He Zhichu just happened to be busy working on his computer, so he was using the headset and missed Gu Nianzhi’s call. By the time he noticed, she already hung up and sent a text saying she was downstairs. He Zhichu simply ended his other call and went downstairs directly to go pick her up. He didn’t expect to witness such drama. Dou Aiyan’s usually wittiness and cleverness disappeared as soon as she saw He Zhichu. Aside from blushing and heart thumping like crazy, she couldn’t recall any flirting methods and could only watch him walk Gu Nianzhi to the entrance of the professors’ building then enter the elevator in front of them. The elevator shut before her eyes, the light turning red and moving up. She could no longer see the people inside. Dou Aiyan collected herself and asked Wen Shouyi, “Professor Wen, was she telling the truth?”
Wen Shouyi nodded with a smile, “Of course it was true. You have to be careful not to cross Gu Nianzhi from now on, Aiyan. She’s the only master student personally mentored by Professor He, she has a strong background. –You understand she has…”
“Oh? She really finished her undergrad at the age of 18?! Then got accepted as Professor He’s grad student?!” Dou Aiyan’s heart felt as if she free fell from a thirty floor high building–all she could hear was the whistling of wind in her ears. It blocked out all other sounds and made her ears ring loudly.
Wen Shouyi glanced at her with chuckle, “What’s the big deal? I also finished my undergrad when I was 18…”
“Professor Wen, you’re different. I completely believe you finished your undergrad when you were 18, but as for her…” Dou Aiyan couldn’t help pouting disdainfully, “I’m still suspicious.”
Wen Shouyi gave a small smile as she took the three girls to the entrance of the professors’ building. They entered the elevator and got off on the 28th floor, then Wen Shouyi pointed at Suite A on the other side, “Professor He lives here, and I live in Suite B.” This building was reserved the top experts and there were two elevators inside that required a special card to allow access to each person’s own floor. It was very private. Dou Aiyan and her two friends looked at Suite A for a while, then followed Wen Shouyi into her suite.
…
Gu Nianzhi had already went up to the 28th floor with He Zhichu and went inside Suite A. This was a huge suite with three bedrooms, three living rooms and three bathrooms. There was also a kitchen, sun room, gym and a small conference to meet all the teaching needs for a professor. Even if He Zhichu didn’t go a teaching building, he could still give lectures to graduate students here. Gu Nianzhi sat in He Zhichu’s sun room and held a cup of thick and frothy cappuccino. The sun shone through the French windows and the plants in the room appeared lush. Pots of orchids of unknown varieties hung, where they appeared ready to bloom and left a hint of fragrance in the sun room. Gu Nianzhi took a deep breath and smiled politely at He Zhichu, “Professor He, what a tasteful sun room this is. It’s so comfy and the air seems fresher than anywhere else.”
He Zhichu coldly glanced at the internship report Gu Nianzhi had brought for him to sign and confirmed with her, “Are you really not a negotiating expert for the Special Operations Forces anymore?”
“Absolutely not, I can swear it.” Gu Nianzhi raised her right hand.
“No need.” He Zhichu nodded indifferently as he signed his name with a flourish on her internship report and passed it back to her, “Anything else?”
“Also I wanted to ask if you could please endorse me, so I can represent Auntie Song in court as her defense lawyer.” Gu Nianzhi said carefully, “I want to do this and it’s related to my studies. –Professor He, you’ll agree right?”
“Who is Auntie Song?” He Zhichu asked flatly and took a sip of coffee.
Gu Nianzhi inhaled sharply before considering it and finally speaking the truth, “…She’s Huo Shao’s mother, she’s also a victim in this case.”
“So that’s to say it’s the Huo’s family business?” He Zhichu set down his cup of coffee and tapped his fingers lightly on the glass coffee table as he mused, “You’re really going to meddle with someone else’s family business?”
