Sun Heng could not help but laugh at Su Nian’s terrified expression. She reached out and pinched the child’s cheek, saying, “Why are you making such a face? That is your own sister. Are you afraid of looking for your own sister?”
Su Nian sobbed, “It is because she is my sister that she is so scary. You do not know how fierce she can be. Every time she scolds me, it is like she is scolding a dog.”
Sun Heng replied, “That is only because you are always disobedient.”
“I am clearly very obedient,” Su Nian countered. “It is my sister who is strange. It is always impossible to guess what she is thinking. Besides, Sister, have you not noticed? My sister never smiles at you. She always has the same stony face, whether she is happy or unhappy.”
Now that she mentioned it, Sun Heng realized Shen Moran truly never seemed to smile at her, always maintaining that calm, indifferent expression as if nothing mattered. Of course, that was exactly the type she liked, so she did not mind it at all.
“Do not speak of your sister that way,” Sun Heng said. “I took you to the countryside last time without telling her, and she did not speak to me for days. This time, I have already discussed it with her. We will both watch over you, and once you arrive, you can play however you like. We will not stop you.”
Su Nian pricked up her ears. “Really?”
Sun Heng replied, “Of course, it is true.”
Su Nian was happy again. She joyfully followed Sun Heng, trailing behind her like a little tail into the law firm. Sun Heng found that children were easy to coax. She did not even need gifts; a few words were enough to get them to follow her. She was like a clingy little animal, exceptionally cute.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Sun Heng saw a group of men and women in suits standing by the front desk, sipping coffee and chatting. Just as she was about to ask a question, she heard the name Shen Moran.
“Lawyer Shen was scolded very harshly by Lawyer Cao in his office today. We could hear it from the outside. I do not know what it was about, but she still has not come out.”
“I heard it was because of some copied documents and other misfiled paperwork, so he lost his temper.”
A plump girl nearby shook her head with an air of certainty. “Those are tasks for intern lawyers. Lawyer Shen is a senior lawyer; how could she be scolded over document errors? Lawyer Cao is just looking for an excuse to vent.”
The crowd gathered around, gossiping curiously, “What happened?”
The girl said, “I heard one of Lawyer Cao’s clients went to find Lawyer Shen directly. No one told her, so she took the case. Lawyer Cao has been giving her the cold shoulder ever since. He is probably just using this as an excuse to vent.”
The crowd sighed with pity. “Lawyer Shen is so pathetic. Everyone knows Lawyer Cao is petty, and no one dares to steal his clients. Lawyer Shen must be having a miserable time.”
“That client was a creep. He only looked for Lawyer Shen because she is pretty. Sigh, it is sad that sexual harassment in the workplace comes not only from superiors and colleagues but from clients too.”
Sun Heng’s brow furrowed slightly. From what they were saying, that petty Lawyer Cao was making trouble again.
Su Nian, who had exited the elevator with her, heard this too. She tugged on Sun Heng’s sleeve and looked up to ask, “Sister, is the Lawyer Shen that group of people mentioned my sister?”
Sun Heng replied, “I am afraid so.”
Su Nian was furious. Pouting, she said, “How can they bully my sister like that? I thought everyone at a big law firm was a good person. I did not expect them to be so bad.”
Sun Heng looked at her and asked, “Has your sister been bullied before?”
“She seemed to be bullied when she was an intern, but my mother went to find their boss, and she was later transferred to this firm,” Su Nian said to Sun Heng. “Sister, we cannot let them bully her. If she cannot work here, she should quit. We cannot let her suffer like this.”
Su Nian spoke with such conviction that Sun Heng could not help but smile and pat her head.
“I did not expect you to be so protective of your sister,” Sun Heng said. “It is fine. Watch me in a moment.”
Sun Heng marched toward the front desk. Someone noticed her and asked politely, “Hello, how can I help you?”
“I am looking for Lawyer Cao,” Sun Heng said with a smile.
The others dispersed as soon as they heard the name, leaving only two intern lawyers at the front desk. The one who had greeted her earlier said, “Lawyer Cao is currently busy. Could you please sit over there and wait for a moment?”
“No need, I will just go inside to find him,” Sun Heng said. “He will see me.”
With that, she led Su Nian inside.
The intern lawyers were confused. Seeing Sun Heng walk in with such confidence, they hurried to catch up, saying, “I am sorry, Lawyer Cao is truly busy. Please wait a moment, or let me take you to the meeting room.”
While the intern lawyer was distracted, Sun Heng pushed open the door to Lawyer Cao’s office.
