First-Class Lawyer

Once back at Fa Wang District, Fitz was invited into Gu Yan’s house for the very first time.

This young lady, whose life’s calling was to be an actress, stood in the doorway with her shoes in hand, beginning her award acceptance speech. “I’d like to thank Southcross and the countless perverts and scumbags across the years. Had I known that I could steal into the resident hottie’s (lv cao) house by winning his sympathy, I would have splayed myself to the door and bawled my heart out when doing house calls after moving next-door. Who knows. Maybe I could have set foot in here five years earlier.” 

Gu Yan, “…I would have phoned the mental hospital and moved out.”

Fitz, “…”

Professor Yan was more than happy to pour gasoline on the fire; he asked Fitz right in Lawyer Gu’s face, “What do they call it? Green grass (lv cao)? Because his face is green as grass?”

Lawyer Gu looked flatly at a certain ungrateful bastard throwing him to the wolves. 

“Our law firm (lv suo) hottie (cao), otherwise known as green grass (lv cao),” said Fitz.

Yan Suizhi nodded. “Oh, sounds about right.”

Sounds about right my ass.

Gu Yan refused to entertain them.

“Apologies, I don’t have ladies’ slippers.” Gu Yan took out a new pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, hanging them over.

“Wah! I actually have slippers that Lawyer Gu personally handed over in my hands.” Miss Fitz, not yet scratching her itch for acting, continued to exult.

Yan Suizhi watched on, leaning against the cabinet, the corners of his lips never dropping.

Gu Yan’s head was pounding. 

“I think I need to iron something out. I don’t believe I’ve ever said anything about shutting people out?” he said.

“There’s no smoke without fire. Where did I hear this rumour from, then?” Fitz asserted.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the first ones to spread this rumour were you and Joe.” Lawyer Gu deadpanned, “I thank you for that.”

“How can that be? Even if it was us, it must have been because your poker face game is too strong. In all the years that you’ve lived here, who have you invited over to have fun?” 

Smiling, Yan Suizhi exposed him, “No one. The bed in the guest room isn’t even out of the plastic.”

Fitz, “There you have it!”

Gu Yan, “…”

Lawyer Gu stonily pulled up the door control panel. 

Beep.

The door automatically closed, very gently bunting Fitz, this young missy, into the house, then latching shut with a click.

As for the other one, who was leaning against the cabinet, unable to be bunted—he could only manually invite him to the living room.

Owing to how keyed up Miss Fitz was, any mood of going home to sleep eluded her. So, they simply gave her a run-down of the present situation, as well as the evidence collected thus far and what they were still missing… 

Pcmievlcu, bo mbegrf, Tjc Velhtl’r agef lvfcalas.

“CL! P xcfk la!”

Cr Mlah kjrc’a j ijk rmtbbi wjrbmtlra bg ilxf Abf, ktb tjv mtbrfc ab ecvfgajxf ijk rmtbbi fifmalnfr bo tlr bkc nbilalbc, rtf vlvc’a gfjma atf rjwf kjs jr Abf jcv Ojegj tjv eqbc ifjgclcu ktb atf wjc yftlcv atlr lcafgc kjr.

She even smoothly changed the address in a heartbeat. 

“That’s what I thought! How can a typical intern be so powerful that Gu will make exception after exception for him!” Fitz said, “It did cross my mind, actually, but it felt quite ridiculous to me, so I never quite dared to believe it.”

Gu Yan thought that her incredulity was directed to the dean’s ‘resurrection’ and was about to speak—only to hear the young missy carry on, “I still remember his first day at the office. You told me to render the intern his salary and have him get lost.”

Yan Suizhi echoed, “I remember it all too well.”

Gu Yan, “…” 

“Totally, right. Same here. How did a cheeky student like you not get expelled?”

Yan Suizhi, “I’m very generous; see, hasn’t he smoothly graduated?”

Gu Yan, “…”

Despite not being a former student, Fitz was still a natural at toadying up to him. “Super generous. If it were me, I’d definitely have held him back two years and refused to sign off his thesis. Does being handsome give him free lease to be so imprudent? Puh-lease, it’ll never work on the dean.” 

Yan Suizhi coughed, this time not partaking in the crosstalk.

Based on the present reality, it did work…

Fitz was forced to conclude in the sudden silence. “Anyway, it felt ridiculous to me because it astounds me that you actually haven’t been punished for your transgressions. If I were to censor out the names and post this online, the comment section would be unanimous—your teacher must really love you.”

Professor Yan hummed, acquiescing. Then, he favoured Gu Yan with a half-smile, looking at him. “Hear that?” 

Lawyer Gu’s gaze flashed. His eyebrows knit and he took a sip of coffee, replying with a stoic face, “We’ll discuss this later.”

Fitz, “…”

Erm……………… that’s not what I meant!

She scanned the interior of the villa again, her gaze touching on the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, as well as the little grove of lamp pines outside the glass windows… every little detail falling within her field of vision. 

There were many possible relationships that people who lived under the same roof could have—family, friends, partners, housemates, and so on.

It might not be obvious from the outside, but it was once stepping in.

For every corner, every trace of homeliness would inadvertently disclose the intimacy between the two occupants.

If she hadn’t seen these traces, it would have been difficult for her to picture what Gu Yan or Yan Suizhi were like in their own private space, let alone cohabitation. 

After all, they were both people who held others at a distance.

This was truly a bit… inexplicable.

Once again, Miss Fitz exemplified the unspoken understanding between friends.

After glancing around, she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips with an air of knowing, yet didn’t broach the topic. When it really came down to it, she instead boxed her gossipy nature away. 

Because…

How was this fodder for speculation and gossip? It was practically presenting to her the model answer to copy from!

