The New Case!

When he heard the question, Xu De gave a casual reply as he clocked out.

"It's settled."

He offered no further explanation.

Under everyone's astonished gaze, he pushed open the law firm's door.

At once, the noise outside reached his ears, and the sights of 2002 filled his eyes.

He stopped thinking about it, got on his bicycle, and headed home.

Time to test that skill!

Once Xu De disappeared, several lawyers in the lobby looked stunned.

"He solved the case in Room 103 that quickly!?"

"Hey, did any of you notice..."

"Doesn't Lawyer Xu seem a little different from before?"

The female lawyer from earlier chattered on.

"He does... Something about him feels different... But looking closely, he hasn't really changed."

"Haha! All I know is that bastard Sun Hao definitely didn't expect Lawyer Xu to solve this case!"

Someone laughed as he spoke.

They didn't like the way Sun Hao behaved, either.

And now Xu De had unexpectedly wrapped up the case...

Who knew what expression Sun Hao would make when he heard?

Speak of the devil.

"What are you all laughing about? Do you think work hours are for chatting!?"

Sun Hao's voice suddenly rang out.

The lawyers turned to see him standing a short distance away, walking toward the time clock.

He kept scolding them as he walked.

"Heh, we're off the clock now." Someone rolled his eyes.

Sun Hao had no credentials, had gotten his position through connections, and still loved to "manage" them!

Sun Hao was about to lose his temper, but the man's eyes suddenly flicked toward him, and he smiled.

"Congratulations, Team Leader Sun. Someone on your team just completed another specialized consultation."

Someone under him had completed a consultation?

"That can't be right. How would anyone on my team have time for consultations? Aren't they all working on..."

Sun Hao trailed off. Seeing the mockery in everyone's eyes, he immediately thought of someone and blurted out:

"Xu De?"

If it was a specialized consultation, Xu De was the only possibility.

But... was the client in Consultation Room 103 that easy to deal with!?

The client wanted a divorce without giving up any money. That was flat-out impossible!

The request had sat at the firm for half a month, and no one could make it work. That was precisely why he had assigned it to Xu De. He'd even thought it would keep Xu De awake for the next few nights.

But now...

"He finished it!?"

Disbelief spread across Sun Hao's face.

Just then, someone from the finance office came over to clock out. Sun Hao immediately grabbed Cashier Li.

"Cashier Li, did Xu De settle the consultation in Room 103!?" Sun Hao asked anxiously.

Cashier Li nodded. "He did. The client has already signed."

He really had done it!

Sun Hao's expression darkened, but he pressed on unwillingly:

"Was it because the client got passed around too many times and finally lost patience?"

Cashier Li looked surprised and shook his head.

"No. The client was very satisfied. He even wanted to tip Lawyer Xu twenty thousand yuan, but that was against the rules... In the end, he could only add another 999 yuan."

Nine hundred and ninety-nine? With the original seven hundred, that was almost seventeen hundred!?

Now it wasn't just Sun Hao. The other lawyers looked surprised, too.

"Seventeen hundred yuan... Damn, that's more than most people make in a month!"

"I only made twenty-eight hundred all of last month."

"He earned more than half a month's pay for me in an hour. Team Leader Sun sure has a capable man on his hands!"

Someone steered the conversation back to Sun Hao.

Everyone's gazes landed on his face like red-hot branding irons.

His face turned livid.

His scheme had backfired. He'd meant to make things difficult for Xu De, only to hand him a success instead...

"You're all off work! What are you still standing around for!?"

Sun Hao snapped in humiliation.

"Haha, we're going, we're going. Let's get dinner and congratulate Lawyer Xu tomorrow morning."

The others didn't push him any further. Laughing it off, they turned and left.

As for Sun Hao...

He stood before the time clock, his expression shifting.

"It was just a consultation. It doesn't count for much..."

Didn't you want me to give you a big case?

Sun Hao sneered inwardly. He clearly had a plan.

What counted as a big case? A criminal case, of course!

Unlike a civil case, botching one could end a lawyer's career!

Xu De might have gotten lucky with a civil case, but criminal cases didn't come down to luck. They came down to ability.

"As it happens, the legal aid office just sent over a criminal case that pays nothing and takes a ton of work..."

Sun Hao muttered to himself.

"Let's see how you handle that!"

Six in the evening.

In Apartment 404 of Red Maple Residential Community, Greenwood City.

Click!

As the switch flipped, a rather shabby rental apartment came into view.

"Tch. Same as in my previous life."

Xu De looked around the bare thirty-square-meter apartment without feeling much of anything.

He was an orphan. His mother had died giving birth to him, and he'd lost his father as a child. Every step through life had been a struggle, demanding everything he had. Naturally, he'd never had a particularly nice place to live.

The memories left him momentarily dazed, but he didn't dwell on them. He pulled his thoughts back.

Xu De called up the glowing panel and, without hesitation, put all ten gratitude coins into cooking.

[Gratitude coins spent: x10]

[Talent: Cooking Lv. 1 (0/10) → Cooking Lv. 2 (0/20)]

Then he headed for the kitchen.

Whoosh!

