Under the Cheongsam Skirt - Chapter 13

After leaving the International Hotel, Xu Xing didn’t head straight back to his house on Zhongqing Street. Instead, he went to Zhenlou Apartments.

As a modern apartment complex, Zhenlou Apartments had always excelled in security. The guard stopped Xu Xing, not recognizing him, and only let him pass after checking his lawyer’s license.

Zhao Ciqin lived on the sixth floor. Xu Xing stepped out of the elevator, walked through the dimly lit hallway, and stood in front of a door, ringing the doorbell.

There was no response from inside.

Xu Xing paused, about to knock again, when the door suddenly opened. A middle-aged woman looked at him warily.

“What do you want?”

It was Aunt Zhou.

Aunt Zhou had watched Zhao Ciqin grow up. She had originally been a servant in the Zhao household, working there for decades. Later, when her son became successful, she quit her job to focus on her retirement. Now, she occasionally came to Zhao Ciqin’s place to help cook and clean.

Although Xu Xing had never met Aunt Zhou, he had heard Zhao Ciqin mention her many times. He said, “I’m looking for Miss Zhao. Is she home?”

Aunt Zhou replied, “The young lady isn’t here. She probably went back to her family’s home.”

“Thank you,” Xu Xing said with a smile. His refined and handsome face always made it easy for people to let their guard down around him. “I’m Miss Zhao’s lawyer. She forgot to give me some documents, so I came by so late. Please let her know when she returns.”

Aunt Zhou knew that Zhao Ciqin had hired a lawyer for her divorce proceedings. She visibly relaxed, the deep lines around her mouth softening. “Understood.”

Xu Xing turned and went downstairs.

On his way back, his thin lips pressed together slightly. The dim streetlights reflected off his gold-rimmed glasses, making him seem distracted—or perhaps he was always this aloof.

As he got out of his car, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, standing by the alley, mustered the courage to call out to him.

“Lawyer Xu.”

When Xu Xing looked over, the girl shrank back, her teeth instinctively chattering, her voice growing softer. “You’re a lawyer, right? I heard people say so…”

Xu Xing stopped and acknowledged her.

The girl said, “It’s like this… My brother’s leg was injured by someone, and the other party refuses to pay. Can we hire you to take the case?”

“Yes.”

The girl’s eyes lit up for a moment, but then she hesitated, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s.

“But… we don’t have money…”

“You can deduct the fees from the compensation you receive later,” Xu Xing said.

The girl’s face brightened again, and she was about to ask more questions when Xu Xing handed her a business card. “Go to the law firm for a consultation. Someone there will explain everything to you.”

He clearly didn’t want to engage further. After politely bidding her farewell, he left, his tone unmistakably cold.

Behind him, the girl, who had been smiling moments ago, lowered her eyes in disappointment.

Xu Xing walked through the narrow alley and stood at his doorstep, taking out his keys. The muscles under his shirt were tense to the point of stiffness.

Would someone be waiting for him at home, just like yesterday?

He gently opened the door.

Then, a wave of darkness greeted him.

The room still carried the slight dampness of April. When he turned on the light, the cup he had used that morning was still on the table, as if no one had been there.

At this moment, Xu Xing finally furrowed his brow, his fingers clenching tightly.

Why had she suddenly come looking for him?

Why had she left before seeing him?

An almost overwhelming urge pushed him to go to the Zhao family’s home to find her right now, but reason pressed that impulse back into the depths of his mind. Xu Xing stood still for a while, then let out a long breath. He acted as if nothing was wrong, opened his briefcase, took off his glasses, and quietly reviewed some documents.

The minute hand on his wristwatch returned to 12.

It was already nine o’clock at night.

Xu Xing packed the documents back into his briefcase. As he walked, he undid his cufflinks, planning to grab some clothes from the bedroom and take a shower.

He turned on the bedroom light. In the glow of the orange bulb, he saw a small lump under the blankets on the bed. Zhao Ciqin was curled up, only half of her face visible.

She seemed to stir slightly, her eyelashes fluttering, casting a small shadow under her eyelids.