Grimy and disheveled, Cheng Yao finally got the pipes cleared, then went back to her room to unpack for a while before the doorbell rang.

Qian Heng opened the door, and Cheng Yao then watched, dumbfounded, as box after box of luggage was carried in by movers.

Cheng Yao stared at the pile of luggage filling the living room. Who said men traveled light?

Just the shoes alone numbered over a dozen pairs. There were more than twenty suits, plus an entire box of ties…

Compared to her own pitiful closet, Cheng Yao felt like she was failing at being a woman.

Among Qian Heng’s many bags, there were, remarkably, three large boxes of Evian water.

“Don’t boil tap water from now on,” Qian Heng said, catching Cheng Yao’s gaze and glancing back at her. “Use Evian for boiling water from now on.”

“Actually, boiling tap water is perfectly fine — it won’t harm your health. Using Evian every time is basically the same as burning money.”

“It’s true it wouldn’t harm my health.” Qian Heng smiled. “But it would harm my standards.”

“…”

“I work hard every day precisely so I can live however I please. I can afford to burn money.” Qian Heng glanced at her. “I’ve noticed a lot of you have this misconception — you think that if you save a little in your day-to-day life, your quality of life will improve. But it’s never actually worked that way. If you want a better life, you need to push harder. Cutting expenses doesn’t improve your quality of life — increasing your income does.”

“Mm…”

“As an extra employee benefit, you’re welcome to drink Evian with me.”

She was truly overwhelmed with gratitude…

Before heading back to his room, Qian Heng dished out one last helping of toxic wisdom. “I hope you work hard, so that one day, even without me, you’ll still be able to afford a life of drinking Evian.”

“…”

By the time everything was finally settled, it was already eight in the evening. Cheng Yao quickly turned on the TV and switched to Xingmang TV — she’d been keeping up with a show called Ling Yao’s Journey lately, about a laundry maid named Ling Yao who rose step by step to become an imperial physician. The plot moved briskly, and the lead actress, Bai Xingmeng, was especially beautiful, with solid acting to match. The romance between the leads was sweet enough to make anyone’s heart flutter.

Cheng Yao was completely absorbed in the show, not even noticing when Qian Heng emerged from his room — not until a commercial break interrupted the episode.

“Didn’t you say the real difference between people comes down to how they use their time after work?” Qian Heng seized the moment to sneer. “Weren’t you going to seriously study law?”

“Well… sometimes TV dramas actually touch on legal knowledge too,” Cheng Yao said, gritting her teeth. “This method of learning through entertainment can be another way to approach things.”

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, the commercial break ended, and the lead actress Ling Yao reappeared in period costume…

Qian Heng glanced at the screen. “Learning legal knowledge from a period drama? That is certainly an unconventional approach.”

“I… I’m reviewing Chinese legal history — this also touches on the punishment systems of ancient China…”

Qian Heng just stared at her.

Cheng Yao felt she couldn’t keep the lie going any further…

“Watch less of these nutrition-free TV dramas and spend more time reading court rulings,” Qian Heng issued as his final verdict.

Cheng Yao muttered, “Don’t you follow celebrities at all? Don’t you think Bai Xingmeng is especially gorgeous? I really like her — her acting is genuinely great too. She was practically forgotten for years before finally landing the role of Ling Yao through sheer skill and persistence…”

“No. I don’t follow celebrities. Celebrities follow me.”

Cheng Yao: ?

“I’m not used to wasting my time and money on other people. I’m more used to other people paying to talk to me,” Qian Heng said, striking a haughty pose. “Even celebrities are no exception.”

Cheng Yao rolled her eyes hugely in her mind. Sure, keep bragging. Big-name celebrities are supposedly paying just to talk to you, boss? Aren’t you dreaming a little in broad daylight here? At least draft an outline before you start making things up.

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

Cheng Yao was displeased. “Boss, I never slack off during work hours. Now that I’m off the clock, is watching TV also a crime?”

“Not a crime, but I need to sleep.”

Cheng Yao checked the time — Qian Heng couldn’t have been more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Why was his schedule that of a senior citizen?

Besides…

“I’ve got the volume really low — it won’t disturb your sleep.”

