r18novel Chapter 1 Connections
Chapter 1 Connections
On Monday, June 6th, the persistent high temperature and sticky humidity enveloped Dongjiang City. Inside the iconic Jinmen Building in the city center, as the indicator lights on the only two high-rise elevator doors flashed, the crowd that had been engrossed in their phones moments before surged in as if receiving a command.
"Hey, you're only just getting here?" Bo Zan, holding a latte in his left hand and a heavy file and laptop bag in his right, struggled to adjust his glasses, which had almost been knocked off his nose, and said to the girl in the Chanel-style suit who had been pushed in front of him, "Isn't your team supposed to clock in at 8:30? You're late!"
Huang Yuan struggled to straighten herself through the crowd: "Monday traffic is terrible, and I overslept again. It's okay, I can just have Attorney Li deduct it from my attendance record, it's not a lot of money. I heard your team is getting a new member today? Did you know?"
"I've heard about her. She's a top student and a beautiful girl from Jiang University."
"Ha. A bachelor's degree? Who cares? Our job postings require a master's degree as a minimum."
Huang Yuan's marriage and family law team has achieved record-breaking revenue for two consecutive years, showing strong momentum. Meanwhile, Bo Zan's real estate team has seen reduced revenue due to market factors. Recently, the law firm's director changed, leading to fierce competition among the teams. Bo Zan sensed the disdain in Huang Yuan's tone and, unwilling to elaborate, mumbled, "Who knows?"
When the sweet female voice announced, "Ding, we've reached the 33rd floor," he was the first to squeeze out.
Behind the crowd, Yu Xingge, a "connected person" and "undergraduate student," took off his mask and followed them out of the elevator as if nothing had happened.
The orange sunlight mingled with the air conditioning suddenly flooded in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, merging with the sea of incandescent lights on the ceiling of the lobby and spreading across the dark gray marble, creating an atmosphere as if one were floating in the clouds. The nearly 300-square-meter spacious reception area within the prime real estate of the Golden Gate Building silently showcased the prestige of the top-tier Hongjiang Law Firm.
"Hello, ma'am." The elegantly dressed woman with black hair in a navy blue suit stood up gracefully, holding Yu Xingge's resume in her hand. "You must be Yu Xingge, the new legal assistant on the director's team?"
"Yes."
Jin Yajie put on a smile: "The director has already explained your onboarding process. I'll take you to see the director first."
"Thanks."
Hongjiang Law Firm, a long-established and highly regarded firm, holds an unshakeable position in Dongjiang City. Over the years, with a surge of renowned lawyers and high-revenue earners flocking to the firm, ten prominent lawyers and top earners have secured positions as first-level partners, each leading their teams to manage the firm's operations and establish their reputations in their respective fields. Consequently, the firm's entry standards have risen accordingly. For example, in the real estate team led by Shen Changsheng, the director of Hongjiang Law Firm, even PhD graduates, let alone those with master's degrees from top universities, would likely struggle to gain admission amidst a sea of resumes. Furthermore, the hiring process involves interviews and signatures from three first-level partners, as stipulated by the firm.
Therefore, when Director Shen used each partner's referral program to bypass all procedures and directly send Yu Xingge's resume to the administration department for onboarding, everyone who heard the news speculated about the background of this newly recruited undergraduate intern.
It can't be because of her face... Jin Yajie muttered to herself.
In contrast to the clean, tidy, and empty promotional images, a group of young men and women with different expressions frowned, staring at the laptops on the desks and the phones in their hands. As the phone rang incessantly, saying, "Hello, judge, I am Fan Qing's lawyer in his divorce case..." Xing Ge noticed that the documents and files on the desks were scattered around the booths as if no one else was there.
On the white walls of the office corridor, striking red 3D lettering engraved the law firm's history and honors, with a huge group photo hanging in the center. Yu Xingge stopped in her tracks; among the group of people in suits, the man in the center looked at her with a smile.
"Knock knock knock." Three light knocks.
"Director Shen, Yu Xingge, who recently joined your team, has arrived."
"Let her in."
The aroma of black tea wafted through the air. Shen Changsheng, dressed in a bright red casual outfit and sporting a neat short haircut, looked up.
"Hello Director Shen, I am Yu Xingge."
"What a pretty young lady!" Before Shen Changsheng could speak, a cheerful female voice rang out. Yu Xingge turned her head and saw a black tea table on the right-hand side of the entrance. Besides the woman who spoke, the man in the group photo looked over calmly.
"Is this the 'singing and laughing' kind of song?" The woman speaking nudged the arm of the man beside her, teasingly saying, "Attorney Gu, is this your long-lost sister?" She picked up the teapot, walked over to Shen Changsheng, refilled her cup, and said affectionately, "Director, is this the Professor Wei's prized student you mentioned?"
