Boss Lu: A reborn life is destined to be without regrets!
Chapter 102 - 93. Mian Mian

Chapter 102: 93. Mian Mian

Guan Yongyi’s birthday is in early October.

A Libra girl couldn’t be more suited to studying law.

She was born shouldering fairness and justice!

This holiday, she likewise chose not to return to her hometown in Yangcheng.

She had two cases on her hands that were unsettled, and the law firm needed her.

This presented the perfect excuse to oppose her family.

The first, a contract case, was fairly simple, and Shang Lingzhi, her teaching lawyer, could easily handle it alone.

She only needed to follow along and do some clerical work.

Commonly known as, playing the supporting role.

The client’s name was Mou Keyan, a stunningly beautiful, modern young lady.

Although she was a legal novice, fortunately, she was obedient, and her boss had sought out Le Ying Law Firm on her behalf to handle the signing matters.

With professional legal assistance, the streaming contract was successfully signed.

Fairy Miao and Douyu signed a half-year contract and received a substantial signing fee.

She remembered when Mou Keyan paid the final installment of legal fees, she laughingly sent her an extra large WeChat red envelope.

But the second case, a marital one, was not so simple.

Prior to the October holiday, Le Ying Law Firm had swiftly organized the case materials, with Guan Yongyi in charge of sorting and analyzing them, accompanying Shang Lingzhi to the High-tech District Court.

The case was successfully filed.

But for it to move into litigation process, there was another hurdle.

East Lake High-tech District Court first organized mediation for both parties.

One party stubbornly refused to divorce, while the other was adamant about it, leading to mediation failure.

The court’s mission was to strive to have every citizen feel fairness and justice in judicial cases.

In such scenarios, judges often prioritize mediation, under the premise of maintaining stability and harmony, trying their best not to grant a divorce.

With both sides’ demands completely at odds, they could only wait to formally commence after the National Holiday.

"This is tricky."

In Le Ying Law Firm, Shang Lingzhi’s coffee was still half full.

She furrowed her brows and sighed.

"Our client is different from our other clients."

Shang Lingzhi analyzed, while explaining the handling methods for marital and family cases to her junior sister.

"Her demand is to divorce as quickly as possible, completely unlike the core dispute in other divorce cases."

"What she wants isn’t about how much money, how to divide it, or where the children should be placed; Min Jie doesn’t touch on any of these."

"Hmm..."

Guan Yongyi nodded somewhat understandingly.

"So, do you know where the key point lies in satisfying our client’s needs in this case?"

Shang Lingzhi asked.

"We need to... race against time?"

Guan Yongyi thought for a moment before softly responding.

"Right, smart!"

Shang Lingzhi gave a thumbs up and continued,

"Lower courts handle such matters very delicately; they can delay, find various excuses not to grant a divorce, assuming the parties can still appeal to higher courts if dissatisfied."

"This case has neither complex asset division nor child custody disputes, there is absolutely no risk of corruption."

"Due to the other party’s strong will, muddling through and judging that emotions have not yet broken down is very likely!"

"However, the appeal process is lengthy, and our client might not be willing to wait that long."

Shang Lingzhi shrugged her shoulders, pointing out the current significant challenge.

"It would be great if we could break through from the spouse’s side."

How to break through?

Guan Yongyi’s pen flew around in her hand, unable to figure it out.

"Let’s call it a day, Guan Guan."

"Isn’t your birthday tomorrow? Here, a little gift from your sister."

In the evening, the sunset streamed through the window, filling the office hall with a warm, golden glow that colored the gift box warmly.

Shang Lingzhi brought the gift box over to Guan Yongyi, watching her junior sister tidy her short hair by her temples, revealing a surprised expression.

"Lingzhi, how did you know...?"

"It’s on your resume, silly."

"I really shouldn’t..."

"Take it! A little gift, don’t be polite with your sister."

...

...

Guan Yongyi had few friends from childhood.

Every birthday, if it wasn’t spent with her parents, it was invariably with Zhou Sinin.

Best friends for life.

She had once thought that perhaps every birthday after growing up would only be celebrated with Zhou Sinin.

But clearly, her assumptions were quite different from reality.

She stepped into her apartment basked in the evening glow, having just ordered some takeout, when the doorbell chimed ringing ahead of time.

"Why is the takeout so fast today?"

The short-haired girl opened the door, only to find a familiar figure smiling at her, his eight neat white teeth beaming.

It was Jin Cheng.

He carried a big square box, covered with a thin cloth, unclear to see.

"Happy birthday in advance~ A little gift for you."

He wasn’t even invited, yet Jin Cheng stepped inside, seemingly without reservation.

"Ah?"

Guan Yongyi pursed her lips, momentarily at a loss for words.

Such a big box, and you call this a little gift?

"Don’t be so formal, let’s just forget about it."

She instinctively waved her hand, wanting to refuse, yet was stopped by Jin Cheng right there.

"Take it! A little gift, what are you being so formal about?"

Jin Cheng forcefully placed the box into her hands, his attitude serious.

"I wasn’t formal when I borrowed your speaker, was I?"

"..."

Guan Yongyi was just about to say something when something inside the square box suddenly moved, startling her.

What kind of gift is this!

Something... alive?

"Meow~"

The muffled, delicate mew of a kitten echoed in the living room from under the cloth-covered box.

Pure and tender, with a slight tremble in its tone.

"This, this is...?"

Without anyone’s introduction, Guan Yongyi also realized what the gift was.

The box was a cat carrier, and inside was a little kitten!

She carefully placed the box on the ground, opened the carrier’s side door, crouched down, and cradled out the milky-sweet ragdoll kitten.

