Emergence - Chapter 18
Chapter 18
I saw Lin Yi again three days before the court hearing, on April 1st. There were many details and points of caution regarding the lawsuit that I had to discuss with her. We met in the conference room of my senior's private clinic. Besides the two of us, Lin Yi's mother and my senior were also present.
She looked much more normal. Her long hair had been specially styled, and her diet seemed to have improved, making her once gaunt and withered frame much fuller. She looked far more comfortable. Her complexion was good, too; even without makeup, she appeared much healthier. If she wore a little light makeup for the hearing, her beautiful and serene temperament would be fully highlighted, making it impossible for anyone to tell she suffered from a mental illness.
I hadn't seen her since the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Counting the days, it had been over a month. It seemed the month of treatment had significantly improved her mental state. Perhaps her condition improved more quickly because I wasn't by her side. I couldn't help but mock myself with this thought.
She was very polite and easygoing, and she spoke to me gently. Her speech was no longer stiff; she spoke much more fluently, no different from a normal person. Aside from the faint expression on her face and the near absence of even a social smile, she could already be considered within the range of normal. Her attitude toward me was that of a client toward a helpful lawyer—perfectly normal, respectful and grateful, yet maintaining a certain distance. Her mother, on the other hand, was overcome with emotion upon seeing me, expressing her gratitude in a thousand ways and showing her feelings much more openly.
I was incredibly sad inside, but I could only endure my own grievances and sorrows, restrain my emotions, and discuss the lawsuit with the mother and daughter in a professional manner. My senior sat to one side without a word, only offering a brief answer when a topic involved her. The meeting took over two hours, after which Lin Yi's mother took her home.
I stayed behind at my senior's private clinic, slowly gathering my documents while hesitating, wondering how to ask my senior about the progress of Lin Yi's treatment. But my senior had long seen through my little scheme. She spoke up first.
"Lin Yi has basically passed the middle stage of her treatment. If the lawsuit ends with a satisfactory result, her recovery might be even faster. She really surprises me. She knows very well what she needs to do. In fact, once a patient with a psychological illness recognizes their condition and actively cooperates with the doctor's treatment, they will surely recover quickly. She walked out of it herself. She's unexpectedly strong."
"Senior, how are her OCD and insomnia?"
"The OCD is gone. As for the insomnia, it doesn't heal that quickly, but it has improved a lot. On average, she can get four or five hours of sleep a day. The hallucinations and rage have disappeared. There's still some residual depression. She doesn't talk much and still has some difficulty initiating conversations, but dialogue isn't a problem. To an outsider, she basically looks like an introverted, quiet woman. You don't have to worry about her performance in court."
"Good, that's a relief," I said quietly.
"You should worry about yourself. Look how much weight you've lost during this time, how haggard you've become. I think in a little while, you'll be the one lying on my therapy couch," my senior said with a frown.
"I'm fine, Senior," I forced a smile.
"Sigh..." She just sighed.
The hearing began two days later. This case was essentially unprecedented, with no clear legal precedent for such a situation, so it was, in fact, a very contentious and tangled lawsuit. Each side had its own valid arguments. The hearing dragged on for three and a half hours, yet still failed to reach a conclusion. The case was split fifty-fifty between Zhang Yucheng and Lin Yi, making it difficult to determine who was more suitable to raise the child. Emotionally and morally, Lin Yi certainly had the upper hand and garnered more sympathy. But lawsuits are about evidence; emotion and morality can't dictate the final outcome.
So, as expected, the first hearing ended without a result, and the case was postponed. Lin Yi remained calm throughout the entire process. In the courtroom, she sat beside me, as still as water, as if this whole struggle had nothing to do with her. But when it was her turn to testify, she was able to speak clearly and respond calmly and unhurriedly, performing even better than Zhang Yucheng.
The more she was like this, the more my heart ached. I just felt that she was drifting further and further away from me, becoming more and more of a stranger. Perhaps she no longer needed my protection and care. She could carry all of this on her own slender shoulders, and I had become irrelevant.
Over the next half-month, there were two more hearings, still with no final result. The judge presiding over the case was getting a severe headache, and the final verdict remained unclear.
The strategy Lin Yi and I had decided on was to sacrifice the assets but fight for the child at all costs. All our evidence was geared toward this goal. Although three hearings had passed without a result, I was still very confident about winning custody of the child.
Finally, during the fourth hearing, the court delivered its first-instance verdict. Custody of the child was awarded to Lin Yi, but she received basically none of Zhang Yucheng's assets. This outcome was within my initial expectations.
I guessed that the Zhang family would not be satisfied with this result. The entire purpose of their sham marriage was to obtain a child of their own blood. Now that the child was gone, all the effort, money, and scheming they had invested had come to nothing. They would surely not let it go. I figured they would definitely appeal. However, during the appeal period, the child had to be returned to Lin Yi. After so long, Youyou was finally back in her mother's arms.
The lawsuit dragged on until early May, when the weather was starting to get hot. Youyou was now nine months old. The little one was very smart, with a good aptitude for language and a strong memory. She could already say simple words and recognize people. But she was still crawling everywhere and hadn't learned to walk yet.
