Chapter 1 Who doesn't hate heartless capitalists?

Chapter 1

The phone on the bedside table kept ringing and vibrating, making the wooden bedside table hum along with it.

Xia Zhiyu's fragile nerves were instantly jolted awake. Almost as soon as the phone rang for the third time, she sprang out of bed at lightning speed.

"Hello, this is Xia Zhiyu from Huawan Law Firm. May I ask who you are?"

Huawan Law Firm, as one of the top corporate law firms in China, covers business areas including but not limited to real estate, corporate mergers and acquisitions, international trade, investment, etc. It is a red circle firm that legal professionals are eager to join.

This place brings together almost all of the most elite lawyers in the northern part of the city, and each of their resumes is impressive on their own.

Except for the summer juvenile fish.

She was able to get into Huawan only because she was lucky enough to fall in love with Jiang Zhiyan.

But as of today, June 16, 2025, Xia Zhiyu has only seen Jiang Zhiyan for fifteen days this year.

Three of those days were spent on business trips by the team.

The next second, the alarm clock rang.

Xia Zhiyu breathed a long sigh of relief.

It was just a dream.

I've been getting scolded so much lately, I'm even dreaming about being scolded.

Xia Zhiyu lay on the bed, raised her phone, and habitually opened her email, WeChat, and WeChat Work in turn, checking if there were any urgent tasks that required her to get out of bed right now.

I looked around, but there was no urgent news.

A hint of joy at surviving a disaster rose on Xia Zhiyu's face, and she immediately collapsed back onto the bed.

Five minutes passed, and her phone rang. Xia Zhiyu opened her eyes as if startled, her expression resentful.

"The group meeting will be at 8:30."

It was posted by Jiang Zhiyan.

One message was sent to the team, and the other was sent to her privately.

The punctuation marks in the forwarded files are all exactly the same.

Not a single unnecessary greeting was offered.

The phone suddenly rang loudly, and the name Jiang Zhiyan lit up on the screen. Xia Zhiyu's heart skipped a beat, and she hesitated for a moment before answering the phone.

Have you gone out?

The faint hum of electricity made Jiang Zhiyan's voice sound even colder, and the sound of typing could be faintly heard.

"No."

Xia Zhiyu was a little nervous, and her palms, which were holding the phone, became sticky.

"Then I'll come back to pick you up, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

He hung up the phone after saying that.

Jiang Zhiyan, the youngest partner in Huawan's history, led his team to handle more than 10 billion yuan worth of multinational corporate mergers and acquisitions projects in just three years after graduating from the London School of Economics.

He was undefeated in every case he handled, and successfully expanded Huawan's business from the Asia-Pacific region to Europe and America, making Huawan one of the most famous law firms in the country and even Asia.

Concise, efficient, and detached are Jiang Zhiyan's consistent characteristics, both at work and in life.

No, Xia Zhiyu looked at her pale face in the mirror and smiled bitterly.

Jiang Zhiyan's life and work are now completely integrated.

Fifteen minutes later, she came downstairs on time. Her understated yet luxurious silver-gray Lexus was parked in the spot closest to the elevator, its spotless emblem gleaming.

The car's hazard lights flashed, and the driver, Xiao Zhang, leaned out and waved to her.

Xia Zhiyu walked around to the right side where Jiang Zhiyan didn't usually sit and opened the back door.

The man was impeccably dressed in a sharp suit, the exquisite cuffs and tie clips gleaming with the cold glint of a capitalist. His hair was neatly styled with hair wax.

The reading light was on in the car, and its cold light slanted across Jiang Zhiyan's face, making his features appear even sharper and more defined. His expression was stern, giving him the look of a typical industry elite.

That's a style she can't imitate.

Xia Zhiyu closed the car door very gently.

Jiang Zhiyan finished typing the entire sentence on his laptop. He closed the laptop, turned his head to look at her, and his voice sounded gentler than it had been on the phone.

Have you had breakfast?

There is a housekeeper at home who cooks two meals a day, morning and evening. Xia Zhiyu used to always rush to work and skip breakfast, but after she developed health problems, she started eating on time and properly.

"I haven't had time to eat yet, I'll go downstairs at the law firm to buy breakfast later."

Jiang Zhiyan pursed his lips into a straight line, "Food outside isn't clean."

"It won't kill you, you eat out every day too."

Xia Zhiyu retorted in a nonchalant manner.

Of course she had grievances against Jiang Zhiyan. Who goes on a business trip for three months and only uses WeChat to send her work-related messages? Is that what you call dating?

