Chapter 65: Is it a distortion of human nature, or a decline in morality?

Early the next morning, the moment Cheng Yao stepped into Junheng, Qian Heng called her into his office.

“I happen to be free this morning.”

“Hm?”

Qian Heng cleared his throat. “I can take you to the notary office to do the phone notarization.” He looked out the window, trying to explain, “Besides, since we’re troubling a connection at the notary office, it wouldn’t be proper if I didn’t go in person to say hello.”

Having Qian Heng take her along was naturally the best outcome. If anything unexpected came up, she could consult him on the spot. Moreover, with Qian Heng there, Cheng Yao somehow felt very reassured.

This phone notarization had to hit the target in one shot. It needed a hundred percent certainty. Otherwise, once they startled the snake, trying to do another notarization like this would probably be impossible.

“Boss, can you wait a bit? I want to go to where Zhang Hao lives first and look for something.” Cheng Yao thought it over and still stated her decision. “Once I find what I need, I’ll call you, and we’ll meet at the notary office?”

But today Qian Heng was apparently truly too free. He glanced at Cheng Yao. “I’ll drive you.” At this point he lowered his gaze. “You’re a woman going to someone else’s door, and the other party knows you. If a conflict breaks out and you get injured, it would still count as a work injury.”

Looking at Qian Heng’s cold face that said one thing while meaning another, Cheng Yao really wanted to roar out loud: Boss, how many times have you used the work-injury excuse already? It’s worn out, you know?! Please change to a new one next time! Even I can see through it! Can’t you just directly say you’re worried about your subordinate’s safety?!

Unfortunately, as the person involved, Qian Heng remained completely unaware. He maintained his noble, aloof demeanor and drove the Bentley the whole way, acting like a chauffeur as he delivered Cheng Yao to the building where Zhang Hao lived.

Although Cheng Yao thought she would be fine on her own, Qian Heng still insisted and followed her upstairs.

“Lower your head! Don’t stand so straight!” In the elevator, Cheng Yao couldn’t hold back. She tugged at Qian Heng’s sleeve and suggested in a low voice, “Reduce your presence!”

Qian Heng found this very puzzling. He watched Cheng Yao sneak upstairs with a furtive expression, yet she didn’t go to Zhang Hao’s door. Instead she headed straight for the door to the service corridor.

Only when Cheng Yao pulled a pair of disposable gloves from her bag and found the trash bin behind the service corridor did Qian Heng finally realize why she had asked him to keep a low profile.

Because she was going to dig through the trash!!!

The moment the trash bin lid opened, Qian Heng felt like he was about to suffocate. He immediately held his breath and stared at Cheng Yao in disbelief. “What are you doing?!”

Zhang Hao’s rented apartment building had two units per floor, so this trash bin contained the garbage from both households on this floor. Facing all kinds of dirty, foul-smelling household waste, Cheng Yao dug through it while answering without changing expression, “Digging through trash!”

Qian Heng frowned, then said in disbelief, “Cheng Yao, don’t tell me you came here to dig through trash in order to find evidence of Zhang Hao’s affair?”

Cheng Yao nodded. “Of course!” She rummaged and pulled out one bag. “This bag has a lot of used diapers for kids, so it definitely isn’t Zhang Hao’s trash. It’s the neighbor’s next door.” After eliminating that, she more carefully focused on the remaining bag and began searching.

Qian Heng simply couldn’t take it anymore. “Have you watched too many American TV shows? Thinking lawyers really dig through trash for evidence like in those legal dramas? I advise you to give up on this idea…”

“Found it!”

Before Qian Heng could finish speaking, Cheng Yao pulled a small scrap of paper from one of the trash bags with a look of delight.

It was a fragment of an advertising brochure from a wedding photography studio. Cheng Yao kept digging persistently and finally pieced together the name of this wedding studio—Aishe Wedding Photography Center.

She searched a bit more and found advertisements from another wedding studio as well.

“Because Li Mengting was pregnant, they never took wedding photos before. They had originally planned to just take a family portrait of the four of them after the baby was born.” Cheng Yao looked at Qian Heng, her eyes so bright they seemed to sparkle. “Now there are so many wedding photography studio ads in his trash. What does that mean?”

“It means that scumbag Zhang Hao, even though he hasn’t even divorced yet, is already thinking about taking wedding photos with his mistress. He’s even gone to look at several studios to choose!”

Qian Heng said expressionlessly, “Cheng Yao, a few wedding studio ads found in a trash bin are nowhere near enough to prove an affair. This evidence has zero effectiveness.”

