Chapter 4

Jiang Mian deliberated for a moment, then chose the former.

His reasoning was simple: the former didn’t require adding each other on DingDong, since Chen Yishen was the link between them anyway.

However, after Jiang Mian spoke, Chen Gu just curved his eyes.

He seemed to have been waiting with extreme patience. Whatever Jiang Mian said, what Jiang Mian feared would definitely happen. “Then let’s add each other on DingDong? Or exchange some other contact method?”

Jiang Mian: “…”

He cautiously, slowly said, “No need. I’ll come by again in a few days anyway. We still have another summer assignment that needs to be done in a group.”

When the time came, there wouldn’t just be him; there’d be several other classmates too.

Chen Gu looked utterly innocent. “But I’ve already bought a house. I’ll probably move out in a couple of days.”

He spoke naturally. “After all, Chen Yishen has a girlfriend now. Me staying at his place all the time isn’t good.”

Jiang Mian had no comeback.

Chen Gu… was too formidable.

In the end, they could only exchange DingDong contacts.

The only thing that let Jiang Mian breathe half a sigh of relief was that after the exchange, Chen Gu didn’t say anything more to him. He simply helped finish the Puzzle.

The most absurd part was after they finished. Jiang Mian was about to announce his farewell—after all, Chen Yishen was responsible for submitting the assignment—but before he could get the words out, Chen Yishen barreled in from the entryway. “Brother! Jiang Mian!”

He complained, “God, South Boundary traffic is insane during summer break! It’s like this every year. Mostly tourists from out of town. My brain is numb from the jam.”

Jiang Mian’s farewell was successfully jammed back down his throat.

Chen Gu just smiled, not responding.

Chen Yishen didn’t need anyone to pick up his thread; he just kept going on his own. “I grabbed a roast goose on the way. We’ll have that for dinner and make a couple more dishes.”

He gestured to Jiang Mian. “Stay and eat.”

Jiang Mian started, “No…”

“Oh, right, Jiang Mian,” Chen Yishen talked over him seamlessly. “Is the Puzzle done? That part was way too hard. I really couldn’t do it. Plus, you know me, I have zero patience for stuff like this.”

Jiang Mian could only answer this question first. “It’s done.”

He paused. “Your brother studied art. Why didn’t you ask him for help?”

Chen Yishen froze. His EQ was low, not his IQ. He instantly understood that Chen Gu had helped.

Now Chen Yishen exploded. “Wait… Bro, aren’t I your dear little brother anymore? When I asked you for help, you clearly told me to do my own homework?”

Jiang Mian pursed his lips and subtly moved a little further away from Chen Gu.

Chen Gu noticed his action but wasn’t angry. Instead, his smile deepened.

He spoke to Chen Yishen in a lazy tone. “You’re ugly. Didn’t want to help.”

Chen Yishen: “??”

Jiang Mian: “…”

He subconsciously glanced at Chen Gu’s face.

But Jiang Mian hadn’t expected Chen Gu to have been watching him all along. The moment Jiang Mian lifted his eyelids, Chen Gu caught his gaze.

Jiang Mian flinched inwardly. Chen Gu smiled at him, eyes curved. “Why are you looking at me? Think we look alike?”

Chen Yishen, completely clueless, was full of question marks. “We’re Twins! Identical Twins!”

Chen Gu finally paid Chen Yishen some sincere attention. “But he recognized I wasn’t you at first glance.”

Chen Yishen’s eyes widened, seemingly amazed but not totally surprised. “Bro, that’s normal. Jiang Mian’s intuition is freakishly accurate.”

Chen Gu raised an eyebrow, looking at Jiang Mian, who had silently shut up, head drooping as if hoping to become invisible on the spot. The amusement in his eyes was meaningful.

Intuition, huh?

No wonder he only wanted to avoid him.

Chen Yishen kept trying to get Jiang Mian to stay for dinner. Jiang Mian had just said “No” when Chen Yishen started his signature pestering. “You’re going back alone, you can’t cook, so it’ll be takeout again. Besides, last time you said you wanted to try this place’s roast goose but couldn’t finish one alone. Since I happened to buy one, let’s just eat together.”

