Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Jinding International Law Firm is a well-established law firm with a wide range of business operations. It owns a 15-story building in the youngest CBD district of Bai Gang City, with the words "Jinding" prominently displayed in large, golden letters at the top of the building. From a distance, these golden letters are conspicuous.

As an old law firm, Jinding has been expanding its business in recent years, with the entertainment industry being one of their most successful sectors. In their building, the firm occupies the 12th floor with large office spaces neatly divided into six sections: Entertainment Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4, Group 5, and the New Group.

The head of the New Group is none other than the lawyer, Chi Tuo, whom the firm’s biggest partner, Yuan Daneng, had recruited with a high salary this year. It is said that the failure of Yuan's last multinational investment and acquisition deal was because the opposing team’s leader was Chi Tuo.

Chi Tuo had previously worked in Canada as a non-litigation lawyer, specializing in investments and acquisitions. After that case, Yuan invited Chi for a week of drinking, and Chi decided to return to China.

The exact details of his recruitment remain unclear, but after Chi Tuo joined Jinding, he formed his own team within half a month and completed a multinational film and television investment project in just six months. The team made a huge profit, and their performance was unmatched across the 12th floor for the entire year.

As a result, the firm received more inquiries and consultation requests.

Assistant Lin Hao pushed a heavy trolley filled with files and knocked on Chi Tuo's office door. The rumored leader of the New Group, Chi Tuo, was lounging on the sofa, eating instant noodles.

His suit jacket was tossed on the back of his office chair, and he had unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt, eating noodles with a take-out chopstick in an extremely casual manner.

Lin Hao couldn’t be bothered to ask if he had run out of chopsticks. The lunch had come with chopsticks, but Chi had used one during lunch and kept the other to eat his instant noodles later.

The rising lawyer star was surprisingly... down to earth. His office could get as messy as a pigsty when he was busy. He had missed dinner because of a meeting but could still finish a bag of instant noodles with a chopstick stuck in it. In an era where men's suits were increasingly diverse, Chi always wore a basic black shirt and a two-button black suit. The only thing that changed was his tie, and he had at least a dozen different gray-patterned ones, rotating daily.

As Chi Tuo’s assistant, Lin Hao had tidied up his wardrobe in the office's break room. It was full of black suits, at least twenty identical sets of shirts and suits.

The reasoning was that if one got dirty, he could quickly replace it without worrying about matching.

Chi Tuo was... a strange person.

But everyone in the team liked him, mainly because he never insisted on group dinners after work.

Chi Tuo was not into team-building. All work was done during office hours. Even after finishing big projects, he never suggested a celebratory dinner. Instead, he rewarded his team with bonuses. He had his secretary set aside part of the department’s team-building funds each month to buy things the group voted to put in the office—snacks, humidifiers, coffee machines, etc.

He was very businesslike, never sent work emails on rest days, and always scheduled emails to be sent during working hours—even if he wrote them in the middle of the night.

He was the only group leader on the 12th floor who required employees to register overtime. Each month, salaries were calculated based on attendance, and if someone worked excessive overtime, he would call them in for a private chat.

Capable, fair, and just, Chi Tuo was considered one of the top 10 bosses.

However, there were some mysteries surrounding him. For example, why did a young non-litigation lawyer who had already made a name for himself in Canada give up the lucrative field of investment and mergers to switch to entertainment law? Also, why did a man who was too lazy to match his suit wear a fashionable ear bone piercing in his left ear?

And as an assistant, Lin Hao also knew one little secret about his boss that no one else knew: Chi Tuo was a fan.

His way of relaxing during work breaks was to follow idols.

He wasn’t sure who Chi Tuo followed, but he knew Chi even participated in fan activities and was involved in the fan community.

It was completely at odds with his usual image.

So, Lin Hao thought his boss was truly... strange.

When Chi Tuo received a call from An Ye, half of the instant noodles were still left in the bag. His office didn’t have a bowl, so he had to eat directly from the packaging, holding the bag with one hand to keep the soup from spilling.

His phone was within his reach, but he would need both hands to grab it.

He stared at the familiar number for at least three seconds, hesitating. Finally, he took a deep breath, finished the soup from the noodles in one gulp, and freed one hand to answer the call he had been waiting for five years.He opened his mouth, but of course, it wasn't very pleasant. The still-hot instant noodles had burned his tongue, and the "hello" he managed sounded hoarse, as though someone had sliced his vocal cords.

He cleared his throat and tried again, "hello." This time, it was a little better, but still like someone who had had their vocal cords sliced halfway.

The person on the other end of the line seemed stunned by the sound and was silent for a long time.

Chi Tuo tightened his grip on the phone. He heard himself, in a very ungraceful manner, saying, “Hello, speak!”

Only then did he realize how ambiguous those words were, especially considering how his throat felt, still scalded and smoking. He couldn’t quite control the tone, so when it was heard, it almost sounded like an insult.

And now, it would be hard to follow up with any words.

Because it would sound like he had just confirmed that insult.

So, he could only remain silent.

Thankfully, the other person finally spoke. It was An Ye’s voice. She said, “Hello, may I speak with Lawyer Chi?”

Chi Tuo: “……”

In that moment, he began to question whether his persistence was somewhat ridiculous. After five years of not answering the phone, not making contact, and only sending holiday red envelopes, the first words from her five years later were this.

And it was An Ye, not An Jiujiu.

It was her speaking with the standard smile and tone of voice she used in interviews or on screen, not the slightly reckless and affectionate tone that An Jiujiu had.

“Is there something?” Chi Tuo asked.

He stubbornly maintained a friendly yet not overly close distance.

