Chapter 08 Chapter 8
Wen Ying hadn't slept well the night before, and this night, she tossed and turned until midnight because of her period. When she was woken up by her cell phone alarm in the morning, Chen Li had already left the house.
His pillow was right next to Wen Ying's, very close to hers. Wen Ying reached out and touched Chen Li's side, which had lost the warmth of last night's body temperature, leaving only a little bit of warmth.
Yes, Shen Li said he had a case to go to court this morning.
Wen Ying rubbed her eyes and sat up. The pain in her waist and abdomen had eased a lot. She slipped out of bed, washed up, and carefully applied a layer of powder to her face. She looked much better than yesterday.
She packed up and walked out of the bedroom, and saw a pile of things on the dining table. There were brown sugar, ginger tea, hot packs, and all kinds of things on the table.
There was a takeaway order receipt casually placed next to it. Wen Ying looked at the time and saw "06:31" written on it.
The corners of her lips curled up unconsciously. Wen Ying unpacked the brown sugar into small packets, took two packets of ginger tea and put them in her bag, then left for work.
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Wen Ying arrived at the law firm at almost 9 a.m. after a rear-end collision during the morning rush hour. She walked toward the office, but didn't see Yu Jiaran's workstation.
Wen Ying felt strange.
Yu Jiaran works very hard. Her family lives in another city and she doesn't have many social circles in Minshi. She comes here very early every morning to read books and files, but today she is rarely absent from work.
Wen Ying's strangeness was only temporary, because she never paid much attention to her assistant's private affairs.
Wen Ying believes that a good working state for a lawyer is to have clear responsibilities at work and not to mix in too many personal emotions.
She went into the office and made herself a cup of brown sugar ginger tea.
The sweetness of brown sugar and the spiciness of ginger slices filled her entire mouth, and Wen Ying inevitably thought of Chen Li.
He has a court hearing today and doesn't know what the situation is.
Wen Ying was distracted when her phone rang. She looked down and saw it was Yao Fangzhou.
"Senior brother?" She picked up the phone.
Yao Fangzhou lowered his voice a little: "Are you here?"
Wen Ying had no idea what he was up to: "I just arrived, what's going on?"
"HR has already spoken to Yu Jiaran, and she's been fired."
Wen Ying was shocked. She had seen Yu Jiaran sorting materials at his workstation when she got off work last night. "When? I haven't heard anything."
Yao Fangzhou spoke quickly: "Just an hour ago, Yu Jiaran is gone now."
Wen Ying couldn't understand: "Why?"
"I heard that Yan Lu was watching the surveillance footage yesterday and spotted Yu Jiaran eating breakfast on the sofa in the reception room. He then flipped back and discovered she did this often. Yan Lu was very upset and ordered HR to negotiate compensation with her and terminate her contract."
"Eating breakfast?" Wen Ying thought she must be hallucinating. "Just because of breakfast?"
Yao Fangzhou interrupted her: "Don't ask. Did you also see her eating breakfast yesterday? Yan Lu should talk to you soon. I called you so that you can understand what's going on."
Wen Ying sneered, "It's just right that he came to me. I really need to ask him why he's so unkind."
Yao Fangzhou advised her, "Yan Lu is not a tolerant person. You just came back and were recently promoted. Don't argue with him now."
Before he finished speaking, the phone rang.
Wen Ying hung up the phone with Yao Fangzhou and picked up the landline: "Hello, Wen Ying."
The voice on the other end of the line was HR's Yang Wenqing's. "Hello, Wenlu, do you have time to come to the Human Resources Department right now? I need to discuss something with you."
Wen Ying asked back, "Are you communicating with me?"
Yang Wenqing didn't know why she asked that, but he could hear the slight anger in Wen Ying's voice: "Yes, Wen Lu."
"Where's Yan Lu? Why didn't he come to talk to me?" she asked. "They fired my assistant without even asking for my opinion. Is that the standard procedure in your HR department? Peter, I'm not picking on you. I just think what you did was excessive."
Yang Wenqing's biggest headache was arguing with these lawyers. His voice was already noticeably weak. "Well, Lawyer Wen, I'll come to your office later and we can discuss this in detail. OK?"
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Yang Wenqing sat across from Wen Ying, his hands folded in his lap. Wen Ying glanced at him, his face a little cold. "Peter, please give me an explanation."
Yang Wenqing considered his words for a moment before speaking, "Yan Lu discovered last night that one of his pens was missing. It was a gift from his wife on their 30th wedding anniversary, so he was very worried and went to the security office in the middle of the night to check the surveillance."
Wen Ying knocked on the table. "I have a meeting with the client at 9:30, so I don't have time to listen to stories about the deep love between Yan Lu and his wife. Peter, please tell me the main point."
"In short, Yan Lu discovered on surveillance footage that Yu Jiaran was eating breakfast in the VIP reception room, sitting cross-legged on the sofa. Yan Lu was furious and had Amy review a month's worth of surveillance footage. They discovered that Yu Jiaran would eat in the VIP reception room every morning and midnight."
Yang Wenqing paused, carefully observing Wen Ying's expression, and said, "Because Yan Lu saw on the surveillance camera that you ran into Yu Jiaran yesterday morning and didn't stop or criticize her for eating breakfast in the VIP reception room, Yan Lu thought...thought you deserved some small punishment this time, so he directly dismissed Yu Jiaran without your permission. Wen Lu, that's basically what happened."
Wen Ying was furious. "It's just breakfast and a midnight snack. What's wrong with that? She's working diligently and studying. Shouldn't the boss be pleased and commended?"
