[Synopsis]
An ironwood tree that never blooms: a wild, unhinged female criminal defense lawyer × A man whose life is hard every day: a gentle but dangerous family lawyer
|One-on-one|Sweet romance|Workplace romance|Silly and sweet|Happy ending|Overworked office-worker meltdown|Long-planned scheme|
[Blurb]
Zhang Xun is a criminal defense lawyer. The number of years she's been single is about the same as the number of years she's been practicing law.
In court, she's a decisive powerhouse, a comeback specialist who gives her rivals headaches.
Outside court, she got scammed out of 400,000 yuan in an online romance.
When the other person vanished, she completely fell apart.
To save face, she found her way, by roundabout means, to Chen Junchi, a lawyer famous for his good temper.
1.
When she first hired him.
Zhang Xun: Lawyer Chen, I want him sentenced to life in prison.
Chen Junchi: Attorney Zhang, you understand the law better than I do. 400,000 yuan isn't enough to get him a life sentence.
Zhang Xun: Then ruin his reputation!
Chen Junchi: Understood.
2.
A week later, 3 a.m.
Zhang Xun: Lawyer Chen, is it possible he really didn't want to drag me down? You see people on TV who know they don't have long to live, and they disappear without saying goodbye.
Chen Junchi: The day he took your money, he spent 12,000 yuan topping up his game account.
Zhang Xun: What if he was just trying to take his mind off the pain?
Chen Junchi: Attorney Zhang, game currency isn't funeral money. When someone dies, they can't lie in a coffin and ask people to pair up in a game.
3.
Two weeks later, 1 a.m.
Zhang Xun: Lawyer Chen, I'm dropping the case. This is so humiliating. A criminal defense lawyer got scammed out of 400,000 yuan in an online romance.
Chen Junchi: All right. But under the retainer agreement, if you end our engagement unilaterally, the legal fees already paid are nonrefundable.
Zhang Xun: Then maybe I'll think about it some more.
Chen Junchi: Take your time. The statute of limitations is three years, so there's no rush.
4.
A year after they met
Zhang Xun: Chen Junchi, now I'm afraid to date anyone. I'm even afraid to chat with people online. I suspect every one of them is after my money, not my feelings.
Chen Junchi: That's normal. Being scammed out of money and having your feelings played with can leave psychological scars. Attorney Zhang is exceptionally capable, so there's nothing wrong with being cautious around men.
Zhang Xun: Chen Junchi, are you interested in me?
Chen Junchi: You're not the first person to ask. A lot of my clients have gotten the wrong idea.
Zhang Xun: I'm not like them.
Chen Junchi: Right. We're colleagues. This line of work is hard money for hard work. So yes, I feel bad about the money you lost.
Zhang Xun: ??? You said you feel bad for me?
Chen Junchi: Attorney Zhang, I feel bad about the 400,000 yuan, not your love life. Though your love life is pretty pitiful too.
Zhang Xun: Everyone online says, "Feeling sorry for someone is the beginning of love," and you still claim you don't like me!
Chen Junchi: Attorney Zhang, spend less time scrolling through memes and more time reading case files. Then one fewer person in this world might get scammed.
Zhang Xun had no idea that Chen Junchi knew her name before they ever met.
He happened to sit in on one of her trials. He remembered her name because he admired her, and took her case out of kindness.
But when it came to replying to her messages, he never said, "Let's talk tomorrow."
#You can scam me out of my money, but don't mess with my feelings#
#I didn't know taking legal fees meant moonlighting as a therapist#
#No idea if we'll win the case, but he's pretty close to losing it too#
Theme: Let yourself lose it. Love will work itself out
