After Liu Yutong finished speaking, Qi Wei was stunned.
He hadn’t expected her request to be so simple—just two words.
Yet he also knew those two words carried far more weight than their surface meaning implied.
Behind them lay the essence of the law: distributive justice, corrective justice, and procedural justice—in other words, the realization of justice itself.
Simply put, it meant ensuring everyone received their due rights and fair treatment through equitable rules and procedures.
Though it sounded straightforward, achieving it was anything but.
Qi Wei couldn’t help but regard Liu Yutong with newfound respect.
This young woman, barely out of her youth, had spoken words that left him inexplicably shaken.
What struck him most was that he found himself unable to refuse her condition.
In fact, an absurd thought even crossed his mind—he almost wished she had demanded his protection or some tangible benefit instead.
That would have aligned more with her current standing.
After all, in Wushui County, aside from petty thugs, which major organization wouldn’t want a protector?
Yet Liu Yutong’s request was disarmingly simple, even humble.
As Qi Wei remained lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID made him rise to his feet almost instinctively.
Noticing this, Liu Yutong stood up gracefully and said considerately, "Uncle Qi, please take your call. I’ll wait outside."
With that, she left the private room, closing the door softly behind her.
A moment later, Qi Wei emerged, his expression visibly darker. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes burned with agitation.
The first words he spoke to Liu Yutong were: "I agree!"
Liu Yutong smiled faintly and extended her hand. "Pleasure doing business."
Qi Wei gave her hand a perfunctory shake before hurrying out of Yu Yue Fang.
Only after he was gone did Liu Yutong turn to Yun Cheng, who had been waiting nearby. "Yun Cheng, find out what happened."
"Right away, Miss!" Yun Cheng nodded, pulling out his phone to make calls.
Soon, he returned with updates.
The first incident involved one of the restaurants Liu Yutong had tasked Ma Da to monitor. A dispute had broken out there.
Two diners had accidentally broken an ordinary bowl but were demanded 500 yuan in compensation.
The argument escalated quickly.
According to their informants, one of the diners seemed distinguished, possibly someone of importance.
However, the restaurant, emboldened by its ties to Niu Ben, had acted outrageously, insisting on the payment—a blatant case of price gouging.
In the end, the two men, visibly furious, paid up and left in a hurry.
The second incident was far more serious.
A violent clash in a southern village had left one person severely injured and three others with minor wounds.
Among those involved was someone they’d met before.
For the first time, Yun Cheng’s calm demeanor wavered. He looked at Liu Yutong urgently. "Miss, one of the parties involved is Chu Yang."
"Chu Yang?" Liu Yutong frowned. "The man from the KTV?"
"Yes," Yun Cheng confirmed. "Miss, should we…?"
He trailed off, but his intent was clear.
Yun Cheng was a man of few words and even fewer admirations, yet Chu Yang had earned his respect—even a sense of camaraderie.
Liu Yutong understood.
She sighed softly. "Even if you hadn’t suggested it, I wouldn’t stand by."
Chu Yang had once helped her during the KTV incident, even saving her life.
In hindsight, Liu Yutong realized she’d been careless that night.
Had she left immediately, things might not have escalated.
Her confidence had stemmed from knowing Yun Cheng was downstairs—she trusted his presence would prevent disaster.
Yet that very reliance had nearly cost her dearly.
Now that Chu Yang was in trouble, she wouldn’t turn a blind eye.
"Call Zhao Tianyi. Have him come and see what he can do."
"Right away, Miss!" Yun Cheng promptly dialed Zhao Tianyi’s number.
Before long, Zhao Tianyi arrived at the restaurant in a flurry.
After hearing Yun Cheng’s report, he fell into deep thought, his brow creased.
"Get this done, and it’s 100,000," Liu Yutong stated outright.
Though Zhao Tianyi worked under her umbrella, he belonged to a different system.
Most of her people were under the newly registered Wanlong Hui Corporation, while Zhao Tianyi remained with the law firm.
Even if the firm technically had her shares, business was business.
Zhao Tianyi made his living through the law, and she intended to pay him fairly.
Upon hearing the price quoted by Liu Yutong, Zhao Tianyi immediately stood up and turned to leave.
Yun Cheng grew anxious. "Why are you leaving? At least tell us what we should do!"
Without looking back, Zhao Tianyi replied bluntly, "No time to explain. I'm heading to the scene to see if I can gather evidence for an innocence defense!"
With that, he strode decisively out of the restaurant.
Liu Yutong and Yun Cheng exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.
Liu Yutong, however, understood Zhao Tianyi’s behavior perfectly.
After all, Zhao Tianyi had been notorious in his past life for his love of money, even famously declaring, "I don’t care what crime you’ve committed—I only care how much you can pay."
So, if they wanted to motivate him, nothing was more straightforward than naming a price.
Niu Ben’s side acted faster than expected. It was unclear what connections he had leveraged, but an official notice was issued stating that the trial would take place in just one week.
This speed was unbelievably fast.
Typically, cases involving alleged intentional assault would take one to two months to progress from arrest and investigation to prosecution.
Yet Chu Yang’s case had been compressed into a mere seven days.
This made it clear—the opposing side had no intention of dragging things out. They wanted a swift resolution, aiming to send Chu Yang behind bars as quickly as possible.
Time was undeniably tight.
Detention Center
Chu Yang sat on the cold iron bed, his heart heavy with worry.
He didn’t regret his actions, but he was terrified that his younger sister might be bullied again while he was locked up.
Every time he recalled the insults those demolition thugs had hurled at her—or worse, the one who had even tried to pull down his pants—his blood boiled.
As her older brother, he could never tolerate anyone harming his sister.
But now that he was in here, what would happen to her?
Aside from his sister, he had no other family left.
Their parents had passed away long ago, and if not for his sister, he wouldn’t have left the military early to take care of her.
Yet here he was, locked up because of a moment of rage.
Just then, an officer approached and asked routinely, "Chu Yang, do you want to hire your own lawyer, or should we assign you a legal aid attorney?"
Chu Yang looked up with a bitter smile. "I can’t afford a lawyer."
The officer nodded. "Then we’ll assign one for you."
With that, he turned to leave.
Chu Yang leaned against the cold wall, overwhelmed by despair.
The situation felt utterly hopeless.
He knew all too well the difference between a privately hired lawyer and a court-appointed one.
Most of the time, assigned attorneys just went through the motions, never fighting wholeheartedly for their clients.
But right now, he had no other choice.
Wushui County wages were meager, and what little he earned barely covered basic expenses. On top of that, he had just lost his job—there was no way he could afford legal fees.
Just as he was sinking into hopelessness, the officer returned.
"There’s a man outside—a lawyer named Zhao. He says he’s been hired by your family to represent you." The officer sounded puzzled. "If you already had a lawyer, why ask for an assigned one?"
"A lawyer?" Chu Yang was stunned.
He hadn’t hired anyone. What family-hired lawyer?
Before he could process it, the officer walked away, and soon a man in a suit, carrying a briefcase, entered.
The moment he saw Chu Yang, the man got straight to the point.
"Chu Yang, I’m your defense attorney—Zhao Tianyi. From this moment on, your case is in my hands."
