The next morning, October 2nd, Adrian woke early, washed up, ate breakfast, and prepared to leave for work.
After years of holding a senior corporate position in his previous life, returning to the routine of an ordinary employee felt unexpectedly nostalgic.
There was something almost familiar about waking up at a fixed hour, commuting across the city, clocking in, and spending the day answering to people above him, but nostalgia was one thing and actually wanting to live that way forever was another.
“I need to establish my own law firm as soon as possible.” The thought strengthened Adrian’s resolve.
Unfortunately, starting a law firm was not as simple as renting an office and putting his name on the door.
Under the regulations in place in 2002, solo law practices had not yet been introduced, which meant he would need to establish a partnership with at least three licensed attorneys.
In other words, even if Adrian was ready, he still needed to find two people willing and capable enough to join him.
He was already considering where he might find suitable partners when he reached the door and suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, right.
The leftovers.” Adrian turned around, opened the refrigerator, and took out the dishes he had prepared the night before.
After packing them into a plastic bag, he left the apartment and headed toward Blackwood & Reed Law Firm.
At eight in the morning, the chill of the night had not yet completely disappeared from the streets.
Most pedestrians walked quietly toward work, roadside breakfast stalls sent clouds of white steam into the air, and bicycles, buses, and cars moved steadily through the morning traffic.
Adrian made his way through the crowd until he passed the entrance to a narrow alley, where a familiar figure crouching near the far wall caught his attention.
The boy was painfully thin, to the point that “skin and bones” hardly felt like an exaggeration.
His clothes were filthy and far too thin for the weather, his hair hung in tangled strands over his face, and the wary eyes visible beneath it watched everything around him with the alertness of a stray animal that had learned not to trust anyone.
Adrian had intended to walk over immediately, but after taking only a couple of steps, he noticed someone else standing near the boy.
“Someone beat me to it?” A young woman was crouched a short distance away, holding out a freshly purchased breakfast.
“Are you going to eat it?
It’ll be cold soon if you keep staring at me.” She was dressed simply in a white shirt, blue jeans, and clean white shoes, and there was nothing particularly unusual about her clothing except for the way she had arranged her hair.
It was pinned into a neat bun with a decorative hairpin, giving her an appearance that reminded Adrian more of a traditional spiritual practitioner than an ordinary woman walking through the city.
The boy looked about sixteen.
Instead of accepting the food she offered him, however, he became even more cautious and quietly edged backward.
The woman looked puzzled.
Adrian understood the problem immediately.
“Ahem.” The cough came from behind her.
The woman, Lena Quinn, turned her head while still crouching and saw Adrian standing at the entrance of the alley with a bag of food in his hand.
Realization appeared on her face.
Apparently, he had come here for the same reason.
“He seems pretty timid, so you might want to—” Before Lena could finish, a thin figure darted past her.
The boy who had refused to approach her only seconds ago was now moving reluctantly toward Adrian.
Lena blinked in surprise.
Then Adrian pointed at the ground.
“Squat.” The boy’s expression immediately became resentful.
His eyes shifted toward the food in Adrian’s hand, however, and after swallowing visibly, he obediently squatted.
Adrian nodded.
“Turn around.” The boy looked as though his dignity had suffered a terrible blow, but hunger eventually won the argument, and he awkwardly spun around once while remaining in a crouch.
Adrian seemed satisfied.
“Good.
You can eat.” Only then did he hand over the food.
The boy snatched the bag from him and gave Adrian a deeply offended look before turning to leave.
“Hold on.” The boy stopped.
Adrian looked at him seriously.
“Did you forget something?” The boy hesitated before answering in his slightly hoarse, still somewhat childish voice.
“Th…
thank you.” “Much better.” The moment Adrian dismissed him, the boy ran down the alley with the food clutched tightly against his chest.
Adrian was about to leave as well when Lena called after him.
“You know that kid?” Her eyes were wide, and the expression on her face suggested that what she had just witnessed was far stranger than Adrian seemed to realize.
Only then did Adrian properly look at her, and despite having lived through two lifetimes, he had to admit that the woman standing before him was exceptionally attractive.
Her features were delicate without appearing fragile, her skin was clear and pale, and the unusual hairstyle only made her stand out more.
What caught Adrian’s attention most, however, was the strange mixture of curiosity and disbelief in her eyes as she looked at him.
“What exactly was that?” Lena hesitated.
She had wanted to say that Adrian had treated the boy less like a homeless teenager and more like a stray dog he had trained to perform tricks for food.
Adrian understood the implication anyway.
“I don’t actually know him.
I’ve just seen him around the neighborhood a few times.” Lena clearly did not believe him.
She had encountered the boy more than once herself, yet every time she tried to approach him, he would retreat before she came anywhere near him.
“Then why isn’t he afraid of you?” Adrian thought about it.
“Probably because he dislikes me.” Lena stared at him.
“He dislikes you, but he walks straight up to you?” “He has to eat.” Adrian glanced toward the direction the boy had disappeared.
“He’s suspicious, not stupid.
Someone in his situation has spent long enough dealing with strangers to know that kindness without an obvious reason can be dangerous, so when you approach him politely, offer him food, and expect nothing in return, he starts wondering what you actually want.” Lena listened carefully.
