Can following the rules be called rebirth?

Chapter 171, Page 169: You can't lie in a relationship.
It is said that the five senses actually exist in a subtle order of precedence.

Before the touch from his shoulder could take effect, an extremely crisp woody scent had already invaded Zhou Mingyuan's senses without warning.

Then came the sounds that followed.

"Hey~!"

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and the man turned his head almost instinctively.

The moment Zhou Mingyuan saw the short-haired girl, his brain seemed to be hit hard by a pure visual impact, and his expression froze for a moment.

Stunning.

Passing through a garden of flowers often unconsciously raises one's aesthetic threshold.

Therefore, for Zhou Lu, who has seen countless people, it is rare to have such an overwhelming feeling.

Moreover, it caused a brief but real blank in his usually meticulously functioning brain.

His composure, which he was so proud of and could maintain no matter the situation, cracked slightly at this moment.

Standing on the steps in front of him, Li Zhi tilted her chin slightly up, a smile playing on her lips, and his reflection was clearly visible in her bright eyes.

From this angle, she looks absolutely stunning.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Li Zhi stretched out her hand and waved it in front of him, gently pursing her cherry lips and whispering.

Where in the world is there a naive and innocent girl who is beautiful but unaware of it?

If such a thing exists, it's at least 99% likely to only exist in novels and movies.

She knew perfectly well the impact her carefully chosen outfit would have on the boys.

However, due to her personality, Li Zhi would not openly tell the other party this.

If it were Gu Caiwei who noticed Zhou Mingyuan staring at her blankly, she would definitely cover her mouth and laugh for a while before teasing him meaningfully.

—What, are you completely smitten with me?

"Be a little more careful next time."

Coming to his senses, Zhou Mingyuan took two steps down, keeping shoulder to shoulder with Li Zhi, and spoke in a low voice.

"what?"

The short-haired girl blinked.

"If you're like this, no one can concentrate on their work."

Zhou Mingyuan spoke bluntly, pointing his finger at Li Zhi's cheek, which was a few centimeters away, and scrutinized her carefully.

I just want to keep my eyes glued to you.

"Stop it!"

Feeling the man staring at her so closely, Li Zhi blushed and turned her head away.

"Everyone is working hard. No way."

Among the employees coming and going, very few actually paid attention to Li Zhi.

Because anyone who isn't an idiot would notice that Zhou Mingyuan was standing next to the short-haired beauty.

The boss was the one who was truly glued to the screen.

Gigi Lai's signature short hair looked like it had just been cut and was meticulously styled.

The natural outward curl at the ends of the hair does not soften the lines but instead adds a touch of vitality.

A few wisps of hair were slightly combed to the side, revealing a small section of her smooth and full forehead, making it easy to focus one's attention on her striking features.

With a defined jawline, a long neck, and an elegant, swan-like demeanor.

Of all the girls Zhou Mingyuan had ever met, Li Zhi was the only one who could perfectly pull off short hair with such a sophisticated look.

"What's the occasion? Why are you dressed up so elaborately?"

Zhou Mingyuan couldn't help but feel curious.

Compared to her time in court when she appeared without makeup and dressed somewhat casually, today Li Zhi is impeccably dressed from head to toe, with every detail meticulously crafted.

Her base makeup is truly flawless.

Unlike the popular dewy skin look, she opted for a highly matte foundation with an extremely fine texture.

Upon closer inspection, her skin has a cool, fair tone, resembling the finest porcelain.

There wasn't a trace of oiliness, not a single blemish, and not even a hint of powder; it was as if she was born with such a flawless face.

Today is Singles' Day.

The two chatted casually as they walked down the steps.

"So, to celebrate the Singles' Day shopping festival?"

"No, it's Singles' Day!"

Li Zhi giggled.

In front of Zhou Mingyuan, she could always be amused by a few words, and her cold aura would instantly vanish.

"You know Weiwei, she's a very ritualistic person, she has to celebrate every holiday."

Did she call you?

"I did call, but I'm not sure if I'll be free to go tonight."

Zhou Mingyuan spread his hands and pointed to the lively interview scene not far away.

"If I have social engagements that I can't attend, I simply won't participate in this holiday."

The man grinned and said, "I'm afraid it will affect my luck with women."

"Shameless."

Li Zhi was speechless, snorted coldly, and rolled her eyes.

While she couldn't help but feel disdain, she also found it somewhat intriguing.

