173: old classmate

The lingering sound of the gavel seemed to still echo in the courtroom. Wang Ming was so excited that he was somewhat incoherent, tightly gripping Shen Mingyuan's hand. "Lawyer Shen! Thank you so much! Really... thank you so, so much! Without you, I really wouldn't have known what to do..."

Shen Mingyuan's expression was calm, carrying a professional warmth as he gently withdrew his hand. While organizing the documents in his briefcase, he said, "You're welcome, Mr. Wang."

This lawsuit went so smoothly mainly because you prepared the evidence thoroughly yourself. That video was the key. Next time, remember to check your equipment regularly to ensure it's fully charged."

"I will, I definitely will!" Wang Ming nodded repeatedly, then a hint of hesitation appeared on his face, mixed with a bit of anticipation. "Um... Lawyer Shen, can I... add your contact information? wechat is fine!"

Shen Mingyuan's movements paused slightly as he looked up at him. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

Wang Ming scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed, but his gaze remained clear and firm. "I... I've thought about it. Even though this whole thing was quite a ordeal, I won't stop helping people just because I'm afraid of getting into trouble."

I'm just... just worried that in case, in case I encounter another situation that's hard to explain... Lawyer Shen, I trust you especially. Every word you said in court today made so much sense; it was very reassuring."

I just thought... I'd keep your contact info. In case—I mean just in case—I ever need legal help again in the future, could I... contact you directly?"

Looking at the kindness and persistence in his eyes—which hadn't been extinguished by this storm, but had instead become clearer—Shen Mingyuan's lips curled into a rare, noticeable arc of sentiment and approval.

"Ha, is that so?" He nodded, his tone light. "In that case... it seems you really might need it in the future. Sure, then remember to save up some money in advance and consider getting an annual VIP membership; that way, I might be able to give you a discount on my legal fees."

He took out his phone and pulled up his personal wechat QR code business card. "Scan it. If you encounter any legal issues or need a consultation in the future, you can contact me. Of course,"

His tone shifted slightly, carrying the characteristic caution of a lawyer. "I hope you never have a reason to use this contact information."

"That's great! Thank you, Lawyer Shen!" Overjoyed, Wang Ming hurriedly took out his phone to scan and add him, his movements as solemn as if he were completing a major task.

The two shared a brief farewell, and Wang Ming thanked him repeatedly before leaving with the crowd.

On the other side, the plaintiff's family and their representative lawyer were packing their things with sullen faces.

As the old man's son passed by Shen Mingyuan, he gave him a hostile, fierce glare. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, under the pulling of his companions and the warning look from his lawyer, he turned his head away indignantly and walked quickly out of the courtroom.

Failing to pull off their 'scam' clearly left them full of resentment.

Shen Mingyuan ignored this; he had seen this kind of emotion too many times. Just as he stepped out of the court's main entrance, several reporters who had been waiting outside surrounded him, microphones and recording devices almost poking into his face.

"Lawyer Shen, congratulations on the win! How do you feel about this successful defense using the 'Good Samaritan Clause'?"

"Lawyer Shen, what insights do you think this video filmed by the client himself provides for evidence collection in similar cases in the future?"

"Some commentators believe your defense strategy was very sharp, directly hitting the weakness in the opposing party's chain of evidence. Can you talk about your thought process?"

Shen Mingyuan stopped, a polite yet distant smile appearing on his face as he faced the public. His answers were concise and to the point; he affirmed the law's protection of goodwill, emphasized the importance of evidence, and appropriately credited the client's preparation and the court's fairness, remaining perfectly composed throughout.

After a brief response, he politely extricated himself from the interview on the grounds of needing to handle follow-up matters.

Back at the law firm, before he could even settle into his seat, his partner Director Wang walked over with a smile and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. "Mingyuan, job well done! I've heard all about it; the trial went smoothly, and the media feedback is good too."

This case was a clean win and brought more prestige to our firm. I see you've been working hard lately; since you just finished such a case, I haven't scheduled any urgent work for you for the time being. Take two days off, get some good rest, and recharge."

Shen Mingyuan didn't refuse and nodded. "Thank you, Director. Then I won't be modest."

After packing his things, Shen Mingyuan left the firm. Sitting in his car, he didn't start it immediately but first took out his phone to check wechat.

Wang Ming's message of thanks had already arrived, and he replied with a simple, "You're welcome."

The engine started, and the vehicle smoothly merged into the traffic, heading towards his apartment.

