“I… abandon halfway?” Shen Chuo was shocked beyond words, even thinking he misheard.

“Isn’t it?” Pei Tingyue admired his expression with interest.

“I’m leaving. No need to see me off. Goodbye.”

The subway entrance was to the left of the theater’s main entrance. Shen Chuo turned and walked away, but Pei Tingyue reached out and grabbed his hand. “Faster than a rabbit, are you running because you can’t argue?”

Shen Chuo looked behind him. “Someone’s coming.”

As soon as he turned, Shen Chuo broke free from his grip and ran away.

Of course, there was no one behind them. Shen Chuo had already run far ahead, and Pei Tingyue didn’t bother to chase after him. He found it somewhat amusing and sent a message on his phone.

Gasping for breath, Shen Chuo ran into the subway station and didn’t stop until he reached the platform.

【Does goodbye mean until next time, or never again?】

He looked at the incoming message on his phone. His racing heart gradually calmed down, and without hesitation, he chose to delete and block the number.

——He had already repaid the favor; there was no need to entangle with this lunatic anymore.

On Monday noon, just after finishing lunch and returning to his office, Shen Chuo received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello, Professor Shen. I’m Chen Peng, a lawyer from Jinling Law Firm. Regarding your real estate dispute, do you have time to discuss it now? I’m near your school. If you’re free, I can come over now.”

Shen Chuo was taken aback. He was still negotiating with the intermediary and the seller and hadn’t decided to hire a lawyer yet. He didn’t expect someone to contact him proactively.

“Hello. Is this about the matter mentioned by Zhang Tong?” Shen Chuo asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Zhang mentioned the case to me briefly yesterday. We need to discuss the specifics with you,” Chen Peng replied.

Shen Chuo felt somewhat strange but didn’t dwell on it. Since the other party took the initiative to call, and it was on behalf of Zhang Tong, he felt obliged to accept the appointment and agreed to meet in his office.

Thirty minutes later, a courteous young man appeared in his office.

He introduced himself again and handed Shen Chuo a business card, confirming that he was indeed a practicing lawyer from Jinling Law Firm.

Shen Chuo didn’t suspect anything and politely offered him a seat, pouring a cup of tea.

He took out the purchase contract he had just retrieved from his dormitory and handed it to Chen Peng to review.

Chen Peng glanced through the contract and said, “First of all, let’s clarify that although the first buyer signed a contract with the seller first, the property rights are still with the seller since no transfer has been made. So, the contract you signed with the seller is also valid, which is not a problem.

“I’ve briefly looked over the contents of your contract, and there doesn’t seem to be any issues. All the terms are written clearly. The issue now is the sequence of fulfillment between the contract in your hands and the one in the hands of the first buyer. If we were to take this to court and ultimately fail to obtain the property, we can request the contract be terminated due to the failure of its purpose and demand the seller return the paid purchase price and interest, as well as compensation for losses. You don’t need to worry about these.”

Shen Chuo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, as long as he could get his money back, it would be fine.

“But if you want the house, it’s also possible,” the other party smiled and continued, “We actually have a good chance of winning this lawsuit.”

Shen Chuo was somewhat surprised. “Really? Zhang Tong told me before that there was basically no chance…”

“It’s not necessarily the case,” Chen Peng asked him, “The first buyer signed the contract before you, but did you pay more to the seller than him?”

“I paid twenty thousand more,” Shen Chuo said.

Chen Peng nodded. “That’s one point. There’s also a crucial factor. In disputes like this, where one house is sold to two buyers without transferring the property rights, the court generally tends to give the house to the actual occupant. In other words, whoever moved in first gets the house. Have you already received the keys?”

“I did,” Shen Chuo hadn’t expected this aspect, “But the other buyer also has them. The seller said he didn’t intend to give them to him initially, but his wife insisted and gave the keys to the other buyer.”

“But you got the keys first, and you’ve already informed the property management and prepared for renovations?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, we have a good chance,” Chen Peng said, “As long as we firmly assert that you have already taken possession of the house and started renovations, the court will consider it.”

“Does that mean I still have a chance to get the house?”

“Absolutely.”

Shen Chuo hesitated for a moment. Chen Peng continued, “Zhang Tong told me that you actually really want this house. Since there’s a chance, there’s no need to give up. As lawyers, we can’t guarantee that we’ll definitely win the lawsuit, but I can say that the chances are good. If I take your case, I’ll do my best.”

Still not entirely reassured, Shen Chuo asked about the process of litigation, the time involved, the execution after the judgment, and various other questions he could think of, all of which Chen Peng patiently answered.

This lawyer, Chen, was eloquent and persuasive, with logical reasoning. Shen Chuo was indeed persuaded by him.

So when the other party brought out the power of attorney and informed him that he would only charge him twenty-five thousand yuan in legal fees, Shen Chuo hesitated, but eventually signed and stamped the document.

