You Have the Right to Keep a Secret Love

Chapter 13: "People who don't know might think that you guys are..."

Qi Xi originally thought that she and Gu Yan had resolved this crisis for Cheng Junliang. However, to their surprise, just one day later, they received a desperate plea for help from Cheng Junliang.

"The client refuses to cooperate and insists that I immediately compensate her with 120,000 yuan, or else she will lodge a complaint against me at the Lawyers Association," Cheng Junliang's tone was anxious and helpless. "I had originally arranged to meet her at the café to discuss, but now she has brought a few people to block me inside the café, forcing me to sign a document agreeing to give her the money within three days, or else they won't let me go..."

With the situation urgent, Qi Xi and Gu Yan didn't have time to think about anything else. They immediately rushed to the café where Cheng Junliang was being held. Finally, they met the client—surprisingly, she appeared very young but carried herself with a seasoned demeanor, clearly well-prepared, and accompanied by a few burly men.

Qi Xi ordered a cup of milk tea for the client to ease the atmosphere, then smiled at her and spoke as gently as possible, "We are friends of Cheng Junliang. Let's sit down and discuss the matter. We are aware of your situation, and Cheng Junliang is currently gathering the money."

Upon hearing that Cheng Junliang was gathering the money, the client's emotions finally eased a bit. She waved her hand, signaling the burly men with her to leave first, and she sat down herself.

During the conversation, Qi Xi roughly learned about the client's information. Her name was Lu Juan, and she was surprisingly two years younger than Qi Xi and the others. However, she dropped out of school at the age of sixteen and started working. Judging by her work experience, she was quite street-smart and had a very social demeanor.

Although her education level was not high, Lu Juan seemed quite shrewd.

Even though Qi Xi and her team were the lawyers, in their negotiations with Lu Juan, whenever money was involved, Lu Juan was extremely assertive, displaying an unwavering determination.

Pan Zhendong, who owed Lu Juan 120,000 yuan, was her ex-boyfriend. They both worked at the KTV and were outsiders in the city. They were of similar age and had a lot in common, so they quickly fell in love and started living together.

"Our relationship was great, and we planned to get married this year. In the middle of last year, I even took him back to my hometown to meet my parents," Lu Juan explained. "But my parents demanded a dowry of 100,000 yuan, and he couldn't come up with that much money all at once. After we returned from my hometown, he claimed that he would save money to marry me, so he started saving all his money."

Lu Juan took a sip of her milk tea and paused before continuing, "I thought about it, and it seemed reasonable. After all, my family has an older brother, and my parents would definitely use the dowry money to find him a wife. They wouldn't subsidize our small family. Pan Zhendong didn't mind our family situation and was willing to work hard and live with me. I was touched."

Qi Xi understood and asked, "So all the expenses between you were covered by you?"

As expected, Lu Juan nodded and said, "That's right. Afterward, the rent, utilities, daily expenses, all of that was on me. But the income from working at the KTV wasn't high, and he couldn't save much money. He said he knew a boss and decided to venture into business with him in order to marry me sooner. However, he lacked the initial capital..."

Qi Xi furrowed her brows and asked, "So you lent him money?"

Lu Juan nodded again and said, "Over the years, I've been sending most of the money I earned back home, and I don't have much savings. But in order for Pan Zhengdong to succeed in his business venture and for us to gather enough dowry money to get married, I borrowed from an online loan. Initially, it was only 50,000 yuan, but with interest, it has now become 120,000 yuan."