"We at Zhongsheng aren't some street vendor, Lawyer Wen. We're located in the most upscale office building in the city center, and our clients are leaders in their respective industries," Yang Wenqing recited. "Of course, the boss is very concerned about the growth of his employees. Every floor of Zhongsheng has a dedicated tea room and lounge. Lawyer Yan believes that Yu Jiaran's unauthorized entry into the VIP room is an act of crossing levels. If he were seen by a sudden visitor, or if he left any dirt in the reception room, this would be unacceptable to Zhongsheng. We must be mindful of maintaining our image."
Yang Wenqing spread his hands. "These words were spoken to me by Yan Lu last night. Wen Lu, given our personal relationship, I want to tell you something—expelling Yu Jiaran isn't just because Yan Lu thinks her behavior doesn't align with Zhongsheng's image. I personally think it's more of a warning to others. Using Yu Jiaran to warn the entire Zhongsheng."
Without the knowledge of the lawyer in question, the boss instructed the HR department to directly intervene and fire the legal assistant, which was tantamount to slapping the lawyer in the face in front of everyone.
Wen Ying's expression was not very good: "This is an irrational bandit mentality."
Yang Wenqing shrugged, also feeling helpless. He stood up and straightened his suit. "I'm sorry, Wenlu, but I'm just following orders."
"Of course," Wen Ying looked at him. "I'm not the type to blindly blame others without any evidence. And thank you for informing Yao Fangzhou ahead of time so that I could be mentally prepared."
Yang Wenqing was surprised: "How did you know it was me?"
"You're the head of the HR department. Without your tacit consent, this kind of thing wouldn't be leaked in advance for people to chew on and discuss. Everyone knows Yan Lu's temper," Wen Ying chuckled. "Don't try to hide it from a lawyer, especially a female lawyer specializing in marriage lawsuits."
Yang Wenqing clasped his fists and said, "I surrender."
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The night was hazy, the moon already hanging high above the treetops. Outside, red lanterns hung, a faint light filtering through the windows, casting a shadow on the fine carpet.
The hotel was quiet. The waiter in charge of tea came in and added a pot of tea, then left the room quietly.
Yao Fangzhou saw that she looked a little worried after she hung up the phone, and was very curious: "What happened?"
Wen Ying clutched her phone, her face a little tired. "Next week is my father's death anniversary. My uncle asked my younger cousin to call me and ask me to book two suites at the Lihui so they can have a drink and dinner together after the memorial service."
"On your father's death anniversary, your cousin asked you to do something?" Yao Fangzhou smacked his lips. "That sounds a bit strange."
Wen Ying pinched the bridge of her nose. "My cousin always believed that I was able to grow up and get a well-paying job because of the Wen family. Of course, he's right, and I've always been grateful to my parents for adopting me. But my cousin has always regarded me as not a member of the Wen family and has a deep hostility towards me. He always felt that I should give him everything I have to be 'right and proper'."
Yao Fangzhou was puzzled: "Give it all to him? Isn't he your cousin? He's not your biological uncle."
Wen Ying brushed it off briefly: "Household affairs are a mess and hard to sort out."
Yao Fangzhou knew what to do and shut up.
Wen Ying glanced at the time: "Mr. Zhou is almost an hour late."
Yao Fangzhou comforted her: "Your Excellency is very busy, and it is not easy for him to agree to meet you tonight. Why, will Shen Li miss you if you come home late?"
Shen Li. Wen Ying was a little distracted when his name was mentioned.
She was so busy that day that she didn't have much time to think about him and the questions he asked her.
Wen Ying looked at Yao Fangzhou: "Brother, do you plan to go it alone?"
Yao Fangzhou was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "I had originally planned to make this suggestion to you after our meeting tonight, but I didn't expect us to be so in tune with each other. It seems that I might be a better match for you than Chen Li."
Wen Ying glanced at his meticulously combed hair, which shone brightly under the light: "You are more exquisite than me. I am not worthy of you."
Yao Fangzhou laughed heartily, then said to her seriously, "I've had this idea since the first half of the year. Since you're back, I was thinking of asking if you'd be willing to partner with me. Zhongsheng may be powerful, but Yan Lu's management philosophy is no longer well-suited to the current market. He's demanding and stubborn. If things continue like this, the company will gradually decline."
He looked at Wen Ying and said, "I have a stable client base now, and I'm also quite well-known in my field. If I go out and start my own law firm, I shouldn't have any problems making ends meet."
Wen Ying knew his disadvantages: "I'm young and inexperienced, so I'm afraid I can't be your signboard."
Yao Fangzhou smiled smugly, "You're talking about now. But if you can take Zhou Boyu's case tonight, as long as you win, you will definitely be the most famous divorce lawyer in Min City."
He added, "We can leave Zheng Di far behind."
Wen Ying sat there thinking quietly for a long time, and Yao Fangzhou did not make a sound to disturb her.
Ten minutes later, Wen Ying stood up and said to him, "Brother, I'm going out to make a phone call."
The hotel was located in a resort villa on the outskirts of the city. Without the hustle and bustle of traffic, it was quiet everywhere. Wen Ying came out of the hotel and found a small pavilion not far away and called Shen Li.
"It's me," she said. "How was your court session today?"
Shen Li sounded relaxed. "Of course it's a great victory. I'm working overtime in the office sorting out files. Are you home?"
Wen Ying said no: "My senior brother introduced me to a case and asked me to meet him for dinner tonight."
Shen Li hummed, "Does your stomach still hurt?"
"Thank you for the brown sugar ginger tea. I feel much better today," she said sincerely. "Chen Li, thank you so much."
Wen Ying would never sneak out to chat with the client while they were meeting. Shen Li understood her and asked her directly, "What do you want to tell me?"
A breeze blew, and the broad leaves of the sycamore trees on the ground were blown up high. It seemed that someone was passing by on the other side of the pavilion.
Wen Ying sniffed, turned sideways, and said, "Chen Li, I agree not to divorce yet."
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