Lin Yi's negative feelings toward the child had basically vanished. Now, whenever she was with her child, her maternal instincts were fully aroused. When facing her child, there was no hatred or resentment in her heart; her previous negative emotions had been transferred and eliminated by my senior's therapy.
Of course, this was all told to me by my senior. I hadn't seen Lin Yi since the verdict and could only hear bits and pieces about her from my senior. During this time, I actually started hoping the Zhang family would hurry up and appeal so the court would issue a notice for the second hearing. That way, I would have another excuse to see her. Even if we could only speak professionally, it was better than never seeing her again, better than having no connection at all.
I think I might have gone mad.
However, to my surprise, the fifteen-day appeal period passed, and the Zhang family did not file an appeal. I didn't know what made them finally accept this result, and I didn't want to know. I understood then that this matter had finally come to a close.
I had won the case for Lin Yi, cleared her of her shame. From this moment on, the time had come for me to let go of these feelings. From now on, I had to learn to forget her, learn to return to a life of my own, learn to mend my own shattered heart. From now on, I had to learn to be a stranger to her.
May 14th was the day I saw her for the last time. I used the flimsy excuse of delivering some court documents to go to her home. That day, her mother wasn't there; she had gone to the hospital to look after her father. Lin Yi was home alone with the baby.
I paced downstairs for a long time. I had arrived a little after three in the afternoon but delayed until five-thirty in the evening before I finally went upstairs and knocked on her door.
I stood anxiously at the door, my heart tangled, wondering how to start a conversation with her and what I should even say. But I knew clearly in my heart that I had come this time to at least fight for myself. I was still clinging to some unrealistic fantasies, thinking that at least she had never explicitly rejected me to my face, and I had never truly expressed my desire and determination to be with her. I was truly unwilling to let it end like this. I came here seeking peace of mind, to make one last struggle, to cry out what was in my heart and let her hear it. If, even after this, she still couldn't accept me, then I would give up and never bother her again.
When the door opened, my heart stopped for a moment. She was wearing light-colored loungewear, her black hair soft and smooth. She appeared before me, so gentle and beautiful, that I was momentarily dazed. A fragrant aroma wafted from the house, a far cry from the strange smell I had encountered on my first visit. It was the scent of stir-frying. She had a faint smell of cooking oil on her, and her sleeves were rolled up. She was clearly in the middle of making dinner.
"Lawyer Gu, what took you so long? Please, come in." She gave me a faint smile and bent down to get me a pair of slippers. But the words "Lawyer Gu" instantly pierced my heart.
I silently changed my shoes and entered. She began to busy herself with hosting me. Her attitude and demeanor were more than just normal; she was even more amiable and cordial than a typical host.
"Please, have a seat. You must be thirsty after your trip. What would you like to drink?"
"Don't trouble yourself. Plain water is fine," I said, then slowly sat down on the sofa. The first time I came to her home, she had been sitting in this very spot, staring blankly. Now, it was my turn.
A moment later, she returned with a glass of water and gave me an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, I'm in the middle of cooking, so the house smells a bit."
"Don't mind me. You go ahead with what you're doing. I can wait. It's... it's nothing important, really. I'm just dropping off a document. I'll be leaving in a bit," I said quickly. Inside, I was in agony. I had mustered all my courage to come in, but now, seeing her, I wanted to retreat. I couldn't bring myself to say the words of confession. All I wanted to do right now was run.
"How could I let you do that? You went to the trouble of coming all this way. You should at least stay for a simple meal," she said, then added, "Oh, I forgot to ask, do you have other plans tonight? If you do, then I won't keep you..."
"No!" I answered almost instinctively, cutting her off. She was taken aback by my strong reaction. Realizing I had been too intense, I could only lower my voice and say sheepishly, "No, I don't. I'm free tonight."
"Oh, good." She looked down and was silent for a moment before saying, "I've stir-fried some eggplant and made mapo tofu. I'm not a great cook, so just make do. I'll treat you to a proper meal next time."
I quickly shook my head, but my heart was aching terribly. I felt like if we kept up this polite exchange, tears would start falling from my eyes.
"Well... have a seat. I'll go finish cooking. It'll be ready in a moment."
"Okay, ah, let me help."
"No need, really, it'll just be a minute. I can't have a guest helping," she quickly refused, pushing aside a stray lock of hair, looking a little flustered.
"Alright then." I slowly clenched my fists.
She turned to walk toward the kitchen. I gritted my teeth and called out to her:
"Lin Yi!"
"Yes?" She turned back to look at me.
"Uh..." My courage slipped away again. I changed the subject. "Can I go see Youyou?"
"Of course, she's in the inner room. The little one should still remember you. She's so smart." Her words were filled with a sense of joy and pride. Although my heart was in turmoil, I was infected by her mood, and the corners of my mouth lifted into a smile. She looked at me intently for a moment, then turned and went into the kitchen.
I stood foolishly in place for a moment, sighed deeply, and walked toward the inner room.
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