Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He Zhichu was completely dismissive and directly opened the door to get inside the car. After he sat in the car, the darkly tinted windows slowly lowered, and He Zhichu’s face that was as aloof as an ice sculpture gradually revealed itself from the rear window. He looked at Little A’s confused face and laughed mirthlessly. “You’re frightened?”
“Frightened?! The word ‘frightened’ doesn’t exist in my vocabulary!” Little A was so provoked he nearly jumped up. But with some careful thought, he felt the need to warn He Zhichu. “But Mr. He, do you know what places are close to here?” Little A desperately latched onto He Zhichu’s car door. “The famous Ovi Air Base is right there! You are asking me to bring in all this war equipment right under the nose of Air Force?!”
He Zhichu’s shimmery, sultry eyes flashed quickly as he continued looking straight ahead. He replied dryly, “That’s your problem, not mine.”
“But this is the Ovi Air Force Base!” Little A slammed the door hard and gritted the words out from between his teeth. “All the B-2 stealth bomber pilots are trained here! They are also the only squadron in the world to have ever deployed atomic bombs! Aren’t we just asking for a death wish by fighting a limited local war here? Mr. He, where is your logic?!”
A moment of unease appeared briefly in He Zhichu’s expression, but he quickly composed himself and turned to look at Little A. His thin and cruel lips curled into a sneering arc. “So I guess you are frightened. Start the car.” As soon as he quietly said the words, the driver in the front pressed on the gas pedal, and the bulletproof Cadillac private vehicle immediately shot forward like an arrow being released from its bow. Little A almost fell over from the sudden acceleration. He quickly tumbled forward a few steps in order to stabilize his body enough to stop, but he couldn’t catch up with the car as it instantly disappeared from his view. Little A cursed as he took out his phone to call He Zhichu’s number once again. He said gruffly, “Mr. He, your request is a bit too much this time. I need to inquire with my superior.”
“Whatever.” He Zhichu wore a Bluetooth headset and used one hand to open his phone to search the local news to browse. Very good, there hadn’t been any special incidents in the city of Little Rock Canyon lately. The Ovi Air Force Base was also operating normally. News of his visit to the United States was confidential for now, so Gu Nianzhi wouldn’t tell anyone. However, once he went to the police station to request Ye Xuan’s release on bail, the news of him in the United States would spread. By then, everything he requested needed to be in place.
The car window was left open, so the salty wind blew in from the wilderness and carried an icy chill. He Zhichu sighed deeply, his hands shaking uncontrollably as his fingers formed the position of holding a gun. He had been a lawyer for so long now that he had already forgotten what he used to do. Uncle Gu was very right—human potential was infinite. That statement was not a metaphor, nor was there a rhetorical device. It was only the literal meaning. Closing his eyes slightly, He Zhichu—who hadn’t slept for a full day and night by now—finally fell into a light slumber.
…
“Brother, I want to be a lawyer when I grow up.” It was Gu Nianzhi as she appeared on her twelfth birthday. She wore a pink diamond crown, pink tulle dress, and had a little chubby round face. Her fleshy little hand grabbed onto the hem of his shirt, and he could clearly see the little dimple on the back of her hand.
“Brother He,” He Zhichu calmly corrected her. He had the appearance of when he was 22 years old and was a bit more aloof than he was now, though he revealed a hint of warmth whenever he saw Gu Nianzhi. From the trembling and scared six-year-old little girl that had just arrived there, to her current lively, cheerful, and cute self—He Zhichu’s efforts in the past six years were not in vain.
“Brother He, I want to be a lawyer when I grow up and be just as awesome as Brother He’s mom!” The 12-year-old Gu Nianzhi insisted on her “dream,” but it was only actually because she saw a video archive of He Zhichu’s mother appearing in court from years ago.
“Ok, when you graduate from college, you can apply for law school and be a lawyer.” He Zhichu stood next to her and bent over to push a cake in front of her. He looked at her with a smile. “Blow out the candles, my little princess.”
“Blow out the candles! Blow out the candles!” All the guests cheered in unison.
“I still have to wait until I graduate from college?! I can’t wait anymore! I want to be a lawyer tomorrow!” The 12-year-old Gu Nianzhi loudly announced her birthday wish and also puffed up her tiny chubby face as she blew out all the candles in one breath. The crystal chandelier in the living room suddenly went out as well, and the room was suddenly plunged into deep darkness. It was pitch black, so no one could even see their own fingers.
All the guests in the room held their breath because they thought it was a special event. It was the twelfth birthday of the young fiancee of the He family’s only son, so everyone was looking forward to a unique event. After all, there had been a surprise for everyone in the past five years for the five birthdays. But that year’s surprise might’ve been too big… When the lights were on again, everyone in the room was still in the same position except for Gu Nianzhi. He Zhichu stood alone next to cake, and the Gu Nianzhi who had been next to him had disappeared. A pink diamond crown had fallen to the ground, glowing with a dazzling rainbow halo under the chandelier.