“I don’t allow the slightest sound when I’m sleeping,” Qian Heng said as if it were self-evident. “Even though the TV volume is low, you moving around in the living room is bound to create some noise.”

Cheng Yao was starting to get genuinely irritated. “If you think I’m disturbing the peace, go sue me in court, Lawyer Qian. Bring back a ruling and I’ll comply fully.”

Qian Heng pressed his lips together, clearly displeased, but there was nothing he could do about Cheng Yao’s stubbornness. He furiously downed a bottle of Evian, shot her a venomous glare, and stormed back to his room.

Regardless, Cheng Yao found herself, in this chaotic fashion, beginning her cohabitation with her toxic boss.

Fortunately, since Qian Heng left for work extremely early, he was already gone by the time Cheng Yao got up, sparing her further contact with him.

On her second day at work, Cheng Yao finally began putting names to faces among her colleagues.

She met Tan Ying, who was on her team, that day, and found her gentle and gracious in every gesture.

“Hi there, I’m Tan Ying. Even though you started a year before me, I did a master’s, so I’m actually two years older. I might not have much work experience to offer you, but if you ever run into anything in life, feel free to ask.” She gave Cheng Yao a wink. “Especially in matters of the heart.”

Cheng Yao’s nerves gradually settled. Even though Qian Heng was toxic, Bao Rui seemed like a laid-back, good-natured colleague, and Tan Ying was gentle and approachable too — that was at least some comfort.

But just as Cheng Yao was about to thank Tan Ying for her kindness, Tan Ying’s phone rang.

She glanced at the number and picked up.

“I told you not to call me anymore! Do you not understand basic human language?” Tan Ying’s demeanor flipped a full three-sixty, her whole presence suddenly sharp and commanding. “You want the truth? Do I go running some fake account on Weibo to smear you because I’m jealous of how pretty your new girlfriend is? Let me be blunt — your new girlfriend is fucking ugly. Even with makeup on, she couldn’t hold a candle to me with ashes on my face!”

“…”

Bao Rui helpfully explained, “Her ex-boyfriend.”

Right, Cheng Yao thought to herself. Maybe I won’t be consulting her about relationship problems after all…

Besides the people on her own team, Cheng Yao also got to know the other three new hires. These three had each been assigned to a different partner. Two of them — Li Menglei and Chen Cheng — were both graduates of A University’s law school, though Li Menglei had spent a year doing an LLM at Berkeley, while Chen Cheng had gone straight into a master’s program at A University. The third was a woman named Wang Lu, who’d switched over from another firm and already had three years of experience.

Cheng Yao had only just finished chatting with the new hires when Bao Rui came over.

“Cheng Yao, meeting in Conference Room 5 — case discussion, bring your laptop.”

By the time Cheng Yao got there, Qian Heng was already seated. Bao Rui had gotten the laptop and projector set up, and today’s case details appeared on the screen.

“A married couple. The husband owns a business. Before the wedding, the two signed a prenuptial agreement stating that in the event of divorce, their premarital assets wouldn’t be divided, only assets acquired during the marriage. Half a year into the marriage, the two divorced due to a breakdown in their relationship. Because of the prenup, and given the short duration of the marriage, the wife only received seventy thousand yuan in cash. But now, the wife has learned that the husband’s company is about to go public through financing, and believes the division of assets at the time of the divorce may not have been fair. She’s come to us hoping we can investigate the state of the husband’s assets during the marriage — whether there was any concealment or fraud in the division of property — to help her secure a fairer share.”

Qian Heng glanced at the projected screen. “This is a client I’m currently in talks with. The actual case is naturally more complex, with more details — I’ve simplified it here. As usual, I’ll bring one associate onto this case. Tan Ying is currently busy with another case, so it’ll be between Bao Rui and Cheng Yao. Go ahead and discuss the case — whoever offers the most ideas, and the most in-depth analysis, gets to work on it with me.”

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

Timing was critical here — there was a statute of limitations for requesting a redistribution of assets after divorce.

“One year and ten months.”

“Then it’s still within the valid window. If one party concealed, transferred, sold off, damaged joint marital property, or fabricated debt in an attempt to seize assets, the other party can file a lawsuit within two years of discovering it, citing post-divorce property disputes as the cause of action.”

“Mm.”

