Chapter 28 Pei Shuwen was in low spirits...
Their eyes met.
Lin Chaoyue thought Pei Shuwen would come over, but he only glanced at her once before going straight inside.
"Do you want to make another call?" the policewoman accompanying her asked.
"Oh, no need, thank you for your trouble."
Lin Chaoyue handed back her phone and returned to the lounge.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw Mu Qiao asleep on the table. He was sleeping restlessly, raising his hand every now and then as if he were scattering money, and muttering something under his breath.
"You fell asleep so quickly?" Lin Chaoyue asked Li Wei in a low voice.
"Hmm, she drank quite a bit tonight. Did you get through on the phone?"
"Didn't answer."
Li Wei wasn't surprised: "Brother Mu Yang recently went on vacation to Hokkaido. Even if we knew he wouldn't be back now, if my dad's company's legal counsel hasn't arrived yet... I'll ask my dad."
Li Wei seemed a little uncomfortable when he mentioned his father, indicating that he had indeed had a hard time working at the family company for the past two years.
Lin Chaoyue suddenly asked, "Is your company still cooperating with our law firm?"
"Your law firm?"
"Pei Shuwen's law firm." Lin Chaoyue coughed lightly. Recently, Nie Shanshan had been using "our firm" all the time, so she had gotten used to saying it that way too.
Speaking of Pei Shuwen.
Li Wei's expression darkened further: "It's a collaboration, but don't tell Pei Shuwen yet. I'm afraid that if I do, things will become more complicated."
It was because of this plague god that I was exiled to the branch office in my hometown.
He really didn't want to go through the same thing again.
Lin Chaoyue thought to herself, Pei Shuwen already knows, and he's right next door.
She felt that she wasn't that important and didn't need Pei Shuwen to watch over her 24/7; he was probably there for someone else.
As for whom?
She glanced at Li Wei, then said nothing more.
--
Pei Shuwen sat waiting for someone until a hearty laugh came from outside, at which point she got up.
"Brother Ma."
"Brother Pei, it's been a long time."
Ma Yue came over and shook hands. He was a former armed police officer and had a strong grip. Pei Shuwen glanced down at him but did not refuse.
"I heard about what happened earlier. It's a good thing you were here today, otherwise our police station would have turned into a brawl. Those bastards were drunk, and they weren't afraid of my officers wielding stun guns."
"In a society governed by the rule of law, everyone knows that the police and the people are of one mind. You won't really do anything."
"So it's good that you're here. When you have time, please come and give a legal education session or a lecture to our officers. Putting aside everything else, telecom fraud is rampant these days. Don't laugh at me, Brother Pei, but even several of my officers have fallen victim to it. It's shameful!"
“This is simple. Our station has handled quite a few fraud-related cases recently. After consulting with the victims, we can do a joint legal education campaign with you, which will also raise residents’ awareness of fraud prevention.”
Ma Yue laughed: "That's great! By the way, Brother Pei, you're usually so busy, how come you have time to come over today?"
Pei Shu and Ma Yue were old acquaintances, so he didn't beat around the bush and explained his purpose.
After listening, Ma Yue exclaimed, "Ah! Those people arrested at the South City Bar? Someone reported them for gambling and promiscuity. They might not be released immediately. I need to ask them for details. What's your client's name...?"
--
The long wait in the lounge made Lin Chaoyue drowsy.
After nearly hitting her head while dozing off for the third time, she woke up completely.
People pass by outside from time to time.
However, the glass in the lounge was frosted, and from inside, you could only see a dark shadow outside.
I glanced at the time; another hour had passed, and Li Weijia's legal representative still hadn't arrived.
She regretted it.
If I had known it would take this long, I should have called Pei Shuwen over directly.
After waiting another half hour, Mu Qiao sobered up, and Li Wei couldn't sit still any longer. The two of them discussed it back and forth, but in the end they still didn't dare to tell their families and decided to call Li Wei's family's legal counsel again.
"It's been so long, we should have arrived by donkey cart by now..." Li Wei muttered, his mood showing on his face when he was in a bad mood.
