Shen Moran had indeed considered leaving Sun Heng at home while she went to work. However, looking at her innocent expression and her arm in a cast, she could not bear the thought of Sun Heng being unable to even get a glass of water, so she decided to bring her along.
This time, when Sun Heng stepped into the law firm, she stood much taller. Even though she was wearing pajamas and slippers with both arms in casts, it did not dampen her radiant smile or her proud posture as she stood behind Shen Moran.
Finally, she could stand beside Shen Moran openly.
The receptionists’ eyes darted back and forth between Sun Heng and Shen Moran, confused as to why Shen Moran would bring an outsider to work. Furthermore, the visitor was wearing slippers and pajamas.
Shen Moran was a lawyer with her own private office, however. Once she closed the door, no one could look at Sun Heng anymore. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and told Sun Heng to find a place to wait.
Sun Heng’s eyes crinkled with joy. She found a chair by the floor-to-ceiling windows and sat down, admiring the view of the CBD. If it were not for her injured arms, she would have taken a picture with a cup of coffee to post on social media.
Was this the scenery elite lawyers looked at every day? It was beautiful.
While Sun Heng enjoyed the view, Shen Moran was busy, jumping between her computer and phone calls before summoning a team of people into the room. The assistants were puzzled by the stranger, but Sun Heng, sitting by the window with a smile brighter than the sun, greeted them with her cast-covered arm.
The assistants were speechless.
Shen Moran glanced at Sun Heng, cleared her throat, and said to them, “She is a friend. Do not mind her. Please brief me on the situation.”
The assistants collected themselves and began reporting the case.
Sun Heng was not an intellectual, nor did she have high academic qualifications, but she could hear the anxiety in the assistants’ tone. It seemed a case had run into trouble: the client had concealed significant facts, leaving the firm in a difficult position.
The more Shen Moran heard, the tighter she furrowed her brows. She gripped her pen so hard her knuckles turned white.
“So you are saying Yuan truly assaulted a minor?” Shen Moran asked with a dark expression. “He thought everything was prepared, so he started bragging everywhere, only to be caught by investigative journalists?”
The assistants nodded grimly.
Shen Moran closed her eyes, overwhelmed by a headache.
One of the young women clutched her notebook and whispered, “We heard one of the girls is under fourteen. With the journalists’ reports, the whole internet is discussing it. Yuan’s side is pressuring us to find a solution.”
“What kind of solution?” Shen Moran said angrily. “He withheld information from us, assaulted a girl under fourteen, and it has been exposed nationwide. This is a case of extremely bad influence. How can we possibly help him?”
If it were a standard sexual assault case, they might argue for a defense, but with the severity and scale of this incident, it would be treated with maximum severity. Every lawyer understood this, which made them both despise the client and feel troubled by the case.
Shen Moran remained silent for a long time before asking, “What is the situation with Yuan right now?”
“He is staying home. His phone is reportedly blowing up. The entrance is surrounded by reporters and media, and he is even live-streaming on multiple platforms,” an assistant said. “Shen, would you like to see? It is still live.”
Shen Moran did not want to watch, but she took the assistant’s phone. The screen showed a villa surrounded by people. The live stream had already surpassed a million viewers, and the comments were flooded with insults directed at Yuan Haiqiang.
“This coward will not come out. Family, I do not think we will see him,” a woman’s voice came from the stream. She zoomed in on the villa with her phone, but could not capture a clear shot. She continued to curse the man in anger, but soon the camera turned to show security guards arriving. The stream descended into chaos and abruptly ended.
Shen Moran turned off the phone, rubbing her temples.
“You may leave. Let me contact Yuan.” She dismissed the group and dialed the phone, but the calls would not go through.
“Stop calling,” Sun Heng said, lounging in the sun with her legs crossed. “Yuan Haiqiang will not answer anyone’s calls right now. He is insecure and sensitive; even as an entrepreneur, he cannot shake his bad habits. You should contact his assistant. You can only reach him through the assistant.”
Shen Moran looked up at Sun Heng, who was clearly enjoying the spectacle. She dialed the assistant’s number and asked, “Are you close with Yuan?”
“Not close,” Sun Heng smiled. “I just scolded him once.”
Before Shen Moran could ask what had happened, the assistant answered.
