socalfunplaces Chapter 16 I Won
Chapter 16 I Won
"Attorney Yu, please file the case as soon as possible. We can discuss the price and everything else."
Lin Lin's retreating movement really hurt her, and their communication failed. Seeing that her son didn't want to come back either, she realized that once he made up his mind, he made a decision quickly.
"No wonder she's a native of Dongjiang." Yu Xingge thought to himself. Liang Hui had turned her back on him the day before yesterday, but this morning she called to arrange a meeting. From the phone call to the very first thing she said upon meeting, she hadn't mentioned that unpleasant incident at all.
"Of course, here are the authorization documents for you to take a look at."
她解释：「离婚诉讼的案件收费分涉及财产分割和不涉及两种，您要起诉的房产位于东郊电厂路宏光苑5号楼2单元1302，房产证面积为142平方米。小区现二手房的售出均价在41000元一平方米，那幺房产价值也就是5822000元。按照律所500万到1000万标的收取4%律师费的收费标準来说，您的案件代理费为232880元。」
"I'll still accept the odd amount. How about 23?"
Yu Xingge looked at Attorney Zhou for instructions.
Zhou Yuxuan nodded: "No problem, Ms. Liang. However, you should also be aware of the court fees. According to the latest divorce litigation fee standards of the East Suburbs Court, the fee for divorce cases is 300 yuan, and an additional 0.5% acceptance fee will be charged for the portion of the property involved exceeding 20 yuan. The final court fees will be around 28410 yuan, which you need to pay directly to the court and is not included in the attorney's fees."
"Of course, according to the principle that whoever files the lawsuit pays the litigation costs, you will prepay them. However, in the final judgment, the court will determine the proportion each party bears based on the actual circumstances of the case."
"Oh, and there are also court fees." Liang Hui nodded.
"Yes. Take a look. If there are no problems, sign and put your fingerprint here as Party A." Zhou Yuxuan opened the contract and pointed to the signature section, saying to Liang Hui, "There are four copies of this contract. You need to keep one original."
Having apparently thought it through at home, Liang Hui signed the document without much hesitation. When it came time to pay, she went outside to make a phone call. A short while later, she received a notification from the finance department that the full amount of the legal fees had been received.
They discussed their litigation strategy again and agreed to stay in touch via WeChat group. Yu Xingge then escorted her to the elevator. Just then, a mother and son came out of the reception room next door. The woman, in her forties, was wearing a large T-shirt and jeans that were a bit too small. They were washed until they were almost white. She was holding the hand of a five or six-year-old boy, who blinked his eyes and quietly followed beside her.
"Attorney Yu, how come other people's children are so well-behaved and sensible, and," she stared at the mother and son's tightly clasped hands, "their relationship is so good."
Unfortunately, Huang Yuan, an intern lawyer from the marriage and family law team, was following behind this client. Since they were in the same office area, Yu Xingge happened to know the background of the case.
Yu Xingge's voice was soft: "The husband had been cheating on his wife for many years and had filed for divorce four times. Our firm's lawyers represented the wife. During the husband's absence, the wife worked while raising her two children. The eldest child is a girl. From the moment her father first filed for divorce from her mother, she clearly showed signs of depression and anxiety, which later developed into severe depression, severe anxiety, and other severe psychotic symptoms. She dropped out of high school and stayed at home in bed. Her maternal grandparents had to come and stay with her 24 hours a day. The child attempted suicide several times."
Liang Hui stopped walking.
"Last year, the girl asked to study abroad, and her family spent all their savings to send her there. They thought that leaving the domestic environment would inspire her autonomy and love for life, but a few days ago they learned that her father had filed for divorce for the fourth time, and she also had a small argument with her mother on the phone. Yesterday she just went to lie down on the train tracks."
"Ah!" Liang Hui stared in disbelief, her eyes filled with sympathy. "Is the child alright?"
