Not long afterward, the crisp sound of high heels striking the marble floor echoed through the entrance of the law firm. Everyone looked up, and the next second, an elegant woman with a tall, graceful figure and perfect curves appeared in the doorway. It was Gu Ziyu, who had grown increasingly poised and sophisticated over the years. The youthful innocence had faded from her exquisite features, replaced by the determination forged through society’s trials. Her eyes, like gems shining in the night, reflected a sharp and penetrating gaze. No one could mistake it—this was a beautiful, confident, and mature woman.
The men in the firm always found themselves momentarily distracted whenever they saw Gu Ziyu. For a brief instant, they would forget that she was actually their boss.
Whenever Gu Ziyu returned to the office, it usually meant more work.
The firm had accepted a major case the previous day. It was a murder case, but their client was the defendant. He had been charged with intentional homicide, even though the death had not actually been intentional. Unfortunately, there were no eyewitnesses, and the available evidence could not prove otherwise.
To find evidence and clear the defendant’s name, Gu Ziyu had spent the entire day running around outside.
When Mi Li heard that she was back, she personally brewed a cup of coffee and brought it into her office. Usually, one of them had to remain at the firm to oversee operations. Whenever Gu Ziyu went out, Mi Li stayed behind. When Mi Li was away, Gu Ziyu took her place.
“You’ve been running around all day. Don’t rush back into work yet. Have some coffee. Do you want a piece of cake too?” Mi Li placed the coffee in front of her.
Gu Ziyu closed the folder she had been reviewing and took a sip. “I’m fine. I’ll just consider it exercise. I grabbed something to eat outside earlier, so I’ll skip the cake.”
“The firm’s getting busier and busier, but don’t bury yourself completely in work. Exhausting yourself isn’t worth it. Young people shouldn’t abuse their health just because they’re healthy. My parents say that all the time. They’ve been through it themselves. Sure, they’re a bit naggy, but there’s wisdom in what they say.”
Mi Li’s parents were in good health because they paid close attention to wellness these days. The reason was simple—they had suffered enough hardships when they were younger and had learned to treasure their health. Although Mi Li had inherited their profession, they didn’t want her repeating their mistakes. Every time she went home, they lectured her about it. By now, she could practically recite their speeches from memory.
“Mi Li, do you know you’re becoming more and more like your parents?” Gu Ziyu laughed and shook her head. Unlike Mi Li, she never got lectured when she went home. Mi Li was extremely jealous of that and often dragged her into it, claiming that blessings should be shared and hardships endured together. It was the first time Gu Ziyu had ever seen someone interpret that saying quite so literally.
“If you got nagged every day like I do, you’d understand why I’ve become like this.” Mi Li hadn’t originally been a particularly talkative person. Environment really could change people. “By the way, how’s the case progressing? Did you find any evidence?”
At the mention of work, Gu Ziyu immediately became serious.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”
The defendant’s name was Shen Yu. Coming from a wealthy family, he could be considered a rich second-generation heir. He was generous and outgoing, which made him popular with others. He had a girlfriend named Song Xiaoling, who worked at one of his family’s companies. Her family background was poor. Her parents had died when she was young, leaving her an orphan. Despite that, the two of them had a strong relationship and had already received Shen Yu’s parents’ approval. If not for this incident, they would already have been preparing for their wedding.
In the end, the entire disaster had been caused by Song Xiaoling’s relatives. Once they learned she was dating a wealthy heir, they seemed to become energized overnight. Every so often, they would ask her for money. The salary she earned herself was nowhere near enough to satisfy their greed. Eventually, she could no longer afford to lend them anything. Her relatives then tracked down where she lived and forcibly took valuable belongings from her home to sell. Shen Yu eventually found out about it.
Furious, Shen Yu moved Song Xiaoling into his own home and forbade her from giving her relatives any more money. In response, the relatives caused trouble at his company. Shen Yu promptly called the police and had them taken to the station.
After spending several days in detention, the relatives became resentful. By chance, one of them saw someone staging a traffic scam to extort money from drivers and came up with a plan. Their original goal had always been money. They didn’t dare genuinely challenge someone as wealthy as Shen Yu, so they intended to use the scam to extort him. Unfortunately, the plan ended in tragedy.
The victim was Song Xiaoling’s uncle. He intended to fake a collision for compensation, but perhaps because he was too nervous, he misjudged the timing. Instead of waiting for a vehicle to slow down, he rushed out when the car was still moving at high speed. He was struck and sent flying, dying almost instantly. Everyone present was stunned.
What had been intended as an act quickly became reality. With the family’s breadwinner dead, Song Xiaoling’s aunt immediately burst into tears and insisted that Shen Yu had intentionally murdered her husband. She demanded both compensation and prison time for Shen Yu, hoping to achieve two goals at once.
