Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 424 - 420: A Party on the Weekend, Xiao Xiao’s Biological Mother?

Chapter 424: Chapter 420: A Party on the Weekend, Xiao Xiao’s Biological Mother?

Monday, evening.

City Council, Chairman’s office

Ring, ring!

The phone rang, and the person sitting in the office casually picked it up.

"Hmm, I’m already aware," he said.

"Our third brother lost, and this time he’s completely defeated, with no hope of turning things around."

"It’s really displeasing, I had thought that with the merits from this occasion, he could make it to the top position, but it seems we overestimated him."

"Taking steps too big ended up pulling him back. Those things he did before are probably not going to stay hidden."

"Di Hu, you go handle the cleanup, make sure all the affairs related to our third brother are cleanly dealt with, ensuring they won’t affect us."

"Hmm, remember to do a clean job," he said, preparing to hang up the phone.

"Wait, take special care to investigate this Zhang Wei."

"Although our third brother was more of a hindrance than a help, it’s all because of this young fellow. This name has appeared before me more than once now; it looks like we need to pay attention to it."

"You go handle that. I must also go home and pay my respects to the old man. Our third brother’s situation is likely to be questioned by him, and I need to think through the causes and consequences to report them truthfully to him."

After speaking, he finally hung up the phone, but his lips were muttering to themselves.

"Zhao Qingyan, Zhao Xiaoxiao, and Zhang Wei..."

If you listened carefully, he was actually repeating these names.

Elsewhere, Lin Mansion.

Today Zhang Wei came back alone, because he had taken Xia Qianyue and others out for dinner, allowing Zhang Xinyan to return to the martial arts school first.

Before leaving, Zhang Xinyan grumbled, sure that it was because Zhang Wei didn’t want him to freeload a meal, which is why he sent him away.

Zhang Wei admitted it, saying you actually figured it out, Silly brother, sometimes you do have a brain.

After they finished dinner and sent Xia Qianyue home, by the time Zhang Wei returned to Lin Mansion, it was nearly 10 o’clock at night.

After washing up, he went back to his room and laid down immediately.

He was tired from several days of excessive work on the case.

But while sleeping in a daze, he heard the sound of a door opening.

"Damn it, damn it, annoying guy, making me work, so annoying..."

In his ear, came the muttering of his second daughter.

Clearly, she wasn’t happy about going off to work for the special task force.

Yet, hearing his second daughter had regained her usual liveliness made Zhang Wei very happy, and a smile curved on his lips.

...

The next day, morning.

"Second daughter, time for breakfast, don’t forget you have to clock in every morning now!"

Bang!

The door to the second-floor room was violently pushed open, and Zhao Xiaoxiao came downstairs with an unhappy face.

Seeing his second daughter with a pouting face, Zhang Wei smiled knowingly.

His second daughter, who had been used to a freewheeling life, was naturally unable to cope with suddenly having to clock in for work.

So at breakfast, her gaze was filled with resentment, and everyone looked like a bad guy to her.

"Second daughter, look at the bright side, at least you don’t have to stay in a dormitory with Liu Dashun and Zhu Erdan every day, you can work from home!"

"No freedom, not happy!"

Confronted with Zhang Wei’s persuasion, the second daughter turned her head and huffed coldly.

Unsatisfied!

Discontent!

I’m in a bad mood, don’t provoke me.

The second daughter’s expression made it clear to Zhang Wei that it was best not to provoke her for the time being.

"Alright then, don’t forget to report and clock in with Guider Zhou later. I’m heading to the law firm for work now!"

After breakfast and washing the dishes, Zhang Wei bid farewell to his second daughter.

Just as he stepped out the door, he saw Zhao Qingyan waiting there.

"Uncle Zhao, what brings you here?"

"Oh, Zhang, I was just wondering how Xiao Xiao is..."

Seeing Zhao Qingyan hesitate, Zhang Wei resignedly said, "Uncle Zhao, Xiao Xiao is doing fine, she only needs to clock in every day. Guider Zhou generally won’t assign her any tasks."

"I understand the kid, she hates being restrained the most..."

Zhao Qingyan shook his head and sighed deeply in the end.

The bitterness of an old father, nobody understands.

Zhang Wei nodded in agreement. The bitterness of an old father, Uncle Zhao, I understand you!

"Right, I’ll be busy hosting foreign clients these next few days, and with the leave I’ve taken, there’s work to be caught up on as well, so please take care of Xiao Xiao for me."

