CH 34

Ning Wan was completely unaware of the twists and turns of the matter. Her face brimmed with real happiness, and full of proud exuberance, she sat herself down before her computer and chewed on the end of a pen, studying the case.

The senior partner had given her three days, but that night Ning Wan didn't sleep. Instead, she stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to sort out the case and get her logic straight before writing up a detailed plan and sending it back.

Although nervous and fidgety afterward, she wasn't expecting a quick reply. After all, the senior partner was very busy. He must be overwhelmed with work email every day. It was touching enough already that he had taken time to write to her, she certainly couldn't hope to have priority on a reply. She waited patiently.

But to her great surprise, the next morning as she was sitting in her office documenting her notes on community cases she received a reply--

The document was in revision mode. It contained the mistakes in her plan, omissions in her consideration and practical points to bring to her attention, carefully corrected, and finally a second plan was suggested. The other had been so meticulous as to even revise and mark the format and punctuation of the document for her.

"Often, a lawyer is judged professionally by not only the quality of their work, but also the appearance and format of their documents. The reason why many customers would rather pay a higher fee to cooperate with such a firm is that apart from simply receiving a more professional service, the documents they provide are clearer and easier to understand."

"Though there may not necessarily be a big difference in service quality between a new lawyer and an experienced one, the difference in professionalism is reflected in the text. Your ideas are remarkable, but you should pay more attention to the formatting and other small details."

"The solution you gave to this case receives a score of 70 points. You can try something more challenging. I will send you the case materials later."

When Ning Wan read that, she was so moved she could have run into a wall. "Fu Zheng, did you hear this?! Listen to this person's work attitude and how they care so meticulously for young lawyers! No wonder he's a senior partner! This is what the light of human nature is like! A truly special case among bosses! The guiding light of my life!"

A pity, but Fu Zheng didn't seem equally affected with her enthusiasm. Not only that, but Ning Wan was just noticing that ever since he had arrived at work today, Fu Zheng had been staring at his phone. His fingers were flying across the screen as if he were answering something. There were no cases today, and he wasn't in charge of any general office business. The highest likelihood was that he was texting someone passionately. When Ning Wang inched a little closer, he locked the phone immediately as if he were somehow allergic to her presence.

"Are you talking to someone?"

Fu Zheng nodded stiffly. "Um..."

Having just gotten tips from the senior partner, Ning Wan was initially in a very good mood. But seeing Fu Zheng not making progress, she couldn't hold back. "Fu Zheng! You just got a mortgage, work a little harder! Look at the senior partner, he got up early just to answer my email. What about you? You're chatting online instead!"

Fu Zheng looked away, coughed, and then said uncomfortably, "Everyone gets absent-minded sometimes, it happens... and then once you look at your phone you can't help but say something... it's just out of your control..."

Ning Wan hated iron for not being steel. "There might be nothing going on in the community recently, but you have to be self-disciplined enough to go looking for cases! Why don't you give me your phone?" she suggested. "I could set a password for you. For awhile when I was uncontrollably distracted by my phone, I asked a friend to set me a temporary password to make me quit cold-turkey. I later found that during that time, I was very efficient and made a ton of progress!"

"No need..."

"Give it a try, let me set a password for you. I'll unlock it after lunch," she offered sincerely. "Talk less, work more, Fu Zheng! We have to emulate the example that the senior partner is setting for us!"

Ning Wan's enthusiasm for learning was currently high, and as the 'mentor figure leading the way', she was full of passion. She immediately took Fu Zheng's phone, set a password, and threw it back. Then she went back to her computer and began refreshing her email intently.

The senior partner had said that he would send her a new case shortly! Ning Wan concentrated on waiting, nervous and anxious, yet after an hour no new email had arrived...

"Perhaps he's busy?" she pondered, a little depressed. "Ahh! I don't know when I'll get that next email... "

……

"If you unlock my phone password, maybe you'll get your email."

Apparently not only had Fu Zheng failed to motivate himself, but he had even fallen further into the pit of depravity. He was at the point of asking her shyly for his phone password! And to claim that if she unlocked it, she would receive the prize of an email from the senior partner?!

Ning Wan felt faint. "Don't even think about it, Fu Zheng. You can't play with your phone at work today!"

“……”

Regrettably, the god of slacking off must have been listening. The whole time during working hours while Fu Zheng, that jinx, wasn't allowed to play with his phone, Ning Wan never got that email she was waiting for...

