With Qian Heng as her anchor, Cheng Yao slept well, and the next day she made it to the firm feeling almost refreshed.

No matter what, Cheng Yao had decided — no matter how much the internet cursed her, no matter how many harassing calls and texts came in, she couldn’t let herself be cowed by it.

But she’d been too naive after all, underestimating just how vicious some people hiding behind their screens could be.

“Deep dive exposé! That garbage lawyer Cheng Yao has an older sister named Cheng Xi! And this Cheng Xi is the ex-wife of Attorney Deng Ming from a year ago!”

“Why does the name Attorney Deng Ming sound familiar?”

“He’s Bai Xingmeng’s current lawyer! He was on that show ‘Lawyers to the Rescue’ before, so handsome and professional, and so approachable, and most importantly he’s kind-hearted, always helping ordinary people protect their rights, teaching everyone about the law on TV — the complete opposite of that Cheng Yao. THIS is the conscience and justice of the legal profession!”

“Oh oh oh! Now I remember! Cheng Xi! The one whose husband Attorney Deng was out there helping people while she just sat at home living off his income like some rich man’s wife, and then she cheated on him, right?”

“Yes! That’s her!”

“These two sisters are absolute treasure troves! Endless dirt to dig up on them. There’s clearly something wrong with how their family raised them.”

“I’m actually nauseous. That slut Cheng Xi, that bitch Cheng Yao — did their mother go off the rails today or something?”

…

The comments were a wall of abuse. Because Bai Xingmeng had shifted the blame onto her, her fiercely loyal fanbase — rallying under the banner of “delivering justice on heaven’s behalf” while believing they understood the full truth — attacked and doxxed Cheng Yao without restraint. Some fans even dug up photos of Cheng Xi, and some troublemakers went so far as to Photoshop Cheng Xi’s and Cheng Yao’s photos into funeral portraits.

Cheng Yao had always felt that Xu Jun’s suicide, while understandable, showed a certain weakness of character.

But now, experiencing firsthand what it was like to be swept up in the same kind of online mob violence Xu Jun had faced, she finally understood — even the strongest person, subjected to this kind of abuse in the ugliest possible language, would at some moment want to die. Let alone Xu Jun, who’d been struggling with depression.

She didn’t dare look at the rest of the comments. Her hands trembling, she set down her phone. She could stay strong when she herself was under attack — her mood was bleak, but she could still shrug it off. But now her own family was being dragged in and abused because of her, especially her sister Cheng Xi, who had only just recently started feeling better after finally moving past that terrible marriage…

It was all her fault.

That was the only thought running through Cheng Yao’s mind. She clenched her fists, staring blankly out the office window, forcing herself to think of good things happening in her life to distract herself. She had to fight hard to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.

Inside Qian Heng’s office—

Qian Heng glanced at Wu Jun, slumped on the sofa. “Handle the Cheng Yao situation.”

Before Wu Jun could even respond, Qian Heng cleared his throat and continued, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “This incident has already damaged Junheng’s reputation. As the partner responsible for public relations, this falls squarely within your job scope.”

Wu Jun looked up, his voice teasing. “If it’s about the firm’s reputation, Qian Heng, why did you call it ‘the Cheng Yao situation’ instead of ‘the Junheng situation’?”

Qian Heng pressed his lips together. “Is there a difference? It’s the same thing.”

“How is it the same thing? The simplest solution here would be to fire Cheng Yao right now, throw her out as a sacrifice, then put out a statement saying Junheng absolutely maintains rigorous professional ethics and skills training for all our lawyers, showcasing our roster of renowned attorneys, dedicated to serving you.” Wu Jun blinked, giving a foxlike grin. “Do that, and we not only get a good reputation out of it, we ride this whole controversy for free publicity without spending a cent. Two birds, one stone — isn’t that great?”

Qian Heng’s expression turned stormy.

Undeterred, Wu Jun pressed on fearlessly. “Besides, haven’t you always resented Cheng Yao for being a connections hire? Isn’t this the perfect chance to fire her? Totally justified, too.”

Qian Heng coughed, avoiding Wu Jun’s probing gaze, and flipped through some documents on his desk. “Well, given how this played out, it’s not entirely Cheng Yao’s fault. I was also negligent.”

“What?”

Wu Jun was stunned. Qian Heng actually admitting he’d been negligent in his work?? He touched his own forehead, then pinched himself.

“Ow! That actually hurt!” Wu Jun grimaced. “So I’m not dreaming? You actually admit you made a mistake? Go on, tell me exactly what you did wrong.”

Qian Heng looked away, deadly serious. “I overestimated the abilities of associates like Cheng Yao based on my own standards, and didn’t warn her in advance to be careful of Bai Xingmeng. I bear some responsibility for what happened, which is also why I’m not firing her. If I’ve now explicitly warned her and she makes the same kind of mistake again, then it’s an immediate termination.”

