Chapter 60 Chapters 83, 84, 85, and 86 (Four-in-One)

After stepping out of her office, Lin Yilan headed towards the women's restroom.

However, when she reached the T-junction of the corridor, she chose not to turn towards the women's restroom.

Following this corridor and taking another turn, she successfully circled back to the vicinity of the mayor's office.

Locating a spot she had scouted in advance, she stood firmly, glanced down at the time, and remained completely motionless.

This location was situated in a blind spot of visibility. Not only could people passing by easily overlook it, but because the lights in this section of the corridor had never been fixed and there were no nearby windows, it was exceptionally dark.

Additionally, there was a men's restroom nearby that provided a place to hide.

Even though she was a woman.

Originally, Lin Yilan had no desire to take such a risk, but in order to secure a greater return, she chose to gamble this once.

It was fair to say that the "reckless" genes deep within her bones from her past life had not entirely faded away.

The minute hand of her watch advanced five ticks. Lin Yilan took a deep breath and began to steady her breathing.

Soon, the sound of knocking echoed through the air.

"Knock, knock—"

"Mayor, it's Aaron."

"Come in."

Lin Yilan had discovered purely by accident that the mayor's office was not soundproof.

Some things simply needed to be replaced, she thought. The wooden door of the mayor's office was decades old; although crafted from solid wood and adorned with lovely carvings, it offered virtually no acoustic insulation.

"Creak—" With the groan of the door hinges, the door to the mayor's office closed.

Lin Yilan did not rush. Instead, she waited a moment, and once she was certain all sound had ceased, she walked carefully toward the mayor's office.

Reaching the corner, she first squatted down quietly, then pulled a small mirror from her pocket and placed it on the floor ahead of her to the right.

In the mirror, the area in front of the office door was completely empty.

Lin Yilan let out a thorough sigh of relief and slowly put the mirror away.

"Mayor, today I went to... and returned."

"What did they say?"

"This is the... plan, take a look."

Hearing this exchange, Lin Yilan perked up.

She slowly stood up by steadying herself against the wall, then tiptoed toward the entrance of the mayor's office.

Feigning the posture of someone squatting down to tie her shoelaces, she waited for the people inside to continue speaking.

When no sound came for a while, she shifted and pretended to tie the other shoe.

"No, Lin's design drawing is still the most suitable. What do you think, Aaron?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yilan firmly tied the laces of her shoes and slowly stood back up.

"Mayor, your aesthetic sense is superior to mine. If you hadn't chosen Lin from among so many design drafts back then, our Sailors' Center wouldn't have been designed so beautifully.

You asked me to approach the media for pre-publicity, and I've already done so. By the time construction officially begins..."

Lin Yilan heard no more and left immediately.

Upon returning, she took another wide detour before finally heading back into the women's restroom.

Standing before the sink and looking into the mirror, Lin Yilan washed her hands meticulously, even recalling the seven-step hand-washing technique to ensure the spaces between her fingers were thoroughly clean.

After washing her hands, she flicked the remaining water droplets away and tidied her hair in front of the mirror.

Though her expression remained unchanged, the slight upward curve at the corners of her eyes suggested her mood was quite good.

"Today is a fine day, the flowers of happiness..."

After using her fingers to restyle her hair, Lin Yilan even began humming a tune.

She was well aware of how dangerous her actions just now had been; if caught, she might even have been suspected of being a spy.

Yet, had these people not first taken her design drafts to "imitate" her work with a local architectural firm's designer, she would never have resorted to such a method.

If she didn't find a way to get back at them and cause some disgust, it truly wouldn't sit well in her heart.

The dopamine rush following the recklessness left her heartbeat elevated for a short while.

Taking several deep breaths, she turned and prepared to return to her office.

Though she resumed her work upon getting back, her spirits remained exceptionally bright throughout the day.

As she bent over her desk, the sun gradually began to set.

At half-past four in the afternoon, she deftly packed her bag and prepared to leave work for the day.

"Lin, what are you planning to do today?" It was the same nearby colleague who had chatted with her earlier.

Lin Yilan patted her clothes and lifted the scarf hanging from the coat rack. "I might head over to the square in the town center to wander around today."

The colleague looked at her in surprise, unaccustomed to the workaholic skipping overtime at the hotel.

With a deliberately shy demeanor, she said, "I received my paycheck recently, so I plan to go shopping and buy a few things."

The colleague immediately understood and nodded approvingly. "I think you really ought to buy a few clothes. Once you return to your country, your choices won't be nearly as wide."

Lin Yilan spread her hands, choosing not to comment on his remark, and turned to leave the office.

Her intention to shop was genuine, but the real reason for visiting the square was that she had discovered a HSBC branch located there the day before.

