Chapter 218: Chapter 218

The night in Jiazhou in September brought with it a cool breeze, and the city lights were mesmerizing.

His clothes were soaked, and his strong physique pressed against her, every detail visible.

He cupped her cheeks with his hands and kissed her deeply, his tongue tasted strongly as their breath intertwined.

Her breathing became erratic, and she could only hold onto his body, sensing the heat beneath the wet fabric, the originally cool male body becoming almost arrogantly hot, burning her palms.

She felt her throat dry, her mind in a daze, only able to sip the minty coolness he offered along with the rich scent of tobacco.

In her confused mind, she thought, no wonder he was reluctant to throw away that "strong cigarette" while standing in the "rain curtain," its taste was truly soul-stealing...

On such a night, the cool breeze wrapped in floral fragrance was refreshing, and the sight of this passionate couple by the roadside was originally a beautiful scene. The man was tall and handsome, the girl petite and lovely, their bodies tightly pressed together, their muscles tensed as if they wanted to crush the other and meld into one.

But the man inside the black Rolls-Royce by the roadside couldn’t help furrowing his long eyebrows, his pale and slender fingers grasping the crystal skull tightly.

The personal attendant seated in the passenger seat cautiously observed the master’s expression through the rearview mirror and softly inquired, "Shall we... leave?" Fresh chapters posted on novel⸺fire.net

The man sitting in the backseat glanced again at the embracing couple by the roadside before resolutely turning back, sitting with arrogance yet dignity. He gave a slight nod, and the driver understood, the car silently slipping into the darkness as if it had never been there.

Tonight, his son went alone to do a test with Huo Danru. After the test, he called back saying the results were good and thanked his father for coming up with such a good idea.

Xiang Jingsheng smiled with satisfaction: "Continue to put more effort, women are not that hard to appease. Remember, Shi Nian is already your wife, you’ve both taken vows at your wedding, so don’t give her the chance to leave."

At this point, Xiang Jingsheng expected his son to say goodnight and then hang up, but he was surprised when his son hesitated slightly on the other end of the line.

Xiang Jingsheng sensed it and asked, "Is there anything else? What’s wrong?"

Xiang Yuan took a deep breath: "Dad, I need to apologize. I can’t take on Mark’s case."

"Oh?" Xiang Jingsheng was quite surprised: "Why? The Mark family has been a long-time client of ours. It’s because of the bond over generations that I had the chance to recommend you to their family. Haven’t you already planned for Mark’s case, or are you afraid of losing?"

Xiang Jingsheng swirled a glass of red wine as he drank and said, "If you’re worried about An Cheng, you really don’t need to. Huo Danru will definitely assist you in this matter, and you can rest assured when going to court."

The Mark family is a significant client; there’s no need for his father to emphasize that, as Xiang Yuan knows well. It’s because of the Mark family’s immense wealth that Mark’s bail was set at an eye-popping 800,000 US Dollars.

Initially, the Mark family wasn’t very keen on Xiang Yuan, after all, with their financial resources, what kind of lawyer couldn’t they find? Besides, in recent years, Xiang Yuan mainly handled divorce cases, most of which didn’t go to court, so his experience with cross-examination in court wasn’t very extensive; besides, what family likes hiring a lawyer known for divorce cases as their regular lawyer? It sounds somewhat inauspicious.

But firstly, it was due to Xiang Jingsheng’s persistent recommendation. Over the years, Xiang Jingsheng’s company had helped the Mark family with investment management, reaping significant rewards, and the Mark family had great confidence in Xiang Jingsheng’s capabilities, thereby trusting their father-son legacy; moreover, Xiang Jingsheng seized the opportunity to explain to the Mark family that Xiang Yuan was actually Tang Mingyi’s disciple and that it was Tang Mingyi who initially guided him step by step into the legal profession.

Ultimately, this explanation worked, and the Mark family finally decided to hire Xiang Yuan as their lawyer.

Interestingly, as soon as Xiang Yuan became the Mark family’s lawyer, the incident involving Mark’s murder and assault case happened. This case became an opportunity for the Mark family to test Xiang Yuan, and he also regarded it as an excellent starting point in shifting his focus in the legal profession.

Xiang Yuan apologized: "Sorry, Dad... it’s not about the fear of losing, but due to some personal reasons."

"Personal reasons?" Xiang Jingsheng was quite puzzled: "Since when did you become someone who can’t separate personal and work matters? From when you first started working, I constantly reminded you of this principle, how could you forget?"

Xiang Yuan held his phone, gently closing his eyes.

His father’s reprimand was valid, but in this matter, he had no choice. He then slowly explained the situation that Shi Nian was actually Nana.

