Lin Wu froze for a moment, her heart missing one beat.
“What about me?”
Chen Zhuo caught the unnatural tone in her voice and paused.
He had wanted to say: Let’s talk about why you keep drawing such strict boundaries around our relationship.
After more than half a year, he had thought they should already be very familiar with each other.
But when the words reached the tip of his tongue, he suddenly found himself unable to say them.
He knew very clearly — if he asked that question right now, there was only one possible answer Lin Wu would give.
And that answer was not the one he wanted to hear.
After a few seconds of silence, Chen Zhuo lowered his eyes and looked away, gazing down at the stream of people coming and going below the building. His tone became deliberately light and casual.
“Let’s talk about why our Attorney Lin is working overtime so late again.”
Hearing his reply, Lin Wu inexplicably felt a small breath of relief leave her chest.
“I got too busy and lost track of time,” she explained softly.
Chen Zhuo: “The Fengxing case isn’t that urgent.”
“I know,” Lin Wu replied in a quiet voice, “I still have other cases on hand. Of course I also hope to wrap up the Fengxing matter as soon as possible.”
Chen Zhuo: “Why?”
Lin Wu: “Hm?”
“Why do you want to finish the Fengxing case so quickly?” Chen Zhuo pressed.
Lin Wu fell silent for a moment, then answered hesitantly, “Isn’t it better to finish early?”
Does a lawyer need some special reason to want to complete a case sooner?
Chen Zhuo didn’t speak.
Lin Wu listened to his steady breathing through the receiver and vaguely sensed that he seemed a little unhappy. It almost felt like he didn’t actually want her to finish the Fengxing case too soon.
She couldn’t figure out why.
After a brief silence, Lin Wu spoke in a small voice: “President Chen.”
“Hm?”
“Are your bosses feeding the employees big pies?” Lin Wu held back for a second but couldn’t resist asking.
Chen Zhuo lifted his gaze, immediately understanding what she meant.
He let out a low, self-amused laugh, the corners of his eyes and brows lifting slightly. “So now our Attorney Lin is trying to feed her client a big pie?”
Lin Wu: “…It’s also showing loyalty.”
Just painting a big pie would make her seem completely insincere.
“Loyalty?” Chen Zhuo emphasized that word.
Lin Wu: “The kind of loyalty where I take full responsibility for the case.”
Afraid he might misunderstand, she quickly added the clarification.
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly. After a short pause he said, “I trust Attorney Lin, and I look forward to seeing your brilliant performance.”
Somehow, the conversation had suddenly turned very formal and official.
That wasn’t what Chen Zhuo intended at all.
Realizing this, he pulled the phone away to glance at the time, then swiftly changed the subject. “Still in the parking lot?”
Lin Wu gave a soft hum. “Talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.”
Chen Zhuo praised her lightly, “Good safety awareness.”
Lin Wu: “…”
What was with that tone—like he was coaxing a child?
Sensing her silence, Chen Zhuo tactfully backed off. “I’ll hang up first. Drive slowly, stay safe.”
Lin Wu acknowledged, then pressed her lips together. Just as he was about to end the call, she called out to stop him.
“Chen Zhuo.”
Not President Chen — just Chen Zhuo.
Chen Zhuo raised his eyes. “Hm? I’m here.”
He deliberately lowered his voice, gentle and patient. “What do you want to say?”
Lin Wu blinked lightly and fixed her gaze on the brightest patch of light in front of her. “Which day next week are you coming back?”
She wanted to know the exact date.
Chen Zhuo was surprised; he hadn’t expected her to ask this.
After thinking for a few seconds, he answered honestly, “Wednesday, barring any surprises.”
“Okay.” Lin Wu noted it down. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now. You go back to being busy.”
Chen Zhuo: “…”
Helpless, he swallowed the teasing sentence that had almost slipped out—“Is Attorney Lin coming to pick me up at the airport?”—and simply instructed, “Let me know when you get home.”
After hanging up, Lin Wu opened her phone’s calendar app, typed in the reminder “Chen Zhuo returns to the country on Wednesday,” saved it, and set an alarm notification.
Only after finishing this little series of actions did she finally start driving home.
It was already very late by the time she got back. Lin Wu went straight into the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed.
When she finished washing up, she had no intention of going to the study to work overtime again. She climbed into bed planning to read for a bit. But after only two pages, a clear wave of drowsiness hit her.
As she turned off the light and settled down to sleep, Lin Wu couldn’t help but think—
Could it be that just talking on the phone with Chen Zhuo also has a hypnotic effect?