Shen Changsheng nodded, walked over and sat behind the tea table: "Yu Xingge, right? Welcome, welcome. Don't be shy, have a seat."
She pointed to the opposite side: "This is Attorney Gu Lezhi, the youngest first-level partner at Hongjiang Law Firm, and also the head of the criminal team."
"Lezhi, I remember you did your bachelor's, master's and doctoral studies at Dongjiang University? Speaking of which, you two are actually senior and junior classmates. Wei Yuanyi and I are such good friends, and in all these years, you've only recommended this one promising student to me."
Gu Lezhi stood up: "So you're Professor Wei's student." He gentlemanly pulled out the chair next to him, bent down, and offered his right hand: "Professor Wei was also my undergraduate professor; she is indeed my junior. Hello, Xingge!"
A faint aroma of tea wafted into Yu Xingge's nostrils as he drew closer. Time flies, twelve years have passed, yet his face shows no trace of age, only an air of authority.
Heaven is truly unfair.
Her father's pained, closed-eye face and the scene of Gu Lezhi elegantly waving goodbye in the television background kept replaying in her mind. That smug, spirited face kept overlapping with the face in front of her today.
Yu Xingge's thoughts tightened, and she extended her right hand: "I have long admired your name, Senior Brother Lezhi."
"However..." Gu Lezhi stared intently at the face before him, "You look familiar. Haven't we met before?"
Yu Xingge skillfully pulled out a smile she had practiced for a long time. "Right? I signed up to attend your lecture at school," she said frankly.
"Really?" Gu Lezhi tapped her wristwatch with her fingertip, a look of doubt on her face.
Shen Changsheng poured another cup of tea: "There are so many teachers and students from the same school, that's normal. Lezhi is a senior, Xingge, you should ask your senior for some guidance when you get back."
"Of course." Yu Xingge opened WeChat and skillfully pulled up her personal QR code. "Let's add each other as friends, Senior Brother Lezhi." She stared into his eyes: "I'll need your guidance in the future."
"You're welcome, it's my pleasure." Gu Lezhi took out his phone.
A round-faced girl knocked on the door and entered: "Director, Mr. Zhang from Wanxiang Group has arrived ahead of schedule. Would you like to bring him over now?"
"Okay." Shen Changsheng put down her teacup, and Yu Xingge stood up at the opportune moment. Shen Changsheng nodded: "Yajie, show Xingge around the law firm and help her with the onboarding procedures." She looked at Yu Xingge again: "The law firm is very happy to have you join us. Something came up today, so we'll talk again later."
As is to be expected, the onboarding procedures at Hongjiang Law Firm were tedious and complicated. By the time Yu Xingge returned to her residence, it was already getting dark. She sat down at her desk, pulled out a drawer, and habitually opened her notebook. A newspaper silhouette floated out, landing at her feet as Gu Lezhi smiled at her. The edges of the newspaper were weathered and fragile. She made a mental note to make a copy when she had time.
June 6, 2022, Hongjiang Institute.
Administration: Receptionist Jin Yajie - simple and innocent (can be befriended); Receptionist Li Ruonan - a resident who received compensation for land expropriation, unambitious, and unafraid to offend people; Risk Control Jiang Jiao - cold and strict, not good at socializing (can be befriended); Cashier Bai Xuanjiao - suspected to be a second-generation rich kid; Finance Xiang Yanru - approachable and easy-going, but be mindful of boundaries; Finance Pan Xi - not yet contacted, suspected to be a partner (to be added later); Administrative Supervisor Ren Jiaying - from Northeast China, likes to take care of people (can try to gain her sympathy).
Partners: Zhou Bingchun - in charge of administrative affairs, tactful; Wang Dongling - the director's person...
Director Shen Changsheng: Has a strong, leaping mind and is assertive.
Chief Assistant Wei Ling: You don't like me? You care about Gu Lezhi.
Gu Lezhi...
Her pen paused for a moment, then she wrote: "Suspicious," and circled those three words heavily.
After thinking for a moment, she opened her WeChat Moments. She selected a carefully taken photo of her office cubicle from her album and captioned it: "Finally joined my dream firm, Hongjiang Law Firm! Taking each step towards my dream, keep going!"
Publish?
She pressed: Yes.
A short while later, she saw that familiar profile picture appear below the little red heart.
As she expected.
Holding her notebook, Yu Xingge added the words "likes to observe" after "suspicious." She closed the notebook, which was filled with notes, and pondered her next plan. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
The hands on the watch quietly moved past 1 o'clock.
"Buzz buzz buzz, buzz buzz buzz".
The familiar vibration woke her; the rain was pattering outside the window. Yu Xingge jolted awake, fumbling for her phone: "Feed?"
"Xing Ge!" The woman's voice on the other end choked with sobs.
"Chu Jing committed suicide, please help me!"