After the Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Paranoid Female Lead - Chapter 5

He Yiling’s office had a cool, minimalist decor, mainly in shades of light gray. A tea room was sectioned off in the reception area, and the wall behind her desk was filled with law books from floor to ceiling.

The office wasn’t as big as Ming Si’an had imagined. She’d seen so many extravagant CEO offices in TV shows that she almost forgot how expensive real estate was in Hong Kong.

In Exchange Square, an office spanning several dozen square meters would have a monthly rent in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Buying it would cost at least twenty million.

Furthermore, Anling Law Firm was just a regular firm under the He conglomerate, meant to be a training ground for the young Miss. Yet, its more than three hundred square meters of space cost millions in rent every month.

This was the gap between them. She truly didn’t understand what He Yiling saw in the original character. Aside from being a good student with a pretty face, she had a dirty soul. He Yiling could probably find other good-looking, honest, and studious people with ease.

When He Yiling awakened to the plot, she was in for a miserable time.

For now, she had to obediently go to work at the law firm. After all, a second-year student who was sued could be blacklisted by the industry in the future. It was better to change her major sooner rather than later. At least for now, she couldn’t leave the firm.

Ming Si’an looked up at He Yiling, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. “Boss.”

In her three years of running her own practice, she had learned firsthand that the boss was even harder to deal with than the client.

He Yiling walked directly to the sofa and sat down, pouring two cups of tea. “Sit.”

Ming Si’an was wearing a black casual blazer over a white T-shirt and white sneakers. She looked like an innocent young student. She was an assistant in the secretarial office, not a lawyer, so her clothes didn’t have to be too formal.

Besides, the original character didn’t have many clothes, so she couldn’t have been too particular even if she wanted to be.

Compared to He Yiling’s outfit, she looked a bit immature.

He Yiling, the senior lawyer, wore long, straight-legged black dress pants paired with a thin, mock-neck sweater that showed off her waistline, perfectly illustrating the “all legs from the chest down” look. This outfit made her look cold and resilient.

The necklace on her neck had been replaced with an antique gold filigree gourd inlaid with rubies. She wore a super seven crystal bracelet on her wrist and a mother-of-pearl butterfly brooch, which added a touch of softness to her appearance.

It was rare for people to wear such extravagant jewelry in their daily lives, but for someone of He Yiling’s status, this outfit was actually quite understated.

Ming Si’an didn’t pay attention, but a flicker of amusement crossed He Yiling’s eyes as she noticed Ming Si’an’s wandering gaze. “You want to leave?”

So direct… Ming Si’an met her eyes and straightened up, not bothering to hide her intentions.

“Lawyer He, I’m just a second-year law student, and I’ll be going back to the mainland in the future. Your firm doesn’t need a second-year student. As far as I know, with the exception of a few interns, your firm requires a master’s degree. It’s a pointless endeavor to train an intern who is destined to leave. Since I also want to leave, what’s the harm?”

Anling Law Firm’s “Seedling Program” was a method to recruit talented students from Hong Kong University. After their internship, they would sign a long-term contract and could even get financial assistance for graduate school. It was a way to secure talent early, and it was costly, so few people were willing to do it.

Ming Si’an didn’t believe that He Yiling would have any reason to keep her after she said all that. If she still wanted to keep her, her intentions must be sinister.

“When you accepted the scholarship, didn’t you look at the contract?”

?

He Yiling gestured for her to drink the tea. Her politeness was ice-cold. She picked up a tablet, pulled up a contract, and placed it on the coffee table.

The meaning was clear: “I won’t explain. Read it yourself.”

Okay, Miss.

Ming Si’an replied to her in her mind as she picked up the tablet and read the contract carefully. After reading the entire thing, she came to two conclusions: the eighty-thousand Hong Kong dollar scholarship and the requirement to work for a He-affiliated law firm for ten years after graduating from her internship.

Eighty thousand? The original character only had ten thousand in her bank account. This was all that was left after her salary from last month was used to cover her fixed expenses.

Where did the eighty thousand go?

Words about the eighty thousand appeared in her mind, but she didn’t have time to process it. Her eyes were fixed on the original character’s signature.

She had signed a life-long contract. It also clearly stated the consequences for a breach of contract: she would have to pay back the scholarship.

It was called a scholarship, but it was more like a student loan with no interest. She couldn’t afford to pay back eighty thousand.

“There’s another contract.” He Yiling’s voice was very pleasant, a mix of sweet and deep. If she were in a radio drama, Ming Si’an would definitely buy the whole series.

The next contract was the one where the original character agreed to join the “Seedling Program.” The internship period was one year. If she passed the internship, Anling Law Firm would reimburse her for her tuition and eighty percent of her graduate school fees, and she would get to attend PCLL for free. The condition was that she had to work for the firm for eight years after graduating. A breach of contract would require her to pay the firm a penalty.

The two contracts were like supplementary clauses to each other.

For example, if Anling spent one million on her training and she was required to work for ten years, but she only worked for one year, she would have to pay a penalty of nine hundred thousand.

The contract also included a two-year non-compete clause.

After she graduated from grad school and started her job, Anling promised that her salary would not be less than eighty percent of a lawyer at the same level in the same firm.

If she didn’t pass her internship, she would get a bad review from the He conglomerate, which would make things difficult for her in the legal industry in the future.

To be honest, Anling Law Firm wasn’t trying to rip off the original character in either contract. After all, they were spending real money on her. She could leave if she wanted to, but she would have to pay back the money they spent on her training. They were just trying to be fair.

The problem was that Ming Si’an didn’t have the money.

Ming Si’an lowered her voice and said gently and politely, “If you don’t need anything else, Lawyer He, I’ll be going.”

Since this was the case, she would just slack off for a year. She didn’t believe that she would pass the internship, and she wasn’t going to stay in Hong Kong anyway.

He Yiling seemed to have read her mind. “Do your job well. You don’t want to work for free, do you?”

How could such a beautiful woman say such malicious things? He Yiling! Bad woman!

Ming Si’an: “…” You dog! She was threatening her. But she was right. If she had to work, she should do a good job. Otherwise, her salary would be deducted, she wouldn’t make any money, and her time would be wasted.

No, she had to think of a way to do her job well but not pass the internship.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned around and raised an eyebrow at He Yiling. “Lawyer He, you went to great lengths to keep me. Could it be that you’re interested in me?”

That’s right. She would do a good job to spite He Yiling. No matter how good her work was, what good would it do if He Yiling didn’t let her pass the internship?

He Yiling’s eyes turned cold. Ming Si’an’s heart fluttered, but she didn’t back down. “Lawyer He, are inhibitors really injected into the arm?”

Before the words had even fully left her mouth, Ming Si’an was already out the door, leaving He Yiling with her lips tightly pressed together.

She threw the teacup that Ming Si’an had used into the trash can and stood up to make a phone call. “Tell Jerry to come to my office.”

Ming Si’an knew she was being a pain, so she wasn’t going to give He Yiling a chance to punish her. They had a long way to go, and she wondered how long He Yiling would put up with her.

She wasn’t going to do anything else, just be a pain in He Yiling’s side.

As soon as she got downstairs, she ran into Jerry, who was on his way up. He glared at her. “Just you wait.”

Tch! Who’s afraid of whom?

Author’s Note

Ming Si’an: I signed a lifetime contract. How can I run now?

He Yiling: You’re not allowed to run.