"Then we can only consider the issue rationally, fighting for the greatest economic benefit for ourselves," Shen Li said. "After all, these years haven't been easy for you."
Lu Beicheng looked up at her when he heard Gu Nanyan's words.
Why did he feel like those words were meant for his ears, as if she was indirectly expressing her own emotions?
Was she trying to tell him that she had tried and contributed in their marriage, and if it came down to divorce, he shouldn't blame her, Gu Nanyan, for not being merciful or polite?
"Lawyer Gu, I understand the logic, but I just can't accept it! That bastard surnamed Zeng slaps his butt and divorces, then immediately marries some young thing. What about me? What do those decades of my youth count for, all I've done for this family, for him?"
"You're not suggesting I go find some young guy too, are you?"
Gu Nanyan said, "Of course, you can! There's a saying, 'A woman older by three captures a gold brick, a woman older by thirty offers a country.' Sister Qiao, you can find a younger man too!"
On the other end of the phone, the woman chuckled, "Lawyer Gu, you have high emotional intelligence; it's so relaxing to talk with you. I love chatting with you."
Gu Nanyan: "I'm also learning from your experiences, Sister Qiao."
In bed, Lu Beicheng's face immediately darkened.
It seemed she was treating these divorce cases as practice, so intent on making money for her future young lover.
"Lawyer Gu, you're young; you don't understand. Old Zeng and I met in our twenties, back then he had nothing..."
The woman's desire to vent was growing, and Gu Nanyan listened attentively on her end, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the neck, so she lay down on the bed with the phone to her ear.
After lying down, she covered the phone and whispered to Lu Beicheng, "Client, dealing with a divorce! I'll comfort her first."
Lu Beicheng glanced indifferently and continued reading his book."
But the client went on from recounting how she met her husband thirty years ago, how she supported him through hardships, and how many times she went through childbirth.
From a bit after eight until nearly midnight, Gu Nanyan unknowingly fell asleep on the bed, while the middle-aged woman kept talking about her years of struggles.
Lu Beicheng, however, never slept and was almost driven to the verge of collapse.
At that moment, he deeply realized how good it was that Gu Nanyan didn't cry easily and spoke less.
Otherwise, he could have been driven mad in a minute.
When the hands of the vintage clock on the bedside table reached 12 o'clock, the middle-aged woman finally took a long breath, "Lawyer Gu, I've really imposed on you by talking all night."
"It's getting late, and you have work tomorrow, so you should rest early."
Picking up Gu Nanyan's phone, Lu Beicheng spoke faintly, "Hmm!"
At the other end of the line, the woman, absorbed in venting her emotions, didn't notice that it was a man speaking with her all along, and after babbling a bit more with Lu Beicheng, she finally hung up.
Thud! Tossing Gu Nanyan's phone aside and seeing her sleeping sprawled on the bed, then recalling how she had hooked his arm with a smiling face on her return, telling him, "Lu Beicheng, let's have a baby," made Lu Beicheng's face sour up.
He always got strung along with false promises, and just when he'd start to sway, she'd leave him hanging.
Annoyed, so when Gu Nanyan's leg accidentally brushed against him, Lu Beicheng kicked her away without thinking.
Turning off the lights in the room, he lay down quietly beside Gu Nanyan, only to see her snuggle into his arms like a cat, murmuring, "Lu Beicheng, you bastard..."
"Don't..."
Every time it came to the crucial words, Lu Beicheng couldn't make out what she was saying.
But the tone, it wasn't anything good.
"Lu Beicheng."
"I'm here."
He responded faintly and pulled the blanket up over her.
The night was quiet.
The dim light of the bedside lamp cast a long-absent warmth, and Lu Beicheng slowly began to recall some things from the past.
—"Lu Beicheng, you're worse than me."
—"If it weren't for all this, for the Lu Family, would I have gotten this far with you?"
Those words had once prompted him to slap Gu Nanyan.
Regretful of the past, Lu Beicheng turned off the lamp beside the bed and closed his eyes.
The next morning, when Gu Nanyan opened her eyes and awoke, Lu Beicheng was already dressed by the floor-to-ceiling windows, in the midst of tying his tie.
Seeing Beicheng already put together and about to leave, a groggy Gu Nanyan said, "Lu Beicheng, let's make up for last week tonight."
She had intended to settle a serious matter the previous night, yet didn't recall how she had dozed off.
Without responding, Lu Beicheng put on his coat and left.
Downstairs, Xia Cheng and the driver had been waiting for him.
Once in the car and receiving the documents handed to him by Xia Cheng, Lu Beicheng, devoid of emotion, asked, "What happened last evening?"
From the passenger seat, Xia Cheng turned and reported to Lu Beicheng, "Secretary Ye's mother fell ill last night, but it's all sorted now. Her brother has temporarily arranged for her to stay at her teacher's."
Following that, Xia Cheng added, "Secretary Ye isn't in the best of conditions herself."
"Keep a closer watch on it."
"Sure thing, BOSS."
"By the way, BOSS, the legal department's handover procedures are complete. Chaoyang Law Firm will be in charge of the corporation's legal affairs from now on."
Lu Beicheng showed his disdain, "Gu Nanyan only handles divorce cases; what does she know about corporate law? From now on, filter all legal matters through me first."
Xia Cheng: "I understand, BOSS."
--
At the villa, the moment Gu Nanyan was ready to leave, she headed straight for the courthouse.
She had a case to hear today, still one of those divorce cases that Lu Beicheng looked down upon.
Aside from projects for Lu's Corporation, nearly all of her work involved divorce or trivial civil cases.
Despite having reminded Lu Beicheng that morning to come home that evening,
He paid no heed and Gu Nanyan, done with work and waiting at home until almost bedtime, found Lu Beicheng did not return.
In the ensuing days, he didn't come back either.
He essentially treated the matter as if it had expired and became void.
On Friday evening, after having dinner with Shen Li and a few leaders, Lu Beicheng was about to get the driver to take him back to Yulin Bay when Xia Cheng knocked on the car window in a fluster, "BOSS, something has happened to Secretary Ye."