CH 49.2

Gao Yuan had been running himself ragged the last couple of days for a bankruptcy liquidation case. But when he was finally about to take a nap behind his office screen, Chen Shuo rushed in--

"Partner Gao, about that complaint lodged against Ning Wan..." Chen Shuo had originally been a steady and reliable leader amongst the younger group of lawyers. But at that moment, his face was full of undisguised anxiety, and his composure had been cast aside. "She really didn't do that just to get a case. It was because she was angry with the client. Ning Wan's father beats her mother all the time, but her mother has never divorced him; because of that, she was often depressed as a child and felt particular empathy for this client. She really hoped for this client to be able to rid herself of her abuser, so her outburst was very understandable..."

Gao Yuan was well aware of Ning Wan's matter. He was currently in charge of personnel, so all complaints naturally ended up being handled by him. Chen Shuo liked Ning Wan and it was understandable that he had come to plead on her behalf, but--

"Chen Shuo, I know Ning Wan works very hard for the community. You don't have to tell me about her difficult childhood. We are all lawyers here, and we all know that in criminal law, suspects often have their own pitiful circumstances. Yet a crime is still a crime. The law cannot be lenient merely due to their upbringing, or it wouldn't be called a law."

Gao Yuan's tone was calm and measured. "The same is true of the rules of our law firm. As the manager of  our firm's personnel, I cannot be lenient on Ning Wan simply due to her circumstances. Since a complaint has been lodged against her, it will be dealt with according to protocol. The client will receive an explanation and account, and she will be punished accordingly."

Naturally, Chen Shuo was unwilling to give up. But even though he still had the heart to argue, Gao Yuan had made his attitude clear.

His status in the firm could only bring him up to here. No matter how much Chen Shuo wanted to stand up for Ning Wan, there was no way he could do so. All he could do was apologize to Gao Yuan and leave the office with a heavy heart.

But after having sent Chen Shuo away with great difficulty, before Gao Yuan could even make his way behind the screen, Fu Zheng pushed the door open and came straight in--

"I have something to talk to you about."

Gao Yuan nearly lost his temper. Sensing his nap getting farther and farther out of reach, he simply decided that it wasn't going to happen that day. "What is it?"

"A complaint was lodged against Ning Wan." Fu Zheng gave him a look. "What are you going to do about it?"

A split second tug of war occurred within Gao Yuan's mind. He stared at Fu Zheng, trying to read some clues from his face. What did Fu Zheng mean by looking for him at this time? Did he want to punish Ning Wan severely according to the rules, or deal with it lightly because Fu Zheng and Ning Wan had been working together for some time?

Should he bet big or small?

Big!

"I will of course be fair and handle it normally according to regulations."

Great, it seemed as though he had bet correctly! Fu Zheng's face had not changed!

Smiling, Gao Yuan sought further credit. "Ever since you pointed out the problems on Shen Yuting's team and the management loopholes in our firm last time, I've been reflecting. It's true that I sometimes turn a blind eye, and that the punishment for the improper behaviour of some of our lawyers isn't severe enough. This time a complaint was lodged against Ning Wan by one of our clients, so rest assured that I will handle it strictly according to procedures. She is a senior lawyer, and she should know better than to be so emotional, so she shall be severely punished."

Fu Zheng didn't express a position, but only continued, "Did Chen Shuo come to you to plead on her behalf?"

"How did you know?" Gao Yuan explained enthusiastically, showing off his lack of favouritism. "In fact, coincidentally he had just left when you arrived. It sure isn't easy to be young! He's usually very steady, but this time he came here impulsively on Ning Wan's behalf. It seems that he must love her a lot!"

"So you let things go if you feel like someone loves a lot?"

"Of course not!" Gao Yuan refuted immediately. "I refused him righteously!"

Gao Yuan had been a little confused about Fu Zheng's attitude, but when he said this, Fu Zheng showed a satisfied smile and said succinctly, "That's good that you refused."

Gao Yuan felt relieved. His big bet had worked!

Feeling a little giddy momentarily, Gao Yuan reflected on how well he knew Fu Zheng! Fu Zheng really was of the unreasonable, devoid of human kindness school of thought! He would never open the back door for someone who had been complained about, even though he had worked together with Ning Wan in the community for a long time now. What a callous, heartless man he was!

