Chapter 44: Chapter 22 (part 2)

"Absolutely not. I won't do it."

At work the next day, Ning Wan explained her plan and was met by Fu Zheng's firm rejection. Stern-faced, he said, "I am a lawyer. Don't you understand how precious a lawyer's time is? Do you understand what every minute and second of a lawyer's time should be used to do? "

"I know, I know! But Fu Zheng, 'every minute and every second being precious' really only applies at the partner level. Do you know what's least valuable thing for lawyers on the bottom rung? It's time!"

"If a lawyer isn't qualified, then their time doesn't mean anything. Where a partner might rely on their professional experience to solve a case in ten minutes, lawyers like us have to spend several times that. That's the only way we have to catch up."

Ning Wan persuaded him until she was blue in the face. "And what's more, we're now community lawyers. It's very complicated to work as a community lawyer. If you ever go into the civil field in the future, you'll inevitably run into things like these. Why, if you're a lawyer dealing with a marriage dispute, or handling divorce proceedings, you'd have to follow the other party around to collect evidence!"

The way she said it made it sound like some higher moral duty, but that just made Fu Zheng even more annoyed.

He was a senior partner, a top commercial lawyer sought after in both the Chinese and American market, and Ning Wan was actually sending him out as an 'escort'?!

When he first heard it, he had been shocked speechless.

The words Ning Wan was using were nice to hear, calling it an 'in-depth investigation to help our client determine the facts', but in actuality, wasn't she just asking him to sell himself? He, a professional lawyer, was being asked to do the same job as a gigolo?

Although what she said about bottom-rung lawyers and time was reasonable enough, Fu Zheng was only pretending to be a grassroots lawyer. Thanks to the dignity of a senior partner inside his heart, he just couldn't accept such an arrangement. It would be an eternal stain on his career...

"Fu Zheng, I beg you! It's up to you whether Lu Feng's innocence can ever be washed clean!"

Fu Zheng pressed his lips tightly together, unmoved. "He gets to have his innocence washed clean, but what about my innocence? Is my innocenceMight have been better translated as 'reputation', but Fu Zheng arguing about his 'innocence' was just too funny to pass up! not important?!"

"What are you talking about? Auntie Xiao is looking for someone to chat and go shopping with, not a boyfriend. How would this hurt your reputation?"

"Then you can just spend a little money and hire an escort."

If she were rich enough to hire another man, would she have asked him?!

This couldn't go on. She had to make a bold move!

Solemnly, Ning Wan began to concoct a crock of complete baloney. "Actually, Auntie Xiao asked for you by name. She caught a glimpse of you in the community, and she never knew that such a handsome man could exist in this world. And not only handsome, but in good shape! Why, those legs, that waist! A temperament different from any other gaudy, tawdry, vulgar passerbyTerm NW uses  is again usually used in relation to women. It's a derogatory metaphor for a woman who cares only about makeup and dressing up.."

Committed to her course, she laid it on thick and flattered him to death. "'All water is forgettable when you’ve seen the vast blue sea, No clouds so wondrous as those at Mt. Wushan', expressing his grief over his late wife. Thanks be to the author of that blog, because I was about to die  myself trying to translate that.. It's your fault for hurting someone by being so handsome, yet daring to go out in public. Ever since she saw you, Auntie Xiao has been disdainful of every other man. All she can think of is how gorgeous you are, so she desperately wants to meet you. You should know how all men love looking at 18-year-old girls; well, so do women! Auntie Xiao just wants to have a handsome young man go shopping with her for a purely aesthetic reason. What's wrong with that? If there's a sinner here, it would be you, Fu Zheng, for relying on your own beauty to commit a crime!"

“……”

Fu Zheng's face, though still deadpan, seemed a little more relaxed somehow.

Ning Wan continued on persistently. After another round of flattery so intense as to make Fu Zheng feel a little dizzy, he coughed and said unnaturally, "Does she really... appreciate me so much?"

"Of course! You've got to be a little more open-minded. Why does it have to be an 'escort'? Can't you just think of Auntie Xiao as your mom fanA fangirl who relates to the idol in terms of 'mothering' them? As someone's idol, what's wrong with giving a hardcore fan a little extra love and going chatting and shopping with her? And at the same time, you're getting work done. You're killing two birds with one stone!"

……

Though Fu Zheng's heart spurned the idea of accompanying Auntie Xiao, he hadn't expected that even in disguise, his temperament just couldn't be hidden. All that is gold glitters, after all, and carelessly he had exposed it to Auntie Xiao, to the point where she was now obsessed... Perhaps this was indeed his responsibility...

"You're destined to stand out, and your charm makes it so you'll never be ordinary. So Fu Zheng, you should have a sense of social responsibility and do what only you can do!"