The difficulty of the case was that Shen Yu genuinely appeared to have a motive. He loved Song Xiaoling deeply, and the idea that he might kill for her was not entirely implausible. Furthermore, there were no surveillance cameras at the scene, making it impossible to prove that the uncle had deliberately run into the road himself. Still, there were angles from which the case could be attacked.
If Shen Yu had truly intended to commit murder, he would have planned everything in advance. He also wouldn’t have needed to do it personally, especially not while leaving work alongside Song Xiaoling. Who would murder someone right in front of their own girlfriend? Still, these were only logical deductions. To clear Shen Yu completely, they needed evidence.
That was exactly what Gu Ziyu had been searching for all day. The breakthrough could only come from Song Xiaoling’s aunt.
In truth, the aunt only cared about money. Although her husband was dead, she knew perfectly well that the scheme had originally been planned by them both. As long as she was offered enough money to satisfy her greed, she could be persuaded.
Song Xiaoling’s aunt seemed aware of this as well. Gu Ziyu carefully explained the situation. If she insisted on going to court, she would likely receive only two or three hundred thousand yuan in compensation. If she agreed to a private settlement, however, Shen Yu’s parents were willing to pay one million yuan.
The aunt had been on the verge of agreeing when Song Xiaoling’s cousin, Song He, suddenly appeared. He knew more than his mother did and immediately demanded five million yuan in exchange for changing their testimony. Otherwise, he declared, he would rather accept only two or three hundred thousand yuan as long as Shen Yu went to prison.
The entire family was utterly despicable.
Fortunately, Gu Ziyu had anticipated something like this. She had secretly recorded their conversation and tricked them into revealing the truth. It was a move Song He had never expected.
“Since you’ve already found evidence, then go after them. What’s the problem?” Mi Li asked.
“I have a feeling Song Xiaoling’s cousin isn’t exactly an honest person. He gives off the vibe of a thug. I think there may be an even better angle to attack this case through him.” The recording wasn’t perfect. Gu Ziyu worried that the other side might find a loophole and counterattack, so she wanted an additional safeguard.
A sudden idea struck Mi Li. “Then ask your second brother to investigate him. Your second brother has connections everywhere. It shouldn’t take more than a day or two.”
“Good idea.”
Gu Ziyu didn’t hesitate. This sort of thing was indeed her second brother’s specialty. She called Wang Cheng and explained the situation. Wang Cheng didn’t ask many questions. He had always been the most supportive of his sister’s transformation. He simply promised to give her an answer within two days.
While waiting for news, Song He and his mother repeatedly came looking for Gu Ziyu. They were confident in their leverage but also desperate to get their hands on the money. Gu Ziyu had already relayed their demands to Shen Yu’s parents. When they learned that the pair wanted five million yuan, they were unwilling to hand over such a large amount, even though they could afford it. Fortunately, Gu Ziyu reassured them, so they did not immediately agree.
As expected, Wang Cheng worked quickly. By the following evening, he had already sent Gu Ziyu a file containing everything he had uncovered.
After reviewing the information, Gu Ziyu finally understood why Song He had demanded five million yuan. He was a compulsive gambler drowning in gambling debts. He owed loan sharks somewhere between three and four million yuan. Apparently, even his parents were unaware of it.
Wang Cheng also brought her some good news. He had heard about the case and had deliberately leaked Song He’s situation to the loan sharks. By now, they were already preparing to come looking for him.
Hearing that, inspiration struck Gu Ziyu.
“Second Brother, can you have someone keep an eye on Song He? I want video footage of his meeting with them, and I need audio too. Can that be done?”
“That’s easy. Leave it to me.”
The debt Song He owed was substantial, and the loan sharks feared he might run away again. The moment they received the information, they rushed over. Completely unaware of the disaster about to fall on them, Song He and his mother were caught in their rental apartment by a group of loan sharks.
Terrified of them, Song He immediately dropped to his knees and swore that he would soon have money to repay them. However, everyone knew what kind of person Song He was, and they were equally familiar with his family’s circumstances. They didn’t believe he could come up with three or four million yuan. Frankly, even thirty or forty thousand yuan would have been difficult for him. They assumed he was simply stalling for time.
Song He repeatedly guaranteed that he would pay, even dragging his terrified mother into the conversation as a witness. The loan sharks refused to believe him unless he could provide proof. Left with no choice, Song He revealed the fraud scheme involving his parents. Since the case had already appeared in newspapers and on television, verifying it would be easy.
After thinking it over for a moment, the loan sharks checked and quickly found reports about the incident. Only then did they finally believe Song He and his mother. However, they remained skeptical that anyone would truly pay five million yuan just to settle the matter.
Song He pounded his chest confidently and declared that as long as his mother stuck firmly to her testimony, the Shen family would definitely hand over the money rather than risk seeing their precious son sent to prison.
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