The atmosphere was tense enough to cut with a knife.
The landlord, thick-skinned as ever, tried to smooth things over even now. “Well, it’s a two-bedroom, one-living-room place — you two meeting like this must be fate. Why don’t you just share it? I’ll knock a bit off the rent for each of you…” He kept explaining as he spoke. “This double-rental thing isn’t entirely my fault either. My wife and I are going through a divorce right now — she rented the place to this young lady without telling me, and I, not knowing, arranged it with this gentleman…”
Cheng Yao objected fiercely. “Live with him? No way. Absolutely not. I don’t even know him — it’s not safe to live with a strange man.”
The man’s attitude did a complete 360-degree turn. He suddenly smiled and looked straight at Cheng Yao. “I have no objections. To share an apartment with…” He paused, then chuckled. “With this elite female lawyer — it would be my honor.”
Cheng Yao: ???
Even though he was ostensibly praising her as an elite female lawyer, something about his expression and tone struck her as thoroughly smug and infuriating.
Seeing an opening, the landlord tried to make his escape, though he paused at the door to remember something. “Miss Cheng, since you’re a lawyer — do you handle divorce cases? I’m going through this divorce with my wife and could use some consultation…”
Without missing a beat, Cheng Yao said in her most professional tone, “You’ve come to the right person. Our firm, Junheng, specializes exactly in family law — divorce, property division, inheritance, and related trust and insurance matters. We’re the most professional in the market, if you ask me. Call my cell whenever you need.”
The landlord nodded repeatedly in thanks, but the man beside them let out a scoff.
Cheng Yao ignored him. Before she’d even registered what was happening, he’d already picked up his suitcase and headed into the apartment, tossing a provoking smile back at her on his way. “If you feel unsafe, you’re free to go rent somewhere else.” His face was strikingly handsome and equally infuriating. “Aren’t you the lawyer who charges four figures an hour? Or you could sue, go to court, and make the landlord compensate you.”
Cheng Yao was practically grinding her teeth in fury. It was precisely because she was a lawyer that she wasn’t naive enough to think that whenever your rights were violated, you could just march to court and be done with it. Litigation was the last resort, not the first option. And besides, with trials and appeals dragging on, and enforcement possibly needed on top of that, for something this trivial? It would tie up far too much time and energy — completely uneconomical.
He was clearly counting on exactly that, and he knew she’d be reluctant to share the apartment with a man, and was planning to just seize it outright by force.
Could she really let him get away with this?
Absolutely not!
Who was afraid of whom? He was just an escort! Was she supposed to be scared of him?!
Without another word, Cheng Yao grabbed her bag and marched into the apartment. “Fine, we’ll share it.” She threw her bag onto the sofa and puffed herself up with resolve. “But I have a few conditions to lay out first. Don’t bring your work home.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Hm?”
Cheng Yao cleared her throat. “Don’t think I don’t know what you do.”
He showed not the slightest hint of embarrassment — if anything, he looked amused.
The nerve on this man really was something else.
She hadn’t meant to spell it out, but given the situation, it seemed she’d have to be blunt. “If you bring your work back here, I’ll report you.”
“Report me for what?”
“For prostitution!” Cheng Yao said, putting on a stern face. “I’m a law-abiding citizen. I understand it’s not easy for you, doing this kind of work, and I won’t interfere as long as it’s not happening under my nose — but absolutely no clients in this apartment.”
“You think I’m a prostitute?” the man’s tone sounded genuinely outraged. “Me? A prostitute?”
“Fine, ‘special services,’ happy now?”
But instead of taking the out she offered, he continued in that same furious tone. “What special services?!” With that, he turned and started digging through his suitcase for something. “Where’s my voice recorder?”
“What do you need a recorder for?”
He gave a cold laugh. “To record what you just said, so I can sue you for defamation.”
Cheng Yao cleared her throat. “Fine, fine, I won’t poke at your sore spot anymore. This isn’t a job you chose willingly, I get it, but what I really wanted to say is this — I’d like to see your health check results, and out of mutual respect, I’ll show you mine too…”
He said nothing, just stared at her darkly.
