Chapter 81: The “Jia” in Jiayu Came from Shen…

The white Taycan pulled into the parking spot in front of the law firm.

Shen Jia Yan opened the door and got out. The morning sunlight sprinkled across the dark gray exterior walls of the building, and the glass curtain walls reflected her slightly dazed silhouette.

“Jiayu Law Firm.”

Six characters, embossed in gold, simple and bold.

The first time she had come here, she had only thought of it as an ordinary name, not even giving it a second glance. But now, upon learning that Wen Wan Ning was the founder of this firm, the name suddenly felt like an unsolved code that struck straight at her heart.

Jiayu.

Her breath hitched slightly, and her heart felt gently squeezed by something.

Could it be…?

This faint thought pierced through the calm she had deliberately maintained.

She quickly shook her head, flinging the unrealistic idea from her mind.

It was too absurd.

How could a law firm’s name possibly be named after her?

What kind of deep obsession, what length of waiting, would it take to etch someone’s name into the foundation of one’s career?

“What are you looking at?” Wen Wan Ning walked up beside her and followed her gaze to the plaque.

“Nothing,” Shen Jia Yan said evasively. “Let’s go in.”

With that, she hurried into the firm.

Wen Wan Ning watched her back and did not follow immediately.

She gazed at the serene plaque, the sunlight falling on the characters “Jiayu” like a silent coronation.

Watching Shen Jia Yan who had already entered the firm, she murmured softly, “No need to doubt it, Yan Yan. The ‘Jia’ in ‘Jiayu’ is the ‘Jia’ from Shen Jia Yan.”

Then, she walked in as well. She caught up to Shen Jia Yan and led her to her own office.

She pointed to the sofa in the office. “Sit.”

As soon as Shen Jia Yan sat down, Han Yuchu burst through the door energetically, his face brimming with uncontainable excitement. “Wan Ning, let me tell you…”

His peripheral vision caught sight of the person on the sofa, and he turned to look. “Jia Yan’s here too.” He reined in his emotions, walked over to Wen Wan Ning, and whispered, “Your brother will be back in a couple of days.”

Wen Wan Ning took a cola from the beverage cabinet, poured it into a glass, added two ice cubes, and shot him a sidelong glance. “Is it really something to get this excited about?”

Han Yuchu raised his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Shen Jia Yan watched their intimate interaction, her fingertips unconsciously tightening, the hand resting on the edge of the sofa growing slightly cold.

Wen Wan Ning’s lips curved upward, but she ignored him and instead carried the glass over to the sofa, placing it in front of Shen Jia Yan. “I don’t know if your tastes have changed, but I remember you loved cola back in school. It’s not the healthiest, but it’s fine to have some once in a while.”

Bubbles rose finely in the cola, the ice cubes clinking softly against the glass.

Shen Jia Yan stared at the glass of cola, suddenly feeling her throat tighten.

She nodded slightly and said softly, “Thank you.” After a pause, she continued, “Give me the documents that need my signature and confirmation. I’ll get them done quickly so I don’t hold up your work.”

The upward curve of Wen Wan Ning’s lips faltered. The faint smile that had quietly appeared because Shen Jia Yan accepted the cola dispersed like mist blown away by the wind.

She looked at Shen Jia Yan’s downcast eyelashes, at the polite distance she was deliberately maintaining.

Her heart sank bit by bit.

Han Yuchu chimed in, “You two go ahead with your business. I’ll head out. Call me if there’s anything.”

Wen Wan Ning merely nodded.

Then, she turned silently, retrieved a folder from the desk drawer. “The copyright registration for ‘Tide Line,’ the creative background explanation, Jiuhe Band’s apology statement… it’s all here.”

She placed the documents gently on the coffee table, her movements crisp, her tone calm, but her fingertips trembled slightly as they brushed the edges of the pages.

She knew that the more polite Shen Jia Yan was, the farther away she felt.

The lighter that “thank you” was spoken, the higher the walls around her heart rose. The spark of hope she had just kindled was now being crushed inch by inch by this silent estrangement.

She stood by the coffee table without sitting down or speaking again, simply watching the documents quietly.

What had once been an excuse to get close to Shen Jia Yan now felt like an icy boundary marker between them.

Shen Jia Yan lowered her head and flipped through the pages, her fingertips steady as if reviewing a contract unrelated to her. But only she knew how jealous she was, on the verge of losing her reason.

The familiarity and closeness between Wen Wan Ning and Han Yuchu was like a fine needle pricking repeatedly at the calm she tried to maintain.

She didn’t even dare think too deeply.

During the five years she had spent licking her wounds alone, had Wen Wan Ning already walked through the time she needed most, accompanied by Han Yuchu?

Were those “restraints” she had imagined merely signs that Wen Wan Ning had already chosen another path?

Her nails dug almost into her palm, the pain reminding her not to lose composure.

She had to finish this quickly and leave.

If she stayed one more second, she feared she would lose control, question her, beg, act like a reluctant ex asking, “What exactly is your relationship?”

