That night, Song Yue used the internet to learn about the major events that had occurred domestically and internationally during those four years. By the latter half of the night, when drowsiness struck, the painkillers in his system had also lost their effect. Song Yue took several tablets of the painkillers prescribed by the hospital, but they didn’t work. He was basically tormented by pain in a half-asleep, half-awake state, so he got up as soon as dawn broke. After casually eating a few slices of bread, Song Yue opened his wardrobe, only to be stunned again by the closet full of suits. He really wanted to go to the bank and check his account – was it in the negatives? But he also knew that such outward expenses were unavoidable. Working at a high-end place like Qin Law Firm, not wearing the same clothes every day was company etiquette.
Randomly selecting a low-key silver-gray suit and tying a striped tie in front of the mirror, Song Yue found that no matter how good the clothes were, they couldn’t hide his haggard appearance. Who would have thought he’d be so unlucky – opening and closing his eyes only to lose four years of his youth? With a self-deprecating smile at the mirror, Song Yue opened his door at exactly eight o’clock, just in time to see Qin Mo emerging from the apartment across the hall.
“Morning, we’ll take my car today.” Qin Mo nodded at him, then led the way to the elevator. After Song Yue followed him down to the underground parking garage and saw two other people waiting, he realized that President Qin was quite down-to-earth – he wasn’t giving Song Yue special treatment by commuting together. Apparently, carpooling with employees was also a Qin firm tradition. However, Song Yue discovered that the two people commuting with them were partners at Qin Law Firm, and they seemed quite familiar with him. They immediately asked about his injury from yesterday upon meeting.
Song Yue didn’t know how to respond for a moment, but fortunately Qin Mo seamlessly steered the conversation away, as if he didn’t want people to know about Song Yue’s current condition. The group quickly began discussing a case they were currently handling. Song Yue listened quietly, knowing Qin Mo was being deliberate since supposedly he was also involved in this case. It was just an ordinary civil divorce property division case. Although the amount was somewhat large, it wouldn’t reach the level of causing someone to assault him as a warning.
Song Yue soon discovered why Qin Mo carpooled in the morning – the city traffic was truly exasperating. What should have been a ten-minute drive to the firm could take nearly an hour stuck in traffic. But during that hour, the group didn’t idle – they had already handled several cases using tablet computers and written and sent out several appeal briefs. Song Yue hadn’t slept all night, and his poor condition was obvious from his appearance, so his continued silence didn’t surprise anyone.
Moving slowly with the traffic flow, the four arrived at Qin Law Firm’s office building at exactly nine o’clock. Qin Law Firm occupied floors sixteen through eighteen of this office building. Song Yue didn’t know where his office was located, but fortunately Qin Mo said “follow me,” so Song Yue naturally went up to the eighteenth floor with him. He was then horrified to discover his nameplate on an office door.
Song Yue pointed at it in disbelief, and Qin Mo slowly nodded. Song Yue felt even more terrified – he had his own private office at Qin’s? Well, considering the fact that he lived in a mansion and drove a BMW, having a private office wasn’t that surprising either. Song Yue dazedly pushed open the office door. Inside was clean and tidy, no different from an ordinary office. Song Yue collapsed onto the leather sofa, and before he could gather the energy to turn on his computer and check the situation, the phone on his desk rang.
“Brother Song, I’m Zhang Guan, your assistant. May I come in?” A young voice came through the phone. He had apparently been informed of Song Yue’s situation by Qin Mo, so he introduced himself straightforwardly from the start. Song Yue naturally wouldn’t refuse – he urgently needed someone to help him understand the basics. Qin Mo obviously didn’t have this leisure time. After all, as president of a law firm, being able to personally pick him up from the hospital yesterday was already quite remarkable.
Zhang Guan was an intern lawyer with a very young face – clearly a recent university graduate. The young man was quite tall with long arms and legs, but he worked quite efficiently. Song Yue didn’t know what Qin Mo had told him, but he didn’t ask much else. Upon entering, he brought Song Yue a cup of very strong black coffee, then went out and returned with a very thick stack of files, placing them on Song Yue’s desk.
“Brother Song, these are all the cases you’ve handled since joining the firm. President Qin asked me to find them all for you to look through – maybe they’ll help you remember something.” Zhang Guan was quite talkative and articulate. He immediately organized the half-meter-high stack of files, pulled out the oldest one, and placed it in front of Song Yue. Song Yue looked at the date – it was from 2008, which should be the first case he handled after joining Qin’s. He was immediately interested.
