Actually, Cheng Yao’s reasoning was quite simple—she hadn’t wanted to leave purely because she worried that, given Qian Heng’s willful personality, the moment she left, he’d just set the congee aside carelessly and go back to opening his laptop to answer work emails.

She’d simply wanted to stay and watch him finish the congee before leaving with peace of mind.

She just hadn’t expected Qian Heng’s thought process to be so bizarre…

Fortunately, after a lengthy explanation, she finally managed to convince Qian Heng of the truth.

But once he’d changed into his clothes, facing the stomach-soothing congee, he still ended up refusing after all.

“I’m not eating it.”

“Boss, this is something I specially made arrangements for—can’t you just eat it?”

“I’m not hungry right now.”

“That’s because you’ve been so hungry for so long that your body’s stopped registering it, but if you keep skipping meals every time you get this hungry, your stomach’s going to be ruined in the long run!”

…

No matter how Cheng Yao tried to persuade him, Qian Heng remained stubborn—he wouldn’t eat, and that was that.

With no other options, Cheng Yao gritted her teeth and pulled out her trump card: “How about this—if you eat it, I’ll give up my five days of statutory paid annual leave this year!”

Qian Heng indeed hesitated.

“And I’ll do two more days of unpaid overtime!”

Qian Heng was tempted.

“And I’ll extend the cleaning service by a whole month!”

With this final blow, Qian Heng finally caved.

He picked up the thermos and, with reluctant grace, began to eat.

Unfortunately, having probably gone hungry for too long, his stomach still wasn’t quite comfortable, so Qian Heng ate very slowly, small spoonful by small spoonful, taking a long time before he finally finished off most of the bowl.

Cheng Yao grew anxious. “There wasn’t that much to begin with—there’s only a bit left, finish it up?”

“Not eating it.”

Why, ancestor?! Cheng Yao thought. This won’t do—I paid such a steep price to get you to drink this congee, and you still won’t finish it! How could this be! Even if I have to force-feed you, I’m getting the rest down your throat!

“It’s not as good as what you’d make.”

“…”

For some reason, almost instantly, all of Cheng Yao’s grand resolve from moments ago completely deflated.

“Fine… fine… since you put it that way, then, then let’s just leave it.”

Since her boss had already had some congee, Cheng Yao no longer had any reason to linger, and she picked up the thermos, preparing to take her leave. But this time, it was Qian Heng who called her back instead.

“Cheng Yao.”

“Yeah?” Cheng Yao stopped and turned around, waiting for her boss’s instructions.

Qian Heng seemed somewhat awkward, pressing his lips together. “Nothing. Go on.”

Cheng Yao nodded, puzzled, and turned to leave again.

“Cheng Yao.”

Qian Heng called her back again.

“Is it about anything we need to prepare for tonight’s meeting with Tang Bing?” Cheng Yao tried hard to recall, attempting to give her forgetful boss a hint. “All the materials have been prepared in triplicate, and I’ve sent the material checklist to your inbox. If there’s anything else to add, if you think of it later, then…”

“Thank you.”

But before she could finish speaking, she was cut off by Qian Heng’s two brief words.

Simple as those two words were, Qian Heng’s voice had been deliberately lowered, as if he didn’t want anyone to hear it clearly.

Cheng Yao genuinely froze at this. She shook her head. “Boss, did I just mishear something?”

Qian Heng glared fiercely at Cheng Yao. “Cheng Yao, don’t push your luck.”

???

“Fine, I’ll say it again. Thank you.” Qian Heng looked away, staring up at the ceiling, his voice lofty and cold. “Did you hear it clearly this time?”

Although Cheng Yao really wanted to ask exactly how she’d been pushing her luck, at this moment Qian Heng was like a balloon fully inflated—Cheng Yao felt that if she made even the slightest misstep, he might actually burst!

“I heard it, I heard it.”

“Then why are you making such a fuss?”

Cheng Yao muttered, “I’m just a little surprised—I didn’t expect the words ‘thank you’ to be in your dictionary, Boss…”

“It’s a newly added entry. What, do you have an objection?”

