Early in the morning, Shen Chuo was awakened by the persistent smell of cooking oil drifting in from outside the window. He reached for his phone on the bedside table, turned it on, and glanced at the time – it was just six o’clock.

He groggily got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up, but the smell of cooking oil still lingered around him, accompanied by various incessant noises.

Upstairs, retired Professor Wang was cooking breakfast, downstairs, Professor Li’s daughter-in-law was scolding her grandson, and next door, a young couple was arguing and throwing things.

Living in the faculty dormitory had its drawbacks – the houses were old and poorly soundproofed, so one could hear everything that neighbors did clearly.

The arguing next door turned into the intermittent sobbing of a woman. Shen Chuo covered his face with a cold towel, determined to sign the contract for the house he had previously chosen today.

As he stepped out, the door of the adjacent room happened to open as well. Yang Wenbin hurriedly came out with a briefcase under his arm, his expression sour. He completely ignored Shen Chuo and walked away without a word.

Shen Chuo didn’t mind. His relationship with Yang Wenbin had always been poor. They entered the job at the same time, but while Shen Chuo was promoted to associate professor last year, Yang Wenbin was still a lecturer, which inevitably caused some resentment towards Shen Chuo.

After locking his door carefully, Shen Chuo went downstairs. It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet.

The faculty dormitory was conveniently located within the school campus.

Shen Chuo finished breakfast at the nearby cafeteria and leisurely made his way to the office. It was only half-past seven.

Since being promoted to associate professor, he had his own office. Although small, it was quiet. He boiled water for tea, watered the potted plants on his desk, and then started preparing his class materials.

Huai City had already entered summer in May, and the weather was particularly hot. Fortunately, Huai University was a forested campus with a large area covered by greenery, making it cooler on campus.

Shen Chuo didn’t even turn on the air conditioner. With the electric fan blowing, he quickly focused on his work.

When he was almost done with his class materials, someone knocked on the door. Seeing the old professor entering, Shen Chuo immediately stood up to greet him. “Professor.”

Zhang Ruimin sat down on the sofa calmly and waved his hand, indicating for Shen Chuo to sit too. “No need to greet me. I came by just now, and I guessed you’d already be in the office early.”

Shen Chuo insisted on making tea for him. “Professor, why did you come back so early today?”

Zhang Ruimin was the vice dean of the School of Telecommunications at Huai University and Shen Chuo’s mentor. Shen Chuo had been working under him since his senior year, then pursued his master’s and doctorate degrees, and eventually stayed on to work at the university.

In the past two years, Zhang Ruimin had been busy with his own research patents outside, rarely concerning himself with matters within the university. When he came back to school, he mostly went to the laboratory area, so it was rare for Shen Chuo to see him.

“We’re signing a school-enterprise cooperation agreement with Qide Technology today. There will be a signing ceremony in the laboratory area, and Dean Zhou specifically instructed us to come. You’ll come with me later. It’s good to show your face. Qide Technology is a big company in Huai City. It’s beneficial to know a few people,” Zhang Ruimin explained.

Shen Chuo had heard about this matter before. He didn’t think it had anything to do with him, but since Zhang Ruimin said so, he didn’t refuse. “I have classes in the morning, so I might be a bit late.”

“Sure,” Zhang Ruimin said. “After the signing ceremony, there will be a cold buffet to entertain the guests from the company. Just come over after your class. By the way, how’s that girl I introduced to you? Have you talked to her? Met her?”

Shen Chuo looked a bit embarrassed. “We don’t really connect…”

In fact, after exchanging WeChat contacts, he had only chatted with her once. After that, he ignored her messages.

If it weren’t for Zhang Ruimin’s introduction, he wouldn’t have agreed to contact her in the first place.

Zhang Ruimin sighed and lamented that Shen Chuo was already thirty and still not thinking about dating. Shen Chuo smiled apologetically, as he always did when this topic came up.

Fortunately, Zhang Ruimin didn’t say much more. He left after a while, reminding Shen Chuo to remember to come later. Shen Chuo replied with an affirmative “okay.”

After Zhang Ruimin left, Shen Chuo breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly finished up his class materials, shut down his computer, and received a call from the downstairs courier room attendant, saying that he had received an international express package for him.

“It’s from the United States.”

Shen Chuo was puzzled as he received a document from Las Vegas.

“It arrived almost two months ago. I don’t know English, so I didn’t know who it was for, and I put it aside. Later, I forgot about it. I only remembered today and asked someone. They said it had Mr. Shen’s name on it. I’m sorry.”

The attendant apologized to him through the small window, and Shen Chuo said, “It’s okay,” and took the document upstairs.

Tearing open the seal, a single sheet of paper fell out of the document bag. He picked it up and turned it over, surprised to see the title at the top: “MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE”—

A marriage certificate.

Shen Chuo: “…”

It seemed like there was such a thing.

Three months ago, he attended an academic conference in Las Vegas. On the last night before returning to China, he went to a gay bar alone to drown his sorrows. Before getting too drunk, he hooked up with a man who seemed pleasing to the eye, also Chinese. They went to a hotel together and even registered for a marriage certificate at a nearby municipal department before checking in.

Shen Chuo couldn’t remember much about what happened afterward. He didn’t even remember the other person’s name. After registering with a stranger under the influence of alcohol, they found a passerby in a nearby church to witness the ceremony.

At that time, the staff asked them to leave an address, saying that they would send the official marriage certificate later. Shen Chuo absent-mindedly wrote down the receiving address of the school.

