Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Law Firm Director Was Bribed, Chu Tang Receives Special Treatment The assistant was highly efficient and sent over Ruan Chutang's hometown address the very next day. It looked like an ordinary residential complex. Gu Zechuan narrowed his eyes. Jiangcheng, huh. Coincidentally, he was heading to Jiangcheng in a few days to discuss cooperation and pitch for investment with the Su Group. Ruan Chutang, since you won't come to me, this time I'll come to you. ... Ruan Chutang submitted her resume to Shengke Law Firm and quickly received a reply asking if she would be available for an interview the next day. Chu Tang scheduled the interview time with them and began preparing for the next day. Shengke was the top law firm in Jiangcheng and held considerable prestige in the industry. A few years of experience here would greatly benefit her future career. At that very moment, inside Shengke Law Firm. "Miss Xu, that Ruan Chutang has already scheduled an interview time with me," said Yang Xiaojing, the firm's director, speaking respectfully into her phone. "Very good. Match her expected salary and benefits—make sure you keep her. Once she's onboard, assign her some difficult tasks. Do whatever it takes to make things hard for her. If you handle this well, I'll hand over several major cases from the Jiang Group with target amounts in the tens of millions to your team." Yang Xiaojing was overjoyed and quickly replied, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to 'take good care' of this newcomer." In the hospital room. Xu Jingxuan hung up the phone and gripped it in her hand, a sinister smile curling at the corners of her lips. When Ruan Chutang had called Jiang Shixu to say she wanted to find a job, she had been sitting right beside him. She had clearly heard Jiang Shixu recommend that Ruan Chutang go to Shengke Law Firm. From what Jiang Shixu said, it seemed Ruan Chutang wanted to submit her resume and interview on her own—going through proper channels rather than using connections. She had even specifically told Jiang Shixu not to give the firm a heads-up in advance, nor to reveal her identity as the Ruan family's young miss or as the future young mistress of the Jiang family. At the thought of this, Xu Jingxuan let out a mocking laugh. Ruan Chutang, oh Ruan Chutang, your self-righteousness will be your downfall. She had contacted Yang Xiaojing, the director of Shengke, that very night. In Jiangcheng, every industry had to defer to the Jiang Group. Her status as the Jiang family's young miss came in quite handy. Although she was only an adopted daughter, Madam Jiang had raised her as her own daughter all these years, and Jiang Shixu treated her like a real sister. Over the years, she had frequently attended various business galas under the title of "Miss Jiang," and the outside world readily acknowledged her as such. She had already done her research. Although Ruan Chutang was the heiress of the Ruan Group, she disliked socializing and had almost never appeared at high-society business galas or banquets. She also didn't like flaunting her wealth on social media platforms—she had always kept a low profile. So even though the Ruan Group's business was vast, few outsiders had ever seen the Ruan family's young miss. Moreover, the news of Ruan Chutang's engagement to Jiang Shixu wasn't known to the public yet—only their close friends and family in their circle knew about it. This made it all the easier for Xu Jingxuan to pull strings behind the scenes. Xu Jingxuan thought darkly: Ruan Chutang, you forced me into this. Who told you to compete with me for Brother Shixu? He can only be mine. ... The next day, Ruan Chutang rose early, put on light makeup, and changed into a white blouse and black suit—the classic attire of a practicing lawyer. Shengke Law Firm was located near Jiangcheng University, far from the Ruan family villa—over ten kilometers away. With rush hour traffic, driving would take over an hour. Chu Tang remembered that on her birthday in her freshman year, her cousin Su Yu had gifted her a furnished apartment in the complex directly across from Jiangcheng University, which was very close to Shengke Law Firm. She figured that if she secured the position at Shengke, she could move into the apartment—convenient for commuting, and living alone would be relaxed and free, without having to face Ruan Shaodong and Yang Xuelian. It would be peaceful. Shengke Law Firm. Chu Tang was interviewed by the firm's HR and Yang Xiaojing, the director of the litigation department. Chu Tang had graduated from a prestigious university and had three years of professional experience. She answered every professional question Yang Xiaojing asked with ease. It was clear that Yang Xiaojing was very satisfied with her. The salary and benefits matched Chu Tang's expectations—a base salary of fifteen thousand plus a percentage of attorney fees. After the interview, Yang Xiaojing smiled and said, "Miss Ruan, see you tomorrow." Chu Tang smiled politely and replied, "See you tomorrow." The interview had been far easier than she had imagined. She had expected the firm to negotiate down on salary and benefits, but it had gone so smoothly. After Chu Tang left, Yang Xiaojing stood by the window and let out a sigh. "Ah, what a shame. I actually quite admire this Miss Ruan." ... On her first day of work, HR representative Liu Chengcheng introduced Ruan Chutang to her colleagues to get acquainted. Shengke Law Firm was very large. The branch she joined was the main office, which housed the Business Department, Litigation Department, Non-Litigation Department, Finance Department, and Human Resources Department. The Business Department handled client acquisition and case negotiations. The Litigation Department primarily consisted of lawyers and trainee lawyers, specializing in litigation cases. The Non-Litigation Department primarily handles legal consulting, debt collection, contract review, and other non-litigation matters for the company. The Finance Department and Human Resources Department function like those in any ordinary company, managing finances and personnel. Each department has a supervisor. The supervisor of the Litigation Department is Yang Xiaojing, who interviewed Chu Tang yesterday. She is also one of the firm's practicing lawyers, in her mid-thirties, with a neat short haircut and the look of a formidable career woman. Shengke's main office has over twenty practicing lawyers. Apart from the supervisors, every two lawyers share one office. Ruan Chutang shares an office with a male lawyer in his forties. Chu Tang had just finished organizing her workstation and sat down. Supervisor Yang Xiaojing walked in and said with a hint of apology, "Xiao Ruan, normally each lawyer is assigned a trainee lawyer as an assistant, but a couple of days ago, two trainee lawyers completed their internship and left to practice on their own. The trainee lawyer positions that opened up haven't been filled yet, so we can't arrange an assistant for you for now. I'm afraid you'll have to work a bit harder." Ruan Chutang nodded, showing understanding. "That's fine. I can complete the work independently." "Good." Yang Xiaojing smiled and turned to leave. The male lawyer sitting behind the other desk looked up from his computer. "Hello, my name is Zhang Tianxin. We'll be colleagues from now on." "Hello." Chu Tang responded politely. During the lunch break. A male colleague at the firm, with the supervisor's approval, stirred up the group chat, urging the new colleagues to treat everyone to dinner after work that evening. There were two new colleagues at the firm. One was Ruan Chutang, who had just joined today. The other was Yu Jiaojiao, a trainee lawyer who had joined a couple of days earlier. Chu Tang wasn't very familiar with this firm's "culture." Did they always have a tradition of new colleagues treating everyone to a meal? Chu Tang asked the male colleague who shared her office. He told her there had been no such "custom" before. Chu Tang stared at the messages on her computer screen, lost in thought.