Chapter 01 Chapter 1
*
Good people hide the worst intentions
I dream that one day you will break up
——Stephy Tang, "Light Bulb"
In September, the weather outside is still very hot.
The central air conditioning in the prison's visiting room was turned on high, suppressing the sweat that was brewing under the uniform.
Hou Liping was a little impatient. He knocked on the table and stared at the door in front of him which no one had ever opened.
When entering the prison, all communication devices were taken away, and the quiet waiting fell into suffocating boredom.
Hou Liping turned to look at his partner, who was looking at the file with his head down, reading it carefully. The simple ring on his ring finger made his bony fingers look even cleaner and longer.
Hou Liping kicked him and said, "Old Shen, stop looking. How many times have you read this file? Talk to me."
Chen Li turned another page: "How many words have I said to you?"
Hou Liping scratched his head in annoyance. "What's going on with Zhongsheng? A simple property division and handover should be done in 20 minutes, yet I've been waiting here for almost half an hour and no one's around."
He kicked Shen Li again, but missed, and he almost fell. Hou Liping was not angry, and asked him in a low voice: "Aren't you anxious?"
Shen Li leaned sideways to read the last page and closed the file: "It's urgent, but there's nothing I can do."
Finally, footsteps were heard outside, and it seemed that someone was going upstairs.
"Coming, coming." Hou Li straightened his uniform and stood up with Shen Li.
"Click!" The door was pushed open by a prison guard from outside: "The lawyer is here."
The prison guard made way, and a slender figure appeared outside the door against the light.
"Sorry, Yao Lu had something urgent to do, so I'll take over. I've kept you waiting."
Shen Li narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw the person coming.
------
She was the first to extend her hand to Hou Liping: "Zhongsheng Law Firm, Wen Ying."
Hou Liping's anger, which had built up while waiting, had completely dissipated. He stood up, smiled, and nodded, "Hou Liping from the Procuratorate." He turned and introduced his partner, "Chen Li, a Level 3 Senior Prosecutor and the prosecuting attorney for this case."
Wen Ying turned her hand towards him, her smile showing nothing unusual: "Inspector Shen."
Chen Li looked at the hand in front of him, which matched the slender and long hand in his memory. He reached out and quickly shook her hand before releasing her. "Long time no see."
Even in a 30-degree hot day, my hands are still slightly cold. It has been like this since I was a child.
Shen Li thought.
Hou Liping just thought that the two were old acquaintances, and it was normal for a prosecutor and a lawyer to know each other.
Wen Ying explained to Hou Liping: "Lawyer Yao suddenly had a high fever and couldn't come, so I had to take his place temporarily."
He enthusiastically asked Wen Ying to sit down. "Cui Li's case should have gone to court a long time ago. It's only been delayed until now because her ex-husband applied for a second division of property. Since you've already handled it, let's expedite the process. Once you've completed the division of property, we'll file a prosecution."
Wen Ying lowered his head and took out a thick stack of property division plans from his briefcase. "The court session started yesterday afternoon, and this plan has already taken effect."
Hou Liping took it, flipped through it briefly, and handed it to Shen Li: "Old Shen, check it out. If there is no problem, sign it. We still have to reorganize the prosecution materials when we go back."
Shen Li didn't take the materials, but turned to look at Hou Liping: "I need to apply for recusal."
Hou Liping was a little dazed.
Wen Ying paused for a moment before apologizing, "I forgot. This is your case, so I'll recuse myself." She opened the door to the visiting room and said to the prison guard outside, "I need to make a call and have the law firm assign a new lawyer."
------
There are no windows in the stairwell, but the lighting is powerful enough to reveal every corner.
"When did you come back?" Chen Li looked at Wen Ying, whose hair seemed to have grown much longer than the last time they met. "You should have told me in advance so I could pick you up at the airport."
The stairwell was a bit stuffy, and a few beads of sweat appeared on the tip of Wen Ying's nose. "There was an emergency with a case in Jiangcheng that required me to come back to discuss. It was also a last-minute decision. I just entered the law firm at noon and was pushed here by my senior. I was a bit rushed and didn't realize it was your case. Sorry for taking up your time."