Because only Zhou Mingyuan would say such things in front of a girl.

How can celebrating Singles' Day be associated with affecting one's luck in finding a romantic partner?

On the other hand, to influence your luck in finding a romantic partner, you first need to have one!

A man's carefree attitude, nonchalant expression, and strong self-confidence in every gesture are quite attractive.

"Hey, has anyone ever complimented you? You actually look pretty when you roll your eyes."

"no!"

Li Zhi was both annoyed and amused, and she was used to Zhou Mingyuan's shamelessness, so she simply turned her head to the side and continued to listen to He Min's speech on stage.

"It's mainly because your eyebrows and eyes are especially beautiful today, so any expression you make is pleasing to the eye."

"Alright, alright. Shh."

The short-haired girl turned her head back, extended her index finger, and gestured for Zhou Mingyuan to be quiet.

This man's flattery always hits the mark.

In fact, the core of Li Zhiying's heroic spirit comes from her highly recognizable eyebrows and eyes.

Her eyebrows are not the currently popular thin and curved soft eyebrows, but are naturally thick with a clear and three-dimensional brow bone.

Zhou Mingyuan said this because today's makeup fully utilized this advantage.

Having gotten up early, Li Zhi didn't over-groom her eyebrows. Instead, she used an extremely fine gray-black eyebrow pencil to precisely deepen and lengthen them along her natural, slightly angular brow line.

The transition point of the eyebrows has been deliberately optimized, pointing directly to the temples.

Next is the eye makeup.

She used matte earth tones to create an extremely natural blend and depth effect on the eye socket area.

The colors are perfectly balanced, yet they enhance the eye socket contours, making those already beautiful eyes even more three-dimensional. The eyelashes are curled and defined, and a small amount of black mascara makes each lash stand out clearly.

The subtle extensions subtly amplified the shape of her eyes.

This is also why Zhou Mingyuan couldn't help but lose his focus when their eyes met.

"correct."

After a few seconds of silence, Li Zhi finally realized what was happening.

The moment we met, this guy inexplicably steered the conversation to a strange place.

I still have so many questions to ask!
"With so many cameras and microphones, reporters, uncles in hats, and guests, what are you all doing?"

The short-haired girl pointed to the messy hall and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It's obvious."

Zhou Mingyuan, with a smug look on his face and a smug smile, said triumphantly, "Justice has triumphed!"

"A complete victory?"

Li Zhi repeated herself and pressed for an answer.

"So that case you mentioned before, it's been resolved?"

"Yes."

Zhou Mingyuan nodded.

"Did the person impersonating Weiwei come in handy?" "Of course! Not only did they come in handy, but they also managed to get back the 100,000 yuan that the swindler had stolen from our counselor, intact."

"so smart?"

Li Zhi's eyes widened immediately.

Every legal professional carries within them the balance between procedural justice and substantive justice.

But no matter what kind of just law you support, only justice that is actually achieved is true justice.

Zhou Mingyuan actually managed to swindle the money back from the swindler?

Isn’t this awesome?

Wait, if you can swindle money from scammers, doesn't that mean...?
Who is the scammer?
"Hey, tell me quickly, how did you do that?"

The short-haired girl, who was usually very emotionally stable, started to make some small movements.

She grabbed Zhou Mingyuan's arm and shook it violently.

"After helping our teacher recover 100,000 yuan, we immediately organized the case evidence and clues and reported it to Uncle Hat as soon as possible."

Zhou Mingyuan took a roundabout approach and continued.

"Why is this case so impactful? Because it's a major telecommunications fraud case involving more than ten provinces and nearly 20 victims."

"Scammers use the guise of dating to falsely claim they have high-quality investment projects with annual returns several times higher than the average person, swindling girls out of large sums of money while secretly carrying out illicit fraud!"

"Very bad, very bad!"

As he was talking, he noticed that Li Zhi was looking at him with a strange expression.

"No, why are you looking at me like that?"

"."

The short-haired girl didn't say anything, bit her lip, and crossed her arms to hug herself.

"Um, I have a question for you."

"What's wrong?"

Is Vivi still doing financial investments with you?

Li Zhi drawled out her words, staring at Zhou Mingyuan with a half-smile.

"That's it."

Zhou Mingyuan thought for a few seconds and nodded.

"Anyway, I recommended a few stocks to her and advised her to hold them without making any moves, but I don't know if she listened to me."

"Is that exactly what you said?"

The girl immediately retorted.

"That's exactly what I said!"

"Uh"

Zhou Mingyuan paused for a moment, then changed his tone: "I'll talk."

"Trust me, buy it. Don't even think about withdrawing until you've made at least 30% profit."

"fraud!"

Li Zhi chuckled, then gently punched the other person with her right fist, her tone resolute.

"How are you any different from the liar you just mentioned?"

"Thirty percent! I've traded stocks before, you know!"

"They lied about having high-quality projects with interest rates several times higher than normal, swindling girls out of large sums of savings, and secretly carrying out shady fraudulent activities!"

"no."

Zhou Mingyuan was taken aback, not expecting the boomerang to hit him.

Law students are law students after all; they even manage to organize their thoughts logically while listening to gossip.

"No, no, no, you can't say that."

The man quickly organized his thoughts and began to speak.

"Watch your words. It's not a big deal if you accuse me of cheating her out of money."

"Don't ruin my reputation! I didn't lie to Weiwei about dating."

"You still want to lie to her about dating?"

Li Zhi glared at her immediately, her eyebrows raised.

"Please, wake up! Your best friend is smarter than a monkey. Who can fool her?"

Faced with this accusation, Zhou Mingyuan certainly could not admit it.

Are you trying to trick girls into dating you?
nonexistent.

Experts always use a straight hook when fishing, focusing on being willing to do it.

"Besides, you're the one who's easier to fool."

Before Li Zhi could speak, the man slowly added another sentence.

"."

Unreasonable accusations were thus stifled in their infancy.

Li Zhi remained silent for more than ten seconds, took three or four deep breaths, and then, blushing, whispered out a sentence.

"I'm smart too."

"They're not that easy to fool."

His conversation with her didn't last long.

As soon as the interview with He Min, which was surrounded by cameras and microphones, ended, Zhou Mingyuan was waved over from a corner and called over.

Ultimately, these guests of Mingli Company were no ordinary people, and some of them required the boss to personally entertain them.

"Sister Li~ It's been a long time!"

From a distance, Zhou Mingyuan changed his brisk walking pace to long strides, approached a middle-aged woman with a big smile, and shook her hand.

Li Yu is a special correspondent for the Legal Daily stationed in Jiangcheng.

The professional players who came to Mingli Company for an interview today were invited by the High-tech Zone Branch and came on their own after hearing about the case, and also had the connections that Zhou Mingyuan had built up in the past.

For example, Li Yu, whom he met early on during his internship at the court.

At that time, Li Yu went to the case filing division every few days to write a special article on judicial reform, and he was very impressed with the intern Zhou Mingyuan.

Since his internship ended, Zhou Mingyuan has caused Li Yu a lot of trouble.

The feature article about the Tianyu Media's unfair contract scandal was also written by Li Yu.

One provides high-quality news material, while the other is responsible for crafting compelling narratives and monetizing them.

When making friends, everyone likes a win-win situation.

"Wow, Zhou, you're getting more and more amazing!"

Li Yu smiled and patted Zhou Mingyuan on the shoulder, filled with emotion.

From a court intern to the owner of Mingli Legal Consulting, it's only been a few months?

As a veteran journalist, she has seen and experienced a great deal.

It has to be admitted that outstanding people truly shine wherever they go.

"Li Zhi! Li Zhi, come here quickly!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhou Mingyuan seemed to remember something, turned around and waved vigorously at the short-haired girl not far away.

"Eh!"

"Isn't this a small lychee?"

"What's going on? You're not studying properly, and now you're starting a business with your boyfriend?"

When acquaintances meet, Li Yu's smile widens as he looks at Li Zhi approaching from afar.

When it comes to the king of gossip, probably no one can compare to journalists.

When it comes to gossip, they're the real experts!

After only a few days of face-to-face interviews at the case filing division, Li Yu, with her keen eyes, concluded that Zhou Mingyuan and Li Zhi must have an ambiguous relationship.

When they met again in the same place, she simply made a judgment.

Even the words and titles used have become distorted.

"Sister Li Yu!"

Li Zhi rubbed her eyes, unable to suppress the faint blush on her cheeks.

She never expected to run into a familiar face at Mingli Company.

No, I just...

"I was just interning at the law firm that we're collaborating with."

(End of this chapter)