"Lawyer Jiang, although my wife married me and had two children, she now wants a divorce. I want the betrothal gifts back, and also, she should take half of my debts."
Jiang Mo sat in the company's reception room, looking at the middle-aged man with a potbelly and slightly thinning hair in front of her, her hands tightly clenched into fists.
After more than three years of experience, Jiang Mo had grown from 'Xiao Jiang' into 'Lawyer Jiang', maturing a lot and handling many cases.
But the longer she worked in this job, although she had helped many clients, she also encountered quite a few bizarre and unreasonable people.
She controlled her emotions, "Sir, you gave your wife 50,000 in betrothal gifts. You've been married for five years, during which she was a full-time mother raising two children. You had an affair. Your 300,000 debt was spent by you personally and not on household expenses. You are the at-fault party in this marriage."
The middle-aged man fiddled with his phone, "So what?"
...
On the verge of losing her temper, she finally saw him out. Jiang Mo picked up her water cup, stood in the pantry, and gulped down a whole glass of water.
Then she slammed the cup heavily onto the countertop. It infuriated her, what a despicable man.
The receptionist, Doudou, slipped into the pantry, munching on a snack. "Another mentally unstable one came in?"
"There's always weirdos every year, but these past two months have been especially many," Jiang Mo complained to Doudou. They were around the same age, could chat about food, fun, and entertainment, and had become lunch buddies at the company.
Doudou handed her a small bag of Want Want Senbei rice crackers. "Just hearing about those weirdos you mention makes me want to go up and give them a couple of punches. How do you hold back?"
"Constantly reminding myself to have professional integrity. I feel helpless too," Jiang Mo sighed. "I've really witnessed biodiversity."
Doudou laughed heartily. One of the perks of working at a law firm was getting to hear all sorts of gossip from time to time. Some stories were truly mind-blowing, more outrageous than anything you'd find online.
"Alright, let's change our mood. Want to go eat after work? I found a pretty good new restaurant nearby."
Jiang Mo apologetically rubbed her hands. "Ah, sorry about that. I have plans today. How about I treat you another day?"
Doudou teased, "Plans with your boyfriend, right? Speaking of which, what does that mysterious boyfriend of yours look like? When can we get a glimpse of him?"
If Gu Ye had time to drive and pick her up, he usually parked in the parking lot and waited for her in the car.
Jiang Mo smiled: "He's alright, alright."
After work, the two went downstairs only to find a light drizzle falling. Neither had brought an umbrella and were considering whether to go back upstairs.
A familiar voice sounded in the building lobby. "Xiao Mo."
Gu Ye, wearing a simple white T-shirt and black wide-leg jeans, waved at her, radiating a youthful vibe.
"I'm here," Jiang Mo walked towards him.
When she reached him, Jiang Mo introduced him to Gu Ye. "My colleague, Li Doudou."
"Hey, handsome," Doudou looked up at the person across from her... Hmm, wait, doesn't he look a bit like that... that once very popular celebrity from a while back, Gu Ye.
No, this is Gu Ye himself, right?
Gu Ye nodded slightly in acknowledgment as a greeting. "It started raining. I was afraid you didn't have an umbrella."
Jiang Mo nodded. "Doudou, we'll head off then. You don't have an umbrella, do you want me to walk you to the subway entrance?"
"No need, no need. It's just a few steps, and the rain isn't heavy," Doudou waved her hand, leaving without a trace. "I'll be off then."
Gu Ye held the umbrella, shielding Jiang Mo close to him as they got into the car.
They had agreed yesterday to go to Gu Xun's place for dinner.
As soon as Jiang Mo sat in the passenger seat, her friend's messages started chiming incessantly.
Doudou: "OMG, your mysterious boyfriend is that Gu Ye, right? Oh my god, I really didn't expect that. Seeing him in person, he's so handsome!"
Doudou: "Wahh, I'm jealous, girl! You're eating well!!"
Doudou: "Such a perfect match..."
After replying to the messages, Jiang Mo looked up to see Gu Ye glancing at her frequently.
"What are you grinning and giggling about as soon as you got in the car?"
"Nothing much. Just that my colleague said my boyfriend is exceptionally handsome," Jiang Mo teased him.
"Ahem, your colleague has quite good taste," Gu Ye said, the corner of his mouth curving up slightly.
They drove for about thirty or forty minutes and arrived familiarly at Gu Xun's home.
"Sis-in-law, Bro, we're here to mooch dinner again," Jiang Mo said playfully after entering.
"Just waiting for you. The housekeeper timed it perfectly, the food just got done," Huo Nanyin greeted them.
Huo Nanyin was wearing a set of grey loungewear, her hair lazily pinned up at the back of her head with a shark clip.
And Gu Xun was wearing loungewear of the same color scheme.
Gu Ye washed his hands. "Bro, business at the company not busy? You've been coming home quite early lately. How come someone so young has already lost their drive?"
Gu Xun, who rushed off work to come home to eat with his wife and family, felt inexplicably stabbed.
Gu Xun said irritably: "I have stomach issues. I need to eat regularly."
"As for you, coming over to freeload every other day, don't you have any rice at your own home?"
"Well, we live so close, and your housekeeper cooks so well," Gu Ye said shamelessly. "If you'd just let us have the housekeeper, then we wouldn't come over to freeload."
The two now lived in the same residential complex. Gu Xun had moved to Yanjiang Bay half a year ago.
"Hmph, you wish," Gu Xun said. "Don't even think about poaching the housekeeper. Your sis-in-law finally found one she really likes."
Gu Ye ignored him, looking at the dinner on the table. "Xiao Mo, dinner looks great again today, there's stuff we both like. Let's eat more."
Jiang Mo pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and smiled, having by now grown a thicker skin. "Hehe, that's perfect — I'm tired from work."
Huo Nanyin, used to seeing the brothers bicker, watched as the four of them ate and chatted.
Jiang Mo didn't see the little one. "Where's Dongdong? Sleeping in the bedroom?"
Dongdong was their son, just over four months old.
"He's not home. Mom said she missed him, so he went back to the old house today with the nanny," Huo Nanyin said. "It works out since I have to go on a business trip for a few days tomorrow for an academic exchange. I won't have time anyway."
"See that, this is what a female powerhouse looks like. The highest academic achiever among all of us," Jiang Mo poked Gu Ye's arm.
"Absolutely. I've always said, our sis-in-law is completely out of our brother's league," Gu Ye said bluntly. "If our brother hadn't used some tricks back then, he wouldn't have this today."
Huo Nanyin blinked. "What tricks did your brother use?"
Just as Gu Ye was about to speak, his leg got a sharp nudge under the table.
Got it. Someone wanted him to shut up.
He drawled, "He used the strategy of winning a beauty's heart. My brother's face, although not as good as mine, is still passable."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo knew Gu Ye wasn't telling the whole truth.
Gu Xun swept a cool glance towards Gu Ye. "How's that company of yours going? Looks to me like it's about to go bankrupt."