Yu Xingge shook her head. "The child is lucky; she was only injured and is currently receiving closed treatment at a hospital abroad. I understand that her actions violated the laws of Japan and Singapore, and she faces legal responsibility and compensation. That's why her mother came to consult a lawyer about how to handle it. I heard her mother bought a plane ticket to Japan and left this afternoon. As for her father, he has to accompany the child he cheated on to a tutoring class this afternoon."
"How can anyone be so heartless!" Liang Hui's face lit up with anger. "What kind of father is this? Does he even deserve to be called a father?"
Yes, compared to him, isn't Liang Hui's husband actually quite good? Even her son never caused them any trouble during Liang Hui's divorce from Lin Xiangsong. But that's not how it works. In the end, Yu Xingge simply said, "A marriage can end with just a court judgment, but for all the children in divorced families, it's just a new beginning. Is this new beginning good or bad?"
May all couples forced to accept a broken marriage have children who don't add fuel to the fire.
"Huh? Attorney Zhou only gave you 3000?"
"That wasn't assigned; it was an internship salary that Attorney Zhou exceptionally gave me."
Jin Yajie scoffed, "Don't give me that. Do you think I don't know what kind of person he is? He's stingy, money is his biggest concern, and he's also obsessed with saving face, always trying to put on a show. Did he actually do anything for you in those two cases? Probably not."
Yu Xingge was quite at ease. Having been at the law firm for so long, she had already learned some of the industry's unspoken rules. Logically, she was under Director Shen's supervision, and he was supposed to be paying her a full internship salary. However, her nominal mentor was Gu Lezhi, but she was actually working on cases with Zhou Yuxuan. She was still doing odd jobs on the periphery of the real estate team's work, never actually handling any cases. Director Shen's internship salary was just a nominal 3000 yuan per month, which was essentially being held in tautness. Although she didn't know how Gu Lezhi had negotiated with Director Shen, her mentor had indeed changed to Gu Lezhi.
Even though she had been following this case the whole time, handling everything from initial consultations and divorce agreements to court appearances, this was still Zhou Yuxuan's client.
When it comes to splitting the money, the one with the clients is the boss.
"Not to mention that I've learned a lot of new things, the internship salary of 3000 yuan is already an extra reward for my work over the past month."
Jin Yajie shook her head as she listened: "My God, I didn't expect that Xing Ge was also good at self-manipulation. You're hopeless."
She advised her, "You can't win over Zhou Yuxuan without offering him something in return. Next time you have a case, ask him to handle it together, and give him more than half the money. That way, you'll give him both face and substance. You'll get what you ask for."
Yu Xingge, who was squinting as she drank her milk tea, was amused. Strangely enough, perhaps because of her deep thoughts, the person she got along best with in the law firm was the simple and innocent Ya Jie.
Even so, this was something she did intentionally.
However, love obtained through scheming is still love, but friendship is no longer friendship?
How have you been lately?
During their lunch break, the two of them sat together at the Paris Bakery downstairs. It was a hot summer day, and neither of them had much of an appetite. Since Yu Xingge had just received her first month's internship salary, she invited Ya Jie to come and have dessert.
Jin Yajie tossed and turned the bread on the table: "Work-related things aren't too bad, it's just that Supervisor Ren keeps complaining to my mom that I'm not going on blind dates. I'm so annoyed by her constant phone calls."
"You're already working, and you're still complaining to your parents? The management style of this law firm is truly unique."
"Huh? No, no." Ya Jie looked up: "You don't know, my supervisor, Ren Jiaying, is my aunt."
"Really? This is the first time I've heard of that." Yu Xingge's little finger trembled slightly, a subconscious reaction when she was lying.
She put her right hand under the table: "I've never heard you mention this before."
"It's not worth bragging about," she pouted. "I'm not like some people in the finance department. But I still managed to get through the law firm interview, no doubt about it. My role as a receptionist is solid!" Jin Yajie patted her chest to assure them.