As the stove lit, the sounds of cooking brought a touch of warmth to the lifeless room.

Honestly, his cooking had only been average before. But with the [Cooking] skill, both his knife work and his handling of the wok felt effortlessly natural!

Some time later.

Sizzle!

Xu De brought several steaming dishes to the table.

After washing his hands, he sat down, picked up a bite with his chopsticks, and put it in his mouth. A rich, savory flavor spread across his tongue.

Xu De raised an eyebrow and took another bite.

A while later...

"Tch. About as good as some pretty successful restaurants."

Full and satisfied, Xu De smiled.

It seemed the system judged levels strictly. The maximum level, five, probably corresponded to chefs who prepared state banquets. Ordinary people, and even some cooks, might not reach Lv. 1.

"Still... Civil cases are only good for farming experience. If I want truly useful skills, I'll need criminal cases."

Xu De sank into thought as he muttered to himself.

According to the system, civil cases awarded plenty of gratitude coins but had an extremely low chance of yielding talent skills. He'd only gotten [Cooking] through sheer luck.

Criminal cases were the reverse.

"I need to find a chance to take a criminal case, then leave Jinmao Law Firm."

Seated at the table, Xu De now had a clear plan for his future.

Once he left the firm...

With his legal talent, he might even be able to build a top-tier law firm of his own!

He set the thought aside.

Then he looked at the dishes still on the table, most of them untouched.

He picked them up and carried them to the battered refrigerator.

Click!

The refrigerator door opened, revealing shelves already crowded with leftovers.

It took Xu De some effort to squeeze in everything he'd just cooked.

"Tch. That's a lot of leftovers..."

Xu De stared at the refrigerator, troubled.

He couldn't just throw the food away, but he couldn't eat it all, either...

"Weren't there two brothers who collected scrap near here?"

Xu De suddenly recalled them.

In his previous life, two brothers without parents had collected scrap nearby. He'd fed them quite a few times, but they'd later vanished without warning. He had no idea where they'd gone.

"They're here in this life, too."

Two grimy, scowling children came to mind.

"I'll drop some off on my way to work tomorrow."

With that settled,

Xu De left it alone and went to the bathroom to wash up. While he was at the sink,

Zhang Hu's face suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"By now... he should have met with his wife."

Looking at himself in the mirror, Xu De recalled his first specialized consultation client since arriving in this world and raised an eyebrow.

"I wonder what he's doing."

What was Zhang Hu doing?

At that moment, he was sprawled on a sofa in the villa's enormous living room, watching the color television on the wall.

Before long,

Click!

The villa's front door opened.

Hearing it, Zhang Hu turned and saw an attractive, curvy middle-aged woman walk in.

It was...

"Bai Jie."

He spoke her name without thinking. The woman before him was his unfaithful wife.

Bai Jie ignored him. Smiling, apparently in a fine mood, she entered the living room and swept her eager, greedy gaze around it.

The thought of receiving several million yuan after the divorce filled her with anticipation.

Once she divorced him and got the money, she'd be an independent woman who wouldn't have to answer to anyone!

With that thought, she looked at Zhang Hu on the sofa, wiped the smile from her face, and pulled a contract from her bag. She tossed it at him coldly.

"I had a lawyer draw this up."

"It's a fair property division agreement. Take it to any other lawyer, and they'll tell you this is the best deal you can get."

"Sign it, and we'll pick a time to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get divorced."

Anger flared in Zhang Hu's chest.

Fair?

So splitting up his money counted as fair!?

He was about to curse her out when he remembered what Xu De had told him...

At once, an idea struck. Right in front of Bai Jie, Zhang Hu tore the contract apart.

Riiip!

The contract tore with a sharp rip.

Bai Jie frowned and couldn't help saying:

"What do you mean? I'm telling you, this is as far as I'll compromise, and you..."

But before Bai Jie could finish,

Zhang Hu spoke up:

"I'm not getting a divorce!"

Not... not getting a divorce?

Bai Jie froze, startled, her brows knitting together. "What do you mean?"

"Honey, I really do love you. I don't want a divorce!"

There was no love in Zhang Hu's eyes, but he wore a smile.

Bai Jie was dumbfounded. She knew that not long ago, he'd hated her enough to want her dead!

How could he suddenly claim to love her after just one day?

"What... what do you mean?"

Bai Jie hesitated, unsure what trick he was playing.

"I really love you," Zhang Hu said.

Bai Jie paused, then had an idea. "There's a pair of earrings I've had my eye on lately. So, honey, could you..."

Back when Zhang Hu loved her, he'd never been stingy.

But...

Zhang Hu smiled.

"I don't have any money."

Bai Jie tried again. "There's also a bag that's really cheap. Could you..."

Zhang Hu kept smiling.

"Still no money."

Bai Jie snapped, "What the hell are you playing at, Zhang? You'd better sign the divorce agreement soon. It'll be better for both of us!"

"Can't do that."

Zhang Hu's smile widened, taking on a teasing edge. He said:

"I'm definitely not getting divorced!"

He wouldn't divorce her, and he certainly wouldn't give her money. If she asked, his answer would be...

"Honey, I love you."