A wise person does not fall in love.

In April 2017, Liao Zhijie came to City A from Hong Kong. Starting from the International Youth Hostel at Laoximen, he followed the map on his phone. First, he rode a shared bike, then transferred through several subway lines until he reached the University Town in the southern suburbs. After exiting the station, he got into an orange shuttle taxi. He showed the driver a screenshot of a WeChat conversation with an address: between 1258 and 1300 Nansong Road, turn right when you see a river, and walk in along the four willow trees. The driver, a local man, scratched his head and laughed, "I've been driving here for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen such an address." Liao Zhijie also laughed and responded in broken Mandarin, "This is my first time here too." The driver half-understood, half-didn't, and didn't bother talking further, shook his head while chewing on a toothpick, and started the engine. As the car started moving, the scenery outside changed – schools, parks, and a film studio. Miniatures of Great World, International Hotel, and the Customs House clock tower could be seen vaguely among the plane trees. Extras were eating noodles at small roadside shops. Then the road opened up, flanked by villages and farmland. They reached 1258, and not far ahead, there was indeed a river. Liao Zhijie paid the fare and got out of the car, walking along the willows. The path grew narrower until a wall blocked his way; there was no way through. He stood there confused, took out his phone, and made a call, nervously saying the line he had rehearsed many times: "Hello, this is Chase. I have an appointment with Teacher Qingshui today..." He pondered how to phrase the next part – it seemed the address was a bit off. Before he could translate his Cantonese into Mandarin, the person on the other end responded, "You're in the wrong place. It's the side with four willows, not three." Liao Zhijie suddenly understood, looked up at the riverbank, and counted – indeed, there were three willows. He was on the wrong side. Looking towards the opposite bank with the four trees, a corrugated iron gate opened. Someone stood there, wearing a dust mask and a disposable raincoat, covered in wood chips and paint splatters. From a distance, he couldn't see the face clearly, but Liao Zhijie knew this was "Qingshui." He had seen her work online and had discussed collaborations with her. Only then did he realize she was a girl. Across the small river, he waved at her, and she waved back. This was the scene when Liao Zhijie first met Xu Mo. Qi Song met Guan Lan because of a case. A client brought in by the Mergers & Acquisitions group initially dealt with another lawyer from the Dispute Resolution group. It got to a point where they couldn't handle it, so they approached Qi Song. "Divorce? I can't do it." Qi Song listened briefly and politely declined. "It's not a divorce," explained Jiang Yuan, a partner in the M&A group, over the phone. "They divorced a long time ago, but there's a dispute over company shares." "Isn't that an incomplete divorce?" Qi Song reiterated, "I can't do it." "Come on," Jiang Yuan urged, "your team is already working on it, and the materials are all ready. Just give it a look, see if it needs mediation or should go to court. It's no big deal." Qi Song explained, "Ex-spouses negotiating often leads to litigation. This kind of relationship usually results in spiteful lawsuits. Expectations are unrealistic, they won't listen to advice during the process, and if they lose, they'll blame the lawyer. Why would I get involved?" "You claim never to handle divorces, yet you seem to understand them well," Jiang Yuan laughed but then added, "This case was referred to us by Lawyer Zhu and Lawyer Wang. Lawyer Wang specifically said to come to you." Both Zhu Fengran and Wang Qian were on the management committee at Zhicheng Law Firm. Zhu Fengran was a senior partner in the M&A and capital markets group, while Wang Qian was in charge of dispute resolution, overseeing arbitration and litigation, and was Qi Song's boss. Qi Song had nothing more to say and sighed. Jiang Yuan was still laughing on the other end. Qi Song got back to the point and asked directly, "What needs to be done?" "This time, it must be 'cleanly' resolved," Jiang Yuan borrowed his earlier phrase and added another requirement, "and quickly." "Is that the client's wish or yours?" Qi Song half-jokingly asked. Jiang Yuan vaguely replied, "You know how it is..." "Alright," Qi Song understood and interrupted, "I got it." He had handled many such clean-up cases. Sometimes they needed to be quick, sometimes slow. The outcome of a lawsuit was not the only goal; the process was crucial – a lesson Wang Qian had imparted to him when he first joined the firm. That same day, he found Yang Jiali, the lawyer in charge of the case, and reviewed the situation. It was indeed as Qi Song had suspected – the divorce wasn't clean. The client, Liao Zhijie, Chase Liao, born in Hong Kong, China, held a Canadian passport. A few years ago, he came to City A to start a business, fell in love with his partner Xu Mo, and got married. The couple ran an animation studio called "Qingshui Cuoluo." As the business grew, they expanded the studio, created a VIE structure, and established a holding company in the Cayman Islands.