This happened when Xu Ruyi was seven months pregnant.
Life seemed as usual—peaceful and stable. Xu Ruyi still frequently visited her parents' home in Jiayuan Residential Complex. Qin Guan remained filial, and his in-laws continued to treat him with respect and affection.
The relationship between Xu Ruyi and Qin Guan was still sweet. From Xu Ruyi's own lips, Qin Guan had indirectly learned that her mother's attitude seemed to have shifted. She hadn't gone through with any notarization, and the ownership of the apartment remained unchanged. He guessed that his mother-in-law, alone, couldn't prevail against the united front of father and daughter.
Everything was fine. Qin Guan's life and career were sailing steadily forward, the helm firmly in his grasp. His anxious heart gradually settled.
That day, Qin Guan left work as usual. He had just gotten into his car in the parking lot beneath his law firm, ready to head home, when someone tapped on his window.
He lowered the window to see Shi Jie, a toothpick clenched between his teeth. His greasy, plump face was plastered with an ingratiating smile. "Lawyer Qin! Honor me with your presence tonight? Let's have dinner together?"
Qin Guan had no desire to honor him with anything.
He fundamentally disliked Shi Jie. Although he hadn't agreed to his mother-in-law's demand to cut ties with the man, Qin Guan knew deep down she was right. Shi Jie was a thorough scoundrel, a degenerate, trash. Flush with cash, he specialized in shady dealings.
Such a person wasn't someone Qin Guan wished to associate with. It would tarnish his taste.
But, Shi Jie was generous.
In the previous lawsuit, Qin Guan had helped Shi Jie get acquitted. Besides paying a hefty legal fee, Shi Jie had secretly slipped Qin Guan an extra hundred thousand yuan.
Cash.
The sensation of holding that thick, weighty stack of bills in his arms—it was a bliss and satisfaction Qin Guan had only dreamed of.
Even though the apartment he lived in at Guanlan Court was worth countless times that hundred thousand, even though his income as a lawyer was substantial, his clothes expensive name brands, even though his in-laws were quite wealthy... none of these could replace the tangible, real satisfaction the cash brought him.
It was like someone starved for too long, having no immunity to any food.
Having been poor for too long, he had zero resistance to money.
Even though he knew this money shouldn't be taken—was a scoundrel's money ever easy? Taking Shi Jie's cash meant being tied to cleaning up his messes again in the future.
But Qin Guan couldn't refuse.
So, he couldn't refuse Shi Jie's dinner invitation either.
The gathering was small. Besides Qin Guan, there were only two others—Shi Jie and a strikingly beautiful young woman.
The matter, as Qin Guan expected, was predictable. Shi Jie had set up another shell company and wanted Qin Guan to be his legal counsel, drafting contracts and documents.
"Such a small matter really shouldn't trouble you," Shi Jie poured expensive liquor, showering Qin Guan with exaggerated flattery. "You're a big shot, busy, handling a myriad of affairs every day. But what can I do? I don't trust anyone else. I only trust you, Lawyer Qin!"
"I'm telling you, Lawyer Qin, I, Shi Jie, have seen the world. But you are truly the most capable lawyer I've ever met! Incredible! Vast knowledge, top-notch skills! Especially in court—ah! Those so-called 'golden-tongued lawyers' from the old Hong Kong TV dramas were nothing compared to you!"
"I'm telling you, talent like yours—there isn't a second one in this city! Absolutely not!" He pulled the woman closer. "Come, meet Junjun. She's no outsider, my wife's cousin. Studying law too. She heard about you from my last case and became a huge fan, completely smitten. When I mentioned we were having a casual dinner tonight, no outsiders, no business talk, she pestered me relentlessly to bring her. Honestly, no choice! She said if I didn't bring her, she'd find your office herself to meet her idol! Yes, idol—you're her idol!"
Qin Guan politely declined that day.
He knew what Shi Jie wanted—a shell company, a scheme to get something for nothing. It was risky. If it blew up, he, as the legal counsel, would be implicated.
