08
Xu Huaisong hurried out of the courthouse with his phone in hand, saying to Liu Mao, "I'm a bit rusty with Wubi typing."
No sooner had he spoken than a man in a tailored suit chased after him from the towering white building behind them, eager to express his gratitude. He praised Xu Huaisong’s eloquent performance during the trial and apologized for his earlier misunderstanding.
This was someone from S.G. The day before, Xu Huaisong had suddenly returned to China without any notice, leading the man to initially mistake it as him fleeing at the last minute—almost causing him to tear apart the law firm Xu Huaisong was associated with.
Xu Huaisong moved the phone slightly away from his ear and replied politely, "You're welcome."
His flawless and pleasant American accent carried effortlessly.
Not far away, a Lincoln was parked, with someone already holding the car door open for him. He nodded in acknowledgment before sliding into the back seat and bringing the phone back to his ear.
On the other end, Liu Mao got straight to the point: "I’ve secured the case for you."
This time, Xu Huaisong responded courteously, "Appreciate the effort."
In contrast, Liu Mao grew bolder. "People are avoiding you like the plague. This is practically coercion. There are so many law firms in Hangzhou—why insist she chooses Zhi Kun?"
"Because this is a case only I know how to handle."
"It’s just a civil dispute. Any firm could take it. Oh, and let’s not forget—you’re interested in her, which is fine. But in this matter, you’re first and foremost a lawyer. You can’t just agree to every demand the client makes, can you? Whatever she asks for, you don’t even blink before saying it’s achievable?"
Xu Huaisong chuckled.
The driver, noticing his good mood, grinned at him through the rearview mirror.
Xu Huaisong met his gaze with a friendly nod, his smile widening as he replied, "I did blink. Also, what I feel about her—I don’t even know myself. How would you?"
Liu Mao was left speechless, stunned by how completely Xu Huaisong had missed the point.
"I’m talking about the case—"
"When I say it’s achievable, it’s a professional judgment as a lawyer."
"No, the legal system here is different from where you’re from. In China, this case should be approached from the angle of the stolen outline."
"No matter the country, it should start with the stolen outline," Xu Huaisong corrected him, switching the phone to his other ear. "But what if the outline was never stolen to begin with?"
Liu Mao paused. "What did you say?"
Just as Xu Huaisong was about to explain, his phone vibrated in his palm. He glanced at the screen and saw a new WeChat notification. Changing his tone, he said, "You forwarded my contact to her?"
"Yeah."
"Then let’s talk later."
Liu Mao let out an "Oi!" in an attempt to stop him, but Xu Huaisong ended the call anyway.
However, when he opened WeChat, the message wasn’t from the person he expected—it was from Xu Huaishi.
Poetry Psycho: Bro, Senior Ruan’s Weibo has been silent for days. Comments and DMs are still closed. Didn’t you tell me to leave this to you and that you’d handle everything?
The underlying message: Why hasn’t it been resolved after all this time?
He lowered his head and typed: It’s not that simple. Focus on your studies.
Shouldn’t I at least issue a new statement?
Xu Huaisong sent a voice message: "You had the guts to lie before, and now you regret it? Any statement comes with responsibility. Right now, the situation is volatile. If you completely backtrack at this stage, have you considered how much worse the backlash could get? Do you really think anyone would still believe you—or her?"
Poetry Psycho: I know I messed up… But shouldn’t we at least give Senior Ruan an explanation privately?
Xu Huaisong: There is no ‘we.’ Any private explanation is between me and her. Keep your mouth shut. Poetry Addict: Oh... but bro, I can't stop thinking about this and can't focus on studying. I think I might need a huge sum of money to distract myself. [Cute] That... Li Shican's concert tickets are about to go on sale!
Xu Huaisong didn't reply further and simply transferred the money. As he was about to put down his phone, he glanced at the "Contacts" tab below the message bar.
It remained empty, with no red notification circle appearing.
Ruan Yu hesitated all day and only gave up the struggle as evening approached. For the hundredth time, she opened Xu Huaisong's profile and mustered the courage to press "Add to Contacts," only to get stuck again at the verification message stage.
What should she write?
"Hello Lawyer Xu, this is Ruan Yu?"
"Lawyer Xu, sorry to bother you, could you please accept my request?"
She shook her head, deleted the fully typed line, and collapsed onto the sofa with her phone in hand.
This situation felt exactly like high school.
Back when she first developed feelings for Xu Huaisong, she had actually considered confessing. Using her father's position as his homeroom teacher, she secretly obtained his QQ number. But she never gathered the courage to send the friend request, instead spending days staring at his unchanging profile information over and over again.
Initial enthusiasm wanes after repeated attempts. So for three whole years, she never added him on QQ.
After calming down for a while, her phone suddenly vibrated. Thinking it was a message from someone, she picked it up only to see—Xu Huaisong: I've accepted your friend request. Now we can start chatting.
