“Good morning, Lawyer Fu.”
“Good morning.”
Fu Shengyan nodded calmly, greeting the unfamiliar colleagues one by one. With Yu Yao quietly reminding him along the way, he strode toward his office with his head held high.
A partner who was familiar with him smiled and teased, “Lawyer Fu, we haven’t seen you for so many days. Did you go traveling with your wife?”
“I think so. Lawyer Fu doesn’t look as serious as before. When a man’s in a good mood, even his expression changes,” another lawyer beside him chimed in.
Fu Shengyan was a little puzzled as to how they could tell he was in a good mood. He didn’t remember his relationship with either of them, so he merely nodded in response before following Yu Yao away expressionlessly.
Seeing Lawyer Fu act so coldly, the two shrugged and stopped trying to make conversation.
After closing the door, Yu Yao breathed a sigh of relief and took out his phone to send Lin Zhihua a message.
Wife, Kids, and a Warm Bed: President Lin, Lawyer Fu has been safely delivered to his office. No unexpected incidents occurred along the way, and no suspicious individuals were detected.
Knowledge and Action as One: Okay.
Knowledge and Action as One: Next time you report in, you don’t have to sound quite so sneaky.
Wife, Kids, and a Warm Bed: Understood, President Lin!
Fu Shengyan lowered his head and chatted with Lin Zhihua with a serious expression, though the messages he sent weren’t nearly as serious.
Fu Shengyan: Zhizhi, do I really have to stay here by myself? I lost my memory. I don’t want to work. (Crying Cat.jpg)
Knowledge and Action as One: Isn’t Yu Yao there with you?
Fu Shengyan: Can’t I work in the same office as Zhizhi… I already miss you.
Knowledge and Action as One: Open the second drawer on your right, then look toward the window.
Fu Shengyan did as she said.
Inside the drawer was a small pair of binoculars. He picked them up and played with them for a while before bringing them to his eyes and looking toward the window.
Through the tiny lenses, Lin Zhihua smiled and waved at him.
Fu Shengyan’s pupils contracted slightly. He looked at the binoculars in disbelief.
So his pre-amnesia self had used these to secretly watch Zhizhi?
What a pervert.
Fu Shengyan silently complained to himself, then immediately began sharing his excitement with Lin Zhihua.
Fu Shengyan: Zhizhi, I really can see you!
Knowledge and Action as One: Mm. You specifically chose this office location back then.
Yu Yao’s eyes widened until they were nearly round, his expression becoming somewhat strange.
Lawyer Fu kept pointing a pair of binoculars toward the office building next door and looking around. Every time he did it, he smiled in a way that made Yu Yao’s skin crawl.
A faint trace of disdain appeared in Yu Yao’s eyes.
Yikes. Lawyer Fu looked so respectable on the outside. Who would’ve thought he actually had a voyeurism habit!
This already involved violating someone else’s right to privacy!
He secretly reported the matter to his boss. His boss seemed to be looking at her phone and replied very quickly.
Knowledge and Action as One: It’s fine. He’s looking at my office.
Yu Yao was suddenly force-fed a huge mouthful of dog food.
He silently put away his phone, a touch of helplessness in his eyes.
Fine.
As long as you two newlyweds are having fun.
Not long after, Assistant Yu, who was diligently working, received a call from the front desk.
“Lawyer Fu, a client is here to see you.” Yu Yao hung up with a nervous expression and didn’t forget to send Lin Zhihua a message.
Wife, Kids, and a Warm Bed: President Lin, President Lin! New situation detected! A client named Song Lansheng has come to the law firm looking for Boss!
Fu Shengyan hurriedly hid the binoculars.
His office wasn’t far from the entrance, and before he even had time to straighten his clothes, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
Fu Shengyan cleared his throat. “Come in.”
A woman wearing a simple white dress opened the door.
She had an oval face and cool, striking features. Her smooth long hair was casually pinned behind her head. A gloomy air lingered between her brows, and her pale complexion made the dark circles under her eyes even more obvious.
Her originally dim eyes suddenly lit up when she saw Fu Shengyan.
“Senior Fu, it really is you!”
Fu Shengyan pursed his lips.
He had absolutely no impression of this girl, so he looked toward Secretary Yu.
Yu Yao had previously been Lin Zhihua’s secretary and wasn’t close to Fu Shengyan, so he had no idea about his social circle either.
Fortunately, Lin Zhihua finally saw the message he had sent.
Knowledge and Action as One: Song Lansheng? Is she a very beautiful girl? She was A-Yan’s and my university classmate.
Knowledge and Action as One: Have her wait for a while. I’ll be there immediately.
After receiving his boss’s instructions, Yu Yao secretly gave Fu Shengyan a look where Song Lansheng couldn’t see and waved the phone in his hand.
Fu Shengyan saw Lin Zhihua’s enlarged profile picture on the screen and knew Zhizhi should be coming over.
He quietly breathed a sigh of relief and calmly nodded at Song Lansheng.
“Have a seat first. I’ll make you some tea.”