He pushed the door open to go out, but the door opened without him moving.
Seeing his expression change instantly, Lin Chaoyue only managed to say half of what she wanted to say before the rest got stuck in her throat. After choking for a long time, she forced herself to swallow it down.
The doorway was right in her blind spot. Lin Chaoyue turned to look and met a familiar gaze. Lin Chaoyue thought to herself, no wonder Li Wei looked like he had seen a plague god.
The 'plague god' he'd been talking about all night at the drinking party was right in front of him.
Li Wei's voice trembled as he said, "Brother Pei."
"Hmm," Pei Shuwen replied indifferently, her mood low.
Pei Shuwen: "Come with me."
The last sentence was said while looking at Lin Chaoyue.
Lin Chaoyue: "Me?"
Pei Shuwen: "You."
Pei Shuwen had little patience. He was here at this time, and he didn't want to say a single extra word unless absolutely necessary.
Lin Chaoyue hesitated.
She glanced at the other people in the lounge, all of whom were shrinking back.
Even Mu Qiao, who is usually fearless, fell silent and gave her a 'good luck' look.
They didn't have this attitude when they were drinking last night. So all this fuss was just empty words of support for her.
Lin Chaoyue sighed silently in her heart and quickly followed.
"Why are you here...?"
"Ms. Lin, please sign these papers. This is your phone. You can leave after you sign."
Lin Chaoyue was asked a question when she was called to sign something. Pei Shuwen stayed by her side the whole time, remaining silent and creating a tense atmosphere.
She was sensible at first and didn't say much.
But seeing that she got into Pei Shuwen's car and he didn't say anything, she became a little anxious.
Lin Chaoyue: "Wait a minute, are we just going to leave like this? What about them?"
"I can barely take care of myself, how can I have the energy to care about others?"
Lin Chaoyue knew she was in the wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to leave and abandon the others. She wasn't close to the others, but Zuo Mingzhuo was at least Li Cong's cousin.
Lin Chaoyue looked worried. She pursed her lips and, as she spoke, her hand was already on the car door handle: "Brother Shuwen, thank you for saving me today, but I haven't told them yet. I can't just leave like this. I should at least wait until their family comes."
I knocked on the car door, but unexpectedly, the door didn't open.
"Did you lock the car?"
"The people who were supposed to rescue them have already arrived. You don't need to worry about it. Give me your phone."
Lin Chaoyue didn't see anyone and didn't believe it at first, but after two hours of unusual silence, the group chat popped up again with a message from Li Wei, so she believed it.
What do you need my phone for?
Despite asking, Lin Chaoyue still unlocked the password and handed over the phone.
Pei Shuwen unceremoniously clicked into her WeChat. The chat history was a whole row of bright red, and Pei Shuwen's nickname at the top was still 'Pei the Skinflint'. Lin Chaoyue's heart trembled and half of her body stiffened when she saw it.
"you……"
"How many people joined us at the bar tonight?" Pei Shuwen glanced at the list and scrolled down.
Why ask her that?
But how did Pei Shuwen know that she had added someone else to her contacts tonight?
"Five or six? I don't quite remember. Is there something wrong with those people?"
Pei Shuwen didn't explain, and said coldly, "Deleted."
"What?" Lin Chaoyue almost thought she had misheard, but in the moment she was stunned, Pei Shuwen had already deleted the boy who had been blocking her all night.
Call him Xiao Wei or something.
The movements were so swift and decisive that it didn't seem like he was deleting her as a friend, but rather like he was deleting his own.
"You can do the rest yourself."
Pei Shuwen tossed the phone back to her, but his gaze didn't leave her. Judging from his expression, he was clearly planning to watch her delete it.
Even with her good temper, Lin Chaoyue was somewhat annoyed at this moment.
Pei Shuwen is the authority at work, and he makes the decisions, which is fine since she's a lazy bum who doesn't know anything about it; but in her private life, she always makes her own decisions, and she can decide who to add as friends on social media.
Lin Chaoyue held her phone without moving. The weather was still a bit hot this time of year, but the car felt like it was blasting air conditioning.