“No!”

Cheng Yao thought to herself, would I dare have an objection?

Even though this dictionary entry was being added rather slowly, it was still progress after all!

And regardless, this whole business of forcing Qian Heng to drink the congee—at least, in his heart, he appreciated it. This realization made Cheng Yao quite pleased.

“Boss, since that’s the case, does that mean the paid leave I gave up and the extra unpaid overtime and extended cleaning time I promised in exchange for you drinking the congee are all off the table now?”

Qian Heng, not one to be easily dealt with, raised an eyebrow and countered, “Why would that be off the table?” He smiled. “This constitutes a verbal agreement reached mutually. Let me ask—when this verbal contract was formed, were you coerced? Did I commit fraud? Are you a person without civil capacity, or with limited civil capacity? Since none of the elements that would render a contract voidable or invalid are present, and this was entirely your own expression of intent, why would it not be binding?”

“…”

Cheng Yao thought, I’m dead. My boss has killed me with rage once again!

Regardless, once Qian Heng finished the congee, Cheng Yao finally felt her heart settle down. She went back to her own room to freshen up a bit, and then received a call from Tang Bing.

For convenience, the dinner location was set at the InterContinental’s Western restaurant.

So at six-thirty that evening, Qian Heng and Cheng Yao met with Tang Bing once again.

Perhaps because he’d had some warm congee, plus showered and rested a bit, Qian Heng’s complexion looked much better now, and even his bearing seemed to carry more magnetism than usual. Dressed in an expensive suit that perfectly complemented his figure, handsome and cool, radiating presence, the moment he walked into the Western restaurant, subtle glances turned toward him and his face.

On his own, Tang Bing was, among wealthy businessmen, reasonably good-looking. But standing next to Qian Heng, it was simply a comparison of a scrawny chicken next to a phoenix—truly a rather sorry sight.

Still, Tang Bing didn’t seem to mind at all. Throughout the entire dinner, he was quite animated, showering them with a stream of flattering remarks, followed by toasts. Unfortunately, Qian Heng was not the least bit accommodating—he flatly shook his head and refused Tang Bing’s attempts to get him drinking.

“We still need to discuss the family trust tonight, so for the sake of staying in a proper working state, I won’t be drinking.”

“This is just red wine, have a little—it’s good for the skin!” Tang Bing said, glancing at Cheng Yao as he spoke. “Well, if Lawyer Qian won’t drink, that’s fine—let little Lawyer Cheng keep me company with a few glasses. Come on, come on, Lawyer Cheng, bottoms up.”

Back at her previous firm, Cheng Yao had attended plenty of dinners like this. At times like this, it was naturally someone in her position, an associate lawyer, who ended up doing the drinking. At her old firm, Cheng Yao had absolutely despised drinking at these business dinners. Yet this time, without even thinking, she almost picked up her wine glass, ready to drink it down in one go.

Qian Heng’s stomach had probably just barely settled from earlier, and he couldn’t drink—but sometimes, one couldn’t afford to be too disrespectful toward a client either. Tang Bing was, after all, a client with a case worth several hundred million yuan! At this moment, drinking herself was probably the most appropriate way to prioritize the bigger picture.

But just as Cheng Yao lifted her glass, a hand shot out beside her, forcefully and domineeringly taking the glass right out of her hand.

“I’m not drinking. Neither is she.”

Tang Bing, evidently used to the greasy tactics of the business world, immediately laughed and teased, picking up another glass and handing it to Cheng Yao. “Lawyer Qian, you’ve got too many rules for your boss here, huh? Look, little Lawyer Cheng wanted to drink with me of her own accord—surely you’re not going to interfere with her personal freedom? Come on, she’s a grown woman, having a bit of red wine, what’s the harm?” Tang Bing glanced at Cheng Yao. “How about this—let’s be democratic about it. Let’s ask little Lawyer Cheng herself—does she want to drink?”

To a question like this, what could Cheng Yao possibly say? Could she really say she didn’t want to?

