It was almost six o’clock when they left. The seller’s landlord lived in the city center. Pei Tingyue drove Shen Chuo there, and they arrived exactly at half past six.

The car parked on the street, and Shen Chuo got out to get the keys. He chatted casually with someone, mentioning the transfer of ownership again. The other party readily agreed to have it done by the end of the month.

Pei Tingyue turned around and lowered the car window, signaling to Shen Chuo, “Let’s go.”

Shen Chuo got back into the car, saying he wanted to go check out the new house.

“So urgent?” Pei Tingyue asked.

“We’re already here, might as well take a look,” Shen Chuo insisted.

Pei Tingyue asked, “The keys were given to you before the transfer was completed?”

“I plan to do some simple decoration first. I’ve arranged to visit the site with the renovation company these days. I told the seller to give me the keys first.”

Shen Chuo mentioned the name of the neighborhood, and Pei Tingyue nodded casually, “It’s quite an old neighborhood, and the location is a bit remote. The house prices must be pretty cheap, right?”

“It’s not expensive, less than thirty thousand,” Shen Chuo said.

“You’re at least an associate professor at the university, and your salary is so low?”

“It’s true that I don’t earn as much as you lawyers,” Shen Chuo admitted frankly. “If I don’t have my own business or projects outside, all I have is that meager salary. There’s quite a bit of research funding, but I can’t just take money from my own pocket.”

“Let me correct you, lawyers don’t make much money when they’re just starting out,” Pei Tingyue said, “and even if you make a lot, it’s still nothing compared to truly wealthy people.”

“Then don’t be a lawyer, go into business instead,” Shen Chuo mocked, “if you value money so much.”

“No thanks,” Pei Tingyue said indifferently. “Money is good, but I prefer to see wealthy people offering money with both hands, begging for my help.”

Shen Chuo remained silent, once again confirming that this person was insane.

Pei Tingyue, surprisingly, saw it through till the end, accompanying Shen Chuo to the new house and even going up together.

The environment of this neighborhood was actually quite good, and the house Shen Chuo bought was on the tenth floor, in a good location.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Shen Chuo was about to use the keys to open the door when the door to his apartment opened from the inside, and a middle-aged woman came out carrying a bag of trash, tossed it outside, and slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”

Shen Chuo looked around and confirmed that this apartment was indeed his.

“Is someone still inside?” Pei Tingyue suddenly chuckled. “Didn’t the seller tell you?”

Shen Chuo frowned, approached and knocked on the door a few times. After a while, the door was opened a crack, revealing the same middle-aged woman who looked at Shen Chuo suspiciously and asked gruffly, “What do you want?”

Shen Chuo took out the purchase contract and showed it to her, explaining, “I bought this house. Are you…?”

The next second, there was an even louder sound, and the door slammed shut again.

“Tough one,” Pei Tingyue clicked his tongue.

Shen Chuo’s face darkened. He called the seller with his phone to ask what was going on.

The other party hesitated and said, “They’re the tenants of the house. Their lease expires in the middle of the month. I asked them to move out earlier, but since you’ve gone there, you can tell them to leave.”

“But…”

Before Shen Chuo could finish, the call was already hung up.

“No wonder they were so easygoing and gave you the keys early, they just wanted to pass the trouble on to you,” Pei Tingyue stood aside with his arms crossed, watching the scene as if enjoying a show.

Ignoring him, Shen Chuo hesitated. Pei Tingyue stepped forward, took the keys from him, and directly opened the door.

Shen Chuo quickly stopped him. “Don’t, you’re trespassing.”

“Did the seller say their contract had already expired mid-month?”

Shen Chuo nodded. “Yes, that’s right…”

“Then it’s fine.”

Pei Tingyue turned the key, pushed the door open, and stepped in.

“What are you doing?!”

There were three people in the room: a middle-aged couple and a tall teenage boy. They all stood up, and the first to question them was the son.

“Nothing,” Pei Tingyue didn’t enter, keeping his hands in his pockets by the door. “We’re here to take over the house. We’ve bought it, so please make way.”

“We don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t know you. This is our rented house. We’ve paid for it. There’s no way we’re leaving!” the middle-aged woman shouted loudly.

“If you don’t leave, we’ll call the police!” the man beside her also shouted.

“Feel free to call,” Pei Tingyue remained unfazed. “I’d like to see who the police will chase away.”

“We’re not leaving no matter what!”

The son, with a ferocious look, rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to chase them away. Shen Chuo was worried, and whispered to Pei Tingyue, “Maybe we should leave first.”

Pei Tingyue gestured for him to step aside. He raised his hand, and when the other party came to shove him, he swiftly grabbed the person and, with a quick move, pinned him against the door, pressing his head against it.

“Didn’t your parents teach you to talk things out? You’d rather use your hands?” Pei Tingyue scolded.

The boy screamed loudly, and the middle-aged couple shouted, “Let go of our son!” as they rushed forward.

The woman was faster. She lunged forward to scratch Pei Tingyue, but Shen Chuo quickly reached out to block her, and her sharp nails left two bloody marks on his arm.

The woman was pushed back a step by him.

Pei Tingyue, calm and composed, turned around while still holding onto the boy’s arm and thrust him towards them, saying, “Don’t make me do something more drastic.”

His appearance didn’t resemble an elite lawyer at all; he looked more like a rogue.

