Chapter 47.1: Qian Heng thought angrily, beautiful women are indeed the root of trouble.

A fluttering heart, a rush of emotion, trust mingled with a sense of security.

Never had Cheng Yao felt more proud than in this moment—being able to join Junheng, to become Qian Heng’s associate attorney—it filled her with pride beyond measure.

She snuck a glance at Qian Heng, a subtle yet secret thrill rising within her.

No one else saw how good Qian Heng truly was. Only she did.

Everyone else was blind, but she had discovered this hidden gem. And precisely because his excellence went unrecognized by the masses, it made Cheng Yao feel as though she alone had the discerning eye to see his worth, to cherish what others couldn’t. It was an illusion, perhaps, that “only I can see his brilliance and keep it to myself”—but one that she had already unknowingly embraced.

Qian Heng, of course, had no idea what a mess her thoughts were. He glanced at her with a slightly warning look.
“From now on, you’re not allowed to meet unfamiliar men alone.”

Cheng Yao: ???

Qian Heng turned his head away, the movement a bit stiff. After a moment, he turned back and glared at her fiercely.
“Did you hear me?”

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Ubldt Zys oyp xsxldvyakzu pvwddle.
“Rp vbkp y dlo awzl qasx vbl qkax? Ebu nyd’v R xllv xld sdl-sd-sdl? R xlyd, pwal, obyv byrrldle okvb Mydt Jkdt pbssj xl wr, cwv ol nyd’v zlv sdl cye lmrlakldnl pvsr wp qasx lhla pllkdt xld ytykd, aktbv? Yspv xld pvkzz alprlnv cswdeyaklp yde valyv xl iwkvl rszkvlzu yde tldvzu—”

“Ls.” Ckyd Tldt qasodle, bkp zkrp ryavkdt pzktbvzu. “Yld yal bursnakvknyz yde nwddkdt. Rq vblu’al rszkvl yde tldvzl vs usw, kv’p clnywpl vblu’al yqvla psxlvbkdt.”

??? Jspp, yald’v usw y xyd vss?

Jlqsal Ubldt Zys nswze hsknl vbyv vbswtbv, Ckyd Tldt yeele xyvvla-sq-qynvzu—

“Omnlrv xl.”

“…”

Jspp, usw’al alyzzu vbasokdt uswa qlzzso xld wdela vbl cwp blal… kpd’v vbyv y ckv xwnb?

Ebkzl Ubldt Zys oyp cwpu asypvkdt bkx kd bla blyav, Ckyd Tldt yeele ydsvbla zkdl.

“Others in the firm can meet men alone, but you—forget it.”

He gave her a glance, looking slightly awkward. As a lawyer, Cheng Yao was honestly too pretty. Wu Jun had said she wasn’t even aware of her looks, didn’t bother with dressing up, and therefore wouldn’t spark any dramatic jealousy or competition in the firm. But now, Qian Heng felt like Wu Jun had seriously misjudged her.

Yes, Cheng Yao was still oblivious about her appearance, but with such a stunning face, she truly didn’t try to use her looks to get ahead or weaponize them in any way. And this kind of unaware innocence only made her even more attractive.

For some reason, Qian Heng’s mind flashed back to that morning—when she’d unintentionally revealed the faint curve of her chest. He knew she didn’t mean to, but sometimes, the less intentional something was, the more dangerous it became. Because she wasn’t just beautiful—she was naive, and pure.

A femme fatale.

Qian Heng thought angrily, a classic femme fatale, that’s what she is.

But the “femme fatale” in question had no idea what Qian Heng was thinking. She was still trying to correct his bias.
“Boss, you really think too poorly of people. Sure, there are men like Tang Bing out there, but most people are still decent—”

“Fine, then if you want to meet some unfamiliar guy, let me know ahead of time.”

“Ah! Okay, sure!” Cheng Yao replied eagerly. “So how do we define ‘familiar’ and ‘unfamiliar’?”

Qian Heng pondered for a second, putting on a face like he was making a noble sacrifice.
“How about this—just briefly tell me your connection with the guy and how you’ve interacted, and I’ll judge for you. My time is expensive, but I don’t want my subordinates to go through things like this again.”

Cheng Yao, ever the straightforward one, was still feeling endlessly grateful to Qian Heng for helping her earlier. The fact that he was even willing to take the time to screen her interactions moved her deeply.

She didn’t even realize how bizarre it was: a grown, independent woman reporting every meeting with a man like she had a jealous, possessive boyfriend who needed constant reassurance.

“And another thing. Don’t make decisions on your own like that again.”

“Ah?”

“When you filmed that video, did you even think about the danger?” Qian Heng pinched his brow, clearly distressed.
“Did it cross your mind—if Tang Bing had no shame whatsoever, what would’ve happened even if you had video evidence? What if he didn’t care, what if he was dead set on getting what he wanted? You and he aren’t even close in strength. If he locked that meeting room door and tried something, you wouldn’t be able to stop him.”

“He wouldn’t go that far… I mean, I could’ve posted the video online. People are really sensitive to this now, with the whole #MeToo movement and all… And if I’d just run away, and he denied everything later, I’d have no proof. I’d have to swallow the harassment like a fly. And from how practiced he was, this clearly wasn’t his first time—he’d definitely try again with someone else. What if the next girl couldn’t escape? I just wanted to teach him a lesson.”

“And what if he used brute force to overpower you, did something to you, then took your phone and deleted the footage? Or worse, what if he filmed something indecent of you to blackmail you—what would you do then?”

Cheng Yao went quiet, frozen. Only now did the fear start to creep in.

