Chapter 2: This Lawyer Has No Morals! |
Legally Compliant Revenge?
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Zhang Hu felt his heart seize up. His breathing grew rapidly ragged as he snapped his head up to stare at Xu De.
"R-Really...?!"
That's right — revenge.
He didn't care about the money. What he cared about was that the other party had committed a wrong and would still walk away completely unpunished.
"Of course it's real."
Xu De nodded, then opened his mouth:
"In that case, let's change our objective. Instead of pursuing divorce, let's reframe our thinking around legally compliant revenge centered on you!"
"She wants to exploit the divorce to split your assets and profit from it. So then... what if you don't divorce?"
Don't... don't divorce?
Zhang Hu's expression froze.
Before he could raise any objection, Xu De brewed a cup of tea and slid it across to him, continuing:
"Why are you in such a hurry to divorce? What benefit does divorce actually give you?"
Was there a benefit to divorce? There was — but the losses were far greater.
First came the division of assets; second, without the restraint of marriage, the adulterer and adulteress would carry on their affair, taking his money and running off into the sunset to live in luxury.
So then...
"Divorce is more harmful than beneficial to you."
"Moreover, your wife's entire goal is to divorce you and take the money."
Xu De spoke slowly.
From a revenge standpoint, not divorcing — preventing the other party from achieving her goal — was the correct move.
"But..."
Zhang Hu hesitated. He felt like what the man was saying was right, yet something seemed off.
"That may be true, but if we don't divorce, both parties' income during the marriage becomes marital community property... Wouldn't that mean half of everything I earn going forward belongs to her?"
At those words, a smile crept across Xu De's face — a sharp, knowing smile.
"No, no, no."
He promptly pulled out a pen and paper and began writing and sketching.
"Mr. Zhang, you may have a slight misunderstanding of the legal provision known as 'marital community property.'"
"First and foremost — you must understand that under Article 301 of the Civil Code, which is explicitly stated:"
"Joint property rights ≠ unconditional right of use!"
Joint property rights can be understood simply as this: when one party wishes to use more than two-thirds of the household savings, both parties must consent together.
This does not restrict day-to-day spending or personal funds.
For example: suppose your monthly post-marriage salary is ten thousand yuan, and you have enough in hand to buy a five-thousand-yuan piece of clothing. Even if your wife objects, you can still buy it.
The biggest restriction this provision imposes is on large-sum expenditures.
Would Zhang Hu be making large-sum expenditures? Yes — but he could route them outside of household funds, requiring no consent from the cheating party.
And if the cheating party tried to make a large-sum expenditure? Zhang Hu would have every right to refuse her demands.
"So..."
Zhang Hu blanked. Xu De's explanation left him stunned, his face flickering with disbelief.
"So... you're saying I only need to give her a small allowance each month?"
"No!"
Xu De didn't hesitate. He kept writing and calculating on the paper, then continued:
"Theoretically, you don't even need to pay her a single yuan for personal enjoyment. Only a certain amount for household expenses."
"Specifically, under Article 1060 of the Civil Code — the Daily Household Agency provision."
"It covers many things, but the most relevant to you are: daily necessities and small-sum recreational spending."
"The latter — you can refuse to provide funds for, if your declared income is low enough."
"The former covers food, clothing, shelter, and transportation — and even if you do pay for those, you are not required to hand the money directly to your wife."
Within a marital relationship, husband and wife do hold a mutual duty of support — but there is a prerequisite. That duty is only triggered when one party lacks the capacity to work, such as in cases of disability, at which point the other party may be required to pay spousal support.
If a wife is capable of working but has no justifiable reason for refusing to do so — theoretically speaking...
"Even with the marital community property statute in place, you could legally give her not a single cent."
Xu De stated it definitively, then paused and added a follow-up:
"Of course — that's theory."
"In practice, you'd have to give her something. But not much."
So: Zhang Hu wouldn't divorce, and would only need to pay a token amount. And in truth, he had no burning desire to be the one initiating a divorce.
It was his wife who desperately wanted the divorce!
"Is... is this actually legal?"
Zhang Hu wavered. It wasn't that he didn't understand what Xu De was implying.
On the contrary — he understood perfectly, which was precisely why he was so thunderstruck.
