In the silent, oppressive law firm, an invisible hand seemed to materialize from the air, gripping his throat tightly.
Sun Hao gasped for breath, his forehead slick with cold sweat.
"I..."
The words died on his lips; he didn’t know what to say.
The ledger before him felt like a mountain, crushing him so completely that all his struggles were futile.
"You what?"
Director Han’s fury boiled over. He clenched his right hand into a fist, his eyes wide with rage.
"Explain this to me. Why is it that a lawyer we were grooming for a key position had only three consultations and one criminal case in the three whole months he was under you!?"
Judging from his tone, he was livid. And rightfully so.
Director Han was about to lose his mind. He snatched the morning paper from his desk and hurled it at the pale-faced Sun Hao.
"Look at what you’ve done!!!"
Sun Hao ducked and raised an arm to block it, his fingers closing around the newspaper.
He glanced down instinctively, and rows of bold, black headlines immediately filled his vision.
[OUTRAGE! INCOMPETENCE PLAGUES EVEN THE LEGAL WORLD! Our reporters investigate the Li Family Village case and find the defendant’s lawyer was a victim of workplace bullying...]
[LUSEN CITY’S ONLY "BOUTIQUE" LAW FIRM? UNWORTHY OF THE NAME! Even the final shield of the law relies on connections to get ahead...]
[EXPOSED: RISING STAR LAWYER SURVIVES ON STEAMED BUNS AND PICKLES. Photo evidence captured by our reporter...]
[...]
In an instant.
Each word struck him like a sledgehammer. His legs gave out, and Sun Hao collapsed to the floor. Panic flooded his face as he looked up at Director Han.
THUD!
"Cousin... Cousin, I..."
"I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t mean to..."
Director Han had been angry yesterday.
But that was nothing compared to this morning. When he saw the paper, he nearly coughed up blood.
The workplace bullying exposed, Xu De forced out...
The entire law firm, its hard-earned reputation, had suffered a devastating blow!
Even the firm’s Gold Medal Lawyers were affected. Some institutions and companies unilaterally terminated their retainer agreements for honorary counsel...
On top of that.
Recruiting for the firm in the future would be a huge problem!
Put it this way: imagine you’re a lawyer looking for a firm to associate with.
You interview at Jinmao Law Firm, only to find out that even the top-tier lawyer who won the Li Family Village case was subjected to workplace bullying and forced to live on steamed buns and pickles for three months... If that were you...
Wouldn’t you run for the hills?
"I was wrong... Cousin, I know I was wrong..."
Sun Hao knew he couldn’t escape this, and he burst into tears. "I’ll go find Lawyer Xu, I’ll apologize to him..."
’Apologize?’
’If apologies worked, what would be the point of the law!?’
’Besides, could a simple apology make up for the direct financial losses so many people at the firm had suffered?’
Director Han stared at him, his expression shifting, his thoughts deep and calculating. Section Chief Zhang, Section Chief Jin, and the others waited for him to make a decision.
After a long silence...
Director Han suddenly spoke, his words unexpected.
"You’ve got some nerve, embezzling the firm’s public funds!"
’Public funds?’
Sun Hao froze.
’What public funds did I embezzle? The most I did was withhold the seven hundred yuan a month meant for Xu De, not giving him a single cent. But that’s a private matter...’
’Wait.’
In a daze, Sun Hao seemed to understand something. A look of stunned disbelief spread across his face as he looked up at Director Han.
Director Han said:
"You even dared to take the 2,100 yuan of public funds the firm allocated to Lawyer Xu. Heh, a man of the law knowingly breaking the law!"
"No... it’s not..." Sun Hao tried to argue.
But Director Han clearly wasn’t giving him any chance to explain, turning directly to the people behind him.
"Section Chief Zhang, suspend Sun Hao from all his positions at the firm, effective immediately."
"At the same time, draft a liability contract and go to court on behalf of the firm..."
"File a lawsuit."
He paused, looked at the ashen-faced Sun Hao, and added in a cold voice:
"Pursue both criminal and civil liability!!!"
The moment he finished speaking.
