manynovel Chapter 13 Unrealistic
Chapter 13 Unrealistic
At 6:30 sharp, Yu Xingge received a call from Jin Yajie at the front desk, informing her that Liang Hui had arrived.
She walked unhurriedly down the corridor, her high heels clicking on the marble floor, creating ripples. She stopped outside the reception area and saw Liang Hui sitting by the window, lost in thought. Liang Hui's long, black hair flowed neatly down her back. A dark blue floral dress accentuated her slightly tanned skin, and her black high heels were of high quality. Lost in thought, she didn't notice Yu Xingge's arrival, only fiddling with a pair of gold earrings. When Yu Xingge entered, she froze: "Attorney Yu?" As she stood up, the dress, stretched taut by her waistline, loosened.
"Yes, that's me." Yu Xingge entered the room and put down the black notebook in her hand.
"Are you alone? Not Attorney Zhou?"
Yu Xingge: "Attorney Zhou is in court and is not at the law firm."
"Oh, okay." Liang Hui hesitated. "You... how about I wait for Attorney Zhou?" "Has the child been found?" Yu Xingge asked with concern.
Liang Hui lowered her eyes and muttered, "There's no need to look for him, his father must have taken him away." "By the way, will the divorce agreement you had me sign last time still be valid? If I sue him, will I be able to find my son?"
"While we can't rule out the possibility that his father took him away, I think you should still confirm with the child's father and grandparents. What do you think?"
She ran a hand through her hair in frustration: "I called, but no one answered."
Yu Xingge pushed the glass of water on the table forward: "Sit down and have some water, then tell me the details. For example, what did you do on your way here?"
Liang Hui sat down: "They didn't do anything. Lin Xiangsong's phone is off. His parents are in their hometown, and they don't contact him much. That phone is just for show; no one answers when I call it."
"Haven't you called the police to report this yet?"
"no."
"Since we can't contact your husband, the child is still at risk. Report it to the police and get an abortion now."
"How do you report it? Just call 100?" Liang Hui's expression revealed fear of the unknown and dealing with the police: "I... I won't say."
Yu Xingge tapped the table lightly with her pen, the crisp sound drawing Liang Hui's attention: "There's nothing I can't do. With me here, you can go ahead and do it." As she spoke, Yu Xingge took out her voice recorder, pressed the confirmation button, and nodded to her.
Liang Hui remained hesitant until she saw the urging in Yu Xingge's eyes.
A mechanical voice announced: "Dongjiang 100, please speak."
"Hello, I want to report a crime."
"What is the reason for reporting this?" The female voice on the other end was mechanical and calm.
"My son is missing."
"When did you discover the child was missing?" The sound of keyboard typing could be heard. "Provide the exact time and location."
Liang Hui glanced at Yu Xingge in a panic, and Yu Xingge gestured with his palm.
"Well, it happened around 5 p.m. today. He was found at Jianxin Elementary School. The last time I saw him was Monday morning. I remember it was around 8 a.m. when I saw him off. But he left with his father, and now his father can't be contacted either."
The typing quickened: "Child's characteristics? Can't we contact the father either? Do we have any information on suspects?"
"My son was wearing a black short-sleeved tracksuit with a Mickey Mouse cartoon image on the shirt. He was also wearing blue sweatpants. Suspect: Lin Xiangsong! ID number......."
Dispatcher: "Are you carrying any electronic devices?"
Liang Hui then remembered that Lin Lin had left wearing a phone watch. She jumped up, exclaiming, "Yes, there's a Xiaomi watch!"
"Okay. Based on your report, we have generated a police report number, BJ110-20220712-0921. Please go to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Donghu Branch for biological sample collection. Please remember to bring your child's toothbrush or hair as a biological sample." A system notification sounded before the call ended: You have entered the criminal case response process. Please keep your communication channels open.
Yu Xingge clapped softly from the opposite side: "See, you did a better job than I imagined."
Liang Hui felt a little embarrassed after being praised by a little girl.
"So, what's the next step?"
What's next? The next step is to discuss the commission.
"Gather evidence and sue Lin Xiangsong for a sham divorce. Modify the divorce agreement, revoke the house gift, change custody..." Yu Xingge's tone shifted: "However, before that, you'll need to hire a professional lawyer. What do you think?"
"Hire a lawyer? No problem. That's why I came here. But..." Liang Hui hesitated slightly.
Yu Xingge's past experiences have given him an extremely accurate ability to judge people. Liang Hui: A local, a recipient of land expropriation compensation, also known as a nouveau riche. The reason they are called nouveau riche is because in the years before the expropriation, their lifestyle followed the ordinary trajectory of most people, struggling to make ends meet and carefully calculating every penny. But when one day, due to an unexpected event, they suddenly acquire a huge fortune without any effort, most people find it difficult to handle the immense dopamine rush brought by money. The shock of this life change often leads them to choose a path completely different from their previous personality and choices.
It's just extravagance.
