Reservoir Dogs chapter 42
Weakness
There was a bus stop not far from the office building, where Xiao Zhou waited.
It seemed like a brief sun shower had just passed, and the air was still damp, filled with moisture. There were few pedestrians on the street, and a cool breeze was blowing.
A silver Passat stopped in front of him. Liang Hanqing rolled down the window, his face fresh, and his smile like a refreshing breeze. “Need a ride?”
Xiao Zhou had a moment of confusion, almost mistaking him for someone else.
After getting in, Liang Hanqing glanced at the tall building behind them, the sign for Hongsheng Law Firm particularly noticeable. He squinted. “There don’t seem to be any residential areas around here. Why are you here?”
Xiao Zhou buckled his seatbelt. “I’m a driver, remember? The company is here.”
As the car started, Liang Hanqing looked ahead. “Your alpha?”
Xiao Zhou nodded. “Better than having nothing to do.”
“I didn’t ask last time, what does your partner do?”
Xiao Zhou replied, “He’s a lawyer.”
Liang Hanqing’s expression changed but then returned to a smile. “Then we’re in the same profession. What’s his name?”
Xiao Zhou answered honestly, “Jiang Chengyuan.”
Suddenly, there was a sharp brake, and Xiao Zhou was thrown forward due to the inertia.
Looking up, he saw a red light. Xiao Zhou turned his head and saw Liang Hanqing’s serious face, as tense as freshly dried plaster.
“What’s wrong?”
The light turned green, but there was no movement. The cars behind started honking impatiently, sharp and piercing.
Liang Hanqing snapped back. “Nothing.” The car restarted, passing the intersection just as the light turned red, cutting off the cars behind.
Xiao Zhou turned around and looked at the line of cars blocked behind them. “They must be cursing you.”
“Really?” Liang Hanqing was still somewhat lost in thought. “Let them be.”
By the time they left, it was almost noon. Liang Hanqing had reserved a table at a Cantonese restaurant. The dishes, ordered by Liang Hanqing, were small, delicate, and lightly flavored. After the meal, a dessert was served—bird’s nest with coconut milk and rock sugar, fragrant and smooth. Xiao Zhou liked it, and when Liang Hanqing saw that he had finished, he pushed his own portion over. “This one’s for you too.”
Xiao Zhou felt a bit embarrassed and slowed down as he ate. “What did you mean by ‘you have an opportunity for me’?”
Liang Hanqing hesitated, then leaned back in his chair. “Finish eating first, we’ll talk afterward.”
Maybe it was a habit not to talk about business while eating. Xiao Zhou didn’t suspect anything, though he occasionally felt Liang Hanqing’s heavy gaze on him, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.
After they finished eating, Liang Hanqing handed him a tissue to wipe his mouth and then said, “I’ve been assigned to the court here recently as the head of the criminal division. Yesterday, I messaged you because I wanted you to come and help at the court. Coincidentally, a clerk resigned, and I saved the spot for you. You can help with the recordings. Although it’s not a formal position, you’ll have more free time to study and prepare for exams, and you’ll get a salary. It’s better than your current situation.”
Xiao Zhou realized this was a job opportunity and got excited. “Are there any requirements? Do I need to take a test first?”
Liang Hanqing shook his head. “At the time, I didn’t know you were associated with Jiang Chengyuan. Lawyer Jiang has a significant influence here. Now that I know, it wouldn’t be appropriate to bring you in; it would raise suspicions. I also have a few cases from his law firm.”
Xiao Zhou understood and felt a bit disappointed, but he quickly brushed it off. “It’s okay. I guess I can’t call you Lawyer Liang anymore, but Judge Liang.”
Liang Hanqing smiled. “You can still call me Hanqing Ge. Hearing it makes me feel younger.”
Xiao Zhou chuckled along.
“But since you call me Ge, there are some things I have to say.” Liang Hanqing paused. “I have some history with Jiang Chengyuan and know a bit about him.”
“He’s not a good person. I know the pardon system has many unavoidable situations, but have you thought about finding someone else?”
Xiao Zhou frowned a bit. “I know his reputation isn’t great, but actually,” he paused, recalling the events since his release, and then admitted slowly, “he’s not a bad person.”
Liang Hanqing narrowed his eyes, catching a faint whiff of alcohol from Xiao Zhou’s pheromones. “You like him?”
Xiao Zhou’s eyes widened in shock, and after a moment, he shook his head. “Not really, I just think he’s not a bad choice.”
Liang Hanqing said, “I’d like to hear what you think is good about him.”
Xiao Zhou didn’t answer directly but asked back, “Are you close with him?”
“Not really, we haven’t seen each other in almost seven years. It’s all old stories.”
Xiao Zhou said, “Then what do you think of him?”
Liang Hanqing slowly sat up straight, then a rare sarcastic smile appeared on his face. “You want to know? I think he’s awful. Cold-blooded, arrogant, selfish, mercenary, and ungrateful.”
Before Xiao Zhou could react, Liang Hanqing suddenly stood up and asked, “Want to go somewhere with me?”
They drove out of the city and headed to the suburbs. Their destination was a cemetery. Liang Hanqing seemed familiar with the place; he bought two bouquets of flowers at the entrance, and the lady selling them greeted him warmly.
The wind swept over rows of gravestones, adding to the solemn atmosphere.
After a few turns, Liang Hanqing stopped. “Bringing you here might be presumptuous, but I think if you really have feelings for him, you should know what kind of person he is.”