The color drained from Sun Hao’s face, leaving it deathly pale.
As for whether Xu De was angry and wanted revenge...
Let’s just say...
Xu De didn’t care.
...
「Eight in the morning.」
In the VIP reception room of a bank in Lusen City.
Three men and one woman were seated inside.
"I never would have guessed Lawyer Xu was taking out a loan to open a law firm because of that incident."
One of the men, seated behind a desk, looked at Xu De across from him, his face full of emotion.
He was the bank manager, Dong Jianxiao.
Yesterday afternoon, he had received a call from Yang Guotao of the Bureau of Justice, who was personally acting as a middleman to introduce someone who needed a loan.
To be honest, Dong Jianxiao hadn’t been thrilled.
Because these days, loans made through ’connections’ were hard to recover, not to mention this was an interest-free loan. But when he learned who the borrower was... Dong Jianxiao’s attitude did a complete 180.
"So, Lawyer Xu, as part of the process, we still need to understand your plans for the law firm."
Dong Jianxiao looked at Xu De, suppressing the urge to befriend him, and began to go through the formalities.
"Understood."
Xu De nodded and took out the business plan he had prepared in advance, handing it over.
Dong Jianxiao nodded and began to read it carefully.
After a long while.
Dong Jianxiao exhaled, thought for a moment, and then smiled.
"Lawyer Xu, you completely meet all the necessary conditions for the bank and local policies... You are eligible for an interest-free loan of... fifty thousand."
’Fifty thousand?’
Xu De raised an eyebrow. Fifty thousand at this time was not the same as it would be in later years; you could do a lot with that kind of money.
He hadn’t expected Yang Guotao to move so quickly and arrange everything for him overnight.
"Furthermore, Lawyer Xu, you are a prime client, so the limit can be raised. I can personally increase it to 120,000 for you."
Dong Jianxiao added.
For an ordinary person, getting an interest-free loan of even twenty thousand was unrealistic, but Xu De was different.
He was a lawyer, one who had demonstrated top-tier ability. He was a top-grade prime client. The bank was eager to lend him money just to build a relationship, treating it as a ’future investment.’
"If you have no objections... you can sign the contract. The loan will be transferred directly to your card afterward."
Dong Jianxiao pushed the contract in front of Xu De.
The contract had no hidden clauses, and the repayment period was within three years.
Xu De glanced over it and confirmed there were no issues.
The ink flowed as he signed his name on the contract. Once he was done, the two men shook hands.
Before leaving, as he looked at the group by the bank’s entrance,
Dong Jianxiao handed his business card to Xu De.
"Lawyer Xu, a pleasure doing business with you. This is my card. If you have any future needs, I hope you’ll think of me."
"Of course."
Xu De took it and waved goodbye. Seeing this, Dong Jianxiao turned and left.
At this, Wang Chao, who had been following nearby, couldn’t help but speak up.
"Lawyer Xu, repaying 120,000 in three years... that’s 40,000 a year!"
Wang Chao was a bit shocked.
Forty thousand a year meant a monthly surplus of 3,300. Factoring in food, drink, and other expenses, they’d need to make at least five thousand a month just to sustain operations!
You have to understand, in this day and age, let alone five thousand, an ordinary person would be doing well to earn five hundred a month...
"I’m a lawyer," Xu De said, stopping and looking at him.
"Even six thousand is tough for a lawyer," Wang Chao said, clicking his tongue.
It’s easy for lawyers to make money, but risk is directly proportional to reward!
A single case can drag on for months. If you lose, all your previous work is for nothing, and you might even end up in the red for years. And for some cases, the three-year repayment period might be up before the case is even finished...
But then again...
"What if I can take any case, and I dare to take any case?"
Xu De said suddenly.
Wang Chao and Lin Yue froze.
His words clearly weren’t about just not being ’picky.’ The emphasis was on ’dare to take.’
It’s a known fact that a lawyer’s earning potential is proportional to a case’s difficulty. Countless Gold Medal Lawyers made their names from a single major case.
But there are major cases... and then there are *major cases*!
If Xu De really dared to take on those seemingly ’hopeless’ cases and could actually win them, then repaying 120,000 in three years... would be child’s play!