When she saw that it was nearly time to leave, Ning Wan felt that she couldn't possibly waste the whole day just waiting for the mail. She had to get something done. Grabbing Fu Zheng, she said, "Come on, I'll take you to buy furniture!"

Fu Zheng's new house had been handed over, and the landlord had already moved out the mahogany furniture. It was high time for him to get new furniture so that he could experience the joy of a warm home.

However, Fu Zheng was oddly and noticeably resistant.

"What's wrong? The sooner you buy furniture, the sooner you can move in. Won't this save you rent? Your mortgage will be easier to pay, too."

Fu Zheng bit his lip. He obviously still didn't want to go.

Ning Wan scrutinized him for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Are you worried about bring able to afford furniture? Don't worry! I'm pretty familiar with a few second-hand furniture store owners. We'll get you the best second-hand furniture at the lowest price. Let's go!"

……

Worried about the furniture being expensive? Fu Zheng was worried that the furniture would not be expensive enough! He had already spent money on an old, run-down apartment and thought that it was the worst shopping experience of his life. Unexpectedly, it wasn't over yet. Second-hand goods, truly his eternal enemy! Now along with a second-hand house, he would soon own second-hand furniture...

Ning Wan pulled him over to the subway, and after that they boarded a bus. In the crowded, work-hour rush, Fu Zheng was squeezed until he begun doubting life. His sense of smell was dying from the odor of sweat in the carriage. Finally, they got off the bus and walked a good long time until Ning Wan led him to an ugly little alleyway.

Carefully avoiding the puddles on the ground, he followed her into a cramped little shop. The door lintel was so low that he had to bend to get in. When he got in, however, he found that the shop was rather unexpectedly a place of unique beauty. It wasn't the messy used furniture market that he had imagined. Instead, the decor was tasteful, and the environment clean and neat. Although second-hand, the furniture looked to be in good quality and well-maintained. But they all had a single characteristic in common--

They all looked cheap...

There was a dining table right in front of Fu Zheng. He glanced at the price tag - 1200 yuan1.

……

This was a little bit too...

"This is way too expensive! Shopkeeper!" At that very moment, Ning Wan's voice rang out. "Have you been marking up your prices recently? The economy hasn't even been doing well lately, and you ask for 1200 yuan? Why don't you go rob a bank instead?"

When she finished, she winked at Fu Zheng and said in a whisper, "You've been eyeing this for a bit. You must like it? Hold on, I'll get you a bargain."

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in a changshan2 with a nice, trustworthy-looking face. When he heard Ning Wan call, he came up to them and said, "Xiao Ning, how much are you offering? If it's you buying, well of course I'll give you a discount."

"Well all right. I'll give you 1000."

"..." Fu Zheng was dumbfounded. Was 1,200 yuan not cheap enough? 1,000 yuan second-hand dining tables existed in the world? Did you have to eat a 5-yuan boxed lunch to meet it's standards?

The boss declined, of course. "I paid more than that for the table. I would lose money at that price."

"Then how about I take this desk as well and those two chairs over here? Since I'm buying in bulk, why don't you give me a discount on all of them and round it down to 2000?"

"Oh, alright. Since you're an old friend, and I'm a straightforward man, I'll let you have it for that price."

"And delivery?"

"Just two thousand yuan and you want me to do delivery too? No, no, that won't do! For delivery we'd have to add another 500 yuan! In total for everything would be 2,500!"

……

Fu Zheng had already lost the desire for survival after witnessing the quality and price of these pieces of furniture. Yet unexpectedly in this situation, Ning Wan was still reckless enough to snatch food from the mouth of a tiger. She lowered the price another 300 yuan.

"Two thousand two hundred! 2,500 is an unlucky number, take 300 off!"

"What's so unlucky about 2,500?" The furniture store owner asked, dumbfounded.

"It's ten times 2503, isn't it? It sounds like a swearword, that's no good."

"...Alright, alright, just take the things. But 2,200 yuan will only pay for downstairs delivery on a truck. We won't carry it upstairs for you."

"No problem!"

……

Perhaps he become accustomed to these blows. Fu Zheng strangely found himself quite calm. That's not so bad, he thought, it only cost two thousand two hundred after all, not ten times two hundred and fifty...

But soon, he could no longer continue consoling himself with having triumphed in spirit.

Ning Wan gave the address, oversaw the packing of the furniture onto the truck, and had the truck driver cart it back to Yuelan Community. Then the two of them took the bus and the subway, and finally returned to the ground floor of Fu Zheng's "brand-new mansion". The truck had already arrived, and was being unloaded.

