Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
This information was too shocking for Gu Nianzhi. Although she thought Gu Yanran was stupid and wasn’t her opponent at all, learning that Gu Yanran didn’t go to college but only studied at a butler’s school for three years far exceeded her expectations. “How could this be? Although her intelligence is not high, could it be so low that she couldn’t even get admitted into college?” Gu Nianzhi wrung her fingers in confusion, her pearly white teeth biting her bottom lip as a look of disbelief crossed her face.
Gu Yanran hadn’t been in the Hua Xia Empire. She was actually in a foreign country. For a foreign student to get into a good university, taking exams was not the only route. All the well-known Ivy League schools proactively recruited students, and all looked at family backgrounds first. Bad grades didn’t matter as long as the minimum requirements were met. Students from rich or powerful families of course had first priority. After that, normal students from regular families but with naturally gifted intelligence and earned high scores would be considered second. Of course, students whose families didn’t have money or power yet didn’t study hard on their own would have no chance with good universities at all. But for Gu Yanran, her father was Gu Xiangwen. That name alone would probably allow her to have free choice in all the famous European and American schools. So how on earth did she become so stubborn and decide to go study at a butler’s school of all places? Even if it was a butler’s school, this was not something that someone of her status needed to professionally study.
“This problem is a bit complex.” Huo Shaoheng propped his head on his hand, and his fingers tapped randomly on the steering wheel. He looked ahead and said, “Do you still have classes in the afternoon?”
“No. Today my classes were in the morning, and I already called in.” Gu Nianzhi was still mulling over Gu Yanran’s situation. She stared wide-eyed at Huo Shaoheng, wanting him to tell her more clues that could be a great help with her lawsuit.
“Ok, we can find a quiet place to pore over it later.” Huo Shaoheng looked at her with a smile. “What do you want to have tonight?”
Gu Nianzhi frowned. “I’m going back to campus for dinner tonight.” She sighed after saying that, no longer caring about why Gu Yanran would’ve studied at a butler’s school. Instead, she asked Huo Shaoheng, “What did you actually say to President Zhan? There’s no way that such stringent treatment would be used on my case with Gu Yanran.” Even if Huo Shaoheng came forward, he could only help with filing the case. As for the court official’s method of handling the case, that had completely exceeded the scope of an estate dispute.
Huo Shaoheng averted his gaze. After looking out the window for a while, he finally said, “Gu Yanran’s case has the possibility of involving national security interests. As a precaution, the court sent out the team with the most stringent procedures to take charge of obtaining evidence for the case.”
“National security interests? Really?” Gu Nianzhi was a bit uncertain now. “It’s only an estate dispute, though.”
“Much of Gu Xiangwen’s estate consists of patents.” Huo Shaoheng stated it simply and didn’t say anything more. Gu Nianzhi understood now—the engine blueprint in her backpack also seemed to belong to Gu Xiangwen.
…
Gu Yanran looked at the uniformed court officials before her and was feeling extremely troubled, recalling how when she was back in Barbados, even the governor’s office there treated her like an esteemed guest. Everyone treated her with great respect, so who would dare treat her like this? As she held the phone, her first reaction was to call Ye Xuan. However, Ye Xuan still refused to take her calls, so she had no choice but to call her own lawyer.
Her official lawyer should have been Wen Shouyi, but she had quit her job at the largest American law firm when she went back to her home town. However, Gu Yanran was still a client of that law firm’s, even if Wen Shouyi was no longer working there. Gu Yanran also knew that He Zhichu was one of the bosses in this law firm, and in the very beginning, he could have been considered her lawyer. Of course, he was a higher rank than Wen Shouyi. Although He Zhichu had always spoken bluntly to her, she was in big trouble this time around and had no choice but to have that law firm help her. But when she looked at her watch, she saw that it was currently the middle of the night in the United States, so she wouldn’t be able to get help at this time. She made the executive decision to leave a voicemail in English for the law firm over there, then called He Zhichu.
He Zhichu was a bit perplexed to see Gu Yanran’s number light up on his phone screen, yet he still unlocked it to pick up and asked, “Gu Yanran?”
Gu Yanran appeared like she was seeing her savior and was so aggrieved she nearly burst into tears. “Lawyer He, can you come over here for a bit? I’ve been sued. They want to give me a subpoena and are also not letting me leave the country!”
“You’ve been sued? Sued by who?” He Zhichu’s fingers rapped on the desk softly. His expression was aloof, and his calm voice carried no emotion at all.
Gu Yanran stiffened. She had been sued by Gu Nianzhi, but how could she tell that to He Zhichu? Gu Yanran always had that peculiar bit of discomfort whenever she faced He Zhichu. He Zhichu waited for a while, then was about to hang up when he didn’t hear Gu Yanran speak. Gu Nianzhi finally answered frantically, “It’s my sister, Gu Nianzhi. You also know that she doesn’t remember what happened in the past, so…”
“Ha ha, so you now know that she’s actually your sister? I warned you a long time ago to not try to take advantage of Nianzhi, and you thought I was joking with you? Gu Yanran, I’ll tell you that this is only the beginning. From the moment you decided to reveal that Gu Nianzhi was adopted, you should’ve been mentally prepared for this.” He Zhichu hung up after saying that.
