Cheng Yao knew that many divorce cases that escalated to hiring lawyers rarely had pleasant backstories. Strip away the tangled surface of most divorce disputes, and what’s exposed is usually the rawest malice and selfishness in human nature. A marriage might once have borne traces of love, but very often, the considerations behind getting married were mixed with factors that weren’t so pure.

If this person had nothing at all, would you still love them? Would you still choose them?

In times of deep affection, no one wants to ask themselves that, no one wants to think about it. But once feelings have completely broken down, once there’s no bond left between two people, then in the face of interests, masks come off and vicious slander begins — two people who once shared the closest relationship can, at divorce, harbor deeper malice and hatred than strangers ever would.

The truth of marriage is sometimes very cruel.

Cheng Yao had always known this, but after listening to Bai Xingmeng’s account, she still felt genuinely shaken inside. She hadn’t expected that a man could be so calculating, so methodical — from the earliest days of the romance all the way to the marriage, he had maintained such a chilling rationality and purpose, calm enough to use his own feelings as bargaining chips, so that in the end, when it came to dividing the property in the divorce, he showed no mercy at all.

So this must be why Bai Xingmeng was so insistent on filing the lawsuit now.

Because of hatred, because she wanted revenge, because she couldn’t accept it — what she wanted wasn’t money, which was why she had no intention of waiting for Xu Jun’s company to successfully go public. What she wanted might even be for the equity freeze from this property division to cause Xu Jun’s company’s IPO to fail.

Bai Xingmeng looked at Cheng Yao’s expression and let out a long sigh. “Back then, I liked Xu Jun purely out of a kind of admiration for strength — I felt that being loved by such a capable man was something to be proud of. But later I realized that successful, capable men always love themselves most. The smarter a man is, the more selfish and cold-blooded he tends to be.”

At this point, Bai Xingmeng paused, thought about it, and added, “Like your boss, Qian Heng.”

Huh? How did Qian Heng get dragged into this?

“I’ve worked with a lot of lawyers. He’s the most capable and professional one I’ve ever met, but also the one with the least warmth.” Bai Xingmeng shrugged. “He never cares what his clients are thinking or what state of mind they’re in. He only cares about closing the case — like a robot, meticulous, flawless in his work. In his eyes, the only thing that matters is completing the task and getting paid.”

Because of Bai Xingmeng’s remark, an image of Qian Heng’s cold face surfaced in Cheng Yao’s mind. Was he really like that? Without a shred of human warmth?

It was rare for Bai Xingmeng to vent her frustrations like this, and having done so, her mood clearly improved. She regained that flawless confidence she wore in front of the camera, confirmed the evidence list and other matters with Cheng Yao, then flicked her hair back and took her leave.

Cheng Yao went home today carrying a huge stack of case files and materials. Moved by Bai Xingmeng’s confession, she felt deep sympathy for her and wanted only to fight as hard as she could for her client’s interests.

She hadn’t expected that Qian Heng would also get off work unusually early today, so the two of them ended up once again sharing the same space in close quarters after hours.

Just as Cheng Yao was hesitating over whether to greet her boss, Qian Heng spoke first, deigning to open his noble mouth.

“How’s your thinking coming along?”

Cheng Yao blinked, then quickly reported, “I’ve already talked with Bai Xingmeng. I’m drafting the complaint now — she wants to file immediately. I’ll have the full draft materials to you for review tomorrow, and I’ll aim to submit the filing documents to the court next Tuesday…”

Qian Heng pressed his lips together. “I was asking when you’re going to pay off the compensation on the loss list I gave you. How’s your thinking on that coming along?”

“…”

Bai Xingmeng was right. Qian Heng really was a man utterly without human warmth.

Unfortunately, when you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head. Cheng Yao immediately put on a pitiful face and decided to play the sympathy card. “Boss, you know exactly how much I get paid. If you’re willing to wipe this debt clean, I’ll work myself to the bone for you, I promise…”

“No need to work yourself to the bone.” Qian Heng seemed to have been waiting for this exact moment. He narrowed his eyes at Cheng Yao. “Cook for me instead.”

“What?”

