0013 On-Duty Benefits
After reading it, Qu Zhong understood why "Please Enter the Trap" became so popular. The characters of the male and female leads are incredibly compelling. The female lead is a spoiled, flirtatious, and charming young lady, while the male lead is an arrogant, aloof, and poor college student who needs to be coaxed. These two are 16 and 17 years old, yet their sexual tension surpasses that of two adults. Add to that Yu Wen's fluid and delicate writing style, and the impact is truly immense.
The latest chapter featured a long-distance phone sex scene between the male and female leads, with the male lead masturbating in the bathroom. Qu Zhong was engrossed in reading it when it ended with the words "He ejaculated," and then there was nothing more. She felt a pang of anxiety, wishing she could immediately dive into Yu Wen's drafts to read the sequel.
There were a few chapters that required payment to read, but Qu Zhong didn't hesitate to pay on the spot. After reading them, he exclaimed that the money was well spent and that the author was incredibly talented.
Qu Zhong wanted to leave a comment like other readers, urging for more updates, but she only calmed down halfway through typing. She remembered she was a defense lawyer, and the author of this story was her client. Looking closer, Qu Zhong realized the last update was over a month ago.
I had been consistently updating daily, but due to being reported, Yuwen has stopped updating for over a month now.
Qu Zhong made a quick decision and dialed the contact information left by Yu Yacen, intending to arrange a meeting with her.
Qu Zhong didn't ask Yu Wen to come to the law firm, but instead chose a coffee shop on Hongshi Road.
Qu Zhong's alma mater, H University, and Yu Wen's alma mater, D University, are both located in District C of Shanghai. The two schools are very close to each other, separated by only one subway stop. Hongshi Road is a popular street between the two universities, lined with many tastefully decorated cafes, making it a great place for students from both universities to take photos and have dates.
Qu Zhong thought that Yu Wen should be familiar with the place, and also that she didn't want to call such a talented girl to the law firm's conference room, such a cold and impersonal place, so she chose a shop called 21GRAM.
A standalone cafe located at the corner of an alley, with a Japanese-style decor.
At 2:30 pm, when the sun was at its brightest, Qu Zhong saw the lingering warmth.
She was wearing a simple white sweatshirt and light-colored jeans, her medium-length hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and her figure was as slender as her mother, Yu Yacen.
"Yu Wen." Qu Zhong, who had been waiting on the stone bench outside for a long time, got up, walked up to her, and called her name.
It didn't look like a defense lawyer meeting his client; it looked more like a fan meeting the author, because Qu Zhong's lips were curving into an uncontrollable smile.
If she could, she would temporarily set aside her role as a defense attorney, hand the pen to Yu Wen, and ask her to update it right now; she wanted to be the first lucky reader.
Of course, she wouldn't do that. Because she saw Yu Wen's pale and lifeless face, that despair that showed no sign of life, like a withered sycamore leaf falling in the wind—such emotions were too easy to move and infect others.
So Qu Zhong didn't start by talking to her about the case itself. Instead, he ordered her a cup of coffee that wasn't too bitter and, when he handed it to her, he spoke to her in a casual, conversational tone: "You took your mother's surname? That's a really nice name."
The owner of the name didn't even lift his eyelids, and gave a nonchalant "hmm" as if he hadn't woken up yet.
Qu Zhong was taken aback; it wasn't what she expected. But she patiently continued to find topics to talk about: "Studying medicine must be very hard. I've heard that medical students have a lot of classes, and the courses are very difficult."
Yu Wen took a sip of coffee, seemingly dissatisfied with the flavor she had chosen, and frowned slightly: "It's alright."
"Very well, you said one more word." Qu Zhongxin took over the conversation with a sense of relief, trying to liven up the chat by talking about their common ground: "Studying law is the same. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Advising someone to study medicine will get you struck by lightning, advising someone to study law will get you torn to pieces'?"
Hoping that the lingering warmth would have some effect, I was surprised to hear her kill the conversation with just two words: "No."
...So economical with words, is she really the author "A Fish" who can effortlessly write tens of thousands of words at a stretch?
Thinking of this, Qu Zhong thought that she might be able to use her work as a breakthrough point, so she spoke again, in a confident tone: "But I believe you must really like your major."
This worked. Yu Wen finally looked up and met her gaze, and amidst the languid music drifting from the café's inner room, he asked, "Why do you think that?"
Qu Zhong smiled slightly and said honestly, "Because I read your novel. The male lead and the second male lead are both medical students. When the second male lead shared anecdotes from his anatomy class with the female lead, you wrote him as if he were glowing. It's hard not to wonder if the author herself was also glowing when she was taking those classes, isn't it?"
Qu Zhong thought she had been sincere enough, but Yu Wen denied it outright, her tone so cold it was as if she had been provoked: "You're overthinking it. I don't like studying medicine at all."
Okay, fine, if she doesn't like it, she doesn't like it. I'll give up trying to get closer to her again. She took a breath and got straight to the point: "Let me tell you about my next steps for your case. In a couple of days, once I find the prosecutor in charge, I'll send him a written application for non-prosecution."
Fearing she hadn't understood, Qu Zhong quickly added, "It means you're being defended as innocent."
As the last word fell into the air, the music in my ears seemed to be paused. The warm sunlight shone on Yu Wen, and she seemed to become transparent, looking at me incredulously: "You think I'm innocent?"
Qu Zhong's voice was as clear as a coffee cup hitting a table: "Yes, I believe you are innocent."