Especially when she felt that cold and undisguised gaze, Lin Chaoyue pursed her lips twice and sat there stiffly.
Pei Shuwen: "If you want to stay here, I don't mind staying with you, but you can't leave any of those people alive. I'm not negotiating with you."
"That's dictatorial! Even my mother wouldn't interfere in my private life like this. I have the right to choose who I want as friends. I'm not a three-year-old anymore. I can manage my own life." Lin Chaoyue felt a surge of anger and a sense of grievance.
Pei Shuwen sneered, somewhat disdainfully: "If you could manage yourself, your parents wouldn't have entrusted you to me; if the friends you mentioned are those still locked up in the police station, I advise you to find some good people to be your friends. Don't end up being sold out and still counting the money for the seller."
Pei Shuwen was perfectly fine when we were at Anjiang Group that afternoon. How come he's suddenly become so sarcastic now?
Lin Chaoyue wasn't unaware that Pei Shuwen could be sharp-tongued at times, but to say it so bluntly about her made her almost choke: "You...you! Did you take some kind of poison tonight? I'm not deleting it! I'm not deleting it! Let's just wait and see!"
Depend on!
She had plenty of time and wasn't afraid to waste it here. Besides, she didn't want to leave anyway. She wanted to know at least how Mu Qiao and the others were doing and whether Zuo Mingzhuo could get bail out tonight.
Lin Chaoyue grew angrier the more she thought about it.
Then he completely ignored Pei Shuwen.
From this moment on, she decided not to look at Pei Shuwen again, to avoid him giving her that disdainful look again. Don't think she didn't see it! She saw it all! He was looking down on her!
She didn't beg Pei Shuwen to come and bail her out! Why is he being so mean to her?
Lin Chaoyue hadn't been this angry in a long time. She puffed up her cheeks, her fair face shrugged like a pufferfish, and her neck remained stiff as she looked across at the other side.
Pei Shuwen let her keep going like that, gave her a deep look, then leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes to rest.
Pei Shuwen felt better, but Lin Chaoyue's neck ached from twisting.
But having already uttered those bold words, she didn't want to back down, so she just kept staring outside.
They waited for ages. None of the people they wanted to see came out; instead, uniformed police officers were going in and out, and one of them was walking towards them.
"Brother Pei, I've seen your car parked here for ages. Is it broken down? Should I call a tow truck for you?" Ma Yue knocked on the car window and glanced at the girl sitting in the passenger seat.
Pei Shuwen opened his eyes, but instead of explaining, he asked about something else: "Brother Ma, how were those people dealt with tonight?"
"Which ones? Oh, you mean those from just now?"
“Sigh, we’re worried about it too. Their identities are all fake. They’re working illegally in bars all over the place, committing fraud, and selling illegal drugs. They also have criminal records in their respective jurisdictions. I guess they’ll have to be dealt with together.”
"What a mess! We didn't catch any gamblers, but we did crack several large-scale fraud cases. And all the victims were from our jurisdiction. Our performance is going to be at the bottom again this year."
"The issue of police-lawyer cooperation in public awareness campaigns needs to be put on the agenda, as residents' awareness of anti-fraud is still too weak."
Ma Yue went out for a smoke, and when he saw that Pei Shuwen hadn't left, he quickly came over and brought it up again.
This matter needs to be handled urgently, but the bureau has limited funds, so we should be proactive in seeking help.
Pei Shuwen: "I'll be going on a business trip next week and will be back in two weeks. I'll arrange a public lecture then, and you can decide on the venue."
"Okay, it's settled then. We'll have your little girl come and listen to it too. Luckily, someone tipped them off tonight and they were all taken down, otherwise they might have become victims as well."
Ma Yue caught something out of the corner of his eye and hurriedly returned to the police station.
Lin Chaoyue was left in a daze.
"What victim? What do you mean? And you just said the identity is fake, whose identity is fake?"
Lin Chaoyue finally turned to look at Pei Shuwen, but Pei Shuwen didn't even lift his head.
