Chapter 36: Stop Pretending When There's No Man Around

Lu Yao returned to the law firm, where Xu Wenjie had organized the entire team to line up and welcome her back. He personally brewed a latte and brought it to her desk, expressing his concern: “Yao, you’ve had a tough time. Now that I see you’ve come back safe and sound, I’m relieved. I’ve applied for a five-day leave for you. Just sort out your current cases and I’ll have Xiaoxin take over.”

Lu Yao quickly waved her hand and forced a smile, saying, “Thank you for your kindness, but you should save the vacation for yourself. I have urgent matters to attend to. Whether I can join you as an equity partner in the second half of the year depends on whether my proposal at Ye Corporation succeeds tomorrow.”

Xu Wenjie gave Lu Yao a strange look, as if he understood something, and suddenly grinned, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Impressive! You visited the old Ye family estate and already secured the Xunda Tech case?”

“You knew Ye Corporation was acquiring Xunda?” Lu Yao frowned.

“I only heard President Gao mention it yesterday. No wonder Linda is going all out—three hundred million in commission is certainly tempting.” Xu Wenjie had worked for years and had never seen a single project yield such a high commission. If Lu Yao succeeded with her proposal and signed with Ye Corporation, she would set a record for the firm’s highest commission, making her the undisputed Employee of the Year.

“Thank you, then. Please, head back to your office—I’ve got a battle to fight,” Lu Yao said, gesturing for him to go.

Xu Wenjie gave her a thumbs-up in approval and returned to his office.

Lu Yao meticulously reviewed and refined the proposal she had prepared last time, only relaxing once she was sure there were no flaws.

In the blink of an eye, it was already two in the morning.

She gathered her things and returned to her apartment, took a hasty shower, and had barely slept for a few hours before the alarm woke her again. She didn’t dare go back to sleep, immediately got up to wash, and chose her most expensive business suit from the wardrobe.

There had been a heavy rain in the night, and after a steady drizzle in the morning, the sky turned overcast.

Lu Yao got out of the taxi and stood by the roadside, gazing up at the towering Ye Ying Tower, over a hundred stories high—a landmark of the capital and a workplace everyone aspired to join. Whenever she passed by, she would imagine herself working in that building someday.

Suddenly, a luxury car sped past her, splashing a wave of water a meter high from the roadside puddle, drenching her clothes with filthy water.

The car screeched to a halt not far away, and a woman stepped out, striding toward her on ten-centimeter heels. The woman was dressed in a white pencil-skirt business suit, with flowing waves of hair and bold red lipstick—an image of pure allure.

This woman was none other than her rival, Melinda, the star lawyer from Dacheng Law Firm.

Melinda stopped in front of Lu Yao, dramatically covering her mouth. “Oh my, I’m so sorry! I was busy attending a morning meeting in the car and didn’t notice the puddle. I’ve gotten your clothes all wet.”

“Melinda, there’s no man around, so drop the act,” Lu Yao retorted, rolling her eyes. She looked down at her soaked trousers, her anger flaring instantly. “You did that on purpose. Be careful or I’ll sue you in court.”

The proposal meeting would start in fifteen minutes, and there was no time for her to buy new clothes. Being late to her first proposal at Ye Corporation would leave a terrible impression. Melinda had calculated this perfectly, deliberately giving her a hard time.

Fortunately, only her pants were wet, which wouldn’t affect her ability to present. She would just have to make do.

Melinda, gloating, replied, “If you sue me, the judge will only make me pay compensation. There’s no need to go through all that trouble. I’ll just give you the money now.”

With that, Melinda pulled out a wad of cash she had obviously prepared in advance from her wallet and tossed it at Lu Yao.

The bills scattered all over the ground, drawing the attention of many onlookers.