A wise person does not fall in love.

Chapter 8

Qi Song teased, “Stop complaining about being poor. Your major clients' annual reports are out, showing over thirty million in legal fees.”

“What thirty million?” Jiang Yuan explained, sounding almost earnest, “The contract amount is one thing, but payment is another. The actual amount received is much less. During the work, the entire team of lawyers works overtime, but when it comes to payment, it’s often split into installments, and you have to handle the expenses too.”

“It’s alright,” Qi Song reassured him, “If IPOs aren’t working out, you can do mergers and acquisitions. If not that, then bankruptcy.”

“What’s left after all that’s been done?” Jiang Yuan retorted.

Qi Song said, “It’s just that the number of clients decreases, but the total wealth doesn’t change. Lawyers charge based on the subject, so there’s no loss.”

“Qi Song, you’re truly exceptional,” Jiang Yuan admitted, then teased him back, “When it comes to making money, it’s still you guys who have it made. No matter the situation, lawsuits must be filed. The worse the market gets, the more lawsuits are needed. After all, idle time is still idle time.”

Qi Song laughed, “It sounds like beating a child on a rainy day…”

At that moment, he looked outside the cabin and saw a person standing on the deck, holding onto the railing and enjoying the breeze. The sun had already set, leaving only a faint glow on the horizon, but he instantly recognized it was Guan Lan.

She had probably overheard their conversation and was looking over at them.

Qi Song smiled and nodded at her, and she responded with a smile as well.

Perhaps because he had heard so much about her, Qi Song felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if they had known each other for a long time.

Chapter 6 Beauty

They did not talk on the boat. It was because Guan Lan seemed uninterested in chatting and also because Jiang Yuan was right next to him, making Qi Song reluctant to see Jiang Yuan’s eager expression, ready to gossip about past events. Ultimately, they weren’t really acquainted with each other.

In just ten minutes, the yacht docked, and the three of them disembarked and entered the conference center.

The venue was beautifully decorated, and people had mostly arrived. Qi Song saw the pull-up banners in the corridor with his own face and Jiang Yuan’s, each featuring similar smiles and the bold headline: “Professional Leaders, Staying Abreast of Hot Topics, Safeguarding Family Wealth.”

He found it amusing and was tempted to make a quip, but staff members soon approached and led them to their seats in the conference hall. Guan Lan did not join them; after greeting them, she walked away, saying she needed to find a place to prepare her speech.

Shortly after sitting down, the lights dimmed, and the host took the stage, introducing the president and vice presidents of the Bar Association, leaders from several university departments, and the secretary-general of the Financial Law and Business Forum. The last of these was a newcomer, a female lawyer named Liang Si, who appeared to be in her late thirties. Standing among a group of men, she was somewhat conspicuous but also striking.

Jiang Yuan, sitting next to Qi Song, leaned over and said quietly, “This is my senior from Peking University and HLS, a partner in the personal wealth business at SK Law Firm.”

Qi Song smiled, thinking to himself that it was inevitable for such information to come out within ten minutes, but he scanned the room and did not see Guan Lan.

The presentations began. The first speaker discussed professional family governance, the second recapped the logic of wealth inheritance, and the third addressed future planning and top-level structure of enterprises. The topics varied, but they all promoted the concept of family offices.

After over forty years of reform and opening up, the first generation of the wealthy had reached the age to consider wealth inheritance, making family offices a hot topic. However, these topics, when simplified, tended to be superficial, and when detailed, seemed lengthy. In reality, very few people were paying serious attention, and the live broadcast on the large screen was probably just being liked and commented on by the staff.

When it was finally Guan Lan’s turn, the host announced her name.

Qi Song looked up and saw her stepping out from behind the KV background board. She was still not wearing makeup, only adding a dark gray blazer over her white T-shirt. Under the lights, she appeared somewhat pale. However, accustomed to speaking on stage, her demeanor was impeccable, and her voice remained stable, clear, and free of tics. Her presentation was more engaging than the previous ones.

She started with a case from last year’s Caribbean court and introduced a phenomenon widely present in domestic private enterprises: the confusion between corporate lawyers and family lawyers caused by the first-generation wealthy delegating family internal equity inheritance to corporate lawyers, leading to inevitable conflicts of interest.

The case was widely publicized, and the story of the final wishes had spread. Human nature, indeed, could not withstand the test; the lawyer betrayed the heir and lined his own pockets. Within the industry, there were different interpretations, suggesting that the issue was ultimately a conflict between the family and management, with the lawyer merely acting as a middleman.

But Guan Lan’s perspective was astute, her data grounded, and her arguments concise and perfectly on-topic.

Even Jiang Yuan, who had been absorbed in replying to emails, paused to listen. Initially, he leaned in and smiled, saying, “The pyramid structure is quite good. It’s clear she’s done a lot of writing…” Lawyers often looked down on academia.

But by the end, his view seemed to have changed a bit, and he said, “After all, she’s from our school. If it weren’t for those past incidents, she’d probably be doing as well as Liang Si now.”

Qi Song glanced at him but didn’t respond.