You Have the Right to Keep a Secret Love

Chapter 23: Makes One Really Want to Make Gu Yan Cry Even Harder...

From now on, Qi Xi made a promise to herself that she would be exceptionally good to Gu Yan, to repay his generosity, tolerance, and understanding.

Qi Xi thought about many things they could do together in the future, and even the ordinary and busy life seemed to become something she looked forward to.

However, whenever she thought about the girl who wanted to confess to Gu Yan at the graduation ceremony, Qi Xi felt reluctant to dwell on it further. She buried her head completely in the warm bedding, as if emptying her mind and refusing to think about anything. Gradually, her mood became calm.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard the sound of the door being unlocked from outside. Zhao Yiran had finally finished her overtime and returned home.

As the end of the year approached, the court where Zhao Yiran worked had a slogan that said, "Fight during the day, close major cases." As a judicial assistant, Zhao Yiran couldn't escape from it, so she had been coming home later and later these past few days.

"Ah! It's so difficult to work at the court!" Zhao Yiran slumped onto the couch, filled with complaints. "Can you imagine? I was still at the court making phone calls to inform the parties about the trial information at 9 p.m., and I ended up being verbally abused by one of the parties."

Qi Xi's drowsiness was momentarily interrupted, and her sleepiness vanished. She became alert and decided to get out of bed, sitting next to Zhao Yiran curiously. She asked, "Why did they abuse you?"

"They accused me of fraud, saying that everyone knows government employees work from 9 to 5, so there shouldn't be anyone working late at the court. They were convinced that I must be involved in telecommunications fraud, and the next moment they would demand some sort of deposit for a fake subpoena. I called that guy five times, and he just hung up on me..."

"And there was another party who was clearly intoxicated. As soon as I called, they showered me with a barrage of insults."

Zhao Yiran's tone became more despondent as she continued, "Those incidents are still manageable. The worst was a few days ago when our court ruled against a scumbag who had committed intentional harm in a domestic violence case. It turns out his brother is a thug and causes trouble at the court every day. The presiding judge, who happens to be a muscular guy known for his fitness, doesn't want to deal with the thug, so he picked me, the soft target. I don't know where he got hold of my phone number, but I've been receiving harassing calls non-stop. Tonight, on my way home, I felt paranoid, as if someone was following me."

Zhao Yiran sighed heavily, saying, "We legal professionals really need to work out more. At least we can run faster when we need to escape."

As Zhao Yiran worked in the criminal court, she mostly dealt with parties from all walks of life, many involved in violent crimes, with unstable personalities or emotions.

"Take this thug, for example. He has already been imprisoned three times for rape and sexual assault. Every time he's in jail, he acts as if he's attending a training camp. He's shameless and arrogant, as if he takes pride in it. He's become so accustomed to being in prison that he fears nothing. So, he does whatever he wants without any fear, after all, those who are barefoot don't fear those with shoes."

"That day, this thug even threatened me, saying he would chop me to death with an axe if I didn't change the verdict for his brother! But I'm not the presiding judge, so what use is it to threaten me? Besides, we cannot tolerate any disrespect for the law. How could we change a verdict just because we're threatened by a party? The law is the law!"

Zhao Yiran's expression turned grim. "And this scumbag has even tried to block me outside the court multiple times, attempting to physically assault me. It's clear that he's just looking for an excuse to harass me. I really can't stand these sexual offenders and hooligans. It would be great if there was chemical castration!"