CH 103

Furthermore, these lawyers were assholes. They had a habit—if they found any opening, they wouldn’t say a word, never batting an eyelid at that time. They’d feed and water you down with conversation, thereafter, when you completely set your guard down, they’d suddenly present that opening before you. 

Then, you’d be struck dumb.

God knows what kind of atrocious habit this was.

Dr Lin was obstinate.

His lips twitched twice, and he made a last-ditch attempt at playing dead. “Is there any issue with what I said? There isn’t, right?” 

Yan Suizhi nodded. He didn’t immediately refute, but said airily, “I found openings in two people in total today.”

Lin Yuan, “Who’s the other one?”

Yan Suizhi gestured to him with an open palm. “Look. You said ‘other’ again; why’s that?”

Lin Yuan, “…”

And he understood a second universal truth of life—never answer lawyers’ questions without thinking them through; you’ll dumb down.

“In many cases, the usage of this word implies that you are well aware of one of the instances. Because of this, you’d skip over this subtext and go straight to ask about the other one—” Professor Yan didn’t like speaking with too much vigour. His voice wasn’t loud, at a decibel only audible to the three of them, and his tone sounded very sincere and pleasant to the ears…

Whilst also giving people toothache.

He paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Yuan, smiling as he asked, “Don’t you think so, Dr Lin?” 

“…”

Dr Lin refused to speak.

He felt as though he were standing in a courtroom. Struck mute by the defence lawyer’s disdain, he felt a touch of chagrin as well as a sliver of anxiety.

But a moment later, he discovered that Professor Yan still had a way to make him even more adamant not to speak. 

He saw Yan Suizhi grandiosely project his smart device screen, and nimbly type on the virtual keyboard.

Then, Dr Lin’s smart device emitted a ding.

He looked over with a numb face and found a new message. The sender was precisely this person in front of him, who he had just added into his address book.

The message itself appeared exceptionally polite: 

-Dr Lin, I have a few questions that I’d like your professional opinion on, regarding strange symptoms that my client has. Do you have some time in the next few days?

Lin Yuan, “…”

Bullshit! Does your client know how concerned you are about his health?

Dr Lin’s face turned visibly green. 

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On the flip side were the media outlets, no matter their size.

In the space of less than half a day, Gu Yan’s name was plastered everywhere, coming hand in hand with any mention of the Elderly Bobblehead case. The speed of this reaction was even faster than what Li Ying had predicted. 

Miss Fitz and Adams essentially treated Gu Yan’s office as a pantry. After making three or four trips in one afternoon, they simply plopped their butts down on the sofa used for receiving guests, making themselves comfortable.

“See, I told you not to take this case and not to take this case, but you didn’t listen.” Senior Manager Adams had splintered his heart from anxiety. He clutched the hair at his temples, forcibly going up to let Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi admire it, saying, “One day. In just one day, I grew six strands of white hair. Count it.”

Yan Suizhi said, “No, it’s nine strands now.”

Hearing this further spurred Adams; he jabbed his scalp, accusing Gu Yan, “I used to be passably handsome, but you’ve aged me into my twilight years with a single case.” 

Gu Yan shot a sidelong glance at Yan Suizhi, who had added fuel to the fire, “…”

Unfortunately, there were others around now. Otherwise, he long would have blocked up this mouth.

Nevertheless, though Adams did grow white hair, he still supported Gu Yan, for they were already friends and work partners of many years. In the end, he put away his hysterical look, smoothed his ruffled feathers, and sat back on the sofa, sighing. “But you don’t have to worry too much. I’ve already contacted some friends; they’ll do their best not to let the public opinion tip one side. I’ll also take more care with any recent express deliveries addressed to you and have them checked before passing them over.”

Fitz flaunted her handicraft and prepared a cup of perfectly brewed coffee for everyone, then consoled, “Relax. I’m sure there won’t be any issues.” 

Adams looked at her, vexed and amused, “Young missy, tell me where you’re getting this confidence from?”

Fitz’s face was matter-of-fact. “Where else? From you.”

Adams, “…”

He sighed and sipped his coffee in silence. Then, he said to Gu Yan, “Since you’ve accepted the case, just be at ease and fight it. I’ll handle everything else.” 

At times like this, Gu Yan was as rational as ever, looking completely unaffected by the reports. He was able to set the minds of the senior manager and the human resources manager at ease. After eating and drinking down their tempers at his place, they brushed their pants and went back downstairs.

He cycled through many rounds of receiving guests in his office without catching a break, and even at night when he was readying for bed, he couldn’t be bothered to glance at the discourse on the internet.

Twelve minutes after midnight, Dr Lin, who had been playing dead all day, finally replied to that message.

Actually, Yan Suizhi chose to send the message right in front of Dr Lin not in a deliberate move to tick him off, but because he had also considered other factors, such as why would Lin Yuan help him, and why would he choose to do it in secret without mentioning a word of it. 

Of course, he couldn’t rule out that Dr Lin, long used to being a good samaritan in a white coat, was too bashful to bring up the good deeds he had done.

