Chapter 4

With a face covered in dust, Cheng Yao finally finished fixing the water pipes. She then cleaned herself off and started sorting out her luggage.

The doorbell rang. Qian Heng opened the door, and Cheng Yao was stunned by what she saw behind him. Suitcases and more suitcases of luggage were being brought in by two men.

Cheng Yao stared at the luggage now piled up in the living room. Who said that men had less luggage?

There were more than ten pairs of shoes, about twenty suits, and a whole box of ties. Comparing it with her poor wardrobe, Cheng Yao felt extremely defeated. Amongst Qian Heng’s luggage, there were three big boxes of Evian water bottles.

“In the future, don’t boil tap water.” Qian Heng felt Cheng Yao’s gaze and glanced back at her. “Only use Evian.”

“Actually, when you boil tap water, it doesn’t damage your health. You know that drinking Evian water every day is the same as burning money.”

“It might not damage my health.” Qian Heng smiled, “but it’ll certainly damage my style.”

“…”

“I work hard every day just to be able to live my life as I like. Trust me, I can afford to burn money.” Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao. “I found that many of you misunderstand. You think that if you save up a little, your life will be better. But that has never been the case. If you want to live a better life, work harder. Saving money won’t change your quality of life, a higher source of income, on the other hand, does a much better job.”

“Yep…”

“As an additional employee benefit, you can drink Evian with me.”

Wow… Thank you so much…

Before Qian Heng returned to his room, he smirked and added, “I hope you will work hard so that even without me, you’ll be able to live a life with Evian.”

“…”

*****

When Cheng Yao finally finished unpacking her things, it was already 8 o’clock in the evening. Cheng Yao quickly turned on the TV and changed the channel to ‘Star TV’. It was playing an inspirational movie about how the heroine, Ling Yao, went from rags to riches as a skilled doctor. The story was compact and the actress playing the leading role, Bai Xingmeng, was incredibly beautiful and amazing at portraying her character. The drama between the two protagonists was very sweet and heartwarming.

Cheng Yao watched with fascination and didn’t even notice when Qian Heng came out of his room.

“Didn’t you say the difference between people is determined by how they choose to use their free time?” Taking advantage of the situation, Qian Heng sneered, “Weren’t you ready to study and improve your legal expertise?”

“That… Sometimes TV dramas do involve legal knowledge.” Cheng Yao stubbornly said, “Learning through fun is just a method different from the conventional one.”

Unfortunately for Cheng Yao, as soon as she finished speaking, the advertisements ended; and the heroine Ling Yao appeared wearing ancient traditional clothes…

Qian Heng looked at the screen and scoffed, “Learning from a historical TV show? Quite different indeed.”

“I… I’m reviewing the history of the Chinese legal system that also involves the ancient Chinese penal system…”

Qian Heng stared at her. As stubborn as she was, Cheng Yao finally admitted defeat.

“Watch brainless TV series less. Instead, examine court cases.” Qian Heng threw an ultimatum.

Cheng Yao protested, “Don’t you like following up on superstars’ lives too? Don’t you think Bai Xingmeng’s beautiful? And her acting is really good, I like her a lot. She used to be very popular, but in the past few years, people began to slowly forget her. But because of her outstanding acting and perseverance, she finally got a lead role, as Ling Yao…”

“No, I never follow up on stars. They follow me.”

Cheng Yao: ?.?

“I’m not used to wasting time or money on others. I’m used to having people paying to talk to me.” Qian Heng was very arrogant, “Including stars.”

Cheng Yao rolled her eyes in her mind. You think a superstar would pay to talk to you… Boss, are you dreaming? Aren’t you going a bit too far just to brag?

“Anyway, I advise you to turn off the TV.”

Dissatisfied, Cheng Yao said, “Boss, I never take even a small break during working hours. Now I’m home, is it such a crime for me to want to watch TV?”

“It’s not, but I want to sleep now.”

Cheng Yao looked at the time in disbelief. Qian Heng was only in his late twenties, why did he sleep like an old man?

“I’ll lower the volume, it won’t affect your sleep.”

“When I go to sleep, no sound is allowed.” Qian Heng said as though it was obvious. “Although the TV isn’t very loud, if you stay in the living room, you’re bound to make some noise with your movements.”

