Chapter 24 Chapter 24
When I opened my eyes again, the dim TV screen was no longer in front of me.
Wen Ying stared at the white ceiling in a daze for a while before she realized that she was lying on a strange yet familiar bed.
The person beside her was breathing steadily, and a strong forearm was loosely placed across her abdomen, with fingers just covering her injured left shoulder.
The two of them shared a silk quilt, their pajamas already twisted and distorted from unconscious friction. Half of Chen Li's forearm was pressed against the fabric of the pajamas, while the other half was directly pressed against the soft skin of her abdomen.
This was a thrill Wen Ying had never experienced before. The intimate contact of skin against skin made her whole body feel hot.
She was stunned for a long time before she finally decided to quietly pull her pajamas back into place.
Wen Ying twisted her body slightly, trying to create a tiny gap between Shen Li's arm and her body, but unfortunately, she failed, and her movement seemed to wake up Shen Li.
Chen Li moved slightly, and in a half-asleep and half-awake state, he hugged her into his arms again, caressing her with his fingers, unconsciously brushing against Wen Ying's towering chest.
!
She was as stiff as a rock.
Chen Li seemed to still be asleep, his breathing still long and steady. But his hand made Wen Ying dare not breathe - his palm, about half touching, was lightly caressing the side of her round breast.
The pajamas on her body were even more crooked. Not only were the trouser legs wrinkled above the knees, but almost half of her waist was exposed.
She was at a loss and swallowed a few times, not knowing whether she should push Shen Li's hand away and sit up, or wait for Shen Li's next move and take the opportunity to leave.
Wen Ying looked up and saw that there was a slight dark spot under his eyes, not wanting to wake him up from his rare lazy sleep.
Just as she was struggling with her conscience, the bedside table vibrated. In the quiet bedroom, the vibration of the phone seemed deafening.
Wen Ying was startled and subconsciously reached out to take it, only to find that it was her own phone, still plugged in with the charging cable. She thought that Shen Li must have brought it for her last night.
The words "Yu Jiaran" kept jumping on the phone screen. Wen Ying didn't care about Chen Li anymore. She pushed Chen Li's arm away and sat up, pressing the answer button: "Jiaran, what's up?"
Shen Li opened his eyes behind Wen Ying.
His eyes were clear, without a trace of drowsiness.
Yu Jiaran was doing the final review and came across a few places that might be seen as loopholes, so he quickly called her to inform her.
Wen Ying listened carefully, responding occasionally. Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not a big deal. You can compile a list and send it to my email. I'll write down the supporting material codes one by one, and you can sort them out according to the codes."
"Thank you for your hard work, Jiaran," Wen Ying said. "I'll give you a percentage of this order. Once the new law firm is ready, we'll sign the contract right away."
After the phone was hung up, Wen Ying sat alone for a while, gradually sorting out the messy thoughts in his mind.
The big bed behind him moved slightly, and the quilt rubbed against the sheets, making a dry sound.
Wen Ying turned around and saw Chen Li leaning against the bed, holding a glass of water and looking at her.
"You're awake." Wen Ying thought of the beautiful moment just now and turned away her eyes unnaturally. Suddenly, she thought that Chen Li was still asleep and might not know anything about it. Then she raised her eyes and looked at him again, "How could I have slept here all night?"
Shen Li handed her the water and said lightly: "I wanted to carry you back to your bedroom, but I don't know when the heating in your room broke. It was too cold, so I carried you here."
Wen Ying drank half a cup in one gulp and looked at him in surprise: "Is the floor heating in my room broken?" She didn't believe it and handed the cup back to Chen Li. She got out of bed and put on her slippers. "It was working fine yesterday. How come it broke all of a sudden?"
Chen Li did not stop her. He just turned the cup half a circle, pressed his lips against the place where Wen Ying had just drunk, and tilted his head back to drink the remaining half cup of water.
“It’s really broken,” he said. “It’s normal for underfloor heating to have problems in an old house.”
Wen Ying pushed open her bedroom door. Sure enough, the temperature inside had dropped by almost ten degrees compared to outside. She squatted down and touched her hand to the tile. It was icy cold. It really was broken.
She scratched her hair and stood up, muttering, "What a good time to pick. The colder it is, the worse it gets." Wen Ying turned around and called out to Chen Li, "Has it ever broken before? Is there a phone number for repairing the floor heating?"
Shen Li nodded: "It broke once two years ago. They said the pipe was blocked, but the location was too hidden and it was difficult to open it."
Wen Ying was suspicious: "It's so difficult to open? How did you fix it?"
"The technician said that because the floor heating was installed later, the only way to completely solve the problem was to remove all the floor tiles in this bedroom and find the blockage and clean it out. Two years ago, the technician used high-pressure water to clear it, but it was only a temporary solution. At that time, the technician said that if the floor heating in this room was not completely repaired, it would be blocked again sooner or later. And sure enough, it happened."
Wen Ying thought: "Then let the master give it another try. At least I have to get through this winter."
Shen Li nodded: "I'll go look for the number and see if I can still find it. But it's cold now, and it's the peak season for plumbers. It probably won't be healed in a few days. I suggest you move in with me."
Wen Ying refused flatly: "I can make do here."
Shen Li emphasized the key point: "You are about to go to court for the final trial. How are you going to face Zheng Di's difficulties when you have a fever?"
