no longer ordinary friends

Just like what Zhou Zhicheng thought, He Kailun and his son were the most active drinkers, and they were the two who got drunk first. The father and son had already hugged into a ball, and a lot of wine bottles lay down at their feet, and their faces were flushed. , still mumbling in his mouth to continue drinking, drink down Jiang Xianghuai, a partner of Mindy Law Firm, defeat the capitalists, and welcome the big victory of Kailun Law Firm!

Zhou Zhicheng was silent. Jiang Xianghuai couldn't drink because he drank soft drinks and mineral water.

She looked over and saw that Jiang Xianghuai had already dealt with the relatives and friends of the Zhou family, with a faint smile on his face. He didn't know what Zhao Yanjia was talking to him, but he nodded from time to time as a response.

He seemed to be aware of Zhou Zhicheng's gaze, raised his eyes, he clearly didn't drink alcohol, but his dark eyes seemed a little drunk, he propped his right cheek with one hand, his posture was not as upright as before, and he bent his eyes at her laugh.

Zhou Zhicheng looked away.

The other drunk person was Ye Bai. She was so drunk that she staggered, Zhou Zhicheng hurriedly supported her, she hugged Zhou Zhicheng as if she had found a relative, her eyes were red, and she whined: "Zhou Zhicheng Lawyer, Lawyer Zhou..."

She didn't say anything, she just kept calling Zhou Zhicheng.

Zhou Zhicheng was funny, stretched out his hand and patted her on the back lightly, and responded to her tenderly.

Ye Bai cried even louder: "Lawyer Zhou, Master, I like you so much."

"You are the best master I have ever met!" she sobbed.

"You have only had one master until now." The drunkard He Yanming also heard it, and reminded with the last ounce of reason.

"I don't care. She is the best in the past, present, and future. Before I was looking for a job, I heard from my brothers and sisters that the interns in the law firm are the lawyer's punching bag and tools. Running errands, they also said that a lot of interns work like horses, not only have no money, but also pay to thank the master for taking me, and the lawyers don't pay attention to teaching the interns." Ye Bai sniffed aggrievedly.

Jiang Xianghuai knew that some lawyers in small law firms would indeed do this.

Some lawyers directly recruit and require paralegals to be able to drive, clean, and cook meals for two or three people. This once became a joke in the industry, and even laymen mistakenly think that paralegals and interns are born You have to do the chores of serving tea and pouring water.

Ye Bai couldn't control his tears anymore: "I was ready to be squeezed, but Master didn't mind my poor academic qualifications, so he offered me an internship salary, and he didn't guard against me. I went to the scene to collect evidence, taught me how to run the process, and helped me revise the complaint documents...how could she treat me so well..."

He Yanming had sex with his father as soon as he graduated. He had never experienced this before, but his mind was muddled and he remembered that when they recruited Zhou Zhicheng, his father posted an outrageous job offer.

He said: "The old man only wanted to work alone with me, so he asked the paralegal to be a driver, a cook, and a nanny. He didn't have a salary, so he almost paid for it. In the end, Chengcheng came here stupidly. "

He hiccupped: "But the old man was the one who got angry in the end! During the interview, he scolded her for being stupid in studying, and he dared to apply for this kind of job, stupid, and then cursed and offered her an internship salary."

Everyone else was laughing, and Zhao Yanjia also asked: "What was the lawyer trying to do that week? Did he want to work for others to be happy?"

Jiang Xianghuai couldn't laugh. They had just separated at that time, she had just been hurt by him, and Grandpa Zhou fell ill again. She left Beicheng and returned to work in Nanri County. She forced herself to adapt to the gap in work. When she was looking for a law firm, she would Subconsciously lowered her expectations, so low that it made him feel distressed. Fortunately, she met a good master.

Ye Bai was still crying holding Zhou Zhicheng, she said that she was lucky to meet such a good master as soon as she was working.

Zhou Zhicheng had no choice but to wipe her tears with a tissue.

Cai Mei brought out a birthday cake from the house and shouted, "Come on, let's eat the cake, and wish Chengcheng a happy birthday!"

Drunk He Yanming and Ye Baita shouted together: "Yes, happy birthday!"

"Lawyer Zhou has a long life!" Ye Bai said.

"Lawyer Zhou lives longer than Nanshan." This is what He Yanming shouted.

"Happiness is like the East China Sea, longevity is boundless!" This is what He Kailun roared, "The house is full of children and grandchildren."

Zhou Zhicheng listened, suspecting that he was celebrating his 72nd birthday, not his 27th.

The cake Cai Mei bought was the common style that is most common in the town, and the candles were the colorful happy birthday candles in the shape of lotus flowers. The middle of the candle lit up, illuminating the faces of several people.

Zhao Yanjia had never seen such a candle before. While being soiled, he felt novelty at the same time. He tried his best to restrain the idea of ​​recording a video. He wanted to post a circle of friends. This candle can sing, and his brothers must not. seen.

Zhou Zhicheng closed her eyes and made a wish amidst the birthday lotus and the singing of the crowd. When she opened her eyes, she met Jiang Xianghuai's dark pupils through the candlelight. There was a faint fire in his eyes. He was smiling, with a soft outline and concentration stared at her.

She looked away, but she was thinking that today is also his birthday, but besides her, no one else seemed to know about it.

Doesn't Zhao Yanjia know?

Zhao Yanjia is not interested in this cake full of color additives, but is very interested in lotus candles.

Cai Mei wiped this "advanced" candle clean and gave it to him.

Seeing his smug look, Zhou Zhicheng swallowed the words he originally wanted to dissuade.