He knew this was the most convenient way to understand his work over the past four years, so he didn’t hesitate and buried himself in the files. The more he read, the more shocked he became. All the files were organized meticulously. Song Yue initially focused on the cases themselves, but gradually became completely absorbed by the trial transcripts within. According to the files, he only began taking cases independently in 2009. Before that, he had been an assistant to other lawyers. But in the trial transcripts after he became independent, his exceptional courtroom skills were evident – his evidence presentation and arguments were always direct and powerful.
Song Yue could hardly believe these words had come from his own mouth, yet he had no memory of any of it.
This reviewing took the entire day. Song Yue was dizzy and increasingly felt like he’d been possessed by a ghost for four years. He simply pushed the files on his desk aside and asked Zhang Guan, who had been helping him review files all along: “Zhang Guan, you came last year, right?” This was easy to guess – anyone could see Zhang Guan was an inexperienced graduate.
Seeing Zhang Guan nod, Song Yue continued asking: “You’ve been with me since you arrived? So in your eyes, what kind of person am I?”
The usually straightforward Zhang Guan hesitated – this was hard to say! But he also knew that not speaking now would be suicidal, so he considered carefully before saying: “Brother Song, you’re someone everyone admires.” He paused after saying this, and seeing Song Yue raise an eyebrow, quickly continued: “Of course, everyone admires Brother Song’s abilities. But Brother Song never smiles normally, and never chats with us – it’s always strictly business. Everyone says privately that Brother Song is a workaholic.”
Song Yue was speechless. The files Zhang Guan had brought earlier were only a portion – many more came later. It was clear he had taken on numerous cases during these four years, and with his super-high efficiency, it wasn’t surprising he could climb to his current position.
But this didn’t make sense! A personality that only knew work was nothing like him at all!
Zhang Guan noticed Song Yue wasn’t maintaining his usual stern expression, so he boldly began gossiping. He was naturally talkative, and once he opened up, Song Yue gained quite a bit of information. Only then did Song Yue learn he was about to become a partner at Qin Law Firm – he just needed to wait for the shareholders’ meeting at the end of the month to confirm his partnership status.
This certainly shouldn’t be the reason someone attacked him. Those with dark, jealous hearts wouldn’t use such simple, crude tactics – they would employ more sinister conspiracies instead.
Song Yue re-examined the cases he was currently handling, but none had clear motives. After all, he was only a civil lawyer and didn’t handle criminal cases. But after reading some trial records, he wasn’t so certain anymore. Even he found them unbearable to read – how much more so for the parties involved?
Maybe there were some who had been released from prison? So they came for revenge? Civil cases were generally settled out of court, and even if someone was imprisoned, it was usually quite brief. Song Yue shared his thoughts with Zhang Guan, and the two began screening cases. They hadn’t been busy long when Qin Mo pushed the door open, saying he had obtained surveillance footage from the time of the incident from the police station.
Song Yue knew Qin Mo must have put in considerable effort, otherwise police action couldn’t have been so swift. The three stared at the computer screen. The incident occurred in the afternoon with pedestrians around. Song Yue saw himself on screen walking while talking on the phone, then clearly saw a figure dart out from the side, strike the back of his head with a wooden stick, and then flee.
The surveillance had no sound, but watching this scene made Song Yue’s head throb painfully. The footage continued for some time after, and the three watched silently as the Song Yue in the video lay unconscious. Song Yue suddenly felt something was wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly.
The footage stopped only after Qin Mo’s figure appeared on screen. Meeting Song Yue’s puzzled gaze, Qin Mo pointed to his phone: “Fortunately, it has GPS, and you told me where you were when we were talking.”
“The suspect wore a hat, so his face was completely hidden. I also questioned several nearby shops afterward, but no one noticed any suspicious individuals.” Zhang Guan had obviously visited the scene yesterday as well, but unfortunately, there were simply too many transient people in the city to continue investigating. “That wooden stick was also found in a nearby trash bin, but unfortunately no fingerprints could be extracted. The trail went cold there.”
“So Song Yue, don’t act alone for the next few days.” Qin Mo made the final decision. In his many years as a lawyer, he had encountered revenge before, but this time it was his most promising subordinate who was attacked, and it happened while the man was on the phone with him. The truth had to be uncovered.