As soon as the door opened, Lawyer Cao’s voice could be heard.
“If it were not for your mother’s sake, do you really think you would have been admitted to our firm? If you do not want to work, then quit! See which other firm would even want you!”
Lawyer Cao sat behind his desk, glaring at the file in his hand. Seeing someone barge in, he was extremely displeased. He slammed the file on the desk and snapped, “What are you doing? Do you not know how to knock before entering?”
The intern lawyer hurried in after Sun Heng. “I am sorry, Lawyer Cao. This lady says she has an urgent matter for you.”
Lawyer Cao frowned and said, “Even if it is urgent, you have to wait your turn.” He then looked at Sun Heng and asked, “Who are you?”
Shen Moran had been standing to the side listening to the lecture. Upon hearing the commotion, she turned her head to see Sun Heng at the door with Su Nian hanging off the intern. She frowned, signaling to Sun Heng with her eyes to ask what was going on.
Sun Heng ignored her and said to Lawyer Cao, “Lawyer Cao, you are a busy man. We met just a couple of days ago. I have a trademark infringement case I wanted to have you handle, but if you are that busy, never mind.”
She turned to Shen Moran, acting as if she had just seen a savior. “Oh my, you must be Lawyer Shen, right? I have heard of you. You are incredibly responsible, and I have been meaning to meet you.”
She reached out to shake Shen Moran’s hand.
Shen Moran was confused by the woman’s intentions and retreated two steps, accidentally bumping into Lawyer Cao’s desk and knocking over an unsealed thermos, spilling water all over him.
Lawyer Cao jumped up in pain, shouting, “Ouch, ouch, ouch!”
The room descended into chaos.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Sun Heng grabbed Shen Moran’s wrist. As their eyes met, Sun Heng smiled, pulled her to her side, and said to Lawyer Cao, “Lawyer Cao, go ahead and deal with that. I will discuss the trademark case with Lawyer Shen. I will not disturb you any further.”
Before Lawyer Cao could react, Sun Heng led Shen Moran out of the office. He wiped his clothes with a tissue, muttering to himself, “What is happening?”
Su Nian happily rescued Shen Moran and scurried to her office, holding the door open for them. Sun Heng quickly pulled her inside.
Once in the office, Shen Moran pulled her hand away and frowned. “What are you two trying to do?”
“We are saving you, of course!” Su Nian stood next to Sun Heng and said to Shen Moran, “We could not just watch you get bullied, so we had to step in!”
Shen Moran looked at Su Nian, then at Sun Heng, and asked, “Are you joining a child in her mischief? Who does not get scolded by their boss at work? You dragged me out of Lawyer Cao’s office like this, but have you thought about what will happen tomorrow?”
Sun Heng laughed. “Of course I have. So, go change your clothes and pack your things. Leave the rest to me.”
Shen Moran did not understand what Sun Heng was planning, but she watched as Sun Heng stood at the door and began to speak loudly.
“Lawyer Shen truly lives up to her name; she is stunning!” Sun Heng shouted through the door gap. “I must have you handle this case; I would not trust anyone else!” Sun Heng continued, “This trademark is worth three hundred million. We are willing to give you a two percent commission on the fee. If you agree, we can sign the contract tomorrow!”
Shen Moran rolled her eyes and turned to the excited Su Nian. “I am going to change. We are leaving soon.”
Su Nian nodded.
While Shen Moran went to change, Sun Heng continued to put on a show, talking to the doorway loudly enough for the whole firm to hear. Shen Moran was so annoyed she wanted to kick her out.
“That is enough,” Shen Moran’s face burned with embarrassment as she snapped, “If you keep shouting, everyone on this floor will know.”
“That is the whole point,” Sun Heng said haughtily. “Let them see how they bullied you.”
Shen Moran knew Sun Heng must have heard the gossip and came to defend her, so she sighed helplessly. “I cannot fix this mess now. One lie will require countless more to cover it up.”
If Lawyer Cao realized what was happening once he calmed down, Shen Moran’s life would only become more difficult.
However, Sun Heng replied, “Who told you I was lying?”
Shen Moran looked up at her.
“There is indeed a trademark infringement case worth three hundred million, and it belongs to a friend of mine,” Sun Heng said. “The case is not public yet and is being handled privately, so I am not lying.”
Shen Moran was puzzled. “Where do you get so many friends?”
Sun Heng laughed. “Do not worry about that. It is getting late, so let us go to the orphanage. If we leave now, we will make it just in time for lunch.”