Yu Xingge chuckled, "Yes, yes, Ya Jie is the best." She took another sip of her milk tea, "How old are you? Are you already being forced into blind dates? It's better to let love happen naturally."
"Right, right, that's exactly what I'm saying." Jin Yajie said excitedly, her face beaming with satisfaction. "When it comes to dating, of course, it has to be mutual. So what if those blind date guys are rich and powerful? I just don't like them, I'm not interested, and there's no spark."
"You didn't like any of them? Could it be that you're prejudiced from the start and have a deep-seated aversion to this kind of blind date, so you're already annoyed and naturally find everything about them unpleasant?"
"Maybe." Jin Yajie shook her head from side to side, looking at the passing crowd.
Yu Xingge asked, "So what kind of person do you like? Do you have a standard?"
"No, not really..." Jin Yajie's eyes suddenly lit up. "There are some! Of course, like Attorney Gu!" Yu Xingge followed her gaze and saw Gu Lezhi approaching from afar.
On a gloomy, overcast day, Gu Lezhi and Wei Ling walked past the floor-to-ceiling windows of a dessert shop. Wei Ling was talking animatedly, clapping her hands excitedly when she got excited. Gu Lezhi listened intently, taking slow, deliberate steps. Large raindrops fell from the eaves of the dessert shop, and he quickly moved Wei Ling to another spot, making a perfunctory gesture to block her from view.
A customer pushed open the door of the dessert shop, and the dampness of the rain seeped through the curtain. Wei Ling's face flushed for a moment, but she quickly stepped aside as if nothing had happened.
Yu Xingge lowered his eyes.
Jin Yajie exclaimed sincerely, "Attorney Gu is truly a real man, a true gentleman, and so handsome!"
"She's really married, has a real wife, and is a real 'central air conditioner' (meaning she's nice to everyone)." Yu Xingge subconsciously chimed in.
When she looked up, Gu Lezhi, a married man who was like a philanderer, was standing a few steps in front of her, his face quite indifferent.
Ya Jie looked embarrassed. "Hello, Attorney Gu." Wei Ling walked over with two cups of coffee. "Ya Jie and Xing Ge are here too." She naturally handed the coffee to Gu Lezhi. "Here, your espresso with full sugar and no milk."
Gu Lezhi accepted it and thanked him.
Ya Jie and Wei Ling started chatting about lunch, while Yu Xingge and Gu Lezhi simply became background figures. After about seven or eight sentences, Wei Ling smiled and waved to the two of them, "Then we'll go upstairs first, you two eat."
Yu Xingge then ignored the stares from across the street, smiled, and waved goodbye. After they had walked for quite some time, Yu Xingge finally asked, "Ya Jie, by the way, does Attorney Gu hold grudges?"
Ding dong.
A text message notification sounded.
"Dear Yu Xingge, Regarding case [(2022) Dong 0213 Su 13456][Criminal], we are hereby serving you with legal documents. Please click the link after this message to view and promptly click the 'Download Signed Documents' button to download the signed documents. Alternatively, you can log in to the Dongjiang Court's electronic litigation service platform, the Dongjiang Court's litigation service account, or the personal email address you provided when filing the case to sign for the documents. Contact person: [Qi Zhengwen], phone number: [023266273575]. Document viewing address:..."
She clicked on it. Yu Xingge couldn't help but smile.
"What are you looking at? Your laughter is giving me the creeps." Jin Yajie got goosebumps.
"Ya Jie, do you know?" Yu Xingge's eyes were filled with stars: "I used to think that winning was about taking revenge, but actually, winning is about working hard, having a clear conscience, becoming stronger, and helping others."
"What do you mean?" Jin Yajie was stunned.
"That is to say, belief is more insignificant than insignificance, and effort is more significant than greatness."
Jin Yajie was even more confused: "What does that mean?"
"It means," Yu Xingge flashed a glimpse of his sixteen neat teeth, "that I won my first lawsuit!"
So she has two little tiger teeth, the thought flashed through Jin Yajie's mind.