The Divorce Lawyer Is Very Hard To Flirt With - Chapter 92

Chapter 92: The Sudden Hug

There is a saying that once a person starts working, their days become identical, and because they are identical, time flies by quickly.

For Song Xidan, this wasn’t due to work, but to the waiting for her exam score.

More importantly, Ying Zhi’an had been traveling all over the country for three or four consecutive cases and had been on business trips for quite a few days.

Life without Ying Zhi’an was bland for Song Xidan.

Fortunately, the day for the Objective Test scores to be released soon arrived.

With trembling fingers, she entered her admission ticket number. The few seconds the page took to load felt like an eternity.

When the screen clearly displayed a score that wasn’t very high but was definitely enough to pass, only two words flashed through Song Xidan’s mind—Passed!

The immediate next thought was to tell Sister Zhi’an!

She dialed Ying Zhi’an’s number. The phone rang once and was immediately picked up. Ying Zhi’an’s usual calm voice came through: “Xidan? Did you check it?”

“Sister Zhi’an! I passed! I passed!”

Although Ying Zhi’an was away on a business trip, she had been keeping track. Hearing the news, she relaxed.

“Congratulations, Xidan. I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you, Sister Zhi’an! Thank you for always helping me! I will continue to work hard and pass the Subjective Test in one go!”

“I’m at the airport now. Wait for me to get back.”

“Okay!”

When Ying Zhi’an returned to the law firm, it was already afternoon.

Seeing Ying Zhi’an open the office door, Song Xidan immediately got up from her seat and rushed over.

Ying Zhi’an looked travel-worn, still carrying a faint cool air from outside, but her lips curled into a clearly visible, very relaxed smile.

“Congratulations again, Xidan!”

“Sister Zhi’an!”

Song Xidan looked at her, and all her emotions peaked at this moment. Driven almost entirely by instinct, she stepped forward, opened her arms, and hugged Ying Zhi’an!

It was an impulsive hug, full of excitement and gratitude.

Song Xidan’s face was buried in Ying Zhi’an’s shoulder. Her voice was muffled: “Thank you so much, Sister Zhi’an! Thank you for always being with me!”

Ying Zhi’an was slightly knocked back half a step by the sudden hug, her body instantly stiffening.

She rarely had such intimate physical contact with anyone, let alone a hug from the person she also liked.

The soft warmth of a woman’s body pressed against her. A faint scent of shampoo wafted from the top of her head, along with the subtle, uncontrollable trembling caused by her excitement.

All of it instantly shot through all of Ying Zhi’an’s usual calmness and self-possession like an electric current!

Ying Zhi’an could distinctly feel her heart skip a beat, then immediately speed up. Her ears started burning uncontrollably. She hesitated for a very brief moment, then almost instinctively raised her hands and, somewhat awkwardly, gently hugged Song Xidan back. She patted her back reassuringly twice, her voice much softer than usual: “It’s the result of your own hard work. Congratulations, Xidan.”

“Ahhhhhhh! Zhi’an, you’re back! Do you know! I passed!” Zhu Yun, passing by, yelled as she ran over when she saw Ying Zhi’an.

Ying Zhi’an and Song Xidan immediately let go of each other.

Both felt a bit awkward, their eyes shifting, avoiding direct eye contact.

Zhu Yun, who was rushing over, paid no attention to this, only grabbing Ying Zhi’an to vent: “Zhi’an! I passed! Just barely, but I passed! Oh my God! I actually passed! I don’t have to suffer anymore, ahhhhh! Heaven has eyes!”

Amidst Zhu Yun’s earth-shattering screams and wild laughter, Song Xidan belatedly felt her cheeks burning intensely, raising a hand to cover them.

Ying Zhi’an, while pretending to be composed and smoothing her hair, which wasn’t actually messy, congratulated Zhu Yun: “Keep up the momentum for the Subjective Test! Give it your all!”