Jiang Zhiyan's face turned ugly. Why would someone leave a perfectly good meal at home and insist on getting sick? He twitched his lips and turned his head away unhappily.

The cold light of the computer screen returned, and the sound of typing could be heard from time to time.

Apart from that, the car was completely silent.

While eating breakfast, Xia Zhiyu looked at the scenery rushing past the window, feeling as if a hole had been torn in her heart, letting in a blast of cold air.

She only had fifteen minutes to go downstairs; she didn't have time to put on makeup or eat breakfast.

Being late is a girlfriend's privilege, not a subordinate's.

This was Jiang Zhiyan warning her with a frown in front of everyone in the project team.

Xia Zhiyu still remembers the feeling of that pungent smell hitting her cheeks.

The glances her colleagues made while whispering felt like needles piercing her heart.

From that moment on, Xia Zhiyu kept this in mind.

Work is work, and life is life. During work hours, Jiang Zhiyan is just her boss.

No matter how long this work period may be.

"How's your document review going with this merger and acquisition project between Xingyuan and Yuncheng?"

Jiang Zhiyan asked without looking up.

"The draft and the list of questions have been handed over to Song Yu, and the equity transfer agreement and investment agreement are still being prepared."

"Why is it being given to Song Yu?" Jiang Zhiyan finally put down his laptop.

"Isn't he currently dealing with Jiyuan's case? And aren't I the person in charge of Yuncheng's M&A project?"

The rhetorical question conveyed an accusatory tone.

Xia Zhiyu understood; he was blaming her for handing the draft to the wrong person.

"Wait a moment, let me check."

Xia Zhiyu took out her laptop from her bag and opened her work records to check them.

Jiang Zhiyan's gaze fell on the bag she was carrying, a Dior tote bag, which he hadn't bought.

But it looks familiar; every time I see Xia Zhiyu at the law firm or at gatherings with friends, she's always carrying this bag.

He bought so many bags to make her look good, afraid that she would be looked down upon when attending meetings or handling cases.

But all those expensive luxury goods that flew back with him from all over the country ended up gathering dust on the shelves.

I don't know what she was thinking. She knows how much lawyers value their appearance.

While a lawyer's attire does not affect their professional competence, it can influence a client's perception of them, which in turn affects the lawyer's influence in a case.

However, Xia Zhiyu was unusually stubborn in refusing to accept his kindness in these matters, stubbornly resisting every day with her insignificant little self-esteem.

This is a typical poor person's mindset, stubborn to the point of being foolish.

Even gold needs light to shine, but she won't even turn on the light, so how can it shine?

When will Xia Zhiyu's attitude towards life finally change?

Jiang Zhiyan was displeased, and his face naturally showed some emotion, making him look very imposing.

Xia Zhiyu opened the work log on her computer, where it clearly stated that Song Yu had asked her to send him the draft after she had finished organizing it.

"What is Song Yu up to now?" Jiang Zhiyan frowned as he skimmed through the text and instructed, "Next time, for tasks where a team has already been assembled, just hand them over to the lead lawyer."

"OK."

The atmosphere fell silent.

The car stopped, and Jiang Zhiyan was about to ask Xia Zhiyu to have lunch together in the afternoon when Xia Zhiyu got out of the car, nodded politely to him, and quickly closed the car door.

Her slender figure was lost in the crowd on the zebra crossing.

The car was restarted.

Jiang Zhiyan's tone became more serious.

"Why not just drive right up to the law firm building?"

The driver, rarely seeing his usually calm and composed boss like this, hesitated for a moment before replying:

"You previously emphasized that if you were to drop off Ms. Xia, you should park across the street first, in order to avoid suspicion."

The driver phrased it tactfully, saying that Jiang Zhiyan had almost forgotten about this matter because she hadn't been back to China for so long.

At the time, Xia Zhiyu had just started working, and he wanted to make sure that Xia Zhiyu wouldn't receive any special treatment in the office because of his relationship with him, so he deliberately kept his distance from Xia Zhiyu in the institute.

Jiang Zhiyan looked at the bustling crowd through the tinted car window, and after a long while, he said:

"You won't need to do that anymore."

--

Xia Zhiyu put her bag on her workstation. It was still early, and most of the people there were intern lawyers and trainees. Practicing lawyers generally wouldn't come to the law firm unless they had something to do.

The law firm has money. The water dispenser room is large, with coffee and tea on the outside and snacks, juice, and hot water on the inside, separated by a threshold.