"Why did Yao Fangzhou suddenly have a fever?"
Wen Ying shook her head: "But looking at his pale face, he must be feeling very uncomfortable."
The two fell into a long silence, with only the rising and falling sounds of their breathing intertwined.
"When are we leaving?" Shen Li spoke first.
We just met and you’re asking when we’re leaving?
But Wen Ying was not surprised to hear such a question. From the time she met Shen Li at the age of five until now, Shen Li seemed to have never been enthusiastic towards her.
Wen Ying said: "The law firm intends to have me return to Minshi and be promoted to partner."
Shen Li couldn't tell what his expression was: "Not leaving?"
Wen Ying gathered her hair, revealing a part of her neck to make herself feel cooler. "Yes, I won't be leaving for a while this time. Besides the changes at work, there's something else I need to take care of."
"What's up?"
Wen Yingwei tilted her head back and looked at him.
He was so tall that I had to look up to see his eyes clearly even when wearing high heels.
"When my father passed away, you helped me a lot, and I'm very grateful to you," she said. "Our marriage was just a temporary solution. You said it would only last two or three years. Now..."
Wen Ying suddenly felt reluctant and turned her gaze away from Chen Li's face, staring at the empty steps beside her: "It's been three years now, I think we can get a divorce."
------
The sun had already set when Wen Ying returned to Zhongsheng. She had just entered the office to get a glass of water when Yao Fangzhou knocked on the door and came in, his mask tightly on. "I was so distracted I forgot Shen Li was handling Cui Li's case."
The ice water rolled down the throat into the stomach, and the slight pain made people clear-headed.
"It's okay, Senior Brother," Wen Ying said, "Just pay my fees according to the schedule."
"Senior Brother will give you double the red envelope," Yao Fangzhou said, leaning weakly on the sofa, his voice a little hoarse. "How is Chen Li? I haven't seen him for a long time. The last time we met was in spring."
Wen Ying lowered his head to pack his briefcase: "It should be fine. He asked me to say hello to you when I left."
"I think so," Yao Fangzhou laughed hoarsely, "There's no other couple like you in the world. You barely see each other more than twice a year, and you're no closer than ordinary friends."
Wen Ying corrected him, "I've known Chen Li since I was five years old, so it's been twenty-two years this year. How can ordinary friends stay together for more than twenty-two years?"
Yao Fangzhou rolled his eyes. "For the first nineteen of those twenty-two years, we were just neighbors. In the last three, I didn't see you often."
Wen Ying ordered him to leave: "You have a fever and can't work, but I still have a lot of materials to look at."
Yao Fangzhou sat up straight, raised his hands above his head in surrender. "Let's get down to business. I think it's great that you're back this time. You can take your work to the next level, and you can finally take care of your family. I heard..."
Yao Fangzhou paused, as if considering whether to say the following words.
After a pause, he continued, "I heard Zheng Di is pursuing him very closely, and there are rumors in the circle that Shen Li has a close relationship with her. Although Shen Li is a serious person, you can't let your guard down. You are a divorce lawyer. You have handled so many cases, so you should know that as long as you wield the hoe well, there is no corner in the world that cannot be dug down."
When Wen Ying heard Zheng Di's name, her movements paused for a moment.
But the stagnation was only fleeting.
She put on her glasses and looked down at the materials. "Aren't you and Chen Li classmates in graduate school? You even shared the same bunk bed with them. How could you be talking about him behind his back like that?"
"Tsk," Yao Fangzhou thought Wen Ying was an ungrateful person. "He and I were classmates in Master's degree, but I was also your senior in undergraduate studies, not to mention we're colleagues now. Everything I say comes from the heart, and it's all for your benefit. Isn't Wen Lu being a little ungrateful?"
Wen Ying said without even looking up: "Thank you for your care, Senior Brother. I will pay attention."
Yao Fangzhou stood up from the sofa and said, "I feel so dizzy. I have to go home. I won't be attending your welcome party tonight. I wish you a promotion in advance."
