Chapter 9: Attorney Yan Grabbed Her Luggage and Fled Overnight

“Niece Yan, this is my son. He just returned from abroad this year.”

“It’s been more than ten years since we last met, and Xiao Yan is already all grown up. Isn’t your mother about to be promoted? I’ve heard her career has been going very well these past few years. Please send my regards to your father when you have the chance.”

“Sister Yan, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Xiao Yan, it’s good to have you back. If you need help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask your uncles.”

…

Several uncles and older family friends had brought along young men from their respective families. Both openly and subtly, they asked about her parents. They had probably heard something. Formal pleasantries flowed endlessly, while beneath the exchanged toasts were probing questions from people seeking to advance their own interests.

Yan Jingyao disliked such gatherings, but she couldn’t refuse to deal with them. Besides, she also had to consider the interests of her law firm.

She verbally parried their questions while smoothly responding with the appropriate pleasantries. In any case, she had brought several reporter friends she knew. It would be best for everyone to part on good terms without anyone trying anything funny.

At the appointed time, Jiang Ying arrived punctually to pick her up. Yan Jingyao offered several excuses to end the gathering, then leaned on her [bailiantales.com]female companion as she got into the car.

“How did it go today?”

There was winter melon tea in the car to help her sober up. Jiang Ying handed her a can. “It didn’t look like you drank much. How come that guy was there too?”

“It’s not the first time he’s tried to get with me. Of course he’d eagerly attend this kind of gathering, but I’m not interested in him.”

After taking a mouthful of sweet, refreshing winter melon tea, Yan Jingyao immediately felt much better. She comfortably stretched out her legs, leaned against the seat, and gazed ahead.

“Anyway, my parents never pressured me. After all the ups and downs they’ve experienced over the years, they’ve come to see things clearly. In politics, one faction leaves the stage and another takes its place. Who could possibly remain standing forever?”

Even imperial dynasties that had lasted for generations could collapse overnight. Jiang Ying strongly agreed and nodded. “It’s rare for your parents to have that kind of outlook. That’s why they’ve lasted as long as they have.”

“My mother knew someone whose daughter entered an arranged marriage with the son of a major business owner in Jiangcheng. What happened in the end? A few years ago, one of their relatives said something careless, the family was brought down, and their assets were confiscated.”

She had heard that when the company collapsed, the Pei family secretly moved in while their competitor was shedding tears behind bars and expanded their own brand into the area. Many local companies had also rushed to claim their share of the spoils.

That was why alliances built on mutual interests could never be completely [unauthorized copy]reliable. Yan Jingyao had freely dated whomever she wanted over the years, and her parents had never objected. Consequently, while another family’s daughter ended up behind bars, she remained outside, thriving.

“So you’re planning to stay single for the rest of your life?”

“Stay away from love and stay away from heartbreak.” Yan Jingyao couldn’t resist raising her drink in celebration of her own carefree attitude. “Long live being single! Long live masturbation!”

Jiang Ying laughed. “Fine. Long live being single.”

“It absolutely must live forever! Jiang Ying, let me tell you something. Before you turn sixteen, stories about true love can move you to tears. Even the most bullshit romance can make you cry your eyes out.”

She couldn’t help thinking of Xu Wei. “But once you pass twenty, if anyone tells you that true love reigns supreme or that love is everything, you’ll fucking want to spit one response right in their face…”

“Fuck?”

“Holy shit!”

They both laughed. The night was beautiful as the car traveled through the colorful, bustling intersections of Licheng, the neon lights glittering like flowing streams.

Jiang Ying dropped Yan Jingyao off downstairs. Still muttering “holy shit,” Yan Jingyao opened the door and stepped out, pleasantly tipsy.

She waved goodbye toward the driver’s seat, casually swung her handbag over her shoulder, and strolled into the elevator in an excellent mood.

The corridor on the twenty-seventh floor was brightly lit.

After drinking the last mouthful of winter melon tea, Yan Jingyao happily began humming, already looking forward to sleeping in. She even undid another button to cool herself down, exposing her pale collarbones.

Just after turning the corner in the corridor, she suddenly spotted a woman standing outside her door.

Ji Lan?

Her mind was still hazy from the alcohol. She stared blankly for several seconds before frowning, an inexplicable trace of irritation rising inside her.

“Why are you here again?”

Last time, Ji Lan had asked her to become a research subject before inexplicably declaring that she wanted to have sex with her. That woman’s brain was probably stuffed with Pei Jinxi’s piggy buns. Yan Jingyao wanted absolutely nothing to do with her.