“I’ll take the agreement back to the law firm to get it stamped. I’ll give you a copy when we meet again. You can transfer the legal fees to the account I’ve provided later,” the other party said readily.

Shen Chuo nodded and thanked him.

Chen Peng then reminded him of the documents he needed to prepare, and finally said, “Oh, and there’s the record of the police being called when you had a dispute with the tenant before. Go to the police station and get a copy. It’s also an important piece of evidence to prove that you are the actual occupant of the house.”

After finishing his instructions, Chen Peng packed up his things and stood up to bid farewell.

“Alright, but…” Shen Chuo’s mind lagged for a moment. When the other party stood up, he suddenly realized what was wrong, “I didn’t tell Zhang Tong about this. How did you know?”

Chen Peng’s eyes flickered for a moment. He quickly took out his phone and said as he dialed, “Sorry, Professor Shen, I suddenly remembered that I have an urgent matter for another client that needs handling. I have to go now. If you have any further questions, please contact me later. Once you have all the documents ready, I’ll immediately submit them to the court and try to file the case as soon as possible.”

Without waiting for Shen Chuo to say anything else, he turned to talk to the person on the phone, made an apologetic gesture to Shen Chuo, and left in a hurry.

Shen Chuo was a little confused and immediately called Zhang Tong.

“Did you introduce a lawyer to me? He just came to the school and said he could help me get the house. I signed a power of attorney with him.”

“What?” Zhang Tong was surprised, “Qian Lü was at the firm all day today. You hadn’t decided to sue yet, so I only mentioned it to him briefly. How did he find you at school?”

Shen Chuo seemed to realize something, frowned, and said, “The lawyer’s surname is Chen, from your firm according to the business card.”

“Chen?” Zhang Tong’s tone changed in astonishment, “He went to the school to find you? How do you know him? It’s rare for him to take on such a small case, let alone offer door-to-door service?”

Shen Chuo asked, “Didn’t you invite him?”

“I couldn’t possibly convince him!” Zhang Tong was speechless, “He’s one of Pei’s elite team members. I hardly know him at all. We’ve barely spoken a few words. How do you know him? And how much did he say he’d charge you in legal fees since you’ve already signed the power of attorney?”

Shen Chuo understood now, and as he suspected.

“Not much, just twenty-five thousand,” he replied.

Zhang Tong was speechless, “He went to the school himself to discuss for just twenty-five thousand?”

“I thought you recommended him,” Shen Chuo said, “I signed the agreement with him, but I haven’t paid the legal fees yet. Can I still terminate the agreement?”

“Do you want to terminate the agreement? Don’t do it!” Zhang Tong immediately advised, “Since Lawyer Chen said there’s a chance to get the house, why not?”

“Never mind, I’ll ask someone else.”

Without giving Zhang Tong a chance to ask further questions out of curiosity, Shen Chuo hung up the phone and removed the person he had added to the blacklist just yesterday.

When the call was answered, Pei Tingyue spoke first, “Rare occasion, you’re calling me first.”

His tone wasn’t frivolous; most of the time, he spoke quite seriously. Though rarely playful, to Shen Chuo, he always seemed somewhat unserious.

“Lawyer Chen Peng, did you ask him to contact me?” Shen Chuo got straight to the point.

“Yeah,” Pei Tingyue readily admitted, “I did.”

Shen Chuo asked, “I told you yesterday, not to bother.”

“So, I had someone else take your case.”

“Your team doesn’t even bother with such small cases.”

“It’s not that. It’s just that I personally don’t take them. Others will.”

“Do you just like meddling?” Shen Chuo couldn’t help asking.

“It depends on whose business it is.”

Shen Chuo lost interest in the banter. “I haven’t paid the legal fees yet. Let Chen Peng know, so he won’t be bothered.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Pei Tingyue reminded him, “Didn’t you read the contents of the agreement? If Party A terminates the agreement without cause, Party B won’t refund the legal fees. Unpaid fees also need to be compensated according to the amount specified in the previous clause.”

“…Are you helping me or tricking me?”

“Tit for tat,” Pei Tingyue said, “So you won’t say I’m doing charity.”

“I don’t owe you any favors this time,” Shen Chuo emphasized.

“Okay, if you say so.”

Shen Chuo could sense the teasing in his words, and even he felt unsure when he said he didn’t owe any favors.

“Let me treat you to a meal.”

He just couldn’t shake off his guilt.

The person on the other end chuckled softly, “Professor Shen, is treating another meal your only way of repaying favors?”

“What do you want then?”

“Let me choose?”

Shen Chuo doubted that as soon as he said “yes,” Pei Tingyue would say something insolent again. “Can’t be too excessive.”

“What do you mean by excessive?” Pei Tingyue asked, “Is asking you to fulfill your marital obligations excessive?”

“Can you just shut up?”

“Give me a chance to pursue you,” Pei Tingyue said, “That’s not excessive, right?”