"Even with so-called marital community property... in reality, I don't actually have to give her much at all?!"
Zhang Hu exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"That is correct."
Xu De nodded.
Zhang Hu pressed further: "So how much would I need to give?"
Xu De continued writing and calculating on the paper, then asked offhandedly:
"What is your wife's typical monthly spending right now?"
Zhang Hu answered instinctively: "A month... maybe ten to twenty thousand."
Xu De nodded and said:
"The amount you'd need to provide... assuming your declared monthly income is two thousand yuan, after deducting household necessities, you would need to pay approximately..."
As he spoke, Xu De wrote a figure on the paper and pushed it across.
Zhang Hu took it, looked at the number — and his heart lurched. The words burst out of him before he could stop them:
"Three hundred yuan?!"
He looked up at Xu De, utterly incredulous.
Three hundred a month from him — a grand total of three thousand six hundred a year!
From twenty thousand... plummeting to three hundred?!
Never mind the saying about how hard it is to grow accustomed to frugality after a life of luxury — even an ordinary person couldn't accept three hundred yuan a month!
But then again, if he truly dragged out the marriage and refused to divorce... she'd have only three hundred a month to live on.
The end result: if she wanted money for entertainment and spending, she'd be forced to go find a job.
His wife had no high qualifications, no real skill set. If she truly had to make money through her own abilities... she wouldn't even qualify to haul bricks on a construction site. She'd be stuck doing backbreaking, miserably low-paying work.
Zhang Hu's eyes gradually lit up.
His heart began to pound uncontrollably. His entire body trembled with barely contained excitement.
Making a gold-digger go to work... would absolutely be more torturous to her than death!
"In fact, it would be even less than three hundred."
Xu De smiled. "That was a conservative figure."
Zhang Hu was ecstatic.
But then something occurred to him, and he deflated, shaking his head with a rueful smile.
"I currently live in a property that belongs to my father — so there's no rent to pay."
Rent and other additional expenses would make the figure even lower — below three hundred.
But Zhang Hu didn't have rent to cover...
"No — you can choose to pay for it."
A smile spread across Xu De's face, and what he said next came out like the soft murmur of a devil:
"You could have your father charge you rent."
Zhang Hu: ?
That single sentence short-circuited Zhang Hu's brain entirely. He stared at Xu De, his expression a picture of stunned bewilderment.
Have his old man... charge him rent?!
"That's... wha— this..."
Zhang Hu was flabbergasted, sputtering and stammering.
"Is that legal?!"
It sounded somewhat... off, didn't it?
And besides... wasn't this method a little too blatant?
Such a naked act of revenge — was the court seriously not going to come after him with a belt?!
"Mr. Zhang, I am a lawyer. Naturally, everything I say falls within the bounds of the law."
Xu De's expression turned serious. He had the law memorized backwards and forwards — how could anything he said be illegal?
"There is not a single legal statute that prohibits a father from charging his adult son rent."
"Of course, a properly compliant lease agreement must be signed."
Zhang Hu's brain short-circuited again.
When he thought about it... there really was no law specifying that a father couldn't charge his grown child rent!
It was just...
"But my salary is quite high. I own a food company."
Zhang Hu let out another sigh, smiling bitterly.
The amount owed was calculated as a percentage of declared base salary — and his income was anything but small...
"My income comes in the form of a combination of 'salary plus business operations,' and my monthly earnings are..."
He hadn't even finished speaking.
Xu De cut him off:
"Mr. Zhang — you are the owner of your company."
"You can cut your own salary."
Zhang Hu: ?
Zhang Hu's eye twitched. His eyes went wide.
Then he watched as Xu De calmly continued:
"You could, with a reasonable justification, reduce your own declared salary to a thousand yuan a month — or even a declared income of one yuan a month. I wouldn't recommend the one-yuan option, though, because it's too brazen."
Salary too high? Easy fix.
Just cut your own salary!
Zhang Hu's head was buzzing.
What did he mean "too brazen" was the only reason he wouldn't recommend one yuan?
Dropping it all the way down to a thousand wasn't brazen?!
By the time he came back to his senses, Zhang Hu stared at Xu De with an expression of pure disbelief. After a long moment, he finally managed to stammer out:
"Then the shares..."
"Judging by your age, your company was almost certainly founded before the marriage, wasn't it?"
