The man paused, as though he had no impression of Shang Wu at all, then walked in and casually pulled the door shut behind him.
He came over and extended his right hand.
“Hello, I’m Lu Rang, a lawyer at Dingfeng Law Firm.”
Shang Wu’s expression remained unruffled as she shook his hand.
“Hello. I’m Shang Wu.”
Lu Rang’s hand was much larger than hers, completely enveloping her fingertips. He held on for a second before letting go.
“Miss Shang, please sit.”
He flipped through the documents he had just collected from the front desk.
A client’s general demands would be delivered to him in writing before the meeting.
“You want to reopen a criminal case from three years ago?”
In just a few seconds, Shang Wu had already seen through his personality.
He did not waste words or invite trouble.
That suited her perfectly. It would save her from having to deal with what had happened that day.
Shang Wu quickly adjusted her state of mind and shifted into negotiation mode. “Yes. Three years ago, my older brother stood up for me and accidentally seriously injured someone. That person lost his fertility, and my brother was sentenced to eight years in prison.”
She changed tack. “However, I recently began to suspect that there was more to what happened back then.”
Lu Rang listened quietly, then casually set the documents on the table.
They landed with a “slap.”
The sound was neither loud nor soft, yet it made his attitude difficult to read.
Shang Wu glanced at him. “Will Lawyer Lu take this case? Name whatever fee you like.”
Lu Rang said, “I’ll need to consider it for now.”
Shang Wu was taken aback, thinking she had misheard him. “I offered twice the usual fee.”
His expression shifted slightly as he looked at her. “This isn’t merely a criminal case. It involves a great many people and could easily bring me trouble. That’s why Miss Shang is willing to pay twice the usual fee, isn’t it?”
At that, Shang Wu narrowed her eyes slightly.
As expected of a lawyer. In only a few minutes, he had seen through the risks involved.
Yes.
The collapse of the Shang family, which had shaken the entire circle back then, had involved multiple matters, including tax evasion, bribery, and illegal projects.
During the investigation, the inspectors did not even have enough people to staff the courts and had to temporarily gather lawyers from law firms to help.
At the time, all the leading law firms had fought to participate in the sensational Shang Family Case, hoping to increase their fame and add prestige to their own reputations.
As Dingfeng’s leading lawyer, it was impossible that Lu Rang had never looked into the Shang Family Case.
On the surface, Shang Wu was asking Lu Rang to investigate her Older Brother’s criminal case. Privately, she also wanted to test whether he could be brought into her service—or even whether he would be willing to stand against Chengzhou.
As Shang Wu considered her options, Lu Rang’s voice sounded in her ears.
He said, “I’m particular about the clients whose cases I take. I prefer clients with uncomplicated backgrounds and clear, straightforward demands.”
Shang Wu listened in silence. She did not like negotiating with him on those terms. “Name your price. How much would you need to take the case?”
“No matter how high the fee?” Lu Rang asked.
Shang Wu knew that if he was asking, there was still room for negotiation. “Tell me. I should be able to afford it.”
Lu Rang looked at her for a moment. “Ten times the original fee.”
Shang Wu’s fingers curled inward.
That was no small sum.
Over the past three years, she had built Chengzhou’s Jewelry Division from the ground up and had indeed made a great deal of money.
Zhou Yanci was very good at employing people. In order to play the devoted lover, he had been extremely generous with money.
The problem was that, under the pretext of managing her funds for her, Zhou Yanci had control of her largest source of cash flow.
She could use it, but if she did, she would have to provide a reasonable explanation.
Lu Rang stared at Shang Wu. “Can’t Miss Shang come up with that much money? I thought that, given your ability to endure in silence, you would have gained plenty of benefits from the Zhou family.”
Shang Wu’s gaze sharpened, and she immediately thought of the scene she had witnessed at the restaurant, when Zhou Yanci and Shen Mian had been grappling with each other.
She had assumed Lu Rang would pretend not to remember it.
Shang Wu gave a faint smile. “The ability to endure in silence? I didn’t expect you to see through me the first time we met, Lawyer Lu.”
Lu Rang seemed not to hear the displeasure in her words. “It isn’t quite seeing through you, and this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”
Shang Wu’s fingers curled again.
She pressed her lips tightly together.
In the past, whenever someone demanded such an exorbitant price, she would simply turn around and leave.
But she could not do that now.
Dingfeng Law Firm was the only place suitable for taking her case.
