Chapter 41 - 34: Making a Name for Oneself! Morning Paper

November 10th.

Seven in the morning.

Qingwu Province, Lusen City.

Torch Street Shopping District, Jinmao Law Firm.

Xu De walked out the main entrance of the law firm. He crossed the road, heading straight for the breakfast stall opposite the firm.

The breakfast stall was a congee stand.

A few tables were scattered here and there on the street, set with disposable chopsticks and napkins. The stall owner stood by two steamers billowing white steam, so busy that sweat beaded on his forehead as he frantically served customers.

At one of the tables, a few people sat gathered around, sharing breakfast.

It was Lin Yue and Wang Chao, along with Wang Mei and her son, who had all rushed over from Li Family Village without a wink of sleep.

TAP, TAP, TAP...

Xu De strode over in the morning light, plopped down in an empty seat at the table, and with a flick of his wrist, slapped an envelope down in front of Wang Chao.

"Just as we agreed, this is your payment."

"Oh?"

Wang Chao, who had been listlessly picking at his food, immediately raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

He put down the sesame flatbread in his hand, picked up the envelope, tore it open, and peeked inside.

Ten crisp, new one-hundred-yuan bills met his eyes!

"Well, well!"

Wang Chao’s eyebrows danced flamboyantly. He forgot all about his food and started counting the money with glee.

Even though there were only ten bills, he counted them over and over, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Xu De looked away and went over to the stall owner. He hesitated while looking at the dazzling array of food, then picked out only some cheap pickled vegetables and a bowl of plain congee.

He then sat back down at the table and began to eat in silence.

Seeing this, Lin Yue paused.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the bland congee and pickles in Xu De’s bowl. After a moment’s hesitation, she used her chopsticks to pick up two golden, glistening meat patties, placed them on a small bamboo plate provided by the stall, and pushed it in front of him.

Xu De stopped eating and looked up.

"Thank you for last night. Breakfast is on me today."

Lin Yue turned her head to the side.

"Otherwise... there’s no way I could have handled this civil litigation case."

’Without Xu De, even if I’d won the custody battle, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the child. It wouldn’t have left a black mark on my record, sure...’

’But I don’t take cases just to polish my resume!’

"Mm, we’re helping each other out."

Xu De said casually. He needed to borrow her identity to give himself a veneer of legitimacy, so it truly was mutual aid. No one owed anyone anything.

Lin Yue, however, didn’t dwell on that. Instead, she asked,

"Last night... did you give that Li Li money?"

Xu De paused for a moment. Without denying it, he chuckled and said, "A path you can’t walk, money can pave."

"How much?" Lin Yue asked.

Xu De replied, "Three thousand four hundred."

He didn’t have much money on him. Including the pay he got from the firm yesterday, he had a total of just five thousand three hundred yuan.

He’d spent a fortune last night, paying three thousand four hundred out of his own pocket. After taking out Wang Chao’s payment, he now had less than a thousand yuan left to deal with rent, utilities, and so on...

In fact, if the firm hadn’t paid him yesterday, he wouldn’t have even been able to pay Wang Chao!

To be honest, things were tight. It was an awkward situation.

But he was used to it. Back when he was a student, he couldn’t even bear to eat a moldy steamed bun. Now, at least, he could wolf down steamed buns and pickled vegetables.

However, upon hearing this, Lin Yue fell silent for a moment. Then, she pressed her knees together and pulled a wallet from her bag.

She rummaged through it, then simply took out all the cash inside and handed it to Xu De.

"Ultimately, this case affects me the most... There’s no reason for you to be the one paying for it."

"I don’t have that much cash on me, just one thousand seven hundred."

At this, Lin Yue paused and turned to look at Wang Chao beside her.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh..."

Wang Chao was still gleefully counting the money in his hands.

’A thousand yuan! This is a whole thousand yuan!’

’Those crappy law firms wouldn’t hire me, said my professional skills were lacking... but who am I? I’m Wang Chao! And didn’t I just easily make a thousand yuan by climbing a wall and picking a lock?!’

’So much more money, and way easier than taking crap from clients during consultations!’

Just as he was tirelessly counting his money...

A hand suddenly descended from above and snatched all one thousand yuan away.

Wang Chao froze. He stared at his empty hands, a look of shock spreading across his face.

"HEY!!!"

’In broad daylight, someone actually dares to snatch money!’

But when he looked up, his gaze met Lin Yue’s.

Lin Yue said, "You borrowed three thousand yuan from me the month before last. It’s about time you paid it back. You don’t have any use for this thousand, so I’ll take it for now. You still owe me two thousand."

"Huh!"

A shocked expression appeared on Wang Chao’s face.

He looked at his own hands in disbelief, then looked up at the envelope in Lin Yue’s hand—the envelope that he hadn’t even had a chance to warm up.

Wang Chao fell into deep thought.

’Who exactly made money here? And who lost money!?’

Finally, his face flushed with indignation, and he reached out and snatched the envelope back.

"You..."

Lin Yue was about to frown. After all, he didn’t urgently need the money, and he really did owe her and hadn’t paid it back.

But to her surprise, the next second...

WHOOSH!

Wang Chao pulled the ten bills out, shoved them into Xu De’s hands, and kept only the empty, wood-scented envelope. Stiffening his neck, he insisted,

"I only owe you money, I don’t owe you an envelope! This envelope is what I earned!"

Xu De was speechless. He stared at him for a long time, his normally calm and cunning mind stalling for a rare moment. Finally, he said,

"Classy!"

He didn’t return the money.

After all, he really did need the money right now. Without it, he’d have to stay at Jinmao Law Firm after this case to earn enough before he could leave.

"Thank you, Wealth God True Monarch," he said.

The corners of Lin Yue’s lips curled up slightly, and she lifted her chin a little. But then she caught herself and quickly said with a serious expression,

"I’m not a True Monarch!"

"Mm-hm, the Longevity True Monarch is right," Xu De nodded.