Bending down to enter the chess game

Chapter 22 Thumb

"What a coincidence, Attorney Gu is also having dinner here today?" Ji Zhijie pushed the plum juice towards Yu Xingge's side. After discovering that Ji Zhijie and Gu Lezhi knew each other, and that Gu Lezhi was Yu Xingge's mentor, the four of them simply shared a table.

Gu Lezhi was wearing a linen shirt, a stark contrast to his usual impeccably dressed and serious demeanor. "Last time, Mingqing said she wanted to try this place, and it turns out the owner was a former employee of the steel factory. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Mingqing smiled upon hearing this. She placed her handbag on the wooden stool under the bamboo curtain, scooped up half a spoonful of sweet fermented rice balls floating with osmanthus, and said, "Ji Jian must be laughing at me. Lezhi always tells me when he gets home that this casserole soup base has the aroma of pine needles. It's so amazing! Of course I want to try it."

So this is Gu Lezhi's wife, Mingqing. I've heard so much about her.

As the food was served, Gu Lezhi spoke first: "Prosecutor Ji, I heard you rejected three expert opinions last week? Professor Zhang, in particular, is a very..." His words were cut off by the "pop" of the clay pot lid being lifted. Ji Zhijie knew what he meant: "His noise testing report used outdated standards. Nobody used them."

"I see." Gu Lezhi smiled. "Inspector Ji's impartiality is genuine." He picked up his glass of water: "Let's drive. Shall I have some tea instead of wine?"

Ji Zhijie clinked glasses. "Same here," he said. "You don't need to flatter me. In the steel mill case, didn't you analyze the customs surveillance video frame by frame? Your skills are almost on par with the criminal investigation technical department." Yu Xingge couldn't get a word in edgewise, her head down as she picked at the lemongrass in her soup. Seeing her silence, Mingqing spoke up, "Little Yu, right? I heard Lezhi mention you." She noticed the case file Yu Xingge had placed at her feet. "You went to court this afternoon. How did it go?"

Yu Xingge looked up: "Hello, Sister Mingqing. The pre-trial mediation ended with both sides sticking to their own versions of events. The judge had no choice but to set a new date for the trial." Her eyes crinkled: "The judge was exceptionally kind today; I was hoping for a successful mediation. I hope he'll be in such a good mood next time."

"If a case can be settled through mediation, the judge's attitude will be better." Gu Lezhi's tone was unhurried, as if stating a given fact: "It is the most foolish thing to entrust the outcome of a case to those in power." Yu Xingge was quite embarrassed upon hearing this.

Ji Zhijie paused in mid-air with the porcelain ladle he was using to scoop soup, then placed the soup in front of Yu Xingge. "I've heard that Attorney Gu is a staunch supporter of Confucianism and prefers to treat people with courtesy. Yet, his actions and words reveal the harshness and domineering nature of Qin Zheng. Or perhaps, it depends on the person?"

Gu Lezhi, not wanting to be rude, softened her tone considerably: "She's still using my name, after all. People may have likes and dislikes, but rewards and punishments can still be used. Since you know the judge's likes and dislikes, why not use them and just go with the flow and leave it to fate? If I had an intern like this under my name, I might as well not have wasted my efforts in the first place."

"Why are you so serious?" Mingqing glared at him reproachfully, pushing the sweet osmanthus lotus root to the center of the table. "Xiaoyu, try this. He has a sharp tongue. He just says hurtful things, but don't take it to heart."

"Not at all, I should thank Attorney Gu for teaching me." Yu Xingge picked up her teacup: "I'll punish myself with tea instead of wine."

Seeing that she readily admitted her mistake, Ji Zhijie didn't say anything more. After a moment of silence, once the four had finished their meal, Gu Lezhi and Ji Zhijie began discussing the case again. Yu Xingge sat next to Ming Qing, listening as she pressed her hand and analyzed her palm: "Little Yu, your childhood was filled with hardship and displacement."

Yu Xingge said frankly, "I'm an orphan, but life is tough before it's sweet." "Ah!" Ming Qing covered her mouth, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's okay, Mingqing." Yu Xingge smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I'm doing fine now, aren't I?" Unaware that the two had fallen silent upon hearing her words, Mingqing took her hand. "Such a good child, why not take him? Some people simply don't deserve to be parents."