Wu Jun’s expression turned rather knowing. “Sure, whatever you say — you’re the top earner bringing in business for Junheng, after all.” He pulled out his phone. “Let me see which ringleader fan accounts to go after first. I’ll get all the evidence of them stirring up attacks against Junheng, doxxing and abusing Cheng Yao, notarized, then file suit…”

But he trailed off mid-sentence, as if something had snagged, his usual playful expression giving way to something grave, an entire dark cloud settling over him.

“What is it?” Qian Heng was genuinely surprised — Wu Jun was skilled at PR, and it took something significant to make him look like that. “Something particularly hard to handle?”

“No.” Wu Jun set down his phone, a hint of viciousness in his eyes. “Someone dug through the whole trail from attacking Cheng Yao, all the way to Cheng Xi, and pulled up that whole thing with Deng Ming. Now they’re dragging her into the pile-on too.”

At the mention of Deng Ming, undisguised contempt spread across Qian Heng’s face. “Bai Xingmeng’s new representing attorney is Deng Ming. This is probably his doing behind the scenes again — his actual legal skills are lacking, so he spends his days chasing fame on shows like ‘Lawyers Are Here’ and ‘Lawyers to the Rescue,’ putting on a whole show for public opinion, building himself up as the ‘conscience of the profession.’ Meanwhile, behind the scenes, he’ll do whatever borderline-illegal thing suits him. When your actual skill is lacking, all you’ve got left is dirty tricks — manipulating public opinion, using media pressure to influence judgments.”

“That garbage.” Wu Jun gritted his teeth at the mention of Deng Ming too. “Back then, he got a bit of fame from a few variety shows, hooked up with some wannabe model, and one thing led to another until she got pregnant. He was tired of Cheng Xi not having given him a child after years of marriage, so he filed for divorce — but worried about damaging his public image, he used his media connections to fabricate a whole narrative, smearing Cheng Xi. He took a few out-of-context photos of her doing volunteer work, hugging a young man with intellectual disabilities, then found some so-called ‘classmates’ to come forward claiming she’d had a messy dating history in college, spinning it as her having been the one to cheat. He hired trolls to steer public opinion, and somehow all those idiot netizens actually believed it!”

“It’s not necessarily about believing it — people just want an excuse to vent their emotions whenever there’s a hot-button issue. That’s basically how online mobs form in the first place.”

Wu Jun loosened his collar, his voice low and simmering with anger. “When did Cheng Xi ever cheat on anyone? In college she just had a lot of guys chasing her — she was devoted to Deng Ming the whole time! And back then, Deng Ming was nothing — some rural kid trying to marry up, dirt poor, getting by purely on smooth talk. With that shifty, weaselly face of his, you think he’s even in the same league as me?!”

Qian Heng gave Wu Jun a look of sympathetic understanding, dutifully shaking his head as he always did. “No comparison.”

“I mean, I’m just…”

Qian Heng cut him off flatly. “Even if your face got run over in a car accident, you’d still come out ahead of him.”

“His professional expertise…”

“His professional expertise is a hundred thousand miles behind yours. He couldn’t even keep up on a pilgrimage to fetch scripture.”

“Even if I…”

“Even with dementia in your old age, your mind would still be sharper than his.”

“That physique of his…”

“That physique of his — add up all his muscle mass and it still wouldn’t outweigh what’s below your belt…”

“…”

Wu Jun glared at Qian Heng, who spread his hands with zero sincerity. “Sorry, can’t help it — my memory’s just too good. I only had to hear it once. I just didn’t expect you’d never update your script.”

“…”

“Anyway, I’ll handle this matter.” Wu Jun gave up glaring at Qian Heng, pressing his lips together. “I’ll get on it right away.”

“Issue a statement if necessary.”

“What?”

“Just say that the Bai Xingmeng case was handled solely by me, that all decisions related to the case were made by me, and that the other lawyers only carried out my instructions.”

“You’re trying to clear Cheng Yao of blame?” Wu Jun looked surprised, reaching out to feel Qian Heng’s forehead. “Qian Heng, did you fry your brain or something?”

Qian Heng quickly dodged, his face full of distaste. “Show some restraint. Talk if you want, don’t put your hands on me.”

“So why are you taking the fall for Cheng Yao?”

“I’m worried about a repeat of what happened with Xu Jun.” Qian Heng looked away, giving a cold snort. “Who knows what a girl her age can handle these days. If she has some kind of dramatic breakdown, would that even count as a workplace injury?”

“And you’re not worried about damaging your own reputation over this?”

“What reputation do I have to protect?” Qian Heng snorted through his nose. “Aren’t I already the industry’s poison? This kind of thing fits my brand perfectly.”

“…”

“So what about the Bai Xingmeng situation going forward?”