Have sex? She could go fuck the air! Yan Jingyao had decisively dragged Pei Jinxi over, stolen contentfound a new place, and moved out with her luggage that very night.

“I don’t have a key.”

Ji Lan stood with her arms folded. She seemed to have been waiting for a long time. Her hair was slightly disheveled, exhaustion apparent on her face, while her eyes held a trace of caution that made her look delicate and pitiful.

She resembled a little pet waiting for its owner to return, completely at odds with her normally aloof demeanor. Goosebumps erupted across Yan Jingyao’s skin.

“How did you still manage to find me after I moved?”

“I…”

“All right, that’s enough.” Yan Jingyao was genuinely afraid that this woman would propose sex again. Even a direct approach had its limits. “Move aside so I can open the door.”

“…”

The atmosphere contained none of the ambiguity Ji Lan had imagined. Even after entering the house, Yan Jingyao barely acknowledged her. “I’m going to take a shower. Sort yourself out, and don’t bother telling me when you leave.”

“…”

It seemed she held absolutely no attraction for Yan Jingyao. Ji Lan bit her lower lip and thought for a long time, finally realizing that she had chosen a dead end.

Yan Jingyao’s behavior was completely different from what Ji Lan remembered and far beyond her expectations. Perhaps she preferred coquettish… prostitutes?

Disgust inevitably arose inside Ji Lan again. She had remained deeply resentful—no one could possibly feel favorably toward someone who had nearly fingered her.

For the countless time, she reminded herself why she was doing this. She wanted to know about Fu Zhaoyu. She wanted to know what had happened back then. She wanted to know whether that case had any other victims…

Fate was cruel. Everything she wanted to know depended entirely upon Yan Jingyao.

Ji Lan couldn’t wait to slowly cultivate a relationship with her. Besides, she and Yan Jingyao were entirely incompatible, while their professional overlap was negligible. Sex remained their only option. A sexual relationship should be the quickest kind of connection to establish.

She didn’t know how to have sex with another woman or how their relationship should be defined afterward. Fuck buddies? A one-night stand?

Unfortunately, thinking about it was useless and only left her increasingly confused. Eventually, Yan Jingyao emerged from the bathroom with a towel draped over her shoulders and discovered that Ji Lan was still there.

“Why haven’t you left?”

She had used a hair dryer, but the ends of her hair remained slightly damp. She swept it to one side and gently dried it with the towel.

“There’s no point in coming to me right now. I’m tired.” Still feeling the effects of the alcohol, she only wanted to lie down and sleep. She couldn’t be bothered to care whether Ji Lan stayed or left. “Go home by yourself. I don’t have time to take you.”

After speaking, she yawned, returned to her bedroom, shut the door, and locked it.

Ji Lan: “…”

Yan Jingyao had actually left her hanging. Thinking back to the woman she had encountered a year ago, the great attorney’s present behavior truly made Ji Lan see her in an entirely new light.

Although she couldn’t determine whether Yan Jingyao was genuinely proper or merely playing hard to get, Ji Lan decided to persist until the end. The weather wasn’t cold, so she simply lay down on the sofa.

Yan Jingyao woke in the middle of the night.

Whenever she drank without becoming completely wasted, she always woke during the night. She reached for her phone and saw that it was three in the morning.

She had consumed too much liquid before bed and urgently needed to relieve herself, so she had no choice but to get up. Throwing on her robe, she headed toward Read on BaiLianTales the bathroom, only to suddenly notice a dark, shapeless mass in the living room.

“Oh my god!”

Yan Jingyao received such a fright that she nearly grabbed the broom beside the door and charged over to attack it. Fortunately, she remembered to switch on the light first and narrowly avoided injuring someone by mistake.

The enormous dark mass was Ji Lan, lying on the sofa. Disturbed by the light, she rubbed her eyes and sat up groggily.

“You seriously slept in my house?”

That woman clung like an adhesive plaster. Yan Jingyao set down the broom in complete surrender. Was all of this really necessary for a research report? Complaining fiercely inside, she went to the bathroom first to take care of her private business.

When she emerged a short while later, Ji Lan was naturally still there. This time, she was no longer sitting. She stood beside the bathroom door, waiting for her.

Like a stone statue. Yan Jingyao’s head began to ache. Perhaps Pei Jinxi’s piggy buns had been stuffed inside Ji Lan’s brain too.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

Ji Lan leaned against the wall, her brows faintly furrowed as though she were conflicted. Yet her gaze stolen content remained calm and distant, and her entire demeanor was subdued.

“Yan Jingyao,” she said, looking at her with the same stubborn determination as before. “Let’s have sex.”