She exuded a profound stillness, a sense of broken calmness enveloping her. When the light turned green, the car moved forward. Upon reaching their apartment complex, they parted ways to their respective homes.Iris entered her apartment and lay down on her bed – not out of fatigue, but simply because she wanted to. Turning her head, she noticed Jason's coat hanging on the rack. Should she return it to him?Just then, a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. It was likely Yvonne, probably coming to complain about her failed blind date. She opened the door and started, "The blind date…"To her surprise, it was Jason standing outside."M-Mr. Just, what are you doing here?" she stammered.He extended his hand, offering her some medicine. "For you."Iris looked down to see it was tetanus and anti-inflammatory medication.“Superiors should care for their subordinates; it’s part of the job,” he stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world.She could only accept it.
Jason asked, "Do you think I would lie?"Iris shook her head vigorously. "You're a man of your word."Jason chuckled, then got up to retrieve a document folder from his study, handing it to her. "The case is quite complicated, so take your time to study it."Iris nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Just...""No need to thank me." He looked at her with a meaningful gaze. "Don't forget that you agreed to put off all the thank you gifts for now, accumulate them, and give me one big gift in the future."For some reason, Iris smelled a trap. She asked, concerned, "What if, when the time comes, I can't afford what you want?"Jason leaned back in his chair. "You can offer yourself instead; I'll accept that.""What?!""Just kidding," he said. "Don't worry; what I want, you can afford," he added mysteriously.Iris brushed off the uneasy feeling. After all, she believed Jason didn't have any interest in her. She was a divorced woman, and he was like a deity in their field; surely, he would only be
Ted looked hurt, unable to comprehend Iris' exasperation. Was she upset about the flowers, or was she upset with him?Iris didn't mean to hurt him. "Yvonne's probably joking, but you took it seriously. I'm here to work, and I'm not even an official lawyer yet. People will laugh at me...""No one would dare because I'm here with a business deal with your law firm," Ted said earnestly. "I've dismissed my company's legal department and plan to hire your firm to be in charge of my company's legal counsel."Iris couldn't believe her ears.Ted continued, his expression serious. "Iris, I know I may not be your type, but I really, really like you. That's why I want to do something for you. I know that you just started your legal career and there's an internship period. If you bring in a big client for your firm, it'll help you become a full-fledged lawyer."His intentions were genuine. He was just very dense in romantic matters. If not, he wouldn't have thought that it was okay to do some
This job was crucial for Iris, especially as she was on the verge of being confirmed for a permanent position. With Ted creating such a scene, she risked upsetting her boss and losing that opportunity. A heaviness settled in her heart."Iris, go write the resignation letter..." Ted said."Ted!" Iris snapped, frustration evident in her voice. "Professor Sandler recommended this job to me. I value it highly and I'm working hard to prove myself. I can't let him down again, especially after what I did for Stanley. If I disappoint him once more, I'll never be able to face him."Ted's mouth silently opened and closed. He was just unhappy with the way Jason treated Iris; he never intended to jeopardize her job."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," he admitted, guilt washing over him."It's okay," Iris replied, her eyes stinging with emotion. "You should leave. I have to work.""Do you want me to apologize to your boss? That way, he won’t hold it against you because of me," Ted offered
Therefore, when Yvonne came to see him, he proposed, "If you can help me find out if Jason has any interest in Iris, I’ll convince your parents not to arrange any blind dates for you for a year."Yvonne immediately agreed.She then encouraged Ted to confess to Iris in a high-profile manner to provoke a reaction from Jason. If Jason liked Iris, he would surely be angry; if not, he wouldn’t care at all. Earlier, Ted said that Jason was angry. That indicated Jason had feelings for Iris.“Okay; I’ll give your parents a call,” the old man said, sitting comfortably in his rocking chair, swaying leisurely despite having just lost a chess match.Yvonne sensed there was more to it than her grandfather let on. Crouching beside the rocking chair like a curious gossip, she asked, “Grandpa, what made you suspect Jason might have feelings for Iris?”Professor Sandler looked at her and chuckled softly. “You know nothing.”The reason he had shown Jason a photo of Iris and tried to match them u
"Mr. Just, are you... are you running a fever?" Iris asked, puzzled. She still could not comprehend why he was so angry.If it wasn’t a fever causing him to act irrationally, why would he say something so weird? It almost sounded like he was upset about other men pursuing her."What are you talking about?" Jason asked, baffled.Iris was trying not to get fired, so she said humbly, "N-nothing. I'm just concerned about your health."Jason's gaze was intense and inscrutable. "For Professor Sandler's sake, I'll give you another chance," he gave a grand excuse even though he clearly knew he wouldn’t fire her.Grateful, Iris quickly nodded. "I’ll do a good job. I promise it won't happen again.""Go back to work," he said, waving her off.As she turned to leave, Jason called out, "Wait."Iris paused with her hand on the doorknob. She turned back with a smile, eager to please. "What can I do for you, Mr. Just?""Do you like the man who gave you flowers today?"Iris was caught off gua