For some reason, Cheng Yao felt that although his line of work was unglamorous, his presence was actually quite intimidating.
“I’m not looking down on you, but this profession lives off youth — if you can switch careers, better to do it sooner rather than later. Besides, you should know that what you’re doing violates criminal law.”
Once she’d said her piece, Cheng Yao checked the time. It was getting late, and she needed to go pack up her things.
Her brand-new roommate called after her. “Are you sure you don’t want to give me the apartment? Sure you want to live with me?”
“Of course.” Cheng Yao rolled her eyes. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to find this place?”
He smiled faintly. “You’ll regret it.”
Cheng Yao had no time to spare on regret. She went back to Li Mengting’s place and found that Li Mengting’s boyfriend, Zhang Hao, had already moved his luggage in, piled up in the living room.
Li Mengting looked embarrassed. “Sorry, Yaoyao — Hao Zi’s lease is up the day after tomorrow, and it’s hard to find a short-term rental for just a few days, and hotels are too expensive, so I thought I’d let him bring his stuff over first. He’ll move in properly after tomorrow — for now he’ll sleep on the couch in the living room, if that’s okay…”
Cheng Yao waved it off and told Li Mengting about finding her new apartment. Li Mengting was naturally relieved, and happy for her too. That night the two of them went into the kitchen together and cooked up a whole spread, each showing off their skills.
Since Cheng Yao would be moving into her new place tomorrow, tonight’s dinner doubled as a farewell meal, and the two of them had gone all out.
“Yaoyao, even though we won’t be living together anymore, if there’s ever anything I can help with, come find me anytime.” Li Mengting couldn’t help a small laugh. “Though I doubt you’ll need much help from me — you’re basically blessed with good luck. Passed the bar in college, got your license within a year of graduating, and now you’ve jumped straight to Junheng. Your future’s looking bright.”
Cheng Yao smiled too. “You should hurry up and get back to studying for the bar, stop gaming for a while. You were only off by ten-something points last year — give it one more solid push this year and you’ll pass. Once you’re past the bar, everything else falls into place.”
Li Mengting shook her head. “I’m not planning to take it anymore.”
“Huh? Why not?”
Li Mengting looked a little embarrassed. “Hao Zi switched jobs — his new salary is over three hundred thousand a year. He said he doesn’t want me working myself too hard. You know how it is in our field — even judges and prosecutors in the public system deal with a lot of pressure and overtime, let alone lawyers. And I’m not really the ambitious type. I’d rather find something easier.”
Cheng Yao was a little surprised, but Li Mengting came from a well-off family herself, and her boyfriend was clearly capable — she could afford an easier life.
Everyone in this world had a different fate, she thought.
Lying in bed that night, Cheng Yao felt a mix of nerves and unease. Tomorrow she’d not only be moving, but also officially reporting for her first day at Junheng. What kind of future awaited her, unknown as it was?
She stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.
Future, please be good to me.
Fortunately, the next day dawned bright and sunny, as if promising everything would go smoothly.
Junheng’s HR manager, Sister Zhu, gave Cheng Yao a brief tour of the firm and went over some basic onboarding notes before leading her to her desk.
“You’ll sit here. Right in front of you is Partner Qian’s office.” Sister Zhu smiled. “Normally our new hires go through a month-long probation period, and after that, if they perform well, a mentoring lawyer picks them up for their team. But you’re in luck — Partner Qian saw your resume and specifically requested you for his team.”
Cheng Yao was stunned. “Really? Lawyer Qian Heng?”
Sister Zhu nodded, lowering her voice. “Honestly, I don’t know if I should call that lucky or unlucky for you. Anyway, you’ll find out soon enough what Partner Qian’s like.” She glanced at Qian Heng’s firmly shut office door. “He’s not in right now. He’ll meet you when he’s back.”
