Chapter 2853 - 1770: Transaction

Chapter 2853: Chapter 1770: Transaction

"I’m going to the bathroom."

Hong Xiaoyu put down his chopsticks.

Then she looked at his glass.

No wonder.

It was almost empty.

He was still walking steadily, not staggering.

Li Shuru took a sip of ginger cola, her cheeks flushing; after all, she hadn’t been skimping on the alcohol.

"Sister Shurui, eat more dishes."

Duan Xueying could tell she was tipsy too.

And also.

Certain dishes really had too much left.

Like the deep?fried pepper intestines.

Sister Fang Qing really hadn’t touched them with her chopsticks even once.

"I’m already stuffed."

Li Shuru loosely covered her stomach with one hand. "If worst comes to worst, we’ll just pack it up. You two together don’t fight as hard as I do alone."

As she spoke, she paused. "You’re not doing it to keep your figure, are you?"

Duan Xueying played along with the joke. "Of course I have to watch it a bit. Otherwise if he starts disliking me and dumps me, what then?"

Li Shuru gave a charming smile. "Xiao Yu isn’t that kind of person. You can relax about that."

"Today is basically the first time you’ve met him. How are you so sure?"

"I’m indeed not that familiar with Xiao Yu yet, but I know his brother. People from the same family don’t differ that much."

Yeah.

Boss Jiang’s character really was guaranteed; "seduce and abandon" was a phrase that could never apply to him, not in this lifetime.

He was the one who got abandoned.

"When you put it like that, that’s true."

Duan Xueying smiled and nodded, without looking at Fang Qing.

"I heard you two were introduced by Sister Qianqian?"

Li Shuru asked.

"Sister Shurui, how do you know everything?"

Someone finally brought up this question.

She was clearly in River City for the first time, yet when it came to the things that had happened here, she seemed to know it all.

"What’s there to be so surprised about?"

Li Shuru put on a "no big deal" look. "I may not have been here before, but this is his hometown, so naturally it’s a land I care about."

Forget Duan Xueying—even Fang Qing couldn’t hold back:

"Public displays of affection are banned."

Duan Xueying snorted with laughter.

Only then did Li Shuru seem to realize there was a single dog at the table. She said generously, "I’ll punish myself with a drink."

Without waiting for Hong Xiaoyu to come back, she picked up her glass and downed what little wine was left, finishing it in a couple of swallows. For a woman, that was quite something.

The numbness from the alcohol was another matter.

"You call that a whole glass?"

Fang Qing challenged.

"Isn’t it?"

Li Shuru turned the glass upside down, mouth down; there really wasn’t a drop left.

"That was a sip."

Drawing on her instincts as a legal worker, Fang Qing was nitpicking down to the last cent.

"It’s just a figure of speech."

Li Shuru explained unhurriedly: "Just like saying you slam on the brakes from two hundred kilometers per hour—it’s just rhetoric. ’Binge?watch thirty episodes in one breath’—is it really all in one breath? Sister Fang Qing, if you’re going to be so literal, maybe think first about whether one person can take on Tianci’s eight thousand?strong legal department."

"Does Tianci even have eight thousand legal staff?"

Duan Xueying’s ’curious’ interjection was the perfect touch. The three women at the table burst out laughing; the scene was simply delightful, and the dishes on the table suddenly seemed dim, their flavor gone.

"How come Xiao Yu’s still not back?"

After the laughter, Li Shuru looked at Hong Xiaoyu’s empty seat.

"Maybe he went to throw up."

Fang Qing said calmly; she knew Hong Xiaoyu’s alcohol tolerance.

"I’ll go check."

Duan Xueying left her seat.

Watching her go, Li Shuru laughed and commented, "This girl’s not bad."

"Mm."

Fang Qing nodded to show she agreed.

"Has that family from Licheng already arrived in River City?" Li Shuru asked.

"The child’s already been sent to Xinghuo Medical Center."

"When will the autopsy results be out?"

"Tomorrow."

"Whatever the result is, it’s another trauma for the child’s parents." Li Shuru said softly.

Fang Qing said nothing.

"How about handing this case over to someone else."

Li Shuru said suddenly.

Fang Qing’s brows knitted. "Why?"

"This case is rather special in nature, and it affects a lot of parties..."

"I’m already here."

Qing Gege didn’t yield to her.

Exactly.

To say this now—where was that when they assigned her the case?

Li Shuru must have realized too that it was wrong to change the plan midstream. She gave a wry smile and explained, "At the time I oversimplified things. That family’s emotions must be quite unstable right now; Sister Fang Qing, dealing with them is going to be hard on you."

"That’s my job. People who need legal help are never emotionally stable."

Fang Qing said evenly.

Li Shuru studied her.

Changing course like this wasn’t right.

But when she called, she hadn’t known about Fang Qing’s health.

If you’re in good health, fine; but if you yourself need looking after and then still go manage work that’s this intense and high?pressure, it’s clearly not very suitable.

And also.

You’re facing the death of a newborn baby.

She trusted Fang Qing’s rationality and capability, but when you can’t even control your own appetite anymore, there are forces willpower just can’t fight.

"Sister Fang Qing, you really should think it over."

"No need to think."

Fang Qing was straightforward, decisive, without the slightest hesitation. "If you feel I’m not suitable, I’ll obey the reassignment."

"Sister Fang Qing."

Li Shuru was helpless. "I’m only discussing it with you."

Fang Qing took a sip of ginger cola. "I know."

Li Shuru sighed slightly; realizing the mood had gone wrong, she changed the subject. "His maternal uncle is hospitalized at Xinghuo Medical. Should I go visit him?"

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t the kind of question Fang Qing should weigh in on given her position, but she still chose to offer an opinion:

"There’s no need."

Li Shuru looked at her.

"You know what his relationship with his uncle is like. There’s no need to overdo it."

Li Shuru smiled. "Sister Fang Qing, you being this direct—I’m having a hard time with it."

"If I advised you to go,"

Fang Qing met her eyes. "wouldn’t you start wondering whether I had an ulterior motive?"