“Then this should be manageable. Since the husband has a company, we should start by investigating the business — during the marriage, did he use the existing company to establish subsidiaries as a shareholder? Or invest in other companies through the existing one? Or did the existing company undergo any capital increases during the marriage? If any of that happened, we investigate his equity stake and go after him for the money.” Bao Rui was getting excited. “And with this company about to go public, the valuation would be substantial. If we can win this case, my down payment for an apartment might just be sorted. Though the timeline for investigation and evidence-gathering is tight — we’d have to complete the filing within two months.”

…

The entire case discussion session turned into practically a one-man show for Bao Rui. Unsurprisingly, Qian Heng ultimately chose Bao Rui for the case, while Cheng Yao ended up functioning as little more than a meeting recorder, barely managing to keep up with digesting Qian Heng and Bao Rui’s line of thinking.

Qian Heng valued efficiency, and the meeting wrapped up quickly.

“I’ll email you the case materials shortly. You can start investigating the husband’s business and financial information.”

Bao Rui took the assignment and headed out.

Cheng Yao tried to follow, but Qian Heng called her back.

“Bao Rui offered nine points on the case. And you?” Qian Heng gave a cold snort. “Couldn’t even get a word in, could you? Are you planning to switch careers to court stenographer, or maybe minutes-taker?”

Cheng Yao bit her lip but didn’t argue back. It was true — she’d seen the gap between herself and Bao Rui. While she was still mentally searching for relevant legal provisions, Bao Rui had already spoken up without hesitation. While she was still trying to figure out which direction to investigate the husband’s finances from, Bao Rui had already laid out a clear, organized analysis…

“Do you want to know how to get better?”

Even though Qian Heng was toxic, he was undeniably skilled when it came to actual professional knowledge. Humbled by the recognition of her own shortcomings, Cheng Yao asked sincerely, “Boss, please, teach me. I know my foundation isn’t strong enough — I’ll work hard to catch up.”

“Then starting tonight, I don’t want to see you watching TV dramas in the living room.”

“…”

Qian Heng continued in a perfectly serious tone. “Your foundation is this weak, and you still think you’re entitled to watch TV dramas? Come with me to my office. I have a small stack of old case files — I want you to finish reading them by this week, and note down your reflections after each case. Hand it in to me next Monday.”

Qian Heng! This is you settling a personal score! Cheng Yao thought, gritting her teeth in fury.

A setup. It had all been a setup! This entire thing was just an elaborate scheme to justify the “no TV at night” rule!

The man really was toxic — clearly worried Cheng Yao would slip back into her old habits within a few days, he’d even come up with this whole scheme of assigning case files with a review requirement to check!

Cheng Yao trudged dejectedly after Qian Heng to his office, and by the time she emerged carrying his so-called “small stack” of files, her face had gone pale.

This was no small stack!

This was a whole tower!

Fortunately, Bao Rui happened to be passing by and helped carry the materials to her desk.

“Cheng Yao, there’s a bit more here.”

Just as Cheng Yao had collapsed into her chair, the internal line rang — Qian Heng’s demonic voice summoning her once more.

In the end, after trip after trip, Cheng Yao finally ended up with an entire desk covered in case files…

Bao Rui looked at her with some sympathy. “Partner Qian rarely pays this much attention to new hires. Normally he doesn’t even bother holding a meeting to discuss cases — by his own logic, every minute he spends is worth 166.666 recurring yuan, and every extra word he says to us costs him over a hundred yuan, so usually these case discussions just happen over group email.”

“And I’ve never seen him keep such close tabs on a new hire either, pushing them to study like this.” Bao Rui eyed Cheng Yao’s desk full of case files. “Given how Partner Qian usually just ignores new people entirely, this doesn’t quite add up, does it?” He gave her a suspicious look. “Could it be because you’re pretty? Maybe Partner Qian’s come up with all these tricks to get more time alone with you? Studying cases together under the moonlight, the two of you role-playing opposing counsel, going head-to-head over property and custody until dawn — my god, just imagining it sounds so romantic…”

Bao Rui, I bet spending so much time around Qian Heng has poisoned you too!

Cheng Yao thought bitterly to herself. Some “Wealth and Glory crew” — this was basically a cult of poison.