Du Li again!
When Wen Ying heard that Sara Zhuo had hired Du Li as her proxy lawyer, she once more felt a sense of absurdity.
Du Li was not yet as formidable as in her previous life. Sara Zhuo, with so many lawyers in the country to choose from, specifically sought out Du Li. Fate was truly strange. Those who had intersected with Wen Ying in her past life would not easily exit her stage in this one. They would still cross paths with her, just in a different form.
For example, He Zhen.
For example, Du Li.
“Du Li is very difficult to deal with.”
Wen Ying reminded Xie Qian. “He studies laws and regulations thoroughly and always finds some very unusual angles to cut in from…”
Xie Qian had an excellent memory. “The lawyer for Han Qin, the former chief editor of Aige, when you sued her? Later, he also represented Fang Ping in her divorce.”
Xie Qian had two memories of Du Li.
The first time, Du Li helped Han Qin respond to Wen Ying’s lawsuit and did not win.
The second time, commissioned by Fang Ping, he fully handled the property division and procedures in her divorce, which could be considered a win.
This was normal. No lawyer had a 100% win rate. Some cases were known to be unwinnable before court even started. Lawyers could not refuse commissions just because a case was likely to be lost.
Often, clients knew they had little chance of winning and hired lawyers simply to minimise losses!
From this perspective, Du Li was a very successful lawyer.
The first time helping Han Qin against Wen Ying’s suit, Du Li did not win because Han Qin had initially hired a mediocre lawyer named Xiong. Du Li took over midway.
Later, helping Fang Ping with her divorce property division, Fang Ping won decisively.
Fang Ping not only secured the vast majority of the marital property but also sent her cheating ex-husband Duan Quanchang to prison.
Without Du Li directing behind the scenes, with Fang Ping’s stubborn personality at the time, how could she have achieved that?
From how cleanly Fang Ping handled her divorce, one could see Du Li was indeed formidable… But for Xie Qian, this was not bad news!
Wen Ying had evidently shifted her thinking and suddenly beamed. “This is good news. Du Li is tough, but the lawyer helping your dad is no pushover either. The two sides will have quite a fight!”
If the lawsuit concluded quickly with a clear winner and loser, it would be good for Xie Jinghu, but not necessarily for Xie Qian.
The longer this lawsuit dragged on, the less energy Sara Zhuo would have for other matters.
The same went for Zhang Zhijun.
Every court session would drag Zhang Zhijun out for a public airing, reminding everyone what he had done!
Thinking of Zhang Zhijun, Wen Ying immediately asked Xie Qian, “Has Zhang Hua contacted you recently?”
Xie Qian shook his head. “He hasn’t contacted me at all since returning from Lu Meishu’s hometown.”
News of Xie Qian’s return to the country had long spread. Zhang Hua could not possibly be unaware.
Previously, when Xie Qian was abroad, Zhang Hua often contacted him.
Now that Xie Qian was back, Zhang Hua had gone silent.
Not only that, the 3% of Jinhu shares under Zhang Zhijun’s name had now been transferred to Zhang Hua. Zhang Hua had replaced Zhang Zhijun as Jinhu’s new shareholder!
Had Zhang Hua been bought off by that 3% of Jinhu shares and stopped investigating the cause of Lu Meishu’s death?
Or had he changed strategy, pretending to give up to lull Zhang Zhijun?
No one knew!
In any case, Xie Qian would not contact Zhang Hua.
In fact, Xie Qian now had reason not to contact any of the Zhang family, and no one would blame him for it.
“Not just Zhang Hua. I’ve been back for half a month, and Zhang Nan hasn’t called me either.”
Did Zhang Nan not know Xie Qian was in a wheelchair?
She definitely knew.
But Zhang Nan no longer approached Xie Qian.
Thinking of that silly swan who had applied to Capital Forestry University, Wen Ying also sighed softly. “Zhang Nan hasn’t contacted me either. I quite liked her.”
Both understood why Zhang Nan had vanished from Xie Qian’s presence.
Wen Ying felt no joy at having driven away a rival.
Just as Xie Qian believed only outstanding people were qualified to pursue Wen Ying, Wen Ying similarly felt Xie Qian deserved to be liked by others.
Dispelling Wen Ying’s slight melancholy was a phone call.
Xiao Ni’s voice came from the other end, full of energy. “Little Fish, I’m in Shanghai now. Are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together?”
Xiao Ni had come to Shanghai.
To better pursue her dreams.
To achieve greater success in the publishing industry.
