They stood in front of the law office on the second floor, forming two lines on either side.
As Giai Moc Vi walked past, it felt as if all eyes were glued to her, making her very uncomfortable. It was as if every pair of eyes was stuck on her wet self.
As the distance between them narrowed, Giai Moc Vi felt the cold wind from upstairs blowing strongly in this bitter winter it was chilling to the bone.
Halloween had just passed.
Many roadside shops still had leftover decorations from the holiday.
Even upstairs, on the table in front of the main entrance of the Khương law office, there were still some candy boxes left undistributed.
She slightly moved closer to Ve Dinh Tieu.
Ve Dinh Tieu was tall and thin. After two encounters with Giai Moc Vi, she could tell he was far from weak. She considered herself not short, but even in high heels, she could only reach his jaw.
At times like this, a tall man had the advantage.
At least he could shield her from the wind.
Suddenly, his hand held hers from the front.
Giai Moc Vi lowered her head to look at the hand holding hers. Following along her wrist up, she only saw his soft hair falling down, along with a lightly spoken sentence:
"Don't worry."
Giai Moc Vi tried to pull her hand away, but he held on tightly.
Thank you.
She wasn't worried.
She just felt a little cold.
This scene caught the eye of Dam Uyen Chi, who was standing at the tea counter on the second-floor landing. Her eyes widened, her face quickly blushed, and she smiled mischievously.
"A?! Moc Vi~"
Before Giai Moc Vi could greet Dam Uyen Chi, Ve Dinh Tieu spoke first: "Why are those guys here?"
Dam Uyen Chi looked at the two holding hands, smiling slyly, put down the tea tray in her hands, and pouted toward the half-closed door on the right: "They came to talk to lawyer Khương about reconciliation."
Reconciliation?
A client?
Giai Moc Vi politely apologized: "Sorry, am I coming at a bad time?"
Dam Uyen Chi shook her head: "No, no, no, it's exactly to discuss reconciliation for you."
"Me?" Giai Moc Vi was a little startled and slow to understand. "Oh, could it be the families of those two kidnappers?"
Dam Uyen Chi nodded: "Exactly. Since you have no friends or relatives in Tokyo, they could only come to your workplace. But they aren't family they are… gangsters."
Those two kidnappers were from a gangster organization.
Clients that Khương Tich Yen had handled before were harassed by this gang, leaving them afraid to go home and causing trouble at work.
Ve Dinh Tieu stood directly under the light, his face shadowed, his voice calm: "How long have they been here?"
"Two hours already." Dam Uyen Chi brought up a freshly brewed cup of tea, her voice growing softer. "Lawyer Khương has been dealing with them strictly. They insist on seeing Moc Vi; it feels like they don't come with good intentions. Moc Vi, maybe you should…"
Before she could say "you should go home first," Giai Moc Vi shook her head: "No need. After all, they came to seek reconciliation with me; I have to hear their terms."
Those two kidnappers were currently detained at the City Police Department. Investigating officers were collecting evidence; it wouldn't take long before they were sent to the Public Prosecutor.
Once at the prosecutor's office, 99% of the time they would be convicted.
The only issue was that the two kidnappers were acting under the orders of their boss. Although everyone knew this, the kidnappers hadn't confessed yet.
To prevent the two from betraying him, the boss could not sit idly by.
He had to act before the case was submitted to the prosecutor to secure their release.
The only way was to have the victim express forgiveness before the prosecution and actively state that it was a "misunderstanding" that hadn't been properly explained.
Reframing "kidnapping" as "restriction of freedom" would prevent prosecution.
This could minimize potential harm.
Lawyer Khương didn't expect Giai Moc Vi to return at this exact moment.
When Giai Moc Vi pushed the door open, she saw a large window and three people sitting inside.
One had his legs up on the sofa, while the other two followed behind him like subordinates.
They were all dressed neatly and looked quite stylish.
Khương Tich Yen sat with arms crossed opposite these three gangsters, showing no intention of backing down. Her expression was serious, calm, but her eyes widened slightly upon seeing Giai Moc Vi.
"Moc Vi? Why are you here?"
Khương Tich Yen, afraid these people would cause trouble for Giai Moc Vi, only told her she was resting at home and knew nothing of other matters.
The gang leader, surprisingly patient, had sat there since before, seemingly ready to push Khương Tich Yen to the limit.
