Qian Heng still had a cold expression on his face. His features were sharp and handsome, his demeanor indifferent, making him seem completely out of place in the lively Japanese ramen shop. His face was still full of “stay away” energy, exuding a bad temper, and his thin, beautiful lips were pressed together in displeasure. There was no trace of the sharp, sarcastic remarks he had just thrown out a few minutes ago.
Yet, at this moment, Cheng Yao had never thought Qian Heng looked so handsome.
Truly, that kind of handsome.
Still venomous—but so venomous it was impossible to resist.
“What are you staring at? Eat your ramen.” Her ill-tempered boss was still as grumpy as ever. He gave Cheng Yao a glance, rolled his eyes, and added, “Or do you have something to say?”
“N-no… nothing…”
Alright, fine. As much as she hated to admit it, even the way Qian Heng rolled his eyes looked kind of… attractive.
“Next time, use your brain. Don’t stupidly hand out free legal consultations.”
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“… …”
“Llhla xkde. Zsw rascyczu byed’v plld xwnb sq vbl osaze cynj vbld. Jwv esd’v osaau—R clzklhl usw’zz kxrashl kd vbl qwvwal.”
“Gde obu’p vbyv?”
Ckyd Tldt pxkzle qykdvzu yde pvayktbvldle bkp vkl. “Jlnywpl qasx dso sd, usw’zz cl prldekdt yzz uswa osajkdt bswap—csvb kd yde swv sq vbl sqqknl—okvb psxlsdl yp swvpvydekdt yp xl. Zswa vypvl kp cswde vs kxrashl. Xdnl usw’al wple vs pllkdt xl lhlau eyu, rlsrzl zkjl bkx okzz dyvwayzzu pllx cldlyvb usw. Zswa czkdedlpp? Rv’zz nwal kvplzq.”
“… …”
Cheng Yao thought to herself, Where’s my heart medication…?
“I know that conversation just now annoyed you,” Qian Heng continued. “Next time, just reject people like that outright.” He paused before adding, “Remember, you’re a lawyer. You’re a fighter. You should always have the courage to say ‘no’ to anything unfair or unreasonable.”
This time, Cheng Yao nodded firmly.
“A four-year undergraduate law degree is approximately 35,040 hours. A year of legal internship is around 8,760 hours. Every lawyer has to go through at least 43,800 hours of training before they can get their license.” Qian Heng’s tone was calm yet firm. “Time is the most valuable cost for every lawyer. You, me—we all have only 24 hours a day. Giving someone a minute of free consultation is a minute of life wasted. Every second of our time is non-renewable.”
Cheng Yao straightened up, feeling a sense of respect. She nodded in agreement. “Next time, I’ll make sure to refuse properly.”
Qian Heng raised an eyebrow. “Why refuse ‘properly’? People who don’t respect a lawyer’s professional value don’t deserve respect themselves. Be rude when you turn them down!”
“……”
“Here is your Hokkaido fish bone ramen, please enjoy!”
At that moment, the waiter placed a bowl of ramen on the table. Cheng Yao blinked in surprise, only then realizing that this was the bowl Wu Chen had ordered earlier.
To appease her notoriously difficult boss, Cheng Yao sensibly pushed the bowl toward Qian Heng. “Boss, this is the restaurant’s signature dish. It’d be a waste to let it go uneaten. Since you’re always so busy, shouldn’t you take the chance to replenish your energy?”
“You eat it.”
For a moment, Cheng Yao was touched. Today, Qian Heng’s aura was practically 2.8 meters tall! Not only had he helped her roast that obnoxious classmate, but he was even being considerate now? This was practically legendary behavior.
But before she could fully savor the moment, she heard Qian Heng continue in his usual, matter-of-fact tone—
“This place’s food is terrible.”
“……”
So the only reason he’s giving it to me is because it tastes bad…
Qian Heng still looked utterly unimpressed. “I ate here once when they first opened. After that, I decided to do myself a favor and never come back.”
Wait, hold on. This ramen shop had opened last year. If he hated it so much, why did he come back today?
Qian Heng shot her a cool glance. “Do you really not know?”
Cheng Yao: ???
“Take a look at the messages you sent me.” Qian Heng pulled out his phone, opened WeChat, and placed their chat history in front of her.
On the screen, there was a long string of crying-face emojis…
Qian Heng scrolled up with a flick of his finger.
And there it was—her own message, glaringly obvious: “I feel like I won’t survive the curse of switching careers within my first year as a lawyer.”
Only now did Cheng Yao realize the mistake.
Qin Qin’s WeChat username was RebeccaQin, while Qian Heng’s was simply Qian. Until now, Qin Qin had been the only friend in her contacts with a username containing the letter Q. So, out of habit, whenever she searched “Q,” she would send messages to Qin Qin.
But at some point, Qin Qin had changed her username to Xiao Qin… leaving Qian Heng as the only result when she searched for “Q.”
In her moment of fatigue and carelessness, she hadn’t even noticed—she had just instinctively sent those messages… straight to her boss.
And because of them, Qian Heng had deliberately come to this restaurant—one he had sworn never to visit again—just to find her.
Even though it was an embarrassing mistake, for a fleeting moment, Cheng Yao felt a strange warmth.
So, did this mean… her boss actually cared about her well-being?
Was he about to have a heartfelt conversation with her? Maybe even encourage her?
Staring at his overly handsome face, Cheng Yao felt a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
“I know many newcomers don’t make it through their first year. Being a lawyer is a challenging and exhausting job, and a lot of people end up switching careers.” Qian Heng paused slightly before continuing, “So if you ever feel like you can’t hold on—just quit immediately.”
Cheng Yao: ???
Wait.
What happened to the encouragement?
Shouldn’t there at least be some motivational words? Maybe a little inspirational speech?
