He didn't open the other two letters without permission, handing them over intact to Tao Rong and Xu Huaishi.
Half a month later, the bar exam results were released. Xu Huaisong passed smoothly, and Xu Yin's condition had also stabilized enough for him to be discharged from the hospital.
Ruan Yu had originally planned to take him to her apartment, but Xu Huaisong couldn't bear the thought of her injured hand not being fully healed yet. Besides, there wasn’t enough space in her apartment. So when Tao Rong volunteered to take care of Xu Yin, he agreed and sent him back to their home in Su City.
The day they returned happened to be the sentencing day for Wei Jin's case. The Xu family frantically blocked all news, unplugged the TV, discarded the morning and evening newspapers, and made sure Xu’s father didn’t catch even a whiff of the developments.
At noon, Xu Huaishi sat beside her father, telling him fairy tales he only half-understood, while Tao Rong bustled around the kitchen. Xu Huaisong had initially tried to help but was repeatedly "chased away" from this unfamiliar territory, eventually retreating to the balcony.
Ruan Yu was resting there due to her hand injury, basking in the sun with Grandma Xu.
When he approached, he overheard Grandma Xu covering her mouth and whispering, "Huaisong, you still haven’t visited her parents yet?" Her tone carried a hint of worry, as if afraid her grandson wasn’t being attentive enough and might wrong a good girl like Ruan Yu.
Before Ruan Yu could explain, Xu Huaisong let out a helpless laugh and stepped forward. "Grandma, don’t wrong me like that. I wanted to go—she wouldn’t let me."
Grandma Xu’s eyes darted shrewdly toward Ruan Yu.
She chuckled and raised her still-scabbed hand. "Grandma, I wanted to wait until my hand healed a bit more before going. Otherwise, my parents would worry too much."
Grandma Xu suddenly understood and smiled warmly. "As long as you two have a plan. So, Huaisong, are you still going back to the U.S.?"
"There’s one last hearing at the end of the month. After that, unless something unexpected happens, I won’t be going back."
Grandma Xu’s eyes sparkled, and she lightly clapped her right fist into her left palm—a gesture of finality.
Ruan Yu blinked, not quite catching on.
Xu Huaisong smiled down at her and said, "Come wash your hands. It’s time to eat."
She nodded and followed him to the bathroom.
Lately, Xu Huaisong had taken over all tasks involving water, even carefully dabbing her hands with cotton swabs to avoid her wounds.
Ruan Yu watched his meticulous movements and said, "The scabs have already hardened. It’s fine now."
He ignored her and continued "serving" her. Once finished, he closed the bathroom door and quietly pulled out his phone.
She mouthed: The verdict’s out?
Xu Huaisong nodded and opened an electronic copy of the judgment.
Ruan Yu leaned in and saw that the sentence was a suspended death penalty.
Frowning in confusion, Xu Huaisong explained in a hushed voice, "The first trial was rushed due to public pressure, but there’s still an unresolved drug case behind him. This suspended sentence is also to give him a chance to cooperate with the police in dismantling the entire drug ring."
She nodded, seeing that he seemed to have expected this, and didn’t press further. Instead, she whispered, "What about Zhou Jun’s case? Any updates?"
"Trial in half a month."
"How confident is Zhang Jie?"
He smiled and ruffled her hair. "Not about confidence—just doing our best."
They stayed in Su City for one night and, seeing that Xu’s father was emotionally stable, returned to Hangzhou.For half a month straight, Xu Huaisong had been juggling preparations for his final court hearing in the U.S. while keeping up with the Zhou Jun case. On the evening before the trial, he stayed late at the law firm with Zhang Jie for final confirmations, only arriving home after ten.
Ruan Yu had an early meeting at Huanshi the next day to prepare for the upcoming movie launch ceremony, so she went to bed early. She woke up groggily to find Xu Huaisong entering the room and sitting by the bed, holding her injured hand.
Startled, she asked, "You're back?"
Xu Huaisong hummed in response, brushing aside the stray hairs on her forehead. "Did I wake you? Go back to sleep. I'll take a shower." With that, he turned off the bedside lamp he'd just switched on.
Ruan Yu nodded, covering a yawn, then belatedly realized that the moment she woke up, her left ring finger had tingled slightly, as if something thin had looped around it. But when she looked down, there was no mark on her hand.
Drowsiness quickly overtook her, and she fell back asleep until dawn, when she saw Xu Huaisong already up and dressed in a shirt.
Fully awake now, she scrambled out of bed. "Let me tie your tie today."
Xu Huaisong paused, smiling. "I'm not taking the defense stand today."
With the solemnity of "a mother adjusting her son's red scarf on his first day in the Young Pioneers," she insisted, "But it's still your first day walking into a Chinese courtroom as a trainee lawyer."
Standing on tiptoe, she focused on tying his tie.
Xu Huaisong watched her deft movements and asked, "When did you learn this?"
"While you were at the law firm."
His brow arched slightly. "Who was your model then?"
Finished with the tie, Ruan Yu faltered, pointing behind him. "Who else? The coat rack."
He chuckled. "Alright, go wash up."
Ruan Yu nodded and headed to the bathroom. Over breakfast, she nibbled on a sandwich and asked, "We're finalizing a few potential movie titles today. Any ideas?"
"Isn't the original one fine?"