"[Relying on her family's wealth, she not only bought her degree in New York State, but also kept several male college students of different nationalities at her private residence. She was scammed this time because the male students at home were jealous of her, so she went to a bar to drown her sorrows, and ultimately got scammed by the bartender's charms.]"
"I didn't really believe in these things before, but now I think you can't judge a book by its cover."
Pei Shuwen has a good memory, and Lin Chaoyue is no less so.
She immediately recognized the words as those spoken by Li Cong during the phone call he made to her on the day she returned to China.
Pei Shuwen's retelling was almost word for word.
But she was alone when she answered the phone that day, how did Pei Shuwen know? So he was there too?
However, she didn't have time to dwell on this, because Lin Chaoyue soon realized that Pei Shuwen's words clearly had a hidden meaning.
Combining this with what the policeman had just said, her alarm bells went off. She sat up straight and pointed at her phone, asking Pei Shuwen with a serious expression, "Are you saying that all the people I added are scammers? Impossible, Mu Qiao wouldn't lie to me..."
She has that confidence.
but……
What if Mu Qiao is also a victim...? Mu Qiao wouldn't lie to herself, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't be lied to.
Recalling Mu Qiao's drunken act of throwing money around, Lin Chaoyue's lips twitched, and her momentum weakened by three points.
Pei Shuwen: "Lin Chaoyue, you can still make the same mistake twice right under my nose. You're quite capable."
Lin Chaoyue wanted to explain that nothing had happened to her.
But since we've already added each other's contact information, and I was still stubbornly refusing to delete him, who knows what Pei Shuwen might be thinking?
"I'll delete it."
Pei Shuwen started the engine and didn't look at her anymore. Lin Chaoyue handed him the deleted item, but he didn't look at it either.
Lin Chaoyue suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness for no reason.
But this sense of powerlessness quickly evolved into guilt.
The incident started when Pei Shuwen received a phone call midway through the conversation. The caller didn't say much, just asked if the matter had been resolved and told him not to delay because of his injury. He was told to go to the hospital as soon as the matter was resolved, as work was not as important as his health.
While the call was still going on, Lin Chaoyue kept glancing at Pei Shuwen. After Pei Shuwen hung up, she turned her head and saw Lin Chaoyue staring at her wrist, her eyes reddening.
She was so self-righteous just a moment ago, but now she's putting on this expression. But Pei Shuwen isn't the type to hold a grudge and dwell on mistakes.
"Say what you want to say."
Seeing that Pei Shuwen looked better, Lin Chaoyue quickly said, "Why don't you pull over and I'll drive you to the hospital before we go home?"
Pei Shuwen glanced at her, bewildered: "You're the one driving under the influence? I came all this way to bail you out, and then I'll personally send you to jail. Lin Chaoyue, think before you speak."
"I'm sorry, I forgot I've been drinking. Why don't you pull over and I'll call a designated driver?" Lin Chaoyue's attitude changed quickly, and all her last bit of assertiveness vanished as she spoke softly to the man in front of her.
"You have a lot of money?"
“It’s not much, but it’s enough to call a designated driver. Your wrist is swollen, and it will take a long time to drive home. Park your car on the side of the road, and I’ll place the order.”
Lin Chaoyue was unusually insistent this time. Pei Shuwen glanced at her twice, but eventually pulled the car over to the side of the road.
Lin Chaoyue breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to say something more, but Pei Shuwen simply opened the car door and sat in the back seat. No matter how thick-skinned she was, she was too embarrassed to follow, so she obediently sat in the passenger seat and waited for them, glancing back every now and then.
Pei Shuwen, whether from exhaustion or pain, kept her eyes closed and rested.
When the designated driver arrived, Pei Shuwen remained silent, and she almost thought he had fallen asleep.
Pei Shuwen quietly asked the designated driver to go to the nearby hospital first, but then spoke up and denied Lin Chaoyue's words: "We're not going to the hospital, we're going back to Tianhe City."
The two people mentioned two different places.
The designated driver looked at Lin Chaoyue with some embarrassment.
Lin Chaoyue compromised: "Let's go back to Tianhe City, I'll give you directions."