There was another pause on the other end, as if she smiled, or perhaps not. Then she spoke again, her voice still the polite, elegant tone of the star An Ye. “I’d like to consult you on some legal matters. It’s not very convenient to discuss over the phone. I’m wondering when you might have time?”

You should contact my assistant for legal consultations. Just search online and you'll find ways to reach out.

I’m swamped with work, with cases lined up until the end of the year. When would I have time to give you a consultation?

And who are you anyway? You don’t even introduce yourself, yet you’re asking for legal consultation? I’m very expensive.

Then, Chi Tuo spoke: “I’m available anytime.”

Another brief silence on the other end, then: “Should I first make an appointment with your assistant or something?”

Finally, her tone wasn’t as formal.

She’s really grown up, understanding how to test the waters before slowly getting closer.

“No need,” Chi Tuo replied, “If you follow the company’s process for a face-to-face interview, there will be recordings, and it’s a lengthy process. It will leave a trace.”

You’re a major star backed by a big company. For something like hiring a lawyer privately, the fewer people who know, the better.

On the other end, there was a sudden sound of a knock. An Ye responded quickly, then said into the phone, “I’ll contact you on WeChat.”

She hung up.

A phone call that was conducted in secret.

Chi Tuo stared at the phone for a moment, then looked at the instant noodles on the coffee table. The noodles had completely softened without the soup, and he wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore. He cleaned up and tossed them into the trash.

He didn’t fully understand An Jiujiu’s current situation. Huan Zhou Entertainment was a big company, well-managed. It was rare for sensitive information about stars to leak out. He had been involved in fan circles for so many years, had joined several fan group management teams, and had even coordinated with An Ye's company during her promotional periods, but the information he could gather was very limited.True or false, who knows?

What can be confirmed is that when Huan Zhou Entertainment poached An Ye from her old agency, they indeed paid a lot of penalty fees. At the time, even Huan Zhou's legal team, with all their power, couldn’t negotiate a good deal. One can imagine just how terrible her first agency contract must have been.

It was so bad that she completely disappeared from his world for an entire year.

Because of this, her signing conditions with Huan Zhou Entertainment weren’t that great either, even though she had already won the Best Actress award and had a bright future ahead of her. Her signing conditions were still much lower than her actual market value.

But fortunately, she had a very talented manager, Yan Wan.

Yan Wan was likely the one who helped her switch to Huan Zhou Entertainment. Apart from Director Yang Zhengyi, Yan Wan had been the one who helped her the most in her acting career. The film, endorsement, and fashion resources he brought her were the best, so after signing with Huan Zhou, An Ye secured three Best Actress awards within two years and five major luxury brand endorsements.

However, something unknown happened internally, and in the third year, Yan Wan started having An Ye mentor new talents.

Filming movies became a side gig, she started doing variety shows as a flying guest, and even during brand endorsement interviews, she kept mentioning the name of their new talent. Because she was pushing this so hard, rumors even spread about her having an affair with the 20-year-old newcomer.

An Ye's resources visibly declined, and it was apparent that the company no longer valued her as much. At the end of last year, when Huan Zhou Entertainment released its poster, An Ye, a top-tier movie star, didn’t even have a solo poster. Instead, she was buried in a group photo with a bunch of other stars, and the media even speculated that An Ye’s contract might be expiring soon.

An Ye’s contract wasn’t easy to expire. According to reliable sources that Chi Tuo had, it was probably a seven-year deal.

It was only the fifth year now, but apart from the fact that the company had recently treated her as a key asset due to financial issues, she had been nearly sidelined the rest of the time.

He should have come back last year, but back then, he was still unknown, with very little initiative. Not many law firms were eager to hire him.

She had moved too quickly, and it had taken him some time to catch up, but thankfully, it wasn't too late.

He had kept his promises. He promised her that he would be a lawyer who could actually help her, someone from her own circle, and everything he had sacrificed was just the cost of fulfilling that promise. Now, he could finally come back and fulfill it.

But this person, after disappearing for five years, called him for the first time, and referred to him as "Lawyer Chi."

He spent the whole night chewing on ice cubes after being scalded by the soup, and even snuck into the next team's ice machine at work, frustrated, he voted for the ice machine in the monthly equipment survey.

Around 1 AM, when he lay on the couch at home looking at the ceiling, he received a message from An Ye.

Or rather, from An Jiujiu.

Little Goose: [Do you have a girlfriend now?]

It was already past 1 AM, and she actually had the nerve to ask.

Chi Tuo: [Not yet.]

Little Goose: [Share your location.]

Little Goose: [Here’s my address, come over now?]

Little Goose: [I’m afraid there might be reporters if you come during the day.]

Little Goose: [Save this unlock command. When you get to the community, just go into the underground parking lot through entrance C and use this command to unlock the gate.]

Little Goose: [Call me when you arrive, I’ll come down to meet you.]

Chi Tuo thought he must be seeing things. He clicked on the message again to check the time, then looked at the location shared and the unlock command.

Chi Tuo: [???]

She had called him “Lawyer Chi” during the day and now was inviting him to her home in the middle of the night??

Little Goose: [?]Chi Tuo: [... I’ll be there in about half an hour.]

His home wasn’t far from the location An Ye shared, both in the most expensive residential area of Bai Gang City. The large flat she bought suited her status as a top actress, with excellent security. Access required a passcode, and reporters generally couldn’t get in.

He stood up, wiped his face, and checked the time and chat history once again.

A strange feeling lingered.

But he only had half an hour, so he had to change out of his suit, take a shower, and shave—his beard had grown a little after a day.

Chi Tuo was moving around his house like a little power engine, and as he turned, he accidentally kicked the door frame, wincing in pain.

Ah, what on earth was going on with her!