Lin Wu lowered her eyes and politely extended her hand, shaking his.
Their palms met. For perhaps three or five seconds, Lin Wu clearly felt the warmth of his hand and brushed against the faint calluses on his palm.
He worked out regularly and occasionally did things like rock climbing, so the skin on his hands wasn’t particularly smooth or soft.
She knew this very well.
After all, his palms and fingers had once roamed freely over her body, leaving marks without any barrier.
In that instant, Lin Wu felt a fleeting daze.
It wasn’t until Chen Zhuo casually scratched the center of her palm that she abruptly raised her head to look at him. Suppressing her shock, she forced herself to stay calm and returned with a composed, “President Chen, I’ve long heard of your reputation.”
“…”
After the brief introductions, Chen Zhuo sat down on the opposite side of the conference table—diagonally across from Lin Wu.
Li Xiang concisely explained to Chen Zhuo why he had come to the law firm: an internal dispute had arisen within Fengxing Investment Bank, and they needed a legal team to work together with the company’s in-house counsel to handle it.
As for which legal team to hire, Fengxing Investment Bank had not yet made a final decision.
Lin Wu didn’t actually listen very carefully to what Li Xiang said afterward. Her attention was entirely focused on the center of her palm—the spot Chen Zhuo had just scratched. She hadn’t expected… that Chen Zhuo would dare, right in front of so many people, to make such a frivolous yet intimate gesture toward her.
Was he so certain she wouldn’t call him out on the spot?!
The thought made Lin Wu frown slightly as she looked toward Chen Zhuo.
Sensing her gaze, the culprit glanced back at her with perfect calm. His posture was elegant and restrained, his expression cold and composed.
Lin Wu paused for a moment, then turned her eyes away with faint displeasure.
A short while later, the phone screen tucked inside her notebook lit up.
Chen Zhuo: “Lawyer Lin.”
Lin Wu lowered her eyes and stared fixedly at the “the other party is typing…” indicator at the top of the screen, unmoving.
A few seconds later, a new message popped up in the chat box: “A momentary impulse. Please forgive me, Lawyer Lin.”
Seeing those words, Lin Wu very much wanted to reply and ask: Momentary impulse? Where exactly was the urgency?
Then, suddenly, she realized something—she had indeed been slightly distracted when they shook hands earlier.
The realization left Lin Wu feeling quite regretful.
After a silent pause, just as she was about to type a reply, the colleague sitting beside her leaned over. Her eyes landed on Lin Wu’s phone screen. “Lawyer Lin, who are you—”
Before she could finish, Lin Wu swiftly flipped her phone face-down.
Their side made a bit of noise. Li Xiang, who had been speaking, paused and glanced toward them before continuing with the unfinished topic.
“…”
For the rest of the meeting, Lin Wu didn’t dare let her mind wander again.
The colleague next to her also quietly shifted a little farther away and sat up perfectly straight, behaving impeccably.
After the meeting ended, colleagues got up and left one after another.
Lin Wu deliberately dawdled until the very end. When she finally stepped out of the conference room, she saw Li Xiang—who had just returned from seeing Chen Zhuo and the others to the elevator—looking at her. His voice was low and serious: “Lin Wu, come to my office for a moment.”
The lawyers who knew what had happened in the meeting gave Lin Wu a very understanding, sympathetic glance in perfect unison.
Lin Wu: “…”
It really wasn’t that serious.
Li Xiang calling her over probably wasn’t about her not paying attention during the meeting.
She followed Li Xiang into his office. He lifted his chin slightly to gesture. “Sit.”
Lin Wu didn’t stand on ceremony. She pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.
Li Xiang first took a phone call. Only after hanging up did he have time to ask her, “Want something to drink?”
“Aren’t I here to get scolded?” Lin Wu said. “No need to drink, then.”
Li Xiang gave her an expressionless sideways glance. “Who would dare scold you?”
“The boss,” Lin Wu replied jokingly.
Li Xiang let out a soft tsk, his tone inexplicably carrying a hint of sourness. “Then the boss who scolds you definitely won’t include me.”
