Volume Ten: Those Few Years After She and I Broke Up
Reminiscing about Old Times
Wen Nuan was forcibly pressed into the practice room by those three dog things1 to practice for five hours.
Cong Hui cheered for Wen Nuan like she had gone mad, saying her throat was simply the kind of perfection where the Old Lord of Heaven chases after to feed rice2.
She took all the songs she had pressed at the bottom of the chest3 and gave them to Wen Nuan to sing, singing until Wen Nuan felt uncomfortable just seeing a musical staff.
“I’m not singing anymore, I’m not singing anymore.” Wen Nuan lazily paralyzed herself on the floor, her entire body filled with resistance and opposition.
Cong Hui pulled at Wen Nuan’s clothes, “Sing one more, this song isn’t very difficult for you, you can definitely sing it, let’s just do one more.”
Wen Nuan turned over and crawled toward the door of the practice room, “I won’t sing, I won’t sing——”
“Aiya, the last one, the last one ah!”
The bullet comments4 in the livestream room was also frantically spamming “One more song.”
They had listened to Wen Nuan sing for five hours. Wen Nuan had sung almost every genre, and they suddenly discovered that Wen Nuan was actually suitable for songs of all styles. Her vocal range was huge; she could be gentle or tough, cute or sexy, mature and intellectual or full of wild nature, leaving people dazzled and continuously surprised.
An Siya wiped the sweat from her forehead and pulled Cong Hui up, “Alright, our main vocalist cannot waste her throat too much, she still has to sing in the future. Stop making trouble.”
“Who are you saying is making trouble?” Cong Hui glared.
“I am reasoning with you. Wen Nuan’s throat cannot be exhausted any further.”
“You’re roaring at me?” Cong Hui said in disbelief.
An Siya said helplessly, “I didn’t.”
Cong Hui threw off her hand, “An Siya, you’ve changed.”
She turned around indignantly and left the practice room.
“Cong Hui——” An Siya chased after her.
The practice room instantly became much quieter. Zhai Yi looked at the half-dead Wen Nuan and reached out a hand, “Are you okay?”
Wen Nuan propped herself up from the ground, “I’m fine.”
Zhai Yi pointed at her neck, “Does it feel uncomfortable?”
“No problem, just tired from singing.” Wen Nuan took a cup of water and drank a mouthful. “Cong Hui, this fellow, is crazy. If I didn’t pretend to be pitiful, I would definitely have been dragged and yanked by her to sing until dawn.”
Zhai Yi glanced at the clock on the wall, “Unknowingly, we’ve practiced until nine o’clock.”
“Are you still practicing?” Wen Nuan threw the cup into the trash can. “I’m going back to sleep.”
“Together.”
Zhai Yi put away her bass and followed Wen Nuan out of the practice room.
“I’m hungry,” Wen Nuan touched her belly, “Singing made it flat.”
Zhai Yi grabbed a self-heating hotpot5 from the side, “Eat this?”
“I want to eat rice.”
“It’s advertising, there’s money to be made.”
Wen Nuan took the self-heating hotpot and smiled, “I’ll eat.”
She was too poor recently.
She didn’t get the compensation money, and the money from the last advertisement had all been spent by her. The current her had pockets cleaner than her face6.
Zhai Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Are you this… short of money?”
She originally wanted to say love money, but the feeling Wen Nuan gave her was not someone who loved money as much as life or admired vanity, so she changed the word.
“Short. I’ve already fallen into the desperate situation of having the previous meal but not the next meal7.” Wen Nuan ate the self-heating hotpot while sniffling pitifully.
Zhai Yi drank a mouthful of water: “We lend you money but you won’t take it.”
“A gentleman does not eat food handed out in contempt8.”
Zhai Yi looked at the self-heating hotpot in Wen Nuan’s hand, a trace of amusement flashing in her eyes. “Then what are you eating now?”
Wen Nuan spread her hands and said shamelessly, “But I am a woman.”
The phone in her pocket rang. Wen Nuan took out her phone to look, and the fentiao9 in her mouth sprayed out.
Zhai Yi stood up in disgust and said speechlessly, “For this face of yours to follow you is truly too aggrieved.”
“…”
Wen Nuan had no time to pay attention to Zhai Yi’s disdain; she carefully looked at the content of the text message.