He led her to the sofa beside him and leisurely began boiling water.
Yu Yao watched Lawyer Fu’s obvious attempt to stall for time with great anxiety, wondering whether this young master had ever actually made tea for anyone before.
However, that concern quickly disappeared.
The rather proud Secretary Yu gradually found himself impressed by Fu Shengyan’s smooth and practiced movements.
Fu Shengyan skillfully rinsed and awakened the tea leaves. Old Master Fu and Father Fu both loved drinking tea and were particular about all the rituals surrounding it.
Having grown up around them, Fu Shengyan had learned enough to look the part. Fooling an ordinary person was no problem at all.
Song Lansheng became absorbed in watching him.
Feeling somewhat flattered, she accepted the teacup and lowered her head to take a small sip.
“Good tea.”
She didn’t actually understand tea. She only thought it had a sweet aftertaste, but that didn’t stop her from offering sincere praise.
“Senior, I came here this time because…”
Before she could finish speaking, a knock sounded from outside.
Yu Yao had been waiting nearby for a long time. Knowing his boss had arrived to save the situation, he quickly opened the door.
Good thing the company was nearby.
Yu Yao secretly wiped away a cold sweat.
“Senior Lin?” Surprise flashed through Song Lansheng’s eyes. Then, when she looked at the man in front of her, understanding dawned and she smiled. “So you two work together.”
Lin Zhihua didn’t explain.
With a smile in her eyes, she greeted her. “Junior Song, long time no see.”
Fu Shengyan picked up a clean teacup, poured some tea, and handed it to Lin Zhihua.
She naturally accepted it and smiled at Fu Shengyan.
“Long time no see. You two are still as close as ever.” Song Lansheng looked at them enviously, a trace of loneliness appearing in her eyes.
Like them, Song Lansheng had also been a student at A University, though she was one year below them and a junior from the School of Fine Arts.
All three of them had joined the archery club and had gotten along well.
Lin Zhihua had really liked this lively and spirited junior and would occasionally look after her.
Fu Shengyan stuck to Lin Zhihua every day, so after spending enough time together, the three naturally became familiar.
Song Lansheng was a pure love-brain who loved shipping the two of them. From time to time, she would even give Great Lawyer Fu a little push and offer him small tips for improving their romantic relationship.
Great Lawyer Fu had always had a very favorable impression of this junior.
“We’ve already been married for three years.” Lin Zhihua picked up her teacup and pretended to be angry. “We didn’t hear anything from you after graduation. I didn’t expect you to stay in City A too.”
“You girl. You didn’t even come to our wedding. You only said you were overseas sketching. Are you still busy preparing exhibitions now?”
Song Lansheng smiled bitterly and shook her head.
Something in those words seemed to touch a nerve.
Song Lansheng opened her mouth, just about to say something, when tears suddenly began to fall.
Lin Zhihua was startled and quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe her tears.
The sudden development left everyone in the room stunned.
Lin Zhihua gave Fu Shengyan a look.
He immediately understood what his wife meant and pulled Secretary Yu, who still wanted to stay and enjoy the gossip, out of the office.
Song Lansheng covered her face with both hands and curled up against Lin Zhihua’s embrace.
Her sobs echoed through the room, and her tears soon soaked the fabric over Lin Zhihua’s shoulder.
Lin Zhihua said nothing and gently patted Song Lansheng’s back.
After a long while, Song Lansheng finally forced back her tears and raised her head. Covering her mouth, she hiccupped, then choked out, “S-Senior, you were right. I-I’m a super invincible idiot.”
Lin Zhihua helplessly wiped the reddened corners of her eyes.
“I never said that.”
From Song Lansheng’s broken sobs, Lin Zhihua gradually pieced together the entire story.
Three years ago, when she and Fu Shengyan got married, Song Lansheng really had been overseas sketching with one of her teachers.
She was an ordinary girl from a small city. Her parents were both salaried employees. Although their family couldn’t be considered particularly wealthy, they were happy and content.
Since childhood, she had always been the kind of child other parents used as an example.
Driven by pure passion, she picked up a paintbrush, and through her own hard work, she was admitted to the best university in the country.
Song Lansheng was fortunate enough to meet like-minded friends and a highly respected mentor who taught her everything without reservation.
She followed her mentor to a charity auction banquet and, for the first time, witnessed the glittering social world of the upper class.
Her painting had originally only reached a bid of one hundred thousand yuan.
Then a man casually raised the price and spent a full one million to buy her painting, Tribute to Freedom.
The entire venue erupted.
Rumors quickly spread that Young Master Gu had spent a million just to make a beauty smile.
At first, Song Lansheng looked down on the man.
She even felt somewhat annoyed that money had sullied her painting.
That was until the man pointed at the rose in her painting and smiled at her.
“You don’t think the butterfly is what represents freedom, nor is it the painting as a whole. It’s this wild rose blooming so brilliantly, isn’t it?”
Song Lansheng’s breath caught.
Looking at the man in front of her smiling with such certainty, her heartbeat unconsciously quickened.
