After the Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Paranoid Female Lead - Chapter 4

Early in the morning, Ming Sian took a bus to the vicinity of Exchange Square. This place is the paradise of Hong Kong finance and a gathering spot for high-end law firms.

When Hong Kong people file lawsuits, they generally choose between two places: the wealthy choose Exchange Square, while those pursuing cost-effectiveness choose the Kowloon District.

It took her about ten minutes by bus from Hong Kong University. At one minute to nine, she arrived at He Yining’s law firm. Looking at the large lemon logo, she dazed for a moment; clearly, she had submitted her resignation letter, yet she had still ended up back here.

Upon seeing her, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the people in the firm. She already resigned, so why has she appeared here again?

But no one came forward to ask; everyone went about their own business, ignoring her arrival.

Following the textual map in her mind, Ming Sian reached the secretarial office. The desk occupying the most space in the office was the workstation of the secretarial team leader. There were twelve workstations in total; hers was in the furthest corner.

Sighing inwardly, she walked up to the team leader and said softly, “Team Leader.”

the other person merely glanced at her and handed her a stack of files. “Go cancel your leave first. You won’t have any attendance bonuses or benefits this month. Additionally, I want these materials by noon.”

There was not a single word of nonsense, nor any extra pleasantries.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Ming Sian didn’t think there was anything wrong with this treatment; she had indeed been absent without leave for three days.

Returning to her station, she casually flipped through the materials—it turned out to be a draft for legal documents.

When the original host was at the firm, she only did layout, proofreading, and binding; drafting was not something that fell to her. After a three-day absence, the secretarial office had suddenly started to value her?

When things are abnormal, there must be a “demon” at work.

This wasn’t Ming Sian’s first time working. In her previous life, she was a lawyer. After finishing graduate school, she joined a famous “Red Circle” firm. Later, due to certain events, she was forced to resign and return home to open a private studio, mainly working as a lawyer protecting women’s and workers’ rights.

The catalyst for her transmigration was a case she fought that everyone believed shouldn’t be fought, resulting in an accident while she was fleeing retaliation.

She had looked at the laws of this world; they weren’t much different from the laws she had studied. The biggest difference was the addition of ABO-related laws, and the fact that Hong Kong had its own legal system.

Back in her previous life at the Red Circle firm, she had handled cross-border cooperation cases, so she was not unfamiliar with relevant laws. Comparing them to this world’s laws, there were indeed differences, but combined with the original host’s memories, she was receiving the legal knowledge of this world quite quickly.

The original host was a top student—the second-place finisher in the provincial college entrance exam and the city’s top scorer at age eighteen. For the sake of a Hong Kong University scholarship, she chose to enroll there. In fact, her undergraduate degree was a five-year program; after two and a half years, she would go to Yanjing University to study Mainland law.

To her, the original host could recite textbook knowledge fluently—she was a walking legal statue machine. Meanwhile, Ming Sian herself had seven years of experience in a Red Circle firm and three years in a small-town studio.

Red Circle firms emphasized efficiency and focused on high-end, complex legal services. In the small town, she focused on traditional litigation business, prioritizing practice and human relationships.

Whether in the Red Circle firm or the small town, Ming Sian had learned a lot. With ten years of experience added to a start at a prestigious university, as long as she didn’t sabotage herself, becoming a minorly famous lawyer in the future would be no problem.

Drafting a legal document was nothing to her.

However, others didn’t know her situation. Simple legal drafting might be easy for the original host, but this was about property division. Judging by the thickness, it was definitely a wealthy family. Giving this to a second-year intern—the other party was truly daring.

He Yining’s recent Xu family property division case hadn’t just secured absolute interests for the client; her outstanding performance in derivative litigation as a non-litigation lawyer brought many more cases to the firm.

In the Red Circle firm, Ming Sian did non-litigation, but after moving to the small town, she definitely had to go to court. Therefore, she knew the difficulty of a non-litigation lawyer going to court—one had to face not only the judge but also the opponent’s professional litigation lawyers.

Looking at the materials in her hand, she could see the difficulty of the case. Wealthy property division was never easy, and it certainly shouldn’t be something an intern like her could handle. Was the team leader giving her these materials to make things difficult?

She had encountered this sort of thing many times in her previous life, and each time she used her strength to slap the other’s face. When facing workplace bullying, strength is the best counterattack. Of course, one must use strength effectively rather than blindly being stubborn.