No other law firm could withstand the pressure of investigating Chengzhou Group and still be willing to work for her.
Besides, the other firms were not capable enough.
Lu Rang seemed to be the only suitable person she could use at present.
Shang Wu’s eyes shifted. “Ten times the fee is too much. Like Lawyer Lu, I need time to consider it as well. Why don’t we each get back to the other in three days?”
Lu Rang took a sip of coffee, his Adam’s apple moving slightly. “All right.”
Shang Wu stood and walked around the coffee table until she was in front of Lu Rang.
Lu Rang leaned back and looked up at her.
He caught a faint, indescribable fragrance from Shang Wu.
In this position, the person standing should have seemed more intimidating.
But Lu Rang’s features were far too aggressive. With his gaze fixed on Shang Wu, filled with keen interest and scrutiny, he did not lose out to her in the slightest.
Shang Wu smiled and adopted the same confrontational stance, though her tone was as gentle as a spring breeze. “I hope Lawyer Lu will keep what happened at the restaurant confidential. If you dare say a single word about it, I’ll make sure you can’t stay at Dingfeng.”
She turned to pick up the bag on the table.
When she turned back, she nearly collided with Lu Rang.
He was even taller than the one-meter-eighty-five Zhou Yanci, and the oppressive force of his lowered gaze was overwhelming.
Shang Wu’s heart gave an inexplicable little jump.
Lu Rang waved a recording pen in front of her. “Miss Shang really doesn’t know the law. How dare you threaten a lawyer?”
Shang Wu froze, already regretting coming to Dingfeng and getting involved with such an unreadable man.
She kept her composure. “Then call the police.”
Lu Rang was stunned, as if she had completely thrown him off balance.
Shang Wu walked around him and left with an unconcerned expression.
The first thing she did after stepping outside was go straight to the front desk.
“I want to change lawyers.”
The receptionist looked troubled. “Lawyer Lu is our top lawyer. If you’re dissatisfied with him, there really isn’t anyone else suitable.”
Another receptionist chimed in, “Why don’t you think it over?”
Shang Wu narrowed her eyes.
She would look for someone else for three more days.
If she still could not find anyone suitable after three days, she would have no choice but to work with Lu Rang.
For now, she would make time to visit her Older Brother.
Shang Wu opened the car door and got in. When she saw two children crouching nearby and eating tanghulu, she unconsciously revealed a wistful smile.
She had been so busy with the Jewelry Division at Chengzhou that she had not seen her Older Brother in a long time.
The last time had been during the New Year, when she had gone to bring Older Brother the dumplings her parents had wrapped by hand…
Her phone rang, pulling Shang Wu back from her memories.
The screen displayed the name “Ji Yu.”
Shang Wu stepped on the accelerator and glanced at the entrance to Dingfeng Law Firm before turning the car around and leaving. “What is it?”
“Where are you? There’s nothing in the folder you gave me a few days ago! Where are the winter limited-edition pieces? And the design drafts for the pieces we’re releasing afterward?” Ji Yu demanded angrily.
Shang Wu kept her eyes on the road, her tone neither cold nor warm. “I’m on my way back to the company.”
Fifteen minutes later, she went upstairs to the Jewelry Division.
Everyone had gathered outside Ji Yu’s office, packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through.
The winter collection’s release was less than half a month away, and the factory was already preparing to make samples based on the drafts. For the designs to go missing at a time like this was undoubtedly a major incident that would shake Chengzhou.
For the past two years, the Jewelry Division had been the company’s most profitable department. If anything went wrong, the company’s various figures and financial performance would plummet.
The entire department could not afford to pay such a price.
When Shang Wu arrived, she heard Ji Yu shouting angrily.
“What’s wrong with Shang Wu lately? Since when did she start making such low-level mistakes? CEO Zhou, can’t you do something about her? Today, when I was trying to secure a sponsorship deal, I opened the folder and it showed up blank. Do you know how embarrassing the other party’s expression made me feel?”
Everyone exchanged glances.
When they saw Shang Wu arrive, they moved aside and greeted her.
Shang Wu looked up and saw Ji Yu glaring at her resentfully.
Clearly, Ji Yu’s displeasure was not solely because of the work. It was also because Shang Wu had not apologized last night—or at any point since then.
“The drafts in the folder are gone?” Shang Wu asked calmly as she walked inside.
When Zhou Yanci saw her arrive, he waved for the others to disperse and closed the office door.