Xiang Jingsheng was also taken aback, his emotions seemingly stirred, and couldn’t help but lowly complain: "See, she wanted to go out and be a reporter, and now it’s starting to affect your work. This journalist, I really shouldn’t have agreed to her going out to do it back then!"

Xiang Yuan also felt sorry for his father’s efforts on this matter and explained, "Dad, you forgot it was under your encouragement that today, your son opened his heart to Huo Danru. But unexpectedly, today, right in Huo Danru’s office, Shi Nian and Mark just happened to run into each other. Although I am reluctant to lose Mark as a client, I can only choose to stand by Shi Nian."

"She is my wife, more important than any business. Don’t you think so?"

Xiang Jingsheng could only helplessly say, "Anyway, today you hit Mark, even if you want to regret it, he will never accept you again. Let this case go for now, and see if you have the opportunity to explain it to him clearly in the future, see if there’s any chance to cooperate again."

Xiang Jingsheng hung up the phone and picked up a cigar again.

Guo Zhengmei knew something was wrong, quickly came over and asked, "What did A Yuan say to make you upset?"

Guo Zhengmei knew her husband was very self-disciplined, allowing himself only one cigar a day to relax, so he could enjoy the pleasure of tobacco without becoming addicted.

Unless—he is in a bad mood.

Xiang Jingsheng knew his wife was worried about their son, so he told her about losing Mark as a client.

Guo Zhengmei was immediately anxious, "Didn’t I say that Shi Nian is a jinx! Mark’s family is such a big client, could have been the biggest client in Xiang Yuan’s legal career! Plus, Xiang Yuan fought Mark for Shi Nian, won’t that affect our financial cooperation with his family that we’ve had for years?"

Xiang Jingsheng frowned and didn’t speak.

He couldn’t deny the possibility.

Guo Zhengmei couldn’t help but complain, "See, I said this daughter-in-law Shi Nian shouldn’t be accepted. But you, all these years, you’ve been standing on A Yuan’s side against me, always saying I’m picking fights for no reason because of menopause. Now what, it’s too late to regret it now, isn’t it?"

Xiang Jingsheng finally couldn’t help but coldly rebuke, "What do you know?!"

"What do I know?" Guo Zhengmei got angry, "Don’t think I don’t know who you sent A Yuan to. Huo Danru, right? I think there’s an issue between you and Huo Danru!"

Xiang Jingsheng flared up in anger, jumped to his feet, "Guo Zhengmei, take back that sentence at once. And promise me never to say it again!"

Guo Zhengmei sat on the bed and sneered, "What’s wrong, hit the nail on the head, lost face? Although she divorced Tang Mingyi years ago, she never really left Tang Mingyi’s circle, which member of her team hasn’t had dealings with her privately?"

Xiang Jingsheng took a deep breath, controlled his temper, "There are dealings, but not the kind you’re suspiciously imagining! She still can’t forget Tang Mingyi, but she’s only our old acquaintance, we often have coffee together and chat, just to understand Tang Mingyi’s situation indirectly."

Guo Zhengmei stiffened her neck, still a bit unhappy.

Maybe she was really too lonely, after her retirement, alone in the empty house, she couldn’t help but worry about her son, and then began worrying about her husband. She was old, her looks faded; but her husband, because of years of self-restraint, abstaining from tobacco and alcohol, keeping up with exercise, looked like he was still in his forties... she worried one day her husband might suddenly not want her anymore, with so many little temptresses in this world. Each of them a ready trap!

The more she thought, the more scared she became; she simply insisted, "Then tell me, there are so many marriage counselors in this city, we know quite a few famous ones, why do you want A Yuan to go to Huo Danru. Tell me, tell me!"

Xiang Jingsheng, quite annoyed, pulled the cigar away from his lips, pressed it dead in the ashtray.

"Guo Zhengmei, you’ve been an actuary for thirty years, how come you don’t have any sense!"

Xiang Jingsheng took a breath, looked towards the night outside the window.

"There are many marriage counselors in this city, but only she is the one who most doesn’t want a lawyer to divorce. She will use all her methods, strive to help a male lawyer keep his wife."

It’s also an expression of Huo Danru’s own years of unresolved complex. She cannot let go of Tang Mingyi for years, always regretting Tang Mingyi didn’t try harder back then, so she unconsciously helps other lawyers save their marriages, tirelessly.

Moreover, Huo Danru, the Tang family, and Shen Wan herself have a personal relationship. If Huo Danru knows Xiang Yuan fought with all his might to save this marriage, then the Tang family will surely know sooner or later.

A gentleman does not take someone’s beauty, how can a great family like the Tang family break this age-old rule.

[More to come, see you in the morning.]