Ning Wan lobbied hard. Fu Zheng thought about it calmly and felt like there was some truth to what she was saying. And besides, on the whole this was a valuable life experience...

So in the end, he loosened up and said, "In that case, I'll give it a go."

Ning Wan breathed a sigh of reliefUntranslatable pun here - something like 'he relieved/opened his mouth, and she relieved/opened her spirit'. Without further ado, she contacted Auntie Xiao immediately and brought over Fu Zheng.

 

Fu Zheng had actually had had a few concerns about meeting up with Xiao Mei. If that old auntie was so infatuated with herself, how excited would she get when she saw him in person? Would she be able to keep her reason and distance?

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But when they really met, the situation that he imagined did not arise...

Xiao Mei was very calm.

In fact, it was a bit much to say that she was 'calm'.

She wasn't at all like a fan, but more like a picky pork buyer. And the way she was sizing up Fu Zheng was as though he was a slab in the bargain bin...

Fu Zheng frowned at Ning Wan.

Ning Wan's explanation came out a little stuttering. She whispered, "This is what people call 'being cowardly when close to home'Describes the complex fear a wanderer or prodigal feels upon returning home.! She's so excited upon seeing her idol that she can't react normally, so she's acting strange. This a self-protection mechanism. Underneath, her heart is surging like a storm!"

Fu Zheng accepted this explanation reluctantly. Xiao Mei finished her examination, then nodded to Ning Wan, who looked relieved. Then they told Fu Zheng that they wanted to go to the toilet together.

Fu Zheng didn't mind. He sat there and waited for a good while, but when he didn't see Ning Wan coming back, began getting worried. He had made an appointment with Gao Yuan at noon  that day for lunch, and was afraid he might be late. So he got up and prepared to give Gao Yuan a call, but just as he made his way to a quieter place and took out his phone, he heard voices coming from the other side of the bush he was standing next to. It was Xiao Mei and Ning Wan, who had supposedly gone to the toilet-

"You see, Sister Xiao, didn't I tell you he was an unpolished jade?"

The response was in Xiao Mei's cold and proud voice, "Well, I guess he's not too bad. Although he's thirty, he doesn't look too old."

? ? ?

"I told you that if I were to introduce one, he would absolutely be a quality product. Fu Zheng might be thirty, but he's been studying hard at school and is very naïve, didn't you see how clear his eyes are? In fact, what really matters in a man isn't his age, but his purity! So what if a men is twenty-five when he's a veteran amongst the ladies? Though our Fu Zheng is a little old, both his body and mind are excellent, and his eyes are clean! Shall he escort you? What do you think?"

“……”

Fu Zheng pursed his lips and put down his mobile phone.

Wasn't Auntie Xiao supposed to be his iron-clad fan? Why does this scene instead sound like Ning Wan strongly pushing a product on a reluctant buyer? And what did she mean, he's a little old? It was like nobody wants to buy him, like he was unsalable goods!

"Well, as far as it goes, it's true that he's really handsome and in good shape," Xiao Mei sighed. "But it's a serious problem to be older. I've told you before, Xiao Ning, your Sister Xiao is an up and coming lady. I can't only consider a man's face when I look at him. This Fu Zheng is already 30, how could he still be a community lawyer at that age? A man should be independent by the age of 30. He's definitely a little incapable."

What did she mean, incapable?! What did she mean, being older is a serious problem?!

Clutching his phone, Fu Zheng almost rose up to heaven.

On the other side, Xiao Mei was still sighing. "When I think about things like this, I look at him again and feel like his charm has been greatly reduced. It's not a bad thing for a man to be old, but he must have a mature charm. He can't still be a little lawyer at the age of 30. I'm the sort of person who looks deeper than just the shallow layers of a man. Although his face is really quite good, he's just a vase, which is a little boring... but well, forget it. This world is shallow, and with his face, I'll be able to raise my head in front of Wang Liying."

“……”

Xiao Mei beat around the bush a great deal before finally concluding that she would very reluctantly accept Fu Zheng.

This begrudging attitude read between the lines made Fu Zheng once again doubt his own value--

Not long ago, he felt like the cheapest thing he had done in his life was to agree to give Ning Wan cases in exchange for half a year of dinner, but now he realized that he was still naïve. Life had not yet hit the bottom, because there was no 'cheapest', only 'cheaper'...

Nowadays, when he went out as an escort, not only he not get paid with a half-year of dinner, but actually had to be grateful for the honour.

Fu Zheng felt that his outlook on life had just been broken and reshaped.

Ever since he had come to the community, his temper had gotten better and better.

Unattractive at the age of 30, was it? He was going to let these two blind, old and young ladies know the meaning of charm.