“You have no idea how lucky I was! I crammed and found an identical knowledge point! This is a chosen one! Do you hear me, ha ha ha ha! Now that luck is on my side, I’m not afraid of the Subjective Test either!” Zhu Yun stood with her hands on her hips, laughing uproariously like a villain.

Matching Zhu Yun’s incoherent euphoria, Song Xidan and Ying Zhi’an exchanged a look and couldn’t help but smile, which largely diffused the previous awkward atmosphere.

Following the joy of passing the objective test came the even more intense Subjective Test review.

Although Zhu Yun shouted that luck was on her side, she didn’t dare to be lazy this time. After all, she only had about half a month. She had to cram fiercely, constantly dragging Song Xidan to the law firm after work to drill questions and memorize the key points given by the tutoring class teachers.

Ying Zhi’an also was considerate of Song Xidan’s tight review schedule and handled any external work, such as court hearings, by herself.

By the time she emerged from the court, night had fallen.

This hearing had taken too long because there were too many joint debts and assets to be clarified between the couple.

They had lived together for too long; when separating, these countless details were stories created by time.

As Ying Zhi’an bid farewell to her client, she offered a word of comfort: “The verdict hasn’t come down yet. If you don’t want to divorce, I can withdraw the lawsuit.”

The client, an aunt nearing fifty, instantly looked resolute after hearing this, her previously wistful face hardening: “Divorce. Not divorcing is just repeating the same pain.”

Ying Zhi’an nodded: “Marriage is for happiness, and so is divorce. Your own thoughts are what matter most.”

The aunt smiled: “Yes, I haven’t listened to my own thoughts for a long time. This time, I must firmly listen to myself.”

The weather had warmed up again today. Ying Zhi’an had been busy all afternoon and didn’t have much appetite for dinner.

Thinking that Song Xidan and Zhu Yun were studying hard, she specifically bought some fresh, sliced fruit boxes to take to them, which would serve as her own dinner.

As soon as she arrived downstairs at the building, she unexpectedly saw Luo Qingcheng.

Luo Qingcheng was getting out of his car with two cups of coffee in his hand, walking towards her.

Seeing Ying Zhi’an, Luo Qingcheng was visibly stunned, coughing lightly: “Zhi’an, why are you here? Working late?”

Ying Zhi’an’s gaze swept over the two cups of coffee in his hand. She shook the fruit box, her expression unchanged: “Xidan and Zhu Yun are reviewing at the law firm. I came over to see how their studying is going. And you? Are you here to check on Zhu Yun too?”

Luo Qingcheng immediately denied it: “They’re reviewing here? That’s quite dedicated. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t told me. I came over to handle an urgent case.”

“You only knew after I told you?” Ying Zhi’an smiled.

“Yes,” Luo Qingcheng stated very surely.

Ying Zhi’an pointed to the two cups of coffee: “Coming to work late? Buying two cups of coffee? To drink alone?”

Luo Qingcheng stubbornly insisted: “Yes, to keep me awake. One for now, one for later. Is there a problem?”

Ying Zhi’an finally couldn’t help but laugh softly: “No, of course not. Director Luo, please proceed as you wish. I’m going to check on them.”

The two took the elevator up together. Upon reaching the law firm, only one conference room was lit up—where Zhu Yun and Song Xidan were located.

Ying Zhi’an teased Luo Qingcheng: “Not going to take a look together?”

Luo Qingcheng righteously refused: “My client needs me. You go ahead.”

“It would be strange if you could win someone over this way,” Ying Zhi’an threw out the sentence and quickly slipped away.

She left Luo Qingcheng behind, who called out in a low voice: “Ying Zhi’an! What are you talking about!”

“Oh, are you afraid Zhu Yun might hear?” Ying Zhi’an laughed as she entered the conference room.

However, only Song Xidan was in the conference room.

“Sister Zhi’an?! Are you done with the hearing?”