Qian Heng was right. She’d gotten lucky that Tang Bing was momentarily thrown off by her resistance. But if he’d been more ruthless, her fate might’ve been far worse.

“Cheng Yao, no matter what, self-protection comes first. In critical moments, don’t worry about evidence or what others think.”

“But if there’s no proof, even if I tell you, you might not believe me…”

“I’d believe you.”

“But if there’s no proof, just my word, even if you believe me, you couldn’t do anything.”

Qian Heng lowered his head slightly and pressed his lips together.
“Then I’ll beat him up for you anyway. Deal?”

Deal. Totally deal.

Even though Qian Heng added a glare for good measure, Cheng Yao felt a little… sweet inside.

With Qian Heng backing her up, what was there to be afraid of?

But faced with Qian Heng’s unwavering support, Cheng Yao suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
“I’m sorry, Boss. I know you turned down Tang Bing’s case and even taught him a lesson just to stand up for me… If only I had been more careful and not—”

Before she could finish, Qian Heng interrupted her.
“Cheng Yao, can you stop being so full of yourself?”

Cheng Yao: ???

Qian Heng looked thoroughly annoyed.
“I didn’t reject Tang Bing’s case because of you. I just don’t like the guy. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t go slapping gold leaf on your own face.” (Note: Chinese idiom 貼金 means overestimating oneself or taking undue credit)

“…Then at the very least, you hit him because of me, right…”

“I hit him because he deserved it. Again, has nothing to do with you. I’ve been wanting to punch him.”

“Eh??? Why though???”

Qian Heng slipped right back into his usual rotten tone.
“Every time he goes to the bathroom, he keeps staring at me.”

！！！

Qian Heng’s tone turned a bit awkward.
“You know how some guys are. Immature as hell. Go to the bathroom and just can’t resist sneaking glances to compare size.”

Compare… size?

Qian Heng scowled.
“I don’t get what’s so great about it? Can’t measure up anyway.”

Wait… wait a second… Boss! Could you not talk about this sort of thing with such a deadpan face?!

For a moment, Cheng Yao felt like she had just heard something she definitely shouldn’t have. But strangely enough, even though she knew Qian Heng only hit Tang Bing because of her, the sudden derail in topic completely threw her off track, and she ended up forgetting what she was upset about in the first place…

“Anyway. I didn’t reject the client or hit him because of you,” Qian Heng said again, glancing at her like he was afraid she hadn’t heard him the first time. “So don’t go thinking too much of it and burden yourself psychologically.”

“…Got it…”

But still…

Cheng Yao thought for a moment. She felt like she had to ask this question:
“Boss, have you actually trained in some kind of self-defense? The way you fought looked super professional. I remember Bao Rui once said that family lawyers like us are at high risk of getting attacked by vengeful parties. Did you learn some skills after starting work just to protect yourself?”

“Nope. Didn’t start learning after I started working.”

“Eh?”

“I started learning Sanda back in elementary school.”

Cheng Yao: ???

Qian Heng looked a little troubled.
“Maybe I was just too outstanding… I’ve actually been bullied since elementary school.”

Cheng Yao was stunned. Qian Heng, who could now get anything he wanted with just a snap of his fingers, was bullied as a kid?!

Damn, that’s kind of tragic.

She couldn’t help but soften up. People always say childhood trauma can follow someone for life and drastically affect their personality. In that moment, Cheng Yao silently forgave Qian Heng for all his years of razor-sharp tongue.

She thought, So that’s why… there was a reason behind it all!

Poor Qian Heng. He must have been an adorable, lively, and innocent little boy once, only to be slowly transformed into the venomous-tongued demon lord he was today by years of school bullying…

Suddenly, Cheng Yao’s heart was full of sympathy for Qian Heng. Even the way she looked at him turned softer and more tender.

“Boss, if I could time travel, I’d go back and protect you!”

Qian Heng blinked, surprised.
“Why would you protect me?”

“Didn’t you say you were bullied? Were you hurt back then?”

“Oh, that.” Qian Heng nodded. “Yeah, at first I wasn’t good enough yet, so I got some scratches that needed disinfection at the hospital. But I always had to pay those guys money.”

Cheng Yao was genuinely shocked. What kind of monstrous elementary schoolers were these?! Not only did they beat him up, they extorted him too?! Just because his family had money?! That’s pure moral bankruptcy!

“Here. Take this.”

But before Cheng Yao could even finish wallowing in the tragic image of school bullying, Qian Heng abruptly changed the subject again. He tossed her a small box with just four concise words.

Cheng Yao opened it—
A box of… paperclips???

“Boss, this is…?”

Qian Heng shot her a glance.
“Start paying more attention to how you dress.”

…Pay attention to dressing?

Cheng Yao glanced at her own business suit. She thought she dressed quite appropriately. And this box of safety pins—what did it have to do with proper attire?

Seeing that she was still completely confused, Qian Heng finally showed a hint of exasperation.
“From now on, pin the front of your blouse. On the inside.”

Cheng Yao froze for a second before realizing what he meant. She instinctively looked down at her chest—her blouse looked perfectly fine and fitted…

“Yes, it’s okay now, but just in case—better to be safe than sorry.” Qian Heng averted his gaze and spoke with a stiff expression, “I don’t want to see another wardrobe malfunction where your shirt buttons pop open.”

“……”

Qian Heng completely ignored her embarrassment and said righteously,
“You have to understand, men with my level of moral integrity are rare. If you run into another guy like Tang Bing, you’d basically be accused of deliberate seduction.”

“……”

At that moment, Cheng Yao only had one thought:
Is it too late to withdraw my application to join the Cult of Venomous Tongue?