Five years after their breakup, a prominent lawyer is desperately seeking reconciliation.

The phone rang abruptly, interrupting Lu Jingshi's anger.

Fang Tian's name was flashing on the phone screen.

He pressed the speakerphone button heavily.

"What's up?"

"Ah Shi, I almost forgot to remind you, tonight is your aunt's birthday party. Don't be late, I'll come pick you up in a bit."

"Um."

Jiang Wan's eyes twitched slightly.

Lu Jingshi has an event tonight...

Does that mean... I don't have to work overtime tonight...?

After hanging up the phone, Lu Jingshi happened to see the smug look on Jiang Wan's face that she hadn't had time to hide.

A playful smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He glanced around, then picked up a folder from the table.

"I suddenly remembered that I need to submit the preliminary plan for the event to Haicheng Prison tomorrow. Send me the plan before 8 p.m. tonight."

He handed over the documents, his eyes filled with the smug satisfaction of success.

"Thank you for your hard work, Attorney Jiang."

"..."

Jiang Wan returned to her seat dejectedly.

She wanted to send Gu Yang a message, telling him that she would come to see him later.

But then I discovered that he had called me ten minutes earlier and I had missed the call.

Jiang Wan quickly called back.

Gu Yang answered quickly, his voice full of apology.

"Wanwan, I have to attend a very important banquet right now, it'll end very late..."

"No problem, I happen to have something to do tonight too, so... how about we meet another day?"

"Tomorrow, okay? I'll wait for you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Wan caught a glimpse of Lu Jingshi's figure flashing by out of the corner of her eye.

Was that jerk eavesdropping just now?

.........

As night fell, the banquet hall was resplendent with gold.

Celebrities gathered, laughing and chatting, while a huge crystal chandelier overhead cast a dazzling light.

Soft, melodious music filled the air as guests, dressed in elegant attire, raised their glasses.

Each person gazed at the stage with their own thoughts.

Lu Guokun, CEO of the Lu Group, is giving a speech on stage.

The radiant woman beside him, adorned with jewels, was the star of the evening—Yu Qing, Lu Guokun's first wife.

"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my wife's birthday party. Tonight, there's no business, no transactions, just pure enjoyment and drinking until we're completely drunk."

Lu Jingshi chuckled and turned his head away.

No business or transactions?

Why bother inviting all these prominent figures in Haicheng's business community?

Before the event started, people were wandering around the venue, and the beeping sound of WeChat QR codes was constant. What were they doing?

How ridiculous, businessmen are just hypocritical.

"Ah Shi," Fang Tian tugged at him.

"You are the only son and sole heir of the Lu Group, aren't you going to go up and say a few words?"

Lu Jingshi shook his head.

After graduating from university, he refused to join the family business and chose to pursue his passion for the major.

The father was heartbroken and vowed to sever all ties with his son.

Five years ago, his mother shattered his self-righteous love with a remittance slip, nearly killing him.

From that moment on, he completely broke with his family.

If my father hadn't suffered a stroke two years ago, he almost wouldn't have woken up.

Even when his strong-willed mother pleaded with him, he refused to back down and return to the Lu family.

"I'm going out for some fresh air."

Lu Jingshi tilted his head back and drank the champagne in his glass, then got up and walked to the open-air courtyard outside the venue.

He took out a cigarette, put it on his lips, and then searched his entire body, only to find that he had no lighter.

"I have."

A gentle male voice sounded beside me.

At the same time, a hand was stretched out in front of Lu Jingshi.

The gold-plated lighter in his hand made a crisp sound and emitted a blue flame.

Lu Jingshi tilted his head slightly, lit the fire, and the smell of tar and nicotine gradually calmed him down.

Thank you.

"Mr. Lu, you're too kind."

Lu Jingshi frowned.

He didn't like that title.

The man's delicate features appeared even more handsome under the colorful lights in the courtyard.

"Is it you?"

Lu Jingshi narrowed his eyes, a scene from earlier that day that had stirred his anger flashed through his mind.

The man still wore a semi-permanent, gentle smile.

"Yes, I just met Mr. Lu at noon. I am Gu Yang from Gu's Catering. I just returned to China three months ago. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Back to China? You went abroad too? Where?"

