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Ruan Liuzheng had never met someone so forcefully assertive.
She took a deep breath, anger flashing in her beautiful eyes.
“Mr. Xie, we—”
“Hmm? Is little Liuzheng unhappy?”
Xie Qingcen suddenly leaned in close. His dark eyes glimmered with amusement, but his deep, magnetic voice carried a dangerous, unrestrained edge.
Ruan Liuzheng’s heart gave a jolt.
She closed her eyes briefly, turning her head away in discomfort. She tried her best to keep her voice calm.
“Xie Qingcen, this is the furthest I’m willing to go.”
Xie Qingcen raised his eyebrows and straightened up leisurely, no longer pressuring her.
Ruan Liuzheng’s tense nerves finally loosened. She quickly took two steps back to distance herself from him, breathing a bit heavily.
Xie Qingcen stood in place, quietly watching her. The corner of his lips curved into a faint, ambiguous smile.
“Liuzheng, I’ll give you time. But I’m not a patient man—so don’t make me wait too long.”
He reached out to brush her flushed, blood-red earlobe, voice soft and teasing.
“I’m going to get you some late-night food. Don’t you dare lock the door!”
With that, he turned and walked back toward his own home.
Ruan Liuzheng stared at his retreating figure. Her palms slowly clenched, and a heavy sense of helplessness rose in her chest.
Gentle at times, forceful at others. Sometimes the perfect gentleman…
What kind of person had she gotten involved with?
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was trapped inside a vast net — and sinking deeper with every step.
Things… were spiraling out of control.
Ruan Liuzheng pressed her aching forehead.
The next morning, 8:00 AM.
Ruan Liuzheng dropped her son off at kindergarten. After exchanging a few words with his teacher, she didn’t head straight to the design department — instead, she took the elevator to Rosent’s office.
There, the lawyer Rosent had invited was already waiting.
“This is Sophine’s legal advisor and the founder of the Bohua Law Firm, Lawyer Lu Ming.”
As soon as she walked in, Rosent stood up and introduced them.
Ruan Liuzheng nodded, her gaze landing on the bespectacled, scholarly-looking man beside him.
Lu Ming had an average face, but his narrow eyes revealed sharp intelligence.
As Ruan Liuzheng examined him, he was also quietly sizing her up.
He and Rosent were close friends — not for long, perhaps, but deeply bonded. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here today.
After all, no lawyer would casually risk offending the Fu family by taking on such an obviously unwinnable case.
Regardless of the final outcome, for the lawyer involved, this case was all risk and no reward.
“I’ve heard about you from Rosent for a while now, Miss Ruan. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”
Lu Ming broke the silence first, politely extending his hand with a smile.
Ruan Liuzheng smiled slightly and shook his hand briefly.
“Hello, Lawyer Lu. I’ll be counting on your help for my case.”
“You’re too polite. This is my job.”
With that, Lu Ming took out the documents he had organized the night before and began analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the case with her.
He also asked Ruan Liuzheng about her main demands for the case.
Half an hour later, Lu Ming packed up the files and nodded toward her.
“Miss Ruan, if you’re good with everything, we’ll go ahead and formally submit the materials to the court and prepare to file the lawsuit.”
Ruan Liuzheng nodded and tucked away her copy of the agreement.
“Okay.”
“However, I must warn you ahead of time… the outcome of this case—”
“Don’t worry, Lawyer Lu. I understand everything.”
Ruan Liuzheng lowered her eyes and said softly.
Her mood grew heavy.
The Fu family had been entrenched in Yun City for many years. She had no power, no connections — going up against them was like trying to shake a tree with a moth’s wings.
But if she didn’t even try, then even the slimmest hope would be lost.
Seeing the exhausted look on her face, Rosent frowned slightly and asked Lu Ming,
“Isn’t there any other way to guarantee Liuzheng wins?”
Lu Ming pursed his lips and thought for a moment. Then, surprisingly, he nodded.
“There is. If we can persuade someone from Junze Law Firm to take this case, Miss Ruan would absolutely win — and the outcome would be beyond doubt.”
“Junze?”
Ruan Liuzheng was startled.
Lu Ming nodded.
“Junze Law Firm moved to Yun City a few months ago. Before that, they’d won several high-profile international cases. Their founder’s identity is mysterious — rumored to be the heir of an old aristocratic family. If we could get their help, the entire case would shift in your favor.”
Ruan Liuzheng’s lips curled into a bitter smile.
“No need. Junze won’t help.”
She had seen people from Junze in the Fu offices before. They had clearly already partnered with the Fu family.
Why would they help her now?
“Liuzheng…”
Rosent looked at her with concern.
Ruan Liuzheng took a deep breath and forced a small smile, trying to stay positive.
“It’s okay. We’ll do what we can and leave the rest to fate. If it doesn’t work the first time, we’ll try a second, a third… I will get this divorce.”
She lowered her eyes, a determined glint flashing beneath her lashes.
Worst-case scenario, she’d wait two years. In their country, two years of separation was enough for the court to approve a divorce automatically.
After finishing her meeting with Lu Ming, Ruan Liuzheng had originally planned to return to work.
But then she got a call from her best friend, Ye Shutong.
Ye Shutong had been abroad filming for the past few months and had barely had time to call her.
They hadn’t spoken in a long while.
As soon as Ruan Liuzheng answered the call and exchanged a few words, she could tell something was wrong.
After some pressing, Ye Shutong finally confessed the truth:
She had returned to the country a few days ago — but had been injured, so she hadn’t contacted Ruan Liuzheng, afraid she’d worry.
Listening to her friend pretend everything was fine, Ruan Liuzheng’s expression grew increasingly grave.
She ended the call, visibly upset — but immediately turned to Rosent to request a half-day leave.
She didn’t go straight to the hospital. Instead, she stopped by the supermarket and picked up some groceries.
Her cooking skills were poor — except for one thing: soup.
Back when Fu Yanci was overworking himself trying to wrestle control of the company from Fu Yanshu, he had collapsed several times and ended up in the hospital.
To nurse him back to health, Ruan Liuzheng had put in serious effort — attending cooking classes, studying recipes, and pouring her heart into learning how to make soup.
At the time, Fu Yanci disliked soup. He found it greasy and nauseating.
The first time she brought him some, Ruan Liuzheng had been nervous — but surprisingly, he finished it all.
He even complimented her.
From then on, she dedicated herself to making soup for him nearly every day.
And over time, her skill improved naturally.