Chapter 69.3: “Are you dating him?”

Lin Hui thought he had finally convinced Bai DuanDuan as he saw the heavy contemplation on her face. “I handled this case. Because of my involvement, their family’s company lost the lawsuit, leading to bankruptcy liquidation, and Ji Lin’s father probably couldn’t handle such a huge blow and pressure, and eventually committed suicide.”

“Ji Lin always believed that it was me who killed his father. If it weren’t for me, his father wouldn’t have died.” Lin Hui’s voice became a bit strained as he spoke. “When his father was buried, I actually went there. I knew it wasn’t easy for their family, so I wanted to do a little to help. But Ji Lin went crazy and rushed at me like he wanted to die with me. He bit my wrist and even bit off a piece of flesh. I was covered in blood and flesh. He was only about ten years old, but the hatred in his eyes was beyond his age…”

Lin Hui said this and rolled up his sleeve. There was indeed a scar on his right wrist. Bai DuanDuan had never delved into its origin until this moment when she suddenly understood.

Lin Hui sighed heavily. “Actually, I used to wire money to Ji Lin every year, but he always returned it. He had an unusual sense of pride, because even if I didn’t use my own name to wire the money, he still returned it intact. Later, I heard that he went to college and then went to the United States on a scholarship. Time passed, and I forgot about it until he returned to A City a few years ago.”

He gave Bai DuanDuan a glance and said, “You’ll know soon enough. He worked in high-end non-litigation business in the United States, but after returning to China, he completely switched to labor disputes without any foundation, and he targeted me everywhere.”

“So many years have passed, and he still hasn’t let go and hasn’t forgotten. He still holds the same resentment towards me as before. I think he came back to China for revenge, to target me. And you…” Lin Hui looked at Bai DuanDuan with some pity and hesitation, then finally made up his mind and said, “DuanDuan, he did take a lot of business away from me and caused me a lot of trouble, but I’ve been in A city for so many years, and the scale and reputation of my business are there. He can’t just destroy me completely like this. So I guess he feels that revenge in my professional field is not enough to satisfy his desire for revenge.”

“So he came to approach me?”

Lin Hui nodded, “I know it’s cruel to tell you this so bluntly, and maybe you can’t accept it at all. After all, you… you just started dating him and he probably spoiled you to get your affection.”

Lin Hui took a deep breath, “You are my proudest student. Although we had conflicts and disagreements in our work before, I have always treated you as my closest junior. When I retire someday, the cases in my hand will naturally be divided among you. Since Ji Lin couldn’t hurt me, he probably came up with a way to get revenge on you. You know, back then, Zhao Xia treated you like a little sister and always asked me to take care of you more. You are different to me. If you suffer from a major setback due to heartbreak and are tormented, I won’t be happy.”

Lin Hui blinked awkwardly and added, “Besides, you know there have been many rumors about me and you in the industry. Although we only have a simple relationship as a superior and a student, there are always people who will make up rumors. Maybe the distorted version has reached Ji Lin’s ears, and he may think that taking you away from me is the best revenge he can take.”

Lin Hui’s words stopped there, but Bai Duan soon understood what he meant. Ji Lin mistakenly thought he was Lin Hui’s ex-girlfriend, and even though they only had a teacher-student relationship, Ji Lin was trying to get revenge on Lin Hui by taking away his woman.

…

Lin Hui’s words were definitely a bombshell of information for Bai DuanDuan. She never thought that Ji Lin had known Lin Hui for longer than she did and that there was such a complicated history between them. However, even at this moment, Bai DuanDuan remained calm and sorted through all the information in Lin Hui’s words.

Then she looked at Lin Hui and said, “Since you knew that Ji Lin was the son of Ji Chengzhi and that he hated you, why did you pretend to be completely unaware of the past between you and him before? Why did you ask me to invite him to dinner with you and only casually mention that there was a misunderstanding between you two? Is that just a small misunderstanding? Since you knew the cause and effect so clearly, why did you ask me to invite Ji Lin when you knew he wouldn’t want to see you?”

Lin Hui was stunned for a moment before smiling wryly. “DuanDuan, you are too suspicious of me. I didn’t tell you these things to harm you or to provoke your relationship with Ji Lin. I just really worry about you.”

“Indeed, I knew who Ji Lin was and what grievances we had between us before. But this is something between him and me. You jumping to another law firm from ZhaoHui was my fault to begin with, and even if it wasn’t, I can’t stop you from freely choosing your career in the industry. At first, I didn’t want to involve you in this matter because it had nothing to do with you. But then I started to notice that you were getting too close to Ji Lin, and you were subconsciously defending him. So I got worried and afraid that Ji Lin was using you, which is why I came up with that plan.”

“So you were trying to test Ji Lin?”

Lin Hui nodded, feeling somewhat relieved by Bai Duanduan’s intelligence and quick understanding. “That’s right. Ji Lin and I have almost reached the point of being at each other’s throats. So, I thought that if you mentioned having a meal with me in front of him, he would probably get angry at the sound of my name…”

Bai Duanduan calmly looked at Lin Hui. “But he didn’t.”

“Yes, he didn’t, which is why I’m even more worried,” Lin Hui took a sip of coffee. “If he had gotten angry on the spot, I would have felt better, because he wouldn’t bother to hide his true feelings towards me, which means there’s nothing going on in his mind. But he didn’t say anything, he just ignored your suggestion to have a meal together and downplayed the matter. But he hates me so much, how could he have tolerated it? From what I know, even back in college, he got into a fight with a classmate because of me, and had to pay for medical expenses and almost got disciplined…”

“I was already worried back then, which is why I’ve been taking care of you and warning you to be careful around Ji Lin. But I didn’t have enough evidence to accuse him, and after so many years, he might have matured and grown up. You’re working under him, and if he doesn’t have any grudges against you because of this matter, I won’t bring it up again to avoid any awkwardness you might face while working with him. But I never expected him to play this trick, to deceive your feelings to get back at me.”

At this point, even Lin Hui, who was usually calm, was getting excited. “DuanDuan, he definitely did it on purpose. He acted intimate with you in front of the arbitration committee just to show me.”

To be honest, at the beginning, Ji Lin didn’t even know that Lin Hui was going to the arbitration committee. It’s ridiculous to say that he did it to show Lin Hui.

Moreover, Ji Lin, who has been in the legal profession for many years since he was 30 years old, may not have understood it when he was 13, but he should know now that when a lawyer represents a client, he does not have a personal position, but is simply doing his job, fighting for the client’s interests within the limits of the law. When Lin Hui helped Ji Lin’s father’s company to claim wages owed to employees, he was just doing his job, and he had no intention of forcing Ji Lin’s father to death. After all, there was no animosity between them. Who would have nothing better to do?

If it was just Lin Hui’s words, he was just doing his job as a lawyer. Ji Lin should have long since figured it out and let it go. He wouldn’t hate Lin Hui to the point of thinking that Ji Lin would use any means necessary to get back at him.

Bai Duanduan almost immediately realized that Lin Hui was hiding something from her about this case.