Self-Esteem
One evening, the power suddenly went out in the company cafeteria. Gu Jiahe went inside, only to be reminded by the lunch lady that there would be no dinner served that day.
The attic that Gu Jiahe rented didn’t come with a kitchen, so he had to go to a small street outside the neighborhood to have dinner.
This street was close to a nearby high school, and in the evening, it was crowded with high school students wearing white short-sleeved uniforms, chattering and making noise.
Gu Jiahe found the fried noodle shop he often visited.
“Beef fried noodles,” Gu Jiahe greeted the owner.
“Sure thing, handsome, find yourself a seat,” the owner replied warmly. She was always happy to see Gu Jiahe whenever he came.
The place was already packed inside, with three tables set up outside. Gu Jiahe randomly picked one and sat down.
He had been familiar with the owner here for many years. Ever since he graduated and started working at the company, he would come here for meals occasionally.
The food here was delicious and affordable, and the owner kept the place clean and tidy.
The owner had even wanted to introduce her daughter to Gu Jiahe once, which had nearly scared him into coming out to her.
These days, working with Li Zhao made him feel uneasy all over. He finally relaxed after finishing work, feeling relieved.
The fried noodles were quickly served.
Gu Jiahe’s seat faced the sidewalk of the street. He picked up his chopsticks and was about to start eating when he heard a familiar voice not far away.
Damn, how could he encounter him here too?
Gu Jiahe had to turn his head and saw Li Zhao standing two meters away, carrying a laptop bag.
“You’re eating here?” Li Zhao asked.
Gu Jiahe thought it was a pointless question, so he didn’t answer and continued eating quietly.
However, Li Zhao walked over on his own and stood opposite him.
“Do you need something?” Gu Jiahe couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked.
“Nothing,” Li Zhao shook his head.
Gu Jiahe suddenly lost his appetite and put down his chopsticks halfway through eating.
“Boss, could you give me a takeout box?” Gu Jiahe lowered his eyelids, stood up, poured the remaining noodles into the box, and covered it.
Li Zhao looked up and watched his movements. He didn’t speak until Gu Jiahe tightly closed the lid, “Are you struggling financially now?”
Gu Jiahe’s fingers paused, and he lost grip of the takeout box, which fell to the ground with a thud.
Fortunately, the lid was securely fastened, so the noodles didn’t spill out.
Li Zhao stood there straight as Gu Jiahe, feeling his gaze, slowly lowered his head, squatted down, picked up the box, and stuffed it into his backpack.
“We can’t waste food,” Gu Jiahe forced an awkward smile and then turned to leave.
“Gu Jiahe.” Li Zhao called him from behind, “I just wanted to ask, are you… really short of money now?”
Gu Jiahe struggled to maintain the curve of his lips, only able to calmly look back at him.
“Why do you live in such a place, and…?” Li Zhao took a breath and continued, “The legal salary at this company shouldn’t be too low.”
Gu Jiahe averted his gaze and smiled, “Zhao-ge, I’m different from you. You’ve become a mid-level lawyer at Red Circle at such a young age. Our little legal department has low income and has to please others. If you want to say I’m struggling, then yes, I am.”
After saying that, he turned and walked away without looking back.
Gu Jiahe reached the intersection of the next road, and his pace slowed down. He suddenly felt his body losing strength.
Leaning against the moss-covered red brick wall, his legs felt like they were made of lead, and his eyes suddenly became sour and unbearable.
He took a deep breath, trying to forget the conversation just now. But every word was vividly etched in his mind.
This year marked the seventh year since they broke up. Li Zhao suddenly appeared, went to his dilapidated rental house, and saw the leftover beef fried noodles he packed. Without his consent, Li Zhao intruded into the most embarrassing aspect of his life.
This made Gu Jiahe feel defeated to the bone.
But it also strongly reminded him that he and Li Zhao were indeed walking completely different paths in life, with no possibility of intersection.
After finally getting his emotions in order, Gu Jiahe prepared to put on his bag and move forward.
Suddenly, two high school students ran over, with crew cuts, playing and messing around. One of them didn’t stop in time and bumped into him.
Bang!
