Seeing their expressions, the cleaning lady realized that she might have accidentally revealed a secret. She quickly pushed her vacuum cleaner away and left.
That left Ni Xia and Gu Yusheng sitting on the sofa, staring at each other.
The surprise in their eyes gradually turned into shock.
Gu Yusheng lowered her voice.
“You two…”
“Absolutely not!”
Ni Xia knew exactly what Gu Yusheng was implying.
What else could it mean when an adult man kept a portrait of a woman in his office?
It couldn’t possibly be because he treated her like a Buddhist statue and worshiped her every day, right?
“Then what is he doing?” Gu Yusheng glanced behind them to make sure no one else was around before asking, “…Does he have a crush on you?”
Ni Xia was completely speechless.
After a long moment, she finally said, “I don’t think so.”
It wasn’t as if Ni Xia had never interacted with men. Over the past few years, she had met all kinds of people in her circle.
In this age of information, where even a person’s choice of emoji could reveal their relationship status, whether it was a secret crush or an open confession, anyone who liked someone would inevitably give off some kind of signal.
“You didn’t see how he treated me this afternoon. Does he look like someone who has a crush on me?”
Ni Xia muttered, “He looks more like he wants to kill me.”
Gu Yusheng was dying of curiosity and couldn’t sit still any longer.
She lifted her chin toward You Jue’s office and mouthed,
“Come on. Let’s take a look.”
Ni Xia immediately stood up.
The two of them quietly walked over and stood on tiptoe to peek inside.
The offices at Hengtuo had semi-transparent glass walls. The glass above waist level wasn’t frosted.
They could clearly see a painting on the sofa.
It was more than fifty inches wide and framed in walnut.
A suit jacket had been draped over it, covering the most important part of the portrait.
However, the exposed background was clearly part of a dark brown and black building. It looked very much like a photo Ni Xia had used as her WeChat profile picture several years ago.
The two women turned and looked at each other.
“Ms. Ni, Ms. Gu, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Xu Shaoxin’s assistant’s voice suddenly came from behind them.
They quickly turned around.
“Lawyer Xu’s office is this way.” The assistant smiled and gestured for them to follow. “Please come with me.”
Ni Xia nodded.
Suppressing her curiosity about the painting, she followed the assistant toward Xu Shaoxin’s office.
Since they had started making independent films, Ni Xia and Gu Yusheng had met all kinds of bosses, big and small.
But this was their first time meeting a senior partner at a major law firm.
Both of them wanted to appear calm and composed, as if they had seen everything before.
But the moment they saw Xu Shaoxin, they nearly blurted out,
“Good morning, Teacher!”
She had short hair that reached her shoulders, no makeup, and a pair of thick-framed glasses.
She looked exactly like a strict middle-school academic director.
Especially when she looked Ni Xia up and down, Ni Xia immediately wanted to find a mirror and check whether there was something wrong with her appearance.
“What would you like to drink?” Xu Shaoxin asked.
“Just water, thank you.”
After they answered, Xu Shaoxin gestured for her assistant to bring them some water.
Her gaze then returned to Ni Xia.
Noticing how nervous Ni Xia was, Xu Shaoxin said, “Don’t be nervous. I’m probably about the same age as your parents. You can call me Auntie Xu if you want.”
Although she said that, Ni Xia would never actually presume to act familiar with her.
Before coming here, Ni Xia had assumed that all the lawyers at Hengtuo had personalities like You Jue’s.
She hadn’t expected Xu Shaoxin to be so approachable.
Even her eyes held a hint of warmth and kindness, making Ni Xia feel as if she were talking to a close elder.
As their conversation went deeper, Ni Xia discovered that Xu Shaoxin could not only identify every important point in what they said, but also explain complicated legal concepts using simple and easy-to-understand examples.
She made it clear exactly what kind of situation they were facing.
She even pointed out several hidden traps in the investment contract—clauses that seemed harmless on the surface but could cause problems later.
Before this, neither Ni Xia nor Gu Yusheng had noticed them.
Once they became angry, the two women started talking nonstop like machine guns.
By the end, they were practically passionately accusing Zhongyue Huitou of acting completely dishonestly.
By the time they finished talking, evening had fallen.
The hot water in their cups had been refilled three times.
“Don’t worry. We can deal with these problems one by one,” Xu Shaoxin said calmly. “What you need to do next is systematically organize all the relevant evidence.”
“Okay. I’ll send all the documents to you tonight.”
“There’s one thing,” Xu Shaoxin said.
She shifted in her chair, folded her hands on the desk, and smiled.
“I’ll be traveling abroad for work soon, so another lawyer from my team will handle this case for now. Would that be okay with you?”
What?
They were changing lawyers?
The expressions on Ni Xia and Gu Yusheng’s faces immediately became complicated.
“You don’t need to worry. He’s been working with me for more than five years and has handled quite a few disputes involving film and television investments. He’s one of the best lawyers on our team.”
Xu Shaoxin continued slowly, “Our team uses a lead-and-assisting lawyer system. He’ll be the lead lawyer and will handle your case from beginning to end, while I’ll oversee the important stages. This way, we can maintain the quality of the legal work while improving efficiency.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her assistant pushed open the door and poked her head inside.
“Ms. Xu,” she said, pointing to her watch. “The London video conference.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
Seeing this, Ni Xia and Gu Yusheng also stood up.
“Then we’ll let you get back to work, Lawyer Xu. We’ll coordinate with the other lawyer later.”
“Sure.”
Xu Shaoxin said, “Let’s add each other on WeChat first. If anything comes up, contact me right away.”
At night, Jiangcheng was filled with traffic.
The streetlights formed a glowing line that stretched toward the horizon.
After finally finding a reliable lawyer, Ni Xia and Gu Yusheng were in unusually good spirits.