Before leaving the country, she had specifically set up an HSBC card in Beijing so that receiving foreign exchange would be unimpeded.

First, she needed to cash her checks from this period and deposit them into her bank account.

At the same time, she intended to accomplish another very important task.

The banking process was swift—withdrawing funds across the counter and immediately depositing them back.

The design fee, which served as the prize money for the Sailors' Center project, totaled 8,800 Danish Krone, amounting to just under twenty thousand RMB.

Emerging from the bank, she wandered through the square for a bit before locating a telephone booth.

Clutching the phone number given to her by Professor Xiao Liang, Lin Yilan placed the call on her fifteenth day in Denmark.

The subsequent conversation proceeded smoothly. Lin Yilan first identified herself to the person on the other end of the line and then stated her request for assistance.

She wanted to find a reliable lawyer—a lawyer willing to come to the town of SJT to handle matters on her behalf.

Originally, she had hesitated over whether to take this step, given that it would cost a significant amount of money and might potentially consume all her earnings from this job. Yet, regardless of the cost, she felt deep down that it was something she simply had to do.

Stepping out of the phone booth, Lin Yilan decided to finish purchasing the gifts she intended to take back for her family in the square before heading back to the hotel.

After finishing work the next day, she returned to the telephone booth to call Professor Xiao Liang's friend back, successfully obtaining the lawyer's contact information along with the estimated time of arrival.

Lin Yilan left her hotel room number, instructing the lawyer to look for her there upon arriving in the town of SJT.

During the day spent waiting for the lawyer, she—someone who always prized efficiency—actually found herself idling away the time.

Fortunately, on the second night after receiving the lawyer's contact details, as she returned to the hotel, she encountered the person waiting for her on the ground floor.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Lin?"

A young-looking white male stepped forward to greet her. He wore a black overcoat, a neatly pressed shirt with a tie underneath, carried a briefcase, and had his brown hair styled with pomade.

Lin Yilan nodded, assessing him as she probed tentatively, "Leo Martin?"

Leo nodded, pulled a business card from a card case, and handed it to her. "Yes, I'm the lawyer introduced by Lars. You can just call me Leo."

Lin Yilan accepted the card and glanced down at it. "Alright, you can just call me Lin."

Leo Martin sounded like a French name, his firm was American, and yet here he was in Denmark discussing work with her.

Interesting!

Tucking the card into her bag, she pointed toward the café outside the hotel. "Leo, let's talk in the café. I have a matter I'd like to trouble you with."

Leo replied, "Okay."

The café was a spot Lin Yilan had discovered during her stay at the hotel as an ideal place for business discussions. It was neither too crowded nor too empty; people spoke inside, but everyone kept their voices low, maintaining a quiet atmosphere. The beverages were reasonably priced and quite palatable.

Moreover, based on her observations, quite a few people used the venue for business conversations, making it an exceptionally fitting location.

Arriving at the café, the two of them ordered cups of coffee from the server and settled into a quiet rhythm.

While waiting for their drinks, they engaged in idle chatter about the Danish weather, steering clear of any significant matters.

Though the conversation lacked substantive points, both used the small talk to observe one another.

Leo looked at Lin Yilan, noting that she was entirely unlike the description Lars had provided, nor did she resemble someone hailing from that country. Her relaxed and comfortable posture suggested she was thoroughly accustomed to such a lifestyle.

Lin Yilan, meanwhile, studied Leo. The overcoat resting on the adjacent chair revealed no distinct branding, but his suit appeared to be of considerable expense, and he wore a watch on his wrist of the exact model she had seen in the mall's watch displays earlier that week.

Were ordinary lawyers really this wealthy?

"Mr. Martin, would you mind if I asked a somewhat intrusive question? Judging by your business card, you seem to work at an American law firm, so why are you currently in Denmark? And are you French?" With her suspicions mounting, she voiced her questions directly.

If she happened to encounter an unreliable lawyer—or worse, a fraud—she would find herself in a miserable predicament.

The corners of Leo's mouth curved upward. "Correct, you're quite astute; you guessed right on all counts. Both my parents are French, which is why I was given this name. I came to Denmark for a vacation."

Having been subjected to a barrage of questions, he showed no sign of irritation. Dealing with a sharp person would undoubtedly save him a lot of trouble.

"Ms. Lin, if Lars weren't a close friend of mine, I probably wouldn't have been willing to travel hundreds of kilometers to SJT to find you. Given my current hourly rate, you likely wouldn't be able to afford it."

*Damn, such arrogance?!*

Lin Yilan suppressed the urge to snap back. Twitches tugged at the corners of her mouth as she leaned back against the backrest of the sofa.