Returning to his apartment, Shen Mingyuan double-locked the door. The first thing he did was walk to the Incubator in the corner of the living room.

Inside the transparent observation lid, that giant milky-white egg still lay quietly on the rack. The temperature and humidity readings on the Incubator screen were stable, and the machine emitted a low, constant hum.

The surface of the eggshell was warm and smooth, showing no changes—no cracks, no movement.

"Oh, no changes at all," Shen Mingyuan muttered to himself, then stopped looking. Rushing it wouldn't help.

He walked to the sofa and sat down, picked up the remote, and casually turned on the TV. The screen lit up, playing an urban drama that had been quite a hot topic recently. He watched absentmindedly for a few minutes. After the commercial break, the channel automatically jumped to the station he had occasionally lingered on before, which was airing the silver skeleton tokusatsu drama.

The second episode of silver skeleton happened to be starting. Shen Mingyuan looked at the silver figure fighting amidst special effect lights and shadows with a subtle expression. However, he didn't change the channel, simply letting it serve as background noise while his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Just then—

"Thump, thump, thump."

A series of somewhat hurried knocks sounded, interrupting his thoughts.

Shen Mingyuan frowned slightly. Who would come at this time? He hadn't scheduled any visitors. He turned down the TV volume, stood up, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

A man stood outside, about the same age as him—roughly twenty-eight or twenty-nine. He wore black-rimmed glasses, and his face should have been refined and upright, but at the moment, he looked exceptionally pale and haggard. His eyes were filled with an undisguisable panic, and he kept looking left and right as if confirming whether he was being followed.

Shen Mingyuan was slightly startled, then recognized the visitor—Xu Lang, his classmate from junior high through law school, with whom he once had a fairly good relationship. After graduation, due to family reasons, Xu Lang had followed his parents to develop his career in the neighboring Nandu City, where he also became a practicing lawyer.

Although their contact wasn't as frequent as before, they still exchanged news during holidays or when encountering professional issues. Why had he suddenly run all the way here? And in such a state?

Shen Mingyuan suppressed his confusion and opened the door.

"Xu Lang? Why are you..."

Before he could finish, Xu Lang squeezed inside like a startled rabbit, almost crashing into the entryway. He reflexively tried to close the door with panicked movements, then as if remembering something, he turned to look at the living room window.

"Are... are the curtains drawn tight?" Xu Lang's voice trembled noticeably. Without waiting for Shen Mingyuan to answer, he rushed over himself and almost roughly pulled the already closed living room curtains even tighter, ensuring there wasn't a single gap.

Having done this, he leaned his back against the wall, gasping for breath. His forehead was covered in fine beads of cold sweat, and his eyes still scanned every corner of the room in terror, as if something horrific were hiding in the darkness.

Shen Mingyuan closed the door. Looking at his old classmate's completely distraught appearance, his confusion turned into gravity. He walked up to Xu Lang, his voice steady but powerful:

"Xu Lang, calm down. Look at me. What exactly is going on? What happened? Why did you suddenly come here, and in this state?"

Xu Lang looked up at Shen Mingyuan, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something. But when the words reached his mouth, they turned into a deeper fear. His eyes darted around, and finally, he just shook his head violently, clutching his head with both hands and letting out a muffled, pained whimper.

Looking at this familiar yet strangely alien old classmate, fragments of memories about Xu Lang flashed through Shen Mingyuan's mind.

They had once argued over a legal clause in the library until late at night and fought side-by-side in moot court. Although they were separated after graduation, they both knew the other was working hard in their respective fields.

While Xu Lang wasn't particularly extroverted, he had always been rational and calm, even a bit of a stickler for details—a typical lawyer's mindset.

What kind of thing could scare a trained lawyer to the point of being so lost and unable to even speak?

Shen Mingyuan didn't press further. Instead, he turned to pour a glass of warm water and handed it to Xu Lang. "Drink some water first and take a moment. It's safe here; no one followed you, I checked."

He tried to soothe the other's emotions with words, while his keen Detective instincts were already operating at high speed—Xu Lang's state of extreme fear, alertness, and hesitation was definitely not just from ordinary trouble or a threat.

This was more like... bearing a secret too massive to endure, or a stress response after witnessing or even being involved in some kind of extreme event.

Xu Lang's hand trembled as he took the water glass, but he didn't drink. He just gripped it tightly, as if the glass of water could give him a bit of cold reality. He remained with his head down, shoulders twitching slightly, the entire person shrouded in an atmosphere of despair and panic.