“This afternoon, I have a meeting with the client involved in the post-divorce property dispute. If you can’t handle it, then withdraw from the case immediately. Divorce cases inherently involve the client’s privacy. If you don’t want to do this, then don’t bother attending this afternoon’s meeting.” Qian Heng checked his watch. “There’s one hour left before the meeting, so I had to find you now to confirm your answer. That way, I can replace you on the team if needed.”
It was harsh, but Cheng Yao had to admit—Qian Heng was extremely professional.
Once you accept a client’s case, their interests come first. The way he meticulously considered every detail was exactly why he had risen to the top of the legal field in just a few years.
For the first time, Cheng Yao realized that no matter how sharp-tongued or bad-tempered he was, she was still miles away from reaching his level.
“No. Becoming a family law attorney is part of my life’s goal.” Cheng Yao bit her lip. “Rest assured, even if I complain, rant, feel down, or face setbacks, I won’t give up.” Deng Ming’s face flashed before her eyes, and she silently added in her heart—she would never quit until she defeated him in court.
“Since you’re not quitting, then learn to properly label your contacts.” Qian Heng snorted. “I don’t want to see you sending weird messages to clients by mistake next time.”
“That’s it. Nothing more to discuss with you.” Qian Heng adjusted his collar. “I can finally leave this restaurant that completely clashes with my taste.”
With that, he elegantly wiped his mouth, got up, and walked away.
As he passed the cashier, he pointed at Cheng Yao, who was still seated. “Put my bill on her tab.”
“……”
Cheng Yao was dumbfounded.
This guy is actually my boss?!
Fuming, she followed his instructions and updated his WeChat and phone contact name.
With each furious tap on her phone screen, Qian Heng’s name changed to something much more satisfying.
—Stupid Jerk.
But even that didn’t feel like enough. Just to be sure, she went into her contacts and changed his name there too.
The meeting was scheduled for 2:00 PM. Cheng Yao prepared the materials in advance and sat in the conference room two minutes early.
Surprisingly, Qian Heng wasn’t in his office answering emails like usual—he was actually sitting in the conference room as well.
Thoughtfully, Cheng Yao offered, “Boss, if you have other matters to handle, you can go back to your office. I’ll call you once the client arrives.”
At her previous internship, even though clients scheduled meetings in advance, most still arrived late out of habit. The worst case she’d encountered had been a client who showed up two whole hours late.
China’s legal market was still developing, and clients’ sense of punctuality had a long way to go. Many lawyers simply had their interns or junior associates wait in the conference room while they worked elsewhere—otherwise, they’d waste hours just waiting for clients.
But instead of appreciating her suggestion, Qian Heng barely spared her a glance. “No need.” He smirked arrogantly and enunciated each word clearly. “I, Qian Heng, never wait for anyone. If they’re late once, they can forget about ever working with me again.”
He gave Cheng Yao a pitying look. “You’ve never worked at a good law firm before. You’ve gotten used to coddling clients. It’s time to break those bad habits.”
The moment he finished speaking, there was a knock on the conference room door.
An administrative staff member led two people inside.
Cheng Yao instinctively glanced at her watch—exactly 2:00 PM. Not a minute more, not a minute less.
A man and a woman entered. The man was dressed casually, but the woman was oddly overdressed—despite being indoors, she was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask.
Cheng Yao didn’t recognize the man, but the woman had to be their client, Li Yan.
The moment the man stepped in, he gave Cheng Yao a wary, scrutinizing look.
“Cheng Yao, my associate attorney, will be following this case,” Qian Heng said flatly. “She’s signed a confidentiality agreement.”
Hearing that, the man visibly relaxed. The woman, Li Yan, finally removed her sunglasses and mask.
Cheng Yao was just about to hand her the meeting materials when she looked up—
And nearly had an out-of-body experience.
Li Yan? Li Yan, my ass!
The woman standing before her was unmistakably Bai Xingmeng! The actress who played Ling Yao!
“Bai Xingmeng is a stage name,” Qian Heng said, evidently unable to tolerate her shock. His explanation was brief and to the point.
So… Bai Xingmeng’s real name was… Li Yan???
This was beyond shocking—it was like discovering that a high-end hairstylist named Tony went back home for the holidays and suddenly turned into some countryside dude named Liu Dazhuang.
Even more surprising was the fact that those rumors about Xu Jun and Bai Xingmeng hadn’t been fake! They hadn’t just been involved—they had actually gotten married.
And divorced.
Cheng Yao never expected that, thanks to Qian Heng, she would have such a close encounter with the entertainment industry.
She never imagined she’d see a living, breathing Bai Xingmeng up close like this…
Author’s Note:
[Mini Theater]
Lu Xun: I heard Qian Heng’s fees are much higher than mine. Author, care to explain?
Author: Uh, well… Your rates were from the first half of the year. With rising prices and inflation, Qian Heng’s fees reflect the second half of the year…
Lu Xun: So, between the two of us, who’s actually more expensive?
Qian Heng: I don’t care who’s more expensive. I only care about who’s more handsome.
Author: You’d have to ask your wives about that…
Qian Wei: My boss is the most handsome!
Cheng Yao: My boss is the most handsome!
Qian Wei: …My husband is the most handsome!
Cheng Yao: My husband is the most handsome!
Ahhh. I’m sorry, Qian Heng. Lu Xun and Qian Wei has a special place in my heart. I’ve read that novel at least once yearly since I first discovered it. I highly recommend it too. Just the right amount of yearning, misunderstanding, un/mutual pining, and of course, law!!! 🫶
Like the author said, hopefully by the second half of the year Qian Heng and Cheng Yao will also be able to make a small space in your heart ❤️. Thank you for reading ☺️