First-Class Lawyer N Chapter 81

The apartnt that Luke found was in close vicinity to Southcross Law Firm. However, the residential area was a little aged. The building facade looked weathered and unremarkable, like a bald patch amidst the tall and wide buildings around it. The most awkward feature was that the hover roads and highways newly built a few years ago spanned perfectly overhead. They ca practically out of nowhere, causing the retail street opposite to lose popularity, thus plumting the comrcial value of the area.

Everyone knew that this land would be repurposed sooner or later. So the owners were all hoarding their properties, greatly reluctant to sell them off.

But the younger generation of landlords didnt like staying here. As such, only the elderly, who didnt like to shift their nests, and people renting apartnts populated the area.

It looks a little rundown, but other than that, its a pretty good place. Before walking into the neighbourhood, Luke was already peeking at Yan Suizhis expression, explaining with a trace of awkwardness. I checked the vicinity. Its convenient to go shopping, just, transportation-wise, its a little but you can walk to Southcross from here; you dont have to drive. Anyhow, aside from transportation, there isnt really much you can pick on. Its situated between three major districts, so its a popular choice for students from several schools. The people are decent, so it should be pretty safe.

The way youre watching

is making

feel like Im a walking bomb, Yan Suizhi said snippily.

Luke laughed abashedly, scratching his head. Nah, Im just afraid that youll find this place too old.

Although Yan Suizhi had told him that he didnt have any other particular requirents aside from the rent being reasonable and the interior being clean, he had this niggling hunch that Yan Suizhi was the kind of person that had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and thus might not necessarily be able to accept such a dreary place.

Why not? Yan Suizhi didnt mind in the slightest. It isnt as if Im sleeping on a park bench; how the outside looks doesnt matter to

.

To be completely honest, if he was being particular, he did have a certain standard for the surrounding neighbourhood. But Luke had already gone through all the trouble for him; he wouldnt spoil this little interns fun.

The apartnt was on the ninth floor and the landlord was a tall, thin man with fair skin and sky-blue eyes. It was obvious that he must have been lanky and handso when he was young. However, there now were deeply-set wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

I was actually already prepared to wait until evening, said the landlord, holding out his hand and shaking hands with them. rvyn White, the poor landlord who has waited for you for a century now.

Yan Suizhi, My bad. I almost went out on another business trip today; you nearly had to wait for a second century.

Then Ill have the rental contract engraved on my epitaph and only rest in peace after you sign it for .

Luke,

You two really have quite a sense of humour.

rvyn White appeared to easily warm up to others, readily bantering along when theyd just t. But, it did make people feel much more comfortable around him.

Cmon, Ill show you around the place. He beckoned to Yan Suizhi. Follow . The shoe rack on this side of the entryway has a built-in, antibacterial disinfecting system. You can remove and keep your footwear inside without a fuss; there wont be any odour. But I sniffed you just now, and I feel like this function is of little use for you. However, if you ever have any guests, then itll co in handy.

Yan Suizhi, Should I be thanking you for the complint?

Dont ntion it. rvyn White continued to speak, The passcode panel for the door is here. Not now of course, but after you sign the contract, Ill let you press your thumbprint on it.

He passed through the short hallway at the entrance and pushed open a door on his left. The living room is here. Feel free to lounge around on the two sets of sofas however you like; each one can be laid flat into quite a comfortable position. The kitchen and dining room are past this glass partition door. While the kitchenware isnt new, theyre pretty much as good as. There might still be so milk and frozen at in the freezer, you can have them too. And then over here the bathroom and the storeroom. Let

give you a word of advice: close the sliding door when you shower to prevent water from splashing out. The floor is a little slippery; a fall could ruin a face as handso as yours. The bedrooms over here

He spoke very quickly; soone who was a little slower to react might have been unable to keep up.

However, this flat was indeed clean and brightly lit. It did appear to be a very comfortable place to live in, even with a rare artistic touch. The artworks that adorned the wall were elegant and tasteful, the strokes and colours complenting the space perfectly.

While waiting for the landlord to open the bedroom door, Yan Suizhi reached out, touching an artwork hanging near him.

It was a minimalistic drawing of figures using charcoal, similar to those sketches without facial features that costu designers liked to draw. Only, the focus of this artwork wasnt in their clothing, nor was it coloured in.

A man and a woman could be made out from the artwork. The woman was seated elegantly, reaching out for a cup of tea, whereas the man was playfully putting a thumb-sized moonrose in her cup.

When rvyn White saw him reach out, he arched an eyebrow, asking, How is it? This drawing is pretty decent, right?

Yan Suizhi nodded, Its quite good. I can tell that the artist has an uninhibited nature.