"Uncle Zhao, don’t worry, your daughter is like my own daughter!" Zhang Wei heartily assured with a thump on his chest.

"Huh?" Zhao Qingyan was momentarily stunned.

What does he mean by my daughter is your daughter?

"Ahem, all in all, thank you for your hard work, Xiao Zhang. I’m going to be very busy these next few days, so I’m entrusting my daughter to you!"

After giving his instructions, Zhao Qingyan walked directly towards the business van parked not far away.

Watching the other party board the car and leave, Zhang Wei also found Zhang Xinyan and asked him to drop him off at the law firm for work.

AM.

Jincheng Law Firm, Criminal Department office.

"My friends, I’m back!"

"Xiao Meng, did you miss me?"

"Xiao Li, how has Old Li been in these past few days? Has his spirit recovered?"

"Xiao Su and everyone else, did you miss me?"

Entering the office, Zhang Wei was in a good mood, even greeting all his pals.

"Lawyer Zhang, you’re amazing!"

"I never expected you’d agree to work with the procurator from Longdu. You’re like my idol!"

"Zhang Wei, my dad has been praising you nonstop since he got home, and he said your last-minute turnaround was spectacular!"

"Master, the next case you take, I will definitely be there to support you throughout..."

The buddies immediately turned into "lickspittles," showering Zhang Wei with endless flattery and praise, eliciting sporadic applause even within the office.

"Don’t praise me like that, stop praising me. I have thin skin; I can’t handle too much flattery..."

Zhang Wei said, hastily dealing with the situation and glancing back thrice as he stepped into Tie Ruyun’s office.

As soon as Zhang Wei entered the office, Tie Ruyun’s hands trembled, and his phone fell onto the desk.

"Old Tie, stop hiding, I know you’re looking at your phone!"

Zhang Wei walked up to Old Tie, grinned and teased, "What’s the matter, haven’t you won over Team Leader Lin yet?"

"What do you mean ’won over’? Me and Team Leader Lin... we’re still..."

"I get it, I get it. But Team Leader Lin does have a soft spot for you, especially after the injury incident. She still feels guilty about it."

As he spoke, Zhang Wei nudged Old Tie’s arm with his elbow, "So, take advantage of a woman’s guilt and strike while the iron is hot; otherwise, once she forgets about it or her guilt fades, your chance will be gone."

"How do you know so much, kid?"

Old Tie was speechless. You’re so young, yet you talk like an old hand.

"Never mind me, take a good grip on your own matter." Zhang Wei said but his eyes caught something on Tie Ruyun’s desk.

"What’s this, an invitation? Charity auction gala?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Old Tie slapped his forehead and picked up the invitation, saying: "Dongfang Capital First Auction is hosting a charity gala this weekend. Are you going?"

"But I don’t have an invitation."

"That’s not an issue, just get one from President Lin. She’s one of the organizers of this charity auction."

"President Lin?" Zhang Wei paused for a moment, then asked, "Fatty Lin?"

"Fatty Lin?!" Tie Ruyun was also taken aback for a moment.

But as soon as he recovered, he was startled.

Good grief, Zhang Wei, do you not want to work here anymore, calling the big boss "Fatty Lin"?

It’s true, but it’s not something you can just blurt out about the big boss!

"Old Tie, why did you freeze up just now? The President Lin you mentioned, isn’t Fatty Lin? Is it his older brother, Lin Xiangrong?"

"No, it’s President Lin Xiangwan, who returned from Nandao, she’s in charge of the charity gala."

"Lin Xiangwan?"

Zhang Wei was surprised, "Has her health improved?"

"Yeah, I heard you helped her win a case. If you ask her for an invitation, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake?"

"Oh, that does make sense. I understand now."

After chatting with Old Tie for a bit, Zhang Wei left his office.

Then he took the elevator straight to the upper floors of Jincheng Building to find Lin Xiangwan.

A few minutes later, in Lin Xiangwan’s office.

Lin Xiangwan was naturally very happy to see Zhang Wei and welcomed him warmly.

When Zhang Wei stated his purpose, Lin Xiangwan directly took out a pure golden invitation from her office drawer.

"Zhang Wei, this is a VIP invitation, which allows you to sit in the VIP booth. If you want to bring a female companion, it would be perfect for a night for two."

"I can sit in the VIP?"

"This was originally reserved for a major client from Nandao, but he can’t make it due to an emergency, so his reserved VIP suite is now available."

"How could I accept this..."

Though Zhang Wei was verbally hesitant, his hand was quick as he slipped the invitation into his suit pocket.