Xiao Ni had resolutely quit a already good job and started anew in Shanghai.
Wen Ying found this scene quite familiar.
Xiao Ni’s bravery in heading to Shanghai was just like when she had gone to Rongcheng before.
The difference was that when Xiao Ni went to work in Rongcheng, Wen Ying and Zheng Zhihe had picked her up at the train station together. This time, Zheng Zhihe had accompanied Xiao Ni to Shanghai.
“Lawyer Zheng came with you?”
Wen Ying was quite surprised.
From what Xiao Ni said, Zheng Zhihe was not just seeing her off to Shanghai.
Xiao Ni had come to Shanghai, and Zheng Zhihe would stay in Shanghai too.
Zheng Zhihe already had some fame in Rongcheng. With the protection of his mentor Liao Shiyan, Zheng Zhihe would live comfortably as a lawyer there. For minor issues, others would yield three points out of respect for Liao Shiyan. For major issues, even if they could not yield, they would not crush Zheng Zhihe.
With Liao Shiyan’s connections greatly boosting his legal career, coming to Shanghai would mean starting over for Zheng Zhihe… Hm, from another angle, in her previous life, Zheng Zhihe could never outperform Du Li. Could it be because he never fully escaped his mentor’s protection?
Wen Ying readily agreed. “Sure, dinner tonight to welcome you and Lawyer Zheng!”
Xie Qian had class that evening, so only Wen Ying and Zou Weijun went to welcome Xiao Ni.
Zou Weijun wore a white coat. Her previous shoulder-length short hair was now a bit shorter.
Zou Weijun had soft features but a firm temperament. When gentleness carried strength, it became deeply moving.
Wen Ying noticed many people stealing glances at Zou Weijun.
Men and women alike.
Everyone wanted to look a little more, then a little more.
Xiao Ni first hugged Wen Ying tightly, then her eyes lit up upon seeing Zou Weijun. “Sister Zou, you look amazing, even better than I imagined!”
Zou Weijun chuckled. “What state did you think I’d be in?”
Xiao Ni felt embarrassed.
Generally, a woman who had just divorced would not be in great shape. Xiao Ni had mentally prepared herself the whole way, repeatedly reminding herself not to touch Zou Weijun’s sore spots.
Unexpectedly, Zou Weijun was radiant, looking even better than in Rongcheng!
Zou Weijun took the initiative. “Did you think I’d be crying all the time? Where would I find time for that? I have too much to do. Come on, let’s go in first. We’ll talk while eating. I’ll tell you about the company’s plans.”
The two workaholics walked shoulder to shoulder, leaving Wen Ying and Zheng Zhihe behind.
Zheng Zhihe found an excuse for himself. “Sisi is very proactive.”
Wen Ying went along. “Perfect, Aunt Zou is proactive too. They hit it off instantly. But seeing them so passionate, I’m suddenly looking forward to how big their cultural publishing company can grow.”
Zheng Zhihe nodded in agreement. “Big companies need legal affairs.”
Abandoning the foundation he had built in Rongcheng to start over in Shanghai, Zheng Zhihe had considered it for a long time.
He was reluctant to leave his Rongcheng base, but even more reluctant to part with Xiao Ni.
Xiao Ni could quit and change jobs twice. Why couldn’t he?
Zheng Zhihe filled himself with motivational chicken soup, pulled out his new business card, and handed it to Wen Ying. “Teacher Little Fish, please introduce plenty of cases to me in the future. Houses in Shanghai are so expensive, you know. I still need to save for a house and to marry my wife, so I’ll take any case!”
“Easy, easy. We’re all family… Huh, Lawyer Zheng, you joined this firm?”
The firm on the card was not unfamiliar to Wen Ying.
It was a major firm ranking nationally.
More importantly, the lawyer helping Xie Jinghu with his lawsuit was a partner at this firm.
“Lawyer Zheng, I don’t know if you’re aware, but the firm you joined is currently handling a case for a client. The defendant’s lawyer is Du Li.”
Wen Ying reminded Zheng Zhihe. He was not surprised at all. “Of course I know. That’s one reason I wanted to join this firm. Before, it was always Du Li causing trouble for me. My mentor and I avoided him everywhere, but he pursued relentlessly. Now it’s my turn to take the initiative and let him experience our feelings! Another reason is that this case is special. Whether gifts of property to a third party in an extramarital affair can be recovered—I believe they can. The amount involved is huge. The final judgment in this case will surely influence future similar cases!”