A working person needs a cup of coffee to kickstart their morning, but Xia Zhiyu had just undergone surgery, and the doctor advised her to drink less coffee and tea, which are known to stimulate the mind, and to get plenty of sleep.

Xia Zhiyu swallowed the health supplement prescribed by the doctor and watched as the water in the cup gradually filled up.

Excited discussions could be heard from outside.

"You saw it this morning too?"

"Absolutely, I swear to God she definitely got out of the boss's car."

“What Lawyer Zhao said is true.”

"What do you think? Otherwise, how could she, a graduate student from a non-985/211 university with a law degree, get into our institute?"

"So she's the boss's wife? The boss's wife only carries a Dior tote bag? And wears an 899 RMB business suit? I saw that outfit on Taobao, it was 899 RMB after the 618 sale."

"What boss's wife? If she were really the boss's wife, would she still only be a legal assistant? I think she's at most a mistress."

“Indeed, I saw her get a severe scolding from Lawyer Yang last time. She didn’t even dare to lift her head. She worked overtime until midnight for several days in a row to solve the problem.”

"I know that. It doesn't seem to be her problem. She took the blame for someone else, for that young lady intern who was parachuted in. It's said that the young lady is the only daughter of some big shot, and there's a marriage proposal between her and our boss's family."

"A powerful alliance? Really?"

"I heard it from Zhao Lu when he was drunk last time. He told me not to tell anyone, so I think it must be true."

"Of course it's true. I've heard my dad talk about it. Apparently, that young lady's father has had his eye on our boss for a long time."

Several knowing laughs rang out.

...

Xia Zhiyu waited for the sounds outside to subside for a long time before returning to her office with her water glass.

She sat stiffly on the stool, a piercing buzzing in her ears, as if countless eyes were watching her mockery from behind, burning Xia Zhiyu's mind into a blank.

She opened the Word document, but felt weak all over, her fingers so limp that she couldn't type a single word.

8:30, in the conference room.

Through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows, layers of clouds can be seen, and the TV tower in the distance is clearly visible.

Xia Zhiyu was typing away on her computer, her phone lying to the side with a black screen, not a single message.

The conference room was packed with people, and the lawyers never silenced their phones, so the entire room echoed with the sounds of typing and incoming messages.

The phone kept ringing, but her phone remained silent.

It goes without saying what these people are discussing in their small group chat.

Xia Zhiyu originally thought that she would be so embarrassed that she wouldn't be able to lift her head when she entered the office.

However, it seems that her ability to withstand pressure has indeed improved significantly under Jiang Zhiyan's guidance. At least she can now sit on the stool without moving, pretending that she is just a part of a rich man's love play.

The meeting started as scheduled, and Jiang Zhiyan opened the PPT.

"Currently, we have completed the preliminary review of documents related to the company's governance structure, key contracts, employee information, taxation, and intellectual property. Regarding data compliance, based on our communication with the target company's legal department, Yuncheng involves a large amount of European user data, which is subject to GDPR. From the perspective of due diligence, Yuncheng's data processing procedures have certain disclosure deficiencies, which should be included in the representations and warranties clauses of the SPA."

"In addition, Yuncheng has a strategic contract with a French supplier, which is subject to change of control restrictions and requires the supplier's prior consent, which may affect the closing terms..."

All eyes were on Jiang Zhiyan. He hadn't worked for very long among the lawyers, but he had handled quite a few cases. Thanks to the fact that he rarely went home, Jiang Zhiyan had accumulated a wealth of work experience.

Xia Zhiyu took notes diligently without looking up. She was the one who did the DD this time, and she hadn't noticed several points Jiang Zhiyan mentioned at the time. The legal profession mainly relies on experience. Practical work can provide experience, and in-depth study can as well. Since she doesn't have the ability to lead a team to handle cases on her own right now, learning is especially important.

...

"OK, meeting adjourned."

Xia Zhiyu glanced at her watch; it was 9:08. If she was lucky, she could still catch the steamed buns at the cafeteria downstairs.

"Xia Lu, please stay for a moment."

Xia Zhiyu was the only person in the entire project team with the surname Xia.

As soon as Jiang Zhiyan said this, everyone's eyes unconsciously drifted to Xia Zhiyu again.

Curious, scrutinizing, disdainful, disgusted... there was everything, but no appreciation.

Xia Zhiyu stood frozen in place, clenching the pen in her hand tightly, every strand of her hair resisting being left behind.

But I haven't received my salary for this month yet.

Xia Zhiyu plopped back into her seat.

Soon only she and Jiang Zhiyan remained in the conference room, and the last person left thoughtfully closed the door behind them.

