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

Early in the morning, Ming Si’an took a bus to the area near Exchange Square. It was the financial hub of Hong Kong and home to many top law firms.

When people in Hong Kong needed legal help, they usually had two choices: the wealthy went to Exchange Square, while those seeking good value chose the Dragon District.

The bus ride from Hong Kong University took about ten minutes. She arrived at He Yiling’s law firm at exactly one minute to nine. Staring at the large lemon logo, she felt a moment of disbelief. She had handed in her resignation letter, but here she was again.

The people in the firm gave her a surprised look. She had resigned, so why was she back?

No one asked her, however. Everyone went about their business, ignoring her presence.

Following the directions in her memory, Ming Si’an found the secretarial office. The largest desk in the office belonged to the team leader. There were twelve workstations in total, and hers was in the far corner.

With a slight sigh, she walked over to the team leader and said softly, “Team leader.”

He simply glanced at her and handed her a stack of documents. “Go clear your absence first. You won’t be getting your full attendance bonus or benefits this month. Also, I need these documents by noon.”

Not a single wasted word, no unnecessary pleasantries.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Ming Si’an saw no problem with this. She had, after all, been absent for three days.

Back at her desk, she casually flipped through the documents. To her surprise, she was being asked to draft legal documents.

The original character’s work at the firm had been limited to formatting, proofreading, and binding. Drafting was a task that wasn’t assigned to her. Was the secretarial team suddenly taking her seriously after only three days?

This abrupt change of pace was suspicious.

This wasn’t Ming Si’an’s first job. In her previous life, she was a lawyer. After finishing her master’s degree, she joined a famous red-circle law firm. Due to some events, she was forced to resign and open her own practice, focusing on protecting the rights of women and laborers.

The reason she transmigrated was because she took on a case that everyone thought was a lost cause. As a result, she was retaliated against and had an accident while trying to escape.

She found that the laws in this world were similar to the ones she had studied. The biggest differences were the addition of ABO-related laws and Hong Kong’s own legal system.

When she was still at the red-circle firm in her previous life, she had worked on cross-jurisdictional cases, so she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the relevant laws. Compared to the laws in this world, there were indeed differences, but with the original character’s memory, she was able to adapt quickly.

The original character was a top student. At eighteen, she ranked second in the provincial college entrance exam and first in her city. She chose to attend Hong Kong University for its scholarship. 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.

For Ming Si’an, the original character was a walking encyclopedia of legal knowledge. Meanwhile, Ming Si’an herself had seven years of work experience at a red-circle firm and three years of experience at her own practice in a small town.

Red-circle firms were all about efficiency, specializing in high-end, complex legal services. In a small town, she focused more on traditional litigation, which emphasized practicality and personal relationships.

Whether it was at the red-circle firm or in the small town, Ming Si’an learned a lot. With ten years of work experience and a top university as her foundation, as long as she didn’t screw up, it wouldn’t be a problem for her to become a well-known lawyer in the future.

Drafting a legal document was a piece of cake.

However, others didn’t know her situation. While simple drafting was easy for the original character, this document was related to a property division case. The thickness of the file suggested a wealthy family was involved. entrusting it to a second-year intern was a gutsy move.

He Yiling’s recent Xu family property division case not only secured absolute benefits for her client but also brought in a lot of cases for the firm due to her outstanding performance as a non-litigation lawyer in the resulting disputes.

Ming Si’an worked in non-litigation at the red-circle firm, but she had to go to court after moving to the small town. So she knew how difficult it was for a non-litigation lawyer to go to court. She would be facing not only a judge but also the opposing party’s professional litigation lawyer.

The documents in her hands showed the difficulty of the case. Property division among the wealthy was never simple, and it should never have been handed to an intern like her. Was her team leader trying to make things difficult for her?

She had faced this kind of thing many times in her previous life. Each time, she used her skills to prove them wrong. When facing workplace bullying, ability was the best form of defense. Of course, it was all about using her skills effectively, not blindly picking fights.

Ming Si’an went to the administration office to clear her absence. No one made things difficult for her, and no one gave her a friendly face. They were all business-like, with a strong sense of personal boundaries between colleagues. This was good; she liked this kind of work environment. But she had just returned, and her team leader was already setting her up.