Qian Heng said, as though it were obvious, “I haven’t eaten yet. Your cooking is passable, and you owe me all this money anyway. Since we’re living together now, you can just pay it off with meal money going forward.”

Passable? Her cooking was demonstrably delicious, wasn’t it?! Top-chef level!

“One month. Cook for a month, and we’re even.”

At this point, Cheng Yao didn’t dare hesitate or grumble internally anymore — afraid Qian Heng might change his mind, she quickly agreed.

“Steamed sea bass, potato-braised beef, vinegar-glazed cabbage, stir-fried lettuce with meat.” Qian Heng glanced over at Cheng Yao. “That’s what I want tonight.”

“But I didn’t buy sea bass, beef, or lettuce today.”

“Then what are you standing around for? Go buy them.”

“…”

Five minutes later, Cheng Yao was picking out the freshest sea bass at the supermarket, gritting her teeth the whole time. Look at this. This was her boss. Truly, utterly inhuman!

Fortunately, Qian Heng hadn’t ordered anything like Australian lobster — these were all common household ingredients, and Cheng Yao bought them all quickly. She was fast with her hands, and not long after getting home, a table full of beautifully aromatic dishes was ready.

Qian Heng ate with restraint, but in the end, he had two bowls of rice.

Compared to his unhurried eating, Cheng Yao wolfed hers down, distracted the whole time by thoughts of Bai Xingmeng’s case…

She finished dinner quickly and got up to head back to her room.

“Not eating anymore?”

“I want to go over the materials for Bai Xingmeng’s case again. We’re filing in a few days, and I want to make sure nothing’s been left out.” Cheng Yao turned back with a grateful smile. “So, boss, I won’t eat more for now — take your time.”

“I’m not telling you to stay and keep eating. I don’t care how much you eat.” Qian Heng said curtly. “I’m telling you not to go back to your room right after you’re done eating. Stay and wash the dishes.”

“…”

Cheng Yao suppressed the urge to shout and tried to keep her tone level. “Let me go look over the materials first. Call me when you’re finished eating, and I’ll come wash the dishes then.”

Qian Heng frowned. “Why do you care so much about this case?”

“This is the first case I’ve worked on at Junheng. I want to get off to a good start.” In the middle of her enthusiasm, Cheng Yao thought of Xu Jun and felt a flash of anger. “And on a personal level, I want to help Bai Xingmeng get the property she deserves, and make sure that scumbag Xu Jun gets what’s coming to him.” Speaking of this, Cheng Yao couldn’t help muttering, “Bai Xingmeng is really a good person — down to earth, not a hint of a diva about her, and she’s beautiful, a great actress, a great figure, and she was so devoted to Xu Jun. I don’t know if Xu Jun is blind or just brain-damaged, why would he hurt and use someone like her?”

She had expected her burst of enthusiasm to earn Qian Heng’s approval and praise. Instead, after hearing all this, his whole face darkened.

“Cheng Yao. Keep some distance from the clients.”

“What?”

Qian Heng’s expression turned serious. “If you want to be a good lawyer, remember this: at work, you don’t have feelings, you have a position. You stand in your client’s position and think about how to secure her the greatest benefit within the bounds of the law. But that’s because you’re acting as her representative — not because of personal feelings. Right now, going on about punishing scumbags, that’s deeply unprofessional.”

Cheng Yao suddenly remembered Bai Xingmeng’s line: “Qian Heng has no human warmth.”

But she didn’t accept his criticism at all. “I won’t lose my rationality just because of personal feelings. Besides, I think this is a good thing — at the very least, it motivates me to fight harder for my client’s interests. Also, in this property division dispute, we’re completely on the side of justice…”

Before Cheng Yao could finish, Qian Heng cut her off with a scoff. “Who do you think you are? Sailor Moon? Punishing people in the name of the moon?”

Well, there it was — when two people simply weren’t on the same wavelength, there was nothing more to say. Despite his sharp professional skills, this man really had no human warmth whatsoever.

