Chapter 19.2

After lunch, finally, the highlight of this get-together meeting arrived.

The Lawyers Association had booked a bus and drove a bus full of lawyers to a 5A-level scenic park in the suburbs.

The air in the suburbs was very good, and the sky was bluer than that of the city. In addition, today was a beautiful day, so Cheng Yao felt that it was worth going on a trip. However, her sovereign boss still had a nasty expression that warded off anyone from approaching him.

“For the afternoon event, you will be boating in groups of two. This lake is very wide, so you all can row with ease. Everyone will start from the pier and we’ll see which group rows to our meeting point on the other side first.” The old aunt, the organizer of the Lawyers Association meeting, said very cheerfully, “We won’t divide you into groups. Everyone has got to know each other in the morning, so you all can team up by yourself. Of course, in principle, we would encourage you to form groups with a man or a woman, but if you think that you’re more comfortable with a colleague of the same sex, you can also form a team with them.”

She looked at everyone and smiled, “Although this event is for entertainment, this time we have prepared some rewards for everyone. The first group who reaches the other side will get a 1,000 yuan bonus, the second will get 500 yuan, and the third will get 200 yuan. Everybody, do your best!”

As soon as everyone heard that they could form a team with anyone they want, no one spoke much, but they all acted quickly. Soon, the groups became clear.

Some lawyers met each other during the previous three-minute blind date and had a good opinion of each other. Some men and women tacitly formed a team, while some of the opportunistic lawyers formed a team with people of the same sex who they met during the lunch. But there were also some exceptions—

Such as Cheng Yao.

Cheng Yao was surrounded by five male lawyers. All of them looked at her with scorching eyes, wanting to team up with her.

Of course, there was also another exception.

Qian Heng, with his proud face, excellent figure, thick black hair which was rarely seen in the legal industry, as well as his profound expertise and huge assets, successfully managed to dissuade all his admirers from approaching him. Thanks to his stifling performance earlier, he ended up becoming the only male lawyer with no one around him.

”

”

“…..”

Qian Heng, who had no one around him, glanced at Cheng Yao, who was surrounded by five people.

“Cheng Yao.”

Her boss opened his golden mouth1.

Cheng Yao suddenly felt an ominous feeling…

Qian Heng smiled calmly, “You come here.”

“Huh?”

“Team with me.”

‘I don’t want to!’ Cheng Yao screamed inwardly. If she teamed up with him, she would have to spend a long time with him on the lake. Wouldn’t it be equivalent to committing suicide by taking poison?

She carefully glanced at Qian Heng, “Boss, this is a rare opportunity to get to know people from different law firms. We should not be too closed off, rather we should be outgoing and communicate more with our colleagues, especially…”

“Cheng Yao, I will use your year-end bonus to order you to come and team up with me.”

“…”

* * *

Just like how men will die for riches, and birds will for food2, Cheng Yao too succumbed to the great power of the year-end bonus.

So in the end, Cheng Yao appeared on the same boat as Qian Heng with an expression of heroic sacrifice on her face.

The boats here were not electric, so the people on the boat had to paddle themselves.

Qian Heng sat on the prow of the boat. His features bathed in sunlight and his hair gleamed and fluttered in the breeze. From head to toe, every pore on his body seemed to exude a faint fragrance of RMB. His chiseled face matched the surrounding scenery, giving people a kind of picturesque illusion.

It was a pity that Cheng Yao didn’t want to appreciate this beautiful scenery at all.

Karl Marx rightly said—capital comes into the world, dripping from head to toe, from every pore, with blood and dirt.

The ethos of all evil capitalism was based on the exploitation of the proletarians!

Cheng Yao paddled with all her might, while secretly glaring at Qian Heng, who was doing nothing but admire the scenery at the other end of the boat.

Even if Cheng Yao coveted the thousand-yuan prize for the first place, there was a lazy uncle like Qian Heng on the boat. No matter how hard Cheng Yao worked, it would still not be enough to compete against the team of lawyers who were working together on the other boat.

Seeing that one ship after another overtake them, Cheng Yao couldn’t restrain herself anymore.

“Boss, you see, you usually sit around all day at the law firm. Since it’s rare for us to do outdoor activities, wanna join me to exercise your muscles and bones? How about getting into shape by rowing?”

”

”

Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao, with no intention of moving even a finger, “Didn’t you enjoy this get-together meeting today?”

Cheng Yao looked at him blankly. What did this have to do with boating!

Qian Heng smiled and said, “It’s good that you’re having fun in this kind of activity, but since you’re happy, you should be more motivated and row harder. You have to show your spirit through your actions.”

Cheng Yao felt that if anyone could invent a drug that could make people dumb with one spray, he should get a Nobel Prize for it.

But for the prize, Cheng Yao did not easily give up. “Boss, don’t you hate to lose? Look, you can row together with me. At this rate, we will not only lose but also end up at the last position. Other boats have surpassed us!”

“I don’t like losing.” Qian Heng was not at all agitated. He just smiled with a sad look, “But since I haven’t lost a single lawsuit in my life, I also want to experience how it feels to lose.”

“…”

“If I can experience the feeling of losing this time, I think it’s actually good.”

Cheng Yao looked exasperatedly at Qian Heng, who was sitting on the prow of the boat and only felt her irritation rising.

She looked around and found that the other boats had passed them. At that moment, there were no other people around them. She couldn’t help but start to calculate the feasibility of pushing Qian Heng down the lake at that time.

However, Cheng Yao wondered if she was born with a stroke of good luck.

The boats, which had passed them, suddenly stopped due to various problems.

In one boat, the oars fell into the water because the team was arguing, while the other two accidentally collided with each other and couldn’t move away for a while. And another one deviated from its direction…

Cheng Yao now only needed to pass two more ships to enter the top three positions to compete for the prize money!

Although two hundred yuan was a bit less, no matter how small the fly was, it was still meat! Besides, maybe they could counterattack and win first place!

Cheng Yao cheered up. She started rowing the boat harder while muttering some words of encouragement.

“Keep fighting Cheng Yao! Come on, you can do it!”

Yelling this slogan, Cheng Yao gradually overtook another ship and came to the second position! The distance to the first place was not far away!

It was a pity that she was so excited that her joy soon turned into despair. Cheng Yao probably used too much force and as a result, her hands became cramped while rowing. She accidentally shook her hands and the oars held in her hands fell into the lake.

Almost subconsciously, Cheng Yao stretched out her hand and leaned down to try to pick them up. But this action disturbed her balance and as a result, she fell into the water.

When she fell into the water, Cheng Yao had no time to think about anything. She just reflexively stretched out her hand, trying to grab anything she could touch, and then she dragged something warm together with her.

It was none other than her boss whom she used as a support and also dragged into the water.

Footnotes

golden mouth—taciturn or unwilling to talk

idiom- man will do anything in his means to become rich