CH 6

Just that afternoon, Yan Suizhi had told Luke that law firms normally wouldn’t require interns to work out of the office on their first day. Who would have thought that mere hours late, Gu Yan would make an exception to the rule.

-What business trip? To where?

This time, Gu Yan didn’t give him the silent treatment and quickly replied:

-Wine City

Wine City??

Yan Suizhi almost forgot to breathe when he saw the name.

Wine City wasn’t exactly a city per say - whenever people mention it, they usually meant the planet in the Tian Qin system. It was a...dumpster sort of planet, full of swindlers, hoodlums and nasty characters.

In short, it was a planet that carried a certain kind of odour, a moldy sort of smell that could make one choke and stumble, even if one was several lightyears away.

Of course, there was a city called ‘Wine City’ on this planet - Wine City was the capital.

So no matter how it was interpreted, the words left little room for comfort.

Rather than ask him to go to such a planet, you may as well loop some rope around his neck, hang it from the window and put an end to his misery.

Yan Suizhi didn’t even bother to think before replying simply,

-Not going

-?

-Head hurts just looking at the name, I’m not going

Yan Suizhi rubbed at his temples.

After a few seconds of silence, Gu Yan replied:

-If I recall correctly, you’re a newly hired intern. And yet you seem to think of yourself as a high-level partner. Have I gone mad or have you?

Yan Suizhi: “...”

The mockery in the response was almost stifling.

However, Yan Suizhi was forced to admit that this was the sad reality...a reality that he always seemed to be forgetting.

The esteemed Professor Yan moved his lips, then said self-mockingly, I do apologize, I must have forgotten my manners.

He moved his fingers and was about to reply when Gu Yan sent over two screenshots.

The first was from the intern manual:

Business trips will be subsidized based on the duration of the trip with payments totaling 120 xi per day.

The second was also from the intern manual:

Interns whose performance is level C or lower will have their remuneration deducted accordingly.

Yan Suizhi: “......”

And so he giveth and he taketh. You sure have grown, oh student of mine.

A famous professor once said, anyone that attempts to use money to threaten the poor was no better than a beast.

The aforementioned famous professor gave up and replied:

-I’ll go. I’ll go right now.

-By the way, carrying the intern’s manual with you while you’re on the go must have been hard on you, don’t you find it tiring, Gu-laoshi?

Gu Yan didn’t reply, probably because he couldn’t be bothered.

---

That evening, Yan Suzhi found himself standing in the entry hall of Port Newsa.

This was De Carma’s transportation hub - the port had twelve lanes that were filled with an uninterrupted stream of space shuttles and spaceships from morning to night.

Space shuttles were both convenient and fast, and were always allowed to travel on the shortest interstellar lines. It was suitable for commercial travel but the downside was the frequent line transfers and jump drives, so it wasn’t ideal for those with weak constitutions.

The route taken by spaceships were a little more romantic - it was stable, relaxed and more appropriate for excursionists.

For people like Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan, they were basically resigned to space shuttle travel for life.

---

The temperature at night was lower compared to day so Yan Suizhi flipped up the collar of his black coat. He stuck his hands in his pockets, eyes sweeping his surroundings. He happened to catch sight of Gu Yan in the middle of the crowd - Gu Yan lifted his finger a little to indicate his location.

“What a truly conspicuous gesture - if someone’s eyesight was even a little bit faulty, they’d probably have to look around for another year.” Yan Suizhi shook his head and said irritably.

His lips were slightly parted and the white fog of his exhale dissipated before his face, partially obscuring his features.

When he finally reached Gu Yan, he realized that Gu Yan was gazing at him with a slight furrow in his brows.

“What are you looking at?”

“It’s nothing.” Gu Yan withdrew his gaze, pulled out his smart device and scanned the screen. With a disapproving tone, he said, “Did you just get here?”