Cheng Yao couldn’t take anymore and snapped, “If the noise I make disturbs you that much, take it to court and sue me. If you can come back with a verdict, I‘ll happily cooperate with the execution.”

Qian Heng pursed his lips, obviously unhappy. However, there was nothing he could do to change Cheng Yao’s mind. He angrily snatched an Evian water bottle, giving Cheng Yao a vicious glare, before returning to his room.

*****

Just like that, Cheng Yao started living with her toxic boss.

Fortunately, Qian Heng woke up very early to go to work. By the time Cheng Yao was up, he was already gone. Cheng Yao wanted to avoid any unnecessary contact with him.

It was now her second day of employment and Cheng Yao finally learned all the names of her work colleagues. She also met Tan Ying, who was on the same team as her.

“Hello~ I’m Tan Ying. Although you started working one year earlier than me, I studied graduate school, so I’m 2 years older than you. So, I may not be able to give you any advice based on work experience, but if you ever encounter a problem, you can talk to me.” She winked at Cheng Yao, “especially if it’s about love.”

However, when Cheng Yao was about to thank Tan Ying for her kindness, Tan Ying’s phone rang. She glanced at the number and picked it up.

“I told you not to call me again! Do you not understand human language? Oh, you think I’ll harass your girlfriend on Wechat?! And I’m jealous of her good looks!?” Tan Ying began pacing around angrily, flames sprouting from her body, “Excuse me, to be honest, your new girlfriend is really fucking ugly. Even if she wore makeup she wouldn’t look half as good as I do barefaced.”

“…”

Bao Rui kindly explained, “It’s her ex-boyfriend.”

Okay… Maybe it’s best not to consult her about relationship issues…

*****

In addition to her own team, Cheng Yao met three other newcomers.

The three newcomers were divided into three different teams. Two of them were boys, Li Minglei and Chen Cheng. They both graduated from Anshin Law School.

But Li Minglei studied in Berkeley, California for a year to earn a Master of Laws degree, and Chen Cheng guaranteed his master’s degree at Anshin University.

And the final newcomer was a girl called Wang Lu. She came from another law firm and had three years of work experience.

While Cheng Yao exchanged a few words with the newcomers, Bao Rui came over.

“Cheng Yao, at conference room 5, there will be a meeting to discuss cases. Don’t forget to bring a notebook.”

When Cheng Yao arrived, Qian Heng was already sitting in the conference room. Bao Rui adjusted a laptop and a projector, and the case to be discussed today was presented on the screen.

A couple, before marriage, signed a prenuptial agreement. The man owned a business. They both agreed that in case of a divorce, the properties before marriage would not be split. They’d only split the common property after marriage. Half a year after marrying, they divorced because of emotional disagreement. Because of the prenuptial agreement and the short duration of the marriage, the woman only received 700,000 in cash. But now, that the woman discovered that the man’s company was about to go public for financing, she believes that the property she got from the divorce wasn’t fair. Therefore she contacted us, hoping for an investigation of the man’s property during the marriage, and whether there were hidden or fraudulent acts during the split.”

Qian Heng examined the projection screen and said, “This is a customer I am currently in contact with. The case is complicated and has many details. I’ve decided to bring an assistant lawyer to cooperate in this case. Tan Ying is currently busy with another case, so Bao Rui and Cheng Yao, you two will compete with each other. Discuss and provide ideas for the current case. The person with the best and most in-depth idea will participate in the case with me.”

Bao Rui spoke first, “How long has it been since the divorce?”

To advocate the re-division of property after divorce, time was very important.

“One year and ten months.”

“Then it is still in the validity period. If the spouse hid, transferred, sold or damaged the joint property, and the other party finds out within two years after the divorce, with evidence, it is possible to bring a lawsuit to the court for a re-division of property after divorce.”

“Yep.”

“Then it’s easy to handle. Since the man has a business, let’s start with investigating his business. During the marriage, did he establish the remaining subsidiaries with existing companies as shareholders? Did he receive investments from other companies? Has the company increased its capital during the marriage or after? To answer these questions, we should start by investigating the company’s equity ratio*.

[The Equity Ratio measures the proportion of the total assets that are financed by stockholders, as opposed to creditors.]

Bao Rui was very excited, “The case must be successful, because then I’ll be one step closer to securing the downpayment of my new house. It’s just that the time we have for investigation and evidence collection is a bit tight. We must complete the prosecution within two months.”

