Chairman Xia asked her and Manager Ge to investigate the Qiong Island market.

Was Chairman Xia not planning to develop new properties in Pengcheng anymore?

From what she implied, it seemed she wanted to expand the business to Qiong Island. Even though Pengcheng’s properties were selling so well, with ‘Luhu Tiancheng’ set to make considerable profits again, Qihang could continue making huge profits by acquiring land and building… Yet somehow, Chairman Xia suddenly wanted to develop projects in the unfamiliar Qiong Island.

Although it was just a reconnaissance mission for her and Manager Ge, based on Yu Li’s understanding of Xia Xiaolan, she never did anything without purpose. Once she instructed her people to do something, she usually had already made up her mind.

Could it be because of Mr. Zhou—

Yu Li wasn’t the only one with this thought; Ge Jian had the same idea when he heard the news.

However, Ge Jian’s attitude was firm, “Whatever Chairman Xia says, we do it. She’s the boss, we’re the employees. Following the boss’s instructions, doing what we should do, and trying our best to create profits for the boss – that’s an employee’s duty. As for the boss’s thoughts, we shouldn’t make wild guesses!”

Yu Li felt a chill:

“I understand, Manager Ge!”

Regardless of who Chairman Xia was going to Qiong Island for, that was her private matter. Yu Li thanked Manager Ge for once again reminding her about boundaries.

After sending her two trusted subordinates to scout Qiong Island, Xia Xiaolan calculated the time difference and called Eric.

As soon as the call connected, Eric spoke dramatically:

“I thought you didn’t care about your lawsuit at all!”

“Eric, I’ve been quite busy lately. Is there any new progress with the lawsuit?”

“On the American side, I’ve confirmed all the witnesses. Many are willing to testify before the jury. You still have the original design drafts, right? Not just the theater renovation plans, but your other work designs – you need to prepare all of these yourself. I originally said I’d come to China, but that might not be possible now. You need to prepare all the useful materials in China as I instructed…”

Xia Xiaolan took notes while Eric spoke.

Towards the end, Eric laughed:

“You remember, right? I said Matthew Carlton, who interned with you at GMP, is a crucial key witness. I knew Lisa and Monde would try to bribe Matthew. They’ve tried to contact him several times, but I blocked them. Though I don’t think they’ll give up.”

“It’s not like Matthew resisted the temptation of bribes, why are you so happy?”

Xia Xiaolan remembered that initially, Eric didn’t trust Matthew, and she was confused.

Eric explained with a laugh: “Xia, while you may be talented in architecture, you don’t understand lawyers well enough. If we have sufficient favorable evidence, we avoid breaking regulations and follow all legal procedures. Lawyers only do potentially borderline things when the situation is very unfavorable for our clients… Do you understand what I mean?”

She didn’t understand at first.

Now she truly did.

“You mean Lisa and Monde have lost confidence in the lawsuit and are placing more hope in getting Matthew to commit perjury, which is why they keep trying to break through your blockade to contact him?!”

“Yes! That’s what I think! Your appeal and protest letters were very effective. AIA may have already made their choice, and this choice is very unfavorable for Monde and Lisa.”

Had AIA already made their choice?

After the review committee chairman’s phone call with Ning Yanfan, there hadn’t been any follow-up feedback.

Xia Xiaolan had thought AIA was determined to stick to their guns and stand with Monde Dawson, maintaining their original judgment unchanged.

But according to Eric, things weren’t like that.

Moreover, Eric suspected that precisely because they couldn’t secure Matthew as a key witness, Lisa’s side kept delaying. Even after receiving the summons and complaint so long ago, Lisa, as the defendant, still hadn’t sent an answer to the plaintiff Xia Xiaolan – according to U.S. federal court regulations, this time limit was 20 days.

There were three forms of answer: denial, affirmative defense, and counterclaim.

“Her lawyers haven’t decided which form to use. Without AIA’s support, Lisa’s side has weaker evidence, so they’re still trying to buy time. But within the court’s final deadline, the defendant must submit an answer – she can’t delay much longer!”

Even without securing Matthew, Lisa would have to proceed with the lawsuit.

“Once she submits her answer, will the court announce the trial date?”

“Yes, so you need to be prepared to come to America at any time. You need to quickly prepare everything I asked you to. If Matthew doesn’t help Lisa commit perjury, she’ll pin her hopes on Cynthia Wilson, the theater project’s client. You mentioned this lady wouldn’t miss any chance to embarrass you!”

That’s right.

Mrs. Wilson had finally waited for this day.

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t been submissive to her, and now she finally had a chance to make Xia Xiaolan suffer greatly.

There was no suspense about what Mrs. Wilson would do. In the tape that Du Zhaohui had people steal, Xia Xiaolan had already heard Mrs. Wilson’s words… She would use seemingly sincere testimony to mislead the judge.

“I’m mentally prepared.”

Xia Xiaolan emphasized again, “This is a protracted battle. I’ll face Lisa’s countersuit, and even after the court’s verdict, the other party won’t give up appealing. Since this matter has escalated, whoever loses between us loses their future. Even if Lisa loses, she’ll use lengthy legal procedures to wear me down – that’s what she can do. I’m not afraid of her, and I’ll see it through to the end!”

So what if she had to fly to America repeatedly?

The other side thought she was just a Chinese student who couldn’t afford the hassle, not knowing what great support Huaqing University had given Xia Xiaolan.

She could fully focus on responding to both AIA’s assessment and this lawsuit.

These two matters could essentially be treated as one!

…

“Mr. Monde, we can’t delay this anymore.”

In the office, the lawyer placed his compiled materials on the desk. At this moment, only Monde, Lisa, and the lawyer were in the room, so everyone spoke freely.

As a lawyer, the worst thing was clients withholding information.

Even if someone committed murder, they should tell their lawyer the complete process, making it easier for the lawyer to find details that could lead to acquittal. If acquittal was impossible, they could still argue for a lighter sentence. Concealing the truth from one’s lawyer was the stupidest move – when lawyers are unprepared and caught off guard by the evidence presented by the other side in court, it’s the dishonest client who ultimately suffers!

So, not long after taking the case, the lawyer knew the truth.

For the money, the truth didn’t matter; he just wanted to win this case.

But this required Lisa’s, or rather Monde’s, cooperation.

Monde placed contact information on the desk, “Then let’s contact our witness. Lisa, you know what losing this lawsuit means. I hope you can win.”

If she didn’t win, he would be very embarrassed too!