Everything happened so fast that Cheng Yao barely had time to react before Qian Heng had already thrown a punch at Tang Bing. Even though Cheng Yao knew nothing about fighting, she could tell from the angle and the target of that punch that it was vicious and merciless—almost a blow meant to kill.

Then came the second punch, the third…

“You dared touch what’s mine?”

Qian Heng’s tone was dark and ruthless, but his movements never slowed.

Cheng Yao watched in shock as Qian Heng, looking like a bloodthirsty demon god, delivered punch after punch to Tang Bing. She was almost afraid Qian Heng meant to beat him to death on the spot.

Tang Bing’s face was instantly covered in bruises from Qian Heng’s beating, blood trickling from his nose and the corner of his mouth. Faced with Qian Heng’s overwhelming physical dominance, he completely caved, curling into a ball, struggling weakly while wailing for help like a ghost.

“Thirteen punches.” Qian Heng had thoroughly subdued Tang Bing. He glanced with disgust at the blood on his own hand.

Even in such a bloody, violent scene, Qian Heng remained remarkably elegant. A few drops of blood had splattered onto his handsome, fair face. He glanced at Cheng Yao: “Tissue.”

Cheng Yao, as if struck by divine inspiration, immediately pulled out a napkin. “Boss, here!”

Qian Heng’s long, well-defined fingers took the tissue and casually wiped the blood from his face, then just as casually tossed it onto Tang Bing, as if discarding trash onto more trash. He made no effort to hide the contempt and disdain on his face.

And yet even now, he remained composed and calm. If a stranger had walked in at that moment, they would never have guessed that this same Qian Heng had just savagely beaten a man.

He was so handsome! So satisfying to watch!

Cheng Yao’s heart was practically bursting with excitement. In that moment, she nearly shouted out loud—

I! Cheng Yao! In this lifetime, willingly join the Five Poisons Sect! For the Sect Leader, I would give my all! For the Five Poisons Sect, I would offer my youth! I will serve Sect Leader Qian Heng forever!

Compared to Qian Heng’s calm self-control, Tang Bing’s condition could only be described as pitiful. He lay on the ground, his face swollen and bruised, smeared with snot, tears, and blood, yet he still kept cursing: “Qian Heng, you’ll pay for hitting me. I’m calling the police right now! Don’t tell me there’s no law in this modern society!”

Qian Heng didn’t even bother looking at him, as if sparing him another glance might give him a stye. He kicked Tang Bing, his tone coldly mocking: “Talking to me about the rule of law? You?”

“Still don’t understand why you got beaten? How many times did you touch her? Thirteen times.”

At this, Qian Heng seemed to remember something. He turned to look at Cheng Yao, his gaze heavy: “Which hand did he touch you with?”

Qian Heng was usually calm and composed, his expression often indifferent, casual, carrying an innate air of nobility and pride, as if this lowly world wasn’t worthy of his refined interests.

But right now, his face was alive, carrying a fierce edge.

Cheng Yao had never been able to imagine what Qian Heng would look like with more expression—would it be more handsome than his usual cold indifference?

Now she saw it. Now she knew for certain.

It was handsome.

Because Cheng Yao had zoned out, Qian Heng asked again.

“Which hand did he touch you with?”

His voice was calm and steady, which for no reason made Cheng Yao feel safe.

As if bewitched, she answered without thinking: “Right hand, but the left—”

Before her voice even faded, there was a sharp crack and an earth-shattering scream as Qian Heng brutally dislocated Tang Bing’s right arm…

“But what?”

Cheng Yao barely managed to swallow the words “but it seems he touched me with his left hand too.” She shook her head rapidly. “No buts!”

Tang Bing had originally thought that as a lawyer, Qian Heng would at least have some regard for the law and wouldn’t go too far. But seeing how ruthless Qian Heng was now, he didn’t dare say another word. He tried desperately to curl into himself, as if trying to minimize his presence. He looked utterly wretched now, his right arm hanging limp from the shoulder, his face twisted as he fought to bear the pain of the dislocation.

Cheng Yao had previously only known that the Sect Leader of the Five Poisons was skilled with poison—she hadn’t expected his combat prowess to be this overwhelming too. He must have been hiding his true strength all along… He really doesn’t strike easily, but when he does, he never fails to injure, Cheng Yao thought admiringly. Of course a man who could rise to the position of Sect Leader was no ordinary person! That fierce side of Qian Heng just now, that presence, that killing intent, that precise and steady strike—Cheng Yao nearly dropped to her knees shouting “Long live the Five Poisons Sect, ruler of all under heaven!”

By now, Cheng Yao was so thoroughly stunned by this completely off-script turn of events that she had no room left to think about anything else. She simply stepped forward carefully and tugged at Qian Heng’s sleeve: “Boss, um, don’t be rash! Quick, think back to the sentencing standards for intentional injury and calm down…”

Qian Heng remained perfectly composed. He elegantly rolled up his sleeve. “Mm, I know.” He didn’t even lift his eyelids. “It doesn’t even qualify as minor injury. I know my limits.”

