Chapter 6 - 4: A Truly Hard Fate

The next day.

October 2nd.

At eight in the morning, Xu De woke up early, washed up, ate, and was about to leave his apartment for work.

He couldn’t help but feel a little wistful as he experienced the long-missed drudgery of a workhorse.

There was something nostalgic about this life of being bossed around and worked like an animal, but if he were to actually live like this forever... Xu De would definitely not be willing.

’I need to get my own law firm set up as soon as possible.’

Xu De strengthened his resolve.

A law firm isn’t a one-man shop.

In 2002, sole proprietorship law firms hadn’t been introduced yet, so he could only establish a partnership. That required at least three lawyers, meaning he still needed to find two other people...

’Right, the leftovers.’

Just as he was about to leave, Xu De suddenly remembered something. He opened his door again and pulled a pile of food out of the fridge.

He put it all into a plastic bag and headed out, swinging it by his side.

At eight o’clock, the morning chill had not yet dissipated from the streets.

Most pedestrians on either side walked alone in silence. The roadside breakfast stalls were still emitting white steam, and a steady stream of traffic flowed down the road.

Xu De wove through the crowd, and as he approached an alleyway...

As if in a daze, a figure hiding in a corner at the far end of the alley came into view.

The figure was incredibly thin; "skin and bones" was no exaggeration. Their flimsy clothes were filthy, their hair was matted, and a pair of gaunt, wary eyes peered out from beneath it.

They were crouched on the ground with a hunched back, looking less like a person and more like a cautious stray dog.

Xu De was about to walk over, but after just two steps, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

’How is there someone else here?’

Before the young beggar, another person was crouching—a woman?

And that was precisely the reason for the beggar’s cautious gaze.

"Are you going to eat? It’ll get cold if you wait."

The woman was dressed simply in a white shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. She was speaking to the homeless person.

As she spoke, she offered the breakfast she had bought.

The beggar, who looked to be about sixteen, didn’t take it. Instead, he grew even more wary and subtly took a step back.

The woman was bewildered by this.

Until...

"AHEM!"

A voice sounded from behind her. Lin Yue, still crouching, stood on her tiptoes to look back.

She saw Xu De standing at the alley’s entrance, coughing pointedly at the beggar.

Lin Yue saw the bag of food in his hand and immediately understood that his intentions were the same as hers. She kindly advised him:

"He seems a little timid, you..."

Before she could finish, a dark figure darted past her and reluctantly walked over to Xu De.

Surprise flickered in Lin Yue’s eyes. She was about to speak, but in the next second, her expression turned to astonishment at what the man did.

She watched as...

"Squat."

Xu De gestured and spoke to the boy.

Defiance showed in the boy’s eyes, but glancing at the hot food, he swallowed instinctively and had no choice but to squat obediently.

"Spin in a circle," Xu De said.

The scavenger boy felt humiliated, but he still spun in a circle while squatting.

Xu De was very satisfied. He held out his hand and said, "Now eat."

Only then did the boy take the leftovers, shooting him a resentful glare.

He was about to turn and leave when Xu De stopped him again. With a stern face, he said:

"Did you say thank you?"

The scavenger boy’s face stiffened slightly. He stammered, "Thank you!"

His voice was a little hoarse, and also a little childish.

Then, he turned and ran far away.

Having finished the "feeding," Xu De was about to leave directly, but a voice stopped him.

"Do you know that kid!?"

Lin Yue’s eyes were wide as she stared at Xu De in disbelief, her expression a little strange.

Only then did Xu De turn his gaze to her, and with just one look... he was slightly stunned.

Even though he had lived two lives, he couldn’t deny it... the girl in front of him was stunningly beautiful.

Willow-leaf eyebrows, cherry-red lips, skin like jade...

She had her hair up in a bun secured with a hairpin, but the style didn’t look like a common fashion... it was more like the hairdo of a Daoist.

At that moment, her beautiful eyes were filled with a peculiar expression.

"What you just did..."

Lin Yue trailed off, hesitant to speak. To be honest, she thought Xu De had just been acting like he was playing with a pet...

Xu De snapped back to his senses, composed himself, and said casually:

"I don’t know him. I’ve just seen him around a few times."

