Chapter 185

Going back so late, she didn't know what Qin Zhixiu would be like alone at home...

"Miss He!"

Li Yiquan rolled down the car window and shouted. Just now, while waiting for the red light at the intersection, he noticed her slender back from afar. Before he could react, he had already made a U-turn and drove behind her.

He Lele didn't look back. Li Yiquan looked at the cloth bag she was carrying and confirmed he hadn't recognized the wrong person, so he shouted again, "Miss He!"

Unable to hide, He Lele sighed lightly and turned around. "Lawyer Li."

Girls, don't be in a hurry~~~ The next volume is just starting~~~ Let the plot fly for a while~~~ Jiangshan is starting to fill in the pits I dug one by one~~~

Love you all~~ Goodnight~~ Sweet dreams~~

☆, (8 Fresh Coins) Chapter 196: Hello, Neighbor

Inside the car, there was silence for a long time.

"You—"

"You—"

Suddenly both spoke at the same time, and both stopped simultaneously.

He Lele, in the passenger seat, paused. "Thank you, Lawyer Li."

She originally didn't want to get in the car, but when she walked over, Li Yiquan happened to be answering a phone call, and faced with the open car door and the last night bus passing by her, she, who couldn't afford a taxi, had to choose to "be a wise person who knows the times."

Hearing He Lele’s thanks, Li Yiquan glanced at her sideways, his naturally smiling lips curling. "I still prefer to hear you call me L."

He Lele smiled somewhat reluctantly.

"You seem... to not want to see me?" Li Yiquan asked in a half-joking tone.

"No, I—" Li Yiquan’s straightforward question made her a bit flustered. After she calmed down, she couldn't help but sigh silently. "One is a hacker who plays with rules on the internet, the other is a lawyer who holds the code to maintain fairness and justice. I... really find it hard to associate these two identities." She thought Lingyu was already an anomaly among lawyers, but she didn't expect L to be one too, and such a famous lawyer at that.

"Do you think the law and lawyers are used to maintain fairness and justice?"

"Although the law is a tool used by the ruling class to maintain rule, maintaining basic social fairness is a necessary condition for national stability. As for lawyers..." He Lele suddenly understood. "So that’s it."

"What?"

"Whether it’s a hacker or a lawyer, both are people who have mastered the rules and can exploit loopholes." He Lele said faintly.

"...Am I hated?"

Her heart skipped a beat. He Lele glanced at Li Yiquan quickly, her pink lips pursed, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Did she hate him?

She didn't know.

Toward L on the internet, whom she couldn't hear, see, or touch, she felt admiration, trust, and even had fantasies. But toward this top lawyer beside her who was clearly extraordinary, and the man Lingyu loved, Li Yiquan, she felt strange and somewhat afraid.

Although he had always been smiling gently, although his manner of cooking was elegant, although his singing voice was warm, but... that cold, cruel contract, the invisible shackles that made her unable to resist, also came from his hand. Just with two pages of paper and a few paragraphs of text, he could play with other people’s fates. What a terrifying ability this was...

A familiar scent drifted past her nose, and He Lele almost reflexively thought of another equally terrifying man—Shentu Mo!

Immediately, those lewd and shameful scenes flooded her mind, and she couldn't control her rapid breathing, her cheeks gradually turning red.

He Lele hurriedly turned her face toward the car window.

Li Yiquan looked at her clear and lovely side profile, thinking quietly. None of her abnormalities escaped his eyes, but he couldn't guess the reason for these reactions. Many people thought that the lawyer profession relied most on the mouth, but in fact, for a lawyer, the most important things were the eyes and thinking. Digging into the truth behind the appearance, finding the invisible logical relationship between thousands of things. But there seemed to be many puzzles about this girl who looked simple.

Was this why her singing voice was so pure and heavy?

Li Yiquan turned on the stereo, and the sound of a woman singing a cappella, which was like the sound of nature, poured out from several corners of the car. As usual, it amazed his ears, comforted his body and mind, and helped him drive away the complexity of the day.

Listening to her own singing, He Lele was surprised, and her originally complex mood gradually eased. She had never thought that one day, she would be comforted by her own singing.

Listening quietly to one song after another, the more He Lele listened, the more... she couldn't explain her mood right now. He had actually organized all the songs she had sung for him, as well as the songs she had sung in the NG chat room!

"The whole NG knows Boss has a good impression of you; privately, they all call you sister-in-law. I've told you many times, both openly and secretly, that Boss is interested in you, but you haven't listened once, right?"

Lingyu’s words rang in her ears again, but this time... she wasn't sure of her judgment.

No, he should just simply like listening to her sing!

In her ear, a low male voice began to harmonize softly with the stereo, like the vibration of cello strings, like the north wind blowing through the sky full of pine forests...