“We sue.” Qian Heng didn’t even look up. “I’ve already had Bao Rui organize the evidence. Every single communication I had with Bai Xingmeng is documented — written emails, texts, voice recordings. In them she clearly states she absolutely will not settle, but wants to string Xu Jun along with the proposal. Combined with the rest of the evidence chain, this fully proves that our firm was simply faithfully executing our client’s instructions, and did not overstep by making any decisions on her behalf. Bai Xingmeng’s statement was not only false, it damaged Junheng’s and our lawyers’ reputations, and since our firm did nothing improper, our legal fees are owed in full, and we’ll also seek damages for the harm to our reputation and demand a public apology.”

“Not going to just drop the evidence directly on Junheng’s official Weibo and slap her in the face with it?” Wu Jun mused for a moment. “While this is still getting so much attention, that’s exactly when the clarification would actually reach the most people. You know how long it takes from filing suit to a final judgment — by the time we win, all this time will have passed, the buzz will have died down completely, and if we put out a statement then, hardly anyone will see it. The negative impact on Bai Xingmeng would be far smaller than if we cleared things up now.”

“We can’t just drop the evidence on the official account directly.” Qian Heng rejected Wu Jun’s proposal without hesitation, his tone calm as he pressed his lips together. “All the evidence we currently have from our communications with Bai Xingmeng was obtained under the representation agreement we signed with her, based on the fiduciary relationship between lawyer and client. Even if our representation agreement with Bai Xingmeng is now terminated, information obtained through that fiduciary relationship remains protected under confidentiality obligations. We can’t openly violate the spirit of that agreement just to protect ourselves, disregarding our professional obligations as lawyers.”

Wu Jun looked at Qian Heng. “You know, even though this move would be technically wrong, if you went public with it, public sentiment would completely understand and sympathize. Even if Bai Xingmeng filed a complaint, the bar association wouldn’t hand down any serious punishment. And while the representation agreement does have a confidentiality clause, there’s no clear penalty specified for violating it — so this confidentiality obligation is basically an empty promise. Even if she sued over it, the process would take forever and there’s no way the penalty would be severe. Meanwhile, if we release this evidence now, it immediately clears our firm’s name and doubles as a wave of free advertising and exposure.” Wu Jun spread his hands. “Besides, we’re hardly the only firm that’s ever used the media to fight back against a client dispute like this.”

“No.” Unfortunately, Qian Heng still wouldn’t budge. He set down the work in front of him and looked up at Wu Jun, his tone serious and earnest. “I know this is the easiest shortcut for our PR. But Wu Jun, we can’t do it. Just because everyone else does something doesn’t make it right, and just because public opinion would understand it doesn’t make it correct. Junheng is a law firm, not a PR agency. The first thing a law firm needs to do is maintain professionalism and respect for the law and for our own profession. Running into a client like Bai Xingmeng isn’t a reason to sink to her level ourselves. Every legal professional needs to have their own principles and bottom line.”

Wu Jun smiled too. “Knew you’d say that.” He raised an eyebrow. “I only asked to see whether, now that Cheng Yao’s caught up in something like this, your principles would change — whether you’d make a different call for her sake.”

“You really have too much time on your hands.” Qian Heng shot Wu Jun a cold look. “My faith in the law and my professional principles won’t change for anyone. Besides, what’s so special about Cheng Yao to me? She’s just an ordinary associate.”

“Fine, fine.” Wu Jun shrugged. “I’ll go along with your approach then. I’ll handle the online sentiment and coordinate with Bao Rui on suing Bai Xingmeng. We’re guaranteed to win this case — once we get the favorable judgment, we can openly slap Bai Xingmeng in the face with it. Still, it’s a shame we can’t just do it right now and give her a swollen face immediately.” Wu Jun sighed. “It really is unfair how the ones who play dirty and break every rule end up thriving, while people like us who play by the rules come out worse off.”

“Playing by the rules is what lasts in the long run.” Qian Heng, though, felt no unfairness about it at all. He smiled. “Time will prove it.”

Just as Wu Jun was leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned back. “Shouldn’t you go check on your little associate?”

Qian Heng frowned, looking genuinely puzzled. “What?”

“If it were me, having my own mistake lead to my family’s private information being exposed and abused like that — that might be even harder to take than being attacked myself.”

Qian Heng set down the case file in his hands and looked at Wu Jun, expressionless. “So?”

“So you should go comfort her.”

“Heh. Tell her to drink more hot water?”

“…”

Wu Jun didn’t give up. After a brief moment of speechlessness, he persisted. “At the very least, give her some time off — don’t let her hole up alone somewhere. Get her out to clear her head, distract herself, or take her out for something sweet — girls love sweets, eating something sweet lifts the mood. Oh, right! She’s probably under a lot of stress from this case — the best thing would be for her to have a good cry and let it all out. That should help her feel better!”

“Wu Jun, do you think I have that much free time? And besides, this whole unsatisfactory outcome came from her own mistake — shouldn’t Cheng Yao be the one comforting me, the boss who got dragged into this through no fault of my own? Why should I be the one comforting her?”

Fine, Wu Jun thought — asking Qian Heng to go comfort someone really was a lost cause. Better hope he doesn’t end up comforting her right into an early grave.