"Then, Lawyer Zhang, I’ll see you at the gala this weekend."

"Goodbye, President Lin."

Having obtained the invitation, Zhang Wei naturally left Lin Xiangwan’s office.

However, he soon encountered a problem.

He could invite a female companion with this invitation, but whom should he invite?

Zhang Wei pondered this very important question as he walked back to his office.

"Hey, Silly, are you free this weekend? There’s a party..."

"Ah, I’m not free this weekend. Do you need to attend a mission? Is the serious crime unit that busy?"

"That’s fine, then. Don’t overwork yourself this weekend, or I’ll feel sorry for you, mua~"

The first invitation target failed—Xia Qianyue was actually not available.

Zhang Wei was helpless but proceeded to dial the second number.

"Hello, Jessica, are you free this weekend?"

"Oh, I don’t have to go to the clinic, but I’d like to invite you to a party in the evening. It’s a charity auction."

"You know, the party held by Dongfang Capital First Auction House. I’ve heard there are many exhibits, organized by our big boss. I happen to have an invitation."

"Mmm, that’s settled then. See you on the weekend, I’ll come to pick you up~"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Wei had a smile on his face.

He had a female companion, now he just had to wait for the weekend.

Since he had decided on the weekend’s activities, his day’s work felt especially easy.

Currently, Zhang Wei didn’t have any troublesome cases to deal with. Apart from connecting with existing clients in the office during the day, he went out to chat with buddies and give them some guidance and advice.

Under his guidance, all the problems that plagued many buddies were solved with ease.

So much so that every time these buddies saw Zhang Wei, they couldn’t help but bend over 90 degrees to bow to him—they were nearly ready to enshrine him like an ancestor.

A pleasant day flew by with guidance for his buddies and work.

As evening approached, it was time to leave work.

"Master, it’s time to knock off~"

The apprentices waved goodbye to Zhang Wei and left for the day.

Zhang Wei glanced at the time and realized he had been slacking off all day.

"This isn’t good. How can I compete for the employee of the year like this?" he muttered to himself, then sent a message to Zhang Xinyan.

Soon, he also got into his car and headed back to Lin Mansion to finish work.

...

At the entrance of Zhang’s Martial Arts School.

After the vehicle stopped, Zhang Xinyan and Zhang Wei got out, ready to head to their respective homes.

"Huh, who’s that?"

But out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Wei caught sight of a woman standing at the entrance of Zhao Mansion next door.

The woman paced back and forth at the entrance of Zhao Mansion, occasionally looking like she wanted to knock, but her hand stopped mid-air, never quite landing.

Zhang Wei stepped forward to take a closer look at the woman.

She appeared to be under forty, well-maintained. Although there were slight crow’s feet around her eyes, she had a good overall demeanor, and Zhang Wei found her somewhat familiar.

"Are you the boss’s wife from Old Tan’s pickled fish restaurant?"

Zhang Wei remembered. He had seen this woman a few times before; he had even dined at her restaurant with Jessica.

But it was odd—why was the boss’s wife here?

"You are?"

The woman sized up Zhang Wei, obviously not recalling a customer who came to her restaurant to dine.

"Speaking of which, boss’s wife, what are you doing here?"

Zhang Wei pointed to Zhao Mansion’s entrance, looking puzzled.

"Do you live here?"

Instead of answering, the woman asked a question in return.

"Yes, I live in the Lin Mansion next door, but I rent the place. Are you looking for Uncle Zhao?"

"Uncle Zhao?"

The woman’s eyes shifted, examining Zhang Wei. "Do you know Zhao Qingyan?"

"Isn’t that obvious? Uncle Zhao is my neighbor. We see each other all the time. How could we not be familiar with each other?"

"Then, is he at home?"

"Uncle Zhao has been busy these days; he’s not at home."

"Hmph, just as I thought!"

The woman seemed to know Zhao Qingyan’s schedule, snorted coldly, showing disdain, "He was always like that, never changes, even now!"

"Huh?"

Zhang Wei was stunned. What was this situation?

It sounded like she was very familiar with Zhao Qingyan?

Zhang Wei’s mind flashed with a snippet of conversation he overheard.

"Xiao Xiao is suffering, so young and without a mother..."

"Little Zhang, Xiao Xiao’s mother is still alive and hasn’t died!"

Once, Zhang Wei asked Zhao Qingyan if Zhao Xiaoxiao had always been without parental care.

