Xu Baohan mumbled, “Yes, it’s quite a coincidence, so do you want to treat me to dinner?”

“…”

Here we go again.

An Lan rolled her eyes, “Chief Judge Xu, how much money do you need for the renovation? Why do you insist on making me buying dinner?”

“Once you get into renovation, it’s as deep as the ocean.”

An Lan: “…”

Did renovation cost so much?

Never thought that she hadn’t done it before.

“I can buy you dinner,” An Lan said after some consideration. “But we have to have some wine.”

“… I don’t drink. I prefer the feeling of being sober and calm.” Xu Baohan’s eyes were filled with conflict. “You women shouldn’t drink too much. Drinking is harmful to your health. Some problems can not be solved by drinking. This is an escape from the problem.”

An Lan rolled her eyes. “I don’t think this is an escape. I just want to vent for the time being. If you don’t want to go, then forget it. I’ll find someone else.”

She started to look for her phone from her bag.

Xu Baohan thought about who she was going to drink with. He was silent for a while before saying, “I can go with you, but I don’t drink.”

“Then why are you going with me?” An Lan said in annoyance. “I want someone to drink with me.”

“I can send you back,” Xu Baohan replied calmly.

An Lan was stunned. She suddenly took two steps towards him, her beautiful lips curling into a faint smile. “Men who send women back usually have ulterior motives. Chief Judge Xu, what do you want? Do you have a crush on me?”

Xu Baohan looked at her with a calm and indifferent gaze, “Ensuring the safety of citizens is the responsibility of every member of the judiciary. Furthermore, I can understand your feelings. Sometimes… don’t care too much about what others say, as long as you have a clear conscience, that’s fine.”

An Lan was stunned. She suddenly remembered that she had heard of his past. Did he have the same feelings as her.

“Tell me… do you think that working in the legal profession, sometimes people think that we are especially cold-blooded and heartless?” She asked in a daze, “If we file a lawsuit for An Ning, we will be scolded by outsiders. If we don’t file a lawsuit for her, we will be scolded by our parents. If she is mentally ill and doesn’t come to the mental hospital, where else can she go? And for us women, no matter how hard we work, if we don’t get married and have children, we will always be criticized by others.”

All along, An Lan had always been fierce in Xu Baohan’s impression. Now, An Lan who was standing in front of him had a momentary flash of frailty in her eyes.

Xu Baohan’s gaze softened slightly without him realizing.

If he hadn’t bumped into her today, perhaps he wouldn’t have seen the family behind her riddled with holes.

Just like him.

“In this society… when necessary, people need to be cold and heartless, right?”

Xu Baohan spoke slowly, “You don’t have to care too much about your parents’ thoughts. Even though I don’t understand them, from what I heard just now, I felt that they were very pedantic and self-righteous. In this new era, there are people who don’t want to get married, there are people who are Dink, and there are also people who are gay. Those who look down on you are usually incompetent. Some people think that if they get married, they will be able to live with their reputation, but if they close their doors, they will be more embarrassed than anyone else. In our industry, aren’t we often faced with the most unbearable people?”

An Lan was stunned, but after thinking about it, it made sense.

She didn’t know how many couples she had filed suit. There were ordinary people and celebrities.

“Yes, thank you, Chief Judge Xu.” An Lan smiled sweetly at him.

She was truly grateful to him. She didn’t expect him, who had always been cold and mean, to say such words.