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Thud, accompanied by a startled “Ah,” Yu Qing was unceremoniously dumped onto the bedroom sofa by Fu Ji Chen.
She bounced slightly upon landing, sprawling awkwardly on her back.
“Fu Ji Chen, you’ve gone too far! Don’t you know how to treat a lady with care?” Yu Qing scolded him.
Fu Ji Chen steadied himself against the back of the sofa, catching his breath. “If you bring up that keychain again, I’ll throw you straight onto the floor next time.”
He started walking toward the bathroom, pulling his shirt out from his pants as he unbuttoned it. Glancing back at her, he added, “What are you still dawdling for? Go take a shower already.”
Yu Qing sat up and began calculating her plan to hire him for a week. Although she already had two million in her account, she couldn’t make it too obvious, or else he’d grow suspicious.
Stretching lazily, she followed him slowly.
“Fu Ji Chen.”
“What do you want now? Spit it out!”
“I’m working a part-time job this weekend—personal shopping and selling bags. Who knows, I might soon have enough to reach two million.”
Fu Ji Chen turned his head, frowning. “Selling bags? Are you working at the mall for commission?”
Yu Qing thought carefully about how to spin her lie. “I… have an expensive limited-edition bag. It was a bonus after completing my first big project at the law firm, and my dad chipped in some money so I could buy it. It’s a bag I’ve wanted for years.”
She continued, “It’s the most expensive bag I’ve ever owned. I haven’t even dared to use it since I bought it.”
The implication was clear—if she sold this bag, she might quickly reach her goal of two million.
Fu Ji Chen slowly traced her elegant eyebrows with his thumb. “So, for the sake of hiring me for a week, you’re willing to sell your favorite bag?”
His tone was teasing. “What makes you think I’m worth it?”
Yu Qing’s lips curved into a smile. “Oh no, President Fu, don’t underestimate yourself. Selling the bag is because you’re like L’Oréal—you’re worth it.”
Fu Ji Chen: “...”
Yu Qing tried to hide her excitement but soon let her expression turn melancholic. “After all, it’s been several years since I bought it. Even though it hasn’t gone out of style, there’s no guarantee it’ll sell easily. I’ll just have to take my chances.”
She spoke convincingly.
Fu Ji Chen couldn’t shake the feeling that he might already be falling into a trap she had set. He knew she wasn’t short on money, but he hadn’t expected her to own a handbag worth millions.
“Do you have savings I don’t know about?”
He stared deeply into her eyes.
“If I had savings, would I be selling my bag?”
That made sense.
All her money was tied up in futures trading.
Besides, she was the kind of woman who couldn’t save money.
Before they got together, he had reviewed her resume. Her previous employer abroad happened to be a law firm owned by one of his friends.
He called his friend to ask if they were familiar with Yu Qing.
As a partner in the law firm, his friend didn’t interact with every lawyer, but he had a vivid impression of Yu Qing:
“She was personally mentored by another partner at our firm. Her character and abilities are both excellent. She’s also beautiful, but hard to pursue. I don’t know how many client-side executives chased her, but none succeeded. Maybe she has high standards. Oh, and she’s a big spender—she spends every penny she earns. If she gets paid today, she’ll definitely go shopping tonight.”
“I bought a dip today and made some profit,” Yu Qing changed the subject, talking about her futures trading. She took off her work uniform to wash and placed it in the laundry basket.
Fu Ji Chen pushed his thoughts aside, turned on the shower, and hot water sprayed out with steam.
Yu Qing directly stepped under the showerhead Fu Ji Chen had turned on. “Thank you.”
Fu Ji Chen had no choice but to turn on the other showerhead.
Taking small, shuffling steps, Yu Qing moved over to his side, taking over his shower to wash her hair.
Fu Ji Chen glanced at her. “Even taking a shower, you can’t behave!”
Overcome with triumph a moment ago, Yu Qing’s eyes were now blinded by water. “Pass me a towel.”
Fu Ji Chen casually grabbed a dry towel from the shelf and shoved it in front of her. Yu Qing covered her face with the towel, her hair not yet shampooed, and simply swept it back.
Just as Fu Ji Chen leaned down to kiss her back, her long hair whipped across his face, drenching him with water.
…
They went to bed early that night. By midnight, Yu Qing had finished her skincare routine and climbed into bed.
Fu Ji Chen put down his book and pulled her into his arms.
The next second, she found herself pinned beneath him.