Despite the compromise, when passing a 24-hour pharmacy, Lin Chaoyue still got out of the car and ran to buy a bottle of ointment. When she came back, she sheepishly sat in the back seat.
"Hey, Shuwen, give me your hand, I'll put some medicine on it for you. I also bought an ice pack, so the swelling won't be so bad tomorrow."
Pei Shuwen lifted his eyelids to look at her, but didn't move.
Lin Chaoyue pursed her lips, her heart pounding with a series of beats. Although she wasn't quite sure, she still tried to pull Pei Shuwen's hand over and lift up his sleeve.
Seeing that he didn't refuse, Lin Chaoyue breathed a sigh of relief. She reached out and turned on the back seat light, then knelt down and carefully applied ointment and ice packs to him.
Only after everything was finished did they obediently lean back.
Even with the lights off, Lin Chaoyue could still feel Pei Shuwen watching her. Her fingers clenched and unclenched, her throat tightened, and she wanted to say something to ease the tension, so she asked, "Are you still in pain?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"How did you know I was taken to the police station? Did you go to the bar tonight too?"
"I didn't go."
"Then why did you come?"
"I came as soon as I saw it."
After receiving three brief replies, Lin Chaoyue assumed Pei Shuwen still didn't want to talk, so she wisely refrained from asking further and shrank back as much as possible to minimize her presence.
Even the designated driver noticed something was off about the two of them and assumed they were having a lovers' quarrel. He switched the car's music from the dull classical music to a soft piano piece, and the two drove back to Tianhe City in silence.
Pei Shuwen got out of the car and went into the elevator. Lin Chaoyue paid the bill and lagged behind. When she followed him to the fourth floor, she found the door was closed.
Lin Chaoyue hung the bag on the doorknob and went downstairs with a sheepish look on her face.
Oh no, I've really angered them now.
He offended his benefactors for the sake of a few insignificant people.
Why does she have to keep those guys around? She's not really going to do anything with them anyway. They were just random people she added, so she can just delete them.
Lin Chaoyue felt a pang of annoyance. She went inside, kicked off her shoes, and closed the door behind her. Pei Shuwen heard the door closing downstairs, rubbed his brows, and closed the door behind him as well.
Pei Shuwen didn't shower immediately after playing ball, and although she didn't smell, she still felt uncomfortable.
He went into the bathroom, changed his clothes, and looked at the ugly bow on his wrist. He wanted to tear it off, but after placing his hand on it, he didn't move. He was a little lost in thought, thinking of Lin Chaoyue's careful manner. Finally, he turned on the water and left the gauze tied there.
The water cooled down. Pei Shuwen glanced at the time, got out of the water, and his phone, which he had left in the living room, was still ringing, but he didn't answer it. He focused on drying himself off. Pei Shuwen was in a bad mood; he didn't like feeling out of control. Lin Chaoyue had broken too many rules with him.
He was reflecting on whether, if he had used his usual methods to solve the problem from the beginning and had placed higher demands on Lin Chaoyue, would today's events have occurred? Pei Shuwen's face was detached and his eyes were devoid of emotion as he pondered, reconsidering an optimal solution.
Upon answering the phone, Zhao Huai'an immediately sensed that the person on the other end was in a low mood.
"Brother, what's wrong? They still haven't gotten him out? Should I go over there too?"
Zhao Huai'an casually posted a piece of gossip, but little did he know that the photo of the arrest scene would capture half of Lin Chaoyue's face.
I heard that Pei Shuwen was so engrossed in looking at her phone on the court that she got hit by a ball.
Pei Shuwen: "No need, I'm at home."
Seeing that things were going smoothly, and assuming that Lin Chaoyue wasn't at Pei Shuwen's house at this hour, Zhao Huai'an clicked send and sent the video.
"I sent the backup video to your email. Luckily you got there in time, otherwise... Anyway, you can watch it yourself. I know you wouldn't get angry over something so small, but I still want to say that young girls need to be taught slowly and patiently. We should look on the bright side; nothing bad has happened..."
Zhao Huai'an sent two videos in total.