Lin Wu was puzzled. “Why not?”
“If I scolded you, that young miss who’s currently lying around at home doing nothing would immediately rush over to the firm and pick a fight with me,” Li Xiang said bluntly.
The “young miss” he was referring to was naturally He Jiayun. He Jiayun and Lin Wu had been university classmates, while she and Li Xiang had known each other since childhood as childhood sweethearts and playful rivals. He was three years older than both of them. When they were freshmen, he had already successfully secured a recommendation for graduate school and was in the process of establishing the law firm.
When He Jiayun found out about it, she was the first to offer Li Xiang both moral and financial support in full force.
However, her shareholding was small—she only held the title of partner in name and didn’t actually come to the firm to work on a daily basis.
Hearing Li Xiang say this, Lin Wu couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s not that bad.”
She spoke softly, “My attitude during the meeting today was off. You have every right to scold me.”
Li Xiang: “You weren’t the only one not paying full attention.”
He clearly didn’t want to dwell on the matter and continued in a gentler tone, “The reason I called you here is to ask whether you’re interested in taking on Fengxing’s case.”
Lin Wu was momentarily stunned. She lifted her eyes to look at him. “Didn’t you say just now that President Chen’s side is still shopping around?”
That had been mentioned during the meeting—Fengxing was looking for an outstanding legal team and was still in the process of scouting options.
Li Xiang: “I’ve spoken with him. He’s leaning toward our firm.”
He paused there, then looked at Lin Wu. “He specifically asked about you.”
Lin Wu froze for a second, then pressed her lips together a little uncomfortably. “Asked about me?”
Li Xiang gave an affirmative hum and smiled faintly. “Lawyer Lin has quite a reputation in the industry. President Chen made some inquiries.”
Hearing this, Lin Wu quietly let out a breath of relief.
“…And then?” she asked curiously.
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. “And then what?”
Lin Wu: “…”
Realizing what she meant, Li Xiang laughed to himself. “He said he’d looked into the securities cases you’ve handled. He mentioned one particular lawsuit—he said you fought it extremely well.”
Hearing praise for her work come out of Li Xiang’s mouth—and knowing it originated from Chen Zhuo—Lin Wu felt a tiny flicker of embarrassment mixed with an indescribable sense of pride.
That case had taken her several months of deep immersion, and in the end she hadn’t disappointed anyone.
It was also that case that had truly earned her the well-deserved title of “Lawyer Lin” in the legal circle.
She hadn’t expected Chen Zhuo to have watched it.
Li Xiang chatted with her for a few more moments before lowering his voice. “President Chen asked me to recommend a legal team. I was considering suggesting Lawyer Yu’s team to take it on. Lawyer Yu has handled similar cases before and is fully capable. But President Chen specifically inquired about you. I thought back over the cases you’ve taken on before, and you could handle Fengxing’s case too. It’s just that—”
“What?” Lin Wu lifted her gaze.
Li Xiang: “Can you manage the workload?”
He knew Lin Wu already had quite a few cases on her plate. If it were a lighter case, she could handle it easily. But the Fengxing matter would demand just as much time and energy as any of her current cases. Li Xiang was worried she wouldn’t be able to balance her schedule and might burn out.
Lin Wu understood his concern—he was well aware of her psychological state.
She was silent for a moment before looking at him. “Let’s see what Fengxing’s side thinks first. I’ll follow the arrangement.”
Li Xiang nodded in understanding. “Alright. I’ll talk to President Chen again.”
Lin Wu gave a small nod.
“Go get back to work,” Li Xiang said, wrapping up the strictly business conversation. Then he reminded her, “Next time, don’t get so startled when you’re playing on your phone during a meeting. I’m not so strict that I won’t let people zone out a little during boring ones.”
Lin Wu: “…”
She felt a little embarrassed, raised her hand to touch the bridge of her nose, and said awkwardly, “Got it.”
After leaving Li Xiang’s office, Lin Wu walked slowly toward the restroom.
At the entrance, she ran into the female lawyer who had been sitting next to her earlier.