Yu Qing had run out of her body wash, so tonight she used Fu Ji Chen’s. Now their bodies smelled the same—faintly fresh.
Fu Ji Chen lowered his head, his heated kiss descending upon hers.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but ever since she gave him that tiny keychain, she felt his attitude had shifted slightly.
Like tonight, when she asked him to carry her upstairs, he did.
And now, he was kissing her with unusual patience.
At 5:30 AM the next morning.
Yu Qing woke up.
Fu Ji Chen kindly let her sleep an extra half hour.
He was already waiting for her downstairs. A single ring of his phone prompted her to hurry down.
She walked slowly, taking her time to dress up her bag.
People rely on clothes, and bags rely on accessories.
Fu Ji Chen wore an exasperated expression. “You take longer to come downstairs than anyone else.”
Yu Qing smiled. “I walk slowly so I can look at you a little longer.”
Inside the elevator, Yu Qing stood in front of Fu Ji Chen.
He lowered his gaze, catching sight of the bag in front of her. A small horse-shaped charm from a luxury brand caught his eye.
Similar charms filled the top drawer of her bedside table—three rows of them.
His gaze shifted to her profile. She was staring at the elevator buttons, looking lazy yet mischievous.
At noon, Yu Qing went to the lobby on the first floor to pick up a package. Coincidentally, she ran into Fu Ji Chen returning from a meeting. His car was parked at the main entrance of the building.
He was on the phone as he got out of the car and didn’t notice her.
Qiao Yang was with him for the meeting, though she got out of a different car.
According to Fish Demon, Fu Ji Chen had been acquiring land recently, with Qin Moling as his biggest competitor.
Yu Qing retrieved her package. Fu Ji Chen was still on the phone, so she went upstairs first.
Qiao Yang waited for Fu Ji Chen to finish his call before following him into the building.
Fu Ji Chen used to enter the private elevator by entering a password, but now, with various access controls, he simply swiped his card.
Qiao Yang noticed the distinctive keychain—a unisex design suitable for both men and women. With a slight smile, she asked, “Do you also like buying such small accessories?”
Fu Ji Chen: “No, it was a gift.”
Without a subject, Qiao Yang assumed it was a promotional item gifted by the brand when Fu Ji Chen bought a bag. She nodded. “It’s quite nice.”
Her phone vibrated. There was a message in the third work group.
The vice president of Dixin announced that all contracts for the week would be signed in the sixteenth-floor conference room at 2 PM.
Yu Qing had just joined this group ten minutes earlier.
She was also part of this work group. After checking the list of attendees, she saw the vice president himself, Sales Director Zhao Shuqun, regional managers from various areas, and Qiao Yang.
Originally, Qiao Yang shouldn’t have been part of this meeting. As the second-in-command of the group’s finance department, Dixin’s finances were independently audited.
Last week, the financial supervisor responsible for contract reviews at Dixin went on maternity leave, so Qiao Yang voluntarily took over this task.
Qiao Yang had always been attentive to Dixin’s finances. When Dixin was acquired, she personally built the finance department from scratch, even handling all staffing arrangements herself.
She always felt there was something off about the financial model.
Perhaps Fu Ji Chen thought this model was fine.
Yu Qing organized all the contracts to be signed in order. The signing process was mostly a formality, designed to save time for the sales department.
At 1:50 PM, Yu Qing arrived at the conference room. She wasn’t early or late, and more than half the attendees hadn’t arrived yet.
After exchanging greetings, she sat in a seat at the far end.
Zhao Shuqun had already arrived and gave her a lukewarm glance earlier.
It wasn’t exactly friendly.
Gradually, the attendees trickled in.
Yu Qing inadvertently raised her head and caught Qiao Yang’s gaze. Both exchanged a faint smile.
Yu Qing looked away, but Qiao Yang didn’t. She spotted the charm hanging from Yu Qing’s phone and the lanyard around her neck holding her work ID.
Both were from the same brand.
Together, these two items were worth more than Yu Qing’s monthly salary.
Yet, typically, the total cost of Yu Qing’s shoes and bags didn’t exceed a thousand yuan.
Casually, Qiao Yang noticed the keychain next to Yu Qing’s notebook. It looked familiar—it was similar to one Fu Ji Chen owned, just in a different color.
This brand only had a few keychain designs, so the likelihood of owning the same one wasn’t surprising. Qiao Yang reasoned there was nothing to be overly curious about.
And so, she thought no more of it.
