Chapter 5

Cheng Yao finished eating her dinner on the floor under her office. Then she picked up her things, as well as the stacks of files, and dragged her exhausted body back home.

Although she was ordered not to watch TV, Qian Heng wouldn’t be here anyway. He needed to discuss a foreign marriage dispute, and because of the time difference, he had to stay in the institute with a few others to hold a video conference at night.

Cheng Yao collapsed onto the sofa and decided to enjoy this rare moment of freedom.

But five minutes later, she stood up again and went to her room to study.

Although Qian Heng only scolded her for his own self-interests, it still stimulated Cheng Yao’s fighting spirit.

Unfortunately, before Cheng Yao could even properly analyze one case, she was disturbed by a sudden knocking on the front door.

“Qian Heng! I know you’re home! I saw the lights turn on! If you don’t open the door, I’ll stay here and knock all night!”

Cheng Yao looked through the peephole to see who it was.

It was a pretty girl in fashionable clothes. She perseveringly knocked on the door, looking aggrieved and angrily pouting.

A sudden realisation came to Cheng Yao.

What’s happening?! Could the one outside the door be the legendary Qian Heng’s girlfriend? Or an ex? To keep knocking like that, something must have happened between her and Qian Heng. Did Qian Heng get caught cheating?

Filled with curiosity and mischief, Cheng Yao grabbed her phone and called Qian Heng. He was probably busy, as it took a long while before he finally picked up the call. He coldly said, “You better have a good reason to call me. My time is costly.”

“Partner Qian, there’s a beautiful girl outside the door looking for you.” Cheng Yao cheerfully said, “Is it your girlfriend? Or ex-girlfriend? Should I invite her in?”

Qian Heng was silent for a moment, before coldly saying, “No, just ignore her.”

“But she keeps knocking on the door. If I don’t let her in, the neighbors might call the police!”

“Then wait for someone to call the police and take her away. I’m very busy. I’m hanging up now.”

As soon as he said that, he hung up the phone.

Harsh! That’s Qian Heng all right.

However, the knocking on the door continued.

Cheng Yao was full of curiosity. Qian Heng told her not to open the door, but she really wanted to. She wanted to find out who the girl was to Qian Heng.

Cheng Yao thought of a few reasons to justify and explain how she and Qian Heng ended up living together. It was after all the landlord’s mistake. Then she finally walked to the door and opened it.

Cheng Yao smiled and said, “Hello, how are you?”

“Not well.” The girl outside had delicate features, but they were twisted into an ugly expression.

“…”

After thinking for a while, Cheng Yao decided to break the silence and introduce herself, “Well, I’m Cheng-“

“Enough, you don’t need to say it. Don’t show off in front of me. I already know who you are. You’re Cheng Yao, Qian Heng’s girlfriend that lives with him.”

Cheng Yao: ??

Wait, this isn’t how things were supposed to go…

The girl lifted her chin. “Although I don’t want to admit it, Qian Heng, the man I like, always had a good eye for women.”

“I’m flattered you think I’m pretty, but let me explain, Qian Heng and I-”

“You don’t need to explain. I know how much you love each other. Qian Heng even settled in this middle-class apartment for you. I get it, but don’t think his feelings for you will last forever.”

“That’s not-”

“Don’t be so confident. There are still years ahead, anything’s possible. And I will not easily give up on Qian Heng.”

“Qian Heng and I are simply…”

“You don’t need to tell me how infinite your love is. I’m Dong Min, and I came here to tell you that as long as Qian Heng isn’t married, I’ll compete with you till the end.”

Dong Min was obviously a very impatient person. Every time Cheng Yao tried to explain, she was quickly interrupted. But Cheng Yao finally managed to seize an opening, “I’m not Qian Heng’s girlfriend!”

Dong Min snorted and pulled out her phone, “See for yourself. He already admitted it, what are you trying to hide?”

Cheng Yao took a look. It was a text message.

[I’m not at home. Please don’t disturb my cohabiting girlfriend, Cheng Yao.]

???

That fucking… isn’t this the same as telling her: [I’m not at home. Please look for the person inside the apartment to vent your emotions instead of looking for me.]

Just like the saying, no matter how careful you are, if you’re unlucky, misfortune will somehow find it’s way to you.