The woman had provided a video and audio recording. Based on the video and audio, it appeared that he did force himself on her."Please describe in detail what happened that day," Iris urged. She couldn't find any breakthroughs from the case file, so she was hoping to do so from the man's testimony.After organizing his thoughts, the man began recounting the events of that day carefully. Iris listened intently and noted that his account closely matched the details in the case file."Is this friend of yours very close to you?" Iris asked.The man nodded, saying, "We've been friends for over a decade."He then added, "Our families also know each other; he wouldn't set me up. Please, you must help me. I don't want anyone to know about this, and I can't afford to go to prison."Iris scrutinized him. He was dressed in a designer suit. Stanley also had suits of this brand, so Iris knew that it was worth at least thirty thousand, and his watch was likely worth over a hundred thousand. H
The receptionist's eyes immediately widened in shock.Mr. Just is dating his assistant?Jason neither confirmed nor denied her statement. He pursed his lips, thinking."Oh, let me treat you to a meal," Cassie said, grabbing Jason’s arm, as if to keep him from escaping. He allowed her to pull him along.She led him to a table outside a nearby café. "Tell me, how far along have you and my daughter progressed?" Cassie inquired, then quickly added, "Wait, you haven’t had lunch yet, have you? I made these sushi myself. Try it."She opened the lunchbox, revealing beautifully arranged sushi, crafted with care to please the eye and palate. She handed him a pair of chopsticks."Thank you, Mrs. Glover," Jason said with a smile as he accepted them."Oh, you’re welcome, you’re welcome," Cassie beamed, forgetting all about her daughter as she watched Jason enjoy the food.Jason picked up a piece of sushi and took a bite. It was delicious. Iris must have inherited her culinary skills from
"Okay. Good night, Mr. Just," Iris said."See you tomorrow," he said."See you tomorrow."…Iris was jolted awake the next morning by her phone ringing. Groggy, she reached for it. "Hello...""My husband changed his mind. He refuses to settle or drop the case now."The client's voice sounded anxious.Iris was instantly wide awake.Why would he change his mind overnight? She was going to handle all the procedures today to avoid further complications too."What happened?" Iris sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Take your time and explain in detail.""I don't know either. He just messaged me saying he regrets signing the settlement agreement and he won't drop the case. But he already signed the agreement. He can't change his mind anymore, right?" The client still held a glimmer of hope.Iris replied, "He can still change his mind."Under normal circumstances, changing one's mind after signing would be difficult. However, since she had half-tricked him into signing the agreement, if
Iris nodded helplessly. "You shouldn't have answered the phone." She felt a headache coming.She wasn't blaming Jason; it's just impossible to explain to her mother now.Since Jason answered her phone this late at night, her mother naturally assumed that Jason had been with her all evening.That was indeed the case today, but it wasn't in the way her parents thought."I can go meet your parents with you," Jason offered.Iris was surprised. Huh?Does he even know what he's saying?"Do you know who my mom thinks you are?" she asked.How could he suggest that without knowing anything?"She thinks I'm your boyfriend, right?" Jason smirked mischievously. "If you don't take me to see them, they'll definitely ask you even more questions. Wouldn't that be troublesome for you?""Besides," he added, "We worked so well together earlier. We're very in sync, right?"Iris was speechless."Actually, all I have to do is explain to them...""What if they set you up on a blind date?" Jaso
After hanging up, as Jason was about to leave the car, he heard a phone ringing. He traced the sound to Iris' phone lying on the passenger seat. She had left her phone in his car.Picking it up, he noticed "Mother" displayed on the screen and smiled, recalling the enthusiastic woman he had met the other day. It seemed he had a reason to look for Iris now.He exited the car and took the elevator to the ground floor, then headed to the building across the street.While waiting for the elevator in Iris' building, Iris' phone rang again. Jason wondered if he should answer. Iris' mother was calling repeatedly in the middle of the night, so there might be an emergency. After some hesitation, he decided to answer.Before he could speak, Cassie's voice came through the line. "Iris, happy birthday! Your dad and I are so busy today that I only have time to call you now. When are you free to visit us for dinner? Call me before you come; we'll skip work that day and stay home to spend the
