I Advise You To Like Me As Soon As Possible

Chapter 6

<Translated By Crystal>

Although he had been soundly lectured, Fu Zheng was obviously still dissatisfied inside. His face was emotionless as they returned to the office.

Ning Wan shrugged. "It's quite alright. It doesn't matter if today you're not doing so well. Tomorrow won't be easy either, so today, be happy and sit."

Fu Zheng glanced at her and made to sit. But just as he bent over, Ning Wan hurriedly stopped him-

"What are you doing? This is my seat." She pointed to the office chair. "Yours..." she said on a sigh, "Is over there."
Following her gaze, Fu Zheng saw a flimsy, disposable plastic stool1. There was a crack in one of the legs. It looked like an 'antique' from the 1980s, one even the garbage collector wouldn't look at twice.

This broken stool perched next to Ning Wan's office chair, sharing the only desk in the room.

Fu Zheng felt the veins twitching on his forehead. He had never in the past used anything less than an ergonomic office chair worth 10,000 yuan. Now, here he was, deigning to use an ordinary office chair, and Ning Wan was giving him a broken plastic stool?!

He looked at Ning Wan in disbelief. "Are you serious? You would have given me this chair as a new colleague?"

"The budget's tight this year. There's no money to buy office supplies. Do you know that just to get you this chair, I had to win a game of mahjong against Director Ji? Look at that unique color. I personally picked it out for you! A stylish and elegant Mediterranean blue, such understated luxury and taste! "

Fu Zheng looked at the cheap, garish blue stool. What part of this thing was related to fashionable elegance? He gnashed his teeth, "How much was it?"
Ning Wan winked. "Twenty-something-something. A huge sum."
At that moment, Fu Zheng felt it necessary to buy an insurance policy just because he was likely to die from a Ning Wan-induced rage attack at any time.

The culprit, completely oblivious and wholly at ease, cupped a mug of tea in her hands. "Anyway, since you're a newcomer, it's even more important that your seat reflects that. Do you ever watch American TV shows? When a new prisoner arrives in prison, they always get beaten up by the older prisoners first thing. As I reminded you on your first day, newcomers should know where they stand. It's true that we're currently in difficult straits, and it's a chair, so what more do you want? It's not like I'm beating you up."

Just as Fu Zheng was about to retort, he was interrupted by a loud holler--

"Ning Ning!"
Ning Wan's eyes lit up. She looked up, saw Shao Lili and immediately called back with affection, "Xiao Li!"

Shao Lili and Ning Wan both worked at Zhengyuan Law Firm. They had both entered around the same time after graduating from second-rate law schools and suffered from comparisons to the other new recruits, all of whom had come from top 5 local universities or had studied abroad. If it had not been for the rapid expansion of Zhengyuan Law Firm, they would likely have never set foot inside. Thus, as the only two losers2 in Zhengyuan, the two girls had clicked instantly. However, Shao Lili had not been transferred to the community branch. She was still at headquarters, working on the scraps of a team headed up by a junior partner.

Shao Lili was a tall woman with a forthright personality. "I was at Chengdong Court today to to file a case, so I dropped by to see you along the way."
"I can't believe you're actually here!" Ning Wan exclaimed in excitement, "Have you brought me the latest gossip from HQ?"
Mediating day in, day out in the boondocks, Ning Wan often felt like she really was becoming a neighborhood committee auntie. She desperately needed fresh gossip to sustain her.

Hearing the mention of gossip, Shao Lili's face lit up, but then she saw Fu Zheng. Puzzled, she looked to Ning Wan and probed, "And this is?"

Ning Wan gave her a concise introduction. "Ah, it's Fu Zheng, an intern. He's new."