Volume One, Chapter 12: He Reveres His Teacher Like a Father

Yu Jin feared he might say things he shouldn’t—like Xiaojing’s lawsuit or the fact that she had just been released from prison. Those matters were nobody else’s concern and shouldn’t involve anyone else.

She tugged gently on Situ Suinian’s snow-white sleeve, almost pleading, her voice low: “I should return to the company. Doctor, you should go back too.”

“All right.”

Situ Suinian looked at her with tenderness, his gaze briefly flickering to Zhou Jincheng standing nearby. In an instant, his eyes grew cold as he strode quickly out of the hospital room. He sensed Aunt Jin’s son-in-law bore some hostility towards him.

Yu Jin grabbed the handbag from the table and left the room without looking back. When passing by Zhou Jincheng, she suddenly stopped.

“Don’t forget what you promised me.”

She reminded him to stay vigilant—Xiaojing was her daughter, and she could not accept defeat.

“Hmm, you too.”

Zhou Jincheng’s tone was flat, which puzzled Yu Jin.

“Me too what?”

“At this crucial juncture, don’t find a stepfather for your daughter—not even a potential one.”

His handsome face was calm, the frameless lenses concealing eyes steady and resolute. This matter seemed profoundly important, directly linked to the outcome of the lawsuit.

“I understand.”

Yu Jin had just left when Zhou Jincheng also departed.

Back at the law firm, he was accustomed to working late into the night.

Pu Zhuqing returned, weary from the outside world, originally to pick up her key but was surprised to find the office still lit.

“Hey, isn’t this the case from before?”

“I thought you weren’t taking it on anymore. I saw the finance department drafted a compensation agreement.”

Zhou Jincheng sat upright behind his desk, piles of thick case files stacked before him. His computer screen glowed with dense lines of English text.

He removed his frameless glasses from the bridge of his nose and wiped the lenses as he said, “I changed my mind.”

Pu Zhuqing pulled a chair and sat opposite him, reeking of alcohol.

“Did you get locked out again? The blanket’s on the couch.”

Zhou Jincheng put his glasses back on, lowering his head to sift through the old case files. His voice was even.

“Let’s not talk about me. Let’s talk about this lawsuit.”

“Do you know who Xiaojing’s adoptive parents are? Hong Kong tycoons, wealthy for eight generations. Taking this case—you’re just making enemies for yourself.”

Pu Zhuqing made a figure-eight gesture with her hand, having already inquired about the Ji family. They were no ordinary wealthy merchants; they wielded both money and power.

Taking this case was tantamount to self-sabotage.

“What you’re saying has nothing to do with the lawsuit.”

Zhou Jincheng looked up, his deep eyes calm though faint shadows tinged his eyelids.

“Yes, how wealthy they are doesn’t affect the case itself, but it concerns you.”

He ignored her words, but Pu Zhuqing dragged her chair closer and continued.

“The Ji family hired an entire legal team from the United States, you know?”

“Mm.”

“All graduates from top schools—three of them are professors from Harvard Law School alone.”

“Mm.”

Zhou Jincheng’s brief responses felt dismissive; his focus was fixed on the files.

“One of them is your professor, Professor Chen Zongxi.”

At this, his hand paused over the documents; a deeper crease formed between his brows.

“Before… the Chu family case, wasn’t he the one who assigned it to you?”

“He’s your teacher, and you’re his protégé. He knows all your tactics and won’t let you win.”

“If you can’t win, don’t even try.”

“For a trivial case, involving a woman you barely know, going head-to-head with your own teacher—it’s not worth it.”

Zhou Jincheng lowered his eyes to the files, his expression calm, but beneath his lenses, a storm churned.

“Think carefully about what I’m saying.”

“Go home and rest early. You care so much about the case of that female convict, others might think her child is yours.”

Pu Zhuqing, parched and dry-mouthed, rose to fetch a glass of water outside.

Upon returning, the door was locked, and the key she’d come for lay discarded on the floor.

Only a floor lamp remained lit inside the office.

Zhou Jincheng leaned back in his chair, his back straight, eyes closed, the faint crease on his eyelids softening, brows furrowed deeply.

The dim light cast shadows over his distinguished profile, his sculpted features clouded by worry, exhaustion evident.

“If you didn’t know, you’d think that child was yours…”

Pu Zhuqing’s words lingered in his ears as she walked away.

If Chu Nanqing hadn’t been taken away by the police, would that child have been theirs too? She would be about four years old now.

Probably a girl.

His intuition.

He opened his eyes again, pulled open the top drawer beside him, and took out a laminated photograph.

It was Xiaojing.

That photo had been handed to him by Lawyer Bai.

In truth, he had initially refused the case.

For that child, winning was not a good thing; the disparity between her adoptive parents and her biological mother was too great.

But when he saw Xiaojing’s photo, he was stunned.

That child resembled someone very much.

He had seen childhood photos of Chu Nanqing, shown to him by Jin Suyi at the Chu household.

Round face, round eyes, very fair skin, rosy cheeks, hair soft and tied into two small braids.

Chubby but proportionate, utterly adorable, smiling with two small dimples at the corners of her mouth.

He had pushed several cases aside, choosing to stay in the country rather than travel with his team, finally meeting that child’s mother.

However, she was not the person he had imagined.

There are many people in this world who look alike.

It was already late at night when a phone placed casually nearby vibrated.

“Hello? Who is it?”

His voice was low and hoarse.

“It’s me, Yu Jin.”

A lovely female voice, soft and gentle.

“What’s the matter?”

Hearing her voice, Zhou Jincheng was momentarily stunned. He didn’t know why he had been thinking of Yu Jin so often lately, and just as he thought it, she called.

He sat up straight, glanced at the clock on the wall—it was one in the morning.

Yu Jin said, “I… I hired a new lawyer. A friend recommended one.”

Zhou Jincheng said nothing, nor did he hang up.

Yu Jin waited quietly. After a moment, the man’s voice returned, calm and detached.

“All right, I understand.”

“Sorry to bother you, Lawyer Zhou.”

Yu Jin quickly hung up, her palms sweaty.

She glanced at the news on her computer: a photo of Ji Yanche and Chen Zongxi together—only their backs visible.

The headline read: “Hong Kong Tycoon Meets with Renowned Lawyer Amid Suspected Recent Business Dispute at Ji Corporation.”

There was no business dispute; it was simply a custody battle.

She happened to know both of these men well—one her cousin’s husband, the other her ex-boyfriend’s professor.

Just from their backs, she recognized them immediately.

Ji Yanche had brought in Zhou Jincheng’s professor. It seemed she could no longer entrust her case to Zhou Jincheng. She didn’t feel at ease.

Zhou Jincheng revered his teacher like a father and would never argue with him in court.

He listened closely to Professor Chen’s words, almost unquestioningly.

Professor Chen said Chu Nanqing’s fraud case deserved six years in prison.

Zhou Jincheng gathered evidence that led the judge to sentence her accordingly.

Not once did he accept her explanation.

Rather than wait for Zhou Jincheng to deliberately lose against his teacher, she might as well change lawyers now and fight with everything she had.