They talked for a long time afterwards, and when Fitz found out about the current situation, she listed all her gains from over the years.

For example, Southcross’ ingoing and outgoing accounts, its relationship with certain business tycoons and people of influence, and specific individuals’ suspicious activities. 

Yan Suizhi didn’t speak much on this night. At first he would poke fun at Gu Yan with her from time to time, but later he spent most of the time listening with his chin resting on his hand.

Having noticed this, Gu Yan probed him about it a few times, but he simply pulled over a cushion to incline against on his side, adjusting to a more relaxed and refined posture, then said, “Go on, I’m listening. It’s all useful to us. I was a bit too sleepy to want to talk much. If I really can’t hold out, I’ll head up to rest on my own.”

Having just been informed about Yan Suizhi’s physical status, Fitz wore her worry on her face, but Yan Suizhi waved it away. “It’s not a big deal. Lin Yuan has been working after hours at Spring Ivy to straighten this out. He’ll find a way.”

Thus far, Professor Yan had yet to fail in pacifying others when he really put his mind to it. 

He always had myriad ways to make his arguments compelling, furthermore, he always looked so unconcerned that it easily induced the delusion that everything was going to be okay, even if the sky caved in.

Fitz studied his expression and, finding that he seemed well, carried on with what she was saying.

The evidence that she had collected over the years was mostly confined to Southcross Law Firm, but it was enough to bring down a whole lot.

Gu Yan initially wanted her to provide a definitive list of everyone involved, but the young missy bluntly expressed, “What do you need a name list for! I’m a walking name list! I think my opinion of them is obvious enough—whoever I don’t like has shady stuff going on. People that I like are in the clear. It’s that simple.” 

Gu Yan considered it by her logic. “If I’m not mistaken, your daily greeting to almost everyone is ‘so-and-so, you’re so charming’, or ‘so-and-so, if you stopped doing this then I’d love you even more’. I suggest that you give me a more objective metric instead.”

Fitz, “Must you repeat my words with such a deadpan face? You make my warm words sound like debt collection. Also, when you said ‘charming’ and whatnot, did you have to peek at the dean? Are you that afraid that I’m starving, trying to shove me some dog food for supper?”

Gu Yan was certainly not the type to openly flaunt his affections. At this, he stilled. “Did I?”

“Yeah, you glanced over twice.” Fitz held up two fingers, pointing towards her own eyes then lifting her chin at Yan Suizhi. “I have eyes.” 

“Because you say those words to him the most,” said Gu Yan sedately.

“Don’t bother forcing out an explanation. Although I’m a true blue bachelorette, I’ve seen the world.” A crafty glint entered her eyes. “It was basically a conditioned reflex, don’t you think, Dean…?”

She originally wanted to pull Yan Suizhi into another round of poking fun at Gu Yan, yet discovered that Yan Suizhi, who had his eyes hooded just now, had quietly fallen asleep. Under the warm lighting, his skin seemed softly glossed in porcelain white, and his lashes appeared dark and dense, shadows fanning under his eyes.

It could be cognitive bias speaking, or it could be the angle. But after finding out Yan Suizhi’s identity, Fitz felt that the person sleeping under the glow of the floor lamp seemed to resemble the photo decorating Maze University’s wall even more now. 

The countenance was more and more alike. He was handsome, charming even when asleep.

Fitz subconsciously lowered her voice.

She looked up at the wall clock and said, “Oh my, Look at the time! Forget it, even the dean has fallen asleep. I should head back too, lest I get too excited to keep my voice down and accidentally rouse him. You should rest soon, too. I’ll be off now.”

Gu Yan rose to his feet as well. 

He bent at the waist to brush aside a few stray strands of hair, then turned his head, saying to Fitz, “It’s late. I’ll send you back.”

“Isn’t it just a few paces away? If anyone hears this, they’ll break a spleen laughing.” Miss Fitz waved him off, striding to the doorway.

She changed into her shoes and opened the door. Already one foot out, she couldn’t help but turn her head back to say to Gu Yan, “By the way, didn’t you guys say before that you needed me to provide evidence and testimony in court? The thought scared me a little, which is why I haven’t made a move yet after so many years in the firm. But now, I’m really looking forward to that moment. We count as good friends, right, Gu?”

“Yes.” Gu Yan’s answer was steady and straightforward. 

“Then from now on, I’ve got someone watching my back. I feel invincible!” Fitz laughed up and shooed him, “Hurry up and go to bed. Goodnight, to you and the dean.”

However, this night was doomed not to be restful.

Fitz was still too excited to sleep, so she wasn’t in a hurry to head back after leaving Gu Yan’s house. Instead, she strolled along the well-lit pedestrian paths in the garden, enjoying the quiet in the late night.

The security in the city gardens was excellent. Not far away, a few people on duty could be seen moving and chatting inside the guardhouse. 

As she finished her third lap and was about to head in, the door to Gu Yan’s house abruptly opened.

Her head swivelled around at the sound, and the sight startled her.

Gu Yan was striding out with a man in his arms, and his matte black hovercar started up all of a sudden, whirring out of the garage before halting at the door.

“Oh heavens, what’s wrong?!” Fitz hurriedly jogged over. “What happened to the dean? Wasn’t he alright just now? Did he faint, did he fall ill?” 

In Gu Yan’s arms was Yan Suizhi, who was not long ago nodding off with a chin propped on his hand—yet at this moment had a tight furrow between his brows, lifelessly slumped in Gu Yan’s embrace.

He appeared extremely uncomfortable but had seemingly fallen into deep slumber, unresponsive to external disturbance.

Gu Yan’s complexion had never ever looked so godawful to Fitz.

He didn’t even hear what Fitz had just said. In a low rasp, he responded without answering her question, “I’m going to the hospital.”