The truck driver unloaded the desk, chairs and dining room table that Ning Wan had chosen. Since she had said that he wouldn't need to take them upstairs, once he was done and the receipt signed, he got in his truck and headed off.

Fu Zheng looked at the second-hand furniture sitting on the ground. He was actually a little curious. To have them carried upstairs for three hundred yuan was actually not pricey at all. His "second-hand mansion" was an old building, and back then the craze for twenty-story high-rises had not yet caught on among developers. Because of this, the building only had six floors. It was a garden-style house4, so there was no elevator. Fu Zheng's "mansion" was on the sixth floor. It wouldn't be easy to carry these shabby bits and pieces up.

Since Ning Wan had refused without hesitation, Fu Zheng knew her well enough to know that she definitely knew of some cheaper delivery service. But... three hundred yuan was already so low, shouldn't there be a bottom line when it came to exploitation? Weren't these people who were willing to move these shabby tables and chairs to the sixth floor for less than 300 yuan pricing themselves too low?

Unexpectedly, there were still such men who lived such miserable lives nowadays, selling the labour of their young bodies for just one or two hundred yuan...

Fu Zheng felt a little sympathy, but at the same time felt a tiny little superior. They were both men, yet the difference between them was truly like heaven and earth. When he thought of himself and how even if he had spent money to buy this pile of junk, why, 200 yuan was still nothing at all to him. He had quite a decent social status, and his hourly salary was as high as 1,200USD, enough to have someone else move furniture for him...

Feeling a little bad for that poor man, he decided that he would secretly give him a little extra tip while Ning Wan wasn't paying attention, and maybe mention a little advice. A man couldn't think so low of himself! One couldn't rely on undercutting the price, that would just bring down the entire market for porters. They needed to grow a backbone! It wasn't worth selling one's body for a couple hundred yuan. How humiliating!

But the longer he waited, the less it seemed like Ning Wan was going to call someone. She just kept staring at him. Fu Zheng cleared his throat, about to ask when the porter would arrive, but before he could, she said--

"Fu Zheng, start with this desk!"

?

Fu Zheng couldn't believe his ears. "Me?"

"Of course you." Ning Wan looked as though it was the most natural thing to say. "You're a big tall dude, you should be pretty strong, right? For three hundred yuan, you could move all this yourself. Think about how much takeout you could eat with the money you save! You're the one who will have a mortgage in the future, so you'll need to be very careful with your money from now on! I'll help you move these little bits and bobs."

"......" Fu Zheng stared wide-eyed at her for a moment. When he realized that she was serious, he raised his voice slightly, "You want me to move them? Me? Move this second-hand stuff? For 300 yuan1?"

Ning Wan nodded. She looked puzzled. "Of course, you. Who else would be willing to carry all these chairs and tables to the sixth floor for one or two hundred yuan?"

Fu Zheng had put so much thought into it, but who knew that in the end, the man he had looked down on would turn out to be himself?

He ground his teeth. "If no one else will, then why should I? Am I that cheap? It would be better to look for the the driver from just now!"

"You can't say that! First, this 300 yuan is money you'll save. Second, if someone else moves it for you, they might bump it into the wall or the railings and break your furniture. What would you do then? It's not like second-hand goods are as sturdy as new."

So you actually know that second-hand goods are of poor quality?!

Ning Wan didn't notice. She just patted Fu Zheng on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Come on, move them."

Furious, Fu Zheng stared at the furniture sitting there on the ground and insisted, "I won't move them. Find someone else to do it. I won't. I can't. I..."

He was about to say that a man couldn't sell himself so cheap when he saw Ning Wan looking in surprise at his waist, and then interrupting--

"No way..." her tone sounded hesitant. "You're just thirty, but you already have a bad back?" She lowered her voice slightly and muttered to herself, "Old ginger really is spicier. I thought that a 30-year-old man was still very young, but it seems like Aunt Xiao had the right idea. Once a man reaches thirty he starts going downhill. Just look at this tall long-legged guy, you'd never think that he had a bad back and couldn't move a little furniture. Sigh! Well, wait here. I'll move the small stuff for you if you'll give me a hand with the bigger items."

She sighed and looked sympathetically at Fu Zheng. "No wonder you and Chen Shuo have so much in common on the topic of men's health. It must be pretty miserable for you men once you start getting up there. Life is hard on you..."