After chatting with Yu Wen, Qu Zhong returned to the law firm before it was time to leave work.
Before she could even sit down for a drink of water, she saw Xu Yanru pacing around the office, loudly asking who was free to be on duty at the procuratorate tomorrow.
One of the legal aid services provided by Guanzheng Law Firm is arranging for lawyers to work shifts at the procuratorate and judicial offices. To be fair, this work is done on a rotating basis by the firm's licensed lawyers. Who gets to do it depends on who is available.
When Xu Yanru asked this question, everyone made excuses. Some said they had court appearances, others said they were meeting clients, and in short, they just wouldn't go.
Finally, she set her sights on Qu Zhong, who had neither court hearings nor client meetings to attend: "Attorney Qu, then it's your turn this time?"
Qu Zhong thought that she had just asked someone to sit at the front desk for her for a while, and it wouldn't be good to turn around and refuse, making her feel embarrassed, so she nodded in agreement.
Whether being on duty at the prosecutor's office is tiring or not is a random event. If there are few cases on a day, the duty lawyer may not have much to do for half a day. But if all the cases are concentrated on the same day, then you will be busy.
Qu Zhong initially thought she was the former, so when she first arrived at the duty room, she had time to send Zhai Shi her location.
For no other reason than that when she passed by the reception room, she thought of how the prosecutor had looked with a flushed face inside, and she found it amusing, so she wanted to take the opportunity to flirt with him again.
Before she could get a reply, one criminal suspect after another rushed in, asking her to witness and sign confessions and plea agreements, all of which were for dangerous driving.
When Zhai received her location message in the office, his first instinct was to ask a question with an obvious answer like, "Are you at the procuratorate?"
When he sent it later, he changed it to: "What are you doing here?"
After waiting for a long time without a reply, Zhai thought about it and realized that he had probably asked a stupid question. What else could a criminal defense lawyer like her do at the prosecutor's office? Either review case files, work shifts, or, like last time, communicate with prosecutors about the case in the reception room.
He desperately wanted to retract his message, but was frustrated that WeChat's recall period was only two minutes.
I had to check my phone every few minutes, making it impossible to concentrate on work. After a long while, a new message finally popped up: Where did all these drunk drivers come from in Zone C?!
He typed three question marks in a row, looking quite agitated.
But the next sentence suddenly turned into a coquettish tone: There's such a long line outside the duty room! I've been signing and signing and signing until my hand is about to fall off. I haven't even had a sip of water yet.
Zhai didn't know why he was laughing. Maybe he imagined her vivid face and possible actions when she sent those words. He simply typed two words and sent them: "Thank you for your hard work."
Qu Zhong: ?
That's all? That sounds like something someone inside the system would say. No, wait, he is already inside the system.
After finally signing the last written statement, the noisy duty room returned to calm, and Qu Zhong slumped back in his chair, exhausted.
Just as she was feeling parched, there was a knock on the door of the duty room. A young woman entered, dressed in a black suit and holding a paper cup.
Qu Zhong hurriedly sat up straight, trying to salvage her image: "Who are you?"
The person who came in looked very kind, and had deep dimples when he smiled: "Take a break and have a cup of coffee."
Qu Zhong felt a surge of warmth in her heart; this was truly a timely help, and she thanked him repeatedly.
After placing the coffee on the table, the girl didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stood there and began to carefully observe Qu Zhong. Her gaze wasn't offensive; it was more like a longing and appreciation.
Qu Zhong smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
She praised him without blinking, "You have a great figure."
Her directness made Qu Zhong feel embarrassed: "Thank you."
The girl turned and left: So this is the type of guy handsome?
The C District Procuratorate has seven floors. The top floor has no business departments, only a coffee shop and a large conference room.
Just a few minutes ago, a person stepped out of the elevator on the seventh floor.
The girl in the coffee shop saw this man for the first time and her first reaction was: "Help, he's so handsome!"
He seemed unfamiliar with the place, as he stared at the menu wall for a long time before finally asking her, "Any recommendations?"
"How about trying our newly developed product, the Sea Salt Toffee Latte?"
He nodded: "This one will do."
After the girl finished preparing the food as he requested, she was thinking about how to politely ask for his WeChat when she heard him say, "Could you please deliver this to the lawyer's duty room on the first floor for me?"
Oh dear... The little girl seemed to hear the sound of her own heart breaking, but she still considerately asked, "Should I say it was from you?"
He was deep and decisive: "No need."
Qu Zhong picked up the paper cup, took a big gulp, and then twirled the cup, clicking his tongue repeatedly: "No wonder it's the Procuratorate, even the coffee cup is bright red."
Just as I was about to give up, an unexpected reward came. While writing...
Below the white label that read "Medium-sized Sea Salt Toffee Latte, Half Sugar," there was a handwritten black note, as conspicuous as a comment she made to draw the client's attention when revising the contract:
"翟".
The young woman at the coffee shop asked if he wanted to say it was a gift from him. Zhai said no without thinking, but when she reminded him that "you can write on it, like at Starbucks," he hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Then... write something on it."
Qu Zhong smiled slightly, turned the side with the words on it over, took a picture, and posted it on her WeChat Moments.
Location: District C Procuratorate; Documentation: On-duty benefits.
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The prototype for "Please Enter the Urn" here is "Escape from the Cage" by Han Dao Xing, a story I really like, but unfortunately it was abandoned QAQ
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