“Can’t really say it’s meddling…” Gu Nianzhi patiently explained to He Zhichu, “Auntie Song was mentally unsound for 16 years because Bai Jinyi delayed her treatment. Anyone would be indignant seeing this kind of thing. I’m only…”
“Stop right there.” He Zhichu’s expression darkened as he raised a hand to pause her from continuing, “I won’t help you for this, if you are only helping your Auntie Song because you are ‘indignant.'”
“Why not?” Gu Nianzhi was perplexed, her watery doe like eyes widened and the pitch black irises were like a night sky reflecting endless stars.
It was so moving that He Zhichu’s heart couldn’t help skipping a beat when he looked at those eyes. He closed his eyes and said, “Did you forget your professionalism as a lawyer? Replacing rational judgement with emotions will lead to faulty judgement. Not only will you lose the case, but you can also be led astray.”
Gu Nianzhi was silent for a long time. She thought about it for while, then refuted He Zhichu, “It’s certainly wrong to replace rational judgement with emotions, and not only is that lacking a lawyer’s professionalism, but also unfair to the client. But I don’t think lawyers should be forbidden to have their own feelings and perspectives. If I’m only defending for the sake of defending, and only use legal provisions and procedures to win cases, that’s not sustainable over a long period of time.”
“You believe that?” He Zhichu raised his brows in surprise, “Then you’ll only accepting the client’s case if you agree with them emotionally.”
“I guess you can say that.” Gu Nianzhi smiled helplessly, “If Professor He thinks I’m not professional in this aspect, then I’m truly am not professional at this point. Perhaps I’ll be more composed in the future, and not bring any personal emotions into my world. But for now this isn’t possible for me.”
He Zhichu sat on the sofa, one hand propped under his head and his eyes half closed as he considered it for a long moment. He then finally said, “Fine, you just graduated so it’s still forgivable you have such enthusiasm. I’ll believe you this one time.”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes lit up and she was elated, “So Professor He is agreeing to endorse me?”
“Yeah.” He Zhichu stood up, “Come to the office with me.”
Gu Nianzhi giggled as she followed him to the study. When they arrived, Gu Nianzhi quickly glanced around the room and couldn’t help feeling impressed. He Zhichu’s study was entirely furnished in black and white, making it appear simple and bright. The huge desk was a long black table top supported by four stainless steel legs, and there wasn’t even a single drawer on it. A row of stainless steel, safe-like filing cabinets lined the side of the desk. On the desk was a iMac, and a floor lamp that looked like a tree branch was placed behind his computer chair. The lamp reached over from the back of the chair to illuminate the top of his head. It used LED bulbs that were bright and soft, while still protecting eyesight. The south wall was entirely French windows with automatic voice activated blinds, which were flanked by unopened black and white soundproof curtains. The west and east walls were covered with full bookshelves. In the center of the office was a simple circular shaped sofa which was used for chatting with guests. A round coffee table sat in the middle of the sofa, which held a platter of fruit and several unopened bottles of water. The floorboards were a shiny ebony, while the the ceiling was lined with recessed lights that were currently off. The only light on in the room was the tree branch floor lamp behind his chair.
Gu Nianzhi sat on a soft square chair across from He Zhichu’s desk and placed two elbows on it as she looked excitedly at He Zhichu hammering at the keyboard. A special document had to been signed because she had passed her bar exam but still needed a licensed lawyer to endorse her due to lack of work experience.
He Zhichu downloaded the document from the Ministry of Justice’s official website, filled it out and printed three copies to sign. He passed the three copies of the signed endorsement letter to Gu Nianzhi and pointed, “You can sign there too.”
Gu Nianzhi carefully read all three copies before neatly signing her name on all of them. With He Zhichu’s endorsement, it meant Gu Nianzhi had the support of He Zhichu to represent as a defense lawyer. In terms of legal procedure, He Zhichu would also be unable to act as Bai Jinyi’s defense lawyer due to conflict of interest.