Just as Cheng Yao was steeling herself to say yes against her own true feelings, Qian Heng’s voice rang out: “Even if she’s willing, it’s still not happening.” His entire face darkened, his tone icy. “My associate lawyer doesn’t drink. No exceptions.”

Tang Bing’s own expression grew somewhat strained. “Lawyer Qian, isn’t this a bit harsh?”

“This is my principle when I’m working. No exceptions for anyone.”

Cheng Yao stole a glance at Qian Heng out of the corner of her eye—his stunningly handsome face carried the arrogance and pressure of someone who stood above everyone else.

In this world, probably the only person who would ever have to watch someone else’s mood was everyone but Qian Heng—the person capable of making Qian Heng watch theirs probably hadn’t even been born yet!

Naturally, Tang Bing found this quite awkward and quite the mood-killer. He simply arranged to meet again in the hotel’s conference room in an hour, once everyone had rested, to continue discussing the case, and brought the dinner to an early close.

Cheng Yao had originally planned to rest in her room for a while and call home, but only half an hour later, she received a call from Tang Bing.

“Little Lawyer Cheng, could you come to the conference room for a moment? I have several documents that are a bit disorganized and need some sorting out, and I’d also like your help preparing the conference room.” Tang Bing’s voice sounded apologetic. “Sorry, since I flew back on such short notice, a lot of things weren’t ready in time, and some of the materials were just printed at the hotel—there wasn’t time for my assistant to organize them.”

Cheng Yao nodded in understanding, grabbed her phone, and headed to the conference room.

When she arrived, Tang Bing was indeed already waiting there.

“Mr. Tang, just give me whatever needs sorting, I’ll get right on it.”

Tang Bing waved a hand. “The materials can wait a moment—right now could you help me plug in the computer’s power cord first?” As he fiddled with the laptop, an expression of distress crossed his face. “I’ve got some materials I need to project onto the screen later. My back isn’t great—I can’t really bend down.”

Cheng Yao didn’t suspect anything. She picked up the power cord and crouched down, reaching toward the outlet under the conference table. Unfortunately, the computer’s power cord was rather short, and the outlet under the table was set further back, forcing Cheng Yao to crawl in a bit further.

“So, little Lawyer Cheng, working under Lawyer Qian—must be exhausting, huh?”

Cheng Yao’s suit skirt wasn’t well suited to large movements. She shifted the angle of her body slightly as she crawled under the table, responding perfunctorily as she worked: “Working with Lawyer Qian, I get a lot of good training.”

“You don’t have to hide it from me—I know it must be tough. Junior lawyers like you probably don’t get much of a cut even when Lawyer Qian lands a big case like mine. Probably just a few thousand yuan a month, right?”

Tang Bing’s voice was getting closer to Cheng Yao—he seemed to have come to stand right behind her, which made Cheng Yao rather uncomfortable, since she was still stuck in the awkward position of being bent over, crouched under the conference table.

Fortunately, she finally got the power plugged in.

But just as Cheng Yao was about to withdraw from under the table, Tang Bing suddenly crouched down behind her as well, and then a hand gently patted Cheng Yao’s backside.

Cheng Yao froze, her heart lurching in alarm, and instinctively tried to crawl straight out from under the table to get away. But Tang Bing, being a grown man, blocked her way out with his own body.

“Little Lawyer Cheng, has anyone ever told you that you have a particularly beautiful figure?” Along with his voice, that hand settled onto Cheng Yao’s backside again. “The moment I saw you, I felt it was love at first sight, honestly—it gave me a feeling like first love all over again. Someone this pretty, and sweet and clever on top of it—you’re really quite something. Actually, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this kind of stirring in my heart. My wife and I have been apart for a long time now, no feelings left between us. If you’re willing to be with me, I’ll go get a divorce right away…”

Cheng Yao very quickly realized she was facing workplace sexual harassment. Tang Bing, with his slick manner, clearly wasn’t discreet in his private life, but she hadn’t expected him to be so brazen as to carry out this kind of harassment right here in a work conference room. Did he think his money could fix everything? Or did he think any woman would just cave in the face of money?

In your dreams!