Chapter 6 Jessica's Past

There's nothing that money can't fix, and Jessica didn't take long to process all the paperwork.

Mu Xin sat in the driver's seat and started the engine.

Vroom—!

The Mercedes AMG engine's signature bubbling sound gave Mu Xin goosebumps; it sounded incredible.

Bang—!

Closing the car door, that sound like a firearm being loaded gave Mu Xin another thrill.

"Want to grab a bite to eat?" Mu Xin rolled down the window and asked, looking at Jessica.

"Let's go!" Jessica hesitated for a few seconds, then opened the passenger door and climbed in.

The car slowly drove out of the dealership and onto the main road.

I have to admit, this car is truly exhilarating. It doesn't filter out all the road feel, but it doesn't make you feel bumpy either; the balance is mastered perfectly.

Every surface you can touch inside the car is carbon fiber and genuine leather, which feels fantastic.

In just a few minutes, Mu Xin parked the car in the McDonalds parking lot.

"You like eating this stuff?" Jessica asked, watching Mu Xin holding a Big Mac and devouring it.

"Only this tastes somewhat similar to Chinese food... America is truly a culinary desert," Mu Xin mumbled.

"You said you studied law, so why are you selling used cars in town?" Mu Xin asked, taking a sip of Coke and looking at Jessica.

Jessica didn't answer; she just kept eating her fries, as if she had some unspeakable secret.

Mu Xin wasn't in a hurry. He hadn't invited her to eat just because Jessica was pretty—though, of course, he certainly wouldn't have invited her if she were ugly.

The main thing was that he really needed someone who understood the law. Acquiring the Water Purification Company in Oxford Town wasn't as simple as handing over money and receiving the goods.

The legal issues in between had to be ironed out early on, otherwise, it would be a huge trap later.

Sigh—!

After a long while, Jessica sighed and slowly began to speak.

"I graduated from Columbia Law School at 26 on a full scholarship."

"After graduation, I went straight to Shearman & Sterling on Fifth Avenue in Wall Street, working as an associate attorney in the cross-border M&A group."

"Back then, I wore Armani custom suits every day, stepped in ten-centimeter red-bottomed heels, and even my stockings were Wolford, changed daily."

"I thought my life would just go on like that—grind for seven years to become a partner, buy an apartment on the Upper East Side with a view of the East River, and go skiing in Aspen every winter."

She picked up her Coke, her fingertips tracing the cold surface of the cup for a long time before she continued:

"Three years ago, on Thanksgiving, I was just about to fly to Miami for a vacation when I received a call from the hospital."

"My dad fell off a ladder while renovating the roof of the town church and suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage."

Mu Xin paused mid-bite on his burger, not interrupting.

"When he was brought to the emergency room, his pupils were already dilated. The doctor said if it had been twenty minutes later, he would have been gone."

Jessica's voice trembled slightly. She lowered her head and looked at her fingers.

These were hands that should have been flipping through legal tomes and signing million-dollar contracts. Now, however, due to years of massaging her father and helping her mother with housework, her knuckles were somewhat rough, her nails were clipped short, and she wore no nail polish.

"His life was saved, but the left side of his body was completely paralyzed. His speech was slurred, and he even needed to be fed when eating or drinking."

"My mom already had severe rheumatoid arthritis; her fingers were deformed like withered branches, and she couldn't even button her own buttons, let alone take care of my dad."

She laughed self-deprecatingly, her laughter full of bitterness. "I'm an only child. My parents only had me, and they scraped together every penny to send me to New York to study, pinning all their hopes on me."

"Tell me, what could I do? I couldn't just leave two elderly people who couldn't take care of themselves in Oxford Town and go back to New York to be an elite lawyer, right?"

"I canceled my flight that same day and packed everything up. The partner at the law firm urged me to take an unpaid leave of absence, saying they would hold my position for a year."

"But I knew a year wasn't nearly enough; this kind of illness is a lifelong thing."

She picked up a fry and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly, as if she were chewing on a piece of wood that was hard to swallow.

"I sublet my Upper East Side apartment and listed all my designer bags, high heels, and suits on second-hand websites to sell them."

"The things I had once fought so hard to obtain ended up paying for my dad's medical expenses for the first three months."

"After returning to Oxford Town, I realized there was simply no place for me here." Jessica looked up at Mu Xin, her eyes filled with a trace of exhaustion.

"The entire Oxford Town has only two law firms with a total of four lawyers, all handling trivial matters like divorce property division, neighbors' dogs biting people, or getting caught for drunk driving."

"They don't need a Columbia lawyer who understands cross-border M&A and international commercial law; they need a local lawyer who can say a few good words before the magistrate and help people get smaller fines."

"The salary they offer isn't even enough to cover my parents' monthly care costs."

"The owner of the dealership, Tom, is my dad's childhood friend and watched me grow up. Seeing that I was truly at a dead end, he let me come here to sell cars."

"He said I was pretty and good with words, so I would definitely sell better than those rough guys." She pointed to the washed-out jeans and simple white T-shirt she was wearing.

"At the beginning, I was very unaccustomed to it, putting on a smiling face for those picky customers every day and listening to them tell all sorts of vulgar jokes."

"Once, an old drunkard whistled at me and said, 'It's a pity for such a pretty girl to sell cars; why not come with me?' I almost slammed the contract in my hand right into his face."

"But now I'm used to it." She shrugged, her tone as indifferent as if she were talking about someone else's affairs.

"At least the commission from selling cars, plus the occasional freelance legal work I take on, can barely support this family."

"People in town know I'm a lawyer who graduated from Columbia. Sometimes they ask me to help write a real estate purchase contract, handle an inheritance, or fight a small debt lawsuit."

"I charge half as much as the law firms, so everyone is willing to come to me. Although they are all minor cases that can't be brought to the big stage, it's better than doing nothing."

She paused, finally looked up, and stared straight at Mu Xin.

The vulnerability and helplessness from a moment ago faded significantly, and the sharp, professional gaze that belonged to a lawyer lit up in her eyes again.

"I know you're not asking me these things out of pure curiosity." Her voice became steady and forceful.

"You want to buy the Water Purification Company in town, right? I advise you to think this through; it's not that simple."

"This company involves half a century of conflicts of interest in Oxford Town, and the Williams Family stands behind it."

"It's that Williams Family that runs the bank in town. Three out-of-town businessmen wanted to buy this company before, but they all ended up leaving with their tails between their legs, and one of them almost went bankrupt."

"If you really decide to buy it, I can help you handle all the legal matters."

"I know the laws of Oxford Town better than any out-of-town lawyer, and I know the shady tactics of the Williams Family even better."

"Besides, I need this money too. My dad is going to Philadelphia next month for rehabilitation, and I still haven't managed to scrape together the cost."

Sunlight shone in through the McDonalds window, falling on her face, half bright and half in shadow.