“…”

Qian Heng stayed remarkably calm, even taking the opportunity to explain the law: “At most it would violate the Public Security Administration Punishments Regulations. ‘Those who beat others, or intentionally injure another person’s body, shall be detained for five to ten days and fined between 200 and 500 yuan; in cases of minor circumstances, detained for less than five days or fined less than 500 yuan.'”

He glanced lightly at Cheng Yao: “Violating the Public Security Punishments Regulations won’t get my license revoked by the bar association.”

“…”

Talk about strategic planning and calculated precision!

Cheng Yao admired such meticulous thinking, but also felt a sudden wave of despair—she realized she probably wouldn’t make partner anytime soon. Her perspective and way of thinking about problems was simply too far from someone as thoroughly ruthless as Qian Heng.

“Cheng Yao, in my entire life, there has never been a mess I couldn’t clean up.” Qian Heng frowned, his tone still carrying a hint of displeasure. “Can you please study the law properly?”

“Mm…”

Qian Heng glared at Cheng Yao, his expression full of “I can’t be bothered with you” disdain, then he turned and walked a couple of steps toward Tang Bing.

Tang Bing thought Qian Heng was about to beat him again and trembled in fear, immediately dropping to his knees to beg for mercy: “Lawyer Qian, please forgive me.” As he spoke, he slapped himself hard with his good hand. “I was possessed by a demon, I was a toad trying to eat swan meat, actually trying to steal someone from Lawyer Qian.” Tang Bing was nearly in tears. “I didn’t know Lawyer Cheng was your girlfriend, I was blind, don’t worry, I… I will absolutely not cause any trouble, you, you hitting me was completely reasonable and legal, it was my own fault, I deserved it! I deserved it!”

Qian Heng didn’t bother correcting Tang Bing’s misunderstanding. He gave him a disgusted look, then turned to Cheng Yao: “Cheng Yao, give me a blank sheet of A4 paper. And a pen.”

Qian Heng took the paper, made no move to hit Tang Bing again, and looked down at him coldly and imperiously, tossing the paper and pen in front of him: “Sign.”

Tang Bing obediently picked up the pen, asking with trembling voice: “Sign, sign what?”

“Sign your name.” Qian Heng’s tone remained cold. “I’m no longer taking your case. Sign to terminate the retainer agreement.”

The paper was still blank, but Tang Bing didn’t dare protest. He signed with shaking hands and handed it to Qian Heng.

But Qian Heng didn’t take it. He looked at Tang Bing indifferently: “Now a fingerprint.”

“Ink… do you have ink pad?”

“Use your blood.”

Qian Heng said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as casually as discussing the weather.

Tang Bing shrank back, wiping the blood from his nose to press his fingerprint. Only then did Qian Heng take the paper, handing it to Cheng Yao without a second thought: “Draft a termination of representation agreement when we get back, and file it.”

“Cheng Yao, let’s go.”

But Cheng Yao paused, thinking it over. She walked up to Tang Bing and, suppressing her disgust, warned him: “Don’t forget, I filmed a video. If you try anything against Lawyer Qian…”

“Let’s go.”

Before Cheng Yao could finish, Qian Heng pulled her away, giving her no chance to argue.

As he turned to leave, Qian Heng looked back at Tang Bing, his voice cold: “If you want to sue me, go ahead.”

Buddy, who would dare sue you? Who could even win?

Not a chance…

Not until they left the conference room and returned to the hotel room did Cheng Yao realize she was still being held by Qian Heng—through the fabric of her sleeve, he was gripping her wrist.

There was no actual skin contact, yet Cheng Yao suddenly felt as though a fire had ignited from that point where Qian Heng held her wrist, spreading through her entire body.

Qian Heng said nothing, simply pulling Cheng Yao into his room without giving her a choice.

Though Tang Bing was despicable, he had spared no expense—both Qian Heng and Cheng Yao had been booked into suites.

Everything had happened so suddenly that Cheng Yao had been too shocked to think. Now, standing in the sitting room of Qian Heng’s suite, she finally began, belatedly, to feel nervous and uneasy.

Cheng Yao twisted her fingers together, glanced at Qian Heng, and said softly, “Boss, thank you.”

Unfortunately, this thanks didn’t seem to please Qian Heng at all. He sat on the sofa, back straight, expression blank: “You still think of me as your boss?”

Cheng Yao was momentarily confused and at a loss.

“If I hadn’t asked, would you have told me at all?” Qian Heng’s voice was very calm, but the calmer he was, the more dangerous Cheng Yao felt it to be—like the sea before a storm, the quieter and more peaceful it seemed, the more unsettling it became.

Cheng Yao bit her lip: “I was afraid that telling you would put you in a difficult position. I didn’t know if you…”

“So you were being noble about it?” Qian Heng glanced at her. “Sacrificing yourself for the sake of work? Why didn’t you just come tell me directly?”