Yao Fangzhou emerged from Wen Ying's office and, after some thought, decided he should call Shen Li to apologize. He calculated the time and realized Shen Li should have left the prison by now, so he dialed his number.
"Hey, Lao Shen, I'm really sorry about today..."
------
Wen Ying hadn't drunk alcohol for a long time. After a few glasses of red wine tonight, besides feeling dizzy, he felt like there was a fire burning in his stomach.
The autumn tiger is dormant at night, and the night wind is slightly chilly.
She stood at the entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel, waiting for a car. Her colleagues, who had just finished their work, said goodbye to her: "Where are you going, Wen Lu? Do you want a ride?"
Wen Ying waved her hand: "No need, please be careful on the road."
A female colleague sitting in the passenger seat of her boyfriend's car teased, "It's time for Wen Lu to find a boyfriend."
She smiled and nodded: "I'll think about it."
Only Yao Fangzhou in the law firm knew about her marriage with Shen Li.
It was just a temporary measure. Apart from the marriage certificate, the relationship between the two was no different than before. After getting the certificate, the overwhelming epidemic happened to hit, so it was natural that they did not hold a wedding.
When a colleague was exposed, Wen Ying lowered her head and opened the taxi-hailing app.
The black off-road vehicle stopped in front of her, and the window rolled down to reveal Shen Liying's handsome face.
"Wen Ying," he said, "get in the car."
Wen Ying was a little surprised: "Why are you here?"
"I was passing by after get off work, and it looked like you."
get off work?
Wen Ying was a little puzzled. The Four Seasons Hotel didn't seem too close to the Procuratorate. But her stomachache was getting worse, and she didn't have the energy to think about it.
Seeing her open the back door, Shen Li was a little displeased: "Wen Ying, I'm not your driver."
Wen Ying stuck out her tongue, closed the back door and obediently got into the passenger seat.
"Where are you going?"
"Yuebo Hotel." She covered her stomach.
Shen Li stepped on the accelerator and the car drove smoothly. After a long while, Shen Li said, "Since we're staying in Min City from now on, let's not stay in a hotel."
"The law firm's appointment was a bit sudden, and my tenant's lease still has six months to run out."
Her house was across from Shen Li, so of course Shen Li knew about this.
He pursed his lips, his tone flat, as if he was saying something very casual: "You can move to my place. Your bedroom is still here."
"This is not appropriate." Wen Ying declined.
Shen Li's tone was a little stiff: "We haven't divorced yet, Wen Ying."
Wen Ying was speechless. The most courageous and combative lawyer in the courtroom was now speechless.
Or perhaps, she was still somewhat attached to this marriage that was about to end and was reluctant to refuse.
Chen Li's car was parked in the parking lot in front of Yuebo Building. Wen Ying was about to reach out to unbuckle her seat belt when Chen Li turned off the engine and unbuckled his first.
"Give me the room card."
"Hmm?" Wen Ying was a little confused.
Shen Li looked at her, seeming a little annoyed: "Wen Ying, you have a bad stomach and you dare to drink? Give me the room card, I will go upstairs to move your things for you."
Wen Ying finally understood Shen Li's intention and stammered, "Ah, no, no need. It's too late tonight. I'll stay here first."
He frowned. "Have you forgotten how terrible your stomachache is? I don't want to have to come back in the middle of the night to bring you medicine, or take you to the hospital for an IV drip."
A look of fatigue appeared on Shen Li's face: "I've been working overtime for four consecutive days."
Wen Ying had a stomach ailment, a condition she'd suffered since childhood, and becoming a lawyer had only made matters worse. When it struck, she'd feel dizzy and dazed, unable to even walk. Now, there were already signs of it: the pain in her stomach was like waves, rising higher and higher.
It seems that she has been a troublemaker that Chen Li can't get rid of since she was a child.
Wen Ying took out the room card from her bag and handed it to Chen Li, holding her stomach and whispered, "Thank you for your help."
Shen Li looked back at her, said nothing more, and gently closed the car door.
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