Because of Gu Yan's confession, Gu Xuehan quickly arranged another task for Qi Xi, asking her to leave the office first while keeping Gu Yan behind for a private talk.
Qi Xi anxiously waited outside the office for half an hour before she saw Gu Yan coming out.
During this half-hour, Qi Xi felt immense guilt and embarrassment as she revised the contract, berating herself for her shortsightedness.
She had smugly believed that she had cleverly exploited legal loopholes to free Cheng Junliang from the situation. However, after listening to Gu Xuehan's analysis, she realized her foolishness.
What made her even more guilty was that she let Gu Yan take the blame for her.
The willingly accused victim seemed quite calm, facing Qi Xi's concerned inquiries. Gu Yan not only refused to take credit but seemed indifferent, which only added to Qi Xi's guilt.
"You should have implicated me just now."
"And get scolded by my sister?"
Gu Yan glanced at Qi Xi before averting his eyes and looking back at his computer, as if busy with emails. "My sister's scolding wouldn't be something you could handle with your temperament. If you end up crying and having a breakdown, who will do the work in the team?"
"Don't bother being overly grateful to me. I'm not that noble. I just find it troublesome. I hate seeing people cry, dislike consoling others, and don't want someone's emotional fluctuations affecting the team's work."
Gu Yan's voice remained calm, "Besides, I did think about and accept this plan, and I didn't stop you from communicating with Cheng Junliang. It's not unjust for me to be scolded by my sister."
That was the argument, but...
Qi Xi felt a bit defiant, "I'm not as fragile as you think. If it really was my flawed and immature idea, I would humbly accept Attorney Gu's admonishment without bursting into tears at every turn."
After thinking for a moment, Qi Xi felt the need to clarify, "I believe I'm quite resilient; I won't cry, at most, I might feel a little uncomfortable."
"You won't cry?" Gu Yan said expressionlessly, "Then who answered the call from the other party's film company during the Ai Xiang case last time and had their eyes turn red after being scolded? Do you think my sister is a saint? She only scolded without using foul language. If you hold a grudge after being scolded, what if you seek revenge on me?"
Qi Xi felt compelled to argue, "Am I the kind of person who seeks revenge?!"
"Are you not?" Gu Yan calmly looked at Qi Xi, "Then who scolded me at the graduation ceremony?"
"..."
Qi Xi felt that she couldn't get over the deep-seated enmity between her and Gu Yan.
"But what do we do now? We can't just watch Cheng Junliang really compensate 120,000 yuan. Although he is at fault for losing the original documents, Lu Juan is also at fault for trying to extort money."
Qi Xi was anxious, worried that Gu Xuehan would oppose them taking this case. After all, it was a tricky situation, and the representation fee wasn't high, yet it could cause a lot of trouble.
But Gu Xuehan's approach surprised Qi Xi -
Gu Yan didn't even look at Qi Xi, "She will meet Cheng Junliang and handle this matter."
Qi Xi was pleasantly surprised, "Attorney Gu is really kind! If she intervenes, Cheng Junliang will definitely be safe!"
Qi Xi genuinely meant what she said. She naturally trusted Gu Xuehan and believed that as long as Gu Xuehan took action, everything would be resolved.
However, her sincere admiration for Gu Yan's sister did not resonate with Gu Yan. On the contrary, he listened and showed a nitpicking attitude, "She didn't even say how to handle it, and you think it's safe?"
Perhaps feeling disgruntled after being scolded, the man spoke sarcastically, "And why are you so happy about whether Cheng Junliang is safe or not?"
Qi Xi smiled at Gu Yan, "We were all classmates after all. Let's take this opportunity to help an old classmate." She looked at Gu Yan flatteringly, "You just helped me shoulder the blame, didn't you?"
"Who helped you? I told you it had nothing to do with you," Gu Yan replied irritably, "I can only say I'm unlucky, and I've accepted my fate."
Despite Gu Yan's words, Qi Xi was grateful. A few days ago, she overheard some students chatting on the subway and learned that the prominent heavy metal rock band, hailed as the "pope" of the genre, would be performing in Rongshi this Saturday. For any heavy metal rock enthusiast, this band was their ultimate idol.
Initially knowing nothing about heavy metal rock, Qi Xi researched and discovered that although it was a niche circle, its enthusiasts were fiercely devoted. Consequently, tickets for the rock concert were in high demand, and even regular seats were being sold for nearly 2,000 yuan. However, compared to the 5 to 6,000 yuan tickets for a football match on the same day, the rock concert seemed relatively affordable.
Recently, Qi Xi had taken up some freelance legal translation work, and after settling her debts with Gu Yan, she had some money left over.
She compared the rock concert's ticket prices to those of the football match and found comfort in the fact that the metal concert was still much cheaper. At least Gu Yan had chosen an interest that didn't burn through money.
After calculating her future expenses and ensuring everything would work out, Qi Xi finally mustered the courage to buy two expensive tickets from scalpers for the concert.
She was afraid that Gu Yan might buy tickets for himself too. The next day at work, Qi Xi started to probe casually, "Are you free this Saturday?"