Analysing and discussing cases was Bao Rui’s forte. Naturally, he was chosen to participate in the case. Cheng Yao on the other hand, was completely overwhelmed, and had a hard time digesting Qian Heng’s and Bao Rui’s ideas.

The meeting continued with high efficiency, and quickly ended.

“I’ll send you specific information about the case later to your email. You can already start investigating the man’s business.”

Bao Rui nodded and went out.

Cheng Yao wanted to follow behind but was stopped by Qian Heng.

“Bao Rui put forward nine ideas for the case, and you?” Qian Heng coldly snorted. “You couldn’t even suggest one. Are you planning to be a lawyer or a stenographer in the future?”

Cheng Yao bit her lip but didn’t refute. Even she could notice the gap between her and Bao Rui.

While she was still trying to remember the legal provisions needed for this type of case, Bao Rui proposed his first idea; While she was thinking about what direction they should proceed with the man’s property investigation, Bao Rui already analyzed and explained the best course of action…

“Do you want to know how to do it?”

Although Qian Heng was highly toxic, he was after all one of the top lawyers in the city. Cheng Yao humbly recognized her shortcomings and sincerely asked for advice, “Boss, please enlighten me. I know that my skills are very lacking compared to the rest of my colleagues. But I’m determined to catch up!”

“Then, from now on, I don’t want to see you watching TV in the living room at night.”

“…”

Qian Heng seriously said, “Your skills are already very lacking, what justification do you have to watch TV series? Come to the office with me. I have a few files of cases that were solved. You can read them this week. Write what you learned at the back of each case and give them back to me next Monday.”

Qian Heng! You really do love revenge don’t you? Cheng Yao clenched her teeth.

Turns out all of that was meant to lead to “no watching TV at night”.

Qian Heng was really toxic. Fearing that Cheng Yao would watch TV every night, he even came up with an ‘acceptance test’ for a case, humiliating her on purpose by making her compete with the much more experienced Bao Rui!

*****

Cheng Yao followed Qian Heng to the office dejectedly. When he came out with the so-called “few files” in his arms, Cheng Yao’s face instantly paled.

How is this just a few?!

It’s a whole stack!

Fortunately, Bao Rui passed by and helped Cheng Yao move everything to her desk.

“Cheng Yao, there are still a few more files left.” Cheng Yao had just collapsed into her seat, when the office’s speaker rang with Qian Heng’s demonic voice.

Eventually, bringing one stack of files after another, Cheng Yao finally brought all of them onto her desk…

Bao Rui felt a bit sympathetic, “Partner Qian rarely pays attention to newcomers. He usually doesn’t even hold meetings for case discussions. According to him, 1 minute of his is equivalent to 166.66 RMB, therefore every minute he spends talking to us, he loses more than 100 Yuan. That’s why this kind of case discussion is usually done through email. In fact, I’ve never seen him so focused on a newcomer. And certainly never urging a newcomer to learn.”

Bao Rui looked at the stacks of files on top of Cheng Yao’s desk… “Partner Qian has always turned a blind eye to newcomers… isn’t it weird?” He looked at Cheng Yao suspiciously. “Could it be because you’re prettier than the average newcomer? Maybe Partner Qian came up with this trick for more opportunities to get along with you? Something like ‘let’s spend a month together discussing a case’. Then the two of you would share ideas and solutions, and in order to fight for your customer’s family property or custody rights, you’d work all day together until dawn… My gosh, it would be so romantic…”

Bao Rui, I’m afraid you might have spent too much time close to Qian Heng, and have already been infected by his poison!

Cheng Yao felt bitter. This isn’t a rich and glorious team! It’s a team infected with poison!

[Small theater]

Bao Rui, the Great Guardian of the Five Poison* Sect: Recently, I saw that our leader is in a bad mood. I feel that we should send a disciple to relieve his boredom?

(T/N: 五毒(wǔdú: five poisonous creatures (scorpion, viper, centipede, house lizard, and toad)

Tan Ying, a Senior Disciple of the Five Poison Sect: I think Cheng Yao, our new employee, is not bad. ? ?

Bao Rui, the Great Guardian of the Five Poison Sect: It’s concluded! Let’s send her! Come on!

Cheng Yao:…