As he spoke, Chen Yishen became puzzled. “Since when are you so formal with me?”

Jiang Mian: “…”

He had never wished so fervently for Chen Yishen to just shut up.

Leaning against the sofa with his arms crossed, Chen Gu watched this scene from the sidelines. He could fully sense Jiang Mian radiating “I want to die” from every pore. Yet Chen Yishen remained completely oblivious.

In the end, it was actually Chen Gu who rescued Jiang Mian. “Chen Yishen.”

He said, “You’re being too enthusiastic. Let him speak.”

Chen Gu chuckled lightly. “He has something to do.”

Chen Yishen was stunned. “Huh? Jiang Mian, what do you have to do?”

Jiang Mian, who still hadn’t thought of a excuse, fell silent.

Chen Gu thoughtfully provided one for him. “He just told me the Law Firm where he’s interning suddenly got a case and asked him to come assist.”

“Oh, oh, oh!”

Chen Yishen finally let it go. “Then hurry up, Jiang Mian. Sorry about that.”

He didn’t doubt it, because Jiang Mian had always been like this.

A bit slow-paced. In most situations, he’d wait for others to finish talking before speaking. This often meant he could never get a word in when people were talking over each other.

Anyway, his personality was exceptionally good.

Chen Gu said, “Go put the roast goose in the kitchen first. I’ll see him out.”

Chen Yishen didn’t think much of it. In his eyes, his brother was just like him. Besides, he also wanted Jiang Mian to have more friends.

Especially since his brother was so capable. It’d be best for Jiang Mian to have a few more capable friends like his brother, to avoid being bullied in the future.

Jiang Mian was escorted by Chen Gu to the entranceway. After changing his shoes, he looked at Chen Gu, who had already proactively kept his distance so Jiang Mian wouldn’t be so tense. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, “Thank you.”

Chen Gu curved his lips.

Smart, definitely smart, but also very easy to accidentally bite another hook.

“No problem.”

Chen Gu gestured. “Let’s catch up next time you’re free, and I’ll return your Hair Tie.”

Jiang Mian didn’t want to linger on this topic any further and just said, “Okay.”

Anyway… he just wouldn’t come out next time.

After completely leaving the place and getting on the subway, Jiang Mian finally opened his phone.

Chen Gu hadn’t sent him any messages, but looking at Chen Gu’s black cat profile picture, he hesitated, then still clicked on it.

Chen Gu’s Moments were empty.

Jiang Mian cleared his browsing history, withdrew, and closed DingDong.

He rarely used DingDong anyway; when he did, it was just to send files, occasionally chatting with Chen Yishen or others.

Since he didn’t have many friends, DingDong wasn’t that useful to him.

Jiang Mian pressed his palm over his phone screen, feeling the subway’s cold air, listening to the advertisements playing, and closed his eyes.

He had to stay far away from Chen Gu.

This person was too terrifying.

Especially that final move at the end, helping him out of the situation… His methods were too skilled.

If it were anyone else, it would’ve lowered their guard against Chen Gu. Even if not completely, even just a crack, it was a crack.

——

On Monday, not long after Jiang Mian clocked in wearing his suit, Li Yue called him. “Ms. Xia is here.”

Jiang Mian picked up his notebook and pen, hung his name tag, and went with him.

This time, Ms. Xia wasn’t alone. Beside her was a lady wearing a mask and a hat, head lowered.

Jiang Mian poured them tea. After greeting Li Yue, Ms. Xia smiled and also said to him, “Little Lawyer Jiang.”

Li Yue paused, slightly surprised as he glanced at the two of them, but didn’t comment.

Ms. Xia explained the purpose of her visit.

The lady she’d brought was Ms. Wang, her husband’s affair partner, and also another victim in this incident.

She was willing to testify in court to Mr. Song’s infidelity, and she had proof.

Ms. Wang was nothing like the strong Ms. Xia. Her voice was not only soft but she was a bit timid. “I-I once accidentally recorded a video when I forgot to stop filming, and it caught him kissing me…”

After saying this, she felt it was bad and glanced worriedly at Ms. Xia.