Saturday morning, after a truly good night’s sleep, Lin Wu got up feeling refreshed and full of energy. She changed into workout clothes and headed to the gym.
Being a lawyer required high levels of mental and physical stamina, so no matter how busy she was, Lin Wu always maintained three to four gym sessions a week.
After finishing a private training session, she spent another half hour or so on the treadmill doing incline walking until she was drenched in sweat. Only then did she consider the day’s exercise complete.
When she left the gym, her limbs felt pleasantly sore and a little weak—she didn’t have much energy left.
Right at that moment, her phone rang. Lin Wu glanced at the screen.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Without thinking too much, she answered right away.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Lin Wu,” came a slightly resentful, somewhat unfamiliar female voice from the other end. “How long has it been since you last came to my place?”
Lin Wu: “…”
She pulled the phone away from her ear and seriously checked the caller ID.
“You changed your number?”
“If I didn’t change numbers to call you, you’d just hang up and brush me off saying you’re busy,” the person on the other side said, full of grievance. “What else was I supposed to do besides borrow a colleague’s phone to reach you?”
Lin Wu gave an awkward laugh.
“I really was busy these past few weeks.”
“I’m not going to believe a liar like you.” Lin Feifei said.
Lin Wu couldn’t help but chuckle. After thinking for a moment, she offered,
“I’m heading to Jiayun’s place for lunch at noon. After we eat, I’ll go over with her, okay?”
Lin Feifei: “What time?”
“Around two, probably,” Lin Wu replied.
“Fine. But don’t you dare avoid me again. You’re going to end up here sooner or later—today or tomorrow. If you don’t show, I’ll personally go to your law firm and drag you over myself,” Lin Feifei warned.
Lin Wu laughed helplessly.
“Got it. I’m really coming today.”
Lin Feifei: “Then I’ll trust you one more time. Oh, and tell Auntie Fang to make me something delicious.”
Lin Wu burst out laughing.
“Yes, ma’am.”
After hanging up, Lin Wu sent a quick message to He Jiayun:
Lin Feifei is rushing me to go over. I’ll head there this afternoon. Could Auntie Fang make some of Lin Feifei’s favorite chicken wings? It might make her go easier on me later.
He Jiayun: 「Received. Coming over now?」
Lin Wu: 「Just left the gym. Heading home to shower first, then I’ll come.」
He Jiayun: 「Waiting for you.」
After getting home, taking a shower, and blow-drying her hair, Lin Wu didn’t even bother with makeup. She rushed out the door in a hurry and headed straight to the He family home.
He Jiayun used to live with her parents. Two years ago she moved out and became neighbors with Li Xiang. Of course, if it weren’t for living next door to Li Xiang, her parents would never have agreed to let their pampered young miss—who didn’t know how to do anything—live alone outside.
The front gate had already been left wide open early.
Lin Wu drove in and had just parked in the courtyard when He Jiayun and her dog came running out.
Lin Wu got out of the car. Before she could even greet He Jiayun, the dog pounced on her first.
“Ping An!” He Jiayun shouted. “Take it easy—don’t knock Lin Wu over!”
Lin Wu was pushed back two steps by the enthusiastic Ping An before she steadied herself.
“…Missed me, huh?”
She looked at the dog in front of her, tongue lolling out happily, and reached up to rub its head.
“Long time no see, Ping An.”
He Jiayun watched the scene, one eyebrow quirking upward. Her tone carried a hint of sourness.
“Last time I came back from traveling, it wasn’t even this excited to see me.”
“…” Lin Wu burst out laughing. “Really?”
She patted the big dog’s head again.
“Ping An, you’ve been naughty.”
Ping An seemed to understand what they were saying. It rubbed against Lin Wu for a moment, then turned and trotted back to He Jiayun’s side.
He Jiayun: “…You’re actually pretty smart.”
Lin Wu: “It’s always been smart.”
He Jiayun thought about it—true.
The Labrador named Ping An in front of them had been personally selected by Lin Wu after she scoured all over Shencheng—visiting countless pet stores, kennels, and adoption centers. It was gentle, non-aggressive, loyal yet alert, and surprisingly intelligent for a dog.
The two of them played with the dog in the courtyard for a while until Auntie Fang called from inside,
“Isn’t it cold out there? Come in quickly!”
They exchanged a smile, then brought the dog into the house.
“Auntie Fang,” Lin Wu said. She had stopped by a fruit shop and a flower shop on her way over and was holding fresh fruit and a bouquet. “How have you been lately?”
Auntie Fang took the flowers from her hands and let out an “Aiyo!”
“Good, good. Why do you always bring flowers for me and Jiayun every time you come? It’s such a waste of money. One bouquet for Jiayun is enough—I’m old already.”
