pertwk Chapter 46 I'll Pay
Chapter 46 I'll Pay
"Yes, you're right." Yu Xingge said earnestly, her face calmly stating a fact, "But I really am not that busy. Anyway, I have to thank Linlin for specifically asking for me. Did Sister Weiling say when I can join the group?"
"This..." Liu Lin frantically reached for her phone, "Let me see."
"Oh, it seems it's still not possible." She lowered her head and said to herself, "Never mind, it's okay." She forced a smile, "I was just asking casually."
She ignored Liu Lin's hesitant words and dragged her "heavy" steps back to her seat.
Right on time, at four o'clock in the afternoon, Yu Xingge arrived at the risk control room. She pushed open the door, the milk tea bag in her hand still dripping: "Jiaojiao, may I come in?" Jiang Jiao sat behind the partition, her employee badge dangling and brushing against the keyboard. "It's okay, come on in."
"Here you go." Yu Xingge pushed the paper bag containing macarons over, placed the iced milk tea on the table, and the water stains quickly soaked the surface. "I heard you say last time that the Earl Grey tea here is pretty good."
Jiang Jiao's eyes lit up, but she still declined, saying, "It's too much trouble."
"Try it," Yu Xingge said, pulling out a straw, poking open the milk tea, and handing it over. "It's a new product, and it's delicious. I bought it for you because I thought it was good." Jiang Jiao then took it, and the aroma of cream mixed with the milk tea wafted out as the macaron box was pulled in front of him.
"good."
"Right?" Yu Xingge squeezed the folder in her hand, which contained a prepared copy of the "Rules of Evidence in Civil Procedure." "Actually, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with." She held her breath, and two blushes quickly appeared on her cheeks. "My first two cases need to be filed, but no one has asked. I'd like to look at some case studies from the marriage and family law team, but I'm hesitant to ask. The archives system keeps crashing. Could I borrow the computer in the risk control room to look up some information?"
The risk control room was empty, with the printers spitting out papers. Jiang Jiao hesitated, biting her straw. She knew the law firm's rules prohibited unauthorized personnel from using the risk control system, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about Yu Xingge's relationship with the administration, and she also knew that her situation—being in a "no-man's-land"—was indeed difficult to broach.
"You can only use it for half an hour." She stood up and made way for her. "Manager Ren just left. You can use the computer at the very back. Don't touch the document with the red box on the desk."
The keyboard felt a bit sticky. As Yu Xingge typed in her account information, she could still feel Jiang Jiao's gaze on her back. The screen lit up, and her heart raced. She pretended to flip through folders, first opening the archived files. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Jiao looking down at a macaron before daring to move the mouse to the "Case Registration Summary" module.
The moment she typed "Pingshan Coal" into the search box and the results popped up, she almost held her breath.
no.
How could this be!
"Look at this!" Jiang Jiao suddenly leaned over, her phone displaying today's trending topics: gossip about a famous actress's divorce. Yu Xingge quickly switched pages, her palms sweating. Luckily, Jiang Jiao was too busy scrolling to notice that she had opened "Lichong Search."
Taking advantage of the moment she looked down again, she switched back to the selection box. Only then did she notice the "Select All Sheets" option below.
The loading bar moved very slowly this time, and the blue-and-white interface reminded her of the electronic screens in court. Legal Counsel Contract - Shen Changsheng - 1000000... How could it be Shen Changsheng!
Surprised, Yu Xingge quickly flipped through the pages.
Special Contract - Gu Lezhi - 2000000 - Criminal Compliance.
Seven figures. She couldn't help but count them again. They were dazzlingly high, a number that many lawyers at the bottom of the pyramid could only dream of. The two zeros after the decimal point seemed to be staring at her.
As she continued flipping through the pages to see "Related Case: 2022 East 03 Special Project No. 84," the printer suddenly spat out a piece of paper, making her little finger twitch in surprise. Jiang Jiao sighed, "It's broken again." She got up to pull the jammed paper away.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yu Xingge quickly clicked on the details. The lawyer representing her was indeed Gu Lezhi, and the exorbitant fee that had just made her eyelids twitch even included a "contingency fee": 40%? She remembered that industry regulations stipulated that contingency fee fees could not exceed 18% of the amount in dispute, and this number... the payment time also matched the period she remembered.
"Are you done yet?" Jiang Jiao pulled out the crumpled paper. The printer started beeping again. "Attorney Zhou will be coming to retrieve the files soon, don't let him see us."
Yu Xingge quickly closed the page, but her finger involuntarily pressed the screenshot button. Jiang Jiao stood behind her, watching her frantically unplug the USB drive.
"It's okay, there's no rush. Just don't break your USB drive..."
"Okay." Yu Xingge forced a smile. After leaving, her pale face was reflected in the elevator mirror. She gripped the USB drive tightly, her fingertips slowly rubbing the plastic casing. The numbers were like a thorn, pricking her even though she knew she shouldn't leave evidence on the risk control computer, yet she couldn't help but want to know more.
The sky outside the office building was getting dark, and the wind blowing past the reception desk was a bit chilly. She took a deep breath, stuffed the USB drive into her pocket, and hurried to her workstation.
Fortunately, Liu Lin is still working overtime.
Yu Xingge suppressed his excitement.
"Linlin," she said sweetly, "Do you have Director Shen's performance report? Could you send me a copy of his latest resume?"
"What do you need this for?" Liu Lin asked, puzzled.
She sighed, propping her face up with her arms above her workstation, her long hair obscuring half her face. Her eyes were downcast, and her disappointment was palpable. "You know," she said, "I got into the team through connections with the director. My mentor just invited me to dinner this weekend. What am I supposed to say if he asks me what I've been up to lately, what case I'm working on with Director Shen? He's so strict; he'll definitely want to test my progress. But I've been working as a secretary in the real estate team, and I haven't even joined the group chat yet. How embarrassing would it be if I didn't know anything!"
Seeing that Liu Lin was still pondering, she added fuel to the fire: "My advisor and the director have such a good relationship. If he sees me asking the director, I don't know what I'll do. It's clearly not the director's responsibility. If this causes a rift between them, I'll be in big trouble."
"Oh, I see. Don't worry, I'll give it to you." She patted her chest, seemingly explaining to someone else, "You're part of the team, so giving you your resume and performance review report isn't a big deal."
"Really?" Yu Xingge's eyes lit up with surprise. "Linlin, you're so wonderful!"
Liu Lin chuckled: "That's right, you wait. I'll send it to you now."
Yu Xingge's eyes welled up with tears: "Thank you, Linlin."
Liu Lin was busy fiddling with her work, and in less than a minute, Yu Xingge's WeChat showed that she had received the two reports. She waved to Liu Lin across the workstation, "Received them, love you." She looked grateful, "Let me take a look and familiarize myself with them first. After I resolve the hurdle of having dinner with my advisor, I'll invite you to your favorite dessert shop, it's on me!"
Liu Lin gave an OK sign, clearly pleased.
Yu Xingge hurried back to her workstation.