“What’s wrong?” Zhai Yi saw Wen Nuan ignoring her, staring dead at the phone without speaking. “Did something happen?”
Wen Nuan turned off the phone screen and said calmly, “Nothing.”
She paused for a moment, “Do the words you said just now still count?”
Zhai Yi suddenly became vigilant, “What do you want to do?”
Wen Nuan smiled fawningly: “Borrow some money.”
“Borrow how much?”
Zhai Yi looked at Wen Nuan’s smile and felt there was a conspiracy.
“How much can you lend me?”
Zhai Yi’s family was quite wealthy. She said casually, “I still have several hundred thousand10.”
“How much do you want to borrow?”
“The amount isn’t certain, I estimate it will range from tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand.” Wen Nuan estimated.
Zhai Yi frowned: “What do you need so much money for?”
“Not murder or arson, not rape or looting, no porn, gambling, or drugs. Don’t worry, ha.”
“Alright,” Zhai Yi believed her. “Give me a card number. I’ll send you one hundred thousand11 first. If it’s not enough, ask me again.”
“No rush,” Wen Nuan waved her hand. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Zhai Yi saw her acting mysterious and chattering; she knew she wouldn’t get the truth out of her, so she simply stopped caring. “Okay.”
“Thanks.”
Wen Nuan finished eating the self-heating hotpot and went back to her room to sleep.
[M Law Firm]
Ranked first among law firms nationwide, ranked top ten among law firms globally.
The lawyers inside were almost all good hands at being eloquent and argumentative.
Wen Nuan looked at the text message on her phone and pushed open the door of the law firm.
The receptionist at the entrance recognized her and immediately led her to the VIP room.
Wen Nuan looked at the VIP room meaningfully, “Did you take me to the wrong place?”
Judging by the charges against her in the text message, she could go to prison.
The receptionist smiled appropriately: “Correct, it was Lawyer Mao who asked me to bring you here to rest for a moment.”
Wen Nuan raised her eyebrows slightly: “Okay, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Lawyer Mao will be here immediately.”
The receptionist served her a fruit platter and coffee, then left.
Wen Nuan took a strawberry and started eating, quietly waiting for the judgment.
She didn’t expect that dog man12 would actually dare to sue her!?
She could accept the lawyer’s letter from the winery; after all, she did smash their wine barrel, so it was only right to pay. But on what basis did that dog man claim she committed the crime of intentional injury!?
Then could she sue him for sexual harassment?
Wen Nuan thought about going to Jinxiu Winery later to pull the surveillance footage to prove her innocence.
The door to the VIP room opened, and a man wearing a black suit, aged about 35, looking gentle and elegant, walked in.
Wen Nuan stood up: “Lawyer Mao?”
Lawyer Mao extended his hand and smiled, “Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once13, Miss Wen is indeed different.”
“Different how?” Wen Nuan shook his hand lightly.
“There is a large discrepancy between the online comments and the real person.”
Wen Nuan was stunned: “I’ve only met Lawyer Mao once; Lawyer Mao seems to trust others very easily.”
Lawyer Mao sat on the sofa opposite her and chuckled lightly: “Some things need to be felt by oneself. Outside voices are mostly untrustworthy. Seeing Miss Wen for the first time, feeling that it is good is enough.”
Wen Nuan shrugged: “Thanks for the recognition.”
“Then let’s talk about official business,” Lawyer Mao took out a folder and pushed it in front of Wen Nuan. “Presumably, Miss Wen is also clear about the reason for coming to the law firm. The last page of this document has already written out the solution and the responsibilities you need to bear. Please take a look.”
Wen Nuan flipped directly to the last page and sneered, “That wine barrel can be worth 4.125 million?”
“That dog man wants to sue me for intentional injury, and if I want him to drop the lawsuit, I have to pay him 1 million in mental damage fees? Is he fucking opening his mouth wide like a lion14, ah?”
Lawyer Mao explained: “That wine barrel indeed isn’t expensive, only a few tens of thousands. What is expensive is the Wali Red Wine on the wine rack; to say the least, it must be fifty thousand US dollars.”
“As for the 1 million mental damage fee, I admit he is a bit exaggerated, but Miss Wen, you indeed do not stand on the side of reason.”