The zipper of Gu Jiahe’s backpack wasn’t closed properly, and the takeout box fell out.
“Ah, sorry, big brother!” Crew cut number one turned back and called out to Gu Jiahe.
The plastic lid of the box fell from a height and shattered completely.
The noodles were all sticky and messy on the dirty concrete ground.
Gu Jiahe’s mind buzzed. He opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word. He could only watch as the two high school students ran off until they disappeared at the end of the alley.
He lowered his head, glanced at the broken box, and finally bent down to pick up the remnants, slowly tossing them into the nearby trash can.
The summer night couldn’t hide its heat, and Gu Jiahe slowly walked back to his rental house. Checking his phone, he saw it was almost 8 o’clock.
Having not eaten enough in the evening and now lacking appetite, he boiled some water and sat alone by the window.
The attic’s only advantage was its stained glass window overlooking the city skyline.
This stained glass window looked best on sunny days, the old blue-green glass giving the city skyline a filtered look. It had a somewhat impoverished romantic feel to it.
But on rainy days, it wasn’t as charming. The glass didn’t soundproof or waterproof well, and the water seeping into the window sill would easily lead to mold if not cleaned properly.
Gu Jiahe leaned against the wall and took out his phone from his pocket. There were still people sending documents in the work group.
He closed the group chat, internally cursing these workaholic lunatics.
Then his fingers involuntarily scrolled to the second screen. Since that day when he caught a cold, Li Zhao hadn’t sent any messages.
Gu Jiahe just glanced at it, laughing at himself for being overly sentimental.
To Li Zhao, he was just a former lover who disappeared inexplicably.
Just an accidental night together, nothing to call a good encounter.
Yet today at the noodle shop, every word of his had trampled over Gu Jiahe’s self-esteem.
“Are you short of money?”
“Do you need cash?”
Gu Jiahe mentally translated them, their meaning probably: “After all these years, I never thought you were living so miserably.”
He had already found new emotional support, and maybe offering him some medicine was just out of pity. Who wouldn’t pat the head of a stray dog when they saw one?
The water boiled, the kettle whistling. Gu Jiahe hopped off the window sill, walked over, and poured himself a glass of water.
The water was still too hot to drink, and the phone on the window sill suddenly lit up.
He walked over without looking closely, thinking it was a work message, and instinctively turned off the screen.
But the phone lit up again, with two unread messages.
Gu Jiahe then opened his phone, and his heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
The person with the white avatar had sent two new messages:
“I didn’t mean anything earlier.”
“You don’t have to overthink it.”
Utterly unnecessary, nonsensical explanations.
Gu Jiahe just felt like an effervescent tablet suddenly dropped into soda water, bubbles constantly churning.
In the end, his fingers typed out two words in the input box and sent them off: “It’s okay.”
He always remembered the stray dog in the flowerbed downstairs of the office building.
It would occasionally show up, often disappearing just as quickly. One of its hind legs seemed to be slightly lame, causing it to run a bit crookedly, but it always managed to disappear quickly despite the limp.
The property management of the office building would occasionally feed it leftovers. The dog always came out to eat only when no one was around.
For a while, there was a change in property management, and the new guards didn’t have the habit of feeding it. The dog went hungry for a long time, visibly thinning.
It wasn’t until someone else discovered the stray dog that some leftovers, like ham sausages and lettuce from the canteen, were put in its temporary bowl.
The dog still only came out to eat when no one was around.
Why did Gu Jiahe know all this?
Sometimes when he went downstairs for a smoke, he would stand in the backlight of the corridor, watching the stray dog timidly appear, eat the food in the bowl, and then run into the bushes to hide.
He had never disturbed the stray dog. He hoped the dog could finish a decent meal on its own.
Perhaps because he understood that feeling.
Stray dogs don’t pick their food, nor are they dignified. But we also hope to retain a bit of security and a tiny bit of pitiful self-esteem.
He said “we”.
…….
Recently, there had been a lot of work, and even though Tianhe’s person had arrived, many internal tasks still fell on Gu Jiahe’s shoulders.
He specifically rushed to the company five minutes early the next day.
He had just clocked in when he ran into Wu Mou.
“Xiao Gu, why didn’t you reply to my WeChat last night?”