"Alright, alright, you call the shots!" Shi Jie accepted the refusal surprisingly readily, without pushing. "You saved my life once, Lawyer Qin. To me, Shi Jie, you're a brother! A brother! I won't make things difficult for you. Come on, drink!"
The liquor was excellent, and the woman called "Junjun" was skilled at urging him to drink, but Qin Guan drank sparingly. He wasn't a fool. When dealing with these people, he always maintained strict boundaries.
After a few rounds, Qin Guan prepared to leave.
Shi Jie still didn't try to detain him, saying he had matters too. The three of them walked out together, and one of Shi Jie's underlings drove up. Shi Jie climbed into the car and waved his hand. "Brother, got some urgent business at the company, gotta run. Do me a favor, see Junjun home, will ya?"
This small, reasonable request, Qin Guan couldn't refuse.
To be precise, he didn't want to refuse. Junjun was young, beautiful—exactly Qin Guan's type, sophisticated-looking. She was gentle, spoke little, and her shifting eyes were filled with admiration for him.
Being alone with such a woman wasn't tiring; it was pleasant.
"I've already called a Didi," she said thoughtfully—they couldn't drive after drinking. "Let's wait by the roadside!"
But before they had walked more than a few steps, Junjun stumbled, twisting her ankle. Qin Guan instinctively rushed to support her, and her entire body fell into his arms.
Her body was soft. And fragrant.
It was the scent of expensive, pleasant perfume, mingled with the clean, alluring fragrance of her youth.
Qin Guan recoiled as if electrocuted, pushing her out of his embrace—not out of loyalty to Xu Ruyi, but because the only thing he thought of in that moment was Shi Jie.
This was clearly a woman Shi Jie had deliberately pushed into his arms, an attempt to solidify their connection. Qin Guan understood that.
The problem was, Shi Jie had lied. He'd said she studied law, but during dinner, Qin Guan had gleaned from a few brief exchanges that she knew nothing about law.
Qin Guan hated being played for a fool.
"Do you really dislike me?" Junjun looked desolate. She stood before him, beautiful large eyes brimming with tears. The wind lifted her long hair, its soft strands brushing against Qin Guan's face, carrying that lovely, subtle fragrance into his nostrils.
Her lips pouted, pitifully. "Do you think... do you think I'm that kind of woman?"
"Yes, I lied to you. I don't study law at all. I'm not Shi Jie's wife's cousin either. I'm just... a worker. Ordinary college, ordinary major. The kind who can't find a job after graduating. I worked as a receptionist at Shi Jie's company for half a year! A three-thousand-yuan job I didn't dare quit. Shi Jie kept harassing me. I only resigned because I couldn't take it anymore."
"You see me dressed nicely now? Actually, I just opened a small shop, doing beauty treatments. Law? I haven't the faintest clue!"
"A while back, when Shi Jie got arrested—that case you handled—I heard about it from a customer who works at the courthouse. I happened to be free during the trial, so I went to observe."
"That was the first time I saw you. The moment I laid eyes on you, I was lost. The way you were in court... so capable, so brilliant, so outstanding. Do you know? My eyes never left you, not for a second. Every word you said, every expression, every gesture... they intoxicated me. You made me understand what it means to be heaven's favored one, what it means to be an elite..."
She grabbed his arm excitedly.
Qin Guan meant to push her away. But his hand didn't move.
Her words were like an iron, smoothing out the restless folds of his heart—he was heaven's favored one, he was an elite.
"I know too... we're worlds apart. You're in the sky, I'm in the dirt. But I really like you. I really, really like you..."
Junjun confessed boldly and sincerely. She reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him with passionate initiative.
Her waist was slender and soft. Her figure was curvaceous, full in all the right places.
Her lips were full, red, as vivid as roses from a florist.
She was frank, genuine, gazing up at him from the ground.
How could Qin Guan refuse?