Wen Nuan frowned: “He even sexually harassed me? Can I also counter-sue him?”
“Of course you can, but… do you have evidence?”
“The winery’s surveillance recording can prove it.”
Lawyer Mao pursed his lips: “The winery cellar’s circuits were under maintenance that day; the cameras were not working.”
“…” Wen Nuan pressed against her cheek. “Intentional?”
Everything was so coincidental.
Lawyer Mao said: “But the fact is just so.”
Wen Nuan leaned back: “I have no money.”
She truly couldn’t take out this much money right now. Although she could borrow from Zhai Yi and Cong Hui, she really didn’t want to owe others.
“The crime of intentional injury requires a sentence of at least fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance. The sentencing for civil compensation depends on the specific details of the case; it is possible to also be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, and subsequently, you still have to continue civil compensation. Miss Wen, are you sure you accept such a handling method?”
Wen Nuan remained silent.
If she went to jail, the blackening value would be even less likely to decrease. By that time, the male and female leads’ child would be born.
Lawyer Mao saw Wen Nuan’s difficulty and reminded her with good intentions, “Perhaps Miss Wen can negotiate with the other party; maybe it can be solved privately.”
“You want me to negotiate with that dog man?” Wen Nuan cracked her knuckles. “Maybe by then it won’t be the crime of intentional injury, it might be the crime of intentional homicide.”
“…” Lawyer Mao smiled awkwardly. “It’s not him.”
“This case has already been merged. The main person in charge is the owner of Jinxiu Winery. Mr. John’s compensation money has already been assumed by the winery, so Miss Wen can directly negotiate with the winery owner.”
Lawyer Mao took out a business card from his inner suit pocket. “This is the contact number for the winery owner. Miss Wen can give it a try; this is also not a bad method.”
Wen Nuan took the business card. The card was very simple: an English word and a string of phone numbers.
Wine.
188756xxxx.
“Many thanks.”
Wen Nuan put away the card and stood up.
Lawyer Mao smiled: “I believe Miss Wen can certainly solve her own difficulties.”
Wen Nuan looked thoughtful: “Many thanks.”
Lawyer Mao’s smile became much more mysterious as he saw Wen Nuan out of the law firm.
Wen Nuan entered the phone number from the card into her phone. It was connected very quickly; it was a woman.
Her speech was well-behaved and rule-abiding. She also knew Wen Nuan’s intention and simply told Wen Nuan to go to Jinxiu Winery at six in the afternoon to discuss.
Wen Nuan went back to the villa and took an afternoon nap. Zhai Yi came over to ask if she still wanted to borrow money.
Wen Nuan said to wait a bit longer, resulting in a strange look from Zhai Yi.
When leaving the villa, she encountered a few paparazzi following and filming. Wen Nuan had the System interfere a bit, and she dodged the paparazzi’s tracking to arrive at Jinxiu Winery.
The winery was quiet and silent, as if it were a desolate and dilapidated ancient castle. Especially tonight, the weather wasn’t very good; it was gloomy, particularly suitable for filming a horror movie.
Wen Nuan walked into the winery and was led by the receptionist to the suite on the eighth floor. After saying a sentence, “Please go inside,” she walked away arrogantly on her high heels.
Wen Nuan pushed open the room door. Entering her eyes were super-large floor-to-ceiling windows; the bustling scene of the urban district and the dazzling lights were all held within the bottom of her eyes.
The decoration in the suite was very tasteful. The bathroom was transparent, and the bedroom was open; everything could be seen at a glance.
Wen Nuan sat on the sofa, looking at the red wine on the table that had already been allowed to breathe. Two glasses had been wiped translucent by someone.
Her fingertips tapped on the table, her eye color gradually deepening.
After ten minutes passed, the room door was finally opened.
Wen Nuan turned her head to look over, eyebrows raising: “So… you are the owner of Jinxiu Winery?”
Yi Jing did not answer her. She walked in front of Wen Nuan and took out the folder Lawyer Mao had shown her.
She poured another glass of red wine and placed it next to the folder.
An obscure light that could not be clearly spoken or explained flashed in Yi Jing’s eyes as she said indifferently: “Do you want to reminisce about old times… or do you want to discuss official business?”
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