Ming Sian went to the administration office to cancel her leave. No one made it difficult for her during the process, but no one gave her a friendly face either. Everything was strictly business; there was a strong sense of boundaries between colleagues. This was good; she preferred this kind of working environment. But the moment she returned, the team leader had dug a pit for her.

On the way back to the office from administration, she sensed a gaze. She looked up, and their eyes met. After a second of contact, she looked away.

She still hadn’t figured out that stunt that woman pulled at the bar; it was better for them to stay far apart.

Anning Law Firm occupied two floors. One could go to the second floor from the inside. That was where the senior lawyers’ offices were, half of which belonged to He Yining.

She didn’t know what it looked like up there. The way He Yining just stood by the railing looking down was like a queen looking over her subjects. Not exactly high-and-mighty, but rather as if all living beings were equal. Perhaps “goddess” was more fitting, though she didn’t have a gaze of pity for the world.

Ming Sian took a deep breath, forcefully interrupting her own thoughts. How could I have so many thoughts after just one look?

Returning to her station, her computer hadn’t been returned yet. Ming Sian could only take out her own laptop and seriously begin working on the legal document. Before eleven o’clock, she had finished drafting the document, but she had no intention of checking the layout or handing it in yet.

Ming Sian checked the document once with satisfaction and got up to get a cup of coffee.

Not yet lunch break, the team leader, Jerry, called out to her, “Is the work finished?”

She stood up and walked over. “Sorry, no.”

Anger appeared on Jerry’s cold face. “Ming Sian, this is a law firm. You can’t finish drafting one legal document in three hours? If you can’t handle this job, leave on your own.”

After speaking, he cursed in Cantonese, “Occupying the toilet but not taking a sh*t.”

Ming Sian maintained a cold face. As if I wanted to come back? A simple legal document has templates, but for a property division case this thick, even a lawyer who had worked for several years couldn’t finish it in a morning.

She said coldly, “What did the team leader say?”

As if not expecting her to talk back, Jerry was embarrassed for a moment before quickly recovering his coldness. “You don’t understand?”

Ming Sian heard Jerry’s cursing; she wasn’t going to let it slide. “Is the team leader saying he’s firing me?”

Jerry’s face stiffened. First, he didn’t have that authority. Second, he didn’t know why Ming Sian was able to return after she had already left. He had planned to arrange for a friend’s child to come here and had already promised them, but the plan fell through.

Anning Law Firm wasn’t a Red Circle firm, but it was under the He family name. Being able to intern here was very good for one’s future.

He didn’t know who had arranged for Ming Sian’s return, but he could make her resign voluntarily rather than fire her. If things blew up, he wouldn’t be able to justify it.

To his surprise, Ming Sian didn’t even wait for him to speak; she turned around and walked out of the office, looking like she was going to administration.

Wait, she’d only been here half a day—was she really going to administrative procedures for half a day’s wages?

Jerry hurried to follow and grabbed her arm.

“Let go, or I’ll sue you for harassment,” Ming Sian said without hesitation.

She understood the twists and turns of the workplace, especially in high-end law firms where everyone cared about face and wouldn’t really cause a scene. She was different; she didn’t want to stay, and she was a “hot-headed” second-year student.

If things blew up, Jerry would be the one to suffer more. So he held onto her, not wanting the matter to leave the office.

If he hadn’t cursed at her and they had maintained a mutual understanding, she would have just resigned directly. But since Jerry’s mouth was filthy, he couldn’t blame her for blowing things up.

The commotion between the two attracted many people’s attention. Compared to the morning’s indifference, a bit of excitement was more interesting.

“Ming Sian, come up.”

Before Ming Sian could make her move, He Yining suddenly appeared at the railing and called her name.

Jerry quickly let go of her arm. Everyone pretended as if nothing had happened.

Ming Sian knew the matter ended here.

Had He Yining installed a surveillance camera on her? Did she know what Ming Sian was going to do, or did she know she would cause trouble to resign today?

Actually, if Jerry hadn’t made things difficult, she wouldn’t have been able to find a reason to resign for a while.

Now that her intentions had been discovered, it would be difficult to try anything else.

Ah!

Ming Sian screamed like a marmot in her heart, taking heavy steps upstairs to find that “dog woman,” He Yining.

[Author’s Note]

Ming Sian: Not listening, not listening, just not listening!

He Yining: Childish…