DF Chapter 3

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“Next time, then.” Song Yi said. “Lawyer Zhen, I’ve recommended you to many friends. When they run into trouble, you’ll be the first person they think of.”

Zhen Yi smiled modestly and explained, “I don’t handle civil or commercial cases. I specialize in criminal cases related to personal injury. So, if you guys end up dealing with murder, violence, or rape, be sure to come to me.”

Song Yi: “…”

Si Gui turned her head away, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“…I’ll keep that in mind. See you next time.”

Zhen Yi didn’t realize her joke might come true, but that very night, something did happen.

As Song Yi walked away, Si Gui looked after her and asked, “Zhen, that big celebrity is so warm to you. I’m curious, what kind of relationship do lawyers usually have with their clients?”

Zhen Yi pondered briefly before replying, “Like fleeting lovers. Short-term cases are like one-night stands; long-term cases are more like a man with a mistress, or a woman with a younger man. Sometimes there’s genuine affection, but most of the time, it’s just an act, with both sides getting what they need.”

Si Gui burst into laughter. After thinking about it, she couldn’t deny the accuracy of Zhen Yi’s comparison.

“Zhen, who’s the main wife in this scenario?”

“The law.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re always trying to ‘exploit’ the loopholes in the law.”

“…”

Si Gui was used to Zhen Yi’s irreverence. “Being a lawyer like you means you’ve got ‘ex-boyfriends’ paying your bills everywhere you go. Must be nice.”

“Jealous, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely. I’m dying of jealousy. Zhen, I heard from Yang Zi that you’ve never lost a case as a representative. Even in this last one, the public thinks you still came out on top.”

“It’s not that I’m amazing, it’s just that I only take on winnable cases.” Zhen Yi said honestly. The law firm’s boss, Bian Qian, was one of her grandfather’s students, practically like a brother to her. He would only give her cases that were both high-profile and likely to succeed, hoping to mold her into a famous lawyer with a spotless record. Zhen Yi was fully aware of the privileges she had been granted, and she accepted them without shame. In her mind, human connections, just like intelligence, appearance, and education, were assets. Not using them would be foolish.

After finishing off two bowls of dessert, Zhen Yi stood up and went to find the restroom. She pushed open the safety door and walked down a long, empty hallway for nearly fifty meters before spotting the simple red and blue stick figures at the end. She grumbled to herself, “This bathroom is so far, it’s like it’s in the middle of nowhere.”

She glanced at the men’s room and found it funny. Of course, no birds would ever poop here… Suddenly, the door swung open. A young woman daydreaming about men’s rooms? She quickly wiped the smile off her face and entered the ladies’ room, but the person who came out of the men’s room was someone she knew.

In those few seconds, her expression went through a whirlwind of changes.

Besides his prominent family background, Lin Ziyi was an internet celebrity known for causing trouble. Every so often, videos of him fighting and brawling would surface online. There had been rumors of rape in the past, but without any victims coming forward, the cases were dropped. This time, Tang Shang had stood up, but it ended in her death.

Anything related to the case had been sealed once the verdict was passed, and Zhen Yi never brought it up again. But seeing Lin Ziyi outside the restroom made her stomach churn with disgust. She looked away, pushed the door to the women’s room, and walked in. She hadn’t expected to be yanked back by a sudden force and slammed against the wall.

Lin Ziyi blocked her path, his face dark and menacing.

From childhood, Lin Ziyi had never encountered any real obstacles. To him, the law was a joke. He first saw Tang Shang at a birthday party for a socialite. She was beautiful, with a good figure, an air of nobility, and a touch of boldness. She wasn’t vain or frivolous, unlike the materialistic women or the weak ones he was used to. Lin Ziyi was captivated by her, unable to look away.

As someone who had never put much effort into anything, Lin Ziyi racked his brain to come up with the perfect phrase for his goddess: Wealth cannot corrupt me. And for that very reason, he wanted to corrupt her even more.

He asked around about Tang Shang and learned from his jealous mistress that Tang Shang had high self-esteem and couldn’t be bought with money. She had a boyfriend, Wu Zhe, and they were very much in love. Lin Ziyi later saw him—a clean-cut, good-looking guy. Tang Shang had ridden on Wu Zhe’s electric bike, smiling radiantly, but she refused to get into Lin Ziyi’s luxury car.