Upon hearing this, rvyn Whites interest deepened. Really? You can tell sothing like this? What else can you tell?

I can also tell that the artist is an eternal bachelor, said Yan Suizhi.

rvyn White,

Yan Suizhi continued to admire it for a mont, then noticed the chatterbox landlords silence. Why?

rvyn White looked at him with a numb face for a long ti, finally using his thumb to point to himself. Thanks for the evaluation. The artist is here.

Yan Suizhi nodded in understanding. Then it appears that my words werent far off the mark.

For a brief mont, Luke slightly regretted introducing the two of them. He kept feeling that after having his sore spots jabbed a couple more tis, the landlord would promptly sweep them out of the house. However, he later realised that he was overthinking it. Could anyone ever find Yan Suizhi disagreeable? Oh, aside from the senior Lawyer Hobbes.

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Yeah, rwin said. Ive been living off rent and drawing after I quit my job. Its been over twenty years now.

Yan Suizhi nodded.

Conversely, it was Luke who was a little curious. Quit your job? What did you do in the past?

rvyn White strongly exuded an you can tie

up but dont tie

down vibe from head to toe, giving off a flippant type of attitude. His clothes and pants were baggy and comfortable. Taking advantage of the floor heating and temperature control, he walked around barefoot at ho, his hair casually braided behind his head.

Just based on his current lifestyle, it was really a challenge to imagine what he used to work as.

At the ntion of his previous employnt, rvyn White seed to turn a little moody.

Eh? Sorry, did I ask sothing inappropriate? Luke keenly picked up on his expression; it was evident that he had made so progress during this internship.

Ah rvyn White trailed off. Its not you, its just that the mories of my previous job are a little bit of a downer. I pulled this long face for my work to look at, not you guys.

But he didnt sidestep Lukes question, he even put on a dead fish-eyed look in ridicule, taking the initiative to ask Luke, What do you think I worked as in the past?

I dont know, its hard to guess, Luke said. I feel like you could have been an artist, or an art dealer? Soone who ran art exhibitions, maybe? Or a designer?

Every ti he ntioned one, rvyn White would wag his index finger, shaking it to the end and actually looking several asures more smug. Sadly, you got it all wrong. It looks like I did well in the past few years, successfully scrubbing away the original vibe I had from there. Nice, nice.

He sold the whole charade before then saying, I worked in a hospital.

He tapped the artwork of the man and the woman on the wall. I t these two in the hospital. In a sense, they are my patients; I was a specialist doctor at that ti, and this was my first eting with them in the hospital garden. I only happened to walk by, but the scene left a deep impression on . I would think of it from ti to ti, so I drew it out.

The little fool Luke was startled. Frankly, I really cant tell at all. Were you a doctor?

Not exactly, rvyn White said. I was in the research lab, not down making rounds, but I still had so interaction with patients.

Now, even Yan Suizhi was surprised.

Luke asked, Research lab? What were you researching?

rvyn White waved a hand. Forget it, its all in the past, I dont want to bring it up anymore. Also, its already been more than twenty years, so Ive pretty much forgotten all the details.

During the tour of the bedroom afterwards, Luke couldnt help but glance at him and glance again in the next mont.

Even though the temperature panel has been installed for more than a decade, it still works quite well. rvyn White said, You can call this number if anything goes wrong. Dear Student, youve already glanced over at

forty-seven tis; two more and Ill suspect that you want to start a grandfatherly relationship with .

Luke looked horrified. No, wait, what grandfatherly relationship? How old are you?

rvyn White graced him with an astonishingly condescending eye roll. Dont you think theres sothing wrong with what youre focusing on? Ive counted with my fingers before, Im not that old, maybe seventy years older than you guys.

Doing the math, he was in his nineties now. In fact, he was still considered to be in the tail-end of his pri in his nineties, and still had another twenty years to go before he reached the tip of this tail. With that in mind, the creases in the corners of his eyes and the frown lines around his mouth were a tad too deep, especially the two in between his brows. If it werent for years upon years of having the brows locked in a frown, people would rarely have such deep-set wrinkles there.

When pieced together with what he earlier said, it did seem that his previous job had greatly vexed him.

rvyn White didnt continue to make things difficult for Luke. Instead, he brought them to the last door. Theres a bedroom here too, but it isnt included in the rentalI will stay in this room from ti to ti. My stuff is all in here; I dont intend to vacate it.

Despite saying so, he still opened the door to this room. Even though it isnt up for rent, I dont mind giving you a tour. Cherish this opportunity; Ill be locking it up after this and youll never have the right to open it anymore.

Compared to the clean and neat living spaces before, this bedroom contained real signs of occupancy. There was even an archaic notebook resting at the head of the bed with a pen bookmarking it, like he was midway writing sothing before leaving the door.