But no one expected Giai Moc Vi to appear.
When Khương Tich Yen saw Giai Moc Vi, she instinctively glanced at Dam Uyen Chi, who was carrying a tea tray.
Dam Uyen Chi's expression showed confusion; she shook her head at Khương Tich Yen, indicating that Giai Moc Vi wasn't called by her.
The man sitting properly on the sofa stood up, squinting at Moc Vi and smirking: "It's been a long time, Moc Vi."
Giai Moc Vi didn't know him and couldn't tell if his friendly expression was genuine.
Judging from his words, he most likely didn't know she had lost her memory.
She didn't care and went straight to the point: "You want to reconcile with me?"
Khương Tich Yen glanced at Giai Moc Vi in time to add information: "Cau Dieu wants to pardon his two 'workers'."
Giai Moc Vi lowered her head and saw the man take out a business card from his pocket, which read: "Poker Kabushiki Gaisha, CEO Dieu Tinh Phong."
The so-called Kabushiki Gaisha (joint-stock company) was likely just a front.
Outside, it was a legitimate-looking company; in reality, it was a gangster operation.
On the way, Ve Dinh Tieu had already explained to Giai Moc Vi that the organization that kidnapped her was called "Poker."
The name, directly translated, is the Poker often used on the game table.
The "Poker" organization had existed for some time.
Police records no longer stored files, but in recent years, they gradually caught the attention of authorities.
These people were relatively honest.
Everything they did was just beyond the legal boundary.
Japan was relatively tolerant of gangs, so many gangster groups were armed, even with guns.
In recent years, Japan tightened control over these gangs, so some started using the company front to "clean" their operations or go legit.
Kidnapping Giai Moc Vi was probably the strangest act in their history.
"This was absolutely not a kidnapping." Dieu Tinh Phong raised his hand in a very friendly gesture.
"At that time, I told the two to be extremely friendly in inviting you to Phong Diep Mountain. The coward even prepared a full lunch for you to share. The two misunderstood and shocked you, truly, I apologize."
"The last time at the court, I casually said 'I won't forgive them,' it was just a habit, not my real intention. Lawyer Khương knows what we were doing; it was just a few habitual words. Haha, a misunderstanding, really just a misunderstanding."
Giai Moc Vi sat in the seat Khương Tich Yen had just vacated.
Her eyes were calm; sitting upright, she exuded a cold aura.
"Ten million yen." She said.
Her voice was clear and penetrated everyone's ears in the room.
Not just Dieu Tinh Phong, even Khương Tich Yen and Dam Uyen Chi were stunned.
Giai Moc Vi raised a finger: "Ten million yen. I will agree to a private reconciliation. If you don't want to, there's no need to continue talking."
As soon as she spoke, the two subordinates behind Dieu Tinh Phong were gleeful.
A joke?
Who did she think she was?
Demanding ten million yen?
Dieu Tinh Phong quickly regained his composure and continued: "It's normal you don't believe it. You can ask the restaurant staff on the mountain. That was a private VIP room I booked at a high cost. Have you ever seen kidnappers paying for a restaurant in advance? It's really a misunderstanding…"
"Ten million yen." Giai Moc Vi kept her finger raised.
Dieu Tinh Phong pretended not to hear and continued: "I heard those two were even disciplined by you. Honestly, it's surprising. Someone so delicate and beautiful yet skilled in martial arts. Seeing you safe now reassures me."
"So, this weekend, I'll invite everyone from the Khương law office to a newly opened entertainment hall of my friend to relax! It's my private place, not open to the public yet. Drinks, snacks, and service are all free…"
Giai Moc Vi's finger stayed raised.
Dieu Tinh Phong's face turned increasingly pale. When finishing his last words, his tone hardened slightly: "Moc Vi, what exactly do you mean?"
Giai Moc Vi lowered her hand, placed it on her lap, and said indifferently: "I mean, ten million yen and I will agree to your terms. This is not a random number; it's carefully calculated based on mental distress, work loss, medical expenses, and other costs. It also includes costs you might have to pay to save people, future penalties, not a yen less."
No one spoke.
The entire room was silent.
The three gangsters in front of her all had expressions saying, "Is she crazy?"
Ve Dinh Tieu leaned against the door frame, a faint smirk on his lips.
Wow, this will be interesting to watch.
This little lawyer showing her authority isn't bad at all.