The Divorce Lawyer Is Very Hard To Flirt With - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Almost Home (Catch)

That evening, Zhu Yun ate three full pounds of crayfish. Song Xidan became the dedicated shrimp peeler, and the table was piled high with crayfish shells.

Ying Zhi’an ordered a beer and sat at the food stall. Her silk shirt was very much the “urban beauty” look, and her beige trousers allowed her to sit with her legs sprawled out more carelessly. Although she was the most elite-looking of the three, her posture was uncharacteristically unrestrained. “The situation is exactly as Xiao Song told you. When your matter is resolved, remember to treat Xiao Song to a meal.”

“Wuwuwuwu…” Zhu Yun was obedient. Although tears streamed down her face, she also downed a bottle of beer. “Hiccup, thank you, Xiao Song!”

With a burp turning her alcohol fumes into an outward sigh, Zhu Yun seemed to regain her senses. “How could I be so unlucky! That bastard! I’m going to expose him!”

Ying Zhi’an responded, “I don’t recommend it. You will face greater public scrutiny.”

“Then I should just let it go?! Although…” Zhu Yun paused for a few seconds. “I haven’t registered the marriage, but… but just let him off? I can’t accept that! Why! I was so close! I was so close to marrying him! I truly thought I had found happiness… Even if we break up like this, how can I ever trust anyone else’s sincerity? I already have a psychological shadow because of him!”

As she spoke, her rationality seemed to run away again, and Zhu Yun’s tears fell like broken strings of pearls.

Song Xidan quickly handed her a tissue. “Sister Zhu Yun, don’t be too sad.”

The little angel Song Xidan thoughtfully offered tissues and gentle comfort.

Ying Zhi’an merely patted Zhu Yun’s shoulder with a normal expression. “I know what you mean. If you really want to write a long post to make that scumbag suffer public humiliation, it’s not impossible, but you will also become gossip fodder for others. I think it’s unnecessary. If a dog bites you, you don’t lie down and bite it back.”

“Then what can I do?” Zhu Yun looked pitiful.

The corners of Ying Zhi’an’s mouth curved into a dangerous and ruthless smile. “Just let them fight each other. We’ll be the good people.”

“But their whole family is in cahoots! I was even thinking of helping his sister earlier! I must be crazy!”

“How can you say that? Doing good deeds brings good fortune. See, isn’t there someone who can stand up for you now?”

Zhu Yun didn’t catch on, but Song Xidan immediately realized. “Ms. Fang’s husband?”

Ying Zhi’an didn’t answer. She just reached out and wiped away Zhu Yun’s tears. “Don’t cry anymore. Your eyes are getting swollen and they won’t be pretty. Be good. Go and cancel the wedding first. You don’t need to make a fuss. In a few days, those wicked people will get what’s coming to them. Don’t dirty your own hands; it’s not worth it.”

Zhu Yun pouted, and her tears fell again. “Will that affect you, since you are her lawyer?”

“How is that related to me? Ms. Fang wants a divorce, and I will naturally try my best to help her. As for what my efforts might lead the husband to do, that’s not something I can control.”

Zhu Yun’s three pounds of crayfish, fueled either by hatred or anger, made her head straight for the bathroom when Song Xidan drove Ying Zhi’an’s car to drop her off at home.

Zhu Yun’s mother rushed to follow her, worrying, “Baby, what’s wrong? Are you going to throw up? Why did you drink alcohol! And so much of it!”

Zhu Yun’s father looked like a scholar, wearing glasses and speaking gently. He invited the two of them in. “Thank you for bringing Xiao Yun home. Please come in and sit down for a moment, have some water.”

“No, Uncle, it’s getting late. We’ll head back now. Zhu Yun is upset and might need you to keep an eye on her.” After Ying Zhi’an spoke, she and Song Xidan left.

Ying Zhi’an had also had some alcohol with Zhu Yun. She stumbled slightly as she got into the car, feeling the alcohol’s effect. Song Xidan, who had been following her closely, immediately supported Ying Zhi’an’s arm. “Sister Zhi’an, are you okay?”

Ying Zhi’an hadn’t drunk as much as Zhu Yun, but her alcohol tolerance wasn’t very good. Feeling Song Xidan’s support, she simply leaned her weight onto Song Xidan. Her mind was still somewhat clear, and she was polite. “Xidan, thank you for driving me home.”

Song Xidan felt Ying Zhi’an leaning softly against her. The lawyer, who looked intimidating and full of strategic plans during the day, now had flushed cheeks and leaned on her like a soft willow branch.

Song Xidan felt her own face flush a little, perhaps like the strong winds on the grassland had brought color to her cheeks.

“Watch your head.”

Song Xidan unconsciously lowered her voice, as if tending to a fragile treasure. Only when the treasure was safely nestled in the passenger seat, leaning back and resting its head as if in light sleep, did Song Xidan’s heart feel like it had softly settled back onto the ground.

“Why are you looking at me?” Ying Zhi’an suddenly lifted her head, like the treasure lifting its veil. Her voice, softened with a drunken nasal tone, sounded young and adorable, yet she was deeply perplexed, as if not fully drunk. “Oh, I didn’t tell you my address. Hehe.”

