Chapter 28 Divorce Lawyer Zhou Zheng

Chapter 28: Divorce Attorney Zhou Zheng. Wen Huilin had called Chen Ang, and upon learning that he wouldn't be coming home for dinner, she left work half an hour early to pick up their child.

After settling Chen Zetian in the study to do his homework, she stood in the empty living room, feeling that she had to do something.

She had given deep thought to her decision to ease relations with Chen Ang. In her view, now that Director Xu Qingwan was back, there was bound to be no place left for her in Chen Ang's life.

If she didn't ask for money, she would likely end up with nothing. What's more, Chen Ang had at least twenty million in cash.

He wouldn't give it to her of his own accord, so she had to take matters into her own hands.

Thinking of Chen Ang's rhetoric about "you handle the outside, I handle the inside," her anger flared. Massaging her chest, she pushed open the door to Chen Ang's bedroom.

Chen Ang was currently sleeping in the guest bedroom. After they decided to divorce, they had started sleeping in separate beds. She rarely entered this room, and she hadn't stepped foot in it at all since the divorce cooling-off period began.

Upon entering, the first thing she saw was the nightstand.

When she pulled the drawer open, her heart suddenly began to race.

The first drawer held miscellaneous items, the second held documents, and at the very bottom layer, a dark gray box was tucked away.

She gently took it out and opened it. A rose gold wristwatch lay quietly on the velvet lining.

How could she not recognize a patek philippe?

Gently picking up the watch, she turned it over and saw the stamped serial number on the case back. She didn't know much about watches, but she knew this one had to cost several hundred thousand yuan or more.

She quickly pulled out her phone to take a photo and search for it. A line of text on the screen almost made her break down:

"patek philippe, 5205R-001, official retail price: 510,000 RMB."

"You have the money to buy a 500,000-yuan luxury watch, and the money to buy a bmw x5, yet you used the excuse of entertaining friends to make me transfer even a few thousand yuan to you."

"Chen Ang, you bastard."

Wen Huilin clenched her back teeth tightly, her eyes ablaze with burning fury.

Suppressing her overwhelming resentment, she gently put the watch back and closed the drawer, her hands still trembling slightly.

She recalled what her divorce lawyer had said: if she could prove that the other party was transferring marital assets, she would have the upper hand in the division of property.

A watch worth hundreds of thousands, hidden so deep—if this wasn't transferring assets, what was?

She took out her phone, pulled up Lawyer Zhou's number, and pressed the call button.

~

Jinli Teahouse was located in an alley in the old district of Bin City. Outside the window was a row of ginkgo trees, their leaves half-turned to gold.

When Chen Ang and Shen Pianran arrived, Lawyer Zhou had not yet shown up. Shen Pianran ordered a pot of Baihao Yinzhen tea and sat down to flip through her documents.

Lawyer Zhou was five minutes late. Wearing rimless glasses, a deep blue suit jacket over a white shirt, he looked meticulously neat.

Upon seeing Shen Pianran, he smiled first—a smile he had prepared on his face before even entering the teahouse.

"Pianran, long time no see."

"Lawyer Zhou, please have a seat," Shen Pianran said, gesturing formally.

Lawyer Zhou didn't seem to mind the distance. He sat down slowly, letting his gaze linger on Shen Pianran's face for a moment before turning to Chen Ang.

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

They shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and handed over business cards.

His movements were crisp and his smile professional, but when his gaze returned to Shen Pianran, it lingered a bit longer.

Chen Ang didn't introduce himself further either, simply stating the situation: division of marital assets, requiring a lawsuit.

Attorney Zhou Zheng didn't mind. He listened quietly and then immediately began to present his approach.

He spoke at a moderate pace, with clear logic, backing every point with a case he had personally litigated.

He sounded highly professional and concise, with absolutely no unnecessary fluff.

Yet as he spoke, his eyes kept drifting back to Shen Pianran.

Every time he made an excellent point, his gaze would first land on her face, as if to check whether Shen Pianran was listening. Only after pausing for a second would he turn back to Chen Ang.

Chen Ang took all of this in. He felt that this man wasn't displaying his professional competence to a client, but rather proving to his ex-girlfriend—whom he had only dated for a single week—that he was doing quite well for himself.

He was the spitting image of a showy peacock fanning its feathers for attention.

"Last year, I handled a case very similar to Mr. Chen's. In the end, I recovered over four million for my client. The case was even featured in the Legal Evening News," he said, casting another glance at Shen Pianran.

"Lawyer Zhou is indeed very experienced in these kinds of cases," Shen Pianran's tone was as flat as when she said "My client contends" in court.

It was polite, distant, and completely devoid of any extra warmth.

"I wouldn't say experienced, just that I've litigated many," Attorney Zhou Zheng smiled. "Divorce asset disputes, to put it plainly, come down to who does the more detailed homework."

Chen Ang picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip.

Just then, Shen Pianran's secretary pushed open the door and entered, holding a cardboard box. "Lawyer Shen, the phone you asked for is here."

Attorney Zhou Zheng froze, looking over in confusion. Seeing the packaging, he knew it was a phone, but he couldn't understand why Shen Pianran would buy one.

Amid his confusion, Shen Pianran took the box and placed it directly in front of Chen Ang. "I bought this for you. It's a tri-fold phone. See if you like it. I noticed your previous one was also a Huawei, so I didn't get any other brand."

Chen Ang glanced at her in slight surprise but didn't refuse. He nodded, set the box by his hand, and gently tapped his finger on it.

Lawyer Zhou's smile didn't falter, but his fingers holding the teacup tightened slightly.

Having known her for three years and pursued her for two, he had never seen her give a gift to any client.

The Shen Pianran he knew was always strictly professional, always kept her distance from clients, and never mixed business with personal feelings.

Yet right now, when she placed the phone in front of Chen Ang, she didn't even offer any professional platitudes like "this is a value-added service from our firm."

It looked exactly like a casual gift given between people who were close.

He cleared his dry throat, withdrew his gaze, and prepared to continue discussing the case.

For the next few questions, his speaking pace was noticeably faster, as if he were rushing to finish the process, or perhaps using his professionalism to steady his persona.

Once he finished speaking, Chen Ang set down his teacup. "Lawyer Zhou, I'll think over this case a bit more."

Attorney Zhou Zheng stopped mid-sentence. "Mr. Chen, we haven't even gone over the detailed strategy yet. We can..."

"Thank you, but there's no need," Chen Ang stood up. "Lawyer Shen, let's head out."

Shen Pianran glanced at him, packed up her documents, and stood up without any hesitation.

Attorney Zhou Zheng sat frozen for two seconds before standing up, forcing his smile back onto his face. "That's fine, there's no rush with the case. If you need anything, Mr. Chen, feel free to contact me anytime."

Chen Ang nodded and opened the door. Shen Pianran followed behind him as they walked out of the teahouse private room one after the other.

The wind rustled the two rows of ginkgo trees in the alley, sending a few leaves drifting onto the stone pavement. Stepping on the fallen leaves, the two walked toward the black bmw x5.

Attorney Zhou Zheng stood at the entrance of the teahouse watching them leave. He noticed that Shen Pianran was matching her walking pace to the man's stride.

His intuition told him it wasn't intentional, but rather a subconscious adjustment on her part.

In the two years he had known her, he had never seen her adjust her own rhythm to accommodate anyone else.

While he was lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello, is this Lawyer Zhou?"

"This is Wen Huilin. I consulted you before about the division of marital assets. I just discovered that my husband seems to have secretly bought a very expensive watch. I wanted to ask, does this count as transferring marital assets?"