Gu Yanran’s heart plummeted hard. Lips quivering for some time, her eyes began to flicker with unease. What did He Zhichu mean by that? Could he possibly know something? That was impossible… Anyone who knew even a bit about Gu Nianzhi’s identity and information no longer existed in the world.
Composing herself, Gu Yanran quickly decided to first contact JD Law Offices, the largest law firm in the Imperial Capital. She called them and indicated she wanted to hire Jin Wanyi as her lawyer. Jin Wanyi was the lawyer she knew the best, and they had cooperated tacitly not too long ago to take advantage of Prime Minister Tan’s wife, Cai Songyin. Gu Yanran was rather familiar with Jin Wanyi’s professional skills. Although she wasn’t comparable to He Zhichu, she was still very capable, and the key point was that she was reliable and would not take advantage of her.
Jin Wanyi received the law firm’s arrangements and heard it was her familiar client, Gu Yanran, so she didn’t hesitate to take her briefcase. She got into her newly purchased BMW X5 to drive towards Gu Yanran’s apartment on the Third Ring Road in the Imperial Capital.
…
Fifteen minutes later, Jin Wanyi arrived at the underground parking lot of Gu Yanran’s apartment. After parking her car, she found Gu Yanran’s location and discovered that she was surrounded by a group of men wearing court uniforms. Those people even carried cameras. “Stop! What are you doing?! I’m warning you, the penalty for knowingly breaking the law is even heavier!” Jin Wanyi yelled loudly as she walked over. Her high heels clicked sharply against the concrete floor as she strode to Gu Yanran’s side.
Gu Yanran lunged over toward Jin Wanyi like she was her only hope as soon as she saw her. “Lawyer Jin! They’re not letting me leave and even want me to hand over my passport!”
Jin Wanyi shook her hand. “Miss Gu, please don’t worry.” She turned to the group of people wearing court uniforms. “Where are your identification documents? I need to confirm your identities.”
The leader of the officials took out his work identification, then passed the subpoena envelope to Jin Wanyi. “Hello, since you are Miss Gu Yanran’s lawyer, please accept this subpoena on her behalf. Someone is suing Miss Gu Yanran for embezzling from the Gu estate and wishes to go to court with her to take back the portion of the estate that belongs to her.”
Jin Wanyi raised a brow and said disdainfully, “As far as I know, Gu Xiangwen hasn’t died yet. Who would be eligible to take an estate dispute to court?”
“The plaintiff, Gu Nianzhi, has made it clear on the indictment. Gu Xiangwen fell into a vegetative state after his airplane accident, and a full seven years elapsed at the middle of this year. This means that legally speaking, he is no longer considered to have full capacity for action and cannot be the legal subject. As a result, the plaintiff is qualified to seek equal division of the family estate.”
“It’s to be equally divided just because she says so? What about the will? Did she forget there is still a will?” Jin Wanyi lost it as soon as she heard it was Gu Nianzhi. She became very aggressive and was obviously much more professional than Gu Yanran.
However, Gu Yanran’s brows suddenly twitched unnaturally as soon as she heard the word “will.” She pulled the hem of Jin Wanyi’s shirt to interrupt her. “Lawyer Jin, when can I leave?”
Jin Wanyi turned around to glance at her and said with ample confidence, “Don’t fret. You’ll be able to leave right away.”
Gu Yanran sighed with relief. Fumbling with the phone with her hand, she sent another text to Ye Xuan.
Jin Wanyi was extremely imposing and said to the court officials, “I apologize to you all. My client is a citizen of Barbados, and the Gu estate is also in Barbados. If Gu Nianzhi wants to sue Gu Yanran and divide the estate, then have her file a complaint in the courts in Barbados. Which courthouse are you from? Just how badly do you need money in order for you to accept a case you don’t even have jurisdiction over?”
Gu Nianzhi was sitting in Huo Shaoheng’s car, so she clearly heard what Jin Wanyi was saying. She couldn’t help but get very angry. How could you accept a lawsuit for scum like Gu Yanran!? You’re the one needing money badly! Your entire bank account needs money badly! This woman always lost to her yet refused to repent. Gu Nianzhi truly thought that she should make Jin Wanyi develop “Gu phobia” from now on, so she would feel her bones go soft and want to run off as soon as she saw her again… Gu Nianzhi saw red, and she opened the door to get out and yell at Jin Wanyi herself.
Huo Shaoheng reacted quickly and embraced her from behind. He dragged her back so she sat in his lap, his powerful arms encircling her waist and rendering her immobile.
“What are you doing? Let me go out there.” Gu Nianzhi punched Huo Shaoheng a few times.
“You don’t need to go yourself. How can you fight this lawsuit if the court official doesn’t even have this bit of ability?” Huo Shaoheng said this quietly in her ear. He was so close that the hot air in his breath made her feel like her neck was being licked by flames.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help shrinking her neck back. “Fine, I won’t go, but can you let go of me?” Gu Nianzhi began to fiercely pry Huo Shaoheng’s arm off in an attempt to get him to loosen his grip. Although his embrace was warm, Gu Nianzhi didn’t want herself to drown in it again.
However, Huo Shaoheng had no intention of letting go. He looked down. “Does hugging you make your heart tremble? Hmm?”
“Of course not.” Gu Nianzhi frowned. “You’re overthinking it.”
“If that’s the case, then why does it matter if I let go or not? Ok, keep watching the drama and ignore me.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
