Chapter 38.1:  No one with the surname Qian is a good person!

Though she didn’t want to admit it, after being lectured by Qian Heng in his office, Cheng Yao actually felt surprisingly refreshed over the next few days. Even that cilantro-flavored chocolate, to her shock, seemed to leave a lingering aftertaste she didn’t entirely hate.

Was this… the legendary masochistic tendency? Knowing something was toxic yet still drawn to it? Could addiction work like this? No way, right? Cheng Yao convinced herself she was just overthinking it…

“Oh my god, have you guys seen this news?” Just as Cheng Yao’s thoughts were spiraling, Tan Ying gasped, holding up her phone. “Ever since India’s alcohol ban forced liquor off the shelves, some people have started drinking cobra venom instead. One sip gets them high for a whole month! And they don’t just drink it—they even mix it with rice! Who knew poison could be addictive?”

“……”

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Regardless of everything else, the inheritance dispute over Dong Shan’s estate had finally reached its conclusion. Chen Qingmei was very satisfied with the verdict, and to Cheng Yao’s surprise, Jiang Wenxiu and Dong Min did not file an appeal. They accepted the first-instance ruling, and just like that, the case was settled.

Cheng Yao had initially braced herself for a drawn-out second trial, but with the case ending so smoothly, she felt not only relieved but also a bit wistful.

Then again, from Jiang Wenxiu and Dong Min’s perspective, this outcome might have been a form of release. The parent-child relationship was an undeniable fact, and continuing to fight over the inheritance would have been an exhausting drain on their time and energy.

Rather than wasting their lives on disputes, why not let go of the past and embrace a new future?

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Psdt Fbyd oyp tsdl. Nshl yde xyaakytl bye qyele yoyu, cwv bla eywtbvla oyp pvkzz blal—nzspla vbyd lhla. Xdnl raswe yde okzzqwz, pbl bye cltwd vs xyvwal, vs taso qasx vbkp lmrlakldnl.

Ekvb zspp nyxl tykd.

Fbl bye plld rlsrzl qsa obs vblu vawzu olal. Fbl bye clnsxl cayhla yde xsal alpszwvl.

Ubldt Zys vbswtbv cynj vs vbl xsxldv vbl qkdyz vakyz nsdnzwele. Mbl kxytl sq Kkydt Eldmkw, bla cynj pvayktbv yde wdoyhlakdt, alxykdle hkhke kd bla xkde.

Wsa psxlsdl zkjl bla, ds xyvvla obyv jkde sq zkql pbl qynle, pbl oswze xyjl kv lmvaysaekdyau.

Tyrrkdlpp oypd’v elvlaxkdle cu xsdlu. Rv oypd’v psxlvbkdt taydvle cu svblap—kv oyp psxlvbkdt sdl bye vs qktbv qsa.

“G rlapsd xwpv vyjl alprsdpkckzkvu qsa vblka sod nbsknlp.”

Wsa psxl alypsd, Kkydt Eldmkw’p qkdyz osaep jlrv lnbskdt kd Ubldt Zys’p xkde.

What did she mean?

That she took responsibility for choosing Dong Shan despite his betrayal, refusing to blame fate? Or that she accepted the consequences of trusting Dong Shan’s father too easily, allowing Chen Qingmei to seize the advantage in court?

Cheng Yao didn’t know. But she had a feeling—Jiang Wenxiu wasn’t the only one who had to take responsibility. Chen Qingmei, too, would have to answer for everything she had done. Every action had its consequences.

Of course, beyond all the reflection, Cheng Yao stuck to her usual good habit: after closing a case, she would always review and analyze it, critiquing her own performance.

At first, this case seemed like nothing more than a simple divorce battle, with Dong Shan willing to pay any price to end his marriage. Cheng Yao had initially felt disappointed by how straightforward it appeared—impatient, even. But even simple cases could become complicated. Family law cases were messy, filled with intricate details and unpredictable turns. No case should ever be taken lightly.

More importantly, family law cases required strong communication skills. A good lawyer didn’t just need legal expertise—they also needed sharp interpersonal skills, the ability to navigate conversations with both their own clients and the opposing party.

Regardless of everything else, Qian Heng’s words had cleared away Cheng Yao’s confusion. She felt motivated again.

Being a lawyer wasn’t as noble as some imagined, but it also wasn’t as disgraceful as others believed.

Balancing law and morality, fairness and justice, procedure and substance—perhaps that was the true meaning of being a lawyer.

A lawyer’s job was a way to make a living. But when practiced to its highest level, wasn’t it also an art? A game of strategy?

…

Cheng Yao was only halfway through writing her case summary when Bao Rui suddenly spoke.

“Chen Qingmei has given birth.”

Cheng Yao was stunned. “But there’s still over a month until her due date. How did she give birth already?”

“She was walking down the street after it had just rained. The ground was slippery, and she wasn’t paying attention—took a nasty fall. Lucky for her, a kind-hearted truck driver happened to be passing by. That road usually doesn’t have much foot traffic, but that day, someone was there to rush her to the hospital in time.”