“Didn’t you say 6 o’clock?” Yan Suizhi casually withdrew a hand from his pocket and pointed flippantly with a thin finger at the display screen in the entry hall. “It’s 6 o’clock on the dot, not a second later. What’s the problem?”

“Did you use your face and not your ears to listen during your negotiation class?” Gu Yan strode further inside the great hall. As he turned, the hem of his grey wool coat lifted to reveal his perfectly tailored shirt. “Didn’t you learn about the Golden Ten Minute Rule?”

The Golden Ten Minute Rule suggested that someone who arrived ten minutes early to an appointment had a psychological edge over someone that bordered on being late. Before you even open your mouth, you would have established yourself in a higher position because the other party would usually start off by apologizing for having arrived later.

Yan Suizhi was familiar with the concept, and it was a lesson that he himself had requested to be added to the course. However, he personally didn’t put this theory to practice.

The reason was very simple. As long as he wasn’t late - even if he arrived a mere second before the agreed upon time - he didn’t feel the least bit apologetic, even if the other party had been waiting for a full ten minutes. It is what it is and there was no need to think twice about it.

He called it ‘mastery of the basics of psychology’.

Gu Yan would probably call it ‘shameless’.

“I listened to the entire lesson and then tossed it,” Yan Suizhi caught up to him and spoke unhurriedly. “If I arrive early, the other party owes me. If I’m late, then I owe the other party. Rather than worry about appearances or oppression, I prefer to call it even.”

Besides, how many people out there would dare pressure me? Yan Suizhi thought. Keep dreaming.

It wasn’t just a thought that he kept to himself, he shamelessly put it into practice.

After the two of them passed through ticket inspection and took their seats inside the space shuttle, Yan Suizhi touched his ring and then tapped a few times on the holographic screen.

Gu Yan’s ring vibrated.

“Did you send something?”

Gu Yan’s smart device was a ring as well - it had a simple and stylish design and was worn on the little finger of his right hand. At first glance, it looked like an extremely fitting tail ring that went well with his pale and slender hand.

However, it was apparent that he was none too pleased with the sudden quiver of his ring. Or perhaps, it was purely because the message was from a particularly annoying intern.

“What’s this? A bus ticket?” Gu Yan shot a glance at the message he had received - it was an electronic ticket.

Yan Suizhi leaned back and adjusted his seat, replying calmly, “It’s the transportation cost for travelling to Port Newsa. I’m submitting it for reimbursement.”

Gu Yan: “...”

Translator's Notes

xi = literal translation is 'west' but this is the currency used in the novel

laoshi = teacher (I personally prefer to translate as 'Gu-laoshi' rather than Teacher Gu, but the meaning is the same)

So sorry for the hiatus! I don't have as much free time to translate these days but I thought I'd try to at least get something out, even if it's a partial chapter OTL Thank you to everyone that has patiently waited (and hope you enjoyed YSZ's sass in this one!).

The seats on the space shuttle were very comfortable and came along with a relaxing massage function. Even two consecutive days and nights of staying seated wouldn’t cause any swelling in the legs or feet, nor any numbness in the back. The incline of the seat could also be manually adjusted to form a suitable bed to rest on.

Yan Suizhi took out a pair of reading glasses from the compartment next to the seat with the familiarity of an experienced traveller, and perched it on the bridge of his nose.

It was fashioned after the most common style of glasses in ancient times. The workmanship and design were exquisite and elegant, but it wasn’t used to correct the eyesight. Yan Suizhi tapped once against the side of the frame, and a book catalogue materialised before his eyes. He casually picked one to read and pass time.

Gu Yan glanced at him; without meaning to, he frowned again. He recovered his former indifferent expression a few seconds later and said coolly, “I’m obliged to remind you that the journey on this space shuttle is fifteen hours long and that we’ll be going straight to visit a detention centre after. You’d best get some sleep mid-route. Don’t expect me to allow you time to catch up on sleep later.”

