They surrounded me right after the breakup.

Meanwhile, news of Xia Guodong being summoned for questioning reached the law firm.

Xia Yutong was organizing supplementary materials for Jiang Yuantao's bankruptcy case when her phone vibrated on the table.

It was a message from her father, containing only five words: Come to my office.

When she pushed the door open, Xia Guodong was standing by the window, holding a cup of tea that had gone cold.

His back was as straight as usual, but his shoulders slumped down slightly by half an inch.

This is a detail that others wouldn't notice.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Sit down." Xia Guodong turned around, placed the teacup on the table, and took out some documents from the drawer.

"This morning, people from the Municipal Bar Association came to talk to me. Someone reported me for violating the regulations on lawyers' practice. Three years ago, I had a meal with Judge Zhou."

Xia Yutong picked up the document.

The notice of interview from the Bar Association was in red ink, with the official seal stamped neatly.

The wording in the main text was very polite: "Please ask Attorney Xia Guodong to cooperate with the investigation on the relevant matters."

The attachment details the reported behavior: on a certain date, at a certain restaurant, having dinner with Judge Zhou, and the amount spent.

Even a copy of the receipt was attached to the back.

"I know about this meal." Xia Yutong put down the documents.

"When Judge Zhou retired, several partners from the firm attended; it was a retirement farewell party."

"Yes! There were six people present at the time, including Lao Qian and Lao Liu, but the report only mentioned my name."

"This means the person who reported me was targeting me, and they knew exactly who was there and who wasn't that day. They were targeting an old case involving Yuantao Building Materials."

Xia Yutong was silent for a moment before simply stating her thoughts.

"Judge Zhou was the judge who handled the bankruptcy case of Yuantao Building Materials back then."

"People found out about you going to him to retrieve the case files."

"There must have been someone watching all along." Xia Guodong took off his glasses and slowly wiped them.

"From the moment we started investigating Rongbang Construction, someone was watching Junhe's movements."

"They couldn't stop the case from being filed, so they changed their approach and started making trouble from the perspective of procedural compliance."

Xia Yutong frowned; as a lawyer, she certainly understood this logic.

All it takes is to prove that Junhe and his lawyer crossed the line during the investigation, which would delay the progress of the entire case investigation.

"The issue of eating out isn't a big deal. There are receipts and reimbursement records, so at most, a warning will be given."

Xia Guodong put his glasses back on, his voice becoming deeper than before.

"They're not in a hurry to produce results; the process of interviewing and investigating will take at least several weeks."

"During this period, many things were halted, which means that Yuantao Building Materials' application for retrial will be put on hold for at least a while."

"They're stalling for time; delaying is their goal!"

"The Chiang family doesn't expect to bring us down through whistleblowing; their goal is to give Chiang Kuang-yao enough breathing room."

"Give him ample time to transfer assets, destroy the remaining evidence, and persuade the relevant people."

"By the time the Bar Association's investigation is over, even if there's nothing wrong with my case, the window of opportunity will have passed, and everything that needed to be transferred will have already been transferred."

Xia Yutong clenched her fist lightly on the table: "Can you find out who the whistleblower is?"

"No need to check." Xia Guodong pushed the printed email in front of his daughter.

The sender of the email was removed, but Xia Guodong circled a line of text in red in the body of the email.

This lawyer has repeatedly contacted people involved in the case privately, which is highly irregular. We hope your association will conduct a thorough investigation.

The signature reads: "A citizen who cares about the rule of law."

"The wording is very professional, not the kind of language an ordinary person would use. Moreover, the whistleblower is very familiar with the Bar Association's procedures, knows which department to send materials to, and knows what kind of descriptions will trigger an investigation."

"They even made connections beforehand to quickly bring the report to the investigation stage."

Xia Yutong asked, "The person Jiang Guangyao found?"

"It shouldn't be him personally. Someone in his position wouldn't do it himself."

"It could be Jiang Jiayang's legal advisor, or some other professional."

Xia Yutong stood up and walked to the window, where Xia Guodong's voice came from behind her.

"Has anyone contacted your classmate, Liu Meng, or her mother, Zhao Xiulan, recently?"

"No recently. Aunt Zhao has given us all the original documents, and she has also said that she can appear in court to testify at any time."

"You need to remind her to be careful lately. If the Jiang family can find out that I had dinner with Judge Zhou, they can definitely find out who Zhao Xiulan is and where she lives."

"She is now the most crucial link in our entire chain of evidence. In court, her testimony will be more damaging than any document."

Xia Guodong raised his voice, emphasizing: "What they most want to prevent is her from standing in the witness stand."

"We have already taken protective measures." Xia Yutong turned around.

"Old Qian arranged for two young lawyers to take turns accompanying her, installed surveillance cameras at the entrance, and also contacted the property management."

"But Dad, if the Bar Association's investigation drags on for a few weeks, even if Aunt Zhao doesn't run into any problems, what about the court...?"

"Yutong, I've been a lawyer for most of my life, and I know one thing very well: your opponents won't attack you for no reason."

"They are attacking you because you have hit their weak point. The fact that the Chiang family is now using their connections with the Bar Association to obstruct us shows that our investigation is on the right track, and they are afraid."

Xia Yutong sat in the office for a long time. She didn't turn on the light, but just sat in her chair, staring at the copy of the Bar Association's interview notice on the table.

It wasn't until 9 p.m. that Xia Yutong picked up her phone and dialed Jiang Han's number.

She needed to tell him about the bar association and the progress of the work.

Xia Yutong has so much to say.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Feed?"

Jiang Han's voice came through the microphone, slightly languid and hoarse.

Xia Yutong was about to speak when she suddenly stopped.

Besides Jiang Han's voice, there were other voices coming through the microphone.

A very light, rhythmic sound came through the blanket or pillow.

Then came another sound, softer and lower…

She could recognize the tone.

"Are you busy?" Xia Yutong's voice was so calm that even she was surprised.

"Hmm... at Jade Garden Manor, Yao Yao's mother came over today. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Xia Yutong's voice remained calm; she simply said "okay" and then hung up.

Jiang Han put his phone back on the bedside table and glanced down at Lin Yaoyao beneath him.

On the red sheets, she buried her face in the pillow, her shoulder blades tense and covered with fine beads of sweat.

The pair of gold-threaded mandarin ducks on the pillowcase were right next to her earlobe.

"Who is it?" Lin Yaoyao turned her face to the side.

"Yutong, something came up at the law firm. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Lin Yaoyao blinked.

Her eyes were red at the corners: "Did she hear that?"

"What did you hear?"

"Hate!"