Gu Yan frowned slightly and looked at Qi Xi, "What are you up to? Do you have a contract that needs urgent revisions?"
"No, no. I just thought if you're free this Saturday, I happen to have two tickets. Why don't we go together?"
Gu Yan hesitated for a moment, "Oh, I'm free."
He seemed a bit awkward, "I didn't manage to get tickets. They are quite expensive and hard to come by. Besides, aren't most girls not interested in this kind of thing? Do you like it too?"
Qi Xi didn't want to miss any chance to get closer to Gu Yan, so she pretended to be enthusiastically surprised, "I love it! So, you like it too!"
Although she had no idea what heavy metal rock was, she claimed to like it first!
"Did you not notice? Actually, we have many common interests. We both love durian and heavy metal rock!"
Qi Xi showed an expression of finding a soulmate, "I've always felt that heavy metal rock suits your temperament perfectly. Despite appearing calm and composed on the outside, like an ordinary guy who enjoys sunny football, I understand that deep down, you are wild, rebellious, and punk. Others might think your preferences are mainstream, just like any other guy our age, but I know better. You disdain being the same as those ordinary guys; you like things that are unique, profound, and different from the rest!"
It's uncertain if her words struck a chord with Gu Yan, but he seemed to have a complex expression. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Qi Xi and asked, "Is that how you see me?"
Qi Xi nodded vigorously, "Exactly! Even though you might seem like an ordinary and outstanding student on the surface, I know you have a super unique personality deep inside!"
Perhaps struck right in the heart, Gu Yan's expression seemed a bit subtle. He averted his gaze and casually remarked, "So you think a guy who likes football and other typical male hobbies lacks individuality?"
Wasn't this the moment to praise Gu Yan for being different from other ordinary male fans?
Qi Xi went all out to flatter him, "Well, liking football and such is common, but it can be somewhat generic. People need something unique to distinguish themselves from others. Like your love for heavy metal music, that's truly distinctive, making you stand out."
Feeling a bit embarrassed by all this praise, Gu Yan's expression became unpredictable for a moment.
Did I guess wrong?
Feeling uneasy, Qi Xi asked, "So, do you like heavy metal music? If not, it's fine. I can find someone else to go with me."
Fortunately, just when she began to doubt herself, Gu Yan gave her a positive response—
"It's alright."
He glanced at Qi Xi, "I quite like it."
Qi Xi instantly became happy, "So, we'll go together on Saturday?"
"Sure."
Having successfully invited Gu Yan, Qi Xi was overjoyed.
This time, no matter what, Gu Yan had taken the blame for her in front of Gu Xuehan, and she wanted to repay him somehow.
Coincidentally, just after she happily paid the full price for the scalped tickets she had previously reserved, she heard Gu Yan's phone ringing across from her.
Though she didn't intend to eavesdrop due to the close distance, she could faintly hear the voice from Gu Yan's end of the call:
"The tickets you wanted last time are available, but the price is a bit high. Standard seats, 10,000 yuan per ticket. You mentioned that this price was acceptable to you, so I wanted to confirm if you're interested. It's worth it, after all, because you really want to go..."
It seemed like the person on the other end wanted to continue, but Gu Yan didn't give them a chance. He cut them off abruptly, "No, thanks."
Without giving the other person a chance to finish, Gu Yan quickly hung up the phone.
Although Gu Yan didn't say anything, Qi Xi could see through it. This was clearly a scalper selling tickets. But they were being outrageous, asking for 10,000 yuan per ticket! Even though the rock band was popular in the heavy metal genre, asking for such a high price for regular seats was excessive. It was almost on par with the ticket prices for the other football match! Market demand determines the price, and there were far more people attending football matches than fans of niche heavy metal rock. To charge such a high price for a heavy metal rock concert ticket, these scalpers had no professional ethics!
Nevertheless, her flattery had clearly worked wonders!
If it weren't for buying the tickets in advance, Gu Yan would have had to deal with those unethical scalpers himself.
Though he said it was "alright," he was clearly willing to pay even 10,000 yuan for the tickets in his heart. This was far from being just "alright"! It was a love so strong that he was ready to spare no expense!
"Gu Yan, you're the best," truly living up to my expectations!!
In the end, Qi Xi couldn't hold back. She nudged Gu Yan with her arm, "So you've actually wanted to see this performance for a long time."
Gu Yan seemed momentarily puzzled, hesitating for a moment before finally responding with an "Mmm."
"But those scalpers are way too immoral. I bought the tickets for only 2,000 yuan each. Next time, if you want to see something, I'll introduce you to people I know and won't rip you off!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yan seemed somewhat incredulous, raising his voice slightly, "You spent 2,000 yuan on a ticket for this rock concert? And you call that not ripping me off? Do you know the market prices?"
Now Qi Xi felt a bit defiant, "Your scalper was asking for 10,000 yuan! I'm only charging 2,000 yuan!" She glanced at Gu Yan, "Isn't that right?"
Gu Yan seemed like he wanted to say something, but faced with the undeniable truth, he couldn't come up with a rebuttal. In the end, he just held back, choosing not to say anything.