“Shen,” the man’s voice on the other end was frantic. “Why are you only calling now? Yuan has been waiting!”
Shen Moran paused before explaining, “I apologize. I took the day off for personal matters. How is Yuan? Is he safe?”
“He is fine for now,” the man replied aggressively. “Come over now, and bring your assistants. You must handle this properly. The fallout is too severe!”
Shen Moran did not want to waste time arguing. She told him she would be there in thirty minutes and hung up.
Sun Heng watched as she began packing her things and asked, “Leaving already?”
“Yes.” Shen Moran glanced at Sun Heng and hesitated. “How about this: I will arrange for someone to take you home. Su Nian does not have tutoring today and will be back in two hours. Please hold on until then; she can take care of you when she arrives.”
“No need to go to such trouble.” Sun Heng smiled. “I will just come with you. I am familiar with Yuan anyway. I can just sit at the entrance while you two talk.”
Shen Moran shook her head. “Yuan has a temper, and this matter cannot be known by outsiders.”
The implication was clear: this was work, and she could not bring unrelated persons.
The unrelated person Sun Heng could only shrug and agree to Shen Moran’s arrangements.
Watching Shen Moran drive away, Sun Heng looked at the young assistant she had been assigned to stay with. The girl looked like a fresh university graduate—naive and pure—and smiled when she noticed Sun Heng looking at her. Sun Heng returned the smile.
Upon arriving at Yuan Haiqiang’s villa, journalists and social media creators were everywhere. Seeing a car approach, they immediately aimed their cameras. Shen Moran did not get out but called the assistant directly. Once the assistant opened the gate, she drove inside.
The villa was massive. Shen Moran parked the car and stepped out, followed by two assistants. They greeted the bodyguards at the door and walked inside.
Despite it being daytime, the house was dark, requiring lights to see clearly. Yuan Haiqiang sat in the golden, luxurious living room, smoking and looking anxious.
When he saw Shen Moran, Yuan Haiqiang looked up. He was only about 1.6 meters tall, and having put on weight over the years, he looked like a short, round potato in his white shirt.
“Yuan.” Shen Moran approached with a stern face. “We are late; my apologies.”
Yuan Haiqiang slammed his cup against the marble floor with a loud bang and roared at Shen Moran, “You know you are late! I thought you were all dead!”
His words were atrocious. One of the young assistants behind Shen Moran wanted to defend them, but Shen Moran stopped her.
“This was our mistake.” Shen Moran stepped over the shattered glass. “We understand the situation. This is not the time for anger; resolving this matter is our top priority.”
Yuan Haiqiang’s chest heaved as he sat back down, realizing Shen Moran had a point. “What can you do now?” He rubbed his face frantically. “Those people just want my money. They colluded to scam me. I have already transferred over thirty million to them, what else do they want?!”
Shen Moran lowered her eyes, staring blankly at her client.
After working in law for a long time, one certainly sees all kinds of filth. Even a seemingly powerful leader could one day be played by the women he once looked down upon.
Sun Heng was in no rush to leave. She leaned against the front desk, chatting happily with the assistant, Lu Zaiyi.
“Yiyi, what kind of person is your Shen?” Sun Heng asked, taking a sip of her Yakult.
Lu Zaiyi thought seriously for a moment before replying, “Shen is beautiful and intelligent, and highly educated. Every case she handles is handled beautifully; even the boss praises her.”
“The boss?” Sun Heng tilted her head and asked in a low voice, “Is that Lawyer Cao?”
She still remembered how pompous Lawyer Cao was when they met. She had thought she would need a few sharp words if they met again, but he was conveniently absent today.
Lu Zaiyi lowered her voice. “Shh, Sun. Cao does not like Shen. They used to be superiors and subordinates, but Cao became unhappy when Shen rose to be his equal. He even scolded Shen publicly a while ago. You must never mention one in front of the other.”
Sun Heng raised an eyebrow and leaned in. “Tell me, who usually wins when they argue?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the elevator dinged. Cao arrived at the entrance. Lu Zaiyi straightened up in fear, lowering her head to greet him, while Sun Heng remained slouched, sipping her Yakult.
Lawyer Cao had already walked past but suddenly stopped.
He slowly turned his head toward Sun Heng and asked with a frown, “This lady, have we met somewhere before?”