The conference room door was pushed open again, and Xiao Yilin finally arrived, her entrance accompanied by a gust of wind. Her makeup was impeccable, her red lips exuding sensuality.
She sat down with one person between her and Zhao Shuqun.
Once everyone was seated, the vice president briefly spoke a few words before they got to work.
Yu Qing handed over the paper contracts she had reviewed to the vice president for signing, then waited for new operating contracts to be submitted in the OA system.
They were like workers on an assembly line, heads down, each focused solely on their part of the task.
Occasionally, someone would ask a question or two if there was any doubt.
Most of the time, the only sounds in the meeting room were the rustling of paper contracts being flipped through and the clicking of mice.
Two hours passed, and all the contracts were signed off in one go.
The vice president massaged his neck. “Take a break for now. If there’s nothing else, grab a coffee and we’ll adjourn.”
Xiao Yilin pulled out a draft contract and a stack of documents from the bottom folder, pretending to have just remembered something: “Oh, I almost forgot—I’ve got one more thing here. My mind slipped.”
Zhao Shuqun sipped his tea and glanced sidelong at her. “Not submitted in the OA system?”
Xiao Yilin: “This distributor has high demands. I personally accompanied the regional manager to negotiate, and as soon as I returned to the company, I rushed over for this meeting. I haven’t had time to submit it to the system yet.”
Zhao Shuqun: “Which company?”
“Zhuo Hua Trading.” As she spoke, Xiao Yilin handed over the basic information about the distributor to Zhao Shuqun. “In Beijing, Zhuo Hua Trading is well-known—they’re regional distributors for many major brands.”
Zhao Shuqun didn’t even glance at the materials. This distributor was so well-known that even the vice president had heard of them. Their qualifications were undoubtedly solid. If Dixin could sign with this distributor, next year’s sales in Beijing would surely double without issue.
He gestured to Xiao Yilin. “Submit it now—it’ll be approved today.”
Yu Qing interjected: “Manager Xiao, which region is replacing its general agent?” She was puzzled—she hadn’t received any notice about terminating the current contract.
Xiao Yilin named the region for Yu Qing.
Yu Qing froze momentarily, unable to believe that Xiao Yilin had replaced Boss Qian as the general distributor.
Boss Qian had sold his house to raise funds for stocking up. The sales contract had been signed, and according to Qian Cheng, he had already gone to the bank that morning to lift the mortgage.
Being suddenly replaced like this would surely drive him mad.
But this was a decision made by the sales department—she had no authority or right to interfere.
Her role was simply to ensure the legality and compliance of the contracts and to mitigate potential risks.
She reminded Xiao Yilin: “The general agent for that region is Boss Qian. I haven’t received the termination contract between you and Boss Qian.”
Xiao Yilin smiled. “This won’t affect anything—the two processes can happen simultaneously. I’ll handle Boss Qian’s side, but Zhuo Hua Trading is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Yu Qing understood perfectly—this was another messy situation being dumped on her.
Signing a new contract without terminating the old one, especially when Boss Qian hadn’t breached any terms, was bound to cause trouble later.
Once the new contract was signed, the complications would follow.
At that point, Fu Corporation would face breach-of-contract compensation, and potentially negative news harmful to the company’s reputation. All of that would fall squarely on her shoulders.
Senior management would only hold her accountable, questioning what exactly she was doing as a legal specialist.
She looked at Xiao Yilin. “Terminate Boss Qian’s contract first, and I’ll immediately process the new one. It won’t delay anything.”
Xiao Yilin hadn’t yet figured out how to resolve the aftermath with Boss Qian. Earlier that morning, she had mentioned this matter to him over the phone, and he had angrily hung up on her.
He called back at noon.
Boss Qian made a demand: he could accept being replaced as the general distributor, but only if they compensated him with one million yuan.
Impossible.
For now, she planned to stall—dragging things out until Boss Qian lost patience and until the stock in his warehouse neared its expiration date. By then, he’d likely give up on demanding compensation.
But these thoughts couldn’t be openly discussed.
After all, she had benefited greatly from Boss Qian in the past.
Speaking slowly, Xiao Yilin tried to pressure Yu Qing. “The boss of Zhuo Hua Trading wasn’t particularly impressed with our Dixin Beverage brand. I went through great lengths to secure this opportunity. If the contract gets delayed and they back out, the losses would be immense. Of course, none of this is your fault—you don’t handle sales, so you don’t understand the challenges we face in the market.”