After dinner, they each took a hot shower and relaxed comfortably on the sofa.
“It still feels a little unreal,” Gu Yusheng said, staring at the ceiling.
“Lawyer Xu not only took on our case despite being so busy, but her fee arrangement is also surprisingly reasonable. It’s been a long time since something this good happened to us.”
Exactly.
If Ni Xia hadn’t been brutally rejected by You Jue that afternoon, she might have suspected that Hengtuo was on the verge of going bankrupt and that its lawyers were so desperate for business that they would take any case, no matter how much money it brought in.
But whatever.
As long as they could fight the lawsuit, that was all that mattered.
Xu Shaoxin was such a senior partner. There was no way she would deliberately take advantage of two young women like them.
The variety show playing on the television was filled with laughter.
Ni Xia slowly lay down.
She had intended to close her eyes and rest for a while, but then she noticed a watercolor painting beneath the TV wall.
It was a portrait of her given to her by her college roommate.
It had been displayed in her home for several years.
“Hey, do you think—”
“Your old classmate—”
The two spoke at exactly the same time.
Then they both fell silent.
Apparently, they had thought of the same thing.
After staring at each other for a while, Ni Xia spoke again.
“Do you think the cleaning lady might have made a mistake? Maybe the portrait isn’t actually of me?”
“How could that be?” Gu Yusheng said confidently. “There are so many people coming and going at the law firm every day. Why would the cleaning lady specifically think it was you?”
“And besides, isn’t that painting just a copy of the profile picture you used before? I was the one who took that photo of you at the art museum.”
Ni Xia tilted her head and racked her brain, desperately searching through her pitifully small collection of memories for any evidence that You Jue had ever liked her.
She found nothing.
He hadn’t even accepted her friend request from the day before.
“If he really likes me, then why wouldn’t he even add me on WeChat?”
The moment she finished speaking, her phone rang.
Ni Xia casually pulled it out from between the sofa cushions and looked at the screen.
Her eyes immediately froze.
You Jue had accepted her friend request.
While Ni Xia was still staring at the screen in disbelief, Gu Yusheng turned her head.
She narrowed her eyes.
“Did he add you on WeChat?”
“Yeah…”
“I knew it!”
“But he still refused to take my case. And he rejected me so decisively.”
“Maybe he already regrets going too far pretending not to care and is thinking about how to—”
Before Gu Yusheng could finish, Ni Xia’s phone made another ding.
[J]: Send me all the contract documents and other materials related to Zhongyue Huitou.
Ni Xia: “…”
Gu Yusheng leaned over to take a look.
Then she slapped her thigh.
“What did I tell you? You should call me Master Gu, the all-knowing fortune teller!”
Ni Xia’s brows drew together.
Her mind was filled with disbelief.
She had clearly heard You Jue say that afternoon…
[Ni Xia]: Didn’t you say you were going abroad for work?
[J]: Canceled at the last minute.
[Ni Xia]: Your overseas work can just be canceled like that?
At the top of the chat window, the status repeatedly showed:
“J is typing…”
But You Jue never sent a reply.
For some reason, Ni Xia suddenly felt nervous.
Even Gu Yusheng muttered, “I want to see how he’s going to explain this.”
A moment later.
[J]: …
[J]: The boss arranged it this way. You can ask her.
Boss?
Ni Xia blinked several times.
Then she understood.
“I knew he couldn’t possibly be interested in me.”
She tossed her phone aside and let out a heavy breath.
“He’s the other lawyer Lawyer Xu mentioned. She asked him to—”
Ni Xia’s voice suddenly stopped when she noticed the strange look in Gu Yusheng’s eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” Gu Yusheng asked. “What major law firm would have a senior partner suddenly rearrange the team’s work just because of a new case that just walked through the door?”
Now that she put it that way, it really was strange.
Ni Xia had already found Xu Shaoxin’s appearance somewhat unexpected.
During their meeting, she had also noticed that Xu Shaoxin kept glancing at her from time to time.
Her expression had been warm and affectionate, almost like that of an elder, but there had also been a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
Looking back now, Xu Shaoxin’s behavior seemed more like she had come specifically to help Ni Xia because someone had asked her to.
If she really had been asked to help…
The only connection between Xu Shaoxin and Ni Xia was You Jue.
And coincidentally, the lawyer Xu Shaoxin had arranged to handle the case was also You Jue.
“You mean…” Ni Xia said slowly. “You Jue did it on purpose?”
Gu Yusheng gave her a look that clearly said, Exactly.
“Then what does he want?”
Ni Xia picked up her phone again and stared helplessly at the chat.
“He could have just agreed to help me from the beginning.”
“Who knows?” Gu Yusheng said. “Maybe he went through all this trouble just so he could make it look like he was only helping you because his boss ordered him to.”
Ni Xia: “…”
Was this really You Jue’s personality?
With the way he carried himself, he looked more like the type who would be very direct if he liked someone.
Just then—
[J]: Are you free right now? I want to ask you something.
Ni Xia froze.
Could it be?
Was he finally going to be direct?
She immediately became alert.
Her hands moved faster than her brain, and she quickly typed out a message.
[Ni Xia]: Sorry, this is my work WeChat account. I only use it for work-related messages and don’t discuss personal matters here.
Almost at the exact same moment she sent it, You Jue sent another message.
[J]: . When you signed the contract, did you and Zhongyue Huitou agree on a grace period?
After they breached the contract, did you send them a written demand for performance?
As far as you know, has Zhongyue Huitou undergone any major changes in its assets recently?
Ni Xia: “…”
Her brain had completely frozen.
Her hands, however, hadn’t.
She immediately deleted her previous message and sat there silently, praying that You Jue hadn’t seen it.
After a while—
[J]: Which of the questions above do you think isn’t work-related?