Blank Charge

After finishing washing up, Jin Zhou lay down on the sofa, covered with a thin blanket provided by Yang Shiyu.

Yang Shiyu seemed to have a lot of work piled up as he was still in the study, looking at files. Dim light seeped through the crack of the door, accompanied by the rustling sound of flipping papers, lulling Jin Zhou to sleep quickly.

The narrow sofa was not comfortable to sleep on, even though the blanket carried Yang Shiyu’s scent.

After a while, Jin Zhou was awakened by a sudden urge to piss. He got up in a daze, went to the bathroom to relieve himself, but instead of returning to the sofa, he groped his way to a door in the darkness.

He twisted the doorknob, but the room was locked—it was Yang Shiyu’s study.

Jin Zhou turned around and felt his way to another door, successfully entering the room this time.

Yang Shiyu was lying on his side in bed, facing the window. In the dim light, Jin Zhou could see his body slightly moving, indicating that he was already in deep sleep.

Jin Zhou got up temporarily to use the bathroom, relying solely on instinct to find a bed. Half asleep, he lifted the blanket and climbed behind Yang Shiyu, comfortably embracing him.

In less than a second, Jin Zhou fell asleep again, and the room returned to its quiet state. But in the darkness, Yang Shiyu slowly opened his eyes.

He slightly turned his chin and glanced at Jin Zhou, whose arms and legs were entwined around him like an octopus. He sighed imperceptibly and shifted the blanket towards Jin Zhou.

It had been a long time since Jin Zhou had gotten out of bed before 8 o’clock.

The sounds of pots and pans colliding with the kitchen countertop resonated in his ears, and the aroma of breakfast filled the entire room. Jin Zhou sat up from the bed, still drowsy, his mind empty for a moment until he remembered that he had slept at Yang Shiyu’s place last night.

Looking around in confusion, he realized it was Yang Shiyu’s bedroom.

Jin Zhou woke up suddenly, wondering if he had slept with Yang Shiyu last night.

He lifted the blanket and checked, annoyed to find out that he had been overthinking.

At that moment, Yang Shiyu appeared at the bedroom door and witnessed Jin Zhou’s actions. He fell silent for a moment, then said, “Get up and have breakfast.”

Jin Zhou was still overwhelmed by drowsiness. He lay back on the bed, lazily closed his eyes, and mumbled, “Let me sleep a little longer.”

Finding the position uncomfortable, he turned on his side and placed Yang Shiyu’s blanket between his legs.

“Don’t be lazy in my house,” Yang Shiyu frowned slightly. “If you want to sleep, go back to your own place.”

Jin Zhou didn’t say anything or move, completely captured by the sleepiness.

“Jin Zhou.” Yang Shiyu called again, but seeing Jin Zhou still unresponsive, he approached and grabbed a corner of the blanket.

The teddy bear on the bed immediately clung tightly to the blanket, so Yang Shiyu had to tug harder. However, just as he was about to pull the blanket away from Jin Zhou’s chest, the sleeping man, as if unable to bear it any longer, suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the bed.

“Yang Shiyu, ” Jin Zhou rolled over and pressed down on Yang Shiyu, half-opening his sleepy eyes with a touch of impatience on his face, “Don’t you know that I love sleeping the most?”

“Then go back to your house and sleep,” Yang Shiyu said, propping himself up on Jin Zhou’s shoulders, trying to push him away. However, Jin Zhou was prepared and firmly held onto his wrists, pressing them against his ears.

“I just want to sleep with you,” Jin Zhou mischievously split a sentence apart, “in your bed.”

Last time at the KTV, Jin Zhou was lifted by Yang Shiyu. He wouldn’t be careless this time.

“Is that so?” Yang Shiyu raised an eyebrow, and the next second, he suddenly lifted his knee, pressing it against Jin Zhou’s lower abdomen.

A dull pain immediately spread throughout his body, and Jin Zhou couldn’t help but curse, retracting his left hand to cover his stomach, while his right hand landed a punch on the corner of Yang Shiyu’s mouth.

The two of them started fighting on the bed, attacking each other only minimally, mainly trying to restrain the other.

Jin Zhou didn’t use much force, and Yang Shiyu clearly wasn’t taking it seriously. However, when Jin Zhou accidentally pulled off Yang Shiyu’s anti-slip chain, causing his glasses to fly to the corner of the wall, Yang Shiyu’s gaze suddenly turned cold. In a few moments, he pressed Jin Zhou down on the bed.

