Chapter 8: Chapter 6 (part 1)

Although he had been soundly lectured, Fu Zheng was obviously still dissatisfied inside. His face was emotionless as they returned to the office.

Ning Wan shrugged. "It's quite alright. It doesn't matter if today you're not doing so well. Tomorrow won't be easy either, so today, be happy and sit."

Fu Zheng glanced at her and made to sit. But just as he bent over, Ning Wan hurriedly stopped him-

"What are you doing? This is my seat." She pointed to the office chair. "Yours..." she said on a sigh, "Is over there."

Following her gaze, Fu Zheng saw a flimsy, disposable plastic stoolSomething like this, I'd imagine: . There was a crack in one of the legs. It looked like an 'antique' from the 1980s, one even the garbage collector wouldn't look at twice.

This broken stool perched next to Ning Wan's office chair, sharing the only desk in the room.

Fu Zheng felt the veins twitching on his forehead. He had never in the past used anything less than an ergonomic office chair worth 10,000 yuan. Now, here he was, deigning to use an ordinary office chair, and Ning Wan was giving him a broken plastic stool?!

He looked at Ning Wan in disbelief. "Are you serious? You would have given me this chair as a new colleague?"

"The budget's tight this year. There's no money to buy office supplies. Do you know that just to get you this chair, I had to win a game of mahjong against Director Ji? Look at that unique color. I personally picked it out for you! A stylish and elegant Mediterranean blue, such understated luxury and taste! "

Fu Zheng looked at the cheap, garish blue stool. What part of this thing was related to fashionable elegance? He gnashed his teeth, "How much was it?"

Ning Wan winked. "Twenty-something-something. A huge sum."

At that moment, Fu Zheng felt it necessary to buy an insurance policy just because he was likely to die from a Ning Wan-induced rage attack at any time.

The culprit, completely oblivious and wholly at ease, cupped a mug of tea in her hands. "Anyway, since you're a newcomer, it's even more important that your seat reflects that. Do you ever watch American TV shows? When a new prisoner arrives in prison, they always get beaten up by the older prisoners first thing. As I reminded you on your first day, newcomers should know where they stand. It's true that we're currently in difficult straits, and it's a chair, so what more do you want? It's not like I'm beating you up."

Just as Fu Zheng was about to retort, he was interrupted by a loud holler--

"Ning Ning!"

Ning Wan's eyes lit up. She looked up, saw Shao Lili and immediately called back with affection, "Xiao Li!"

Shao Lili and Ning Wan both worked at Zhengyuan Law Firm. They had both entered around the same time after graduating from second-rate law schools and suffered from comparisons to the other new recruits, all of whom had come from top 5 local universities or had studied abroad. If it had not been for the rapid expansion of Zhengyuan Law Firm, they would likely have never set foot inside. Thus, as the only two losers, a person with little motivation who just wants to laze about in Zhengyuan, the two girls had clicked instantly. However, Shao Lili had not been transferred to the community branch. She was still at headquarters, working on the scraps of a team headed up by a junior partner.

Shao Lili was a tall woman with a forthright personality. "I was at Chengdong Court today to to file a case, so I dropped by to see you along the way."

"I can't believe you're actually here!" Ning Wan exclaimed in excitement, "Have you brought me the latest gossip from HQ?"

Mediating day in, day out in the boondocks, Ning Wan often felt like she really was becoming a neighborhood committee auntie. She desperately needed fresh gossip to sustain her.

Hearing the mention of gossip, Shao Lili's face lit up, but then she saw Fu Zheng. Puzzled, she looked to Ning Wan and probed, "And this is?"

Ning Wan gave her a concise introduction. "Ah, it's Fu Zheng, an intern. He's new."

Adhering to etiquette, Fu Zheng was just about to introduce himself to Shao Lili politely before hearing Ning Wan continue--

"But he's not important, you can just pretend he doesn't exist. Come on, tell me the latest gossip!"