Ms. Xia patted the back of her hand. “Good little sister, don’t be afraid.”

She was now completely composed. “The fault in this wasn’t yours. You’re a victim too. We’ve both learned a lesson. I even have to thank you for helping me see a scumbag for what he is, so I didn’t invest any more in him.”

Ms. Wang shrunk her neck, nodded tearfully, and couldn’t help but keep asking Li Yue, “Law-Lawyer Li, can Sister Xia really not make that bastard leave with nothing?”

Li Yue sighed softly and began those practiced words of comfort again, gently educating them on the Law while managing their expectations.

After confirming the procedure and collecting the evidence in Ms. Wang’s possession, Jiang Mian and Li Yue saw them off together.

After they left, Li Yue looked at Jiang Mian approvingly and patted his arm. “Not bad. I’m not as bold as you.”

Jiang Mian curved his lips slightly. “I just felt Ms. Xia is a very remarkable woman.”

Li Yue agreed. “Indeed. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a calm client.”

As they were talking, just after returning to the firm, they happened to bump into Lawyer Luo coming the other way.

The three stopped. Lawyer Luo greeted them. “Partner Li… Perfect timing, I was just heading to that gallery. Jiang Mian, do you have time? Come with me?”

Before Jiang Mian could even speak, Li Yue patted him again. “He’s got time, he’s got time. Little Jiang, go ahead quickly.”

He then joked with Lawyer Luo, “This is the firm’s current ‘Law Firm Hottie.’ You better bring him back safe, or I’ll sue you for destruction of flora and fauna.”

Lawyer Luo replied, “Don’t worry! But I’m just taking him for a legal consultation, not to mediate a brawl for a client…”

Amid their banter, Jiang Mian was thus transferred to Lawyer Luo.

In the elevator, Lawyer Luo asked, “Can you drive?”

Jiang Mian said yes, so Lawyer Luo handed him the keys. “You drive. I’ll look up more about this painter’s preferences on the way.”

Jiang Mian tilted his head slightly. “Lawyer Luo, is this a big deal?”

“Of course.” Lawyer Luo was genuinely happy. “You’ve probably heard of this painter. A rising star in the art world these past few years, goes by the pen name ‘sleep.'”

At this, Lawyer Luo glanced at Jiang Mian. “Wouldn’t you know it, there’s a bit of a connection with you.”

He liked to joke, but unfortunately, the one thing Jiang Mian was worst at handling was jokes.

But Lawyer Luo was in high spirits and didn’t care that much. “I haven’t met him in person either, but I’ve spoken to him on the phone. Probably under thirty.”

“You know, our firm doesn’t normally take this kind of legal consultation work. We only take it if the money’s persuasive.”

Lawyer Luo held up a number of fingers. “He offered this amount.”

In the industry, legal consultancy for a contract like “sleep’s” was usually around five thousand, ten thousand at the absolute top. And that’s what major firms would charge.

But the price “sleep” offered was the absolute top plus another zero.

Jiang Mian, however, didn’t have much real concept of money, and he didn’t know what to say anyway. So he just said, “Mm.”

Lawyer Luo choked slightly and immediately found Jiang Mian terribly dull.

But then he remembered who Jiang Mian’s father and cousin were, and his interest was piqued to keep chatting with Jiang Mian.

As they neared their destination, Lawyer Luo flipped through his phone and suddenly remarked, “But honestly, I really don’t get this painter’s works. They just look inexplicably creepy to me. Makes me wonder if he’s psychologically twisted.”

Jiang Mian paused, then still said nothing.

He felt it wasn’t good to gossip about a client behind their back, but Lawyer Luo obviously wasn’t the type to take that advice. No point wasting words.

They arrived early, because they couldn’t let the client wait.

But they’d been sitting in the gallery’s reception room for less than five minutes when the door opened again.

The staff member guiding the person announced, “Teacher Chen, this is the place.”

Jiang Mian stood up with Lawyer Luo. Upon seeing who walked in, he clearly froze for a moment.

