At this moment, they were at Xia Jiangnan.
When Lawyer He heard that Feng Cheng was about to arrive, he didn’t have much of a reaction, but Ren Jian was trembling with excitement.
He hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.
If he could use this opportunity to win Feng Cheng’s favor, his career would definitely reach new heights! Maybe he could even use Feng Cheng’s name to make a real name for himself in the capital!
Good thing he’d been clever and snatched this opportunity away from Song Yunyi—otherwise, this stroke of luck would have fallen to her.
She could only blame her own bad luck for not having the fortune for it. It wasn’t his fault.
Just then, the private room door was knocked on. The manager of Xia Jiangnan pushed it open, and a tall, striking man walked in.
The man’s features were breathtakingly handsome. Perhaps he had just finished a meeting, as he still wore a pair of silver-framed glasses, which stripped away some of his usual casualness and made him look far more serious.
Chi Sheng waved at him. “Bro.”
Feng Cheng’s gaze swept past Chi Sheng and scanned the room. When he didn’t see the figure he was looking for, the smile at the corner of his lips slowly faded.
It was at that moment that Ren Jian stepped forward with a fawning smile. “President Feng, I’m truly fortunate to have this opportunity to meet you. My name is Ren Jian, a lawyer at Ming Ju. Here’s my business card. If President Feng ever has any need in the future, I’d be honored to offer whatever modest assistance I can.”
Feng Cheng’s cold, sharp phoenix eyes glanced at this unfamiliar man. After a brief moment of thought, he understood exactly what had happened.
Expressionless, he walked past Ren Jian and took a seat.
Ren Jian’s face stiffened at being completely ignored. Suppressing his resentment, he put on a new expression and approached again.
“Forgive me for being so uncouth—how rude of me. I’ve simply admired President Feng for so long that I got carried away by joy. Please don’t take offense, President Feng.”
He stepped forward to pour Feng Cheng a glass of wine and raised his own glass. “Allow me to make amends, President Feng.”
“The person you should be apologizing to is Chi Sheng.” Feng Cheng leaned back in his chair, long legs crossed, his tone cold. “You said just now that you’re fortunate to have this opportunity to meet me? Think carefully—what kind of case did you take over?”
It was a divorce case.
Yet he said he was lucky to have this chance to get acquainted with him.
How was that any different from pointing at Chi Sheng and praising her for divorcing so well, so wonderfully?
Chi Sheng’s expression instantly turned cold.
Lawyer He inwardly cursed, quickly rising to offer an apology. “Miss Chi, Lawyer Ren just spoke without thinking. He absolutely did not mean to curse you. Please, for Ming Ju’s sake, overlook this one indiscretion.”
To put it bluntly, if Aurora hadn’t had something come up at the last minute, she would never have been able to take this case.
Wealthy families had many rules, especially when it came to matters of marriage—they only worked with lawyers they knew well. And for a top-tier family like the Chi family, it was even more taboo.
If this case went smoothly, she’d reap significant benefits. But if she messed it up, the career she’d built over decades could be destroyed overnight.
And if the Chi family found out that Lawyer Ren had said something like that, she’d be dragged down with him.
Ren Jian gradually realized what he had just said, and a cold sweat broke out down his spine.
He swallowed hard and hastily explained, “President Feng, Miss Chi, I’m just clumsy with words and lacking in experience. I slipped up and said something utterly inappropriate without thinking, but I meant no harm—”
“You say you’re clumsy with words?” Feng Cheng spoke as if he’d heard something amusing, his tone dripping with mockery. “Then why become a lawyer if you’re clumsy with words? Are you treating this case as a joke? Or are you using the title of lawyer as a stepping stone?”
“I’m not, I just—”
“Just what? A lawyer who can make such basic errors in speech—Aurora’s hiring standards are truly inconsistent. She should really raise the bar.”
At those final words, Ren Jian’s vision went dark. His legs gave way and he nearly collapsed, only saved by Lawyer He catching him in time.
His utterly useless demeanor made Chi Sheng frown. “I remember the lawyer who came yesterday wasn’t you. I asked for a female lawyer around my age to accompany me. What about Song Yunyi? Why isn’t she here today?”
Lawyer He hesitated. “Well…”
Ren Jian’s heart sank. He rushed to speak before Lawyer He could. “Song Yunyi herself said she wasn’t capable enough to handle such an important task. After returning yesterday, she voluntarily gave up this case. I came to help because Lawyer He couldn’t manage alone.”
Those words nearly scared Lawyer He to death.