“……”

Shao Lili was a frank and straightforward sort, and had no filter when it came to gossip. She went straight to the point, "I hear we're going to have a new partner soon! He'll be coming back from the United States!"

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Let alone Ning Wan, even Fu Zheng could not maintain his cold and indifferent attitude. He raised his head in interest.

Meanwhile, Ning Wan's eyes lit up. There were currently ten partners in Zhengyuan Law, three of whom were senior partners. However, be they senior or junior partners, all had well-established teams. Unless there was a resignation, no new vacancies were available for promotion. Every existing team was stable, allowing Ning Wan no chance to join one, but if there was to be a new partner, he would surely set up his own team.

This was her chance!

Her fingers shaking with joy, she inquired, "If he's coming back from America, is he bringing his own people back with him?"

"No," Shao Lili said, also excited. "He's coming back alone, and will create his own team with three people from our firm."

"What background does he have?"

"He's joining us directly as a senior partner, but I don't know his name. I didn't ask. I've only heard that he specialized in commercial work while he was in the United States, so I'm guessing he'll continue in that field here. I heard from Partner Gao that he was particularly skilled. At least in the commercial market, he's considered one of the best available domestically, extraordinarily fierce..."

As Ning Wan listened carefully to her words, she happened to turn her head and caught sight of Fu Zheng listening intently with a faintly smug smile on his face, as if it were he himself being praised.

She got a little angry looking at that expression. This man got here not on merit, but through connections, and now after hearing gossip seemed to be getting restless. Was he thinking of opportunistically using the same methods to get onto the new partner's team, taking up yet another position through nepotism?

"Fu Zheng, don't smile like that," she told him with a stern face. "You're an adult, stay focused. Does us praising this man have anything to do with you? Aren't you embarrassed to grin like that while listening in? This is a man just like you, who's coming back from the United States just like you, but he's now in such an amazing position. What about you? You're well into adulthood, yet you're still a rookie intern. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Fu Zheng said nothing. In return, he only gave her a subtle look.

"In short," Ning Wan told him, "Don't just stand around and smirk. Be down-to-earth, work hard and compete fairly!" That should do it. She had given him a little face, and now she hoped that he would take care of himself without relying on relationships to seize a promotion!

Though Fu Zheng said nothing to refute her lecture, the smile that still lingered on his mouth changed. Now he was looking at Ning Wan as if wanting to watch a good show.

Ignoring him, Ning Wan urged Shao Lili, "Go on, Xiao Li."

Shao Lili cleared her throat. "However, reading between the lines of what Partner Gao said, although this new partner has extraordinary skills, his temperament isn't that great. It's pretty normal for a capable boss to be more demanding on his subordinates, as you know, and to hold them to high standards. But this new guy, I hear that he's especially fussy. He's extremely fastidious and a stickler for small things. For example, he can't tolerate any dust on the desk, or any smells in the office. He has to have the very best when it comes to food and clothing. A real upper-class 1%."

The smile on Fu Zheng's face gradually faded. Gao Yuan, that bastard...

Fu Zheng felt like his plastic friendshipA friendship based on shared ambitions, where you get along with the person well, but just on the surface, and underneath have your own thoughts with Gao Yuan might have just been shattered.

"To sum it up," Shao Lili continued, "He has great momentum behind him, but he's very uncompromising. He hates his subordinates talking back to him. He's an overbearing man who believes in 'my way or the highway' and doesn't accept any disagreements. Though he's very young and excellent at what he does, he's very difficult to deal with..."

Fu Zheng looked toward Ning Wan, knowing her opinions on difficult young masters. He waited for her to sweep in with criticism and ridicule. Sure enough, he watched her stand with a face full of excitement, and then very righteously announce--

"Xiao Li, you don't understand! This person has been brought up as an elite since childhood, and his family must also come from money. Having lived in America for so long, they must simply take such a life for granted. How can someone like this be called a mere 'young master'? This is an aristocrat!"

“……”

Fu Zheng had never before seen anyone with the ability to speak such two-faced words in such a just and noble manner. Despite himself, he couldn't help but admire her a little.