The latter had answered him, saying that Zhao Xiaoxiao’s mother was still alive, but that the two had divorced very early on, causing Zhao Xiaoxiao to grow up without the care of her parents.

"You are Xiaoxiao’s birth mother!" Zhang Wei looked at the woman, his expression changing suddenly.

"Xiaoxiao, how did you know?"

The woman was also stunned for a moment, not expecting Zhang Wei to ask that.

"Are you really Mrs. Zhao?"

"I divorced Zhao Qingyan a long time ago, you can call me Mrs. Tan, or by my name, Chen Xiaoyu!"

The woman, who was Chen Xiaoyu, introduced herself.

"Chen Xiaoyu, Zhao Xiaoxiao, it really seems to be the case..."

Hearing the woman’s name, Zhang Wei understood.

It also answered the question he had at the start; he always felt that the lady boss looked familiar, not expecting her to be Zhao Xiaoxiao’s biological mother.

However, this biological mother, at the moment, was quite derelict in her duties.

It was said that the two divorced a long time ago so much that Zhao Xiaoxiao hardly had any concept of parents from childhood to adulthood.

It could be said that the person the second daughter has become now has much to do with this woman.

"Ms. Chen, what exactly brings you looking for Uncle Zhao?"

Now that he knew the other party’s identity and what she had done, Zhang Wei’s attitude naturally cooled significantly.

Even his manner of addressing her had changed from the previous ’lady boss’ to the current ’Ms. Chen’.

"I came to ask for his help," Chen Xiaoyu glanced at the tightly closed doors of Zhao Mansion and couldn’t help muttering, "But it seems he is not in, so I have made a trip for nothing."

"Wait a minute, what kind of difficulty have you encountered? If Uncle Zhao can help you, it must be a money issue, right?"

"If it were just a money issue, that would be easy, but my family is facing criminal prosecution, and money won’t solve that!"

Chen Xiaoyu said this and was about to leave again.

"Wait a minute, you should have said so earlier, hadn’t you? Wouldn’t that have saved all this trouble?"

But Zhang Wei was amused.

Criminal prosecution? Isn’t that my field of expertise?

He immediately took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Ms. Chen, I am modest, but I currently work at Jincheng Law Firm, holding the position of ace lawyer in the criminal litigation department. If you’re certain you need legal assistance, I can help you with this matter."

"Jincheng Law Firm, ace lawyer?"

Chen Xiaoyu must have done some research about lawyers;, hearing Zhang Wei’s introduction, she found it hard to believe.

Especially since she saw how young Zhang Wei was to have joined Jincheng Law Firm.

She immediately doubted, "Did you rely on Zhao Qingyan’s connections to get into the Lin Family’s law firm?"

"Ms. Chen, what are you talking about? I’ve earned my position today through my own genuine skills!"

"But I find it hard to believe, given how young you are..."

"If Ms. Chen doesn’t believe it, then it’s as if I had never said anything. You can choose a lawyer for yourself."

Zhang Wei, seeing Chen Xiaoyu’s distrust, didn’t press the issue.

"However, I can tell you that Uncle Zhao has been very busy these past few days. If you want to find him, you’d have to go to his company. But considering you’re facing criminal prosecution, I suggest you might consult other lawyers. Uncle Zhao, after all, isn’t in the field of law, and the help he can offer is limited."

"I swore in the past that I would never go to his company in this lifetime!"

Chen Xiaoyu appeared to harbor animosity towards Blacksmith Technology, and after a cold snort, she turned and left.

However, she didn’t discard Zhang Wei’s business card.

"How can things be like this in Uncle Zhao’s family."

Zhang Wei watched Chen Xiaoyu leave, then sighed and returned to Lin Mansion.

At Lin Mansion’s second floor, outside Zhao Xiaoxiao’s room,

Zhang Wei paused for a moment before he finally knocked on the door.

"Second Miss, today I encountered an unexpected person at the neighbor’s door."

"Who?"

"She said her name was Chen Xiaoyu!"

Inside the room, a deep silence could clearly be heard.

"Oh, what did that woman come for?"

"That woman?"

Zhang Wei keenly caught the tone of the second daughter while speaking.

He could tell that the relationship between mother and daughter had become rather estranged.

"Nothing much, it seems that Ms. Chen might have gotten herself involved in a lawsuit."

"Oh, I got it. But in the future, don’t bother me with such things; I’m very busy."

"Understood."

After saying this, Zhang Wei helplessly went downstairs.

He realized that Zhao Qingyan’s family had some serious issues!