As he was waiting for further praise, he heard Fu Zheng change the subject to something inexplicable--

"So sometimes being young isn't actually a good thing."

???

Fu Zheng looked to be in a good mood. Smiling slightly, he looked at Gao Yuan, "Although most of the time it's better to look young, it's a cruel thing. The position of power, the right to speak, and the right to decide are in the hands of us older folk. This is the advantage and the charm of age."

Huh?

Before Gao Yuan had enough time to take this in, he heard Fu Zheng say--

"You don't have to follow up on Ning Wan's complaint. I'll do it."

"Wait, what?" Gao Yuan objected. "You and Ning Wan work together in the community. If you deal with her so callously, won't she hate you once you come back to HQ under your true identity? Let me be the bad guy..."

Fu Zheng looked at him. "Who said I was going to deal with her callously? Who even told you to deal with her? I forbid you to deal with her."

??? Gao Yuan was completely at a loss. Fu Zheng was only thirty, he shouldn't yet be entering menopause, so why was it so hard to figure out his mood?

"Then do you... intend on playing favorites?" he asked, looking completely confused. "Didn't you say that management can never do that? How are you going to convince the public if you don't deal with Ning Wan? The client in this case is perfectly capable of making a row. If she goes and finds a place with a large number of people to make trouble, what will you do?"

"One can't be selected into any partner's team after receiving a punishment, correct?"

"That's right..."

"Then don't get punished." Fu Zheng looked calm. "Why not just have the other side withdraw the complaint?"

“……”

He cleared his throat and said solemnly and rationally, "If the other side withdraws the complaint, then there is naturally no need for punishment. After all, it's common for clients to misunderstand their attorneys. Once the misunderstanding is eliminated, then naturally the attorney does not need to be dealt with. This is a completely normal thing for me to do, completely in line with the processes, and completely without favoritism."

"..." It took awhile before Gao Yuan could catch up with Fu Zheng's line of thought. He struggled to say. "But the client's husband is quite a harsh man. It won't be easy to get him to willingly withdraw the complaint..."

"Give me three days." Fu Zheng decided in a concise manner. "I will get rid of the matter."

"You and Ning Wan..." Gao Yuan had some inner speculations brewing.

"Nothing."

Nothing? Wait, Gao Yuan thought, I didn't finish speaking, yet Fu Zheng already said 'Nothing'? Surely that means there's there more to this? Did he accidentally give himself away while trying to hide it...

Fu Zheng was still maintaining his cold expression. Who knew whether he was explaining to Gao Yuan or himself, but he continued by saying, "If Ning Wan had a mentor, they would be the one protecting her, but she doesn't. Even though she's been in the firm for so long, she's gotten this far only by groping on her own. However, thanks to some drawbacks in Zhengyuan Law's team setup, her efforts have not been seen. How many other young people like her are there in the firm's talent pool?"

Although Gao Yuan still felt like Fu Zheng was 'playing favourites', what he had said was irrefutable. If Ning Wan had had a mentor, then it was true that her mentor would be the one stepping up right now...

"What really needs to be adjusted is the talent pool system. If we can't assimilate so many young lawyers, then we shouldn't be recruiting so many people. As partners, we must be responsible for every employee of the law firm and not wasting their time."

After Fu Zheng finished, he glanced at Gao Yuan. "But I won't play favourites. If I fail to get the client to withdraw the complaint, then it will naturally be handled according to regular procedure."

"It's just that Ning Wan doesn't have a mentor to protect her, so I have to do it." Fu Zheng pursed his lips. "This is just to prevent disillusioning a young lawyer like her."

“……”

"It's not favouritism, got it? I, Fu Zheng, would never condone favouritism."

"Sure..." Alright, whatever you say...

"Well then, I'm quite busy. The community might get another consultation call, so I'll head out."

Having said that, Fu Zheng left, leaving behind Gao Yuan, completely dumbfounded.

It really was brushing off one's clothes to hide one's achievements and fame1...

Gao Yuan considered it. For a fleeting moment, he felt some sympathy for Chen Shuo. After all, a young fellow couldn't possibly be a match for a cunning old thing; also, maybe it was time to start getting on Ning Wan's good side.