Chapter 1: What Is Marriage?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Even though the sun was warm in mid-April, the wind that blew over was still slightly chilly. Su Yanxi, who had just walked out of the court, was called by her client. She held her hand and thanked her profusely.
“Sister Zhang, you’re too polite. This is what I should do.” Faced with the excitement of her client winning the lawsuit, Su Yanxi remained calm as a faint smile appeared on her lips.
“Thank goodness you’re here, Ms. Su! Otherwise, I would’ve been married to that bastard for nothing all these years. I didn’t get a single cent from him and even gave birth to a pair of children for nothing…” The client, Sister Zhang, sighed emotionally. The more she spoke, the more agitated she became.
Su Yanxi raised her eyebrows slightly and looked down at her hand that was being held tightly by the client. Su Yanxi was completely immune to her ’emotions’ and ‘gratitude’. Although she rarely fought divorce cases, every time she won, the client would hold her hand and thank her profusely just like Sister Zhang did now. It was all because she helped them win what they wanted.
“Ms. Su, do you have time tonight? Let’s have dinner together! Just treat it as a celebration of our victory in this lawsuit.” Sister Zhang smiled and let go of Su Yanxi’s hand after she had spoken her mind.
Su Yanxi retracted her hand and glanced at the paralegal standing behind her from the corner of her eye. The paralegal understood what she meant and immediately stepped forward with a smile, “I’m really sorry, Madam Zhang. Ms. Su has an appointment tonight.”
“Oh, I see! Alright then! Mr. Su is a busy man, so I won’t disturb you any further. Let’s have dinner together next time! I’m leaving now.” Sister Zhang nodded regretfully, then waved her hand and left.
“Oh my! Ms. Su, I suddenly feel that marriage is so scary! Just think about how those two fought so hard for money in court just now. Oh! I definitely don’t want to be like this in the future.” Looking at Sister Zhang’s departing figure, Yi Yao the paralegal sighed deeply and started to complain.
Upon hearing this, Su Yanxi’s eyes dimmed slightly. She slowly looked up at the blue sky and fell into deep thought.
Marriage?
These two words were both familiar and unfamiliar to her. When she felt familiar with them, she would always remember that she was married. When she felt unfamiliar with them, she would always forget what marriage was.
“Ms. Su, what are you thinking about?” Yi Yao’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Su Yanxi snapped out of her trance and glanced at her before shaking her head, “Nothing.” She then strode towards the car park.
Seeing that she had no intention of answering him, Yi Yao rubbed her nose awkwardly. She did not mind. After all, she had been with Su Yanxi for more than a year and knew her character well. Seeing that she had left, she hurriedly followed her.
After getting into the car, Su Yanxi held the steering wheel and asked unhurriedly, “Is there a gathering in the law firm tonight?”
When Yi Yao heard this, she immediately nodded in agreement, “Yes, yes. Isn’t Barrister Mo back in China today? He organized a gathering and specially instructed me to bring you over no matter what happens, even if Mars crashed into Earth.”
Su Yanxi chuckled softly, “What time is it?”
“Six-thirty.”
Her beautiful eyes glanced at the watch on her wrist and started the car, “It’s still early. Let’s go back to the law firm first. Write a summary report on Zhang Qiuping’s case and then save it.”
“Alright, I understand.”
***
As soon as she returned to the law firm, Su Yanxi saw a familiar figure chatting happily with the others at the front desk. The moment she entered the house, the world suddenly fell silent, leaving only Lian Qingyan laughing with her hands on her stomach. It was as if she could not stop.
“Ms…. Ms. Su, you’re back.” One of the girls tried her best to squeeze out a natural smile to greet her. The others didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
After all, Su Yanxi was famous for being strict. As long as it was during office hours, no one could talk about anything other than work. In addition, Su Yanxi’s personality was a little cold and she did not seem to be easy to get along with. Hence, everyone in the law firm except Yi Yao was a little afraid of her.
“Yes,” Su Yanxi answered calmly. She walked towards Lian Qingyan, who was laughing uncontrollably. She asked with a frown, “What’s wrong with you?”
“No… No, it’s… it’s them who said that… what they said was too funny. I… I laughed until my stomach hurt. Look, my tears are falling.” Lian Qingyan tried her best to control her laughter as she waved her hand and held Su Yanxi’s shoulders.
“Why are you here?” Su Yanxi glanced at her and avoided her hand on her shoulder. She asked as she walked in.
“Little Bai is treating us tonight, how can I miss it!” Lian Qingyan raised an eyebrow, waved to the people behind her, and chased after her.
“Where’s Mobai?”
“I want to know too. He only told me that he was having dinner at the D Leah restaurant at 6: 30 pm. I don’t know where he went.” Lian Qingyan shrugged innocently.
Su Yanxi pushed open the office door and walked to her desk. She pulled out a chair and sat down before turning her laptop. She asked casually, “Then, why are you here so early?”
“Looking for you!”
“Why are you looking for me?”
“Something’s up!”
“Speak.”
“I saw your husband yesterday.”
Su Yanxi was stunned. Her hands that were on the laptop stopped as well. She was still in a daze. Seeing that she was stunned, Lian Qingyan waved her hand in front of her, “What are you staring at?”
“Nothing.” Su Yanxi returned to her senses and continued to watch the screen.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“What should I be curious about?”
“Where did I see your husband!”
“Yes, where?”
“The hospital.”
***
Su Yanxi rolled her eyes at her, “And then?”
“I even greeted him.”
“Did he recognize you?”
“No, he doesn’t.” Lian Qingyan pursed her lips, feeling indignant. “I greeted him warmly yesterday, but he turned out to be an iceberg. He even asked me who I was. I’ve met him before after all. One, two, three, right, three times! He actually said he didn’t know me. Isn’t that a little too much?”
Su Yanxi glanced at her and asked with a smile, “Why did you go to the hospital?”
“I have a slight cold and cough, but it’s alright. I feel much better after taking the medicine.”
“The weather is fluctuating between hot and cold so it’s very easy to catch a cold. You didn’t try to keep yourself warm and you’ll suffer when the time comes.”
“Aiya! Don’t worry! It’s just a small cold. There’s no need to make such a big fuss! Besides, you’ve known me for so long. I can count the number of times I’ve caught a cold with my fingers! It’s not a big deal.” Lian Qingyan shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
Su Yanxi shook her head helplessly and looked away. She continued to work and did not say anything else.