The other party was clearly just as surprised. Before Lawyer Luo could even greet him, the person first curved his lips, raised an eyebrow, and smiled as he called out, “Jiang Mian?”

Chen Gu bypassed Lawyer Luo and walked toward Jiang Mian. “What a coincidence? Just the day before yesterday we were talking about not knowing when we’d see each other next.”

He looked at Jiang Mian, a rare flash of amazement in his eyes.

In a suit, Jiang Mian looked even thinner, yet carried a unique, elite aura.

Whether it was his narrow waist or his long, straight legs, all perfectly encased. Yet the neatly tied Necktie conveyed a sense of strictness and seriousness somewhat incongruous with his age.

As Chen Gu spoke, he seemed to recall something and let out a soft “Ah.” “I didn’t expect to see you today. I forgot to bring your Hair Tie.”

Jiang Mian subconsciously followed his words and glanced at Chen Gu’s tied-back hair.

At that glance, Jiang Mian froze for a second time.

Because Chen Gu had tied his hair back with a pink hair tie.

Today, he wore a light blue, loose T-shirt with beige straight-cut slacks and mint green and white sneakers. His whole look was very fresh.

He looked exactly like the standard college student—especially carrying that light-colored bag.

Paired with those pitiable puppy-dog eyes, he truly resembled an innocent, pure Male College Student.

“Never mind.”

Jiang Mian lowered his eyes. “Let’s discuss business first.”

Chen Gu watched Jiang Mian, who now couldn’t run even if he wanted to, and chuckled inwardly.

He really couldn’t be blamed for this.

Who could’ve predicted such a coincidence?

After Chen Gu and Lawyer Luo greeted each other and exchanged names, the gallery owner hadn’t arrived yet, so they could only chat about topics to ease the atmosphere first.

Lawyer Luo recalled the things he’d spoken about Jiang Mian while in the Car and felt inexplicably nervous. “Little Jiang, why didn’t you tell me you knew Teacher Chen?”

Jiang Mian habitually waited three seconds, and was just about to open his mouth, when Chen Gu deliberately cut in at that very moment, smoothly taking over the conversation with an expression of great familiarity with Jiang Mian. “I didn’t tell him.”

Jiang Mian moved his lips but ultimately stayed silent.

Because they couldn’t keep the biggest “client” waiting, the gallery owner also arrived quickly. As soon as he appeared, it was “Teacher Chen” this and “Teacher Chen” that, extremely enthusiastic toward Chen Gu.

The Contract signing went smoothly. The owner genuinely respected Chen Gu. The contract not only had no traps but could even be said to have elevated the price considerably.

In the Car, Lawyer Luo mentioned that Chen Gu’s highest-selling painting fetched over thirty million. Although that was over a year ago, it didn’t explain how a painting could be worth over a hundred million a year later, and they were selling two.

Jiang Mian only gained a real sense of money while reviewing the contract.

Chen Gu… made so much money.

Having calculated that his entire month of internship, full attendance bonuses, commissions, and overtime pay combined didn’t even reach a fraction of Chen Gu’s sum, Jiang Mian thought this.

Before leaving, Jiang Mian guessed Chen Gu would definitely call out to stop him.

And deliberately do so right in front of the gallery owner and Lawyer Luo.

Jiang Mian sighed softly inwardly, tensing bit by bit, and looked at Chen Gu.

He saw Chen Gu smile with an innocent, harmless expression. “That hair tie of yours, next time…”

Jiang Mian had already formulated his response: forget ‘next time,’ he and that hair tie weren’t fated. If Chen Gu really felt bad, he could just pay him back the original price.

But then Chen Gu’s next words were: “Never mind, forget ‘next time.'”

He directly pulled the hair tie off his own head and offered it to Jiang Mian. “Can I trade you this one for it?”

Jiang Mian stared at that pink hair tie, which even had a little pink bunny charm he hadn’t initially noticed, and fell into a deep silence.

Under the watchful eyes of so many people, Jiang Mian really didn’t want to get into a prolonged back-and-forth with Chen Gu. So he extended his hand, letting Chen Gu release his grip, and let the hair tie drop into his palm.