Three months later, if it weren’t for this marriage certificate suddenly arriving, he would have completely forgotten about that absurd experience abroad.

Carefully looking at the name of the other person registered on it, it was indeed “Tingyue Pei,” also Chinese.

Holding this hot potato, Shen Chuo tried to recall the person he had a one-night stand with. He only remembered that the person was tall, had a good figure, and seemed decent-looking. As for their intimacy skills, he didn’t know if they were good or not, as he hadn’t tried anyone else, but it was indeed more enjoyable than using small toys.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Chuo shook his head to clear his mind. He remembered there was a paper shredder in the adjacent copying room, so he pushed open the office door and glanced across.

There was someone inside. He could only stuff the paper into his briefcase and go teach his class first.

At eleven fifty, Shen Chuo hurried to the Telecommunications Experimental Building after finishing two classes.

He also had an office here and usually came over when he didn’t have classes. Several students he brought were also working here.

Outside the building hung a banner that read “Celebrating the Signing of a Cooperation Agreement between the School of Telecommunications and Qide Technology Group.” Shen Chuo glanced at it and then quickly walked in.

The signing ceremony had just ended, and a reception was being held in the reception room on the second floor, where the leaders of the school were entertaining guests from the company.

As soon as Shen Chuo entered, he saw Zhang Ruimin. Seeing him discussing the history of the institute with President Zhou and the CEO of the other party, Shen Chuo didn’t approach.

There were quite a few people coming and going in the reception room, colleagues who came to join in the fun, and students working in this building.

Shen Chuo went to the corridor outside to answer a call, hung up, and then sent a WeChat message to his students to explain some things. As he was pondering a problem, he heard voices coming from the stairwell next to him.

“Lawyer Pei, I want to consult you about something,” it was Yang Wenbin, speaking to someone with their back to the door. “I have a friend,” Yang Wenbin emphasized these two words, then continued, “He and his wife are not getting along and want to divorce. All the property acquired during the marriage was earned by him alone. His wife has never worked since they got married and has always stayed at home taking care of the children. What should he do to protect his property?”

“Want to transfer joint property?”

“Yeah,” Yang Wenbin said somewhat uncomfortably, “Originally, it was all his money, and his wife didn’t contribute anything.”

“Then he still wants to transfer joint property.”

Following the voice, Shen Chuo looked over. In the stairwell, there was a man standing by the window, holding a cigarette. He was tall and well-built, with strong and angular features. He looked somewhat familiar.

However, Shen Chuo had nearsightedness of about two hundred degrees in both eyes, and he didn’t like wearing glasses, so he couldn’t see very clearly.

“Your friend,” the lawyer glanced casually at Yang Wenbin, “if he has patience, he can gradually increase the expenses in daily life. For example, if he usually spends a hundred, he can record it as two hundred. If he used to give his parents five hundred in support, now he can claim it’s a thousand. Manage his own expenses and prices on the higher side. Over time, the money saved in this way won’t be clear even in court.”

Yang Wenbin was not very satisfied. “Isn’t this too troublesome? And it will take a long time, right? Isn’t there any other way?”

“There is, but I don’t deal with marital affairs. If you want advice, I can introduce you to other lawyers in our firm. How much property does your friend want to transfer?”

“Two to three hundred thousand,” Yang Wenbin added quickly, “This is the total savings my friend has accumulated over the years.”

“That’s a bit difficult.” The man spoke slowly and deliberately. Suddenly, his gaze shifted in Shen Chuo’s direction.

Shen Chuo immediately turned away, avoiding eye contact, and returned to the reception room.

Pei Tingyue stared at the departing figure, squinting slightly. Yang Wenbin didn’t notice this subtle change in his expression and continued to ask, “Is it very difficult?”

“The amount of money your friend wants to transfer probably isn’t enough to cover the lawyer’s fees,” Pei Tingyue flicked his cigarette, “After all, this method needs to be rational and legal. It’s not an easy task. We lawyers also need to put in a lot of effort. Consultation fees can be waived, but representation fees can’t be billed later, right?”

In the reception room, Zhang Ruimin called Shen Chuo over and introduced him to the CEO of Qide Technology, praising him for his future role in the research projects to be conducted in cooperation with Qide. He emphasized that Shen Chuo would be responsible for overseeing the projects from their institute.

President Zhou, who was beside them, smiled and echoed, indicating that Zhang Ruimin had already discussed this with him.

Shen Chuo was surprised and looked at the people involved in the project. There were quite a few of them, and he hadn’t thought it would fall on him, given his relatively junior position.

Zhang Ruimin patted him on the back, bringing Shen Chuo back to reality. He quickly stepped forward and shook hands with the CEO.

Subsequently, colleagues came one after another to congratulate him. There were many young teachers in their institute, and Shen Chuo, who had just turned thirty, had been promoted to associate professor. With Zhang Ruimin’s support, and now being responsible for the institute’s key projects, it was indeed something to be envied by others.

He wasn’t used to such occasions, so he made an excuse to grab some food and left, heading towards the food table.

With fewer flattering voices around him, Shen Chuo felt much more at ease. Just as he picked up a few slices of toast and bacon, he sensed someone’s gaze behind him. He subconsciously turned around and met the playful eyes of the man who had been observing him with folded arms.

—It was the lawyer from earlier.

Shen Chuo saw his face clearly, and a sense of astonishment gradually appeared in his eyes.

Pei Tingyue was also looking at him, unabashedly scrutinizing him from head to toe. His gaze shifted from his waist to his butt, paused for a moment, and then he whistled.