"How long are you going to keep making a scene?"

Jiang Zhiyan loosened his tie with one hand, his brows furrowed, revealing a deep displeasure.

What did I do wrong?

Xia Zhiyu's beautiful, clear black and white eyes stared quietly at Jiang Zhiyan.

"It's all because of this resignation."

Jiang Zhiyan curled his lips into a smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Since you want to resign, tell me what you plan to do after you resign. Legal work? Taking the civil service exam? Do you have a career plan? Have you thought about your future?"

"Have you found another job after leaving Huawan?"

A barrage of questions pierced Xia Zhiyu's heart like sharp knives, leaving her choked with choking pain.

I suddenly found myself unable to utter the words I wanted to explain.

Jiang Zhiyan pressed her advantage, coldly saying, "If you really don't want to be a lawyer, I've arranged two corporate compliance jobs for you, as well as a legal position. I'll send you the details to your email; you can choose two and go through the process."

"These are all jobs that would be very suitable for you."

Domineering and aloof, Jiang Zhiyan always wanted to have all the uncontrollable factors firmly in his grasp. He never asked her why she wanted to resign; he would only stubbornly arrange her life according to his own ideas.

He didn't even ask her what was wrong with her.

Xia Zhiyu felt a heavy sense of suffocation.

Another clumsy bird crashed into the glass on the 58th floor.

That's incredibly stupid.

Xia Zhiyu glanced out the window expressionlessly, as if she saw herself repeatedly crashing into Jiang Zhiyan, this wall, until she was bleeding from her head before belatedly realizing the pain.

"Perfect for your grandpa."

A sudden swear word rang out in the air, chillingly piercing Jiang Zhiyan's ear. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, about to say something.

Xia Zhiyu was frighteningly calm. She put the notebook on the table, picked up her bag, and threw it at Jiang Zhiyan.

"Did you even think for a second before doing these things so presumptuously that you should ask me first? I'm the one directly involved."

"Are you mute and can't make a phone call, or are your hands broken and can't type?"

"Who do you think you are, some feudal overlord?"

The conference room door slammed shut.

The cold air from the air conditioner flowed over his face, and Jiang Zhiyan touched his stinging skin.

Looking down, he saw the bloodstains on his fingertips reflected in his pupils.

A note from the author:

----------------------

The story begins! The story begins!

Seventy thousand words in reserve!

Before becoming a VIP member, updates will follow the rankings; after becoming a VIP member, updates will be daily. [starry-eyed emoji]

My next book will still be about chasing after a wife through a crematorium. I'm begging all you readers to add it to your favorites!

[A gloomy, withdrawn, possessive, and scheming man vs. a bright, positive, but naive rich girl]

[Sibling rivalry | Wife-chasing nightmare | Forced love]

[A haughty, carefree young lady vs. blond-haired brothers]

[Brother: A long-time smoker with blond hair, a dark, twisted, possessive, and obsessive yandere.]

[Brother: Creamy Golden Retriever, a loyal, brave, positive, and happy little dog]

The beautiful young lady owned a golden retriever with smooth fur.

Although he was a dark-skinned man, he had no guile whatsoever and would simply wait by the door every day, hoping his sister would pat his head.

And she's the only one he sees.

The young lady was very satisfied.

The dog was also very satisfied.

After the old golden retriever discovered that he was pretending to be a happy little dog, the young lady indeed stopped touching the other dogs.

The dog lost himself day by day in the young lady's displays of affection, convinced that she had truly fallen in love with him.

Until one day, the old, lecherous blond-haired man mischievously brought the young lady home.

At the dining table, the authentic happy creamy golden retriever wagged its tail excitedly, its eyes sparkling as it looked at the young lady, even the curve of its lips was the same as her dark soy-colored golden retriever.

He was just more lively, more obedient, more docile, and thus more to her liking.

The blond-haired boy jumped into her arms, his voice warm and affectionate.

"Sister, it's been a long time!"

The gaze that fell upon him was cold and intense, as sticky as a clinging leech.

A tingling electric shock shot up my spine and straight to the back of my head.

The young lady squeezed her eyes shut and stroked the nape of the cream-colored golden retriever's neck; the chill behind her indeed grew stronger.

Wow...that's so exciting!

But it seems like they went too far.

Anklet, handcuffs, candle, feather [yellow heart]

The young lady's smile froze on her face.

Now they're saying I mistook the dog for someone else's. Is it too late to return it?

And hey, you two golden retrievers, can you please stop fighting?

Don't you know that when dogs fight, they end up with a mouthful of fur?