“Detention centre?” Yan Suizhi gently touched the glasses frame. “Are we meeting a client?”

“Mn.”

“How long has he been in there? He hasn’t been bailed?” Yan Suizhi asked.

“He wasn’t able to get bail. He needs to go for a hearing.”

Yan Suizhi’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “How can that be? What kind of person is he?”

In general, applying for bail wasn’t anything too much of a hassle. Most people could practically take it for granted as the procedure was simple and would often go smoothly. Instead, it was more uncommon to have an application for bail turned down.

A stranger seated nearby glanced over at them, his curiosity perked after catching a few keywords.

Gu Yan wasn’t fond of talking about the concrete details of such matters in a public venue. He directly adjusted the seat, leaning against it. “We’ll discuss it later.”

Yan Suizhi had similar tendencies as him. Of the same mind, he nodded and went back to reading.

But after no more than a while had passed, he seemed to think of something again and patted Gu Yan. “Hey.”

Gu Yan, who was all ready to take a rest, shot him a glance at this. “What.”

“Can work travel expenses be reimbursed in advance?”

Gu Yan’s lips twitched. He bit out a sentence, “If you can’t shut your mouth, get off the shuttle right now.”

With that, he pointedly closed his eyes, without the slightest intention of paying him any more mind.

Fine fine fine, you’re the teacher now. Whatever you say goes.

Yan Suizhi let go of his temper and after adjusting his seat, went back to reading.

He did not remember at which point he fell asleep, but by the time he awoke, the flight broadcast was already reminding passengers that they were about to arrive at the first stop.

And this first stop was Wine City.

Yan Suizhi’s mind had yet to fully awaken. Out of his peripheral vision, he seemed to see Gu Yan’s gaze slide off him to look towards the hatch, the very slight crease between his brows not yet smoothened out in time.

“???”

He only reacted a few seconds after. His face completely filled with bafflement, he pinched his the bridge of his nose, thinking to himself, ‘What are you getting upset about me sleeping for? Speaking of which, why were you watching me as I slept?’

But these thoughts only spun around his sleep-dazed brain a few times. By the time he got off the space shuttle and grew more clear-headed, they were swept completely clean off his mind.

Because, the rancid stench of this planet that rolled over him was truly capable of blanking the mind; it was even more effective than swallowing the most refreshing brand of peppermint oil.

A shudder ran through the esteemed Professor Yan’s body. He immediately moved to stand behind Gu Yan.

“What are you doing?” Gu Yan asked as he lined up for customs.

“Using you to block this intoxicating evening breeze,” Yan Suizhi said, frank and confident.

Gu Yan, “…”

However, Gu Yan was busy contacting the detention centre at this time and couldn’t be bothered with him, merely giving him a frosty look.

The call was quickly picked up within the first few dial tones.

Gu Yan put on his earpiece. The other party obviously had previous correspondences with him, going straight to the subject once the call was put through. Gu Yan listened for a while, then said heavily, “Excuse me, please transfer the call over to him.”

The other side acquiesced.

A few seconds later, Gu Yan calmly spoke. “Joshua? This is Gu Yan. From now on, I am the sole lawyer in charge of your case. I’ll see you in two hours.”

Yan Suizhi had caught the gist of it, but before he could say anything, his own smart device vibrated as well.

He tapped open a screen and checked it. It was yet again a call from an unfamiliar number. This string of numbers was very short; it didn’t look to be a personal number.

“Hello,” he received the call with a little perplexment.

“Hello, is this Mr Ruan Ye? We’re calling from Metasequoia Apartment.” The other end clearly stated their business.

Yan Suizhi, “???” That cursed apartment was back to confirm over call again?

“Apartment? Wait a moment, didn’t you already call me before?” He couldn’t help but ask.

The other side was even more baffled than him. “We haven’t, sir. This is our first call.”

Yan Suizhi, “…”

Then who was that bad-tempered guy that had hung up on him without a word previously?