Liang Hui had undergone rhinoplasty; without bone to obscure it, light shines through the transparent silicone implant. Her double eyelids aren't perfectly formed, but her clothing reveals her appearance before she became wealthy, though her shoes are quite expensive. For someone like her, a recipient of land expropriation compensation: money is valuable and worthless depending on how she chooses to spend it. Whether or not she can have the money depends on her willingness.
So what is her standard for whether she is willing or not? It's her mood. And her mood today is by no means pleasant.
"These are the law firm's engagement documents," Yu Xingge pushed forward, "along with the firm's fee schedule."
Liang Hui took it, her rapid flipping revealing her urgency. She exclaimed, "So tall?"
Yu Xingge smiled without speaking. She placed her arms on the table and leaned forward slightly. "What I need to tell Ms. Liang is that your case is very difficult. A sham divorce is not recognized by law."
"Not recognized? What do you mean?" Liang Hui was taken aback.
Yu Xingge looked directly into her eyes: "Legally, there is no such thing as a sham divorce. Once both parties complete the divorce registration or the court judgment takes effect, the marital relationship is dissolved. In a sham divorce, your agreements regarding custody and property division are legally binding."
Liang Hui exclaimed, "How is that possible! What about the agreement you made me sign the other day?"
"Therefore, I stipulated and noted in the divorce agreement that you had a sham divorce due to debt, and I required Lin Xiangsong to transfer all the proceeds from the sale of the house to you. Only in this way, and only in terms of property and custody, can the losses be recovered."
"Selling a house? I'm not selling a house, you're talking nonsense!" Liang Hui jumped up. "I didn't expect you to be like this, Attorney Yu." She tossed aside the fee schedule and said disdainfully, "You've said so many threatening things just to get money, haven't you? I thought you were quite capable despite your young age. I was originally planning to entrust my case to you. But you're not honest." With that, Liang Hui picked up her bag and pushed open the door aggressively. She paused slightly after taking a step, and seeing that the person inside didn't try to stop her, she left without looking back this time.
Although I knew the negotiations were going to fall apart, it's really... unbelievable that the first time I tried to charge a fee, it started like this.
"What happened?" Jin Yajie came over to tidy up the meeting room, and Yu Xingge helped put away the cups. "I see the person involved is quite angry. What did you do to upset her?"
"How could I dare to upset the person involved?" Yu Xingge said seriously. "My emotions are always more stable than my savings."
"Wow! Xingge, you even have a secret stash of money!"
The two exchanged a few jokes and then parted ways. Yu Xingge dialed Zhou Yuxuan's number. Since he was Zhou's client, he should report to Zhou.
Liang Hui stood at the elevator entrance, still seething with anger, when her mother called to ask, "How did the talk with the lawyer go? Are you sure you can handle that case?"
"Don't even mention it, Mom. This lawyer Yu is completely unreliable." A man with slicked-back hair stepped into the elevator with her, impeccably dressed in a suit and gleaming shoes, a slight smile playing on his lips, only his silver-rimmed glasses revealing his shrewdness. She subconsciously lowered her voice: "This lawyer Yu actually told me a fake divorce can't be annulled? That's ridiculous! I've consulted at least a dozen, if not a thousand, lawyers, and everyone there said they could definitely handle my case."
She glanced at the man again, seeing that his expression was completely calm, probably because he hadn't heard her, and relaxed a little more: "I thought she was experienced because of her mature tone on the phone. Turns out she's just a recent graduate. Can you believe what a young girl says? She made me sign a fake divorce agreement with Lin Xiangsong, saying that he should sell the house and transfer the money to me. I was too flustered that day and didn't even look at it carefully. What kind of lawyer is she? Isn't that just giving me bad advice?"
Liang Hui said indignantly, "I think it's just intimidation."
"When did this happen? How come I didn't know? Lin Xiangsong is such a scoundrel, he actually signed it for you?"
"Oh dear, right on the day we got our marriage certificate, Lin Xiangsong, who's usually so serious, seemed really happy that day. I was wondering why my right eye kept twitching, so I consulted a lot of lawyers online. But all those lawyers are very shrewd; they all want payment before they'll reply."
"So this little girl doesn't charge money?"
Liang Hui couldn't bear her mother's skepticism: "She's just graduated, how could she possibly accept money?" The elevator stopped on the first floor: "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to find another lawyer. Mom, could you ask my dad to try and find out where Lin Xiangsong took the child through my cousin's connections in the police force?"
Aren't you worried about Lin Lin?
"Look at what you're saying! Of course I'm worried! Mom, that's not a good thing to say. Aren't you worried I'll run around here? Lin Lin must be hidden away by his dad. His dad cherishes him much more than I do."
"Didn't you tell your lawyer?"
"I just didn't want to increase her leverage, okay? Seeing a mother like this, she couldn't very well charge such a high fee, right? Who knew this woman was heartless."
Liang Hui brushed the hair that had fallen across her chest back: "You didn't see that agency fee. It's outrageously high!"
Only after hearing the sound of the other person's high heels clicking away into the distance did Wei Jin, the head of the marriage and family law team at Hongjiang Law Firm, finally catch a glimpse of the other person's figure in the elevator.
"Attorney Yu?" Interesting.