And misfortune came knocking on my door. I really must be very unlucky.

Dong Min squeezed her lips, declared war against Cheng Yao, and then proudly left.

*****

Qian Heng’s video conference finally concluded. When he arrived home and opened the door, Cheng Yao was sitting on the sofa with a dumbfounded expression.

Seeing Qian Heng walk inside, Cheng Yao jumped to her feet, “Why did you send that kind of message?!”

Qian Heng glanced at her, “Because I calculated that you would open the door no matter what I said.” He unbuttoned his shirt and loosened his tie.

Cheng Yao indignantly said, “I was afraid that if she had some kind of intimate relationship with you, she’d misunderstand me and you. So I opened the door, just to explain!”

“And I gave you an opportunity to explain, didn’t I? I told her to talk to you.”

You didn’t give me an opportunity, you used me as a shield!

Qian Heng took a sip of water, “Also, the only intimate relationship in my life is with RMB*.”

1

“…”

“Who was she then?”

“She’s the daughter of one of my important clients.” Qian Heng frowned, he said with a burdened expression, “I already rejected her, but she didn’t listen at all. She found out my previous address through her father and keeps track of everyone I talk to. I moved here to avoid her, but it seems she found me once again.”

The Qian Heng, who never cared about others’ feelings and never showed empathy towards others, had a problem like this? Couldn’t he easily deal with this situation? Why did he choose to escape instead?

“This important client you mentioned, is he special to you?”

“He was my first ever client.”

Cheng Yao was a little surprised. It turns out that the toxic ‘Cancer of the Industry’ also had a soft side. Cheng Yao could understand how special the first client was for a lawyer, she felt the same way towards hers. That’s why Qian Heng was willing to show more patience for his client and moved out to a simple middle-class place, just to avoid his daughter’s crazy pursuit.

“But do you think that just because he’s my first customer, I’d give him preferential treatment?” Qian Heng seemed to realize what Cheng Yao was thinking. “Absolutely not.”

“…”

Then why don’t you just face this problem head on?

“He has a family case worth 700 million yuan right now, and I’m working on behalf of him.” Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao, and answered the question in her mind. “He loves his only daughter very much. I want to get rid of her. To do so, I’d have to be cruel and ruthless against her. But if I did, Dong Min would definitely go cry to her dad and her dad would definitely come to me as an intermediary. I don’t want him to use these personal matters to occupy my time, especially since we’ll still have to meet often to discuss the ongoing case. I don’t like dealing with these things. I’d much rather invest my limited life towards making unlimited money.”

“…”

“However, the preparatory work for this case has already been completed. The prosecution process will take about a month. After the case is concluded, if he still desires my legal services in the future, he’ll have no choice but to listen to me.” Qian Heng happily said, “Then, I can do whatever I want.”

“…”

Sure enough, someone as toxic as Qian Heng can’t possibly have a soft side! I thought too much!

Cheng Yao remembered Dong Min and suddenly felt a little sympathy. She couldn’t imagine how many storms she’d experience with Qian Heng once the case was over…

“But if you couldn’t stay in your previous house, why not go to a hotel instead?” The more Cheng Yao thought about it the more it didn’t make sense. “There are 5 star hotels everywhere, so why settle for a middle-class place like this one?”

Qian Heng pursued his lips, “I don’t like the cold feeling a hotel has. It doesn’t give you any sense of home.”

Really?? I think the cold feeling of hotels completely suits you!

Cheng Yao snarled inwardly. Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror? Have you ever seen how many degrees below zero your face is? I realized that whenever I feel cold, it’s because you’re around! You feel like it’s home here, but I don’t!

Although Cheng Yao’s heart was full of complaints about Qian Heng, she didn’t dare say them out loud.

“But now since your address here has also been found out, it doesn’t make sense for you to keep living here to avoid her, don’t you think? Besides, how could someone so magnificent like you live in this sort of place! You deserve much better! Really, it’s an insult to yourself that you live in this place!” Cheng Yao looked at Qian Heng expectantly, “Boss, if you need help with moving, you know you can count on me!”

Cheng Yao wanted to release all the complaints from her heart. Since it has come to this, why don’t you move homes? Why stay in this small place with me?

Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao, “I didn’t expect that she would find me so quickly. I underestimated my own charm and her obsession for me. I went out of my way to find this simple neighborhood just to avoid her, yet it still didn’t work.” He paused, and glanced at Cheng Yao again, “but now that you live here, you can be my shield, which is unexpectedly useful.” Qian Heng happily said, “after this case is prosecuted, Dong Min probably won’t look for me anymore. At that time, I’ll move back. Fortunately the renovation of my villa would almost be completed too. It’ll be perfect.”

“…..”

Is it really okay to say that someone is your shield???

But Rao might be the type to accept it, but Cheng Yao wasn’t the type to give up so easily. She continued persuading him, “Then, apart from this kind of neighborhood that doesn’t meet the boss’s status at all, doesn’t the boss have other houses to move in? After all, a owned house must definitely give a bigger sensation of home than a rented place, don’t you think?”

Qian Heng answered straightforwardly, “I don’t have any.”

This answer was a bit hard for Cheng Yao to accept. An asshole like Qian Heng, who worked for several years and got promoted to Partner, only bought one villa?

Before she could think more, Qian Heng continued, “I have three other villas, and four penthouses. But they’re all unfurnished.” Qian Heng said with a bit of distress, “I’m way too busy, there are too many cases. Every customer is desperate to give me their money, begging me to take their case. I don’t have any time to furnish them.”

“…..”

Qian Heng, your wastefulness must be second to none. Who could possibly be worse than you?

“At first I wanted to chase you away. I don’t like co-renting. But when I found out that you were a newly hired assistant lawyer, I decided to give it a try. Although it was a coincidence, sometimes coincidences can turn out pretty lucky. I shouldn’t deprive you of your rare luck.”

“What luck?!”

Qian Heng looked at Cheng Yao with an ‘it’s okay to admit it’ expression, “Don’t play dumb. To be able to share rent with me, you must think that your luck reached its highest peak.”

Excuse me? What kind of rotten luck is this?! It must be the peak of my misfortune! Cheng Yao wanted to cry. Exactly what did I do wrong to deserve this?!

“I’m not used to sharing rent, but since you’re my assistant lawyer, it appears to be quite beneficial. If there’s a need to work overtime, instead of staying late in the office, we can work together here.”

What devil luck is this?! I don’t want to work overtime at home with you!

“And sometimes, I also want to experience the life of common people.” Qian Heng frowned with a bit of distress, “I heard that several judges talk behind my back, saying that I’m a bit difficult to communicate with. It may be because everyone’s living standards are far too poor. But as a family lawyer, it’s necessary to communicate with the Marriage Court judge.” At this point, Qian Heng glanced around the house with disgust, and with a deep sense of righteousness, he added, “For work, I can bear it.”

Big brother, they were scolding you! But they did it subtly! Really, I beg you, don’t just bear it, learn something!

“All in all, take advantage of this 1 month precious opportunity.”

“Huh?”

Qian Heng pursued his lips, “After a month, I’ll have dealt with Dong Min, and I won’t need to live here anymore. So you only have 1 month left to share rent with me.”

“…..”

“Treasure it, not everyone gets this kind of opportunity.” Qian Heng lightly smiled. “You can talk to me so much every night without paying. According to my pay rate, if you talk to me for 1 hour every night, you’re saving up 10,000 yuan. It’s a daily gain, even I envy you.”

“…”

Qian Heng, if I give you 10,000 yuan, will you stop talking to me? I feel like I’m suffocating!

“What are you staring at me for? Instead, why don’t you go study cases?”

Cheng Yao dejectedly bowed her head and went back to the room.

[Small Theatre]

Five Poison Sect’s Newest Disciple, Cheng Yao: I feel like I can’t perform my best….

Five Poison Sect’s Great Guardian, Bao Rui: Did you take the medicine recently?

Five Poison Sect’s Newest Disciple, Cheng Yao: I have eaten it… I have taken a lot of instant effect Jiuxin pills2

…it’s useless…

Five Poison Sect’s Senior Disciple, Tan Ying: What is the use of taking instant effect Jiuxin pills alone? ! You have to take the Bezoar detox pill3! Come, I have it, here! Deep feelings, must be sealed off!

Cheng Yao:…