“Are you getting up or not?” Yang Shiyu, clearly losing patience, pressed Jin Zhou’s neck with his right hand and his knee against Jin Zhou’s lower back, delivering a slap to his butt with his left hand.

“You!” Jin Zhou struggled with a flushed face, “Can’t you have some self-control? Stop pinning me down!”

“Say another dirty word and see what happens?” Yang Shiyu slapped Jin Zhou’s butt again while increasing the pressure with his knee.

“Hey!”  Jin Zhou immediately surrendered, “My back is going to break!”

Hearing that, Yang Shiyu let go of Jin Zhou, adjusted his breathing, picked up his glasses that had fallen to the corner of the wall, and left the bedroom with the words, “Get up and eat.”

The sleepiness had long been chased away, and Jin Zhou went to the bathroom to wash up, rubbing his waist, and sat down at the dining table. He saw that Yang Shiyu had made him a breakfast of fried egg noodles.

He took a few sips and it was delicious.

On the other hand, Yang Shiyu still had to go to work at the court. While Jin Zhou was eating, he changed into his work uniform.

A light blue shirt paired with black suit pants. Jin Zhou looked at Yang Shiyu, who lowered his head while wearing a watch, and suddenly laughed.

Yang Shiyu looked over upon hearing the laughter, and Jin Zhou’s smile on his face grew wider. He looked at the cut on the corner of Yang Shiyu’s mouth and said, “If your colleague asks about the wound on your mouth, just say it was caused by your husband biting you.”

Yang Shiyu seemed accustomed to Jin Zhou’s carefree language and didn’t react, fiddling with the anti-slip chain on his glasses.

Jin Zhou  took advantage of the situation, saying, “Call me husband, and I’ll buy you a new one.”

Yang Shiyu paused his chain-linking movement, put down his glasses, and walked towards Jin Zhou. Jin Zhou immediately shrunk his neck, saying, “Judges don’t beat people up.”

“Eat quickly, and then leave.” Yang Shiyu stopped his steps, put on his repaired glasses, took the work file, and headed towards the front door.

Jin Zhou took a bite of the fried egg, tilting his chin and asked, “Do you want your husband to send you to work?”

The response he received was the sound of a door being firmly closed.

……….

Sun Yi found out that ChunJie had been released. It was uncertain whether she had revealed Wang Da Rong’s information to the police.

Jin Zhou guessed she probably didn’t. People like Chun Jie, who had been imprisoned twice, knew how things worked and that the police wouldn’t dare to act recklessly. As long as she remained steadfast and didn’t confess, the police would have to release her when the time came.

But Jin Zhou didn’t go to look for Chun Jie or Wang Da Rong again. After all, he already knew who the mastermind was, and instead of questioning those two, it was better to directly investigate Wang He Tai.

During that time, with Luo Xueqing’s help, Jin Zhou had gathered a lot of rumors about Wang He Tai. Indeed Wang He Tai might be involved in several murder cases. Jin Zhou was unsure where to start investigating.

At an opportune time, Luo Xueqing’s case was scheduled for settlement, and Jin Zhou was busy preparing for it, so he temporarily set aside the matter of Wang He Tai.

The settlement was arranged for a Saturday, at the opponent’s law firm.

The law firm that handled the manufacturer’s cooperation was the largest Jia You Law Firm in the city, and coincidentally, it was office was located in the He Tai Building.

Jin Zhou rarely wore a formal suit, meticulously combing his bangs behind his head, completely hiding the air of a rogue.

However, unlike before, this time he wore a pair of gold-framed glasses.

The rogue aura was gone, but it added a touch of scholarly scoundrel.

“Lawyer Jin?” At the elevator entrance, Luo Xueqing approached Jin Zhou with suspicion, apparently not expecting him to be dressed like that.

“Don’t you recognize me?” Jin Zhou slid down his non-prescription plain glasses with his middle finger, “Do you feel that I’m much more reliable now?”

Luo Xueqing burst into laughter and shook her head, “No, I’m not sure if good looks have any effect on negotiations.”

Jin Zhou also smiled and pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, saying, “Looks don’t matter, but presence does.”