At this, Cheng Yao’s excitement reached a whole new level. Even though Qian Heng’s reputation was complicated to say the least, his professional ability was universally recognized as formidable across the entire legal community. Working under him for a couple of years, gritting her teeth through it — once she came out the other side, the sky would be the limit!
She suddenly felt incredibly lucky to have caught Qian Heng’s eye. She should go buy a lottery ticket!
She sat fidgeting at her desk for about an hour before the legendarily toxic but stunningly handsome Qian Heng finally returned.
“All new hires and interns, please head to Conference Room 2 — Partner Qian will be right there.”
Although Cheng Yao was the only one reporting today, Junheng had steadily been hiring several new lawyers recently, along with a few interns. Counting Sister Zhu from HR, there were six people in total. Cheng Yao grabbed her notebook and pen and filed into Conference Room 2 with the others.
The rest of the new hires and interns, who’d clearly already gotten acquainted, chatted amongst themselves while Cheng Yao waited alone, nervous.
What would her future boss actually look like?
The six of them ended up waiting there, dry and awkward, for a full half hour before Cheng Yao couldn’t hold it anymore and went to the restroom.
By the time she came back and pushed open the conference room door, the man sitting across from the other five looked up at her with a casual glance.
Tall, long-legged, radiating presence, clearly bad-tempered, with a nose bridge so high it looked almost surgically done…
This was the face she’d seen not long ago.
This — this was unmistakably her escort roommate!
Her special-industry roommate was sitting right there in the conference room, that devastatingly handsome face of his not saying a word, but somehow already broadcasting “I am difficult to deal with” in giant letters.
Was this a dream? Was she seeing things?
Cheng Yao was so shocked that, ironically, she appeared perfectly calm on the outside. She withdrew from the room, a bit dazed, and checked the sign on the door. Room 2, definitely correct…
So, still wooden-faced, moving with mismatched arms and legs, she walked back into the conference room.
Sister Zhu introduced her with a smile. “Lawyer Qian, this is Cheng Yao. Cheng Yao, why don’t you introduce yourself to Lawyer Qian.”
Cheng Yao’s mind went completely blank, and she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
“No need — I already know Cheng Yao. We’ve had quite an in-depth exchange about the legal issues surrounding double rentals.” The man seated at the head of the table looked up and smiled at her, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth. “Isn’t that right, Counselor Cheng?”
“…”
Cheng Yao’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts — she felt like the sky had literally cracked open and a meteor had just struck the earth. What was this situation? The boss was an escort?! No wait! The escort had turned into her boss?! No, no, no! She’d mistaken her boss for an escort!
Qian Heng continued with some words of advice and encouragement for the new lawyers, but none of it registered with Cheng Yao anymore. She stared at his handsome mouth opening and closing, and everything went dark before her eyes…
She finally understood, in this moment, why Li Mengting hated bad internet connections so much.
She wanted to scream too — garbage internet, ruining my life!
If the connection had loaded and she’d known what Qian Heng looked like in advance, could this century-defining catastrophe have been avoided?
Absolutely not!
She should have prostrated herself the second she found out — offered him the apartment on the spot, showered him in flattery, and wished her boss endless prosperity, ever-rising fortune, smooth sailing in all things, success in every endeavor, a meteoric career, spring breezes and proud strides, ever-flourishing days, a life as long as the mountains, and an early blessing of children…
At this point, Cheng Yao’s head was spinning in a total muddle.
Amid her inner turmoil, Qian Heng seemed to be wrapping up his welcome speech to the new hires.
“Also, I appreciate every lawyer’s determination to develop their own client base and business, but I want you all to understand that Junheng doesn’t take on just any client.” Qian Heng’s voice was icy, his gaze flicking lightly over Cheng Yao. “Cases below fifty million in value are a waste of time.”
“…”
That was clearly a jab at her for pitching her legal services to the landlord…
“All right, meeting adjourned.”
Finally…
But just as Cheng Yao turned to leave, she heard Qian Heng say, “Cheng Yao, stay behind a moment.”
“…”
The spacious conference room now held only Cheng Yao and Qian Heng.