Cheng Yao looked embarrassed: “It’s just… before, at my previous firm, when I went to client dinners with my supervising lawyer, I never encountered anyone as blatant as Tang Bing, but I did experience harassment before. The clients would get drunk, and they were all middle-aged men—if they weren’t making suggestive comments, they’d try to cop a feel. Back then I told my supervising lawyer, but he just laughed and told me not to mind it, that they were just joking around, that the client is god and we need to serve them well, and besides, they hadn’t crossed any real line…” Cheng Yao lowered her head. “He told me to just bear with it.”

Cheng Yao looked pitiful, sitting dejectedly in front of Qian Heng. He could almost picture how, the first time this had happened, she must have run to her supervising lawyer, furious and helpless, seeking help—only to discover, with disappointment, that he wouldn’t protect her, leaving her no choice but to grit her teeth and swallow the humiliation, forcing herself to endure the verbal and physical harassment from those greasy middle-aged men.

Thinking about it this way, Qian Heng suddenly didn’t feel like scolding her anymore.

“You don’t have to bear with it.”

“Hm?”

Qian Heng pressed his lips together. “Whatever rules you learned before, from whoever taught them to you, they don’t apply here. Cheng Yao, with me, you never have to endure anything.”

“If someone harasses you and you can win, slap them across the face directly, don’t worry about their reputation, and don’t worry whether the client is worth a few million or a few hundred million.”

“And if I can’t win…”

“If you can’t win, tell me, and I’ll fight them for you.”

Qian Heng said this with a completely calm expression, as if discussing something as mundane as the weather, yet Cheng Yao felt her heart stir for no reason.

Somehow, the more ordinary Qian Heng sounded, the more moving it became.

But Qian Heng himself remained oblivious to this, continuing to lecture Cheng Yao: “Besides these clients who think that having a bit of money entitles them to sexually harass people, you’ll encounter all kinds of difficult people in the future—people who think that as clients they’re gods, that paying legal fees means they can order you around however they please, expecting you to be on call 24 hours a day, as if you exist to serve only them in the entire universe, demanding you execute their requests within a minute, respond to their questions within a minute. Don’t indulge any of these people. Don’t endure it.”

“The best thing about being a lawyer is that we can work with countless clients, unlike at a company where you only serve one boss. Any client you’re unhappy with, you can refuse, and you won’t lose your job for it. Because the market is huge—you’ll always find other clients.” Qian Heng stared into Cheng Yao’s eyes. “All you need to do is hone your professional skills, and then you’ll never have to live at someone else’s mercy. Because you choose your clients, not the other way around.”

Cheng Yao nodded firmly: “Mm!”

“And don’t keep thinking about the bigger picture either.” Qian Heng’s voice turned stern. “Does Qian Heng need his subordinates to sacrifice their dignity to keep a client?”

Instinctively, Cheng Yao began apologizing: “I’m… I’m sorry.” She looked ashamed. “It was my poor handling of the situation.”

“It’s not that you handled it poorly. It’s that you don’t trust me.” Qian Heng had no intention of letting her off the hook easily, sharply exposing her earlier thoughts. “You thought I was the same as your former supervising lawyer—that between a subordinate’s dignity and money, I would choose money.”

With this pointed observation, Cheng Yao finally realized that she’d been afraid of putting Qian Heng in an awkward position, and the premise of that fear was, subconsciously, believing that Qian Heng would agonize over the value of this case.

“A gentleman loves wealth, but obtains it through proper means. I, Qian Heng, will not earn money this way.”

“Thank you.” Cheng Yao said sincerely. “But actually I already kept the evidence, so it was fine even if you hadn’t hit him—we could’ve just gone through the legal process afterward.”

“You’re a lawyer yourself. Even for a habitual sexual harasser with a solid case, do you not know what level of punishment the law would actually impose?” Qian Heng glanced at her. “You would spend enormous time and energy filing the lawsuit, forcing yourself to relive this disgusting experience over and over, only to find in the end that Tang Bing gets nothing more than a slap on the wrist.”

“Only harassment that rises to the level of indecent assault constitutes a crime. Given his conduct, plus the expensive defense lawyer he’d hire, what kind of verdict do you honestly think you’d get? Would that settle the anger and grievance in your heart?”

Cheng Yao felt her face burning with shame and guilt—she hadn’t trusted Qian Heng enough to tell him right away, yet even knowing this, he had still helped her get such a satisfying form of justice.

“Cheng Yao, you can trust me.”

Just as Cheng Yao’s thoughts were spiraling in confusion, Qian Heng suddenly leaned down, close to her face, staring earnestly into her eyes, and said, word by word:

“Any time, whenever this happens, I will protect you.”

It was a simple sentence, without any embellishment, yet Cheng Yao felt something crash inside her chest. The iron door sealing off her heart, which had never let anyone in, suddenly collapsed before these words, defenseless.

It was as though something had gently pushed open the softest part of her heart, scattering a handful of seeds across that soil, and something had begun to sprout.