The boy, with Pei Tingyue’s grip around his neck, was struggling to breathe, whimpering and crying.

The middle-aged man, holding a stool, stared wide-eyed and panted heavily. “Let him go!”

The woman, hysterically crying on the side, didn’t dare to make a move.

Shen Chuo thought about trying to mediate, but he decided against it. After all, Pei Tingyue was helping him.

“Get the house cleared out by tomorrow,” Pei Tingyue’s tone was firm. “Otherwise, I’ll come here every day.”

When the police arrived, the family of three had already been disciplined by Pei Tingyue and reluctantly promised to move out by noon the next day.

“What’s going on?” the police asked as they approached.

“Just a minor dispute,” in front of the police, Pei Tingyue reverted back to his polite and professional demeanor, proactively showing them Shen Chuo’s purchase contract and explaining that they were there to take possession of the house.

“Are you tenants here?” the police asked the family of three after hearing Pei Tingyue’s explanation.

The tall boy jumped up first, pointing at Pei Tingyue and telling the police, “He almost strangled me. You should arrest him.”

Pei Tingyue calmly said, “This kid hasn’t spoken a word of truth. They refused to leave and tried to drive us out. They even injured my friend’s arm. We didn’t lay a finger on them.”

Although he almost choked the boy, there were no marks left on his dark skin, leaving no evidence. Pei Tingyue had clearly done this sort of thing before.

He didn’t give the family of three a chance to argue back. He showed the police his business card. “As professionals in our field, we certainly wouldn’t break the law.”

Shen Chuo remained silent, avoiding eye contact.

Twenty minutes later, they left the building. Shen Chuo hesitated several times before speaking.

“Just say what you want to say.” Pei Tingyue started the car.

“Are you… really a lawyer?”

“Why? Don’t believe it?”

“Do you think my way of handling things is too brutal?” Pei Tingyue easily guessed his thoughts. “Do you think I should have used legal means? Like calling the police first and then suing them?”

Shen Chuo asked, “Isn’t that the right thing to do?”

“It’s useless,” Pei Tingyue scoffed. “You call the police, they come, and in the end, they’ll just let us handle it ourselves.

“As for suing them in court, that’s also an option. Just be prepared to wait three months, six months, or even longer to get possession of the house.”

“But you didn’t have to resort to violence against them, did you?”

“Professor Shen, it’s useless to talk about the law with someone who’s ignorant of it. Dealing with scoundrels requires being more ruthless than them.”

Shen Chuo couldn’t agree. “Aren’t you worried about tarnishing your reputation with this approach?”

“My reputation is fine, I have plenty of clients. You don’t need to worry about me. I always choose my cases, not the other way around.”

Shen Chuo naturally didn’t care; it wasn’t his problem.

“Just thank you.”

Pei Tingyue turned back. “Thank me?”

“You helped me, so I should thank you,” Shen Chuo said, although he didn’t fully agree with Pei Tingyue’s methods, he still knew enough to acknowledge his help. “Without you, I might not have gotten possession of the house for three or six months.”

“Well,” Pei Tingyue’s mood was quite pleasant. He parked the car by the roadside. “Wait here.”

He got out of the car and went into the pharmacy on the street. Five minutes later, he came out again with a box of iodine cotton swabs in his hand.

Back in the car, Pei Tingyue threw the cotton swabs into Shen Chuo’s lap. “Apply it.”

Shen Chuo looked at his hand; the small scratch didn’t really bother him.

Pei Tingyue leaned over and helped him open a cotton swab, pressing it onto his arm.

“Professor Shen, saying thank you with words lacks sincerity, don’t you think?”

“What else do you want?” Shen Chuo became instantly wary.

Pei Tingyue raised an eyebrow. “Another night with me.”

“No.” Shen Chuo refused bluntly.

“On that night in Las Vegas,” Pei Tingyue suddenly asked, “did you deliberately get drunk and let loose? Why?”

He stared into Shen Chuo’s eyes, but Shen Chuo instinctively avoided his gaze. “No reason.”

“You’re lying,” Pei Tingyue said firmly. “You dare not look at me, feeling guilty because I hit the mark?”

“It has nothing to do with you.” Shen Chuo’s voice turned cold.

Pei Tingyue squinted slightly, reaching out to touch his neck, but Shen Chuo immediately turned his head away.

“Now you’re acting all chaste and virtuous, but that night you were carefree. Is there someone in your heart making it awkward?”

“I said—”

“It has nothing to do with me?” Pei Tingyue was slightly annoyed. “Professor Shen, you seem to have forgotten that I am your husband.”

“Did the lawyer’s professional knowledge all go to waste?” Shen Chuo retorted, not mincing his words.

“Quite sharp-tongued,” Pei Tingyue remarked, “what kind of person?”

Seeing Shen Chuo seemingly not understanding, he repeated, “The person in your heart, what kind of person is he?”

Shen Chuo was taken aback, silent for a moment, then turned his head and looked out of the car window. “…There’s no one, there’s no such person.”

Pei Tingyue chuckled, sat back and restarted the car. “Even if there is, forget about it. You’re a married man, remember your status.”

Without waiting for Shen Chuo to retort, he said, “Let’s go, we’ve wasted enough time, haven’t even had lunch yet. Professor Shen, it’s your treat.”