It was that set of bed sheets and covers she bought for him.
His duvet wrapped her around, his clothes hugged her... She closed her eyes and smiled quietly.
As if, sleeping in his embrace.
It was strange, on such a night, she should have been unable to sleep, yet because of his presence, she slept soundly.
In her dream, it was again that past darkness, where she and that person huddled together, using each other’s warmth to get through endless times of loneliness, unaware of day or night.
Every circle has its relatively fixed gathering places.
The member-only bar "Lan" on the top floor of the Sea Sky Hotel is where the legal elites of the city like to gather for a drink after a day’s work.
An Cheng entered "Lan" with her secretary Jian, immediately recognizing several familiar faces.
Some she expected to see, while others she didn’t want to see.
But the world is only so big, and since they had already run into each other, there was no need to dodge.
An Cheng crossed her arms and watched Xiang Yuan take the initiative to approach her, extending his hand to greet her in a gentlemanly manner: "Prosecutor An, a pleasure to meet you."
An Cheng simply shook hands briefly before pulling away: "Lawyer Xiang. Perhaps our current situation should be described as: enemies always meet."
Xiang Yuan, with his influence, surely already knew she had taken on Mark’s case. Now she’s the prosecutor, and he’s the defense attorney, the opposing sides in court.
Yet Xiang Yuan smiled: "Prosecutor An, you’re joking. Actually, we’re not enemies. You’ve done me a favor. If you hadn’t taken the case, or decided to prosecute, I wouldn’t even have the chance to be in court as a defense lawyer. It’s an honor to spar with you."
An Cheng shrugged and smiled: "Congratulations to Lawyer Xiang on another payday. Since your client could afford an 800,000 US Dollar bail, your attorney’s fee and commission must be substantial too. No wonder Lawyer Xiang, who usually only handles wealthy businessmen’s divorce cases, suddenly took on such a case."
An Cheng was clearly mocking, but Xiang Yuan remained unfazed, still so gentlemanly and polite.
"Prosecutor An is right, as a lawyer, I’ve mostly been involved in divorce cases for years, which is admittedly narrow. This case marks my transition, and its outcome is very important to me, so I ask for your leniency."
An Cheng gently shook her wrist.
Her left wrist was unadorned, while her right wrist was bustling with a professional watch and a string of star-and-moon Bodhi beads. Her wrists were slender, and the beads wrapped four times with an excess, hanging down her hand loosely, with a serene Buddhist elegance.
"Sorry, Lawyer Xiang. I, An Cheng, lack everything but leniency. Don’t be fooled by the Buddhist beads on my wrist; they’re not for charity and compassion. I’m here to send scumbags to their due transcendence."
For someone like An Cheng, who wouldn’t let a single word go unnoticed, Xiang Yuan found it a bit awkward and didn’t say much more, leaving for an excuse.
Only then did An Cheng raise her eyes to look for Jian.
It turned out that taking advantage of her sparring with Xiang Yuan, Jian had already slipped over to the most prominent table, now clinking glasses and chatting with others.
An Cheng could only frown slightly and ordered a martini, swaying as she walked towards that table.
Meeting halfway eyes that were neither heavy nor light lingering on her face.
Tang Yanxi told himself: it was only for his younger brother.
After all, the woman his brother was quite fond of now happened to be Xiang Yuan’s wife, so seeing An Cheng enter and speak with Xiang Yuan for so long, he couldn’t help but pay more attention.
An Cheng came over, clinking glasses with the familiar lawyers, deliberately leaving Tang Yanxi for last.
An Cheng couldn’t help but chuckle self-deprecatingly: "I know between Lawyer Tang and me, we can never drink happily together. But since we bumped into each other, let’s grudgingly clink a glass."
The enmity between An Cheng and Tang Yanxi was well-known among their lawyer colleagues around, so they all smiled good-naturedly.
Tang Yanxi, however, was magnanimous, tilting his glass proactively; the two glasses clinked crisply among the radiant hues.
"Congratulations on winning another case today. Prosecutor An must be on a 20 consecutive win streak by now, right?"
This was a compliment, but it grated on An Cheng. She shrugged with a smile: "Lawyer Tang, are you trying to say that my 20 consecutive wins are only because none of them were your cases?"
"Honestly, I regret this situation. Why do you insist on dedicating yourself to legal aid services? Now you’re concentrating on civil rights for women and children, and no longer cross paths with me."
An Cheng could never forget that her last defeat before this 20-win streak was to this sharp and cold man before her. Latest content published on NovєlFіre.net
Worse yet, she lost not only that case but also several others to him in the preceding years...
The prosecutor’s office even had an unwritten rule that Tang Yanxi was her nemesis. Any case represented by Tang Yanxi, Lewis would never assign to her.
Tang Yanxi didn’t overlook the hostility in An Cheng’s tone, retorting lightly: "It’s not only high-profile criminal cases that embody judicial justice; perhaps fighting for basic rights for the common people is more meaningful. Between life and death, Prosecutor An prefers focusing on ’death’, whereas I aspire more towards ’life’."
He finished and saw An Cheng was about to counterattack, but cut her off just in time, adding: "...Of course, high-profile criminal cases showcase your personal charisma and put you in the spotlight more. Naturally, the former suits your personality better, Prosecutor An."
Though not in court, the two of them were once again engaged in their way of polite barbs the moment they met. The lawyer friends around couldn’t help but sigh at both of them.
They say disputes should be resolved rather than prolonged, but these two were enjoying their long-standing rivalry.
An Cheng had obviously lost again, so she couldn’t help but cross her arms and smirk: "What a coincidence, I just took a case, and the lead detective is your brother, Mr. Tang. I really hope during the investigation, Mr. Tang won’t do anything out of line that would remind me of you, Lawyer Tang, making it difficult to handle."
To be honest, Tang Yanxi wasn’t concerned by An Cheng’s veiled threat. Because he knew his brother Yanqing too well—he himself had only been played by him, let alone An Cheng.
Still, Tang Yanxi couldn’t help but think of Xiang Yuan talking to An Cheng earlier, raising an eyebrow: "Could it be that the defense attorney in this case is Xiang Yuan?"