But...
"Lawyer Xu, are you serious!?"
Wang Chao’s eyes widened slightly. He had originally thought Xu De would leverage the momentum from the Wang Qiang case to grow slowly. He never expected him to aim for major cases right from the start...
Xu De nodded, his expression calm.
He had guts, daring to do what ordinary people would not!
However...
Xu De paused, then his brow furrowed as he said in a low voice:
"The only difficulty is... major cases are hard to come by."
Major cases are rare; there aren’t that many in the entire country all year. The Wang Qiang case in Li Family Village was a complete anomaly. It was hard to say when another case of that caliber would appear.
But these words.
Still made Wang Chao and Lin Yue freeze.
The two of them felt like they had boarded a pirate ship... no, a Caribbean Pirate Ship.
Arrogant. So unbelievably arrogant. It was as if he were captaining this pirate ship, sailing the seas of justice, ignoring all reefs and brutally smashing through any enemy in his path!
But...
’If a lawyer isn’t audacious, what’s the point of being a lawyer!?’
Lin Yue’s heart suddenly began to race. His tone and expression were clearly calm...
Yet he exuded an air that treated ’Gold Medal Lawyers’ and ’capital crime cases’ as utterly insignificant.
The corners of her mouth lifted into an unconscious smile. After a moment’s thought, she said:
"I believe in you... but, great lawyer, we have to fill our stomachs first, don’t we?"
"My treat!"
The three of them laughed and then strode briskly away.
And at the same time...
...
...
「Eight-thirty in the morning.」
Inside Lusen City’s Eighteenth Academy.
RINGGG~
The class bell rang, and students returned to their classrooms in twos and threes.
Right up until the moment class began, a seat in the senior year’s Class 4 remained empty. Until...
A figure appeared at the classroom door. Everyone inside looked up, and their expressions grew strange as they recognized the person.
It was Yang Jiale in an old-fashioned school uniform. Her dark hair was soaked and stuck to her face, obscuring the details.
Her jacket was drenched and gave off a musty odor.
Feeling the stares of those around her.
Yang Jiale lowered her head, her long hair hiding her face, and returned to her seat under everyone’s gaze.
SNIFF SNIFF~ A few students nearby sniffed the air, their brows furrowing with suspicion.
Yang Jiale buried her head even lower, shrinking into her seat and pulling out a textbook to hide behind.
Before long, the teacher arrived. He glanced around the room and then began his lecture without another word.
Yang Jiale didn’t dare to look up. Her damp hair shrouded her head, and no one could see her expression or sense her emotions.
Until...
In a daze, she noticed a newspaper on the floor, folded into a paper airplane. Her eyes froze when she made out the words on it:
"The Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court states..."
It was the newspaper the school had them subscribe to.
Yang Jiale stared at it, at the words where the court emphasized ’justice.’ She stared for a long time, frozen like a wooden statue.
So long that the teacher dismissed the class without her even realizing it.
DING~
The PA system chimed, and Yang Jiale finally snapped out of it.
But she continued to stare blankly at the newspaper. After a long moment...
Yang Jiale stood up. She walked out of the classroom, headed for the administration building, and, a short while later, pushed open an office door.
...
「11:40 AM.」
As the bell rang for the last class of the morning.
Yang Jiale got up, ready to head to the cafeteria. But the moment she stepped out of the classroom,
three figures suddenly appeared before her.
Three girls with unfriendly expressions. The leader had a mocking look on her face. With a wave of her hand, the other two grabbed Yang Jiale and began dragging her toward an empty stairwell, heading for the roof.
"What are you doing!?"
Yang Jiale struggled fiercely, and they paused.
The lead girl turned her head, her face full of disdain. She looked Yang Jiale up and down and said mockingly:
"You’re the one who went to the office to see Lv Guangjun, right?"
Suddenly.
Yang Jiale stared at her in disbelief, her face a mask of shock.
’How... how did she know?’
The next second, the girl’s mocking expression turned vicious, revealing a ruthlessness that seemed out of place on her face.
"Bitch!"