But Cheng Yao was still extremely excited. Her sparkling eyes locked onto Qian Heng. “They do! Trust me!”

For no reason, Qian Heng felt a bit of heart palpitations. When Cheng Yao stared at him with that sly smile at the corner of her mouth, he felt his heart suddenly skip out of rhythm.

Maybe I’ve been working too hard and damaged my heart, Qian Heng thought with lingering fear, while immediately booking the high-end VVIP full-body checkup package at Affiliated Hospital No. 1.

In any case, after finishing the trash dig, Cheng Yao was refreshed and followed Qian Heng all the way to the notary office.

She had originally thought the connections at the notary office were so significant that Qian Heng needed to show up in person. But once they arrived, several staff members treated Qian Heng as if they had seen the God of Wealth himself.

“Qian Par, any large-value real estate that needs notarization lately? It’s almost year-end and I’m still short on performance.”

“Other lawyers from your firm are welcome to bring business too.”

…

Cheng Yao glanced at Qian Heng. So this was the “must come in person” friendship? Basically just having Qian Heng say hello would have been enough!

“I heard the notary office just finished renovating.” Qian Heng pressed his lips together, explaining as if casually. “I wanted to come take a look at the renovation style.”

Would it kill you to say you came along because you were afraid I’d mess up the notarization? Would it kill you to say you actually care about your subordinate like an old father?

Seeing Cheng Yao staring at him, Qian Heng cleared his throat. “For reference.”

“Reference for what? The firm just renovated a year ago, didn’t it? Are you using this as reference for renovating your villa?” Cheng Yao stared at Qian Heng, her mischievous side rising as she pressed aggressively, “What good reference is this kind of style for villa renovation???”

“I just like this solemn, simple style.”

“…”

Soon the notary in charge of this phone work led Cheng Yao and Qian Heng to the notarization phone. After explaining the precautions, the notary indicated that Cheng Yao could begin.

But Qian Heng stopped Cheng Yao. “Do you know how to say it? You need to guide the other party into revealing information about his own affair. You have to…”

Cheng Yao smiled confidently. “I know.” She winked at Qian Heng. “Watch my performance!”

With that, Cheng Yao picked up the phone and dialed Zhang Hao’s number.

The moment the call connected, Cheng Yao instantly changed her voice. Using the uniquely sweet, cloying tone of a service industry worker, she said, “Hello, Mr. Zhang Hao. I’m a staff member from Aishe Wedding Photography Center. You and your fiancée Miss Liang Qiongqiong previously came to inquire about our wedding package. I wanted to ask if the two of you have decided which studio to take the wedding photos at?”

Qian Heng froze for a moment. Only then did he realize Cheng Yao’s intention in digging through the trash. She hadn’t been delusionally hoping to find direct evidence of Zhang Hao’s affair in the trash bin. She had been looking for a reasonable way to make Zhang Hao lower his guard, confess, or even indirectly admit to the affair.

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Hao also paused. Although he was a bit impatient with the sales call, he didn’t hang up directly. “Your sample photos are all pretty good, but the package prices are too expensive.”

Cheng Yao coaxed him in the tone of a professional salesperson. “It’s like this—I’m calling this time specifically to notify you of our year-end big promotion. Right now if you decide on a package and come to the store to sign the contract and pay the deposit, I can give you a thirty percent discount.”

…

Qian Heng simply watched as Cheng Yao seriously went back and forth with Zhang Hao about the wedding photo packages for a full ten minutes. In the end the two of them actually reached an agreement on a package, and Zhang Hao decided on the spot to go to the store the next day to sign the contract.

Once the conversation had warmed up and the atmosphere was familiar enough, Cheng Yao finally began closing the net further. “Thank you for choosing our Aishe. You and your fiancée Miss Liang really match very well. At a glance you look very loving, like you’ve already been dating for seven or eight years—especially in sync!”

Zhang Hao had long since lowered his guard. On top of that, this generous salesperson had given him such a big discount that he had a rather good impression of her. He couldn’t help laughing as he corrected her, “Not as long as seven or eight years. We’ve only been together for half a year. I just didn’t expect us to click so well.”

Cheng Yao pretended to be surprised. “You’ve only been together for half a year?”

“Yes, haha.” Zhang Hao’s voice couldn’t hide his happiness. “Some people know each other for many years and still might not be suitable, but with some people, after only a short time together you feel you get along. You and I also have some fate, being able to settle the wedding package so quickly and solve one of my worries. Don’t take this the wrong way, but your voice actually sounds pretty familiar to me.”