She forced herself to keep her head down, her fingers flipping through the documents as lines of legal text blurred before her eyes. She picked up the pen, her fingertips trembling slightly, and scrawled “Shen Jia Yan” in the signature field, the handwriting messier than usual, like her crumbling heart.

“Done signing.” She pushed the documents back to the center of the coffee table, her voice calm to the point of coldness. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

She stood up, not even giving Wen Wan Ning time to react, and quickly pushed open the door to leave.

The sound of the door closing pulled Wen Wan Ning from her thoughts.

She looked at the untouched cola on the coffee table. The bubbles had stilled, the ice had melted, and water droplets slowly slid down the glass.

She closed her eyes gently, a faint bitter smile tugging at her lips. She knew that five years of estrangement couldn’t be bridged by just two days together, a glass of cola, and a few memories.

Shen Jia Yan’s current coldness and distance, her evasion and retreat—they were all what she deserved, what she owed her.

She sat back in her office chair and took the voice recorder pen she had brought from home out of her bag, plugging in her earphones.

She pressed play. After a hiss of static, a young, vibrant voice rang out.

“It’s the first semester of my sophomore year in high school, the second year I’ve known Wan Ning. I just bought this voice recorder pen, and I want to record my feelings for her. Maybe I’ll give it to her someday, or maybe I’ll treasure it forever.”

Wen Wan Ning held the voice recorder pen, leaning back in her chair.

“Our first encounter—I didn’t see what you looked like, but your soft voice stayed with me for a long time. Until we became deskmates, which counted as our first real meeting.”

A light laugh from Shen Jia Yan came through the recorder. “Gradually, I was drawn to you. I started paying attention to you, caring about you, secretly noticing your every move.”

After three seconds of silence, the voice continued. “For a while, I started wondering why you were so special to me, why my heart raced at your closeness, why I felt down from your casual indifference.”

“After thinking it over time and again, I got a definite answer: I like you, I really like you. This answer made me both happy and worried—worried that my feelings would burden you, worried that you’d discover them and distance yourself…”

The recorder jumped to the next segment.

“Today is school festival day. Cheng Xiao and I are performing the drum set on stage together. I’m very familiar with this piece, but I still practiced extra at home last night, wanting you to see my best side. Hehe, look forward to my performance. Actually… I’m looking forward to your reaction more.”

“Today is the school sports meet. I competed in the long jump and only got sixth place, but it was still a surprise win. What made me happiest of all was the sixth-place prize you specially prepared for me. I was over the moon, but I pretended to be composed in front of you.”

…

Wen Wan Ning closed her eyes, her lips curving into a beautiful arc, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the old voice recorder pen in her palm.

In the earphones, the young Shen Jia Yan spoke softly, like a spring stream flowing gently over her heart.

On countless sleepless nights, it was this soothing voice that had lulled her to sleep.

She paused the recording, and the office fell silent again.

Wen Wan Ning gripped the voice recorder pen tightly in her palm. The metal was cold, yet it burned so hot she could barely hold it.

Then, she opened her computer and pulled up all the files on the Tide Line case. Her fingertips flew across the keyboard, entering a new command: “Initiate defamation lawsuit proceedings against Jiuhe Band and the malicious rumor-spreading accounts. Demands: public apology, compensation for emotional distress, permanent removal of false statements from the platform.”

The keyboard clacks faded, and a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.”

Han Yuchu pushed the door open and entered.

Wen Wan Ning frowned at him. “Why are you back?”

Han Yuchu glanced left and right, walked to the chair opposite the desk, and sat down. “Jia Yan left?”

“Mm.” Wen Wan Ning didn’t look up, her fingertips continuing to tap the keyboard. The files scrolled on the screen, but she didn’t read a single word.

“You two…” A sly glint appeared in his eyes as he drawled, “made some new progress?”

He knew Shen Jia Yan had gone home with Wen Wan Ning the night before and come to the firm with her this morning.

Wen Wan Ning looked up and gave him a cold glare. “Are you that bored?”

Far from annoyed, Han Yuchu grinned wider and spread his hands. “I’m just looking out for you. Look at you—when did the beverage cabinet in your office ever have cola? You had the assistant stock it specially for her, right?”

Wen Wan Ning lifted her hands from the keyboard, gripped the edge of the desk, and pushed her chair back slightly. “What’s wrong with preparing my favorite person’s favorite drink?”

Han Yuchu quickly gave her a thumbs up, teasing, “Honest enough. This doesn’t sound like the Wen lawyer I know, all about ’emotional restraint and logic first.'”

Wen Wan Ning ignored his teasing, stood up, and went to the beverage cabinet. She took several cans of cola and placed them in the mini-fridge below.

Then she looked up at Han Yuchu and raised an eyebrow. “Should I call my brother and tell him to delay his return a few more days?”

“Hey, no!” Han Yuchu shot to his feet. “I won’t say anything else, okay? You know how long it’s been since I saw him. I miss him like crazy.”