xu expected.
The banner at the entrance to Shensong had been up for a week, so Old Xu gave Chen Huanong a week off, telling her not to come to the office unless necessary. He also handed over all court proceedings to Qin Huai and the others. Suddenly, Chen Huanong was free and unsure what to do. Mo Yiyan had just mentioned on his WeChat Moments that he was going to Huizhou to gather materials, so she quickly packed her bags and headed to meet him. She didn't tell Tang Chengting she was on a business trip until they were already on their way.
"What's going on between you two? I heard from my brother that he's already sent the divorce agreement to the law firm. If that's the case, I think you should just get a divorce. Since Tang Chengting doesn't care about you at all, why are you holding on to him so tightly?" Mo Yiyan didn't go with the group this time. She drove on her own. The four or five hour drive wouldn't be too tiring if she and Chen Huanong took turns driving. Most importantly, it would give her plenty of time to gossip. "If it's Tang Chengting that's the source of your unresolved feelings, you've been married for five years. No matter how difficult it is, it's time to break up. What are you holding on to?"
"Male homosexuality." Chen Huanong's face was sincere. If one didn't know her well, it would be easy to be deceived by her appearance. Mo Yiyan wanted to curse, thinking, "Do you think I'm blind?" However, he knew that Chen Huanong didn't want to talk about this matter again, so he didn't ask any more questions.
The first stop south was Wuyuan. It was rape blossom season, and even though it wasn't the weekend, there were still many tourists. Chen Huanong couldn't help but sigh, "The life of the rich is really good." Mo Yiyan rolled his eyes at her, "I didn't see you so emotional when you went to Paris! Can't everyone be more sincere?"
Mo Yiyan was primarily responsible for editing and reviewing this trip, so she didn't need to personally supervise the filming. So, under the guise of a business trip, she accompanied Chen Huanong on a tour. The two of them followed a group of individual tourists, mainly listening to the guide's explanations along the way. When they reached Leixin Bridge, the guide said this was the bridge where Xie Tong carried Guan Juer on his back. Mo Yiyan happily took photos and sent them to her little dog. Then the little dog called her, asking her if she had a good time with a hint of laziness, like someone who had just woken up. Chen Huanong watched the two of them linger for three minutes, oblivious to the world around them, while she mentally plotted how to kick Mo Yiyan off and disguise it as an accident.
On the way, Mo Yiyan also bought two wreaths. Chen Huanong looked at the bright yellow rape flowers with disdain and was very worried. "What if I encounter bees collecting nectar on the road? Will they sting the flowers or my face? It's such a difficult choice, so why not embarrass the bees?"
Mo Yiyan slapped her refusing hand away and put it on her, "It will definitely sting the flower. Your face is covered with chemicals. I don't want to commit suicide, and you're too thick-skinned to be stung." Maybe because he spoke a little louder, the group of little boys who looked like students following behind him couldn't help but chuckle.
Chen Huanong turned to look at them. The mountain breeze blew in the direction of her head, and the hair tucked behind her ears was messily stuck to her face. Under the bright wreath were her watery eyes. The light scattered in her smile, transforming into a spring scene, just like the spring breeze blowing through the dew on the threshold of Huanong. Mo Yiyan thought to himself that this evildoer was getting restless again! Sure enough, he heard this evildoer say, "Do you also think that my sister is thick-skinned? In fact, my sister is very reserved."
Mo Yiyan covered his face and dragged her away, saying as they walked, "Sorry, I didn't take my medicine when I went out, so I was a little jumpy." He turned around and yelled at Chen Huanong, "You want to trick me again, don't you? I'm telling you, if you throw the pot at me again, I'll tell Old Tang all your trivial matters."
Mo Yiyan's nervousness wasn't without reason. Everyone in their circle tacitly accepted that Chen Huanong was a high-level scheming bitch. Of course, this wasn't meant as an insult; for Mo Yiyan herself, the term was meant with respect, as she herself had been personally trained by Chen Huanong. Chen Huanong's masterful flirting skills could fill a book. Even before Director Tang recruited her, she'd already wrecked enough men to form a football team. Mo Yiyan had witnessed Chen Huanong flirt with the young man at the next table while she was in the restroom. She knew the seductive tactics she'd used to get him to willingly pay for their table's bill, and then even offered them a gracious ride home, though their destination wasn't Chen Huanong's real home. Mo Yiyan and the others had grown accustomed to her flirting habits with any handsome guy she met. Furthermore, she always maintained a flirting attitude without taking responsibility, so they weren't worried about Chen Huanong getting into trouble.