Even toward a salesperson, the Zhang Hao on the other end of the phone seemed to want to pour out his heart and could even be called talkative—completely different from the wooden, taciturn man he was with Li Mengting. Probably in his view, these changes in himself were all because he had finally met “the right person.”

People only hear the laughter of the new and never the crying of the old. At this moment, for Zhang Hao, the best years Li Mengting had spent accompanying him were completely worthless—just a mistake in his life.

Cheng Yao suppressed the anger in her heart and pinched her voice into a laugh. “Haha, yes, it’s all fate. Hearing how urgently you want to finish booking the wedding photo package, are you planning to get married and hold the banquet soon?”

“Not exactly.” Zhang Hao’s voice was bright and cheerful. “It’s just that if we drag it out any longer, I’m afraid my girlfriend’s belly will get too big and it won’t be good for photos.”

Cheng Yao suppressed the turbulent waves in her heart. Zhang Hao was practically delivering his own head on a platter. Not only had he admitted over the phone the start time of his extramarital affair with Liang Qiongqiong, he had even revealed an even more critical piece of information—Liang Qiongqiong was already pregnant!

This scumbag!!!

After that Zhang Hao casually said a few more things, but Cheng Yao no longer cared. She knew it was done.

The information from the call was more than enough to prove that Zhang Hao’s extramarital affair had already been going on for half a year—meaning that during the existence of his marriage with Li Mengting, he had been cheating. And the child Liang Qiongqiong was carrying was ironclad evidence that Zhang Hao could never deny even if he died.

In one stroke, the evidence had been locked down.

Only after hanging up the phone did Cheng Yao finally relax as if her strength had left her. Only then did she glance at Qian Heng.

Cheng Yao didn’t say a word, but the look she gave him already explained everything—it was once again that wet-puppy expression waiting for praise.

For some reason, Qian Heng felt irritated under that gaze. He remembered Cheng Yao’s fiery confession gift box and felt that if he opened his mouth to praise her, it might very well be misinterpreted as a response to her.

No, he couldn’t do that, Qian Heng thought. Office romance is unprofessional. Not allowed.

So he kept a stiff face, turned his gaze away, and said nothing at all.

What Qian Heng didn’t know was that in Cheng Yao’s eyes, his behavior was pure childish refusal to admit defeat.

Having successfully completed the phone notarization, Cheng Yao even felt a little proud inside. See? Qian Heng, who had just been looking down on her for digging through trash, now had no choice but to applaud her cleverness, right?

It didn’t matter if he didn’t admit it. Anyway, the trash she dug through this time had been worth it!

On the way back, Cheng Yao was still replaying every detail of the phone notarization in her mind, thinking about where she could have done better, which words if said might have guided Zhang Hao even faster into actively confessing his “relationship.” She completely neglected to talk to Qian Heng. Naturally, Qian Heng also remained quiet.

The two of them returned to the firm in mutual peace.

But the moment Cheng Yao sat back at her desk and prepared to report this excellent news to Li Mengting, Qian Heng suddenly walked over to her desk again.

Before Cheng Yao could react, she saw Qian Heng casually toss a bag of something onto her desk.

It was a bag of rainbow candies.

Cheng Yao looked up at Qian Heng questioningly.

That look, however, seemed to have slightly angered and ignited Qian Heng. He said fiercely, “Fine, so I didn’t praise you. Is that any reason to not say a single word and give your boss an attitude?”

Cheng Yao: ???

“I happened to have a bag of rainbow candies. Rewarding you.” Qian Heng said arrogantly. “Keep up the good work.”

Eh???

Happened to???

Cheng Yao thought, I don’t believe it!

Without much thought, she turned around and stopped Bao Rui, who had just returned from court outside. “Bao Rui, did Qian Par just ask you to do something?”

“Yeah! You heard it too?” Bao Rui said painfully. “Qian Par took the initiative to call me and ask if I’d returned to the firm. I thought he was specially caring about me. Then the moment he heard I hadn’t returned, he actually told me to buy him a bag of rainbow candies on the way! It’s a distortion of human nature, a decline of morality!”

Although Qian Heng was still as awkward as ever, Cheng Yao was surprisingly used to it. After returning home, she ate the rainbow candies and even found them quite satisfying, feeling her mood was excellent and her whole person was sweet.

She had her routine phone chat with Qin Qin again. When she mentioned this, she couldn’t help thanking Qin Qin once more: “Thanks to your gift box! My boss’s attitude toward me has gotten better recently!”