The  large law firm was indeed different from the small shabby law firm above the car repair shop. The receptionist at the entrance guided the two into a small conference room. Before long, a male lawyer in a three-piece suit entered with two young people.

Jin Zhou glanced at them, probably an associate lawyer and an intern.

He took the initiative to stand up and introduce himself, and the male lawyer on the other side introduced himself as Mr. Li.

After exchanging pleasantries and shaking hands, Jin Zhou looked at the assistant lawyer behind Mr. Li and raised his chin, saying, “You’ve done well, Xiao He.”

He Yunsheng kept his head down and refused to meet Jin Zhou’s gaze. At that point, he had to force a social smile and said to Jin Zhou, “Long time no see, Lawyer Jin.”

As it happened, He Yunsheng was a graduate student at the Political and Legal University. In order to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination, he rented a house near the school.

Later, he gave up on the postgraduate entrance examination and wanted to terminate the lease early. He got into a dispute with the landlord, complaining about this and that, claiming that the landlord had violated his rights, and so on.

Coincidentally, the landlord happened to do business on the same street as Jin Zhou and knew him well, so he sought Jin Zhou’s help.

Jin Zhou easily silenced He Yunsheng with just a few words and even patted his face before leaving, giving him a piece of advice: study hard.

Perhaps inspired by Jin Zhou, He Yunsheng decided to work hard and continue preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination, and he actually passed and got into graduate school.

“There’s really no need to go to court for this matter.”

After the pleasantries, Lawyer Li got to the point.

“I think Lawyer Jin should also be aware that your chances of winning are very low. Even if you win the lawsuit, the compensation amount is really not worth it.”

“Even if we assume the worst…” Jin Zhou smiled, “Isn’t that too exaggerated?”

“Filing a lawsuit takes time and effort, and even if you win, it’s not much money,” He Yunsheng couldn’t help but interrupt, “Why didn’t you explain that clearly to Ms. Luo?”

“What makes you think I didn’t explain it clearly?” Jin Zhou asked back, not polite at all. He Yunsheng shrank back and fell silent.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time.” Lawyer Li spoke frankly, “We are willing to offer a settlement amount of 2,000, which is a reasonable figure. We hope Ms. Luo will consider it.”

“2,000?” Jin Zhou chuckled, “Are you trying to dismiss us?”

Lawyer Li’s expression turned cold and he asked, “Then what do you think is a suitable amount?”

“Our compensation request and calculation basis are all stated here.” Jin Zhou took out a piece of paper from a folder and pushed it across the negotiation table, “You can take a look.”

“80,000?” He Yunsheng’s eyes widened, “Why don’t you just rob us while you are at it?”

“In that case,” Lawyer Li pushed the paper back, realizing that there was too much disagreement to continue the discussion, “let’s see each other in court.”

“Fine,” Jin Zhou casually collected all the documents, stood up, and said, “Looking forward to seeing you in court.”

After leaving the meeting room, Luo Xueqing asked Jin Zhou in a low voice while avoiding the people around, “Do we really have a chance of winning?”

“It’s a 50-50 chance,” Jin Zhou put away the aggressive attitude he had before entering the battlefield, “If we win, the compensation will definitely be more than 2,000, and you’ll also get material for your news report. If we lose, it’s not too regrettable since their settlement offer is only 2,000.”

“And since they’re willing to settle, it shows that they also understand they have a possibility of losing,” Jin Zhou reassured her, “So don’t worry too much, leave it to me.”

The two of them reached the entrance of the law firm, and as they passed a wall of honors, Jin Zhou’s peripheral vision caught a few small words—He Tai Group.

He stopped in his tracks and took a closer look. Well, well, it turns out Jia You Law Firm is a partner of He Tai Group.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Xueqing noticed Jin Zhou’s actions and stopped.

“It’s nothing,” Jin Zhou took out his phone, took a selfie with the wall of honors as the background, and said, “Just capturing a memory.”

Luo Xueqing didn’t pay much attention, and the two continued walking towards the elevator.

Jin Zhou took the opportunity to send the handsome selfie to Yang Shiyu and added a line of text: “Undercover mission.”

In the photo, Jin Zhou was wearing gold-framed glasses, looking like a refined scholar, but there was a mischievous smile at the corner of his mouth, showing his playful nature.

Less than five seconds later, Yang Shiyu called, his voice filled with an uncontrollable headache, “Get back here!”