Yu Xingge's fingers trembled slightly as she withdrew her hand. "Yes," she said, feigning disappointment. She noticed Mingqing's distress at the mention of children and her mind raced with thoughts: She'd heard the two of them had been unable to conceive; was this karma? What if Gu Lezhi really did have a child someday? Would she be so happy that she'd have a chance to trick her into revealing anything? Gu Lezhi was like a stone, completely impenetrable. She'd been trying to figure this out for years, but still didn't know where to begin. It seemed she'd have to urge Fu Congnan for the results of his investigation when she got back.

The meal lasted until almost nine o'clock, and Yu Xingge yawned repeatedly when it ended.

A white Mercedes-Benz was parked next to Ji Zhijie's car.

Gu Lezhi insisted on seeing Ji Zhijie off first, so Yu Xingge had no choice but to get into the car with Ji Zhijie. As they sat inside, their figures receded further and further away in the rearview mirror until she could no longer see their faces, at which point she looked away.

"What did you find out?" Ji Zhijie asked.

"What?"

He laughed and said, "I saw you two studying palmistry all night, I wonder what you've figured out. Why don't you teach me?"

Yu Xingge shook her head: "I wouldn't, and I don't believe in that."

"Oh?" He glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her face. "A materialist who doesn't believe in fate or gods, but only in science?"

Yu Xingge chuckled: "I guess so."

"What does 'consider' mean?" he pressed for details.

Yu Xingge rested her chin on her right hand, leaning listlessly against the car window. The night light sneaked in through the open crack of the car, creating a hole in her chest: "Even so... I only trust myself..."

Ji Zhijie turned his head and saw the corners of her mouth turning up confidently.

"That's wonderful..."

The next day, Yu Xingge changed into a black suit. She was on duty at the front desk today, and dressing maturely was always a good idea. The administrative shift started at 9:00 AM sharp, and she needed to be there by 8:30, so she had to arrive even earlier. She put the breakfast she had packed for Ya Jie in the refrigerator and began tidying the front desk. She turned on the coffee machine, ice maker, and main door, and also prepared a kettle of hot water. By the time Ya Jie arrived at the law firm, she had already done most of the front desk work.

"Xingge, you're amazing!" She went over and hugged Xingge. "Ever since you came, I've been looking forward to your shifts every day. I wish you could be on duty every day."

Yu Xingge smiled and said, "I'm afraid that won't work. The two hundred or so people at that law firm will be cursing me in their hearts."

Hongjiang Law Firm, a well-known large firm located in the city center, receives a large number of inquiries, some of which may lead to cases. According to Hongjiang's front desk duty system, clients are first received by the duty lawyer. Only cases involving amounts exceeding 30 RMB require reporting to the supervising partner, who then assigns a relevant practicing lawyer to handle the case. Of all in-person cases, after the firm allocates 10% of the proceeds to a public welfare fund, the remaining amount is shared between the handling lawyer and the duty lawyer according to a certain ratio.

Therefore, no one would let this lucrative opportunity slip by. Yu Xingge smiled broadly as she watched the first woman in the white dress enter. These were all her future clients!

"Hello, I'd like to ask you a question." The woman was a little plump and spoke with a shy tone.

"Sure. Our law firm's consultation fee is a minimum of one thousand yuan per hour. Is that acceptable to you?" The woman nodded naturally. "No problem." Wow, this is a big client. Yu Xingge gestured to the right towards the reception room: "This way, please. Let's discuss this in detail in the conference room."

Jin Yajie, who was standing next to Yu Xingge, secretly gave him a thumbs up.

Strictly speaking, law firms belong to the knowledge-based service industry. A very real problem is that every law firm receives a large number of in-person consultations, but 70% of people hesitate after hearing about the consultation fees. Of the remaining 30%, less than 10% are actually willing to pay for legal knowledge.

The two sat in the conference room, where the beautiful lake view and open vista, along with the enclosed space, clearly made her feel much more relaxed.

Yu Xingge brought her laptop and prepared a record of the interview while asking questions.

"May I ask your surname?"

"Han Chichi".

"Okay, Ms. Han, this is lawyer Yu Xingge. What questions would you like to ask?"

Han Chichi took a sip of tea: "Hello Attorney Yu, I want to divorce my husband, but my source of income is rather unusual. I would like to know how the court usually handles divorce cases."

"What makes it special? Could you elaborate?"

"I don't have a regular job. I usually like to film food videos at home, so you could call it being a self-media person. I have an account on Douyin (TikTok), and I have a decent number of followers. This video account is basically the main source of income for my family. If we get divorced, how will the video account be divided?" Han Chichi was clearly troubled by this for a long time and went straight to the point.

It turns out to be virtual property.