05
Early the next morning, Shen Mingying returned to Ruan Yu’s apartment. With the decisiveness of a protective boyfriend, she confiscated Ruan Yu’s phone, shoved her—who hadn’t slept all night—back into bed, and then went to the living room to call a friend in the legal profession.
The situation had spiraled out of control. The current public outrage had little to do with the "poet" anymore—it was now centered around the author of that lengthy Weibo post, "Su Cheng."
This person had clashed with Ruan Yu a couple of years ago and was clearly using this opportunity to stir up trouble. After discussing it last night, they had decided to resolve the issue through legal channels.
Ruan Yu slept for three hours before getting up to make brunch—pasta with vegetable soup. When she brought the plates out, Shen Mingying excitedly announced, "Got a lead! Zhi Kun Law Firm, right here in Hangzhou. The lawyer’s e-card is in your inbox."
Ruan Yu said, "Okay," but as she set the plates down and checked her phone, her expression instantly changed. "Is the world really this small?"
Or was Hangzhou just too tiny?
Shen Mingying asked what was wrong.
Ruan Yu waved her phone, her face scrunched up in dismay. "This guy is the one I went on a blind date with before."
Just the day before yesterday, Liu Mao had even messaged her on WeChat, asking if the issue from that day had been resolved. Since she had no intention of pursuing anything with him and didn’t want to trouble him, she had lied and said, "It’s been handled."
Shen Mingying was stunned for a moment before asking, "So what now? We’ve already sent the case details over."
What could they do? They had pulled several strings to get this lawyer. Backing out now would make the intermediaries lose face.
Moreover, according to Shen Mingying’s friend, Zhi Kun was the top law firm in Hangzhou, and Liu Mao’s expertise perfectly matched Ruan Yu’s needs. She couldn’t just abandon the best option because of a little white lie, could she?
Ruan Yu sniffled. "Fine, I’ll contact him."
When Liu Mao answered the phone, he was clearly surprised too. But he seemed considerate and didn’t call her out on her lie, smoothly moving past it.
After a brief exchange, he said, "When would be convenient for you to meet in person, Ms. Ruan?"
Whether he had ulterior motives or not, this kind of matter really couldn’t be discussed properly over the phone. Ruan Yu agreed, saying she was available anytime.
Liu Mao seemed to check his schedule before replying after a pause, "I have a court hearing today. How about tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the firm?"
"No problem. Is there anything I can do today?"
"You can take key records of the defamatory statements made against you on online platforms to a notary office for evidence preservation. I’ll assist you remotely. Also, don’t disclose your intention to sue publicly yet—we don’t want to tip them off. Any other evidence that hasn’t been released should also be kept under wraps. Since we’re going to court, we shouldn’t reveal our hand too early."
He spoke with confidence when discussing work, and his thorough instructions quickly earned Ruan Yu’s trust. Especially his use of "we" at the end, which gave her a genuine sense of security.
She said, "Understood. Thank you, Lawyer Liu."
Liu Mao replied, "No problem," just as another call came in, so he ended their conversation to answer it. "Huai Song? Is there an issue with the materials I sent you last time?"
The next morning at 8 a.m., Ruan Yu lingered in front of her vanity, frowning.
She hadn’t slept well for days. Going without makeup meant facing the world with dark circles, but a full face of makeup might give Liu Mao the wrong idea.
After all, they had been set up on a blind date—their relationship was a little sensitive. This time, she just wanted to keep things strictly professional.She hesitated for a few minutes, applied a light base makeup, then grabbed the stack of documents Liu Mao had asked her to prepare in advance and headed out.
Just as she reached the entryway, she happened to receive his call.
His voice carried a hint of apology: "Miss Ruan, I'm sorry, but I might have a friend joining us later."
"A friend?" Ruan Yu didn't quite understand at first, thinking he might be canceling on her.
"The senior partner at our firm I mentioned before. He happens to be in the country and is very interested in intellectual property cases, so he wants to participate in this one."
Ruan Yu relaxed. She thought it was something serious.
"It's fine," she said, then added with a laugh to ease his concerns, "Having two partners working on my case is actually a good thing for me."
"Well..." Liu Mao hesitated.
"What's wrong?"
He chuckled awkwardly. "The thing is, strictly speaking, he hasn't taken the Chinese bar exam, so he's not technically a lawyer here."
Ah, now Ruan Yu understood why he was apologetic. He was worried she might find it impolite that he was bringing a "non-professional" colleague.
It did sound odd, though. If he didn't even have a Chinese lawyer's license, was this "big client" just here to watch the show?
"If you mind..."
"It's really fine," Ruan Yu quickly replied.
The situation was clear—Liu Mao was in a difficult position. If he could easily dismiss the big shot, would he even need to apologize to her?
She certainly didn't want to make things harder for him.
"Then we'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
After confirming, Ruan Yu put on her shoes and left. As she was about to close the door, she glanced back at the calendar on the white wall: May 11.
The date felt vaguely familiar as she mouthed it. It took her the entire ride to remember why.
Her diary.
Back in her hometown attic, the page she had opened began with: "May 11, sunny. I saw Xu Huaisong three times today."
Sitting in the taxi, she sighed at the thought.
Ten years ago on this day, her heart and eyes had been full of Xu Huaisong. Ten years later, she was running around for a lawsuit that stemmed from him.
Had she been an angel in her past life who crashed into Xu Huaisong while losing her wings, and now she was paying off the debt?
Lost in thought, Ruan Yu turned her head to look out the window, her gaze distant, until the bold black characters "Zhi Kun Law Firm" came into view.