Lin Yue didn’t believe it. She had tried to approach the boy a few times herself, but he always ran away before she could get close. He was very cautious!

She thought for a moment, then asked curiously:

"Why isn’t he afraid of you?"

Xu De replied, "He probably hates me."

"Hates you?" Lin Yue was surprised. She stood up and asked suspiciously, "If he hates you, why would he get close to you?"

"Because he has to eat to survive."

Xu De stated, then elaborated:

"He’s not an idiot. He won’t believe in kindness without a reason. But if I treat it like I’m teasing him for fun... his preconceived notion will be that I’m just playing around, with no ulterior motives."

Sometimes, excessive politeness and courtesy don’t make a relationship better.

Just as a deep friendship between two men can sometimes start with an unintentional offense.

"So that’s how it is!"

Lin Yue slapped her right fist into her left palm in a moment of realization.

Xu De explained, "You’re too polite, so he thinks you want something from him... If you want to come feed him in the future, just make him spin a couple of circles and perform a little trick for you."

"Or..."

It was rare to meet someone else who also enjoyed feeding "wild people," so Xu De generously shared his feeding experience.

After his explanation...

Lin Yue found the man before her increasingly strange.

But her eyes still held a hint of admiration. She then glanced at the suit Xu De was wearing and the ID badge on his chest.

"Are you a lawyer?" Lin Yue asked curiously. "What field? Criminal or civil?"

Xu De frowned slightly. She was getting a little too familiar.

Considering they were just strangers who had met by chance, he gave a tactful reply: "A model lawyer in the field of morality."

Lin Yue: ?

A model lawyer of morality...

Lin Yue’s expression grew odd as she recalled his "feeding process"... It seemed less about morality and more about a mischievous sense of humor.

Xu De asked, "What about you? Are you a Daoist?"

"You’re half right. I’m not just a Daoist."

Lin Yue nodded.

Xu De glanced at her bun, held in place by the hairpin, his interest piqued. He crossed his arms and said:

"How should I address you, Daoist Master?"

"You can call me..."

Lin Yue wasn’t going to hide it, but the words caught in her throat.

’He deliberately didn’t tell me his name and even spouted some nonsense about being a model of morality...’

After a long moment of thought.

Lin Yue suddenly had an idea.

She suddenly straightened her back, the plain white shirt on her chest swelling slightly. Then, she was heard to say:

"You may call me..."

"’Nine Heavens Flying Dragon Jade-faced Thunder Origin Universal Transformation of Living Beings Demon-subduing Longevity True Monarch.’"

Xu De: ?

...

...

’This person... can her destiny really handle a name like that?’

Nine in the morning.

Inside the Jinmao Law Firm.

After leaving the alley, Xu De arrived at the time clock right on schedule. As he clocked in, his mind was still on the woman from the alley, the one who had made his vision go dark.

He couldn’t help but look amazed whenever he thought about it.

Such a long string of titles...

’Can a person’s destiny even bear that weight?’

’Whatever. I gave her a BS answer to her question, so it’s only normal that she’d give me some BS back.’

As Xu De was thinking this, he had already walked into the main lobby.

He was about to walk to his workstation when suddenly...

"Hey, Lawyer Xu, I’ve been waiting for you! Hold on a moment!"

Xu De stopped in his tracks and turned to look.

He saw Sun Hao, dressed in a suit, getting up from the side of the lobby with a grin and slowly walking towards him.

That smile... ’Like a fox in the henhouse—he’s clearly up to no good!’

Xu De thought to himself, but his expression remained impassive as he watched him and asked:

"Team Leader Sun, what can I do for you?"

"It’s good news, of course!"

Sun Hao came to Xu De’s side, a cheerful smile on his face. Then, his tone shifted as he said:

"Lawyer Xu, didn’t you say before that you wanted more cases to boost your performance numbers?"

"I was thinking, since you resolved that tricky special consultation for Case 103 so quickly yesterday, you really showed the ability worthy of a top student!"

"And as it happens, the firm has just assigned our team a criminal case."

"What a coincidence!"

Sun Hao beamed as if he genuinely had Xu De’s best interests at heart, and said casually:

"So I went ahead and gave the case to you."

"How about it?"

"Are you confident!?"