The other woman greeted her first. “Lawyer Lin.”
“Lawyer Ying,” Lin Wu replied.
Ying Shuyue smiled and looked at her. “Did Senior Brother scold you?”
Ying Shuyue was Li Xiang’s direct junior; the two of them had even shared the same graduate advisor.
Most of the time, Ying Shuyue addressed Li Xiang as “Senior Brother.”
Hearing this, Lin Wu gave a faint smile. “He just mentioned the zoning-out thing.”
Ying Shuyue raised an eyebrow, looking a little surprised. “Since when is Senior Brother so strict? Lawyer Lin wasn’t the only one playing on their phone during the meeting.”
Lin Wu casually brushed it off. “No choice. I made a bigger commotion.”
“…” Ying Shuyue laughed lightly. “I didn’t expect Lawyer Lin to react so strongly.”
She paused, then asked curiously, “Lawyer Lin, you weren’t chatting with your boyfriend just now, were you?”
Lin Wu’s expression remained calm. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“My mistake,” Ying Shuyue said with a smile. “Lawyer Lin is famously known as the biggest workaholic in our firm. You really don’t seem like someone who has a boyfriend.”
Lin Wu didn’t respond, too lazy to argue with her—workaholics can actually have boyfriends too. There’s no law yet that says workaholics don’t deserve romantic partners.
She gave a perfunctory tug at her lips and prepared to head into the inner restroom.
But Ying Shuyue wasn’t finished. She changed the subject. “What do you think about Fengxing’s case, Lawyer Lin? Interested?”
Lin Wu glanced at her. “Whether I’m interested isn’t important.”
Looking straight at Ying Shuyue in front of her, she said without any politeness, “It depends on which legal team President Chen of Fengxing is more interested in.”
After saying that, Lin Wu added, “If Lawyer Ying wants to talk work, come to my office later. I need to use the restroom first.”
Ying Shuyue was momentarily choked by her words and didn’t speak for quite a while.
Lin Wu didn’t look at her again. She stepped into the inner restroom.
When Lin Wu came out of the restroom, Ying Shuyue was no longer standing by the outer sinks.
Lin Wu felt relieved at the peace and quiet. After washing her hands, she quickly returned to her office, closed the door firmly behind her—a clear “do not disturb” signal.
She handled a few urgent emails first. Then the phone screen on her desk lit up.
She picked it up and opened it, only then remembering that she still hadn’t replied to Chen Zhuo’s earlier message.
The new message that had just come in was still from Chen Zhuo.
But… what did a single period mean?
Lin Wu stared at the lone “.” and thought for a moment before hesitantly sending him a question mark in reply.
Chen Zhuo: “Pressed the wrong key.”
Lin Wu: “?”
Lin Wu was speechless. She couldn’t hold back and typed: “President Chen seems to have quite a lot of free time.”
Chen Zhuo pretended not to catch the sarcasm in her words and replied with perfect seriousness: “It’s alright.”
Not that free, actually.
Lin Wu felt a slight lump in her throat. She gripped her phone, unsure what else to say.
Suddenly, Chen Zhuo asked her: “Are you free tonight?”
Lin Wu immediately went on alert. “President Chen, today isn’t Friday.”
Chen Zhuo raised an eyebrow and asked slowly and deliberately, “Does Lawyer Lin mean that you’re only free on Fridays?”
Lin Wu: “…”
This man really knew how to twist her words.
Lin Wu closed her eyes for a moment, reminding herself that he was very likely going to be her client—the paying party—for quite a while. As the service provider, she had to be polite to the client. After all, the client was the golden daddy footing the bill.
With that in mind, Lin Wu asked relatively calmly, “Is this about the case?”
Chen Zhuo: “Sort of. There are a few questions I’d like to consult Lawyer Lin about.”
Lin Wu frowned. “Has President Chen already decided on a preferred legal team?”
Chen Zhuo: “Not yet.”
Lin Wu: “Then what does President Chen mean by coming to me?”
Was he trying to get free labor?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when a new message from Chen Zhuo popped up: “I can pay Lawyer Lin a consultation fee.”
