Chapter 17.2

Qian Heng could be willful, but Cheng Yao couldn’t be the same.

Just after Qian Heng left, Dong Min broke down and burst into tears. The responsibility of taking care of the mess Qian Heng left behind obviously fell on Cheng Yao.

In order not to disturb her colleagues in the office, Cheng Yao could only comfort Dong Min by taking her to a nearby milk tea shop.

While giving her some comfort and advice, Cheng Yao finally understood the whole details of the matter.

Dong Min’s father and mother met around the age of 13 and fell in love at the age of 15. They were childhood sweethearts. They got married at the age of 22 and then started a business together at the age of 23. Both of them had good business acumen and were willing to work hard and catch up with good times. Aiming for the huge industrial prospects of Chinese fast food, they shortly established a small family-run restaurant for home-cooked food which later went on to become bigger and better. After the initial exploration into the introduction of standardized operations, the cultivation of brand reputation, and lastly the introduction of venture investments for capitalization operations, they jointly established Zhenwei1 Catering Management Co. Ltd. It grew from a small-scale privately owned business to a big business conglomerate with nearly 700 outlets across the country, one in almost every major city.

“I know that Qian Heng is a well-known family lawyer. My dad first approached him to handle a family trust. For many years, there was no other need to cooperate with him. Recently, when he started contacting Qian Heng again, I was quite wary. After all, Qian Heng is best known for handling divorce cases. But my dad said that he wanted to hire a Corporate and Family Law Consultant for the company. He said that it was to avoid any damage to the company’s equity and interests when the company’s shareholders faced any family disputes. That it was based on the dual interests of the company and the individual shareholders.” Dong Min’s voice choked a little, “Now, although my parents are major shareholders, there are also several other shareholders. My dad said one of them might get a divorce soon. He was afraid that the other party’s marital status would affect the company’s equity, so he wanted to find a Corporate and Family Law Consultant. So these days, he has been in contact with Qian Heng, and I didn’t think much about it…”

Dong Min was right. By bringing in a Corporate and Family Law Consultant, it does not aim at the personal interests of any individual shareholder, but at the dual interests of shareholders and the company as they would provide a range of legal services in divorce property division, inheritance, marriage, and maintaining the balance of interests in the family business.

However, Dong Shan obviously lied to Dong Min. He approached Qian Heng not to invite him to be a Corporate and Family Law Consultant…

“I had no idea. It turned out that my dad wanted Qian Heng to be his personal lawyer. I still kept on asking my dad when he could invite Qian Heng to come so that I would have more chances to see him. I didn’t expect that he was inviting him to prepare a divorce lawsuit against my mother!”

While speaking of this, Dong Min rubbed her eyes again, and her eyes teared up a little bit. “My parents have never quarreled, and they have been very affectionate towards each other for the past two years. They travel abroad twice a year. Do you know how difficult it was for them to be together? My mother was from a rich family, and my dad was a poor boy back then. My grandparents disagreed with their marriage. My mom didn’t want anything. She married my dad leaving everything behind and they worked hard all the way to the present. Their feelings are obvious to all!”

Dong Min was very emotional. Her father suddenly filed for divorce. This caught her completely by surprise. Her mother, Jiang Wenxiu, was even more unable to accept this disaster. The moment Jiang Wenxiu received the court summons, she felt as if the sky and earth were spinning. She gasped for breath and immediately passed out. Now, she was still lying in the hospital…

* * *

Cheng Yao comforted Dong Min for a while. When she finally stabilized, Dong Min wiped her tears and then went to the hospital to visit her mother.

Even when Cheng Yao returned to the office, Dong Min’s crying and helpless face still flashed in her mind. The divorce of parents is always painful for the children, no matter what the age or disposition the child had.

Cheng Yao actually knew Dong Shan. One time, Dong Shan had come to discuss a case with Qian Heng. She remembered Dong Shan’s appearance. He looked like a kind and honest man. Although he was very rich, he was dressed very plainly, and with his gentle eyes, he looked like a good-natured person no matter what.

She remembered when she went to the conference room to give Qian Heng case materials, Dong Shan was begging him to have a meal with his daughter. He was obviously as old as Qian Heng’s elders and even was worth a lot of money. But he loved his daughter so much that he was willing to talk for her.

But now, now…

“I have sent Dong Min away. Can I ask something? Why did her father suddenly file for divorce?” Cheng Yao finally couldn’t help but ask. She had come to deliver a legal opinion2 that needed Qian Heng’s signature. After entering Qian Heng’s office, she paused, but still asked out her doubts, “He must be having some difficulties, right? For example, is it something like a terminal illness?”

Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao and said in a flat voice, “Yes, he is terminally ill. So, in order not to make his wife sad and see his dying self, he simply made her hate him in the most intense way so that she can forget about him and move on with her life.”

Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up, “Is that right?!”

“Cheng Yao, it seems you have read too many novels.” Qian Heng sneered, “What other reason can there be for divorce? He just doesn’t love her anymore and doesn’t want to live together with her. A man, who doesn’t want to marry you or has no plans to divorce you, isn’t in a predicament. Those predicaments are just a facade to cover up their shame.”

“But Dong Shan loves Dong Min so much that he didn’t even care about his face. How could he get a divorce and make Dong Min sad?”

“It’s not a contradiction to love your daughter dearly and not love your spouse at all.” Qian Heng rubbed his eyebrows, “We men are very complicated.” He glanced at Cheng Yao, “For example, do you know what I’m thinking about now?”

Cheng Yao shook her head very honestly.

“I’m thinking whether you can do me a favor. Just turn around, go out and then close the door. Don’t waste my time.”

“…”

Footnotes

Means Genuine Taste

In law, a legal opinion is, in certain jurisdictions, a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling.