Chen Shuo hadn't thought much of it, but that might not be the case for the other partners who were friends with Shen Yuting and still at the firm. No normal boss wanted a disobedient subordinate. They would most certainly feel that the kind of person who had a record of whistleblowing would be a pain in the neck and wouldn't bring them onto their teams...

Gao Yuan might still be aiming for Fu Zheng, which is why he had dealt with Shen Yuting as soon as it was reported, but why was Fu Zheng still so naïve?!

A male whistleblower whose interests were intertwined with Li Yue and Hu Kang. Aside from herself, Fu Zheng was an easy guess to make. After all, he was now working in the community. Without Li Yue and Hu Kang, his workload would increase...

Looking at his lighthearted, silly-sweet face, Ning Wan hurriedly pulled him aside to teach him a lesson, disregarding Chen Shuo's presence. "Gao Yuan obviously didn't drop the information that the whistleblower was a man by accident! He must have just been acting to make it look like it was an accidental slip of the tongue..."

Her words surprised Fu Zheng. He had indeed asked Gao Yuan to do that to protect Ning Wan, but he hadn't expected to get caught. She was unexpectedly sharp. It seemed that she was indeed a good prospect for his team.

He gently cleared his throat, preparing to accept her tearful gratitude, only to hear her hating iron for not being steel--

"You really are a fool! Even if you're doing the right thing, you must learn to first protect yourself! Do you see how wily Gao Yuan is? Analyze it carefully. What do you think he's really thinking? After what he said, it's easy enough to extrapolate that you were the whistleblower. Now which partner will want you on their team? They'll all think you're a troublemaker! Then he'll be your only possible choice for developing your career and advancing to a better team, and you'll be at his mercy!"

The more she talked, the angrier she got. "That pervert really is shameless!"

“……”

Fu Zheng looked back at Ning Wan with a hundred things he wanted to say. He wanted to take back his previous judgment of her intelligence, and at the same time, he felt some sympathy for Gao Yuan. He felt like Gao Yuan's reputation might be irreparable...

Watching the two whispering to each other, Chen Shuo, left out in the cold, cleared his throat. "Isn't Lawyer Fu just about to go out and handle a case? Senior Sister Ning Wan, I'm happy to discuss cases with you whenever if you need someone to talk to. Let Lawyer Fu get to work for now. He's so old, yet still an intern, so every minute and every second is precious time for him to gain experience."

This was him making known that he was still present.

Fu Zheng frowned at Chen Shuo. Then, smiling, he suggested in a friendly manner, "I'm heading toward Yao Kang's factory to search for evidence, so what about I give Lawyer Chen a ride? Shouldn't it be time for you to head back to the main office, too?"

However, Chen Shuo didn't seem dissatisfied at all with Fu Zheng's offer. On the contrary, he laughed and said unhurriedly, "I forgot to add that you must have had quite a heavy workload here in the community. Li Yue and Hu Kang should have been helping you out, but they were never there, and now they've been fired. That's why I applied to Partner Gao to take on some community work."

He gave Fu Zheng a meaningful look. "After all, I've always wanted to try my hand at working in the community, but unfortunately someone else was accidentally pushed in through the back door last time. Now that I've applied once again to be transferred here, it's like things are back to how they should have been."

"Really?!"

Ning Wan's pleasant surprise made Chen Shuo finally feel a little better. His mood eased and he smiled gently. "Yes, I came here today to tell you the news. Officially, I start tomorrow, and I'll be continuing to work at the main office, but since I'll be temporarily helping out here, my workload there will be lighter. Anyway, I had nothing on this afternoon, so I thought I would come and check out the scene."

"Awesome! We're going to get so much done!" Ning Wan's exclaimed with undisguised happiness and enthusiasm. "Wait here and I'll go and ask for a budget for you from Director Ji! We'll have to get office supplies for you by tomorrow, especially a chair..."

She hurried next door to find Director Ji, leaving only Fu Zheng and Chen Shuo together in the office.

As soon as she was gone, the two men dropped their superficial friendliness. Chen Shuo raised an eyebrow. "Lawyer Fu, weren't you going to handle a case? You have to hurry, time waits for no man."

There was still a friendly mask covering Fu Zheng's face. "Our office expenses are quite tight, yet a chair is going to be purchased for you," he smiled. "I'm just worried that when other expenses crop up, Ning Wan will be run short of money."

He looked at Chen Shuo. "I don't think you'll really need a new chair, will you? Ning Wan bought me a very elegant Mediterranean blue one just a little while ago. Now that I've gotten a new chair, it's just sitting around unused. Besides, we've got quite a heavy workload, and you don't know how long you'll be here. Shouldn't that be enough? After all, Lawyer Chen, you're just here temporarily, aren't you? Spending money on a chair isn't really necessary."