Gu Jiahe had no recollection of this and shook his head, “Huh? I might not have seen it.”
Only then did he take out his phone, and indeed, there was a small red dot next to Wu Mou’s profile picture. He realized Wu Mou had sent him a message at 11:30 last night.
He internally cursed: who could see messages at that late hour?
Of course, he deliberately didn’t check his WeChat last night. After sending the “It’s okay” message, he deliberately turned off his phone and didn’t touch it all night.
“Boss, what’s this about?” Gu Jiahe opened the picture Wu Mou had sent him.
“Our competitor is suing us. The general manager called me last night and asked me to handle it.”
“A competitor?”
“Yes, they claim that one of our new products has infringed upon their intellectual property rights.”
“Okay, let me take a look at the documents.” After agreeing, Gu Jiahe sat down and looked at the documents Wu Mou sent him.
He spent half an hour skimming through them, roughly understanding the situation.
The other company pointed out that the technology they were currently using was developed independently by them, and they hadn’t paid any patent fees to the other party.
Gu Jiahe quickly called his colleagues in the product department, and after chatting for half an hour, he learned that this technology was not essential at all. And using this technology was an industry norm, and no one had ever brought it up before.
Gu Jiahe was in a dilemma staring at his laptop. Although he had been working in legal affairs for several years, he hadn’t dealt with many litigation cases. The other party was still a company of this size, clearly coming prepared.
“Xiao Gu, if you have difficulties, you can discuss with lawyer Li from Tianhe. It is said that he used to be a litigation lawyer and may be more professional.” Wu Mou leaned out from the opposite side.
As soon as the words were spoken, Li Zhao walked in from outside, just in time to hear the latter part.
“Is there anything I can help with?” He walked behind Gu Jiahe and glanced at the document open on Gu Jiahe’s table.
“Litigation?”
Gu Jiahe could only grit his teeth and explain the general process to him, recounting the information he already knew.
After listening, Li Zhao shook his head, “Their goal isn’t winning the lawsuit.”
“Then what is it?” Gu Jiahe was puzzled.
“Bringing up such a trivial technical dispute at this time is clearly just looking for trouble.”
“Why stir up trouble?” Gu Jiahe was still puzzled.
“They’re not seeking compensation for infringement, they’re aiming to disrupt your company’s IPO process,” Li Zhao leaned back in the chair behind Gu Jiahe, “Having significant pending litigation could affect the company’s IPO review.”
“But this kind of case shouldn’t be considered significant litigation, right?”
“It isn’t, so they’re just taking a gamble, stirring up trouble to sow discord.”
Gu Jiahe’s thoughts were in disarray, “So what do we do?”
“My suggestion is to treat it as a major issue. IPOs don’t allow much room for error. If any other disputes arise, it could complicate matters. It’s best to negotiate a settlement with them.”
Gu Jiahe shook his head, “But if their goal isn’t money, negotiating might not be effective. What if they insist on litigation? That would prolong the battle, which wouldn’t be favorable for us.”
“They’ve initiated litigation for a reason. No one stirs up trouble unless it affects their interests. Meeting their needs, persuading them not to proceed with litigation shouldn’t be difficult.” Li Zhao then called over two interns.
“Wen Qi, find out about this company’s revenue overview and litigation disputes in the past year.”
“He Xiao, find out about the background of their legal team.”
“Alright, lawyer Li.” The two interns immediately started making calls and gathering information.
“What can I do?” Gu Jiahe asked from the side.
“You can check with the business department to see if there have been any other disputes with this company in the past one or two years. We can tailor our approach accordingly.”
Gu Jiahe nodded. After a while, it dawned on him that Li Zhao had said “we.”
It felt a bit strange, as if they had suddenly become tied together like crickets on a string.
Gu Jiahe approached various department managers he was familiar with, but he didn’t get any valuable information. He had no impression of this company, and if there were any disputes with them, the legal department would definitely know.
Outside, the sky was already darkening, and Gu Jiahe realized it was almost time to clock out. With no clear direction, he felt a bit disheartened. After returning to the office, he slumped in his chair, lost in thought.
“Any progress?” Li Zhao asked from the side.
