They surrounded me right after the breakup.

Two days later.

Xia Yutong was discharged from the hospital.

Jiang Han came to pick her up alone.

She stood at the hospital entrance and glanced behind him.

There was only that Maybach in the parking lot.

"What are you looking at?"

"I didn't see anything."

The car drove out of the hospital and turned onto the main road.

Xia Yutong leaned back in her seat, looking out the window at the street scene as she reclined.

The buildings changed from dense to sparse, and then from sparse to dense again.

It's not the road to the law firm, nor is it the direction to the stars and the moon.

"Where to?"

You'll know when you get there.

The Maybach traveled through half of Kyōshū.

Finally, it stopped in front of a hotel where business banquets were held.

The doorman opened the car door, and Jiang Han led her through the lobby.

A cascade of light from a crystal chandelier hangs down from the dome and falls onto the marble floor.

At the end of the corridor, the double solid wood doors of the banquet hall were tightly closed.

A bunch of white lilies hung on the doorknob.

He pushed open the door.

"Surprise!"

Dozens of people stood up at the same time.

Lin Yaoyao rushed to the front, and the confetti canister exploded with a bang, showering Xia Yutong with shredded paper.

Everyone from Junhe Law Firm arrived.

Old Qian, Old Liu, and several young assistant lawyers.

People from Xingyue Media also came.

Xia Yutong stood frozen at the doorway, forgetting to take a step.

"The main character is late."

Lin Yaoyao pulled her into the banquet hall and casually tucked the stray hairs that had fallen down her temples behind her ears.

Xiao Xiao held up her phone and leaned closer, the camera almost touching her face.

"Attorney Xia, say something to the camera—weren't you quite eloquent in court?"

The giant screen in the center of the hall lit up.

Soothing violin music flowed gently from the surround sound system.

The first frame on the screen showed her back as she stood in the courtroom.

Black lawyer's robe, hair up.

Next came the hand flipping through the case file, and then she stood beside the defendant's dock.

The scene changes frame by frame.

From the first court hearing to the final closing statement, everything was captured on camera.

There's a picture of her profile as she falls asleep on case files while working through the night at the law firm.

She was walking briskly down the courthouse corridor, carrying a cup of coffee.

The second half of the video was filled with well wishes from the crowd.

"Comrade Yutong is the pride of Junhe."

"You're the most hardworking woman I've ever met. Don't push yourself so hard in the future."

"You scared me to death when you fainted!"

The final shot focuses on Jiang Han's silhouette.

The voice-over is his voice.

"Attorney Xia, thank you for your hard work."

The last line of text slowly appeared on the screen.

"Thank you to Attorney Xia Yutong for her efforts in the Yuantao Building Materials bankruptcy case."

When she saw the voice-over, she raised her hand to cover her mouth.

A spotlight shone down from the dome, projecting onto a corner of the banquet hall.

Several waiters in white uniforms slowly pushed a cake cart out.

A seven-layer white fondant cake.

The first layer is a book.

From top to bottom are the gavel, the lawyer's badge, and the pillars at the courthouse entrance...

Xia Yutong choked back tears as she blew out the candles.

The confetti canister exploded again, sending confetti raining down.

She picked up the cake knife and cut from the top.

Jiang Han was right beside her, and Xia Yutong turned around to hand it to him.

But he pushed her back.

"The first piece goes to the person who contributed the most!"

Xia Yutong looked down at the plate in her hand.

The fondant lily on the cake was perfectly intact.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Everyone's face was beaming with smiles.

The banquet hall was lit up again with warm yellow lights, and the round tables were covered with snow-white tablecloths.

A crystal vase, filled with roses that were flown in this morning, sits in the center of each table.

Waiters carried trays and moved among them.

The appetizer was caviar with quail eggs, and the main courses were slow-cooked Wagyu beef and steamed grouper.

The wine list included Lafite and Dom Pérignon.

Xiao Xiao ran around the room with a champagne glass in hand, clinking glasses with everyone.

The Chiang family has already made their stance clear.

No appeal was filed; the defendant pleaded guilty and accepted punishment.

The news came this morning.

Old Qian whispered about this to a few colleagues at the banquet.

"I heard it was Jiang Boyong's idea."

"The older generation does have a different perspective; once they lose, they lose."

"If this continues, it will only lead to further public embarrassment."

He paused, then gestured towards the Jianghan Plain.

"He probably never imagined that Jiang Yuantao, who was turned away back then, would have such a son."

The stage lights suddenly came on.

The newly signed girl group members from Star Moon Media filed out from the side stage.

Little Fish and Little Deer lead the dance, dressed in matching silver stage outfits.

The skirt was so short it reached the upper thigh, and the waistline was extremely tight.

Several young women swayed their heads in unison to the beat, their long hair tracing neat arcs in the air.

Xiao Xiao stood up and swayed to the music for a couple of seconds before Lin Yaoyao pulled her back to her chair.

"Put your shoes on first."

After the girl group's performance, the lights dimmed.

A spotlight shone on the center of the stage.

Mao Buyi stood there, holding a microphone in his hand.

He was wearing a navy blue suit with the Starry Night Media badge pinned to his lapel.

He was a completely different person from the chubby boy who used to clutch his headphones in the recording studio, too afraid to look up.

The intro begins.

The melody of "Sorrow" flowed slowly from the surround sound system.

His voice was more steady than before, and every word sounded like he was toasting an old friend.

"One cup to the rising sun, one cup to our hometown."

When the chorus came on, Mao Buyi walked off the stage with a wine glass in his hand.

"One glass to those far away, one glass to President Jiang."

Jiang Han took the glass and downed it in one gulp.

Everyone in the room raised their glasses at the same time, and the sound of clinking glasses echoed throughout the room.

Before he could finish a song, he downed four or five drinks.

He somehow managed to sing a toast.

Zeng Yi and Linghua followed closely behind on stage.

The moment the intro to "Above the Moon" started, the entire banquet hall erupted in cheers.

Linghua's voice came from the speakers.

The high-pitched and resonant sound made the crystal chandelier tremble slightly.

At the other end of the banquet table.

Xiao Yuanshan stood in front of Lin Zhengxiujuan, holding a glass of red wine.

The two had never met formally before, only seen each other's names in business news.

Xiao Yuanshan has been deeply involved in the commercial real estate industry for many years.

Carrie Lam controls most of the residential supply chain in Jingzhou.

The two tracks don't usually intersect, but during this siege of the Jiang family, the two sides launched attacks on two separate battlefields almost simultaneously.

"Mrs. Lin, I've heard so much about you."

"Mr. Xiao, you're too kind. Yao Yao often mentions your Xiao Xiao, saying she's a troublesome girl."

Xiao Yuanshan shook his head and sighed helplessly.

"It's definitely not a hassle-free experience."

"But she contributed a lot to the siege of the Jiang family this time."

Carrie Lam picked up her wine glass and gently touched it to the glass in his hand.

"She wasn't the only one who contributed!"

"Your Xiao Xiaochong is in front, and our Yaoyao is behind to flank him."

"The two girls may bicker all the time, but when it comes to joining forces, neither of them hesitates."

Xiao Yuanshan smiled.

"In the end, Jiang Han is a really capable guy."

"Whether it's the film studio or the Jiang family case, he has brought everyone together."

The singing continues.

Linghua and Zeng Yi sang "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond," and the whole audience hummed along.

Even Zhao Xiulan hummed a few lines softly, and Liu Meng turned to look at her in surprise.

"Mom, why do you know how to sing this?"

"I learned it while doing square dancing last night."

The entire banquet hall was filled with laughter.