Steeling herself, Cheng Yao decided to break the silence first. “I’m sorry, boss! I failed to recognize greatness when I saw it!” She spoke in a tone of near-mortal contrition. “The apartment — you can have it. I’ll find somewhere else myself!”
Qian Heng took a sip of tea, offering no response. He clearly understood how to use psychology to his advantage — the sheer length of his silence alone felt like a slow execution.
After a long pause, Qian Heng finally spoke, arching an eyebrow. “Isn’t a lawyer supposed to fight for their rights to the very last moment?”
“…”
“Never surrender?”
“…”
Qian Heng smiled. “The most important principle for us in the legal profession is never to bow to power — to take the law as our compass and the facts as our foundation, and to fight for our clients. You worked so hard to secure this right of yours — how could I possibly strip it away just because I outrank you?”
“…”
“So you’re about to have the opportunity to share an apartment with your boss.” Qian Heng’s beautiful eyes settled on Cheng Yao, his tone insufferably smug. “How does that feel? Excited? Thrilled?”
Cheng Yao said woodenly, “Excited. Thrilled.”
More like devastated. Utterly devastated.
“Of course, to avoid unnecessary trouble, let’s keep this cohabitation arrangement between the two of us — no need to mention it to the rest of the firm.” Qian Heng smiled. “Any other questions?”
Cheng Yao naturally had a whole stomach full of questions. You’re such a wealthy partner — don’t you have your own place? Even if you don’t, why squeeze into this mid-tier complex? You drive a Bentley and you’re renting there? And why did you pick me for your team?! Are you trying to get back at me? I already backed down and agreed not to rent it — why still drag me into living together? What’s the scheme here? Are you a Scorpio? Why is your grudge-holding this intense?!
But did Cheng Yao dare ask any of this?
She did not.
She answered respectfully, “No problem.”
“Well, I do have a question.” Qian Heng narrowed his eyes. “Since we’ll be working together and living together, we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other. So I hope you’ll be able to maintain your boundaries and keep yourself in check.”
Cheng Yao was baffled. ???
Qian Heng blinked his thick lashes. “You’re about to become my fourteenth associate this year. Do you know why the previous thirteen got fired?”
It was only November, and he’d already gone through thirteen people… Cheng Yao looked up at Qian Heng’s handsome, unreasonably arrogant face, and the answer was practically on the tip of her tongue —
Wasn’t it because you’re impossible to work with?
At the same time, Qian Heng’s voice rang out again. “It’s because none of them could keep themselves in check — they all developed feelings they shouldn’t have had for me.”
“…”
Are — are you overthinking this just a little?
Weren’t they leaving because they couldn’t stand your tyranny and toxicity?!
Oblivious to Cheng Yao’s expression, Qian Heng continued, sounding genuinely troubled. “I really don’t understand it. Two of those thirteen were even men. It’s baffling, honestly — is my personal charm really that overwhelming?”
“…”
He looked up at her again. “I know some people just have more personal magnetism than others, but work is work — especially between superior and subordinate. Developing feelings in that dynamic is thoroughly unprofessional.”
“…”
Cheng Yao felt she’d lost the ability to speak entirely. She finally understood that annotation on LAWXOXO — this man really was toxic. After only this brief an encounter, she was already showing early symptoms of being poisoned to death.
Just as Cheng Yao numbly prepared to leave, Qian Heng suddenly called her back as if remembering something else.
“One more thing — I need to correct a gap in your legal knowledge.” He extended a slender, pale finger and tapped the table. “Plain prostitution, as opposed to organizing prostitution, doesn’t actually constitute a criminal offense. It only falls under public security administrative penalties — ten to fifteen days of detention, with a possible fine of up to five thousand yuan.”
“…”
At that moment, Cheng Yao was finally certain: given how vindictive Qian Heng was, it clearly wasn’t sheer dumb luck that had landed her on his team. This was, without question, his way of getting revenge — a deliberate choice made purely so he could torment her more thoroughly.