…
Screech! The bulletproof Cadillac suddenly halted to a stop and parked in front of the largest four-star hotel on the outskirts of Little Rock Canyon. He Zhichu’s body swayed for a second as he woke up from the dream. His thoughts were still on the day of Gu Nianzhi’s birthday seven years ago. It had only been seven seconds from the time the lights shut off to when they turned on again, and Gu Xiangwen was able to discreetly “steal away” Gu Nianzhi from He Zhichu’s side in that seven seconds.
In the beginning, He Zhichu didn’t know who had “stolen away” Gu Nianzhi amid the crowd. He could only recall his fury and how he immediately announced the entire city was now under martial law. He sent heavily armed troops to go door to door to conduct searches. After seven days and seven nights, he finally received news, but when he rushed over, it was already a step too late. He heard a huge explosion, then saw fire raging up towards the sky along with rising mushroom clouds. Gu Nianzhi’s father, Gu Xiangwen, was laughing maniacally amid the huge fire and looked like he had really lost his mind…
…
He Zhichu rubbed his forehead as he waited for the driver to open the door for him. He had not had this dream since he had found Gu Nianzhi, but unexpectedly, he had this dream in the car today. When the car door opened, He Zhichu stepped out.
His assistant from the American law firm, Smith, had already waited on the steps of the hotel for a long time by now. “Lawyer He, you’re finally here!” Smith happily greeted him as he walked down the steps. “What do you want to do? Tell me your requests!”
He Zhichu looked at him with a subtle smile on his lips. His cool and aloof face was completely calm. “Did you get the message I sent you?”
“I got it and already contacted Ye Xuan’s lawyer. He instantly agreed to pass Ye Xuan to us, but he set one condition.” Smith chuckled. “I saw it was nothing major, so I agreed to it.”
“What condition?” He Zhichu kept walking and headed to the hotel lobby.
“He wants to meet you and exchange business cards with you,” Smith said cheerfully as he followed He Zhichu into the hotel lobby.
Inside the hotel lobby, the lawyer Ye Xuan had randomly chosen already stood up with excitement and eagerly walked towards He Zhichu. He reached out his hand, and his voice was shaking with excitement. “Lawyer He? What a pleasure to meet you!”
He Zhichu’s famous name was legendary in the American legal profession. He rarely appeared in court himself, so when the lawyer received He Zhichu’s proactive contact to take over as the lawyer for the suspect who allegedly committed arson and murder, he almost thought it was a prank show from the TV station. He had instantly screamed and cursed at Smith, who had made the call. It wasn’t until Smith used their law form’s work email account to send a formal message that the lawyer was finally dumbfounded. He quickly went to the police station to visit Ye Xuan and also told him about what happened. Ye Xuan was a bit shocked, but didn’t object to it. The lawyer transfer agreement was successfully signed, and now they were only waiting for He Zhichu to also sign it to formally establish a client relationship with Ye Xuan. He Zhichu was also very polite to this respectful lawyer, so he nodded. “Pleasure to meet you.”
After greeting each other briefly and exchanging business cards, He Zhichu said he was jet lagged and needed to go rest in his room first. He left Smith behind to take the file from the other lawyer. The lawyer who had received He Zhichu’s business card left giddily and put it in a frame to hang on the most prominent position in his office. It became one of his plaques as well. He Zhichu didn’t know anything about that, or maybe he wouldn’t have cared even if he knew. Now he focused all his energy on Ye Xuan’s case. When Smith sent the other lawyer off, He Zhichu called him. “Contact the Little Rock Canyon police station immediately. I need to see Ye Xuan and prepare to release him on bail.”
“Ok, Lawyer He.” Smith immediately connected with the number for the Little Rock Canyon police station.
…
The Sheriff of Little Rock Canyon was very dissatisfied when heard Ye Xuan had changed to a different lawyer and that this one had quite a background. He brandished his meaty fists and shouted at He Zhichu and Smith in the office. “Bail?! Keep dreaming! Only if you’re walking over my dead body!”
He Zhichu folded his hands behind his back and remarked coldly, “Mr. Sheriff, it’s not up to you whether he can be released on bail or not. I only wanted to give you some notice.”
“It’s not up to me?! So could it be up to you?!” The Sheriff of Little Rock Canyon had worked there all his life and started from a rookie police officer. He had worked at this police station for nearly 30 years by now, so his words were law and order in that place.
“Of course it’s not up to me, either. The judge has the final say.” He Zhichu did not mince his words with the sheriff who acted like a bandit emperor. “I’ll make a request to the judge to move the trial date earlier.”
“Who do you think you are?!” The sheriff was furious. “There are rules with trial dates! It’s not his case’s turn yet. You can’t ask for special privileges!”
“Special privileges?! I thought that you were the one asking for special privileges, Mr. Sheriff. You’ve been detaining my client all this time, and it has now exceeded 72 hours, so I will reserve the right to claim compensation from the Little Rock Canyon municipal government and police.” He Zhichu gazed coldly at the sheriff before picking up his phone right in front of him. He directly called the supreme court that had jurisdiction over the area of Little Rock Canyon, Utah.