As for the reason why Mo Yiyan was nervous, it can be traced back to eight years ago. At that time, the little boy in Mo Yiyan's family was still a high school student, not worth mentioning in front of Chen Huanong. That day, Chen Huanong flirted with a little brother who started his own company at the wine table. Unexpectedly, the little brother's offensive was very fierce. Chen Huanong calculated that Zhao Liangqi would be back from his business trip soon, and was thinking about how to solve this problem. The little brother was a good person in other aspects except that he was a little stubborn. Chen Huanong thought about it and sent Mo Yiyan's phone number and photo to him. After this time, Mo Yiyan often received messages from strangers. Most of the words in the text were implicitly attentive, and some were even more explicit and erotic. Before she could ask for clarification, she was caught by the little boy playing with her phone.
Chen Huanong's history of flirting with men ended under Mo Yiyan's heavy crackdown, but it also left a psychological scar on Mo Yiyan. In the following year, whenever Chen Huanong said more than one word to a strange man, Mo Yiyan's heart would jump to his throat. Perhaps it was Chen Huanong's increasing busyness, or perhaps it was something Zhao Liangqi had done, but until Chen Huanong reunited with Tang Chengting, she was quiet and at peace. Not to mention after marrying Director Tang, they all jokingly said that Chen Huanong had changed her appearance and had become a good wife who could wash her hands and make soup.
"It's no use telling Old Tang. Director Tang wants to divorce me now. If you say that, he'll be even more determined to do so."
"Let's divorce him, and make sure he loses everything!"
"Mo Mo, you are too rude! Are we the ones who are short of a pair of underwear? When your little puppy divorces you, I will definitely leave a pair of underwear for him!" The underwear joke was a joke they made when they were in college. At that time, no one expected that Chen Huanong would marry Tang Chengting. Chen Huanong, who had just finished studying marriage law, was almost brainwashed into Nun Miejue by the divorce cases cited by the teacher. In the evening, when she had a video call with Mo Yiyan and others, she swore solemnly that if her husband dared to ask for a divorce from her in the future, she would make him lose without even his underwear left.
Mo Yiyan poked her head lightly, feeling very disappointed. "Chen Xiaohua, you are not a coward. If you could do everything you said, you wouldn't be like this now."
"What's wrong with me? I don't have to worry about food or clothes, I have a car, a house, and no second child. It's like a fairy tale life! Shouldn't I be envied?"
"You don't even have one child! Why don't you two have children? Is it because of Tang Chengting? Is he not capable?"
A complex emotion that others could not detect flashed in the laughing Chen Huanong's eyes. She rolled her eyes at Mo Yiyan, and the latter knew what she meant without saying much. He no longer bothered about Tang Chengting's topic. The two people in their thirties were like unruly eighteen-year-old girls, running in the rapeseed fields. It was a beautiful spring time.
Tang Chengting had seen Chen Huanong's behavior on Mo Yiyan's WeChat Moments. Although it was just a photo of him holding a coffee cup, Tang Chengting still recognized him. Therefore, when Chen Huanong received his call, he was quite surprised. "Didn't you say you were on a business trip?"
"Well, I followed Momo on a business trip. She was on a business trip, and I was playing. It pissed her off to death."
"I didn't see him getting angry. He seemed quite happy."
"After all, she has a little fairy like me to accompany her."
"When will you be back?" Tang Chengting always responded to Chen Huanong's jokes if he could, and changed the subject if he couldn't. It was obvious that he was more accustomed to the latter.
"Three or four days, I'm not sure. I might have to go to Guilin with Momo."
"Come back early, I... have something to tell you."
Mo Yiyan's Moments post read, "You danced like a butterfly in a sea of flowers, and finally landed in my heart." The comments were all the same: "Jiang Yousi has three seconds to reach the battlefield." Chen Huanong, exposed by Tang Chengting, didn't try to hide her feelings anymore. Lying on the bed next to Mo Yiyan, she replied, "Come silently into my arms. If you divorce me, I'll give you a 22% discount." Then she posted a nine-square grid of photos taken in a rapeseed field. It must be said that Mo Yiyan's photography skills have improved over the years he's been at the magazine. In the photos, Chen Huanong is smiling sweetly, her eyes full of affection, and she looks like the prime of youth.
But only she herself knows that her youth has never been easy.
Mo Yiyan was on the balcony talking to Jiang Yousi on the phone, occasionally letting out a restrained laugh. She knew it was to keep her spirits low. In their five years of marriage, she and Tang Chengting had spoken only a handful of times, mostly when she called him. When she called, it meant Director Tang had been out of touch for 24 hours, but she never lost contact, so Tang Chengting rarely called to ask where she was or what she was doing. She hadn't expected this call today. She had wanted to tell Tang Chengting about the terrible things she'd been through and how she'd freed herself from those feelings. She really wanted to lift her head and smile and tell him, "Do you think I'm amazing?" But when she actually heard Tang Chengting's voice, she couldn't utter a single word.
Hit & 3S
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