Lin Wu raised an eyebrow, her long fingers moving slightly. “My consultation fee is very expensive.”
Chen Zhuo: “How expensive?”
Lin Wu went big: “Ten thousand yuan per minute.”
Chen Zhuo: “That is indeed very expensive.”
Looking at his reply, Lin Wu let out a cold snort. She was just about to mock him sarcastically—if you can’t afford it, give up early—when a new message jumped into the chat box:
200000.00
Please receive payment
“…”
Lin Wu was stunned for three full seconds before she couldn’t hold back and asked: “…Do you have so much money you don’t know where to spend it?”
He actually believed her bluff?
Chen Zhuo: “Not quite to that extent.”
Chen Zhuo curved the corner of his lips and asked the person on the other side: “What does Lawyer Lin think?”
Seeing how relentlessly he was pressing, Lin Wu knew deep down that whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to see Chen Zhuo tonight.
With that realization, she agreed: “Since that’s the case, then I’ll give President Chen twenty minutes of consultation.”
Chen Zhuo: “See you tonight.”
Lin Wu didn’t reply to that message.
She set her phone down and got back to the work on her desk. She buried herself in case files and even ate lunch at her office.
When it was time to get off work, there was a knock on Lin Wu’s office door.
She responded, “Come in.”
Yu Xinzhi pushed open the door. “Still not done?”
Lin Wu hesitated, then nodded. “Mm. Something wrong?”
Yu Xinzhi smiled faintly and walked closer. “Didn’t you mention before that you wanted to see a play?”
Lin Wu gave an affirmative hum. She had brought it up once during a meal with other colleagues at the firm—how she’d missed a performance because of overtime.
Yu Xinzhi was holding two tickets. He placed them on her desk and said softly, “A friend happened to give me two tickets for this Saturday. I’m not really interested, so see if you want to invite a friend and go watch it.”
Lin Wu lowered her eyes, looking a little troubled. “Lawyer Yu, I—”
“It really is from a friend.” Yu Xinzhi understood what she meant and gave a faint smile. “No pressure. I genuinely have zero interest. Just handle it however you like.”
Without giving Lin Wu a chance to refuse outright, Yu Xinzhi didn’t insist on going with her either. “Just take them. I’m heading out now. Don’t stay too late yourself.”
Lin Wu opened her mouth, then said helplessly, “Then… thank you, Lawyer Yu.”
Yu Xinzhi smiled gently. “You’re too polite, little junior sister.”
“…”
After Yu Xinzhi left, Lin Wu stared at the two tickets on her desk, feeling a headache coming on.
With him acting like this, she really didn’t know what to do.
Before she could think about it any further, the phone on the side rang.
She didn’t check the caller ID and just answered. “Hello, who is this?”
There was a brief silence on the other end, then a clear, low, and pleasing male voice came through. “Lawyer Lin, it’s time to get off work.”
Lin Wu froze for a second. She pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the screen—it was Chen Zhuo calling. She glanced at the time: not even six-thirty yet.
“I still have work to finish,” Lin Wu said, puzzled. “Are you in a hurry?”
Chen Zhuo had just taken over this branch office—didn’t he need to work overtime? Were investment banks really this relaxed?
Lin Wu had assumed Chen Zhuo would reply politely with something like “No rush.”
She never expected him to answer so calmly: “Mm. Very urgent.”
The way he said it left Lin Wu momentarily speechless.
After a short silence, she compromised. “Send me the meeting address. I’ll head over now.”
Chen Zhuo: “Alright.”
After hanging up, Lin Wu received the location from Chen Zhuo: a high-end private kitchen restaurant near her home that required advance reservations and had long waitlists.
Lin Wu was baffled: “President Chen, did you send me the wrong address by mistake?”
Why was he sending her a restaurant location?
Chen Zhuo: “No.”
Lin Wu: “?”
Chen Zhuo, sensing her confusion, explained plainly: “Lawyer Lin might not know this, but when I discuss serious business, I prefer to chat while eating.”