“Shang Wu, Ji Yu says there were no design drafts in the file you gave her. The design drawings need to be sent to the factory for sample production and promotional photos. Send her another copy.”
He lowered his head and gently smoothed back the hair that had fallen beside Shang Wu’s ear, smiling tenderly. “Where have you been? Why did you come back in such a hurry?”
Shang Wu avoided Zhou Yanci’s hand and slowly furrowed her brows, her expression turning grave.
“There was no backup of the design drawings I gave her.”
Ji Yu had been standing with her arms crossed, putting on airs. At that, she froze. “What did you say? Something as important as the design drafts, and you didn’t back them up?”
“I took my computer in for repairs. I was worried the designs might be leaked, so I deleted the backup. But the file I gave you contained the design drafts. It wasn’t blank.”
Shang Wu went to Ji Yu’s computer and pulled up the sending records.
“Look. It shows the file size.”
Zhou Yanci narrowed his eyes and glanced at Ji Yu from behind Shang Wu, his gaze questioning.
Ji Yu’s face darkened, and she hurriedly said, “I never even opened the folder. What do you mean, acting as though you have nothing to do with it? Are you trying to say that it’s my fault the design drafts weren’t in there?”
Her dissatisfaction with Shang Wu grew stronger.
Given Shang Wu’s personality in the past, she would never have argued with her or tried to prove herself right. She would have immediately thought of a way to go back and solve the problem.
Shang Wu released the mouse and straightened, staring at Ji Yu. “I sent you the file a week before my computer went in for repairs. I also had my secretary check it before sending it to you. You failed to receive it properly, and then the design drafts disappeared for unknown reasons. You still want to blame me?”
“You…” Ji Yu opened and closed her mouth, frightened by Shang Wu’s cold, piercing gaze.
She had never seen Shang Wu look at her like that before.
It was as though they were not best friends, but enemies.
Ji Yu abruptly clenched her fists and was just about to explode when a figure suddenly stepped between her and Shang Wu.
Zhou Yanci shielded Shang Wu and said unhappily, “This isn’t the time to argue. The files are gone—that’s a fact. We should be thinking about how to fix the problem. Besides, this was primarily your mistake. Don’t blame A-Wu.”
Ji Yu’s eyes widened.
Zhou Yanci shook his head slightly and gave her a soothing look.
His meaning was clear: Don’t anger Shang Wu.
Shang Wu took in the exchange between them, her lips pressing together slightly.
In the past, she would have been moved by Zhou Yanci’s defense of her. He always stood firmly on her side, even though Ji Yu was also a friend he had known for years.
But now, viewed from an outsider’s perspective, Zhou Yanci merely thought that arguing was useless and that he still needed her to deal with the emergency. He was deliberately taking her side so that she would willingly work herself to the bone to make up for the loss.
Sure enough, Zhou Yanci pretended to scold Ji Yu. “Ji Yu, no matter how you look at it, this was your fault. Don’t say anything more. Don’t disturb Shang Wu. Have her redesign the whole set.”
He turned around, took Shang Wu’s hand, and put on a suitably troubled expression.
“Shang Wu, the schedule is tight and the task is heavy. I’ll give you a week. You’ll have to stay at the company and work on it during that time.”
Shang Wu fixed her eyes on Zhou Yanci. “A week? It took me a month to design this set.”
“But you don’t need to search for inspiration or refine the details anymore. Just recreate it according to the design concept in your memory. Even if you sleep only three hours a night, you’ll still have enough time.”
Zhou Yanci’s smile was full of encouragement. He raised his hand and rubbed the top of Shang Wu’s head.
“Keep it up, Shang Wu. I know you can do it.”
He gave Ji Yu a meaningful look.
Ji Yu curled her lips and walked over reluctantly. “Losing the drafts was my fault. Could you put in a little extra effort? The Jewelry Division’s winter limited edition is your pride and joy. You don’t want all your work to come to nothing in the end, do you?”
She watched Shang Wu with a half-smile as she offered her perfunctory apology, her eyes filled with undisguised provocation.
Shang Wu had created the limited-edition series. She had designed the products herself and led everyone in promoting them.
So what if the drafts had been lost?
Shang Wu still couldn’t bear to ruin the product line she was so proud of. She would obediently go and fix the problem.
And Ji Yu only had to offer a light apology. She would suffer no losses at all. Saying she was sorry cost her nothing.