The dinner party didn't end until after ten o'clock in the evening, and the program team and people from Mingdi Law Firm lived in the only "big hotel" in the county.

Zhou Zhicheng received a call from Jiang Li. Jiang Li wished her a happy birthday. She said goodbye to everyone while answering the phone.

The last person to leave was Jiang Xianghuai.

He passed by her, subconsciously slowed down his pace, lowered his eyelashes, his eyes fell on her, he wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to say anything, after the two passed by, he suddenly heard a sentence from behind. , "Happy Birthday" very lightly.

He turned around and only saw Zhou Zhicheng's back, she seemed to be talking to the person on the phone: "Well, happy birthday... happy, you also ate the cake, okay, then don't work too hard ah……"

Her voice faded away.

Jiang Xianghuai lowered his eyebrows, and suddenly laughed at himself, his eyes were dark, the emotions in his chest were surging, and the obsessions he had suppressed were almost uncontrollable.

His Chengcheng is so good, he has been hurt by him, and he will bless him, but he is so embarrassed, selfish and dark.

Jiang Li listened to Zhou Zhicheng's sudden "birthday blessing", and was silent for a few seconds: "What is this? Why did you suddenly wish me a birthday? Thank you, good sister, thank you for wishing me a happy birthday two months in advance."

"You're welcome."

Zhou Zhicheng didn't know what she was awkward about. She could have wished him a happy birthday generously. It had been five years, but she had already let it go and started a new chapter in her life, so she shouldn't worry about it anymore.

In terms of career, she gave up non-complaints and ran on the track of litigation. In terms of love, she also talked to Dr. He and broke up.

Facing Jiang Xianghuai, she should be more calm.

On the phone, Jiang Li asked her: "How about the trainee lawyer from Mingdi?"

"It's pretty good." Zhou Zhicheng smiled, "It's just the same. Those who do lawsuits look down on non-suits, and non-suits look down on lawsuits. Mindy's hardware conditions are better. It's normal for them to have a sense of superiority."

"Aside from giving a lot of money, the complaint also treats people like slaves." Jiang Li sighed and smiled, "Too young, every lawyer is a brick mover, no matter how tall the business looks, it is not decent in practice , I am doing a merger and acquisition case now, and I still have to go to other people's warehouses to stock up, and I am just a legal female worker."

Jiang Li said again: "Last week when our team went to the school to recruit, the students asked us what conditions we need to make a lawsuit. I thought about it for a long time, and I can only think of the one of physical strength. The boss of our next-door team will also educate newcomers. If you are a lawyer, you should not Just for fun, if you haven’t written your work diary for 13 hours, you don’t deserve to be called a lawyer.”

She let out a long breath: "Is this capitalist still a human being? If it weren't for being poor, who would do the lawsuit? I don't understand why Jiang Xianghuai's family is so rich, so why is he still working as a lawyer for the lawsuit?" When it came to money, she came here. With a little passion, I shook off the depression just now, and became full of energy again, "I don't want to, making money is my mission."

Zhou Zhicheng joked: "It's okay, come back if you can't persist, I will support you."

"Okay." Jiang Li squeezed his throat coquettishly, "Rich woman, hungry, eat."

But Zhou Zhicheng also knows that no matter how tired or hard she is, she will persevere in Beicheng. In the early years, she would be so stressed that she would break down and cry in the middle of the night, and now she has passed that stage.The situation in her family was more complicated. She finally walked out, and it was impossible for her to return to the town and the suffocating cage of the Jiang family.

Jiang Li: "By the way, to be honest, how do you feel seeing Jiang Xianghuai again?" Her tone was ambiguous, "Do you hate it or like it?"

Zhou Zhicheng didn't speak.

Jiang Li: "I'm serious. As long as you're not serious, just play emotional games with him. Since he has come to Nanri County, he must have thoughts about you. He is older and can't afford to delay."

On the way back to the hotel, Zhao Yanjia was still studying the lotus lantern that could sing the birthday song. He broke off the petals and hummed "Happy Birthday to you" along with him.

Lu He frowned and looked at him several times, and his eyes fell heavily on the lotus lantern many times.

Zhao Yanjia followed into his room holding the lamp, and said, "Brother, happy birthday."

Jiang Xianghuai twitched the corners of his mouth, his eyes were hard to distinguish, and he didn't respond.

"My mother asked me to bless you, knowing that it's not your birthday." Zhao Yanjia added in a low voice, "It's kind of a fate, you and Lawyer Zhou have the same birthday, so I just borrowed her candle, which is quite magical and can sing , will shine again."

"Take it back to your room if you like it." The corners of Jiang Xianghuai's mouth curled up slightly, and there was no smile in his eyes. He was obviously in a bad mood, "Just don't regret it."

After he finished speaking, he exhausted his patience and drove Zhao Yanjia out of the room.

Zhao Yanjia didn't mind either, and returned to her room happily holding the lotus lantern.

Until three o'clock in the morning, he kept his sleepy eyes open, staring at the colorful lotus birthday candle whose petals were broken by him, and was still singing the birthday song indestructibly. Can't sleep.

He asked for help and posted on Moments: "Help, how can I turn it off? Why does it still make noise after being trampled?"

Soon someone replied to him: "Master, is the family bankrupt, and birthday candles are so down-to-earth?"

"It can't be turned off, let's accept fate, it sounds once a year, and once a year, my grandma's birthday is sung from spring to winter."

This night, in Zhao Yanjia's dream, there was a female ghost chasing him to sing birthday song and forcing him to open his mouth to sing.