Xu De spoke steadily, displaying his professional acumen.
"Assets held prior to marriage are personal property — they do not count toward marital community property."
"However, any appreciation in value occurring after the marriage, the difference produced by that appreciation, as well as any subsequent dividends — those constitute marital community property."
For example: suppose before marriage you purchased shares worth one million yuan. After the wedding, those shares appreciate to 1.1 million. That extra one hundred thousand becomes marital community property.
"But—!"
"You can sell your shares."
Xu De opened his mouth again with his next scheme. "You could sell them to your father at a fair market price of nine hundred thousand, or even the original one million — keeping not a single yuan for yourself. That money belongs to your pre-marital assets."
"Meanwhile, your day-to-day personal expenses can be expensed through the company."
"The funds used can also be arranged as 'personal gifts' from your father."
"This way, you become a low-income individual — declared monthly salary of two thousand, or even one thousand — who also pays rent."
Zhang Hu's eyes bulged. He shot to his feet, his whole body struck as if by lightning, his inner world turned completely upside down.
A single conversation worth more than ten years of study!!!
What was all this about a father charging his son rent?
What was this about cutting your own salary?
What was this about legitimately selling already-appreciated pre-marital shares to your father at their original pre-appreciation price — and having the proceeds count as pre-marital assets?!
Zhang Hu swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly. He stared at the lawyer sitting before him.
"This... this is truly not against the law?"
He felt like this was all somehow... outrageous.
Would the judge really not come after him with a belt?!
"This is entirely legal."
"Of course — the prerequisite is that all of the above actions have 'normal' and justifiable rationale. Otherwise they could be ruled as asset concealment."
Xu De also rose to his feet, looking at his client with a mild expression.
"In that case, you would only need to pay your wife three hundred yuan per month — and the duration of that arrangement..."
"Depends entirely on when you decide to divorce."
In other words — as long as Zhang Hu refused to initiate a divorce, his wife — should she refuse to work — would be stuck with three hundred yuan a month. Not enough for a decent meal.
If she tried to latch onto another wealthy man... as long as Zhang Hu withheld his consent to divorce, she could never truly "make it out" for the rest of her life.
Furthermore, any second instance of adultery on her part would only stack additional leverage for him in future divorce proceedings — allowing her to receive less, or perhaps nothing at all, in the asset division.
"This... this... this..."
Zhang Hu felt as though he had thrown open the door to a strange, unknown world.
Yes.
This was how it should be done!
Divorce? Not until he'd financially punished her for a few years first!
At that, Xu De spoke:
"Mr. Zhang, do you have any other questions?"
Zhang Hu snapped back to himself and looked at Xu De, eyes burning with excitement.
He had come in expecting to deal with some wet-behind-the-ears young lawyer, fully bracing himself for a dead end.
And instead... this lawyer actually came through with solutions!
Though something still nagged at him as vaguely wrong.
But who cared! When it's all legal and above board — what exactly was anyone going to do about it?!
Zhang Hu grabbed Xu De's hands with both of his, shaking them vigorously.
"Satisfied — I am beyond satisfied! I only regret not finding you sooner!!!"
Xu De replied:
"In that case... shall we head to the billing office to settle the contract?"
"Absolutely!" Zhang Hu declared, buzzing with energy.
"Very good."
With that, Xu De stepped aside and finished writing the Draft Guidance Document for his client, then issued the Fee Notice, and led the man out through the door.
The approach he had laid out was somewhat risky.
But if followed according to his drafted guidance... it was entirely defensible.
Creak.
The door opened.
Zhang Hu followed Xu De out toward the main lobby.
Along the way, colleagues in the lobby caught sight of Zhang Hu's expression — that look of profound gratitude — and raised their eyebrows.
Resolved?
Even the staff at the billing office looked faintly surprised.
Inside the billing office.
"Ms. Li, would you please process the settlement for my client?"
Xu De approached the counter and addressed a plain-featured female clerk.
The clerk looked up at Xu De, then at Zhang Hu, a trace of surprise flickering across her face.
"Attorney Xu has resolved the consultation?"
Xu De nodded. "Yes."
The clerk was taken aback.