Stanley was furious. He felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing to his head. If he had held onto any hope before, it was gone now. He realized that Iris was genuinely leaving him and had no intention of returning to his side.No!He could not accept that!Inside the car, Iris fastened her seatbelt, unfazed by Stanley's roar. Jason glanced at her, noticing her calm demeanor, and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips.He started the engine, and the car roared to life. He turned the steering wheel and pressed the gas pedal, and they drove away .Once they had left Riverside Pier, Iris said, "Thank you for acting with me."Jason's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Don't you think we have great chemistry?"Iris considered this for a moment. "Indeed. I always thought you were a very serious person. I didn't expect you to...""To what?" he asked, glancing at her.Iris brushed her hair. "Just now, when you called me 'babe', I got goosebumps. I can't believ
"I'll take you home," Jason offered.Iris nodded. Stanley couldn't stand it any more. Disregarding how bad it made him look, he rushed forward and grabbed Iris' wrist. "Iris..."Iris turned around, her expression cold. "Can I help you, Mr. Stein?"Her tone was icy, causing a pang in Stanley's chest. "H-happy birthday." His voice was hoarse. "Iris, I made a mistake. Let's get back together..."Jason instinctively tightened his grip on Iris' shoulder.Iris sneered, tilting her head with eyes full of coldness. "Since you wished me a happy birthday, let me make a wish: I hope you never appear before me again. I hope my wish will come true.""Iris," Stanley's voice cracked with emotion.Iris raised her eyebrows and said fiercely, "Let go of my hand!"Instead of releasing her, Stanley tightened his grip, the veins in his hand bulging.That hurt Iris' arm."Mr. Stein," Jason interjected, prying Stanley's hand away. "Stop bothering her. This is unbecoming of you.""She's my wife
On the shore, Yvonne urged Iris to leave.The other yacht was drawing closer to the dock, and if Iris lingered any longer, she would inevitably run into Stanley. It had truly been an unlucky day for Yvonne. Nothing was going smoothly. First came Jason, an unexpected guest, and now came Stanley, a harbinger of bad luck."Iris, why is the day of your birth so unlucky?" Yvonne complained. Iris looked perplexed. Right then, the other yacht docked. Henry was the first to jump off. He hurried over to Yvonne. "Hey! You're here too? Why didn’t you call me to join you? We could have come together."Yvonne glanced at the three women who followed him down from the yacht. All of them were flaunting their legs, their skirts barely covering their bottoms, and their cleavages were on full display with their low necklines. Yvonne scoffed, "Come together? That would have ruined your fun.""C'mon, I'm not serious with them," Henry replied. He approached Yvonne and reached for her sleeve. "
Actually, it wasn't that the parents absolutely couldn't afford to raise her, it was more because they wanted a son, but with the family planning policy, they couldn't afford the payment to give birth to one more child, so they left the girl to be raised by the grandparents.The little girl passed away without ever having been registered in the household registration; she was considered undocumented. Getting her registered would require money the family simply didn't have. Or, perhaps, they felt that it wasn't necessary since she was just a girl.The girl's aunt – her uncle's wife, who also lived with the girl's grandparents – was unhappy because there was suddenly an extra mouth to feed. The aunt treated the girl very poorly. According to neighbors, the girl was often beaten and denied food. The grandparents didn't dare speak up, fearing they would upset their daughter-in-law.According to the villagers, the aunt had attacked the girl that day because the girl had stolen some bread
Jason remarked, "In this world, there is no such thing as absolute fairness."He thought Iris' view was still overly idealistic. There was a large gap between the things taught in law school and the cases that happened in the real world. Sometimes, bending the rules was necessary to achieve certain objectives, not just for the sake of making things fairer. The world has never been fair, no matter in which country.Iris fell silent. She knew that the world had never truly been fair. Many individuals were constrained by circumstances from the moment they were born. Some emerged from impoverished rural areas, needing relentless perseverance to change their fates, while others were born into wealth and luxury, their starting point already an unattainable goal for many. How could this not be seen as unfair? Fairness was absent from the moment of one's birth.Yet, wasn't her initial aspiration to study law rooted in the pursuit of fairness? If not, what was the point of law?"Mr. Just,
His now wide open collar revealed his sexy, slender neck. His Adam's apple moved as he spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, "Are you really okay?"Iris nodded, avoiding his gaze; she didn't dare meet his eyes directly. His gaze felt too affectionate. Earlier, he mentioned that she resembled the love of his life. Maybe he saw her as a substitute for his unrequited love?Yes, it must be so; otherwise, he wouldn't have looked at her with that kind of expression.Phew~She assured herself that Jason couldn't possibly have feelings for someone like her. It was fortunate she had realized this in time, avoiding any presumptuous thoughts. She felt relieved that she hadn't embarrassed herself in front of him."Um..." Just then, Denise approached, intending to inform them that Yvonne wanted to leave. Upon reaching the sun deck, she immediately spotted Jason hugging Iris.She realized she was intruding.Quietly, she turned to leave.However, Iris had seen her. "Denise," Iris called out