The firm was a standalone building with a predominantly Nordic style. Whoever designed it had a taste for that "cold and detached" aesthetic.
She got out of the car, gave her name at the reception, and followed the attendant to the third floor.
The young man escorting her noticed her silence and said with a smile, "Is this your first time here, Miss Ruan? Our firm isn’t that formal. You’re just not used to it yet—it’ll feel more comfortable after a few visits."
Ruan Yu coughed lightly and murmured, "I’d actually prefer not to visit too often..."
"...Right." Fair point.
Chen Hui scratched his head sheepishly. "You’re quite humorous." At the stairway, he gestured ahead. "Straight to the end, then the room on the left. Let me know if you need anything. My surname is Chen—you can call me Xiao Chen."
Ruan Yu thanked him and walked to the meeting room door, knocking three times politely.
"Come in," came a voice from inside—likely Liu Mao’s.
She turned the handle and entered, seeing Liu Mao rise quickly from the brown leather sofa chair with a welcoming smile. "Miss Ruan."Ruan Yu addressed him as "Lawyer Liu," her gaze flickering briefly before shifting to another armchair nearby.
Someone else was sitting there.
That person didn’t seem inclined to stand up, engrossed in reading documents with his back turned to her, revealing only the back of his head.
But at that single glance, she was struck by an eerie sense of familiarity—just like the strange feeling that had risen in her heart when she saw the date "May 11th."
Someone who could unsettle her with just the back of his head?
She froze for a moment, her heartbeat inexplicably accelerating beyond control.
Liu Mao’s voice cut through her thoughts just in time. Noticing where her gaze had landed, he realized his lapse in hospitality as the "host" and said, "Ah, let me introduce—"
The person in the armchair seemed to hesitate for a second before standing up and turning around.
Ruan Yu’s eyes followed the movement, and when they landed on the face of the man across from her—paired with her already racing heart—she was utterly stunned, rooted to the spot.
It was the height of summer in May, and the meeting room was air-conditioned, yet in that instant, her blood surged violently, her body temperature skyrocketing, her head spinning dizzily.
It was like witnessing the sudden opening of the Three Gorges Dam’s floodgates, the deafening roar of torrential waters crashing in her ears.
Their gazes met through the scorching air between them, and as if burned by something, her fingers loosened, sending the translucent folder in her arms clattering to the floor.
Thin lips, straight brows, deep-set eyes—that face.
Xu Huaisong?
How could it be Xu Huaisong?
The partner Liu Mao had mentioned was Xu Huaisong?
The "three fatal questions" piercing straight to her core nearly made Ruan Yu rub her eyes in disbelief. Fortunately, Liu Mao’s movement to pick up the folder snapped her back to reality. She hastily crouched down, murmuring in a daze, "Sorry… I’ll get it myself."
Truthfully, Liu Mao was just as bewildered. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to finish his introduction—what was going on between these two?
As Ruan Yu bent over to gather the documents, her eyes darted around uncontrollably, landing on the pair of polished leather shoes not far away. She could almost feel his gaze fixed on the crown of her head, her scalp burning under its weight.
It couldn’t be Xu Huaisong, could it? Had she been writing novels for so long that she was hallucinating?
Hadn’t he disappeared eight years ago?
Clutching the stack of folders with a sliver of hope, she straightened up just as Liu Mao did. He glanced between them in confusion and asked, "Do you two know each other?"
Xu Huaisong’s gaze shifted away from Ruan Yu. Before he could open his mouth to respond, she blurted out first, "No, we don’t…"
Her answer carried a hint of guilt, her eyes lowering slightly—so she missed the faint lift of his brow.
In the heavy silence, she kept her head down as she heard his reply: "Mm, we don’t know each other."
Even his voice sounded so similar…
Ruan Yu was on the verge of suffocating. Beside her, Liu Mao attempted to dispel the inexplicably awkward atmosphere, smiling as he introduced, "Well, let me introduce you then. This is our firm’s partner, Xu Huaisong."
She tightened her grip on the folders and lifted her eyes, nodding politely at the man across from her. "Hello."
Liu Mao then introduced Ruan Yu: "This is the client in this case, Ms. Ruan."
Xu Huaisong nodded as well. "Hello."
Given the odd tension between them, a customary handshake was probably out of the question. Liu Mao, still baffled, could only gesture for them to take their seats.
Ruan Yu walked toward the armchair, her steps unsteady.In reality, a few years ago when she still had lingering feelings for Xu Huaisong, Ruan Yu had fantasized about their reunion one day—perhaps on a street strewn with fallen petals, or in a bustling amusement park, or on a beach where the sea met the sky.
Romantic, dazzling, filled with every beautiful hue imaginable.
But it was absolutely nothing like this.
Here she was, a 26-year-old "middle-aged maiden," casually dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, clutching a stack of documents filled with fantasies about him—both physical and emotional—and about to engage in a legal discussion with him regarding those very fantasies.
This was... utterly humiliating.
Just as she was about to sink into the sofa chair, Ruan Yu abruptly straightened up. Xu Huaisong and Liu Mao, already seated, both looked up at her.
Suppressing her unease, she clutched the files and looked down at them, declaring with righteous conviction, "Gentlemen, as the saying goes, 'To forgive is divine'; 'Patience brings peace, and yielding brings harmony'; 'Saving a life is greater than building a seven-tiered pagoda'..."
Xu Huaisong's brow arched slightly again. Behind those gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze deepened momentarily before quickly fading.
Ruan Yu steeled herself and continued, mustering a weak lie: "What I mean is... I suddenly don’t want to sue anymore..."
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