“Mhm,” Ying Zhi’an handed the fruit to Song Xidan. “Where is Zhu Yun?”

“Sister Yun went to the restroom.”

“How is the review going? Did you encounter any difficult problems?”

Ying Zhi’an had simply come to accompany Song Xidan in her review, so she naturally sat down. With the great expert Ying Zhi’an sitting nearby, ready to answer questions, Song Xidan’s study efficiency significantly increased.

After Song Xidan finished asking questions and started reviewing key knowledge points, Ying Zhi’an sat in Zhu Yun’s seat and scrolled through her phone.

Zhu Yun was absent, but her laptop was open. Ying Zhi’an casually glanced over and saw WeChat notifications constantly popping up on the desktop from a group chat titled “This Queen Needs Sleep”:

—Yun, let’s pick up where we left off. Any new developments with your ‘poser’ director?!

—Yun, listen to me. You hold back! If he doesn’t confess, you treat it like he’s not pursuing you! Don’t be like the last time and foolishly throw yourself at him.

—Zhu Yun, didn’t we agree to call Little Song out for drinks? Set up a gathering. It can’t be that you have to study every night, right?

—Sister Jing, I heard from Yun that Little Song plans to confess to Lawyer Ying once she passes the Subjective Test.

—Really?! Does she really dare?!

The group chat only had three people. Zhu Yun, who was on the toilet, quickly replied—Of course it’s true! Little Song told me herself!

—No time for drinks. The only reason I can chat with you guys now is because I’m pooping.

—He hasn’t said anything, but his actions are really ambiguous. Zhi’an even caught us last time, making it feel like an underground relationship. I definitely won’t say anything. I’ll take things as they come.

Zhu Yun quoted and replied one message after another.

She typed more frantically than her two friends.

But Ying Zhi’an had already disregarded the later messages. She had seen the crucial information.

Xidan… will confess… once she passes the Subjective Test?

To her?

Ying Zhi’an was stunned.

Her usually well-functioning brain sputtered, as if the entire world had paused for a second.

After that second, her heart began to pound against her chest with unprecedented force, making a deafening sound.

Ying Zhi’an wanted to laugh; the corners of her mouth desperately wanted to curl upwards.

But regaining her composure, she desperately suppressed her wildly beating heart, quickly lowering her head, pretending to play with her phone.

Just then, Zhu Yun burst in noisily. Seeing Ying Zhi’an, she immediately ran back to her seat, abruptly closed her laptop, and looked at Ying Zhi’an in panic.

Ying Zhi’an acted clueless: “What’s wrong?”

Zhu Yun shook her head: “Nothing.”

Ying Zhi’an nodded normally, then stood up, giving her seat to Zhu Yun: “Eat some fruit and continue studying.”

Seeing Ying Zhi’an’s reaction, Zhu Yun, who thought Ying Zhi’an hadn’t noticed her laptop, let out a sigh of relief.

From the moment she glimpsed the “earth-shattering secret” on Zhu Yun’s laptop, Ying Zhi’an’s “concern” for Song Xidan’s Subjective Test review became somewhat uncontrolled.

Mainly, any person, having been forewarned, would inevitably look forward to it!

Ying Zhi’an’s simmering anticipation, hidden beneath a calm exterior, materialized into specific, detailed actions.

Her workload was heavy, and many cases were accumulating. She could only try to distribute new cases, which recently made many newly practicing lawyers eager to visit her office, as they could get cases.

Ying Zhi’an herself began using fragmented time, even abandoning her usual good sleep routine, staying up late to systematically sort through the prediction questions from various tutoring institutions and organize high-frequency exam points from recent years.

She worked until 3:00 AM, finally saving a freshly compiled set of study materials with satisfaction.

Sleepiness washed over her. She habitually reached to play her usual sleep aid white noise but, groggy, accidentally clicked on an audio file of her university presentation assignment in the adjacent folder.

And just like that, she drifted off to sleep.