After finishing the call with Qin Qin, Cheng Yao was about to sleep when Li Mengting suddenly called.

After successfully completing the phone evidence collection today, Cheng Yao had already communicated the situation with Li Mengting. Both of them had been very excited. Cheng Yao had also worked overtime to prepare the lawsuit materials, planning to go to court first thing the next morning to file the case. Things were currently completely under control. Even though a lawyer couldn’t promise a client a guaranteed win, Cheng Yao already felt confident about this case in her heart.

Li Mengting had also adjusted her mood recently. With her parents’ company and the dragon-phoenix twins in her belly, her routine was very regular. At this hour in the past, she would have already been asleep.

A call at this time must mean something urgent.

Cheng Yao answered the phone with a somewhat uneasy premonition.

“Yaoyao, something’s happened!” Li Mengting’s words confirmed Cheng Yao’s premonition. “I saw the screenshot a friend sent me. Zhang Hao posted his and Liang Qiongqiong’s marriage certificate on his Moments!”

Cheng Yao was a bit stunned. “He used connections to change the marital information on the household register? But even if he operated like that, this is open bigamy. Being so arrogant about bigamy? This is a criminal offense. And he even posted the marriage certificate—afraid that collecting evidence of his affair would be too difficult for me? Rushing to deliver a whole row of heads?”

“He can’t be so ignorant as to commit bigamy.” Li Mengting’s voice was a bit shaky. “Yaoyao, I now feel that my marriage certificate with him might be fake.”

Cheng Yao was shocked. “What do you mean?”

“When Zhang Hao and I got the certificate before, I didn’t go in person. He asked someone to handle it through connections in his hometown. At the time I had just discovered I was pregnant, and then severe morning sickness started right after, plus some signs of threatened miscarriage. I didn’t even have time to rest and protect the pregnancy—I couldn’t travel long distances at all. Both Zhang Hao’s and my hometowns are very far, and the road to go get the certificate would have been too bumpy. Later Zhang Hao told me that the civil affairs bureau in his hometown had connections. As long as the two of us gave him our household register and ID information, they could issue us a marriage certificate.” Li Mengting paused. “Our hometowns are both small counties. I know that in our county there really is this kind of operation. A friend of mine also got her certificate this way without any problems, so I believed him.”

Li Mengting said regretfully, “No wonder he wasn’t in any hurry at all to bring up divorce with me. Combining it with what you said, since Zhang Hao and Liang Qiongqiong hooked up half a year ago, when he ‘got the certificate’ with me, he might already have decided he didn’t want to continue with me. The ‘certificate’ was just a temporary measure while he was still hesitating, leaving himself a way out. There was no way he would actually go get married with me.”

This information left Cheng Yao a bit caught off guard as well. “Once your marriage certificate is fake, our entire case approach has to change completely, because you have no marital relationship, so the loyalty agreement is invalid.”

The law recognizes the stability of marital relationships but does not recognize the stability of cohabitation relationships. During unmarried cohabitation while dating, there is no legal obligation of loyalty between the two parties. Therefore, a loyalty agreement in a cohabitation relationship has no legally binding force—at most it only carries moral obligation. Even if one party ultimately violates the loyalty agreement, the other party cannot demand compensation based on the agreement.

Cheng Yao understood this principle, and as a fellow law student, Li Mengting naturally understood it as well.

Although the two of them hadn’t verified it yet, they had almost reached the same guess—Li Mengting and Zhang Hao’s marriage certificate was fake! From beginning to end, the two of them had never formed a marital relationship!

Li Mengting was both angry and regretful. “I shouldn’t have trusted him so easily. I was the stupid one. These two people hooked up right under my nose for half a year and I didn’t notice. Thinking about it now, I finally understand why after I brought up the loyalty agreement, Zhang Hao hesitated for two days before signing with me. He used those two days to consult a lawyer! To see whether he would actually be liable if he signed! Only after confirming that because the marriage certificate was fake, this kind of agreement had no binding force, did he hypocritically sign with me!”

Despite facing such a sudden change, Cheng Yao ultimately calmed down. She comforted Li Mengting for a while before hanging up.

Cheng Yao herself didn’t realize that at some point, when facing such sudden, unexpected new developments in a case, she no longer panicked and lost her bearings. Instead she could calmly and composedly analyze and work hard to shift her approach to find new clues for handling the case.

This case would probably have to be completely overturned and started over from scratch.