There's usually more than one solution to any problem in the world: "The living room is warm, and the sofa is big enough for me to sleep on."
Chen Li rejected her request again: "You can't get enough rest on the sofa. You are about to fight the most crucial battle in your career. How can you be so careless? Wen Lu, you must know that when two top masters of equal level duel, only details can determine the winner."
"I might as well stay in a hotel," she saw through Shen Li's little thoughts and couldn't help laughing, "The hotel is warm and quiet, and there are special people to clean it."
Chen Li came over with a frown, and before Wen Ying could react, he had already squatted down and put his arms around her waist, holding her up steadily, and her eyes met his.
"If you need me, I can take some time off to clean the house." His pupils were a beautiful light brown, gleaming delicately in the early morning sunlight. "Not only can I clean, but I can also give you a relaxing massage. When you sleep, I'll become your human-shaped pillow and bed warmer. More importantly, if you encounter a difficult problem, I can provide you with free legal interpretation services. How about it, Wen Lu, are you interested?"
Wen Ying said seriously: "The conditions mentioned above are easy to negotiate. As long as I am willing, I can find them anywhere..."
The arm around her waist tightened, and Wen Ying laughed and patted the tense muscles on Shen Li's shoulders: "...It's just that the last condition is really not easy to find. Seeing that Shen Jian is quite sincere, I can certainly reluctantly agree."
Seeing her laughing freely, Shen Li's heart, which had been hanging in the air for several days, finally slowly settled down in his stomach.
He kissed Wen Ying hard on the lips, then tossed her around like a cat before putting her down. He reached out and ruffled her hair, "I'll go make breakfast first, you clean up."
Wen Ying lowered her head as she watched Chen Li turn and walk into the kitchen. She could still feel the soft touch on her lips. The thought of her waist and chest still lingered, making her cheeks burn, her belly ablaze, and her heart agitated.
Wen Ying smiled, scolded herself for being useless, lowered her head and quickly walked into her bedroom, packing her things obediently.
Just like that, just like a spur-of-the-moment horror movie, Wen Ying moved into Chen Li's bedroom. The large double bed could finally be filled.
Fortunately, Wen Ying hadn't had time to worry about these trivialities lately; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she'd been so engrossed in it that she'd neglected food and sleep. Often, Wen Ying would be sorting through her bank statements in the living room when Yu Jiaran would suddenly point out a flaw in their chat history. She'd drop the bank statements and rush to the study to look through the printed copy of the chat history.
Or maybe Wen Ying was eating at the dining table when she suddenly remembered that the details of Zhou Boyu's casual conversation with her about his communication with Guan Qianqian did not seem to match the information in her hand. So she put down the food in her hand, groped for the headphones at the head of the bed in the bedroom, and listened carefully to the call recording provided by Zhou Boyu.
She was so busy organizing the evidence that within just a few days, her materials could be seen almost everywhere, whether in the living room, bedroom, kitchen or balcony.
Chen Li knew that she was under a lot of pressure, and also knew that her messiness had its own pattern, so he paid attention to cleaning on weekdays and helped her note the approximate location of each piece of material.
When it comes to sleeping, Shen Li feels helpless.
He had to work hard to coax Wen Ying over, but the two of them slept together, and it was almost the same as before. Wen Ying basically stayed up very late every night, usually she was still outside studying materials before Chen Li went to bed, and by the time Chen Li woke up with the alarm clock, Wen Ying had already gone into the study.
Only when he woke up in the middle of the night occasionally could he see Wen Ying sleeping soundly beside him.
He couldn't bear to disturb her sleep, so he just hugged her gently and tucked the quilt for her.
Wen Ying was like a ray of moonlight accidentally cast into his window, cold and aloof. He chose to lie dormant for a long time during his adolescence, when his blood was surging. He extended a helping hand to her when she was most isolated and helpless, and led her closer to him step by step.
Chen Li could finally kiss the moonlight's cheek peacefully in the middle of the night.
------
The day of the final trial was a rare sunny day in winter.
Chen Li, dressed in a prosecutor's uniform, entered through the small door and sat inconspicuously in the far corner at the back of the courtroom.
Although it was winter, his palms were soaked with hot sweat.
In the courtroom, Wen Ying sat alone in the plaintiff's seat, facing the defense lawyers lined up in a row in the defendant's seat.
Guan Qianqian and Zheng Di sat in the middle. Both women chose the most vivid red to paint their lips, as if they wanted to use this touch of red to make themselves look more imposing.
Even though the trial was closed to the public, the audience was quite large. Besides the relatives and friends of both parties, Bosheng Group also dispatched professional financial and legal teams, ready to take charge.
Wen Ying lowered the microphone, her lightly made-up face radiating calmness and composure. "Judge, our client is concerned that his presence will cause a swarm of reporters outside the courthouse, so he has requested not to attend this trial."
The judge expressed understanding.
This morning, on my way to work, everyone could see the crowds of people outside. Zhou Boyu's divorce case had already become a trending topic on Toutiao before the final hearing even began.
The judge breathed a sigh of relief; it was just as well that he hadn't been there. Zhou Boyu, this Buddha-like figure, looked gentle, but in reality, his eyes were sharp and difficult to deal with. It didn't make much difference whether he showed up or not, but his absence still made the judge feel a little relieved.
The judge cleared his throat and banged the gavel: "The trial will now begin."
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