"Oh my, so beautiful!"

Guan Yongyi couldn’t tear her gaze away, her shiny eyes filled with love.

Except for being naturally allergic, few girls could resist a pretty ragdoll cat.

Especially since its parents were both CFA show-level, bred for top quality by the cat breeder, its large blue eyes were like two dazzling gems, filled with curiosity and exploration of the world.

The girl with short hair curved her lips into an arc, the month-old kitten wobbled, its paw pads soft and pink, stepping onto her palm, one step at a time.

Each step, equally tender, also stepped onto the bottom of her heart.

"Do you like it?"

Lu Jincheng squatted beside her, waving his finger, asking a question with an answer already known.

"Yes! I like it, I really do!"

Guan Yongyi held it dearly, nodding vigorously.

She, who was always aloof, rarely expressed her emotions so clearly.

The birthday gift from Lu Jincheng truly reached the depths of her heart.

"Here’s the litter it usually uses and the cat food it eats. For water, just use boiled tap water."

Lu Jincheng pointed to another pile of items he had brought and explained.

"Alright, if there’s any problem, I’ll message you immediately."

Guan Yongyi listened attentively.

"The kitten is just over thirty days old, it still needs to go to the vet for vaccinations and deworming, remember to take care of that."

"Mm-hmm, I got it."

Guan Yongyi nodded profusely.

Ding-dong~!

The doorbell rang again.

This time it was the delivery guy.

Guan Yongyi turned around, with a single person’s dinner in her hand, and met Lu Jincheng’s curious gaze.

The delivery timing couldn’t have been worse!

He had just given her a birthday gift...

Isn’t it a bit impolite to eat dinner alone in front of him?

Had he eaten yet?

She suddenly felt a bit awkward.

"This was ordered before you came..."

Guan Yongyi started to explain, then immediately realized that the explanation sounded even stranger.

"Hey, have you eaten? Let me treat you to dinner?"

"Hahaha, no need."

Lu Jincheng chuckled, got up gracefully, and made his exit swiftly.

"Since your delivery is here, I’ll head back first."

"Isn’t your birthday tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, there’s still time."

...

...

At precisely nine o’clock, Guan Yongyi’s door rang again.

Zhou Sinin, carrying bags big and small, ran over to her best friend’s place for a sleepover.

Tomorrow was Guan Guan’s birthday, and she, being someone who valued ceremonial gestures, of course, had to be the first one to wish her in person.

Unexpectedly, upon opening the door, what first caught her attention wasn’t her beautiful best friend,

but...

—a palm-sized kitten!

"Wow wow wow!"

"So cute!!!"

"Guan Guan, where did this little kitten come from?"

Zhou Sinin’s tone rose by eight degrees, she quickly kicked off her shoes, casually tossed her bag onto the couch, and squatted down to inspect.

Eyes like gemstones, they looked somehow familiar.

"So adorable! Auntie wants a kiss!"

She couldn’t help herself and planted a kiss onto the kitten’s forehead.

It’s just that girls truly have no resistance to such creatures.

"It’s my birthday gift."

Guan Yongyi squatted beside her, smiling as she spoke.

"A gift? So early?"

Zhou Sinin glanced at her wrist; it wasn’t even ten o’clock yet.

"Yeah, Lu Jincheng brought it over in the afternoon."

"This... this is from him?"

Zhou Sinin initially surprised, then recalled something he mentioned during dinner.

"Yeah, I was a bit embarrassed, actually wanted to invite him to dinner."

"Reasonable, then what?"

"He declined, said tomorrow."

"I see..."

"So, for the cake cutting tomorrow, shall we do it together?"

"That works."

...

Ironclad Zhou Sinin, relatives by water.

Thus, the normally routine gathering for Guan Yongyi’s annual birthday broke pattern.

The two of them showered, took care of their skin, freshened up, lay in bed, turned on the projector, and side by side watched a newly released Korean drama.

The night breeze was cool, the tree shadows tranquil.

Occasional purring sounds, as the kitten by their side climbed above the abdomen, gently kneading.

As it neared midnight, Zhou Sinin jumped out of bed and dashed to the living room, digging out a long-prepared birthday gift from her bag.

"Baby~ Happy Birthday!"

Simultaneously, a WeChat group chat named Ran Dong also pinged.

[Happy Birthday Guan Guan~]

Followed by three emoji fireworks, a very standard birthday wish.

Guan Yongyi leaned against the headboard, swiped through her unread messages, then tossed the phone aside and accepted Zhou Sinin’s gift.

"Thanks bab..."

The short-haired girl smiled, thanking halfway, when suddenly, her face was illuminated by colorful beams of light.

Below Building 6, Unit 2, a loud "bang" broke the silent night.

Her and her outdoors burst into brilliant fireworks.

"Guan Guan, look, could it be because of the National Day? Someone’s setting off fireworks outside!"

"Yeah... Quite a coincidence."

Guan Yongyi propped her hands on the windowsill, gazing into the sky, her eyes reflecting twinkling fireworks, occasionally brightening and fading.

The light dispersed, leaving only stars scattered across the night sky.

The two pulled the curtains back in place and returned to bed.

Guan Yongyi unlocked her phone again, staring at the three emoji for a long while, then typed "thank you" in the group.

It couldn’t be... could it?

Maybe he had gone to sleep, as there was no response.

Before sleeping, Zhou Sinin held the little kitten in her arms, turned her head to her best friend.

She had one last question.

"Have you decided what to call it yet?"

"Mian Mian."

In the darkness, Guan Yongyi put on her earphones, Eason Chan’s voice looped in her mind.

She slowly closed her eyes.

"Guan Mian Mian."