“None. I’ve got nothing.”
“Whom did you ask?”
“The R&D manager, the product manager, the testing manager…”
“You should try asking the procurement department.”
“Procurement?” Gu Jiahe was a bit puzzled.
“Yes, many of the litigation cases I’ve encountered were caused by procurement disputes. Those you asked are all technical roles, and they generally don’t communicate externally, so they may not have any useful information.”
Gu Jiahe glanced at the clock. There was half an hour left before clocking out, so he quickly grabbed his laptop and headed to the procurement department.
To his surprise, he actually found some valuable information.
The head of the procurement department racked his brain for a long time before remembering something. Last year, when the company was procuring a certain component, this company was one of the alternative suppliers. However, after the process was completed, they canceled the procurement due to failed quality inspection. This led to the other party losing a batch of valuable samples. Although the business department eventually negotiated a resolution, there seemed to be some lingering resentment.
No wonder the other party appeared at this time.
Gu Jiahe quickly returned to the office and relayed the information from the procurement head to Li Zhao.
He couldn’t help but admire Li Zhao’s perceptiveness. Indeed, it was a problem on the procurement end.
“Having identified the problem, we can prepare for negotiations,” Li Zhao said, opening his laptop. Just then, Wen Qi and He Xiao sent over the information they had compiled during the day.
The four of them gathered in a meeting room.
“The other party’s legal team, I asked some classmates and senior lawyers about it. There should only be two people, and the head is someone who went straight into legal work after graduation, with no experience as a practicing lawyer,” Wen Qi said, turning his notebook to face everyone.
“That makes it easier,” Li Zhao nodded.
Gu Jiahe felt a bit awkward after Li Zhao’s tone. What did he mean by ‘that makes it easier’? “Are you looking down on our legal department?” he asked.
Li Zhao cleared his throat, “What I meant was that legal departments are usually reasonable and easy to communicate with.”
Gu Jiahe didn’t pursue the matter further.
He Xiao also turned on the screen and displayed the report she had found on the other company, “This is their revenue situation announced last year. Although it seems fine on the surface, upon closer examination, their overall R&D expenses were high last year, but their actual profits decreased compared to the previous year. It’s possible they themselves feel cash flow is tight.”
Gu Jiahe nodded, agreeing with her analysis, “So that’s why they came up with this move.”
“Although the other party’s goal shouldn’t be litigation, we should still prepare for litigation. Organize the materials according to litigation requirements. Try to find more legal provisions and evidence favorable to us.”
Gu Jiahe sat across from the three, watching Li Zhao assign tasks. Suddenly, his mind wandered, and he felt like he was back in an old classroom on a certain afternoon, with Li Zhao teaching him how to solve geometry problems.
“Manager Gu?” Wen Qi’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Huh? What’s up?” Gu Jiahe snapped back to reality.
“Is our approach a problem? If not, we’ll proceed like this tomorrow.”
“Oh, no problem.” Gu Jiahe nodded repeatedly, “If negotiations are needed, I’ll contact them and arrange a time.”
“Yeah, I’ll go with you then.” Li Zhao smoothly continued the conversation, as if they were long-time partners with tacit understanding.
His tone was professional and proper, leaving no room for imagination.
Gu Jiahe hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
As the four of them left the meeting room, the sky outside had already darkened completely.
There were few people left in this layer of the office, with only a couple of scattered lights still on.
“Shall we grab a meal together?” Li Zhao proposed in front of the other three.
Obviously, the two interns didn’t want to stay with their supervisor after work and quickly found an excuse to leave.
Li Zhao didn’t stop them either. He turned to Gu Jiahe and asked, “Want to grab something to eat?”
Gu Jiahe was indeed hungry, but he didn’t want to eat with Li Zhao, so he could only decline, “I’m not hungry.”
Then he went downstairs on his own.
He recalled the experience on the small street that night and didn’t want to go to that noodle shop again. Instead, he turned to the back of the office building and found a convenience store, planning to buy something to eat and head home.
However, just as he finished buying some oden and sat down by the floor-to-ceiling window, a figure passed by behind him.
The next moment, that figure sat down in the only empty seat next to him.
“Didn’t you say you were not hungry?”