Adrian continued, “With me, the motive is obvious.
I make him do something stupid, amuse myself for a few seconds, and then give him food, so as far as he’s concerned, the transaction makes sense.
He may not like me very much, but at least he understands what I’m getting out of it.” Lena’s expression slowly changed as the explanation sank in.
“So being nicer to him can actually make him more suspicious?” “In his case, yes.
People who have been treated badly for long enough sometimes find straightforward selfishness easier to trust than unexplained generosity.” Adrian gave a small shrug.
“Relationships are strange like that.
Two men can become close friends because one of them insulted the other five minutes after meeting him.” “I see.” Lena tapped one fist lightly into her palm, apparently finding the explanation much more enlightening than Adrian had expected.
Since he rarely encountered anyone else who regularly fed the neighborhood’s wandering children, Adrian casually added, “If you want him to accept food from you next time, don’t make such a big ceremony out of it.
Tell him to turn around twice or carry something for you, then hand him the food as payment.
He’ll probably feel much more comfortable.” Lena stared at him for a moment.
The longer Adrian spoke, the stranger she found him, although there was also a trace of genuine admiration in her eyes now.
Her gaze eventually moved to his suit and the identification badge clipped to his chest.
“You’re a lawyer?” “Yes.” “What kind?
Civil?
Criminal?” Adrian frowned slightly at how naturally she had begun questioning him despite the fact that they had met less than five minutes ago.
Since they were only strangers who happened to encounter each other in an alley, he gave her the least useful answer he could think of.
“I specialize in being a model of professional morality.” Lena fell silent.
Her eyes drifted toward the direction the boy had gone, and she recalled Adrian making a starving teenager squat and spin around before handing over breakfast.
A model of morality?
Somehow, that was not the first description that came to mind.
Adrian noticed the strange look she was giving him and changed the subject.
“What about you?
Are you some kind of Taoist?” “You’re half right.” Lena nodded.
Adrian glanced at the hairpin holding her bun in place.
“So how should I address you, then?” “You can call me…” Lena almost gave him her name before stopping herself.
The man had deliberately avoided introducing himself and had responded to her perfectly reasonable question by claiming he was some kind of moral exemplar.
Why should she be the only one answering honestly?
After considering the matter for several seconds, Lena suddenly straightened her back and adopted an impressively serious expression.
“You may address me as the Nine Heavens Soaring Dragon, Jade-Faced Thunder Sovereign, Universal Salvation Demon-Subduing, Eternal Longevity True Monarch.” Adrian stared at her.
Lena stared calmly back.
For the first time that morning, Adrian found himself completely unable to think of an appropriate response.
At nine o’clock, Adrian arrived at Blackwood & Reed Law Firm and clocked in on time, although the encounter from the alley was still lingering in his thoughts.
“Can someone’s fate really survive a title that ridiculous?” He had heard plenty of grandiose ceremonial titles in both lives, but Lena had somehow managed to combine enough words into one name to make it sound as though she personally commanded half the heavens.
Still, Adrian could hardly complain.
He had given her a nonsense answer first, so receiving one in return was only fair.
He dismissed the thought and entered the main hall, intending to head directly to his desk when a familiar voice called out from nearby.
“Attorney Cole!
Perfect timing.
I’ve been waiting for you.” Adrian stopped and turned.
Marcus Hale rose from one side of the hall and approached him with a broad smile.
The expression immediately made Adrian suspicious.
There was an old saying about a weasel visiting a chicken to offer New Year’s greetings, and Marcus currently looked very much like the weasel in question.
Adrian kept his expression neutral.
“What can I do for you, Team Leader Hale?” “Something good, naturally.” Marcus stopped beside him with an almost enthusiastic smile.
“Didn’t you mention before that you wanted more cases so you could improve your performance record?” “I did.” “Well, I gave that some thought after yesterday.” Marcus spoke as though every word came from sincere concern for Adrian’s career.
“You managed to resolve the difficult consultation in Room 103 much faster than anyone expected, which proves that your reputation as one of Westbridge University’s top graduates wasn’t exaggerated.
Someone with your ability shouldn’t be wasting his time waiting around for minor work.” Adrian quietly watched him continue.
“And as luck would have it, the firm has just assigned our team a criminal case.” Marcus’s smile became even warmer.
“What a coincidence, right?” Adrian immediately understood.
Marcus had tried to bury him with the previous case and failed, so now he had found something more dangerous.
Criminal litigation was nothing like advising an angry husband during a civil consultation.
Mistakes carried much heavier consequences, the workload could be enormous, and an inexperienced attorney could damage both the client’s case and his own professional reputation.
Marcus apparently believed he had finally found something Adrian could not bluff his way through.
“I thought about who should handle it,” Marcus continued, “and after seeing what you accomplished yesterday, I decided there was no reason to give the opportunity to anyone else.” He gave Adrian an encouraging look that was so obviously insincere that it almost became impressive.
“So I assigned the case to you.” Marcus paused only long enough to watch Adrian’s reaction before asking with a smile, “What do you think, Attorney Cole?
Do you have the confidence to handle it?”