“……”

It could not be borne. For a man, being suspected of having a bad back was nothing less than an insult to his dignity!

"Who said I couldn't move them?" Fu Zheng said through gritted teeth. "My back is just fine!"

Wasn't it just moving some shabby little chairs and tables?! Three hundred yuan wasn't worth much, but a man's dignity was worth a lot!

Without another word, he took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to start with the desk.

"Wait, wait!" Ning Wan hastily interrupted, "Don't move them just yet."

Oh? Did her conscience finally kick in and see how unsuited something like this was for his temperament?

Fu Zheng let out a cold humph internally. Finally, Ning Wan was starting to have a little vision. He, a high-ranking senior partner, moving a few hundred yuan worth of second-hand furniture. What if word got out?

But just as he was thinking so, her voice interrupted his thoughts--

"You should warm up first." Ning Wan's tone was concerned. "You're already thirty after all, and you don't usually exercise much. You can't sprain your back."

“……”

Fu Zheng felt that this was no longer a problem of whether or not he was being sold cheaply. He held back his emotions, pursed his lips, and ignored Ning Wan's 'well-intentioned advice'. Instead, he simply heaved the second-hand desk over his shoulder and walked upstairs without a word.

The first time around, he walked fast, was vigorous, and finished in good condition. However, after having gone back and forth several times, something happened as he was coming back for the last time for that dining table. Although he didn't sprain his back, Fu Zheng accidentally twisted his foot...

A pile of second-hand furniture had been built up in the living room of that second-hand "mansion". Fu Zheng endured the pain in his ankle. Face taut, calm and self-sustaining, he strove to appear as light as a cloud.

When Ning Wan saw this, she clapped her hands together. "Fu Zheng, you're unexpectedly strong!"

Fu Zheng smiled coldly. "Piece of cake."

"Gosh, you probably don't need to worry about your health just yet. You've really been maintaining your youth very well!"

What do you mean, 'maintaining your youth'?! Fu Zheng thought. I am a youth! However, just as he was about to say so, he stepped forward and felt a severe twinge in his sprained ankle... truly, it was laughable.

Completely unaware that Fu Zheng was injured, Ning Wan enthusiastically directed him to move the desk into the room, move the dining table into it's position, and then set up the chairs around it. Bent on preserving his reputation at all costs even if he had to suffer for it, Fu Zheng endured the pain of the sprain while doing so. He dimly felt some unexpected empathy for the little mermaid in the fairy tale. Like her, he had given up a fishtail for a prince, and was being forced to smile even though every step he took was like walking on the edge of a blade.

More and more, Fu Zheng felt like he had no one to vent his sorrows to. What had he done in his last life to have to bear all these things that shouldn't be borne at such a young age? Even his allergic finger hadn't healed yet!

He didn't foresee that the worst was yet to come.

Ning Wan helped Fu Zheng clean up the house. Just before she left, however, his cell phone rang. He had taken it out of his pocket and put it on the table to move furniture, and the bright screen showed the caller's name as clear as day - Gao Yuan.

Fu Zheng immediately looked at Ning Wan. Sure enough, her face had darkened. He felt like something bad was about to happen...

Ning Wan had glimpsed Fu Zheng's phone screen completely by accident, but there are some things that you just can't pretend not to see.

She didn't expect that philanderer2 to still be pestering Fu Zheng!

What a tenacious pervert, to not have given up after all this time.

Ning Wan felt that it couldn't be allowed to go on like this. "Don't answer it," she urged Fu Zheng. "Shall I decline it for you?"

Fu Zheng seemed to want to take care of it himself, but as soon as he took a step toward the phone, pain flickered across his face. Ning Wan saw it and felt even more sympathetic toward him. That damn Gao Yuan! Look what he had tortured such a handsome man into. He probably had PTSD just from hearing that name! For pain to flash on his face just from taking a step toward the phone, how much must there be hidden underneath...

Ning Wan had been about to go home and check on whether she had received an email from the senior partner, but when she saw the look in his eyes, she couldn't just stand by. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone for Fu Zheng.

"Hi."

On the other end, Gao Yuan seemed stunned to hear Ning Wan's voice. "Did I dial the wrong number? I'm looking for Fu Zheng."

With a false smile on her face, Ning Wan replied, "This is Ning Wan, Partner Gao. Fu Zheng has just gone downstairs to move some furniture and isn't here for the time being. He left his phone in his house, and I was afraid that it was urgent, so I picked up the call for him."

"Moving furniture?" Gao Yuan said, stupefied as expected. "He's... he himself... personally moving furniture?"

Ugh, could Ning Wan not know what Gao Yuan was thinking that very moment? This wretched man, pestering Fu Zheng even though he had already been refused. It was clear to see that since persuasion didn't work, he wanted to try force. She was afraid that he was currently plotting to do something to Fu Zheng; just watch her dispel his evil thoughts!

"Of course! Fu Zheng is only 30. He's full of strength. There was a lot of furniture, but he didn't need the help of a porter at all. He moved all the furniture by himself in several trips! Did you know that this house doesn't have an elevator? He went up and down from the sixth floor by himself. He might even be stronger than a  regular porter!"

Ning Wan humphed coldly in her heart. Did you hear that? Our Fu Zheng is a tough nut to crack. You won't be able to make him bend!

“……”

Sure enough, at the other end of the line, Gao Yuan was as silent as the grave. Then he confirmed disbelievingly, "Are you saying that Fu Zheng moved his own furniture? Like a porter? And it took several trips? Without an elevator?"

So he was scared!

Proudly and calmly, Ning Wan replied, "That's right!"

Gao Yuan really was scared. He didn't know what to say for a moment. Then after a long silence, he suddenly remembered something and inquired, "No, that can't be? How did Fu Zheng end up in a house without an elevator? He... "

My, my, Gao Yuan really deserved to be a senior partner. He had investigated Fu Zheng with the same due diligence reserved for customers. Not even Ning Wan knew where Fu Zheng had been renting from, but from his tone, Gao Yuan must know. He was even aware that Fu Zheng had had an elevator there. His sinister intentions were showing!

"Yes, the place he rented before did have an elevator, but Fu Zheng has now bought a house with his own money. He soon won't need to pay rent anymore. In the future, he'll be living in his own home."

Ning Wan wasn't saying these words meaninglessly. She was telling Gao Yuan by implication that Fu Zheng had a good life, was on the right track, and had bought a house by himself. He was no longer a broke, penniless man who might sell himself for money, but a man with capital! Without money on his side, she hoped that Gao Yuan would see the obstacles in his path and retreat.

But unfortunately to her surprise, Gao Yuan was a stubborn man with no EQ. Even after she had laid it out for him, he asked in amazement, "What?! Fu Zheng bought a house?! Where? And one with no elevator? How old is this house for there to be no elevator?"

Look at these greasy partners. Was it so unbelievable that young newcomers in the legal field could buy houses that weren't old and small?

"It's in our very own Yuelan community! Sometimes buying a house depends on fate. There just happened to be an excellent place with an owner who was in a hurry to sell."

Yuelan community was a school district, and not too old. It was a good place for a starting point. It should be enough of a shock to deter Gao Yuan. At least he would know that Fu Zheng was no longer the man in his imagination who had never seen the world, who could be bought and sold for a little money.

"Yuelan?!” Gao Yuan seemed truly alarmed, probably at finding out that Fu Zheng could actually afford a place there. He stuttered out, "You're saying that... Fu... Fu Zheng... bought... bought a second-hand house in Yuelan?"

"Yes." Ning Wan smiled. "By the way, what can I do for you, Partner Gao? Should I pass on a message?"

"No... no need..."

Sure enough, after she had finished talking, Gao Yuan finally gave up on his evil intentions. Ning Wan hung up the phone and looked at Fu Zheng smugly. "See? Now he won't contact you again. I've said everything that should be said. I'm sure he'll have to weigh his options before coming back. Does he think that no one else has seen money before? Fu Zheng, you're no longer in poverty! You're one of the middle-class now!"

This was a good thing, but for some unknown reason, or perhaps because he was still sensitive to Gao Yuan's presence, Fu Zheng looked like his heart was a dying ember of despair. He looked like he had given up on living.

Ning Wan patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much. Gao Yuan will surely give up once he knows a little more about you! You can set your mind at ease!"

After saying so, she helped Fu Zheng to sort out the final odds and ends in the room. Then she bid farewell to him, taking out the garbage as she did so.

Unfortunately, the more she took care of Fu Zheng, the worse he felt. He looked at his finger still recovering from the allergy, endured the terrible pain in his ankle, rubbed his sore back, looked around at his tiny second-hand mansion, and then at his second-hand furniture that had cost 1,200 yuan in total. He thought about how Gao Yuan would soon be flocking over to ridicule him, and the injustice and despair in his heart just about reached its peak.

He really might die.