Chapter 14: From now on, it's just you.

Yebai is a tier-three consumer city, barely qualifying as a tier-two city.

And Lawyer Wang Zhao was a Red Circle lawyer. According to Zheng Qian's understanding, lawyers who had been in the Red Circle for over eight years had annual salaries close to ten million. How could he possibly fly all the way to Yebai just for this twenty thousand yuan?

Unless he had some ulterior motives.

Although he didn't know how Lawyer Wang Zhao and Jin Lu knew each other, his motives were definitely not pure.

After accepting Zheng Qian's entrustment, Lawyer Wang Zhao hurriedly left the scene.

He didn't know where Jin Lu had found such a wealthy benefactor; there hadn't been any sign of it at all.

Just because Jin Lu sent a last-minute message, Lawyer Wang Zhao had pushed aside a lot of work to come see her.

He hadn't expected to see Zheng Qian, who clearly had an extraordinary relationship with Jin Lu, as soon as they met. This left a bitter taste in his mouth.

But from what Zheng Qian had just said to him, Lawyer Wang Zhao realized his own lack of strength.

Although he had an annual salary of eight million, at the end of the day, he was still just an employee. He had to handle many major cases and meticulously process legal documents daily without making a single mistake, which consumed a lot of his time and left him utterly exhausted.

Lawyer Wang Zhao was not yet forty, but he already showed faint signs of balding.

Zheng Qian's spending style was even more aggressive than that of some rich second-generation heirs in Shanghai.

Those rich kids ate well, dressed well, and played hard, but their monthly allowance was only a few hundred thousand yuan, which was already the allowance level for the sons of top tycoons.

To put it bluntly, these rich kids didn't actually control much real wealth. If they wanted to spend several million or tens of millions, they always had to find a reason or make up a pretext to ask their families.

Zheng Qian looked about the same age as Jin Lu, only in his twenties, yet he spent thirty million yuan just like that.

Compared to Zheng Qian, he wasn't even worth a fart and wasn't even fit to carry Zheng Qian's shoes.

With such a tycoon by Jin Lu's side, he had better dismiss any designs on this exquisite woman as soon as possible and just focus on doing his job...

After getting into a taxi, Lawyer Wang Zhao deleted Jin Lu's contact information.

...

"What did you say to him?" Jin Lu blinked, looking very curious.

"Nothing, just a casual chat." Zheng Qian didn't make things explicit with Jin Lu.

"I met Lawyer Wang Zhao when he came to our university to do legal outreach work. There's nothing I can't tell you; you can actually just ask me directly," Jin Lu replied.

"Haha, I wasn't referring to that, but I was still curious. It seemed like he was interested in you."

"Well... probably a little. But he's already married and has two kids. I would never, and could never, be a mistress."

As Jin Lu spoke, she stood up and planted a kiss on Zheng Qian's forehead.

"Don't you worry~"

"From now on, I'm yours alone."

When Zheng Qian accepted Jin Lu, he had never doubted her or thought she would do anything messy behind his back.

As the saying goes, "Do not suspect those you employ, and do not employ those you suspect." It was the same principle.

After receiving a sweet kiss, Zheng Qian's blood rushed, and he felt a tingling sensation all over, from his scalp to his toes.

...

Evening.

Jin Lu drove Zheng Qian to Manager Li Tao's place for their appointment.

"Are you coming over tonight?"

"Not sure, but I probably will." Other than Jiangshan International, Zheng Qian had nowhere else to go right now.

"Okay, don't drink too much. Call me when you guys are done chatting, and I'll come pick you up."

Just before he got out of the car, Jin Lu handed Zheng Qian two packs of Chunghwa cigarettes, a bottle of Moutai from the back seat, and a gift bag.

"I bought these for you. Drink less, and call me when you're done chatting so I can come pick you up."

Zheng Qian was stunned for a moment, but he took them anyway.

In truth, with his relationship with Manager Li Tao, there was absolutely no need for such superficial gestures. Yet, as a woman, Jin Lu had covered all the bases flawlessly for him.

With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?

After going upstairs, he knocked on the door.

"You're here? Come on in, your sister-in-law is cooking right now," Manager Li Tao welcomed Zheng Qian inside.

"Hello, Sister-in-law. Thank you for your hard work. This is for you." Zheng Qian placed the gift bag on the table. He didn't even know what Jin Lu had bought, but surely it wouldn't be inappropriate.

"Xiao Qian is here? Why did you bring gifts?" Mrs. Li jogged out of the kitchen to greet Zheng Qian.

Although she said that, she was still very happy to see that Zheng Qian had brought her a gift.

"Exactly. Your sister-in-law doesn't lack anything. Being so polite is treating us like strangers."

Only then did Manager Li Tao notice the bottle of Moutai in Zheng Qian's hand. "You struck it rich, kid? Why buy such expensive liquor?"

"Haha, not really. I just got a new girlfriend, and she bought it."

"A new girlfriend? You broke up with your previous one?" Manager Li Tao asked.

Zheng Qian nodded, saying they had indeed just broken up.

"You've finally escaped that misery, kid. Good job! You should have broken up long ago." Out of politeness, Manager Li Tao hadn't been able to say much before, but now that Zheng Qian had broken up, it was much easier to talk about.

He had invited Zheng Qian over for dinner today because he actually wanted to talk to him about the girlfriend he was supporting.

As long as it was true love, he would never stand in the way, but even he could see that Zheng Qian was being treated as an ATM.

But there was no need to say any of that now. It was good that they broke up.

"So, is this new girlfriend of yours pretty wealthy?" Manager Li Tao pulled Zheng Qian down to sit, gossiping.

"I suppose she is wealthy. She's very capable," Zheng Qian replied honestly.

Being able to save up three million in savings already made one a wealthy person in Yebai; an average middle-class family couldn't save up that much.

"That's great, that's great. It looks like you've finally made it through the hard times, Hahaha!"

Nowadays, Moutai was hard to come by; one either had to pay a premium or find connections just to buy a regular bottle. It seemed Zheng Qian's new girlfriend was indeed doing quite well financially.

"Oh? I saw you going out with Qin Xueli from our company yesterday. Have you finally wised up, kid?" Manager Li Tao asked again.

"Stop asking. Xiao Qian clearly doesn't want to talk about it, yet you keep prying." Mrs. Li brought out the hot dishes.

"Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore." Manager Li Tao waved his hand.

Zheng Qian gave a sheepish smile. He really didn't know how to explain the situation with Qin Xueli and Jin Lu to Manager Li Tao; it was something he couldn't clarify in a short time.

The three of them sat down and began to chat about daily life, harmonious like a family.

When they were almost done eating, Manager Li Tao gave Mrs. Li a look, signaling her to head back to her room for a moment.

"Brother Tao, you can just tell me what's on your mind." Zheng Qian had also guessed that Manager Li Tao actually had something to discuss with him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have invited him last night and sent another message this morning.

As his mentor, guide, and older brother figure, if Manager Li Tao needed his help with anything, he would certainly do his utmost.

Manager Li Tao stubbed out his cigarette and said solemnly, "Alright, since you're being so direct, I won't beat around the bush either."

"I'm changing jobs."