Fu Zheng's words were warm and gentle, and his appearance natural and graceful, but Chen Shuo felt the sting in them.

What was this man implying? It was as if he, Fu Zheng, were a man who thought first about the overall situation first, who was considerate of his coworkers, who budgeted frugally and carefully, like the Empress leading the harem. Meanwhile, he insinuated between the lines that Chen Shuo was some wild man who had come in out of nowhere, who only knew how to squander and enjoy life, that he didn't really have the best interests of the family in mind. A man not only inconsiderate, but also foolish...

And Fu Zheng's feigned kindness and generosity was also making Chen Shuo very unhappy. With how silly and enthusiastic Ning Wan was and such a wily old official hanging around her, sooner or later this man would surely stop biding his time and usurp power...

Actually, Chen Shuo hadn't liked Fu Zheng on first sight, so every time he saw him, he bristled with hostility. He had a crush on Ning Wan, so every man around her disgusted him, particularly Fu Zheng, whose aura was too strong and was too present in her life. It gave Chen Shuo a feeling of crisis.

Moreover, Fu Zheng's words didn't sound good at all.

Chen Shuo sneered inside, but outside he kept a friendly smile on. "You're older than we are. To tell you the truth, on average young people can bear more hardship than our elders. We're young and strong, after all! And what's more, it was I who asked to come here right from the start. I've been looking forward to working here with Ning Wan, so you can rest assured, I'll most certainly do my best for the community. As for the chair, there really is no need to purchase one just for me. Since there's an an elegant blue one sitting around, I'll just take that one. In that way we can save some money for Ning Wan in case she wants to buy something in the future."

Once he had said so, hesitation instead bloomed on Fu Zheng's face. "But... well, never mind, we'll just get a new chair. After all, that chair isn't very good... I don't know if Lawyer Chen will really be able to bear using it..."

Oh, picking a fight with me, are you? Chen Shuo thought. Weren't you just deflecting by turning passivity into taking the initiative? He could do it too.

He was a seasoned lawyer, could he not beat Fu Zheng, an old man who had just started?

I'm still young, but I want to see who gets the last laugh!

So Chen Shuo smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. Since I was the one who asked to come here, I'm not afraid of a little suffering. You don't have to buy a new one for me, the one you have is fine."

"Since you insist, Lawyer Chen," Fu Zheng smiled too, "I'll help you go get the chair."

Unfortunately, soon Chen Shuo was no longer able to laugh...

Because Fu Zheng had just smilingly opened the door to the utility room and pointed at the dusty cheap plastic stool inside. "Here you go."

“……”

Wasn't this stool too broken? This cheap and rustic blue, this crumbling plastic leg, this dusty second-hand antique feeling...

Chen Shuo stared at Fu Zheng, and Fu Zheng looked back at Chen Shuo calmly.

The undercurrent surged between the two as they fought with their eyes.

In the end it was Ning Wan who ran in and interrupted the stalemate, carelessly exclaiming, "Chen Shuo, I told Director Ji that I would buy you a chair tomorrow. You'll have to make do for today! Since Fu Zheng is going out to handle a case, you can use his chair for now. Huh? Fu Zheng? Why haven't you left yet?"

“……”

So Ning Wan still cared about him. Relieved, Chen Shuo pretended to act natural. "You don't have to buy one. According to Lawyer Fu just now, there's a blue plastic stool around. I can just sit on that." He smiled innocently. "I'm not picky, I'm happy just to get to work here."

But Ning Wan didn't agree. Shaking her head immediately, she said frankly, "You can't sit on that stool! It's not in good shape, and it's uncomfortable to sit on. The money from our budget has already been approved, so we can get you a good one. You see, Director Ji sold Fu Zheng a house recently with a buried lede. I 'threatened' him with it, and he felt pretty guilty, so he readily approved the money to buy you a chair."

“……”

Fu Zheng kept silent. Meanwhile, Chen Shuo finally got to feel a little triumphant.

Too bad that Ning Wan had no idea about this undercurrent. She glanced at Fu Zheng curiously. "Fu Zheng, weren't you going out to handle that case? You'd better hurry! The factory might be far away, and you wouldn't be able to make it back on the last bus!"

“……”

frostcrystal

Sorry I skipped an update last week! Wedding planning is seriously picking up and I've been cramming all my clients into the next few weeks so I can have two-three weeks off for the wedding and honeymoon! Expect updates to be a bit less regular until that's all over :D