Zhou Tong's friend's surname was Long. If you only called him by his name, it would be the same as Long Eleven, but his given name was Shi, meaning stone.
This was not Li Chonglou's first time meeting him, so there were no prolonged pleasantries when they met again.
"Have you understood everything?"
On his way here, Li Chonglou had already sent him a summary of the situation via text message.
"Understood. Wait for me here."
Long Shi smiled faintly and then walked in, carrying his briefcase.
The whole process did not take much time. When Long Shi came out again, his expression had become thoughtful.
Li Chonglou's heart skipped a beat. "Is it very troublesome?"
"Not really. It's just that the person involved doesn't seem to have much confidence in themselves."
"What's going on?"
"Let's find a place to talk first."
Finally, the two found a coffee shop.
As soon as they sat down, Long Shi explained the situation as he understood it.
The second brother's son was named Pinghu. By age, he was not young anymore, twenty-two this year. Logically, he should have his own consciousness and independent worldview and outlook on life. However, in Long Shi's words, he saw a young man completely devoid of his own opinions.
He answered many questions with an uncertain tone, and even though he felt wronged by the case himself, when Long Shi asked if he had been framed, he switched to a mode of self-blame.
"Self-blame mode?"
This was the first time Li Chonglou had heard this term.
Long Shi sighed and said, "Whenever this is mentioned, he talks about how he is guilty and it's all his fault. What else would you call that if not self-blame mode?"
"And in this state, I can't help him at all. If he says the same thing in court, the judge will rule him guilty, and the case will be lost."
Li Chonglou's brows furrowed. No wonder Long Shi had looked like that when he came out. It seemed this case was more than just troublesome. If the second brother's son's problem couldn't be solved, he feared there would be no solution at all.
What to do?
After Long Shi threw the question back to Li Chonglou, he said no more, silently sipping his coffee.
He couldn't consider such issues. He was just a lawyer. If the client cooperated, he would do his best, but if the client didn't cooperate, he couldn't operate at all.
Li Chonglou, too, fell into deep thought.
In the quiet coffee shop, Li Chonglou rested one hand on the table, cupping his chin, while his other hand lightly tapped the tabletop.
Just then, another figure walked into the coffee shop.
The sudden ringing of the doorbell made both of them look over instinctively. However, when Li Chonglou saw the person clearly, his expression was momentarily stunned.
Lin Qianqian?
Why was she here? Didn't she have cases to handle?
While Li Chonglou was still lost in thought, Lin Qianqian happened to look over as well.
The latter also paused noticeably, but the next moment, she walked straight towards them.
"I have something to ask you."
Ever since Li Chonglou had left, Lin Qianqian had been thinking about this matter. She came to the coffee shop intending to relax, but she never expected to meet Li Chonglou here, and she couldn't hold back any longer!
Long Shi cast a teasing glance at them and said, "Mr. Li, please go ahead. Don't mind me."
Li Chonglou was surprised that Long Shi was so gossipy and couldn't help but roll his eyes at him before standing up.
Upon seeing Lin Qianqian, he suddenly thought of a possibility.
So, without hesitation, he followed Lin Qianqian to a secluded corner.
As soon as they sat down, Li Chonglou asked with some confusion, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Lin Qianqian suddenly fell silent, lowering her head slightly. Li Chonglou's heart sank, and a bad feeling arose.
After a long while, Lin Qianqian seemed to have finally mustered up the courage, biting her lip as she looked up seriously. "What did I ever do to offend you that you would treat me like this!"
Actually, she didn't know where to start with this. She had been building up to this for a long time, only to succumb to her emotions.
Yes, for women, if they can't find a reason, they go by emotion, because women don't need reasons!
Li Chonglou was stunned. He never expected Lin Qianqian to say something like this, and he felt a pang of awkwardness.
"Answer me!"
Li Chonglou sighed slightly, changed the subject, and said, "Let's not bring up the past. I want to talk to you about something."
"No! You have to make this clear to me. What wrong have I, Lin Qianqian, done to you?"
"It's true that my senior brother took action against your people because of me back then, but I also helped you protect them afterwards. Otherwise, do you think they would be safe and sound now?"
Li Chonglou was completely stunned.
"What?"
This time, he was truly bewildered. He had no idea about this from beginning to end. He had always thought that Lin Qianqian had not bothered with his friends after the incident.
"Are you telling the truth?"
Li Chonglou couldn't believe it, but Lin Qianqian said with some grievance, "Otherwise, what do you think? Your friend named Zhou Tong, right? If I hadn't intervened to protect him, do you think his case could have dragged on for so long without any issues?"
When Lin Qianqian mentioned Zhou Tong's name, Li Chonglou already believed her. His face instantly became awkward.
This time, it was truly awkward.
Especially when he recalled his previous attitude towards Lin Qianqian.
"Ahem, well, I apologize. I didn't know about this."
"So you did it because of this?"
Li Chonglou said frankly, "Yes, I always thought you didn't care about my friends. Plus, when I wanted to find you back then..."
Lin Qianqian's expression faltered. She also remembered that she had deliberately avoided Li Chonglou back then.
For a moment, both of them fell silent.
This misunderstanding wasn't entirely caused by Li Chonglou himself. Lin Qianqian's previous attitude towards him was also a contributing factor. If she hadn't suddenly changed her attitude, Li Chonglou wouldn't have thought that way.
However, as a man, it was appropriate to back down in such a situation.
So, Li Chonglou broke the silence first and apologized, "I'm sorry. It was my fault before."
Lin Qianqian suddenly shook her head. "I have a problem too."
"So, let's let this matter pass?"
"Yes! Let it pass!"
They looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
However, Li Chonglou then remembered the second brother's son's matter and couldn't help but say, "Right, there's something I need to trouble you with."
Lin Qianqian's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you apologized to me because of this?"
Li Chonglou immediately rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'm that kind of person?"