With Liu Yutong’s "reminder," the gamblers who had been pinned down instantly redirected their hatred toward Liu Jianyi.
One after another, they began cursing furiously.
"You bastard! You planned this all along, didn’t you?"
"Liu Jianyi, who knew you were so cunning! You had your daughter bring a cop back to set us up, just to drag us down with you? What kind of monster are you?!"
"That was my hard-earned money for the whole year—gone! You better pay me back!"
"Liu Jianyi, don’t let me run into you in the village again..."
"..."
Liu Jianyi was completely dumbfounded, waving his hands frantically. "It wasn’t me, I swear it wasn’t!"
"Since when did I call the cops?"
"She’s slandering me! She’s slandering me!" He pointed at his daughter, Liu Yutong.
But the gamblers in the village didn’t believe him.
Hell, they were family—what kind of daughter would call the cops on her own father? That was downright unfilial!
Back in the day, a daughter who pulled something like that might’ve been beaten half to death by her elders.
Besides, Liu Jianyi already had a terrible reputation in the village, drowning in gambling debts. It made perfect sense to them that he’d orchestrated this with his daughter.
That’s what happens when you’ve built up a bad name!
Then, Liu Yutong delivered the final blow: "Dad, I’ve already found the lawyer you asked for—a top attorney from Bright Pearl City. Don’t worry, everything’s taken care of!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the crowd erupted in even greater fury.
"You old snake! You even lined up a lawyer in advance? You really had this all planned out!"
"Liu Jianyi, you sneaky bastard! Who’d have thought you’d pull such a dirty trick—playing innocent all this time!"
"........"
Now, Liu Jianyi couldn’t defend himself even if he tried. "It wasn’t me! I never asked for a lawyer—I don’t have one!"
Seizing the moment, Liu Yutong asked, "Dad, do you not want the lawyer anymore? If not, I’ll just call and cancel. With all the evidence stacked against you, the court will sentence you however they see fit. At least I’ll save on legal fees."
Hearing this, Liu Jianyi panicked.
"Wait!"
"No, don’t cancel! Don’t make that call—I want the lawyer! I do!"
Though Liu Jianyi wasn’t educated, he knew the difference between having a lawyer and not having one. A lawyer might shave years off his sentence, maybe even get him out early.
Without one? The judge could throw the book at him.
What he didn’t know was that even if his daughter hadn’t hired a lawyer, the court would’ve assigned him a public defender.
But even if he had known, he’d still believe a paid lawyer was better than a free one.
So, no matter how much he hated his daughter right now, he had no choice but to accept it.
Soon, the police loaded everyone into vans and took them away—along with the stacks of surveillance footage Liu Debao had provided.
Of course, those recordings went to Gao Min first.
The footage documented every gambling session from the past few months, capturing every angle and even the exact amounts of money changing hands.
With that kind of evidence, forget the sentence—whether they’d confiscate the gambling proceeds was entirely up to the cops.
............
That night, a light snow began to fall.
By the time Liu Jianyi and the others arrived at the county police station, it was already late.
But Zhang Dawei had been waiting there for a while. The young mistress had tipped him off in advance, so he’d made sure to be ready when they arrived.
Not long after the gambling raid vehicles returned, Zhang Wei found Liu Jianyi and presented him with two documents: a legal representation agreement and a father-daughter severance contract.
Truthfully, even if Liu Jianyi refused to sign the severance, Liu Yutong could still legally dissolve their relationship through the courts—it would just take more effort.
When Liu Jianyi saw the severance document, the old gambler—for the first time in his life—burst into tears.
Whether it was genuine remorse or something else, no one could say.
"My daughter... she’s really this heartless? She’d cut ties with her own father?"
Zhang Dawei remained calm. "Mr. Liu, you should ask yourself how things came to this. If, even once in all these years, you had acted like a father—if you had shown her even a shred of real care—things wouldn’t have turned out this way."
"Is there... really no chance left?" Liu Jianyi still clung to hope.
Zhang Dawei shook his head. "Mr. Liu, it’s like gambling. You had countless chances to walk away, but you never took them. Just sign it. It’s better for both you and Ms. Liu."
Liu Jianyi suddenly slammed the table in anger. "I won’t sign!"
"I’m her father! I raised her! She can’t just cut me off like this! Tell her to come see me herself! How dare she try to sever ties with her own dad!"
Zhang Dawei remained unfazed. "Mr. Liu, your emotions won’t change the law."
"This representation agreement is tied to Ms. Liu’s severance contract. Her terms are clear: you sign the severance, she pays the fees, and I defend you. If you refuse, this agreement becomes void, and I walk away. No lawyer, no defense."
"Do you understand your situation? You ran an illegal gambling den, organized high-stakes games, and the evidence against you is overwhelming. Without a skilled lawyer, based on precedent and the evidence, you’re looking at a minimum of three years behind bars."
Liu Jianyi nearly jumped out of his seat. "Three years?!"
"You’ve got to be kidding me! Since when do gambling busts get that kind of sentence? Last time, it was just a fine and a few days in lockup!"
Zhang Dawei sighed. "Mr. Liu, trust my expertise. Given the sums involved, three years might even be lenient."
He slid the severance document forward again and placed a pen beside it. "Sign it. This is your only option. As your lawyer, I’ll fight to reduce your sentence."
When Liu Jianyi still hesitated, Zhang Dawei lost patience. He stood, gathered the documents, and prepared to leave.
Liu Jianyi finally broke. "Fine! I’ll sign! Just... don’t go!"
Three years—he couldn’t bear the thought of that.
With trembling hands, he signed both contracts as instructed.
Zhang Dawei checked the signatures, tucked the documents into his briefcase, and turned to leave.
Just as he reached the door, Liu Jianyi called out, "Wait!"
Zhang Wei turned back. "Is there something else, Mr. Liu?"
Liu Jianyi hesitated, then asked, "So... I just wanted to ask, you said the normal sentence is three years. Now that I’ve hired you, how much longer do I actually have to serve?"
Zhang Wei thought for a moment, then held up one hand. "Five years!"
With that, he turned and walked away without another word.
"F-five years?"
Liu Jianyi froze, his mind struggling to process the information.
Almost instinctively, he looked down at his right hand, splaying his fingers and counting them one by one.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
Then he switched to his left hand, raising three fingers and counting again. "One, two, three... three years is this much..."
His gaze flicked back to his right hand.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock, as if struck by lightning.
"Five years?! That’s two more than three! Shouldn’t it be less? How did hiring a lawyer make it longer?!"
"Lawyer Zhang Wei! You must’ve made a mistake! Hey! Come back here! This can’t be right!"