Ying Zhi’an parted her lips in a soft smile and then accurately stated her home address.

Song Xidan, however, only noticed that smile. It truly resembled a large, domesticated cat that was usually aloof but suddenly started walking figure-eights around your feet, its long, fluffy tail affectionately hooking around your leg.

Song Xidan felt exactly this way at that moment.

She couldn’t help but smile herself, displaying that clean, pure, and refreshing smile again without even realizing it.

At this moment, Song Xidan, who had felt empty since returning from the grassland, felt as if a ball of cotton had settled into her heart, gently filling it up.

All the previous panic, discomfort, and feeling of being out of place in this big city felt like wrinkles gently smoothed out by a large hand.

Everything suddenly felt a little more peaceful.

At this very moment, in stark contrast to Song Xidan’s state of mind, Hu Fei, who was working late at the prosecutor’s office, was not feeling peaceful.

Despite her busy work schedule, her mind kept wandering. When she picked up her phone, she would unconsciously navigate the screen to the chat window with Ying Zhi’an.

However, after that dinner appointment, Ying Zhi’an had not sent her any more messages.

And the invitation she hesitantly sent this afternoon to meet for coffee had also not received any reply.

Hu Fei had suggested a Saturday afternoon tea, and Saturday was a non-working day, offering more time.

Every word, every punctuation mark in that brief invitation, had been carefully considered by Hu Fei.

Before sending it, she revised it several times, yet the moment she pressed the send button, she still felt her heart pounding too fast.

She had never felt timid, even when facing the most malicious defendants.

But how could the heart be controlled by reason…

After sending the message, she anxiously pressed the screen to turn it off.

She hoped that the next time the phone screen lit up, it would be a reply from Ying Zhi’an.

Alas, every time it lit up, it was not what she hoped for.

Her mental state was a constant cycle of back-and-forth, like being fried and re-fried in a wok.

Even so, Hu Fei forced herself to finish her primary work and even stayed to work overtime.

Her assistant prosecutor brought her a cup of strong tea. “Sister Fei, this is the police file for the Li Wenwen abuse case. Are you sure you want to finish it tonight?”

Following the assistant prosecutor’s hand, a small mountain of case files came into view.

Hu Fei glanced at her phone again. The screen was still dark, and her heart sank a little. She just smiled at her assistant, the smile disguising her disappointment and sadness. “I’ll look at a bit more. You should go home now. Be careful on your way.”

“Sister Fei, don’t stay too late. We’ve already sent it back to the police for further investigation once, so there’s no rush in a day or two.”

After the assistant prosecutor left, Hu Fei was the only one left in the office. The smile on her face disappeared, and worry filled her eyes and brows.

She was very beautiful. People often joked that she was the “Flower of the Prosecutor’s Office,” a high-mountain flower whose standards were too high.

But in reality, it wasn’t that her standards were high and she dismissed all feelings of goodwill directed at her.

It was because someone had long resided in her heart. Unrequited love was both her pride and her humility.

She thought she would continue loving in secret this way.

But, unexpectedly, she felt a different kind of hope emerging from that dinner.

With hope comes disappointment. This has been the way of things, of all creation, since ancient times.

But she was an adult. A temporary dip in emotion couldn’t affect her work.

She persevered, enduring like a fledgling eagle.

After reading the first part of the litigation evidence file for the Li Wenwen abuse case, she could no longer bear it.

Perhaps she had misinterpreted that sense of hope, but she really wanted to see Ying Zhi’an.

Even just a glimpse from afar, or just using the excuse of a “chance encounter” to have a few brief, formal words would be nice.

She truly, truly wanted to! She desperately wanted to see Ying Zhi’an!

She shouldn’t be so irrational, as such a “chance encounter” would seem too deliberate and affected.

But she could no longer care about so-called rationality. She picked up her car keys and turned off the office light.

She drove towards Ying Zhi’an’s neighborhood.

Even if she couldn’t “chance upon” her, just driving around Ying Zhi’an’s little world felt like it could soothe the longing in her heart.

On the other side, Song Xidan, driving Ying Zhi’an, was also nearing home.

Zhu Yun’s home and Ying Zhi’an’s home were in different districts, one in the east and one in the north, requiring a drive across the city center.

The bright lights on the elevated highway shone into the car, sometimes brightly, sometimes dimly.

Song Xidan drove very steadily, nothing like her horse riding on the grassland, which was like chasing the wind. At this moment, the car played Ying Zhi’an’s music playlist, a time of gentle serenity.

The song was singing: I have never entered a realm of splendor, never heard the sound of clamor, never seen too many living things, never had a boiling heart, so I have never felt how quiet it is in the middle of the ocean…

When the chorus began, Ying Zhi’an, who had seemed to be asleep, suddenly began humming along: Your clothes are worn, but your voice is gentle, accompanying me as I drift aimlessly around…

Song Xidan was startled and tentatively asked, “Sister Zhi’an? Are you awake?”

“Mhm, where are we?”

“The navigation says we are almost at your house.”