Several rows of artistic bookshelves were nailed to the wall in picturesque disorder. There were collectors edition illustration books on two rows of them, two sketchbooks opened to an arbitrary page, and various photo fras placed on the other rows, interspersed with the occasional vividly-coloured pots of cacti.

Look, to ease this rental arrangent, I even changed the flowering vines in here to cacti so you dont have to take care of them, rvyn White said.

Yan Suizhi showed the utmost sincerity. I wont take care of them, dont worry. All the plants that have been under my care have all died.

rvyn White, Then itd be for the best not to trouble your golden hands to.

Yan Suizhis gaze swept past the photo fras. The bulk of them were rvyn Whites drawings or photographs of his exhibitions, but there were two that were the exception.

Those two photos looked very aged. From the fashion and the scenery, it was probably from at least twenty years ago. In one of the photographs, rvyn White was holding white flowers in a cetery. He was walking slowly surrounded by evergreens. To his side and in the distance behind him were rows after rows of silent gravestones.

The other photograph was also taken in a cetery but from a different angle. This ti, rvyn White wasnt captured in the lens, only the countless gravestones spread out far yonder amidst the deep green trees.

Luke was speechless when he saw the two photographs, thinking that this landlord really didnt skirt around taboos at all. While the photographs did have an artistic flair, it was too weird to place them facing the bed. Wasnt he scared that he would accidentally glance over at them and get a shock in the middle of the night?

Yan Suizhi was also looking at the sa two photographs, yet his thoughts were completely different.

Even though the photographs didnt show the cetery gates nor was there the na of the cetery anywhere, Yan Suizhi could recognise it at first sight. Is this the Juniper Cetery at Zone 13 of Helan?

rvyn White nodded, slightly surprised, Yeah. You can recognise it with just this?

I happen to be familiar with it, Yan Suizhi said.

It was only natural that he could recognise it, because there was once a long period of ti that Yan Suizhi would go there every day, and the day would turn to afternoon in the blink of an eye. The placent of the gravestones, how the trees looked, which regions were higher and made the climb up more tiring, and which regions were lower and would often flood when it rainedhe knew it like the back of his hand.

For that was where his parents were buried.

Yan Suizhi gazed at those two photographs for a while; there were hundreds of gravestones, among which there were two beneath which lay the people he missed the most.

Whats the matter? rvyn White asked.

A mont later, Yan Suizhi turned his eyes away, saying apologetically, Its nothing, my thoughts wandered for a bit.

Oh, dont worry about it, rvyn White said. I easily get lost in thought every ti I see these two photographs too, a whole afternoon will go by just like that.

He took the two of them out of the room and locked the door again. He said, I spent my childhood in Helan, but I mainly stayed in De Carma for work. After I retired, I would go back and forth, spending half a year there and the other half-year here. I was supposed to be here to attend an interstellar art exhibition held in De Carma, but I just received a call out of the blue telling

that my mother is ill, so I have to hurry back to take care of her for a while, otherwise Id probably be striked out of the family tree.

What kind of illness? Is it severe? Luke asked with concern.

rvyn White smiled rrily, saying, Youre really like a blonde cherub at tis like this; youd look more like it if you were just a little bit more plump. Its nothing big, she might have caught so flu. Shes running a fever and is already hospitalised. But even if she gets better by night, I still have to make a trip back to feel more at ease.

So rvyn White led the two n back to the living room. He projected the pre-prepared rental contract from his photon computer and spread the holographic papers over the glass coffee table. If you dont have any other questions, shall we sign the contract?

Actually, before entering, Yan Suizhi was inclined not to rent, because this residential area was indeed nothing much to speak of. But at this mont, his mind had changed slightly.

Perhaps it was because the interior of the house really was decorated quite well, exceeding his expectations. Or perhaps it was because of those two photographs of the cetery

Yan Suizhi thought about it before saying, To be honest, Im very satisfied with this place, but due to various circumstances, Im currently unable to confirm the lease

rvyn White glanced at Luke and flapped a hand at Yan Suizhi, a suave look on his face. Its cool! I know, I heard from this little buddy Luke that youre in your internship period so the salary you get is limited. Even if you wanted to live independently, theres no way that you could shell out half a years rent in a go. Thats very normal; Ive co across other kiddos from Southcross too, I understand too well.

He misunderstood the reason for Yan Suizhis hesitance as being embarrassingly short of money, which was also true to an extent. Naturally, Yan Suizhi was actually considering how he might not be able to stay for long before his sheepskin dropped for good.

However, this wasnt a reason that he could give the landlord. Since the landlord had already found a reason for him, he was more than happy to go along with it. Nodding, he said, Exactly. Im sorry to say this, but Im broke right now.

