You Have the Right to Keep a Secret Love

Chapter 12 (Part 2) "I Just Like Different Personalities..."

"I'll Lend It to You"

"We were just at the street food stall, and you were asking why you didn't lend money to Cheng Junliang," Qi Xi couldn't help but ask.

Gu Yan didn't answer, just walking silently beside her.

Qi Xi pressed on, "Do you really think he's not worth helping?"

Gu Yan stopped in his tracks, his voice filled with weariness, "It's not that he's not worth it, I just don't want to help."

"Why?" Qi Xi's voice trembled.

Gu Yan looked at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions, "Because I know that once I help him, I will never be able to get rid of him."

Qi Xi was stunned, not understanding his meaning.

"I'll lend it to you," Gu Yan said, surprising both Cheng Junliang and Qi Xi. The only calm one was Gu Yan himself, who pursed his lips. "But you have to be honest about why you suddenly need so much money."

...

Cheng Junliang had already thought that borrowing money was hopeless, but now the situation took a turn. The act of pretending to be strong for so long finally became unbearable.

"It's not because someone in my family is sick, and it's not because I borrowed money in advance through online loans. The reason I'm borrowing money is simply because I messed up a case," Cheng Junliang explained, revealing his exhaustion and pain. "Although my grades at school are considered above average, English is my weak point. Now, even small law firms like Jinghe require English assessments, and I can't get in at all. I thought of earning money quickly to support my family, so I joined a small firm. It may be small, but the conditions were that besides the basic salary, there would be a share of the cases. It sounded like there was a lot of freedom, as long as I worked hard enough, I could earn as much as in a big firm."

"But after I joined, I realized I was too naive. The small firm only handles small cases, and lawyers like us can't even expand our client base. Dealing with those trivial civil cases, sometimes I'm running around, working tirelessly, but in the end, the clients may withdraw their lawsuit, refuse to pay, or the case simply can't move forward. It's all a mess, and I haven't earned much money..."

...

As Cheng Junliang told his story, Qi Xi and Gu Yan finally understood the truth behind his borrowing money.

He finally got a loan dispute case, with a relatively small amount but with a clear loan agreement and evidence of fund transfer. It was a relatively easy case, as long as he followed the procedure. However, the problem arose with that loan agreement.

"The client gave me the original loan agreement, and I placed it on my desk. But during those days, I was helping my mentor lawyer organize files, and somehow, the original loan agreement got lost. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find it."

Cheng Junliang lowered his gaze, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. "Now, because of the loss of the loan agreement, the case is at risk of losing, and the client is demanding that I compensate them for the money. Otherwise, they will cause trouble at the law firm. They even found my parents' contact information and called them, harassing them to demand immediate payment..."

Qixi finally understood, "So the reason you refused to tell us why you borrowed money is because you felt it was too embarrassing?"

Cheng Junliang accepted Qixi's statement, "It would sound bad if this kind of thing got out, and it's indeed my fault for making such a silly mistake. I know everyone is curious about why I borrowed money, and I could have lied and said it was for a family emergency, but I don't want to deceive people."