Chapter 15: Chapter 9 (part 2)

It seemed like the tip had been more than generous, for it didn't take long for the matcha ice cream to arrive. Taking the ice cream, Fu Zheng squatted down to look at Ning Wan. She was still curled under the table. "Here, ice cream for you. Will you come out now?"

Ning Wan caught sight of the ice cream and brightened up. She scrambled toward Fu Zheng and took it from his hand, but refused to emerge from under the table, only saying vaguely, "I'll come out after eating."

"Why not eat out here?" Fu Zheng asked patiently. "It's uncomfortable to eat ice cream under a table. "

Ning Wan glared at him "You're just waiting for me to come out so you can steal my ice cream! I can see right through you! You snobby young master, I have your number, I see right through your little game..."

Sure enough, being good never paid off. Fu Zheng took Ning Wan's ice cream away, his face frosty. "I can steal your ice cream even without tricking you to get out." He looked at Ning Wan, his face stern. "And I'm telling you now that your ice cream is officially gone."

Shocked, Ning Wan simply stared at him for a good minute. Fu Zheng had already predicted the next ridiculous thing she would say and prepared countermeasures. But then all of a sudden, Ning Wan scrunched up her face and wailed.

Flustered, Fu Zheng shoved the ice cream back into her hand. Why on earth did he even steal it? In an awkward voice, he consoled, "Don't cry, here! Ice cream for you!"

Unfortunately, she ignored him. Refusing the ice cream, she simply cried even more.

Fu Zheng was completely at a loss. His voice remained cool, but his expression showed how helpless he was feeling. "What else did you say you wanted to eat? Sugar-fried chestnuts, candied berries, mooncakes with meat, Yunnan flower cake? Anything else? I'll buy them all for you."

But this time Ning Wan was no longer listening. She kept crying, unmoved by his attempt.

"My life just sucks." She was now sobbing and hiccupping worse than before, and she seemed more sincere. "I need money but have no money, I want a career, but have no career..." She suddenly seemed to think of something especially tragic and her wails begun anew. "I've worked hard for so many years in the firm, but no partner wants me on their team..."

He could only reluctantly comfort her this time as well...

"About money," Fu Zheng licked his lips nervously, "You can only get that by maximizing your income and minimizing your expenses. If you feel like you have no money, you should cut off all unnecessary expenses, like not eating matcha ice cream in the middle of the night. As for income," He looked at Ning Wan for a brief moment, then said objectively, "As a lawyer, you make income by taking on more cases. At your current experience level, there really won't be any large cases with openings. Since you can't increase your income, you can only cut down on expenses. If you treat yourself less, you could maybe save a few hundred more a month."

"As for no partner being willing to have you on their team, then you just need to think about it. Why don't people want you? Take a good look at yourself and make progress. Why can others in the firm enter teams but not you? There must be some flaw on your part. Find that out and get rid of it, and you'll be..."

Before he could say "just fine", Ning Wan begun crying louder than ever...

Fu Zheng felt pain stabbing through his skull. What was with this woman? He had been so kind as to comfort her, and yet she was still crying?! She was so unreasonable!

But after his comfort, Ning Wan genuinely looked even worse, weeping and complaining, "There was finally a new partner in the firm, and I was hoping to write an email to recommend myself to him, but he just ignored me! Is everyone so rude nowadays? Is it that great being a senior partner? At the very least send me a reply! It's not like it takes long to reply to an email! All I want from life right now is to get a reply..."

Did not replying to an email do so much harm? Ning Wan seemed like she was dying just because she hadn't received her reply.

Fu Zheng deliberated over it. He felt himself to be passable at comforting others. Licking his lips, he assured, "He will reply to you."

That finally worked. Ning Wan stopped crying and looked up at him. Her eyes were still red, like those of a frightened rabbit. "Really?"

Fu Zheng nodded, not meeting her gaze, and promised her rather unnaturally, "Really."