This broke guy didnt have a smidge of the embarrassnt that any broke guy would have. His airs and deanour were still immaculate, and he was still as frank as could be.

Watching this from the side, Luke silently looked away and facepald.

Little did anyone expect that rvyn White would laugh raucously instead. Yo, I like your spunk! To be honest, its not easy for

to et a tenant like you. Since Im in a good mood, why dont I just sign you for a 1-week probational lease period? Im going to be in Helan for a week or so anyway, so it isnt a bad idea to have soone around to help

keep an eye on the house. You can just move your luggage and whatnot over and settle in for a bite. If you really like it here, we can renew it on a monthly basis, how does that sound?

Luke sneaked a look at him, saying in his head that most people wouldnt have the cheek to accept such an arrangent. Normally, in the face of such a considerate and reasonable landlord, people would say, No, how could I. Lets sign a month first. or Lets sign three months, which was the equivalent of both sides making concessions and both sides would be happy.

Who knew that Yan Suizhi would actually nod his head and say, Really? Itd be great if thats really possible, thank you very much.

Luke,

Do you have no sha?

Professor Yanreallydidnt have any sha.

As he spoke, he breezily lowered his head and scanned the contents of the contract, then filled 7 days into the lease term with particular ease, finally signing his na with a flourish at the end.

While signing, his stroke got stuck on the way out for the second ti, and he even tsked at himself in his head, thinking to himself that it really was easy to slip up without Student Gus tily cough next to him.

rvyn White was utterly unfazed as he took the contract, checked the information filled in a few places, then unhesitantly signed his na as well.

Everyone, except for Luke, was happy.

With these two around, a process that should have been quite finicky was finished astonishingly quickly; it took less than half an hour from viewing the property for the contract to be signed.

Even after Yan Suizhi bade farewell and made to leave, Luke was still unable to wrap his head around it. Just like that?

Otherwise?

As they walked to the door, rvyn White suddenly thought of sothing, slapping his forehead. HeyI was so excited that I forgot to ntion. You can do whatever you want when you stay here, except for two conditions.

What are they?

No pets. rvyn White said, No matter what animal it is, dont let

catch a single trace of animals left behind. Im very sensitive about such things; Ill choke at the sight of it. Really, no joke. Its that serious. I have a bit of a psychological shadow about this. So, be very, very sure not to violate this.

Yan Suizhi nodded. Dont worry, it is already particularly challenging to raise myself on an interns salary, let alone have any surplus to raise a pet.

rvyn White said, Great.

Ahem, I an. I hope you can have a pay raise soon. rvyn White continued, The other condition is that youre not allowed to bring any girlfriends over. This is similarly another serious psychological shadow I have. I didnt have such a stipulation in the past, only the first one, then ran into three tenants in a row like a human motor. Resentnt is a cosmic, indisputable fact of life. Ah what a nightmare that was. Anyway, just think of it as a touchy spot of this eternal bachelor. Dont poke it, so promise , not to bring any over, got it?

Yan Suizhi was caught between laughter and tears. I dont know if this will bring you any consolation, but I dont have a girlfriend.

rvyn White unyieldingly added, No boyfriends allowed, either.

Yan Suizhi,

Why did you go silent? An annoying glint of suspicion entered rvyn Whites gaze.

Yan Suizhi huffily said, No, none of that either. If you keep looking at

like that, Im going to annul the contract.

Reassured, rvyn White nodded. Good. Ill register your fingerprints to the security system for seven days access. You can move in tonight and enjoy your new life.

Yan Suizhi intended to give a word to Gu Yan when he returned to Southcross Law Firm.

In truth, for a fleeting mont as he signed the contract, the idea of calling to ask Gu Yan popped into his mind. But he himself crossed it out the mont this thought flashed by. As for why, he didnt think closely about it.

Or, rather, he did know why. But a certain consciousness pulled him away from thinking about it.

However, when he returned to Southcross Law Firm, he then found that the office on the second floor was devoid of anyone.

He gave it a thought before sending a ssage to Gu Yan on his smart device: [Have you left for the port?]

A mont later, the others response ca in: [Im already on the space shuttle.]

-So soon?

-Expedited.

In the next mont, Gu Yan sent another ssage over: [About to leave the port. Head back on your own tonight.]

Yan Suizhi considered it then responded: [Mm. By the way, Luke found a new flat for . Ive just signed a short-term contract; Ill move out in the next two days.]

After all, his presence there would bring Gu Yan trouble. Even if Gu Yan himself didnt mind, Yan Suizhi wouldnt casually take his future for a joke.

Only, this ti, even after a long wait, Gu Yans reply never ca.