She knew this was a dispute case — and a retainer package at that, requiring strategic counsel. Even a senior attorney handling something like this would typically have nothing to offer except advice that left the client eating the loss and taking the short end of the stick.
And yet this client's expression... was clearly one of deep satisfaction.
What on earth had he told Zhang Hu?
The billing clerk ultimately swallowed her curiosity, took a deep breath, and said:
"Understood. One moment please."
In short order, the receipt was placed in Zhang Hu's hands.
He looked at it — and his expression shifted.
"Why is it only seven hundred yuan?!"
Zhang Hu frowned. "I want to add twenty thousand. This is my own voluntary decision — please add it on."
The billing clerk's eye twitched.
Before she could respond, Xu De spoke up beside her:
"That doesn't follow proper protocol. Mr. Zhang, if you're satisfied... a few hundred extra is more than enough."
Overcharging was no small matter — and with his resignation imminent, he had no desire to cause complications for his practicing license on the way out.
Zhang Hu didn't press the matter, and nodded.
"Then make it 999."
The billing clerk silently issued the receipt.
This single hour-long consultation had earned more than her entire monthly salary. She couldn't help but think privately:
Is this still the same Xu De I know? How did he manage this...
Zhang Hu took his receipt and looked at Xu De with something approaching wistfulness.
"Attorney Xu, I truly owe you one today."
"I was paid to do a job." Xu De smiled slightly.
Zhang Hu turned to leave. He still had to go home and tell his wife, "I love you, darling — I've decided not to divorce after all."
But just then—
"One moment."
Xu De glanced at the amount Zhang Hu had voluntarily added on the receipt, and suddenly called out to stop him.
"Mr. Zhang — you mentioned earlier that the third party had apparently called you at some point, even showed you videos and photos of himself and your wife. What exactly was he trying to accomplish?"
Zhang Hu paused at the doorway, turned, and said without thinking:
"What else could he want? He was threatening me to pay up, or he'd leak the video. Standard stuff."
"Did you pay him?" Xu De asked.
Zhang Hu's brow furrowed, his voice sharpening with indignation:
"Of course not! I hung up the moment he finished speaking."
At that, Xu De made a show of exhaling in relief.
"Good thing you didn't pay."
Zhang Hu froze. "What do you mean?"
Xu De explained:
"If you hadn't hung up, and had instead offered two or three hundred yuan to get him to destroy the video..."
"He would have been absolutely enraged — and simultaneously realized there was money to be made. After that, if he came back with an extortionate demand of several million, using the video as leverage to coerce you..."
"If you had been pressured into agreeing and actually paid — things would have gone very badly for you."
"At that point, the other party would be guilty of extortion. Even if your wife had willingly filmed the video and chose to pardon him, it wouldn't matter — because the subjective crime against you would already have been completed. And that is a serious felony."
"The court would hand down no less than ten years. A full ten years — enough to ruin a person's entire life."
"Fortunately, you hung up."
Zhang Hu: !!!
The words detonated in Zhang Hu's mind like a thunderclap.
His breathing grew sharp and rapid. The look in his eyes as he stared at Xu De grew hotter and hotter, until at last he could no longer hold it in:
"This... this isn't against the law, is it? What you just told me?"
"What law? I merely reminded you not to fall for a scam." Xu De deflected smoothly.
What a lawyer...
This was the kind of lawyer he had always wanted!
Zhang Hu studied him in earnest silence for a long moment, then finally let out a deep breath, and walked out the door with barely contained exhilaration.
As for Xu De — just as he placed his hand on the billing office door handle, ready to leave, a pale blue luminous panel materialized before him again, and a voice rang in his ears.
[Congratulations on completing Civil Consultation ×1]
[(The client has expressed the highest praise for your service — extremely satisfied!)]
[Congratulations — Gratitude Coins ×10 acquired]
[Congratulations — Lucky streak triggered: Innate Skill acquired: Culinary Arts Lv.1 (0/10)]
Xu De's footsteps halted.
"A skill? A reward?"
His heart stirred — though he didn't dwell on it long. He dismissed the luminous panel and headed out.
Creak.
The billing office door swung open.
Out in the main lobby, several attorneys saw Xu De preparing to leave for the day, and one of them — a female lawyer — couldn't hold back:
"Attorney Xu — you actually resolved the consultation in Room 103?!"
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