"But it might not pass censorship. The producer said 'Whispering in Your Ear' sounds too suggestive..." She took a gulp of milk, pouting. "Why is everyone so dirty-minded these days? The title just means 'I really want to tell you a secret.'"
Realizing he'd misunderstood all along, Xu Huaisong paused mid-bite, then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, people are way too impure."
After breakfast, Xu Huaisong dropped Ruan Yu off at Huanshi. As usual, she headed to the seventh floor for her meeting. In the elevator, she ran into Sun Miaohan, whom she hadn't seen in a while.
Sun Miaohan had been cast as the female lead a month ago—partly due to Ruan Yu's influence, but mostly because her demeanor fit the original character perfectly.
They'd spoken on the phone before but hadn't met in person. Delighted by the chance encounter, Sun Miaohan exclaimed, "Sis, our meetings always happen in elevators!" The moment the words left her mouth, her expression faltered slightly.
Clearly, the shadow of Wei Jin still lingered.
Ruan Yu patted her back. "It's all in the past. I'll be on set for this entire movie—nothing like that will happen again."
Sun Miaohan nodded. "Sis, you're really my guardian angel."
Ruan Yu smiled. "What brings you to Huanshi today?""Chairman Cen asked me to come, saying he wanted to invite me and Shican for a meal so we could get familiar with each other before filming starts smoothly."
As soon as she finished speaking, the elevator dinged and stopped at the seventh floor.
Ruan Yu waved goodbye to her and stepped out.
To accommodate Xu Huaisong's court schedule today, she had arrived exceptionally early. When she entered the meeting room, only a few people were inside chatting idly. The moment she walked in, she heard a girl exclaim excitedly: "Looks like Jacky Cheung finally has a successor!"
Having grown familiar with everyone recently, Ruan Yu smiled and asked, "Where did this new heavenly king come from?"
"Haven't you seen the Weibo news, Yuyu? It's our male lead!"
Li Shican?
She paused in surprise: "Did he win some award?"
"Not an award—after Jacky Cheung's 'eight consecutive arrests' of fugitives during his concerts, yesterday Li Shican also caught one during his Shanghai concert! Rumor has it it was a serial killer on the run. What an auspicious sign before our production begins!"
As they chatted, attendees gradually arrived until the meeting officially started.
Around noon, Ruan Yu received a WeChat message.
Li Shican: Is the meeting over? Uncle Cen invites you to the 19th floor for lunch.
Having already run into Sun Miaohan in the elevator, Ruan Yu wasn't surprised Li Shican was there too. She discreetly replied: Almost done. Aren't you eating out?
Li Shican: Too many paparazzi outside. Uncle Cen hired a chef to prepare home-style dishes. Come up when you're finished.
Since it was Cen Rong's invitation, Ruan Yu couldn't refuse politely. After the meeting, she went to the 19th floor and apologized to the waiting trio: "Uncle Cen, sorry for keeping you waiting."
"No need for formalities at a private meal. Please, have a seat."
The four sat around a large round table laden with exquisite Jiangnan cuisine, including several Suzhou-style desserts Ruan Yu particularly liked.
This might have been arranged by Cen Rong—or perhaps by Li Shican.
She sat down feeling slightly reserved, while Sun Miaohan, having spent the morning with Li Shican, seemed completely at ease, actively keeping the conversation lively throughout the meal.
Naturally outgoing, Li Shican kept up effortlessly without missing a beat.
After the meal, as tea was served, Cen Rong left Huanshi due to work commitments, leaving just the three of them on the 19th floor.
Sun Miaohan nibbled on fruit and asked, "Shican-ge, did you really catch a murderer yesterday? That's amazing!"
Li Shican wore an "as if" expression: "Just my agency's publicity stunt to hype me up. The guy wasn't even my fan—just happened to get caught near the venue."
Sun Miaohan drew out an "Ohhh": "So that's how it is... you're surprisingly honest..."
Li Shican choked on his words.
Ruan Yu had been about to leave for the seventh-floor meeting but paused at this. She asked Li Shican, "Is this publicity connected to the film?"
He shook his head: "It's from my talent agency."
She hummed in acknowledgment, then hesitantly added, "But didn't Director Wei previously suggest tying your publicity to the movie?"
Li Shican nodded: "Probably planned to capitalize on the plagiarism scandal by sensationalizing connections between you, me, and Cen Sisi. Don't worry—Uncle Cen would never do that."
Ruan Yu knew perfectly well that Cen Rong would never exploit his daughter for publicity or use behind-the-scenes "love triangles" to grab attention.She was concerned about another issue: "Back when Director Wei was still around, what was the contingency plan you and Lawyer Xu had discussed?"
Since Wei Jin had been apprehended, the contingency plan became unnecessary, and Xu Huaisong had remained tight-lipped about it at the time. Since he wouldn’t speak, she had no choice but to ask Li Shican.
But the moment Li Shican heard the question, his smile faded, and he fell silent.
Ruan Yu let out a soft "Ah," then said, "If it's inconvenient, you don’t have to say anything. I was just a little curious..."
"It’s not inconvenient," Li Shican replied after a pause. "Because he was worried that using this kind of emotional issue for publicity might affect your normal life, Lawyer Xu proposed a contingency plan—to dispel the rumors in the most straightforward way..."
"The most straightforward way?"
Li Shican smiled faintly, looked up, and said, "Yeah. He said if I couldn’t avoid the risk of sensationalism, he would marry you."
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