He had seen the one above at the police station; Pei Shuwen clicked on the one below.
The video was very short, only a dozen seconds long, and the background noise was so loud that it was impossible to hear what the man and woman were saying as they walked up the stairs. However, the man kept holding Lin Chaoyue's hand, and she didn't refuse. Occasionally, the two would get close to talk, and Lin Chaoyue had a smile on her lips, as if she was preparing to follow him up...
The video played on a loop, and Pei Shuwen closed the computer.
Pei Shuwen: "Yes, I know. I'm going back to the station tomorrow; there's something I need you to handle..."
"What is it? Tell me."
After hearing what Pei Shuwen said, Zhao Huai'an couldn't help but shed a tear of sympathy for Lin Chaoyue.
He was very curious about what Pei Shuwen meant by "I know." Although the girl had made a mistake, the punishment shouldn't be this harsh.
"Are you sure? Isn't this going too far?"
Pei Shuwen: "Confirmed. Get it done before work tomorrow, then I'll give you a week off."
"Alright, I'll get on it right now." Zhao Huai'an had been wanting a vacation for a long time, but Pei Shuwen had been holding him back. In the past, no matter how busy he was, he could at least take half a month off. This year, he only got three days off for the New Year. He dared not say anything, but now that he had finally agreed, Zhao Huai'an readily agreed.
As for Lin Chaoyue, may she have good luck.
--
Lin Chaoyue thought she must have caught a cold, as she was sneezing all night.
Normally, it takes ten alarms to wake her up.
She woke up on her own this morning.
It was still summer in Ningcheng, and Lin Chaoyue felt that she was probably chilled by Pei Shuwen's tone yesterday.
Despite her coldness, she still wanted to explain to Pei Shuwen that she had really just been passing by yesterday and had no intention of doing anything. Adding those people was an accident, and now when she looked at them again, she couldn't match the names with the faces.
Just as I was thinking about this, a message came from the personnel department.
Tell her to hand over her work at Anjiang Group and go back to the office today.
That's perfect.
Otherwise, she would worry about not finding an opportunity; she didn't want to knock on doors in the middle of the night anymore.
On the way to the law firm, Lin Chaoyue was organizing her thoughts. She had a good plan: if she explained things clearly, Pei Shuwen, being such a busy person, would definitely not hold it against her and would forget about it in a few days.
They still maintained a harmonious boss-subordinate relationship. She usually slacked off happily, occasionally earning some extra money. When her parents felt sorry for her, she could go back to being a carefree, wealthy, and beautiful woman.
But from the moment she stepped into the law firm.
People around her looked at her strangely, scrutinizing, sizing her up, feeling sorry for her, and of course some other emotions, but most of them were negative.
I haven't seen Wen Ya for a few days, and when she saw me, she had that complicated expression.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face? Why is everyone staring at me like that?" Lin Chaoyue asked, somewhat bewildered.
"You still don't know?"
"Know what?"
"You'll see when you go upstairs. Pei Lu arrived early this morning and is waiting for you in his office."
It sounds like something urgent has happened.
But what urgent matter could possibly require a visit from the lawyer? Didn't she and Pei Shuwen live upstairs and downstairs?
Lin Chaoyue entered the elevator with a belly full of questions.
She stood in the elevator for more than ten seconds, and several possibilities had already flashed through her mind.
Is there some problem with the cooperation between the law firm and Anjiang Group? But yesterday, Jin Zailai's boss lady had already signed the agreement.
Something must have happened at the bar last night, but most of the people in the group who went there have come out. She didn't stay for an hour from the time she went in until she left; she only drank a few drinks.
Is Pei Shuwen still angry with her? Was he injured yesterday and his fighting ability was lowered, so he didn't scold her enough and called her over today to scold her again?
Thinking about the sharp tongue she would have to face later, she shrank back before raising her hand to knock on the door.
The ominous premonition grew stronger, and his hand hesitated to fall.
Separated by a door, Pei Shuwen seemed to know she had arrived. Without giving her time to waver or run away, he said indifferently, "Come in."
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