He was right.
In the entire painting Tribute to Freedom, what she truly wanted to portray was that red rose growing freely among the colorful flowers of the mountains.
It wasn’t particularly eye-catching, yet it bloomed just as passionately.
Song Lansheng thought Gu Shaochen would only be a small episode in her life.
She never expected the plot of “the domineering CEO falls in love with me” to actually happen to her.
The man sent her a bouquet of roses every day.
He persistently appeared in her life and tirelessly confessed his feelings to her.
Her heart gradually fell under his relentless pursuit.
After he once again played the hero and rescued her from danger, she looked at the blood running down his forehead and hugged him tightly.
“I accept, Gu Shaochen. Let’s be together.”
“Okay…”
Song Lansheng only heard him softly say that one word.
Her heart was beating so quickly, pounding like a drum beside her ears, that she didn’t hear the two words he said afterward.
They quickly fell in love.
At first, she worried that with his privileged family background, his relatives would look down on her ordinary origins.
Unexpectedly, Gu Shaochen had already “taken care of” that problem.
They received the Gu family’s approval without difficulty.
Song Lansheng’s parents, however, weren’t as optimistic as she was.
Her mother hugged her with a complicated expression, both comforted and worried. In the end, she merely sighed softly and smiled, saying that as long as her daughter was happy, that was enough.
Gu Shaochen also behaved very respectfully toward Father Song and Mother Song.
Every time he visited, he brought gifts and never treated the occasion carelessly.
Song Lansheng would lightly poke the man she loved with her index finger and coquettishly ask the question she asked every day.
“Gu Shaochen, do you love me?”
“I do.”
The man would patiently answer every single time.
“Gu Shaochen, what do you love about me?”
“I love your eyes when you smile at me.”
Song Lansheng had thought it was merely one of Gu Shaochen’s sweet romantic lines.
She never expected that perhaps it was the only truthful thing he had ever said to her.
Gu Shaochen really did love the way she looked when she smiled.
Only because, from that angle, she looked the most like Bai Qingying.
She gave Lin Zhihua a self-mocking smile.
“When other people meet a scumbag, their first instinct is to run. But what I thought at the time was actually: He can’t live without me. I’ll make him clearly realize that he loves me.”
One of Gu Shaochen’s friends could no longer stand watching.
Before their engagement banquet, that person secretly sent Song Lansheng a message from an anonymous number.
“Song Lansheng, Gu Shaochen doesn’t love you. From beginning to end, the only person he has ever loved is a girl who looks very much like you—Bai Qingying.”
“Don’t believe me? Then go ask him!”
Song Lansheng really did ask Gu Shaochen.
His expression barely changed.
Instead, he asked who had told her about it.
Song Lansheng laughed in anger.
She wanted to slap him hard across the face and then declare that they were breaking up.
But just as she raised her hand, she suddenly caught the fleeting panic in his eyes.
Gu Shaochen grabbed her hand.
Her heart trembled.
For some reason, she suddenly felt that the man looked helpless at that moment.
In the end, Song Lansheng stayed.
She comforted herself internally.
They were about to get married.
No matter how much Gu Shaochen had liked that person, she was still part of the past. It had only been an unresolved youthful ambiguity.
How could Song Lansheng possibly lose to that?
Facts proved that in Gu Shaochen’s heart, Song Lansheng could never compare to Bai Qingying.
While she made a wish before a candle that they would be a pair for life, Gu Shaochen was at the airport picking up Bai Qingying, who had just returned to the country.
While she endured increasingly severe morning sickness, Gu Shaochen gently accompanied Bai Qingying to meals, walks, and amusement parks.
While she lay on the operating table, gritting her teeth through the agony of giving birth, Gu Shaochen was making love to Bai Qingying on their marital bed.
Song Lansheng finally accepted reality in despair.
Other people made wishes to gods and Buddhas.
Who had she been rambling to in front of a candle?
Holding her one-month-old child and reading the cold words written across the divorce agreement, Song Lansheng suddenly jolted awake.
She had already given up far too much for this man.
The career she loved, normal social relationships, and even her dignity and self-respect.
The divorce agreement clearly stated in black and white that full custody of the child would go to the man, while the woman would have no visitation rights and would not be permitted to contact the child privately.
Song Lansheng could accept that she had lost her gamble.
Three years of youth and humbling herself for his sake had earned her only thirty million.
But there was absolutely no way she could give up the child she had carried for ten months and painstakingly given birth to.
These three years had made Song Lansheng clearly realize that by herself, she had no way to fight against the enormous Gu family.
While she desperately searched for help, someone quietly handed her a business card.
Written on it were Fu Shengyan’s name and the address of Zhihua Law Firm.
Song Lansheng had no other choice.
All these years, she had devoted herself entirely to Gu Shaochen and had long since drifted apart from her old friends.
After marrying Gu Shaochen, she had also failed to truly integrate into his social circle.
She could only treat a dead horse as though it were still alive and try her luck at the law firm.
Fortunately, the goddess of luck favored her once again.