He squatted down and placed the flowers in front of two gravestones. The black granite embedded with two black and white photos—an elder with a kind face and a young girl with delicate features.
Still squatting with his back to Xiao Zhou, Liang Hanqing looked at the elder and said, “This is my mentor, Wu Yichang. You should know him. Your mother wanted to find him back then, but unfortunately, he passed away before she could, and I took over your case.”
Some petals fell, and Liang Hanqing brushed them away, his voice hoarse from the memories. “Jiang Chengyuan is my senior. When I started, he had already been with Wu Yichang for two years and was quite famous locally. Wu Yichang was renowned for representing the weak and seeking justice for the common people.”
“He had many students, but he always thought Jiang Chengyuan was the most talented. He was smart, diligent, and quick to understand. Jiang Chengyuan indeed was smart and almost never lost a case. Those who sought out Teacher Wu for his reputation invariably praised him.”
Liang Hanqing touched the young girl’s delicate face on the photo. “Her name was Wanwan, the teacher’s daughter. She always liked my senior, and the teacher favored their match, just waiting for her to graduate so they could get married.”
“This was supposed to be a happy story—with Teacher Wu’s legacy continued and the next generation taken care of.”
Liang Hanqing paused for a moment before speaking again, his voice now cold, “Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable. One night, while taking a winding path home, she was attacked by a thug and forcibly marked. Although the perpetrator was eventually caught, the damage was irreversible. Teacher Wu’s hair turned white overnight, and combined with his long-standing overwork and illness, he became bedridden and could hardly speak.”
“During such a difficult time, when everyone needed help the most, Jiang Chengyuan left without a word. He had learned his skills from Wu Yichang and built his connections, and within just half a year, he gained great fame by taking on Lin Jianxi’s case.”
His hand clenched around the tombstone, knuckles turning white, “Lin Jianxi was a notorious gang leader, with a criminal record stacked over two meters high at the Public Security Bureau. Rising from a local thug, he clawed his way up through violence. Using evidence of forced confessions, Jiang Chengyuan reduced Lin Jianxi’s death sentence to a suspended death sentence. After taking on the case, Teacher Wu tried to persuade him, arguing that helping such a person wasn’t worth it and that using forced confession as a key defense strategy was a misguided approach. But Jiang Chengyuan blocked him outside his office, refusing to meet.”
“This case caused a huge social uproar, with many lawyers and legal experts using it for self-promotion, propelling Jiang Chengyuan to fame and using him to showcase their own merits. They saw it as a milestone for the legal profession. Jiang Chengyuan gained both fame and profit. Despite Lin Jianxi being arrested, his family’s businesses continued to operate normally, with billions in liquid assets at his disposal. Jiang Chengyuan made a fortune from the case. Soon after, he got engaged to the daughter of the founding partner of his law firm, achieving success in both love and career. On the same day, Wanwan committed suicide, deeply affecting Teacher Wu, who also passed away within a year.”
Liang Hanqing slowly stood up, his body slightly unsteady, gazing at the silent tombstone. His hand rested on a corner of the stone, “Teacher Wu was upright and discerning throughout his life, yet he failed to see Jiang Chengyuan’s true nature in his later years, nurturing a cold-blooded snake. I understand Jiang Chengyuan; to him, everyone is just a stepping stone. He climbs over people’s heads, using anyone he can, without a trace of remorse for the bodies left behind. Deep down, he is selfish and ruthless. If it doesn’t affect his interests, he might show kindness and generosity, but that’s just a façade. He is a pure opportunist.”
Liang Hanqing’s gaze grew colder, “I don’t know how Jiang Chengyuan treats you. Maybe he is kind to you now because you pose no threat to him, so he doesn’t mind indulging you. But once he tires of you or you no longer have what he wants, he won’t hesitate to abandon you without a second thought.”
Xiao Zhou stood rigidly, unsure why this was happening. Today, he found himself repeatedly being lectured, having Jiang Chengyuan’s past force-fed to him, whether he wanted to know or not.
Even though he hadn’t fully grasped it himself, others had already noticed subtle changes, cautioning him, urging him to be vigilant, afraid that he might fall headlong into the abyss.
After leaving the cemetery and getting into the car, Liang Hanqing took a bag from the trunk and handed it to him, his tone much gentler, “The adult college entrance exam is in October. It might be too late for this year, but you could aim for next year. I’ve prepared some books and materials for you. You can look at them in your spare time. You have a good foundation, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Xiao Zhou accepted the bag, which rustled as he took it. His throat choked with words, but he only managed to whisper a thank you.
A hand patted his head, “No need for thanks between us.”
After sending Xiao Zhou off, Liang Hanqing sat in the car for a while longer.
Leaning back in the seat, the faint scent of Xiao Zhou’s pheromones lingered in the confined space. The air conditioning was too cold, giving Liang Hanqing a headache, as if a hammer was pounding the back of his head. He saw blurry spots on his retinas, so he turned off the air conditioning, opened the window, and closed his eyes, pressing his temples.
Once he felt better, he opened his eyes. The sky was unusually blue, but he felt a heavy pressure in his chest, perhaps because he had said too much in the cemetery without expecting any feedback. Given what he knew about Xiao Zhou, his reaction shouldn’t have been so calm.
A call came in, it was Assistant Xiao Xu. Liang Hanqing answered, learning that the deputy chief judge of the Criminal Court had intervened in this case, with higher-ups demanding strict punishment as a political mission. He had to consider the bigger picture.
After listening, Liang Hanqing remained silent for a while, then nodded and said, “Then let’s proceed with the revised verdict.”