Bao Rui’s face took on a conspiratorial expression. “But that’s not the shocking part. The real kicker—you guys won’t believe this—Chen Qingmei’s baby has a problem.”

“Huh?”

“She was probably in such a good mood after winning the lawsuit that she didn’t control her diet. Remember how she looked bigger than before the last time we saw her? Apparently, she gained another ten pounds recently. The baby ended up being larger than expected, but she insisted on a natural birth because she didn’t want a scar from a C-section.

“Initially, all the checkups indicated she could deliver naturally without issues. But somehow, when it came time to give birth, she ran into complications. It was too late to switch to a C-section, and after struggling for so long, the baby suffered from oxygen deprivation and even inhaled amniotic fluid.”

“Was the baby alive at birth?”

That question was crucial for inheritance rights.

If the baby was stillborn, legally, it wouldn’t exist. That meant the reserved portion of the inheritance would revert back to Dong Shan’s estate and be redistributed among his three legal heirs: his wife, Jiang Wenxiu; his daughter, Dong Min; and his father.

If the baby was born alive and survived, then that share of the inheritance rightfully belonged to the child, with Chen Qingmei managing it as the guardian. However, aside from protecting the child’s rights, she wouldn’t be allowed to dispose of the assets at will.

If the baby was born alive but only lived briefly before passing away, then the inheritance would still go to the baby first. But immediately after the baby’s death, another round of inheritance distribution would occur, and since the child’s sole legal heir was Chen Qingmei, she would inherit everything.

“He’s alive,” Bao Rui added. “Still alive and doing fine.”

Cheng Yao exhaled in relief, yet she couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of emotions.

But before she could fully process it, Bao Rui continued.

“However, there’s a problem. The baby isn’t… normal. He can’t suckle on his own. He was just diagnosed with cerebral palsy today.” His tone was flat, factual. “Likely because of prolonged oxygen deprivation during labor.”

Cheng Yao opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words.

“But that’s not even the biggest twist,” Bao Rui went on, shaking his head. “The real drama? Old Master Dong nearly fainted when he heard he had a grandson with cerebral palsy.”

“He even caused a scene at the maternity hospital, saying he refused to acknowledge the child…”

Before Bao Rui could finish spilling the gossip, Cheng Yao’s phone rang.

It was Old Master Dong.

“Lawyer Cheng?” The old man’s voice trembled. “I need to see you…”

…

Because of Old Master Dong’s health, Cheng Yao arranged to meet him at a café near his nursing home. A caregiver pushed a wheelchair inside, and the old man sat slumped in it, his expression bleak—completely different from the unrestrained joy he had shown when he first learned he would have a grandson.

“Lawyer Cheng, I’ve changed my mind. This case… let’s undo it,” Old Master Dong said anxiously. “Help me withdraw that paternity test I had done. I don’t want to go through with it. I don’t recognize this grandson. I only want our Minmin, and all of our family’s assets should go to her.”

“But, Mr. Dong, the ruling has already taken effect,” Cheng Yao explained carefully, using the simplest terms possible. “Even if it hadn’t, you voluntarily agreed to the paternity test and provided a blood sample. The test confirmed that the child Chen Qingmei was carrying is biologically related to you—he is the biological son of your son, Dong Shan. That is an undeniable fact.”

“I… I didn’t know. I didn’t know the child would have problems. If I had known, I would never have done the test!” The old man was almost hysterical. “Now Minmin won’t even come to see me! Wenxiu won’t see me either! They just send me money every month. When I call, they don’t answer. At first, they just ignored my calls, but now I hear Wenxiu is planning to take Minmin abroad for further studies. What… what am I supposed to do? The foreign country is so far away. Will I never see Minmin again?”

He rambled on, looking utterly lost. “What’s the point of having money if I have no family? I don’t want money—I just want my family to be whole and happy. At first, I thought I could just take in this child and raise him myself. That woman wouldn’t need to set foot in my house, and I would manage the inheritance myself. She wouldn’t get a single cent. We have plenty of money—having one more child would just mean adding another pair of chopsticks at the table. I thought Wenxiu and Minmin would eventually come to accept it…”

Cheng Yao didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. “Mr. Dong, the child’s mother is still alive. She is the legal guardian. Your plan to take in the child and manage his inheritance yourself was never going to work from the start.”

…

Even as Cheng Yao left, Old Master Dong still couldn’t accept or understand why decades of deep bonds with his granddaughter and daughter-in-law had vanished so suddenly. He had merely made a mistake—was it really necessary for them to cut him off so completely? Even if his actions had caused them to receive a smaller share of the inheritance, could familial love really be measured in money?

But Old Master Dong would likely never realize that the moment he tilted the scales in Chen Qingmei’s favor because of the unborn child’s gender, he had personally severed the ties of trust and affection. He was the one who had pushed his granddaughter and daughter-in-law away. Jiang Wenxiu and Dong Min’s disappointment and heartbreak had never been about money.

Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, everything had already been predestined.

***