Determined to have her, Lin Ziyi tried everything to pursue her, but his wealth never moved Tang Shang. Her and Wu Zhe’s lives were thrown into chaos, so they decided to leave K City. Lin Ziyi was shocked. He had just gotten Wu Zhe fired, thinking that Tang Shang would dump him. He never expected this outcome.

His pride and patience were pushed to the limit, replaced by a savage sense of vengeance and the desire to destroy. He had them both kidnapped—Tang Shang and Wu Zhe—and, like an animal, he unleashed his rage on her, forcing his friends to join in on the abuse.

He knew her screams couldn’t soothe the anger of being ignored, so he decided to return the humiliation he felt, in full, by making Wu Zhe watch the entire ordeal, bound and helpless.

All night long. When they were done, Tang Shang lay there like a corpse, and Wu Zhe looked just as lifeless. As they left, Lin Ziyi tossed a wad of cash onto her, one final insult.

Even when the story of Tang Shang broke, Lin Ziyi wasn’t worried. As usual, he assumed nothing would happen. Rape or consensual? Who could say for sure? But then Wu Zhe and Tang Shang insisted on pressing charges, standing side by side at every court session, hand in hand, and that drove Lin Ziyi mad with jealousy.

He didn’t expect that a lawyer named Zhen Yi would dare to take on the case when everyone else avoided it, nor did he expect the police to delay the investigation while she pressed forward as Tang Shang’s representative.

Least of all, he didn’t expect this lawyer to gather both physical and testimonial evidence from every direction, working with the prosecution to destroy the defendants’ arguments in court.

Now, here she was, this beautiful lawyer, looking at him like she was staring at a pile of dung—disgusted, dismissive, like just one more glance would make her eyes sore. She turned and walked away without a word. Furious, Lin Ziyi grabbed her and shoved her against the wall.

Zhen Yi warned him calmly, “Do you want me to sue you for harassment?”

Her composure caught him off guard, and he slowly let go of her wrist, leaning in to trap her against the wall, taunting, “Lawyer Zhen, you won’t. For someone like you, money can solve everything.”

Zhen Yi smirked. “Three million yuan must’ve hurt your pocket, huh?”

Lin Ziyi’s rage flared at the mention of it. “Women spread their legs for me for money! How was Tang Shang any different? Did I not pay her enough or what? Ha, I only had a few trolls online spread rumors that she was a prostitute trying to get ahead, and guess what? You know how many people jumped on that bandwagon?”

Zhen Yi’s eyes turned icy. There was nothing more despicable than men who used sex and reputation to destroy women. They believed that conquering women with their bodies and power was a show of male strength and authority. It made Zhen Yi sick. But society was always lenient toward the powerful, turning a blind eye to the man while condemning the woman as a slut.

When she had first seen those posts, she had been so furious she could’ve vomited blood. She couldn’t even imagine how much worse it had been for Tang Shang and Wu Zhe.

Zhen Yi hadn’t believed it when she heard about Tang Shang’s suicide. She had always thought of Tang Shang as fragile on the outside but incredibly resilient at her core. Despite her horrific ordeal, she had stayed strong, saying that if they didn’t put Lin Ziyi in prison, more women would suffer.

She never complained, gritting her teeth and enduring it all with such strength that it made you want to cry.

Zhen Yi would never know if Tang Shang’s heart had been crushed beyond repair by the slander, or if it had been enough to make someone as determined as her give up before the final verdict was even reached.

But Zhen Yi understood now the weight of the phrase: Public opinion is like molten gold; accumulated lies can grind even bones to dust.

Did those people who viciously slandered Tang Shang ever fear the karmic consequences of their actions?

“You killed her.” Zhen Yi said quietly.

Lin Ziyi froze, his face darkening. “You’re a lawyer. Don’t you know what defamation is?”

Zhen Yi smiled. “I said your slander killed her. Judging by your reaction, did you think I was accusing you of physically killing her?”

Lin Ziyi’s eyes filled with fury. There had been conspiracy theories online, speculating that they had murdered Tang Shang. He sneered. “Lawyer Zhen, your tongue is sharp, but that’s still defamation!”

“What did I say?”

“You…” Lin Ziyi’s face twitched with anger. “You’re no saint either. You took on Tang Shang’s case just to make a name for yourself, pretending to be righteous and fearless while standing up for the weak. But I know you’re the one who’s really profiting from all this. You helped the Tang family extort 3 million from me. How much of that did you pocket as kickbacks?”