"The United States, but... too? Could it be that you, Mr. Lu, also..."

"It wasn't me."

Lu Jingshi exhaled a puff of smoke with an air of nonchalance, his expression languid and aloof.

"By the way, why did Young Master Gu suddenly return to China? Is there someone back home he's worried about?"

"what?"

Gu Yang was taken aback by his sudden question and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"Of course, this is a rather personal question, and you can choose not to answer it."

Lu Jingshi didn't press him. He turned around and leaned against the pillar in the corridor, looking like he didn't care whether he said anything or not.

Gu Yang raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Mr. Lu, you flatter me. There's nothing I can't say. It's just that my father is getting old, and my eldest brother can't manage everything on his own, so I came back to help."

"That's all?"

That's all.

The smile on Lu Jingshi's lips slowly faded, replaced by undisguised mockery.

Seeing how enthusiastic Jiang Wan was, he thought she had found some romantic guy, but he didn't expect that she didn't take him seriously at all.

She was being used as a joke without even realizing it. When did she become so foolish, thinking that all the men in the world were like her, to be played and manipulated by her?

Lu Jingshi stopped talking and continued to exhale smoke.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

Just then, Fang Tian arrived.

"Ah Shi, your aunt is looking for you everywhere."

Lu Jingshi stubbed out his cigarette, walked past Gu Yang without looking at him, and strode back to the venue.

In a private box on the second floor of the venue.

Yu Qing was holding up a vibrant green jade bracelet, examining it from left to right.

"This is really good quality, top grade, right? Sweetie, your parents are too kind."

Fang Tian affectionately clung to Yu Qing's arm.

"My father said that if it weren't for Uncle Lu's help, the Fang family wouldn't have been able to secure the mine in South Africa. If anyone should be thanking someone, it should be us thanking you and Uncle Lu."

Yu Qing lovingly touched her face, her eyes filled with satisfaction.

"Sweetie is the best at making me happy; my own son is like an enemy to me."

Fang Tian smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Auntie, please don't blame Ah Shi. He's just too busy. He still thinks about you and often tells me that he wants to go back to see you and Uncle Lu."

Yu Qing didn't believe it at all.

"He'd come to see us on his own initiative? Unless the sun rises in the west. It's been five years, and he's never once called us."

Lu Jingshi, sitting just one seat away, leaned back in his chair, seemingly unconcerned about her accusations.

My finger slowly slid across the proposal that Jiang Wan had just sent me.

Seeing his attitude only fueled Yu Qing's anger.

"I told you long ago, wouldn't it be better to come back and help your father manage the business? Why did you have to become a lawyer? You're not getting any younger, and you don't even think about your marriage. Your home is no longer a home, and your relatives are like enemies."

"I know you still hate me because of that incident, but what good is she anyway, she's nothing but..."

"That's enough!"

Lu Jingshi gave a low shout.

The pianist in the corner was so startled that he flinched and went off-key.

"I've come to the birthday party, and I've given them the respect they deserve. I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now."

Yu Qing was so angry that her face turned ashen, and she cursed her unfilial son.

Fang Tian quickly stepped forward to help her catch her breath.

"Ah Shi, today is your aunt's birthday. Why make her angry over a stranger?"

Lu Jingshi scoffed coldly.

"Aren't you the one with the sweetest tongue and the best at sweet-talking people? I'll leave this to you."

After saying that, he left directly.

After leaving the noisy venue, he drove aimlessly around the city.

Listening to the soft music in the car, my thoughts gradually calmed down.

Only then did I realize that I had unknowingly driven to the law firm's building.

It's already 11:30.

All the windows of the building were completely dark.

Only the streetlights and car headlights reflected on the glass, creating a rainbow of colors.

Lu Jingshi got out of the car, leaned against the door and lit a cigarette. His dark eyes were hidden in the wisps of smoke, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

A few minutes later, he threw away his cigarette butt, got into his car, and prepared to leave.

As I turned around, I glanced at the rearview mirror out of habit, and suddenly released my foot from the accelerator.

In the rearview mirror, a slender and graceful figure was sitting on a bench by the roadside.