Saying so, he pulled out his phone, opened his email, and began to type a reply.

After a bit, an email notification really did ring out from her phone. Fu Zheng, his face hard-done-by, brushed off his clothes to hide the great burden of excellence and fame and reminded her, "Look, didn't I say he would reply? That's the reply."

Her expression suspicious, Ning Wan muttered, "It might just be spam."

"Turn the phone on and check for yourself," Fu Zheng told her, his tone indifferent.

Though obviously skeptical, Ning Wan turned on her mobile phone obediently. Her whole face lit up in front of his eyes. Quickly, she climbed out from under the table and looked at him in surprise. "Are you some sort of miracle worker?! As soon as you said it would happen, that partner really did reply to me!"

Fu Zheng had an all-knowing smile on his face. Be it law or comforting, he thought to himself, nothing is impossible in the face of all-encompassing talent.

Just look at Ning Wan's expression right now. It was like all her dreams had just come true. Fu Zheng watched her nervous, trembling fingers click on that email, and thought to himself that after this, her drunken mood swings would stabilize, and he would finally be free to retire.

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"Shouldn't you take back what you just said?" Fu Zheng hinted, watching her carefully. "This partner is probably busy day in and day out, yet he still took the time out of his schedule to reply to you. Not only is he polite, but it seems like he might be very approachable..."

Although he had done this out of the goodness of his own heart without expecting anything in return, Fu Zheng felt that if Ning Wan should chance to laud his name and praise him madly, he would very reluctantly accept...

But how was he to know that the reverse would happen instead? 

Not only did she not praise him, but she let out a stream of four-letter words. "Is this guy a viper?" she hissed. "Why even bother replying if it was just going to be a rejection?! And even if it was, couldn't he just politely decline? Why write some chilly little letter saying that my resume didn't live up to his requirements in any aspect, and even analyze in detail how and why? A rejection letter! Did his brain short-circuit? "

“……”

Fu Zheng was frustrated beyond belief. Why was Ning Wan so moody? Hadn't she just told him that her only dream in life was to receive a reply from that senior partner? What was wrong with a rejection letter? Wasn't that a reply too? It wasn't easy to take the time out of his busy life to reply to her. He had made an exception for her just by writing back in the first place. Was she just trying to push her luck?

Just as he was coming up with these theories, tears once again began running down Ning Wan's cheeks. "Life is just the worst! No boyfriend, society freezes me out, it's just not worth going on! Even if I didn't meet some standard and can only receive rejection letters, couldn't he have at least written something encouraging at the end? Just a couple words saying 'you can do it'! When people have their love letters rejected, at least they get a 'you're really nice, it's not you it's me' response!"

“……”

"How ruthless can this guy get!?"

Fu Zheng didn't want to write any such words of encouragement in the least. It was completely contrary to his character. Ning Wan was right - as a boss, he was ruthless to his subordinates. However, the more she cried, the more his head hurt. Fu Zheng debated it and finally decided to say something encouraging. He could think of it as his good deed for the day.

He had just taken out his phone to add an encouraging addendum to his first email when he heard Ning Wan continue on--

"What's the point of this senior partner being so good at business?! A man who can't even encourage someone has no charisma at all! I bet he doesn't even have a girlfriend! And he'll probably never get one!"

“……”

Fu Zheng's thoughts of good deeds faded. Calmly, he deleted the freshly-typed "You can do it" from his phone.

Say goodbye to your encouraging email, Ning Wan.

 

The author has something to say:

[Little Theater]

Fu Zheng: There's nothing I can't do well, including comforting people!

(Insert a crazy stream of fatal stereotypical male comfort here)

Ning Wan: Thank you. I was just in a bad mood.

Fu Zheng (happy): And now? Do you feel better now?

Ning Wan: Now I no longer want to live.

Fu Zheng: ...

[This story isn't a tragedy, rest assured!]