She was someone who hated waste.
“It’s not a waste at all,” Lin Wu replied. “Jiayun’s is for Jiayun. Yours is different.”
Auntie Fang was helpless against the two of them. She gave Lin Wu a beaming, sideways glance.
“Go sit in the living room. Play a bit longer and then we’ll eat.”
Lin Wu smiled and agreed. She made a quick detour through the kitchen, sneakily ate one boneless rib, then went to the living room to find He Jiayun.
“Is Li Xiang coming over for lunch?” Lin Wu suddenly remembered to ask.
He Jiayun: “I didn’t invite him.”
Lin Wu gave an “oh” and joined her in playing with Ping An.
After a while, He Jiayun keenly noticed something.
“You seem to be in really good spirits today.”
Lin Wu: “…What kind of comment is that? Were my spirits really that bad before?”
“You know exactly what I mean,” He Jiayun shot her a look. “With you only getting four or five hours of sleep a day, it would be strange if you were fine.”
Lin Wu was momentarily speechless.
“Wait—” He Jiayun suddenly remembered something else. “Yesterday was Friday, right?”
Lin Wu: “Yeah.”
“And you still went to the gym this morning?” He Jiayun looked shocked. “…Did you take some kind of stimulant? Or is Chen Zhuo… not very good?”
“…”
Lin Wu choked on her words, a little helpless.
“He’s not in the country right now.”
He Jiayun suddenly understood.
“Ohhh, that explains it.”
She had been wondering—after all, if the two of them had met up last night, how could Lin Wu possibly have the energy to run to the gym first thing in the morning?
The moment Chen Zhuo’s name came up, both of them fell silent at the same time.
Lin Wu had something she wanted to say—she wanted to talk to He Jiayun about it—but she didn’t know how to bring it up.
As for He Jiayun, she wanted to ask but didn’t dare ask too much. She was afraid of touching on things Lin Wu didn’t want to mention, or those long-buried memories she had sealed away for years.
They were very close, their relationship exceptionally good. So close that if something really happened to her one day—if she were to pass away unexpectedly—she would leave all her personal assets to Lin Wu.
But when it came to matters of the heart, no matter how close or how good two people were, they could never truly feel or share the exact same emotions.
After a quiet moment, He Jiayun asked,
“Why has he been abroad for so long?”
Lin Wu lifted her eyes to look at her but didn’t speak.
Noticing the slight ripple in her mood, He Jiayun raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Wu pressed her lips together, about to say something—when Auntie Fang poked her head out from the kitchen.
“Come get the dishes. Time to eat.”
“Later,” Lin Wu said, standing up and heading into the kitchen.
He Jiayun nodded and followed her in to help carry the food.
The three of them ate and chatted at the same time.
The atmosphere was warm and comfortable.
After the meal, they still didn’t get around to talking about Chen Zhuo. They had to head over to Lin Feifei’s place anyway, so they simply decided to save the conversation for later—when the three of them could talk together.
Lin Wu drove. When they arrived at the entrance of Lin Feifei’s psychological counseling studio, she suddenly felt a wave of hesitation.
She was a little afraid to go in for psychological guidance.
Of course, neither He Jiayun nor Lin Feifei gave her any chance to back out.
“Get out of the car,” Lin Feifei said. She had already received He Jiayun’s message that they were on the way and had run down from her second-floor office. She walked straight to the driver’s side and knocked on the window. “Attorney Lin, face reality.”
Lin Wu had no choice. She pushed open the door.
“Can’t you at least give me a little time to mentally prepare?”
Lin Feifei gave her a sideways glance, clearly understanding her too well.
“I’m afraid if I give you time to prepare, you’ll just prepare to leave.”
Lin Wu: “…”
The way she put it left Lin Wu momentarily unable to argue back.
The three of them entered the psychological studio.
Once inside the familiar office belonging to Lin Feifei, Lin Wu sat down on one side and met Lin Feifei’s direct, appraising gaze head-on.
“Your complexion has actually been pretty good lately,” Lin Feifei said, giving her the full up-and-down look she wanted.
He Jiayun: “I think so too.”
“Is there something happy going on?” Lin Feifei asked.
Lin Wu thought for a moment.
“I just won another case. There was a deposit in my bank card—not a small amount.”
Lin Feifei choked, staring at her.
“That’s not what I was asking.”
“…” Lin Wu paused, opened her mouth to say “nothing,” but the words didn’t come out.
She looked at her close friend sitting in front of her—and at the friend who was also her psychologist—and after a brief hesitation, she said,
“Chen Zhuo.”