Unknowingly, she also opened her mouth softly, singing shallowly.

"You can stop at the intersection, thank you... L."

Li Yiquan gazed into her ink-black pupils. "Let me drop you off downstairs."

"Really, there's no need. You've already gone to enough trouble, and it's so late; I'm delaying you from getting home."

"Do you take me for the kind of man who would abandon a woman halfway and let her walk home alone in the dark?"

"Uh..." Fine, she surrendered. How could she ever win an argument against a lawyer?

"Alright, it's that building up ahead," He Le pointed out.

"Heh..." Li Yiquan suddenly chuckled. He actually drove past the building where He Le rented her room and headed toward the detached villas in the back.

"L?"

Amidst He Le's confusion, Li Yiquan drove straight into a villa's garage, then got out, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for her, as she sat there stunned.

"Let's go, I'll see you back."

"Ah? Oh!"

Heavens! She remembered now! Ren Lingyu had mentioned that Li Yiquan's parents were authorities in the legal field and senior university professors! But she never expected such a coincidence—that it would be East University!

"You, you..."

"Hello, neighbor." Li Yiquan draped his suit jacket over her somewhat thin frame, his smile as warm as the sun.

Hehe~~ Now it’s truly a case of being close to the water to get the first moon~~

Let L and Qin Zhixiu run for a bit first~~ Actually, looking at the whole story~~ the six of them should have roughly equal screen time~~ Heehee~~ As for the sons-in-law~~ Jiangshan is never biased~~~

Love you all!! Sleep well!! Mwah!!

Thanks to all the girls for your support!! Thanks for the tickets~~ comments~~ patronage, and cute gifts!! Love you all!

☆, (11 Fresh Coins) Chapter 197: We'll Raise It

"Which floor?" Li Yiquan looked up.

He Le looked at the light shining from her room. "The, the 6th floor. I can go up by myself. My place, it's very small, so I won't invite you up to sit."

"...Alright. Then I'll wait down here until you turn on the light."

Hm? He Le also looked up. Did he think she lived in the room across the hall? "I, I share the place with someone," she pointed to the lit window.

"Oh! Then I'm relieved. Well then, goodnight... Happy."

"Goodnight... L."

Once inside the building, He Le couldn't help but sigh. Many things in life are just so bittersweet; the people you want to avoid the most are the ones who end up closest.

She took out her keys and opened the door. As soon as she entered, she saw Qin Zhixiu sitting on the floor, leaning against the bedpost, his eyes bleary with sleep, holding a bundle of white towel in his arms.

"You're back!" A shallow, pure smile bloomed on Qin Zhixiu's face.

He Le looked back gently. Seeing such a smile, she could forget any troubles. "The floor is cold, don't sit on it. You haven't eaten yet?"

The dishes on the small table were wrapped neatly in plastic film, and two sets of clean bowls and chopsticks were laid out together; it was clear he had been waiting for her.

"Mm, have you eaten?"

"I—is that... a cat?" Only when Qin Zhixiu stood up did she see clearly what was wrapped in the white towel in his arms!

After a careful inquiry, it turned out that while Qin Zhixiu was waiting downstairs for her in the dark, he had found a soaking wet, dirty little kitten in the corner. He brought the little thing upstairs, wanting to clean it, but the kitten struggled incessantly the moment it saw water. He had no choice but to wrap it in a towel and hold it in his arms while waiting for her return.

"Kittens get sick easily if you bathe them." He Le gently stroked the kitten's head with her fingertips. The kitten didn't seem afraid of people; its round, charming eyes were very endearing.

"Then what should we do?" Qin Zhixiu looked at He Le, looking innocent. With no internet and no phone, he had no way to look it up.

As soon as He Le looked up, she met his equally endearing eyes. Looking him up and down, she couldn't help but laugh. Was it really a case of the pet resembling the owner?

After wiping the kitten clean with a warm towel and feeding it some water and food, the kitten closed its eyes and fell asleep without a peep. He Le found an old cotton jacket and folded it to serve as a temporary nest. Seeing it close its eyes and adjust itself to continue sleeping, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other.

"Shall we raise it?"

"..." Vaccines, cat food, cat milk... "Okay."

Embracing her petite body gently from behind, lowering his head to rest against her warm, soft cheek, Qin Zhixiu's eyes and voice were filled with deep attachment. "Thank you."

Lowering her gaze to the sleeping kitten, He Le slightly raised her arms, her slender hands covering his long, beautiful hands wrapped around her. "...You're welcome."

Lingering kisses traveled from her temple to her cheek, following behind her ear, bringing a tantalizing itch as they moved to her cool shoulders.

Qin Zhixiu did not continue.

— Author's Notes —

Author's Note:

Author's Note: