Chapter 11 – Are You Close with Bian Ji?

The time difference between Beijing and London was exactly eight hours. Yan Ankuo calculated the timing, believing it would now be convenient for messages to be received domestically, so he opened Qiao Yuan’s business card to add him as a friend but didn’t immediately greet him. Instead, he tapped on the other man’s Moments feed and stared at a photo of sunglasses and uniform for a long time.

The captain’s uniform of this airline company differed slightly from Bian Ji’s cabin crew uniform; its cut was stiffer, the color deeper. Qiao Yuan had a larger frame, making him appear tall and well-proportioned in the photograph.

Regardless of who looked at it, they couldn’t deny that this was an exceedingly handsome man.

The corners of Yan Ankuo’s mouth drooped further.

The other party was courteous, greeting him first, “Hello, may I ask who this is?”

When dealing with clients, Yan Ankuo maintained his usual polite demeanor, “Hello, this is Yan Ankuo from Hengtian Law Firm. Seeing your appointment record, are you available to chat now?”

Qiao Yuan almost instantly replied with a voice call.

“Hello, Attorney Yan.” Qiao Yuan, who usually woke up early, was running and slightly panting from morning exercise, “My name is Qiao Yuan.”

His voice was rather magnetic, but it didn’t sound as pleasant to Yan Ankuo’s ears. He took off his earphones, put the call on speaker, and typed on his computer beside him.

“Good morning, Captain Qiao.” After Yan Ankuo introduced himself, he added specifically, “Bian Ji has introduced me to you.”

Qiao Yuan was taken aback, “You’ve met?”

“Mm.” Yan Ankuo mentioned, “I happened to be on a business trip to the UK, so we had a simple meal together.”

Qiao Yuan didn’t understand how their simple meal related to him, so he held back his opinion, exchanged pleasantries, and sat in the gym’s rest area to wipe his sweat.

“Would it be convenient to introduce the situation?” Yan Ankuo asked.

Qiao Yuan began recounting the sequence of events, not much different from what Bian Ji had said, merely supplementing some details.

Yan Ankuo meticulously recorded everything, focusing on areas he found problematic. After gaining a general understanding of the situation, both parties showed strong intent to collaborate. Yan Ankuo nodded, “I’m returning to Shanghai the day after tomorrow afternoon. If you’re free, we can meet to discuss in detail.”

Qiao Yuan gladly accepted, and the two agreed to meet Friday evening.

The client was very cooperative, and the commission points negotiated were suitable, so it seemed like a secure case lead. However, Yan Ankuo didn’t feel particularly elated about the second day of the new year for this reason.

He hung up the call and, when switching to WeChat, noticed Bian Ji had sent a picture half an hour ago. It was of New Year fireworks exploding on a mountain fifteen kilometers away.

For now, he would tentatively consider 2024 to be a decent year.

Bian Ji stared at the fleeting New Year’s time on the screen, feeling that replying with “Happy New Year” would seem like he was making conversation out of nothing, so he snapped a photo and sent it over.

He hadn’t expected that the casual photo he took would be magnified and viewed three times.

The cabin crew didn’t get to rest for too long, barely adjusting to the time difference before needing to resume duties. Before takeoff, out of courtesy, he messaged Yan Ankuo, saying “leaving.” He didn’t have time to read the reply then, only seeing Yan Ankuo’s message, “See you soon,” more than ten hours later upon landing and turning on his phone.

Both were busy, so even after adding each other on WeChat, they wouldn’t idle chat, thus the last message history ended with “See you soon.”

Bian Ji had to fly to three destinations this time, not returning to Shanghai until Friday. According to company regulations, after flying for four days, one had to rest for a full forty-eight hours, so this flight ended just in time for a 48-hour break.

Bian Ji seized the opportunity during his rest to inquire about his old friend’s condition, so he called Qiao Yuan and got straight to the point, “Brother Yuan, how’s the situation on your end?”

Last time, Qiao Yuan had sensed from Yan Ankuo’s tone that the two were already quite familiar and had exchanged information, so he hadn’t updated Bian Ji on the latest developments. He realized that wasn’t right, after all, Bian Ji was the referrer, and he shouldn’t be left out. Qiao Yuan apologized repeatedly, “Sorry, I didn’t want to bother you since you’re busy. I’ve already gotten in touch with Attorney Yan, had a brief chat, and plan to discuss in detail this afternoon.”

Bian Ji yawned, “Alright, you two have a good chat. I’ve just landed and need to adjust my body clock.”

Qiao Yuan showed concern, “You flew another overnight flight?”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted.”

“Well, you should rest well then.”

The cafe was located in a small garden, quiet yet bustling with people. Yan Ankuo was punctual as always, seated early and reviewing photocopied documents.

“Attorney Yan.” Qiao Yuan recognized him from afar and approached to shake hands.

“Hello.” Yan Ankuo also nodded in greeting.

Since it was a work meeting, Yan Ankuo didn’t waste time on pleasantries and went straight to the point, “Mr. Qiao, I’ve reviewed the materials you sent me. There are several points I need to confirm with you.”

Yan Ankuo, when serious, exerted a bit of pressure, Qiao Yuan was momentarily stunned, then nodded, “Go ahead.”

Yan Ankuo pointed to the key points in his notes, “Firstly, from March 1st when Zhang Dong transferred money to you, to March 9th when you returned it, was there any notice or investigation from the company in between?”

Qiao Yuan firmly stated, “No, the company only started investigating on the 9th, and I had already returned the money before that.”

Yan Ankuo made a note in the corresponding section and asked, “Are there any call records or other evidence?”

Qiao Yuan pondered for a moment, hesitating before saying, “…There might not be any, it’s been too long, the records have been cleared.”

Yan Ankuo inwardly thought it was bad news, silently marking it as crucial, and continued, “You mentioned that Zhang Dong had repeatedly sent you money or gifts which you declined, do you have any proof? Chats, delivery receipts, anything.”

“I’ll look for it, the delivery receipts might still be around.” Qiao Yuan, with strong execution skills, was already browsing through delivery records while speaking. Fortunately, courier companies provided order tracking services by phone number, retrieving many sending and receiving records.

Yan Ankuo reminded him to keep copies, “Remember to keep the EMS stubs, it can reduce the difficulty of evidence presentation.”

Qiao Yuan nodded, pointing to his laptop, “Are you looking at the disciplinary notice?”

“That’s correct, it mentions several reasons for suspension, we need to find corresponding regulations.” Yan Ankuo asked, “Has the company ever sent you similar documents before? Employee manuals, policy explanations, etc.”

Qiao Yuan nodded, “Yes, I’ll go back and find them, bundle them up, and send them to you.”

“Thank you.” Yan Ankuo ticked off the corresponding section, continuing, “The third question, you mentioned that the company has non-compete rules for you. Aside from the contract, where else is there written clarification for this clause?”

Qiao Yuan thought for a moment, uncertain, “Recruitment documents?”

“Publicly verifiable?”

“Mm.”

Yan Ankuo marked “verifiable” in the section behind it and asked, “After signing the contract, did you receive any compensation?”

Qiao Yuan was astonished, “What compensation?”

“Please thoroughly investigate your salary composition when you return.” Yan Ankuo comforted him, “If there’s a non-compete clause, the company needs to pay you additional compensation to comply with the agreement. Moreover, your position doesn’t fall within the scope of personnel subject to non-compete restrictions, we have an advantage in asserting the invalidity of this clause.”

Qiao Yuan sighed in relief, but the most pressing issue hadn’t been discussed yet, he didn’t beat around the bush, “But the arbitration ruling says I have to pay over a million in compensation. Even after subtracting what you mentioned, it’s still a drop in the bucket.”

Yan Ankuo considered it and said, “Training fees are self-reimbursable, this is a special regulation within your industry. Based on past judgment experiences, it’s hard to avoid this point, but we can focus on the amount. I’ll first check the training receipts they provided and look for a breakthrough.”

Qiao Yuan nodded half-believingly, half-doubting. When he received the arbitration result, he was nearly resigned. After today’s analysis by Yan Ankuo, he suddenly felt there was still a chance to win this lawsuit.

The two went over the contract again point by point, identifying several favorable conditions. After Yan Ankuo confirmed Qiao Yuan’s demands and specific circumstances, he suggested several directions for the lawsuit, all of which Qiao Yuan agreed to.

Yan Ankuo marked all these issues, closed his laptop, and said, “Then I’ll first organize these records tomorrow. If there are no issues, we’ll prepare the complaint.”

Qiao Yuan stood up to see him off, saying, “Thanks for the trouble.” Yan Ankuo politely reciprocated a few words and, just as he was about to leave, suddenly asked, “By the way, hasn’t Bian Ji returned to the country yet?”

Qiao Yuan wanted to say why not ask him directly, but decided against it, answering truthfully, “Just got back, he had an overnight flight yesterday, he should be catching up on sleep now.”

Yan Ankuo nodded, pausing for a moment before asking, “Are you close with him?”

Qiao Yuan was taken aback, answering honestly, “It’s alright, we’ve been in contact quite a lot recently.”

The answer was identical to Bian Ji’s, quite coincidental.

Yan Ankuo didn’t say much, merely grunting in acknowledgment.

Qiao Yuan couldn’t guess what he was thinking, only seeing him operate on his phone for a long time, the interface resembling a restaurant reservation app.

When it came time to pick up the car, Yan Ankuo asked, “Have you had dinner yet?”

Qiao Yuan had arrived mid-afternoon, just like Yan Ankuo, it was impossible he’d eaten, “Not yet.”

“In that case, let’s eat together.” Yan Ankuo opened the car door, “I reserved a table at a restaurant near Shikumen.”

Qiao Yuan’s first meeting with Yan Ankuo went smoothly enough when discussing work, but eating together felt somewhat awkward. But considering they would be cooperating for a long time, rejecting the first invitation wasn’t ideal. Qiao Yuan pondered and blurted out, “Just the two of us?”

“Up to you.” Yan Ankuo said so but emphasized, “I reserved a medium-sized table.”

“Why don’t…we invite Bian Ji?” Qiao Yuan believed this was the most suitable option, “It would be better since you two are more familiar with each other.”

Only then did Yan Ankuo get into the car, appearing indifferent to whoever Qiao Yuan invited, “Suit yourself.”