Su Bai met Wang Li's gaze. Had the man just gotten out on probation and decided to perk himself up with a civil lawsuit?
Wang Li shifted his backside, making the new sofa squeak.
"To be honest, Lawyer Su, I really have been thinking about it!"
"My wife and I have been married for five years, and we don't have any kids. Last time, when my dad was so seriously ill, that woman wouldn't even visit him in the hospital. She even said he was getting old and all that, and that there was no need to take him to the hospital."
"I was worried about my dad at the time, so I didn't argue with her. Then the bank incident happened. My parents were constantly worrying about me, but my wife-ptui, that woman-never came to see me once! Not a single word of concern. I bet she was waiting for me to go to prison so she could inherit our family's property!"
"Now that I'm out, I really do want to divorce her!"
Su Bai listened carefully to Wang Li's account. Throughout the entire bank case, he really hadn't seen Wang Li's wife appear.
That also confirmed that Wang Li and his wife were on bad terms.
Given all these circumstances, if Wang Li still didn't want a divorce, Su Bai would gladly crown him the nation's top contender, without equal.
"So what are you thinking now? Are you planning to file for divorce?"
At Su Bai's question, Wang Li shook his head. "Lawyer Su, I'm still on probation, and I'm afraid a lawsuit might cause trouble. The main reason I asked was to refer a divorce case to you. It's my childhood friend. He wants to sue for divorce."
"If you handle divorce cases, Lawyer Su, I can introduce him to you."
Wang Li had really put some thought into this referral.
The moment a case came up, he had thought of Su Bai. This was a man worth knowing.
A few days ago, Su Bai had won his case and promoted his firm in front of the reporters. He had made quite a splash, yet he still hadn't gotten any cases.
The media only cared whether the story was sensational, while the people online only cared whether the trial was exciting. He had been kidding himself if he thought that kind of publicity would bring in clients.
He hadn't expected Wang Li's visit today to bring such a pleasant surprise.
"Of course. Divorce cases are our firm's main specialty. You know that, right?"
Wang Li, a burly thirty-year-old man, scratched his head awkwardly. "You left such a strong impression when you handled my case last time, Mr. Su, that I automatically assumed you specialized in criminal law."
"That's right, I do specialize in criminal law, but I'm also a specialist in civil and matrimonial cases."
Su Bai made no attempt to be modest. Facts were facts. He had always known a fair amount about all kinds of litigation.
What he said wasn't entirely wrong.
"That's great! With you handling it, Lawyer Su, there's hope for my friend's divorce!"
Wang Li looked excited, almost exhilarated. He seemed extraordinarily happy at the prospect of his childhood friend getting divorced.
"Could you tell me a little about your friend? You seem pretty happy about him getting a divorce. Would it mean escaping a life of misery?"
When Su Bai described his friend's divorce as an escape from misery, Wang Li's expression instantly turned resentful. He looked even angrier than when he had talked about his own wife.
"If he can get divorced, it won't just mean escaping misery. It'll be like going straight to heaven!"
Wang Li slammed his fist into the sofa.
A fist-sized dent, roughly two centimeters deep, immediately appeared in the cushion.
Ouch, that's brand-new. Don't break it!
Looking at the dent in the sofa, Wang Li scratched his head with a sheepish expression.
"Sorry, Lawyer Su. I got a little carried away. It's just that my friend's wife is really... I don't know how to put it. She's completely outrageous. Like those outrageous people you see online, only even worse. Do you know what I mean?"
"That's why I got so angry. Mostly, I just feel my friend's been treated unfairly."
There was a trace of heartache in Wang Li's eyes.
Yes, heartache.
Heartache over what his buddy had suffered.
Looking at his newly purchased sofa, Su Bai felt a little heartache too. It was brand-new, bought at full price-eight hundred yuan!
"Before you get worked up on his behalf, tell me about his situation."
Su Bai straightened his suit slightly and called Li Xuezhen over to take notes.
Wang Li nodded firmly and began explaining the circumstances.
"My childhood friend is an honest guy, a programmer. He earns around twenty thousand a month, is 172 centimeters tall, and weighs 65 kilos. His family received compensation for a demolition in the Southern Capital, so he has three apartments. His parents live in one, he and his wife live in another, and the third used to be rented out. But his wife said a coworker wanted to rent it, so he stopped renting it to anyone else, figuring he'd just let her coworker have it. Who knew his wife would secretly let her younger brother move in instead?"
"Oh, right, let me tell you about his wife first. She's from out of town, and her family's pretty poor. She's about the same age as my friend, around thirty, 162 centimeters tall, and weighs 55 kilos. She earns three thousand a month and has two younger brothers. Her parents don't have social insurance or anything. They normally do odd jobs and make around two thousand a month."
"One of her brothers dropped out of middle school and lives off their parents. The other graduated from university a year ago and still hasn't found a job."
"My friend is your typical honest guy. He hands his whole paycheck over to his wife, and she spends everything every month, including all his earnings. He buys cigarettes one at a time and saves up enough for one cigarette a day."
The more Su Bai heard, the more outrageous it sounded. Seriously, what's he getting out of this?
As she took notes and listened to Wang Li's account, Li Xuezhen couldn't help frowning.
Even as a woman herself, she thought this was going far too far!
This wasn't a marriage at all!
She was treating the man like an ATM-and an ATM that worked tirelessly without complaint, at that!
Wasn't the husband... nothing but a sucker?
The thought suddenly popped into Li Xuezhen's head.
Su Bai couldn't listen any longer and interrupted Wang Li. "Get to the point. Why are they getting divorced?"
"Because my friend's wife says he doesn't love her anymore."
Su Bai: Incredible.
Li Xuezhen: This... leaves me speechless.
Wang Li continued:
"Because of that, his wife kept making a fuss and demanding a divorce. At first, my friend figured they might as well split up. He'd had enough anyway. But when it came time to divide their assets, he discovered that his wife had already turned most of his premarital assets into marital property and was demanding her share."
"And all the marital assets my friend originally had were spent by his wife
on handbags, makeup, and prepaid beauty treatments."
"If they divorce like this, my friend will basically walk away with nothing and lose his entire fortune on top of it."
Only then did Su Bai understand. Falling out of love was just an excuse. The ATM had reached its expiration date.
This guy had woken up a little too late!
If Wang Li was a contender for the national title, then his childhood friend was the undisputed champion.
(End of chapter)
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