But the more logical answer was that he was being watched; either that, or he didn’t want to risk being watched by casually bringing this up.

That was why he chose to send a message.

First, the reason given in the text provided an overt excuse. It didn’t matter even if the contents of Lin Yuan’s smart device weren’t completely confidential. 

Second, doing it through text would give Lin Yuan ample time to think.

Some questions would exert psychological pressure on the person being put on the spot. If they weren’t able to give an immediate response, it wouldn’t sit well with them, and under the pressure, many people would subconsciously choose to reply in negation to avoid the pressure.

But a message was different. One could choose to respond and also choose not to respond. They could take their time to think it through and reply after, and by that time, the response would also be more rational.

Dr Lin’s reply message well illustrated his rationality: 

-Sorry, I just saw this. I don’t have any consultations tomorrow morning, so if you have any questions, you can ask them then.

Even saying that he ‘just saw this’…

Saying it just as if it were the truth.

All of a sudden, Professor Yan was finding that each of these people, one after another, were born actors. In comparison, his acting skills seemed rather half-baked. 

Nevertheless, this response neatly conformed with Yan Suizhi’s speculations.

He took a screenshot in passing and selected the chat he had with ‘Vinegar Gu Yan’, sending it over to the other with the caption: [Look, his acting skills are on par with yours.]

After that, he cooperatively responded to Dr Lin:

-Thank you. Should I look for you at your office? Or would anywhere else be more convenient? 

Dr Lin insta-replied:

-You’re welcome. There’s a cafe on the end of Springwood Street, the road in front of the hospital. The breakfast menu there is quite good. Shall we meet at 8?

Yan Suizhi, [Okay]

At this time, a text from Gu Yan came in. 

-Why are you messaging me when we’re only separated by a straight-line distance of four metres?

Yan Suizhi, receiving the message, simply got up and went downstairs.

His knock nudged open the door of the master bedroom, and he saw Gu Yan walk out of the bathroom just then, his wet hair raked backwards, revealing his handsome countenance. He hadn’t yet put on a shirt, and was slipping his smart device, fashioned as a ring, onto his little finger.

Hearing the movement at the door, he turned his head over, and droplets of water scattered down from the tips of his hair at this action. 

That attractively-toned musculature suggested that the gym downstairs wasn’t just there for decoration. Despite being able to count on his hands the number of times he went in the past few days due to his frequency of travel, he still maintained an excellent physique.

“Why didn’t you say that you were showering?”

“I’m done showering,” Gu Yan turned the ring on his finger after putting it on, bending over to pick up a shirt from the bed.

During which, the motions caused the muscles at his waist to tense even more beautifully. 

The water vapour from the bathroom was brought out with him. Even if he was standing there without moving, the humid air still billowed towards the door.

Yan Suizhi, leaning against the door frame, narrowed his eyes like a cat that had been teased by a warm breeze.

He suddenly felt that Student Gu was probably doing it on purpose, in an attempt to blind this monarch into incompetence with the allure of beauty.

Yet, he was simultaneously surprised, because if someone had told him any number of years ago that something like ‘sexual charms’ would work on him, he’d probably have inwardly smiled mockingly at the other, toasting them with a glass of red wine—You must be drunk. 

He didn’t expect that it would actually work now.

Before his latent potential for fatuity could rear its head, his survival instincts abruptly kicked in. So, Professor Yan came down only to turn heel at the door—before Gu Yan could walk over with his shirt in hand, he whipped around and shut the door, speedily making his way upstairs.

When he leaned back against the headboard, Yan Suizhi looked back on his reflexive actions just now, a bit caught between laughter and tears.

Did he live these many years of his life in vain? 

This was probably the first time that the esteemed Professor Yan had shown this much distaste towards himself.

There was not a peep from the master bedroom downstairs. He wondered if Student Gu was rendered speechless by him.

A good while later, he received a new message on his smart device.

From: Vinegar Gu Yan 

Message: [Am I a ghost?]

“…”

These words looked very familiar, like deja vu even.

This could only be called karmic retribution. 

Yan Suizhi gave it a thought before replying:

-I suddenly thought of something urgent.

[Vinegar Gu Yan: What’s so urgent?]

Yan Suizhi glimpsed his email out of his peripheral vision, replying: [My landlord’s looking for me.] 

[Vinegar Gu Yan: Why is he still looking for you when you’re not renting from him?]

Yan Suizhi sobered up: [It’s still important to keep in contact. Actually, that landlord has caught my eye a bit.]

[Vinegar Gu Yan: ?]

Yan Suizhi replied: 

-With such good terms, he should be able to easily find tenants for his apartment. So why did he keep holding out for me to do a flat viewing? Don’t you think that it’s weird?

Of course, these were no more than excuses. In the instant that he fled upstairs, his long legs were overcome by an intense, primitive instinct—

While he didn’t mind experiencing what it was like to have his wits dulled at the sight of beauty, this incompetent monarch knew that he would be the one on the losing end down there.