Ruan Yu instantly bolted upright.
Had she sent the request? Did she accidentally press it? What had she written in the verification message?
Frantically searching for answers yielded nothing. She jumped off the sofa in agitation, paced a few steps, then quietly climbed back, pushing her bangs aside.
On the other end of the phone, Xu Huaisong stared at the screen, the corners of his lips curling up at the greeting message that read: "Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah."
What was she doing?
It was already midnight in San Francisco. Ruan Yu didn't know he had returned to the U.S. in the blink of an eye, which was why she was messaging at this hour.
He took a sip of the coffee beside him, waiting for her to speak, but the screen remained stubbornly silent.
This silence was like the three-year "standoff" of their high school days. On the stages they'd built for themselves, they performed their separate acts back-to-back, each mistakenly believing their deep affection was a solo script.
But that curtain had been lifted many years later.
Xu Huaisong glanced at his phone screen, where the JJ Literature novel interface he'd practically worn out was displayed. He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the city's undimmed glittering lights in the deep night. Golden reflections danced across the distant expanse of water, shimmering with the wind, creating flickering spots of warmth in the quiet.
After a while, his phone vibrated again.
Soft Jade: Hello Lawyer Xu, this is Ruan Yu. We met yesterday.
Judging by her tone, she was still pretending not to know him.
He blinked faintly and typed in response: Hello.
Lawyer Xu, if it's convenient, I'd like to ask you a question.
Mm.
Um... what did I write in the verification message I just sent?
Xu Huaisong laughed at the screen, as if he could read her flustered struggle through that string of ellipses. Ten seconds later, he decisively sent her a screenshot.
Soft Jade: ...
After a full two minutes of silence, the phone vibrated again.
Soft Jade: Sorry, I pressed it by accident... Lawyer Xu, are you in the U.S. right now?Xu Huaisong glanced at the screenshot revealing his mobile carrier information and replied: "Mhm."
Ruan Yu: "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
Xu Huaisong wanted to say it was fine—he usually stayed up late anyway—but after typing it out, he felt the tone wasn't quite right and deleted it.
In that brief silence, Ruan Yu had already followed up: "Sorry for disturbing your rest. Let's talk when it's convenient for you."
He turned his head, looking at the empty coffee cup, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Now that she'd mentioned the divine, was she implying he could go to sleep?
Ruan Yu didn't send any more messages. He swiped to her social media profile and stared at the blank interface, along with the line "Friends can only see posts from the last three days," for five full minutes before locking his screen.
Seemingly irritated by her persistently distant and evasive attitude, Xu Huaisong turned and walked into the bathroom, loosening his robe again.
The shower water ran from head to toe. Once he finished, he stepped out with damp hair, glanced at his phone on the table, and finally picked it up to reply: "Let's make it 5 PM San Francisco time."
And so, Ruan Yu gained another crucial piece of information: he was in San Francisco.
For the past eight years, he might have been living there—over ten thousand kilometers away from her, separated by the entire Pacific Ocean.
And it would remain that way in the future, too.
She suddenly felt a little relieved.
This way, they wouldn’t need to communicate face-to-face. With a screen between them, all secrets would feel much safer.
So five minutes later, when Xu Huaisong attached his email address and asked her to send over all the relevant documents first, she steeled herself for the bigger picture and didn’t hesitate further.
Still, Ruan Yu didn’t sleep well that night. Because 5 PM in San Francisco was 8 AM in Beijing—meaning she’d have to discuss the case with Xu Huaisong the moment she woke up.
Lately, surrounded by online harassment, her sleep schedule had already been erratic. Now, pressured by this appointment, she lay awake most of the night. By the time her alarm rang at 7:30 AM, she couldn’t take it anymore and instantly turned it off.
When she woke again, it was already past the scheduled time—the phone screen displayed "08:27." Ruan Yu jolted awake and scrambled out of bed.
No messages on WeChat. She exhaled in relief. As a lawyer in California, Xu Huaisong probably wasn’t idle enough to wait around for her.
Still, an apology was necessary.
She quickly sent a message: "Lawyer Xu, I’m really sorry—I overslept. Are you free now?"
There was no reply for a long while.
Ruan Yu got up to wash up. Even after finishing breakfast, her phone remained silent. At least she didn’t have to wolf down her food and could eat at a leisurely pace.
Just as she set down the empty milk carton, her phone buzzed—as if it had timed her breakfast perfectly. She swiped open the screen to see Xu Huaisong’s simple reply: "Mhm."
Ruan Yu had no experience with lawsuits and wasn’t sure how communication with a lawyer was supposed to go. Faced with his aloofness and lack of initiative, she typed again: "Should we discuss the case then?"
"Let’s talk face-to-face."
Ruan Yu froze. Wasn’t he in San Francisco?
The next second.
Xu Huaisong: "Video call. If that works for you."
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