On her way back from the administration office, she felt a gaze on her. She looked up, and their eyes met. Their eye contact lasted only a second before she looked away.

She still hadn’t figured out what that woman did at the bar. It was better for them to keep their distance.

Anling Law Firm had two floors. From the inside, you could go up to the second floor, where the senior lawyers’ offices were located. Half of the space belonged to He Yiling.

She didn’t know what it looked like up there. But when He Yiling stood at the railing, looking down, she looked like a queen gazing at her subjects. She didn’t seem arrogant; she just saw everyone as the same. Perhaps “goddess” was a better word, but she didn’t have a compassionate look in her eyes.

Ming Si’an took a deep breath, forcing herself to stop thinking. How could she have so many thoughts from just one glance?

Back at her desk, her computer had not been returned yet. Ming Si’an had no choice but to take out her own laptop and start working on the legal document. Before 11 a.m., she had finished drafting it, but she didn’t proofread or format it, nor did she plan to hand it in.

After checking the document with satisfaction, she got up to get a cup of coffee.

Just before lunch break, her team leader, Jerry, called out to her, “Are you done with the documents?”

She stood up and walked over. “I’m sorry, no.”

An angry look appeared on Jerry’s impassive face. “Ming Si’an, this is a law firm. You can’t even finish drafting a legal document in three hours? If you can’t handle the job, then leave on your own.”

Then he cursed in Hong Kong-speak, “You’re taking up a stall in the bathroom but not doing your business.”

Ming Si’an’s face was cold. As if she wanted to be back here. A simple legal document has a template. But this property division case, as thick as it was, couldn’t be finished in one morning, even by a lawyer with several years of experience.

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

As if he hadn’t expected her to ask back, Jerry’s face showed a brief moment of awkwardness before he quickly regained his composure. “You don’t understand?”

Ming Si’an had heard Jerry cursing. She wasn’t going to let him get away with it. “Are you saying you want to fire me, team leader?”

Jerry’s face froze. First, he didn’t have the authority to do that. Second, he didn’t know why Ming Si’an was able to come back after leaving. He had promised the job to a friend’s child, but now he couldn’t deliver.

Anling Law Firm wasn’t a red-circle firm, but it was under the He family’s umbrella. An internship here would be a great career booster.

He didn’t know who arranged for Ming Si’an’s return, but he could make her quit voluntarily instead of firing her. He couldn’t let it become a big deal.

But Ming Si’an didn’t wait for him to speak. She turned and walked out of the office, seemingly heading to the administrative office.

Wait, she’d only been here for half a day. Was she going to the administrative office to ask for a half-day’s pay?

Jerry quickly followed her and grabbed her arm.

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

She knew all the tricks in the workplace, especially at a high-end law firm. Everyone cared about their reputation and wouldn’t want to make a scene. But she was different. She didn’t want to stay, and she was just a reckless second-year student.

If she made a scene, Jerry would be the one to lose face, so he was holding her back, trying to keep it from leaving the office.

If he hadn’t cursed at her, they could have kept their mutual understanding, and she would have just left. But Jerry had a dirty mouth, so he couldn’t blame her for making a scene.

Their commotion attracted a lot of attention. Compared to the morning’s indifference, a little drama was much more entertaining.

“Ming Si’an, come up.”

Before Ming Si’an could do anything, He Yiling suddenly appeared at the railing and called out to her.

Jerry immediately let go, and everyone pretended that nothing had happened.

Ming Si’an knew that the matter was settled.

Did He Yiling have a surveillance camera on her? Did she know what she was going to do, or that she was going to cause a scene to quit today? If Jerry hadn’t made things difficult for her, she wouldn’t have had a reason to quit.

Now that her intentions had been exposed, it would be difficult to do anything else.

Ah!

Ming Si’an screamed like a groundhog on the inside, her feet heavy as she went upstairs to find that dog of a woman, He Yiling.

Author’s Note

Ming Si’an: I’m not listening, not listening, not listening.

He Yiling: Immature…