“I’ve always felt that even though being a lawyer is just a profession, as a practitioner you should still have some sense of principle. Even though our country has been promoting gender equality for years now, in marriage, women are still more often the disadvantaged party — suffering domestic violence, infidelity, being deceived into marriage. Look, even someone like Bai Xingmeng, who already has plenty of social status and money, is still the one who got hurt in her marriage. I’ve only taken on this one case, but if within my own capacity I can do something for women’s rights within marriage, I think that’s the value of being a lawyer.” Cheng Yao stared at Qian Heng, her tone earnest and stubborn. “Of course I alone can’t change the whole situation, but if every lawyer were like me, and everyone contributed a bit toward protecting women’s rights in marriage, wouldn’t that…”

“Yes, if everyone gave a little love, the world would become a better place.”

Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up — she thought her impassioned speech had finally awakened some deeply buried sense of justice and social responsibility in Qian Heng.

But then—

“Where did you dig up that relic?” Qian Heng frowned. “‘If everyone gave a little love’ — that song is from 1989. It’s 2018 now, and you still believe lyrics from last century? Is something wrong with your head?”

“…”

“I really give up. I thought only the mentally deficient would believe that corny brainwashing song, but it seems the caliber of our population still has a long way to go. The spiritual and cultural development of our legal profession has a long road ahead.”

Cheng Yao was a little shocked. “Don’t you have even a shred of social responsibility? Have you never thought about using your professional knowledge to speak up for the disadvantaged?”

Qian Heng clapped his hands with zero sincerity. “Moving. Truly moving. So, noble-hearted Attorney Cheng, why didn’t you just go be a pro bono rights lawyer? Being a rights lawyer is very eco-friendly and low-carbon — most days you can just go stand under an overpass and drink the northwest wind till you’re full, and in summer you even get a nice breeze blowing through for variety.”

“I…”

“What ‘I.'” Qian Heng rolled his eyes elegantly. “And who told you that in marriage, it’s always the wife who’s weak and the husband who’s strong? That Bai Xingmeng is definitely the victim? Are you a party to her marriage? Do you crawl under their bed every day to witness every little detail of their married life, down to whether their sex life is compatible?”

“…”

Cheng Yao stuck her neck out defensively. “I’m a woman. I trust my own sixth sense. Bai Xingmeng developed real feelings for Xu Jun, but he didn’t for her. Bai Xingmeng is the biggest victim in this marriage. This time, I’m going to represent us women and teach Xu Jun a lesson! Teach him what it means to respect marriage!”

Qian Heng made no effort to hide his disapproval. “Look at you — and you still have the nerve to say women are always the disadvantaged party in marriage? Speaking now not as your boss but as a man, let me tell you responsibly: being this fierce, you’re going to end up unable to marry anyone.” Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao. “Seriously, who would dare marry you? Waiting to be stripped bare in the divorce later? What ordinary person can beat a female lawyer armed with the law?”

Cheng Yao said angrily, “If ordinary people can’t handle it, I’ll just find myself a male lawyer!”

“Cheng Yao, let me tell you, be realistic about life. It’s fine to have ideals, but don’t daydream.”

How did finding a male lawyer become daydreaming? In the legal circle, colleagues pairing up with colleagues happened all the time — weren’t there plenty of two-legged male lawyers walking around?

Faced with Cheng Yao’s baffled expression, Qian Heng straightened his collar, looking rather pleased with himself. “I know I’m outstanding and dazzling, but Cheng Yao, if you’re hoping for me, that’s impossible. Give up on that idea.”

Cheng Yao was stunned. Cheng Yao felt suffocated. Cheng Yao felt like she needed emergency heart medication. “When did I ever say I was hoping for you???”

“Go find your male lawyer, then. Am I stopping you?” Qian Heng raised an eyebrow, his tone insufferable. “You kept staring straight at me while you were talking just now — isn’t that basically hinting that you want someone like me?”

That was me glaring! That was me shooting daggers! How is that being interested in you! Am I blind!

Having said his piece, Qian Heng stood up and patted Cheng Yao on the shoulder. “Life is full of disappointments. Try to let it go.”

Inside, Cheng Yao was screaming. Qian Heng!! Do you know?! If I hoped for you, THAT would be the thing I couldn’t let go of!!!