The vice president pondered for a moment, then signaled to Yu Qing. “Approve it for now. Such situations are common in the fast-moving consumer goods industry—it’s survival of the fittest. Besides, our company isn’t running a charity. Naturally, we partner with those who have the strength.”
Qiao Yang also chimed in, addressing Xiao Yilin. “There shouldn’t be any issues with Boss Qian’s side—they still have a deposit with us.”
Yu Qing unconsciously pinched her ID badge and chuckled self-deprecatingly.
These people had calculated correctly that Boss Qian was honest and incapable of causing trouble. Even if he sued Fu Corporation, he wouldn’t gain much.
They could threaten him with the deposit—if he caused trouble, he wouldn’t get it back.
Such scenes didn’t surprise her today.
During her time at the law firm handling projects, she had encountered all sorts of situations.
Many people’s hearts were greedy.
And human nature, often, was pitiful.
Greedy and pitiful individuals never adhered to contractual principles.
Over there, Xiao Yilin instructed the handler to upload the contract to the OA system. Soon after, several others approved it.
But Yu Qing remained unresponsive.
Everyone stared at her.
She had seen the notification but hadn’t clicked “approve” nor provided any review comments.
Xiao Yilin smiled, though her smile was clearly mocking. “Lawyer Yu, not done reading yet?”
Yu Qing met Xiao Yilin’s confident and arrogant gaze. “Manager Xiao, do you know why the company established a legal department and assigned me to review contracts?”
Xiao Yilin, feeling cornered, stayed silent.
Yu Qing continued: “First, to mitigate external risks. Second, to mitigate internal risks.”
Xiao Yilin picked up where Yu Qing left off. “Lawyer Yu, hearing you say this reassures me. Now that there’s external risk, will you, as a lawyer, help resolve it?”
Yu Qing smiled. “I’m not finished yet. Third, to eliminate any individual violations that could pose risks to the company at their earliest stages, preventing irreparable damage to the company’s reputation and finances.”
Not only Xiao Yilin but everyone present exchanged glances.
Yu Qing’s earlier remarks had been sharp enough.
Xiao Yilin began pressing aggressively. “If Zhuo Hua backs out of cooperating with us, are you prepared to take responsibility for that?”
Without giving Yu Qing a chance to respond, she continued accusingly. “We currently have棘手 (thorny) issues with Boss Qian. Your job is to find solutions, not to absolve yourself of all responsibility and push everything onto our sales department! You’re a lawyer—you’re Dixin’s lawyer!”
Yu Qing remained calm. “Watch your words. The issue lies between you and Boss Qian, not us.”
Unwilling to back down, she countered Xiao Yilin’s earlier accusation. “If your sales department encounters legal issues beyond your control during the contract termination process, I, as a lawyer, will naturally do my utmost—that’s part of my job. However,”
She paused for a few seconds.
“In the absence of any wrongdoing on the other party’s part, you directly breach the contract. Not only that, but you also want to sign a new contract without terminating the old one, creating potential reputational crises and severe breach-of-contract losses for the company. Sorry, but that’s not part of my job as a lawyer!”
Xiao Yilin pursed her red lips, her eyes sharp.
Yu Qing, however, appeared completely unfazed. “Think of it this way: some people might get married twice in their lifetime. But can you get a second marriage certificate from the civil affairs bureau without divorcing first, simply by claiming the relationship has broken down and you’ve been living apart?”
Everyone: “….”
Xiao Yilin was furious. “Lawyer Yu, making such an analogy is sheer sophistry—it’s not the same thing!”
Yu Qing: “Exactly. That’s why you’re not a lawyer.”
Xiao Yilin choked, frustration bubbling in her chest.
She composed herself. “Lawyer Yu, you need to clarify whose side you’re on—Boss Qian’s or Dixin’s? Think carefully about what uniform you’re wearing, where you’re sitting, and who’s paying your salary.”
The atmosphere grew tense.
Yu Qing picked up her cup and finished the remaining coffee. “Let me tell you—my loyalty lies with Fu Corporation’s interests!”
Qiao Yang twirled her pen between her fingers, occasionally glancing at Yu Qing.
Xiao Yilin sneered disdainfully. She pointed to her eyes. “Maybe my vision’s bad—my apologies.”
The subtext of her words was clear: she was calling herself blind for failing to see that Yu Qing was standing on the side of Fu Corporation’s interests.
Yu Qing chuckled. “No worries. If your eyes can’t see, your brain works just fine too.”
Xiao Yilin: “….”
Sharp words clashed like swords, charged with invisible tension.
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