Changing lawyers at will before a hearing was already a major taboo, and Ren Jian saying the previous lawyer was incompetent was basically declaring that Ming Ju hadn’t taken this case seriously at all!
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
But she couldn’t undermine him now, so she had no choice but to steel herself and go along with it. “Song Yunyi is just an intern lawyer with insufficient experience, so she was reassigned.”
Ren Jian clung to it like a lifeline, piling on. “In any case, all of this is Song Yunyi’s fault. She was the one who showed weakness first, which is why I had to step in hastily.”
“Who are you trying to fool here!” Chi Sheng slammed the table in fury. “I know Song Yunyi’s abilities far better than you, you fat pig. You say she’s incompetent and lacks confidence? I’ve had her resume investigated. Forget trying to use this opportunity to curry favor with my brother—you even have the nerve to drag down your peers. Do you take us for idiots?”
Ren Jian was dumbfounded.
How was this turning out the way he’d expected?
Shouldn’t they be outraged, holding a grudge against Song Yunyi, then forgiving his earlier remarks and giving him resources as compensation?
But an arrow once loosed cannot return. He could only steel himself and continue, “Song Yunyi does have high credentials and work experience, that’s true, but she just returned from overseas and landed a job at Ming Ju without a hitch—clearly someone behind the scenes is pulling strings for her. She might even be someone’s kept mistress, and her fancy credentials were bought with money. She was afraid of being exposed by President Feng, so she fled at the last minute.”
Chi Sheng was practically fuming. She’d heard plenty of slander about Song Yunyi before, but she knew for certain the claims about being a kept mistress and faking credentials were absolute nonsense.
With Gu Lianhuai around, who else could she possibly be a mistress to?
If someone with ill intent overheard this, it could destroy an outstanding woman!
She was about to lash out in indignation when Feng Cheng held her back.
Having listened to Ren Jian’s sophistry for so long, he remained in that same leisurely, indifferent manner, though a cold glint flickered in his eyes. “In that case, let’s hear what she has to say.”
Hearing they were going to confront her face-to-face, Ren Jian froze. “No, no need for that…”
Feng Cheng glanced at Lawyer He. “Video call her.”
Lawyer He hastily pulled out his phone.
The turn of events was too sudden, and a question mark slowly floated up in Chi Sheng’s mind.
Then a flash of inspiration struck her. She fixed Feng Cheng with a meaningful stare for a few seconds, then crept up to him slyly and whispered, “Brother, something’s off about you.”
Starting from when he’d suddenly wanted to come eat.
Then how he’d swept his gaze over everyone in the private room the moment he walked in—as if his purpose here wasn’t to eat, but to find someone.
And finally, how he’d inexplicably had that lawyer call Song Yunyi.
Strung together, it all looked like his goal from start to finish had been—Song Yunyi.
Feng Cheng lazily lifted his eyes, and Chi Sheng boldly studied his expression, trying to find a crack to prove she wasn’t wrong.
Unfortunately, Young Master Feng’s expression was perfectly natural. Seeing her lean in closer and closer, he raised his hand and flicked her forehead hard.
It hurt so much that Chi Sheng recoiled.
Rubbing her forehead, she said aggrievedly, “You’re just being weird! This behavior of yours is clearly a guilty conscience!”
Feng Cheng said slowly, “If you lean in any closer, I’ll start suspecting you have designs on me. I’m a fine young man raised under the national flag and nurtured in the spring breeze—I absolutely do not do that kind of sibling nonsense. Give up on that hope and go drink some talisman water to fix yourself.”
“You… I…” Chi Sheng couldn’t outtalk him and was nearly in tears. “Keep being stubborn, then!”
Meanwhile, Lawyer He got through to Song Yunyi on video.
Song Yunyi had just finished eating and was sipping tea to aid digestion. Seeing the incoming video call, she answered with some surprise: “What’s the matter? Lawyer He?”
The woman’s voice was light and crisp, like a bolt of fine silk, soothing to the ears when she spoke.
Lawyer He’s gaze darted away. She glanced toward Feng Cheng before speaking quietly: “President Feng and Miss Chi are very unhappy about Ming Ju’s last-minute lawyer change. Just now, Lawyer Ren shifted the blame onto you. For the sake of Ming Ju, you…”
“What are you saying? Let me hear too?” Feng Cheng had somehow walked over, his deep, magnetic voice startling Lawyer He.
But he paid her no mind. Leaning over, he took the phone from her hand. The screen shook for a moment, and then it showed only most of Feng Cheng’s handsome face.
Song Yunyi frowned in surprise. “President Feng?”