Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 77 - 76 Qingmu Law Firm, Uncle-in-Law Has No Status

Zhang Wei could only see Zhang Xinwu practicing punches alone with a wooden dummy inside the school, while the bespectacled man and Huang Mao and others had already rushed off to commute.

After greeting Zhang Xinwu, Zhang Wei left through the east gate and then headed for the nearest subway station on Sifang Gate Street.

This time, he was heading to Qingmu Law Firm, located in Chengbei District of Dongfang Capital, within the outer ring of the city.

Fortunately, the traffic in Dongfang Capital was convenient, and the north-south metro shortened the distance between parts of the city.

It took him an hour, during which he transferred to another line, and Zhang Wei arrived in the center of Chengbei District.

This wasn’t his first visit to Chengbei District, but previously he had only gone to the industrial area on Chengbei Avenue to investigate a murder case.

But now, he was in the heart of Chengbei District.

Compared to the bustling city center and the lively Central Ring, the Chengbei District located in the outer ring appeared slightly less classy.

Although the streets were bustling with people, most were workers flocking to clock in at work.

They would appear during the morning and evening rush hours, but aside from those times, they would be out of sight.

The whole Chengbei District was like this, busy only during peak hours, and quiet at other times.

Zhang Wei arrived at Innovation City, located in the business district of Chengbei, one of the few places in the district with modern office buildings.

Innovation City had three office towers, and Qingmu Law Firm was in the central office building.

As for Qingmu Law Firm, Zhang Wei’s knowledge was limited.

It was a typical mid-sized firm in Dongfang Capital.

The name partner of the firm was naturally Li Qingmu, Zhang Wei’s future uncle by marriage.

There were three people in the elder generation of the Li Family—Li Qingmu, Li Qinghe, and Li Qinghua—all with a legal background.

Unfortunately, his mother-in-law didn’t make it through the bar exam, which had become a sore point for her.

Both his uncle, Li Qingmu, and his auntie, Li Qinghe, had become lawyers and started their own firm.

Therefore, Li Qinghua rarely visited Qingmu Law Firm and seldom returned to her maternal home in Chengbei District.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Zhang Wei didn’t have much of an opinion about Qingmu, viewing it as just an average law firm.

In Dongfang Capital, there were thousands of law firms with fewer than ten people.

In contrast, there were less than one hundred firms with over a hundred members.

So a firm like Qingmu, with around fifty people, wasn’t too bad.

They occupied two floors of office space in the office building of Innovation City.

Zhang Wei had also seen this information at the directory stand at the building’s entrance.

Standing at the elevator entrance, Zhang Wei took out Li Qinghe’s business card.

Without hesitation, he dialed the number.

“Hello, who’s this?”

On the other end was the indifferent voice of Li Qinghe.

Normally, she didn’t tend to answer unfamiliar numbers.

“Auntie, it’s me, Zhang Wei.”

“Zhang Wei?”

“Xiao Yue Yue’s boyfriend.”

“Oh, oh, oh~ Little Zhang!”

Li Qinghe finally reacted on the other end of the line; Zhang Wei had just had dinner with her the day before yesterday.

“Are you in Chengbei District now, at Innovation City?”

“I’m at the first floor of Innovation City, right below Qingmu.”

“That’s fine, just come up to the 25th floor.

I’ll speak to the receptionist, they’ll let you in, and remember to mention my name, Li Qinghe…”

After saying this, the call ended in a busy tone.

Zhang Wei wasn’t surprised; after all, he was just there to take a look.

“25th and 26th floors are both occupied by Qingmu Law Firm, let’s go up and have a look!”

He walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the 25th floor.

Just as the elevator was about to close, footsteps echoed at the entrance.

“Wait a second, wait a second!”

A somewhat familiar voice came from outside the elevator, and Zhang Wei subconsciously pressed the open door button.

In came a girl wearing large sunglasses, followed by a few young people.

“Thanks!” The girl with the sunglasses casually dropped the words, not even giving Zhang Wei a glance.

Zhang Wei looked at the girl, his face full of bewilderment.

This was none other than Xia Qianyue’s nominal cousin, that Li Feifei who didn’t utter a word during meals and was constantly on her phone.

Zhang Wei wasn’t particularly interested in this girl from Auntie Li Qinghe’s family, she was haughty, never having given Zhang Wei a proper look during dinner, and it was the same now in the elevator.

As for such a girl exuding airs of “delicate preciousness,” Zhang Wei wouldn’t bother warming up to her cold shoulder.

However, he hadn’t expected that Li Feifei really did have an appointment, and her excuse that day wasn’t a lie to deceive him.

The young people who came with Li Feifei, on the other hand, were quite excited, as this was their first visit to the law firm.

“Feifei, is this really your family’s law firm?

Is your family’s law firm really that big?”

One girl looked at Li Feifei, her tone both envious and jealous, and even a bit sour.

“Of course, would I lie to you?

My uncle is the namesake of the law firm, and my mom is a senior partner.

She manages more than a dozen lawyers!” Li Feifei took off her sunglasses and laughed with her nose in the air.

Though she wasn’t a lawyer, having an uncle who owned a law firm and a mother who was a senior partner meant she was born a cut above!

That was also why she could afford a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands despite her young age.

There was no help for it, her family was rich!

“Feifei, then why don’t you become a lawyer?” Another boy curiously asked.

Li Feifei’s expression turned impatient upon hearing this question, “Hmph, what’s so good about being a lawyer?

Always busy entertaining clients, rushing to court early in the morning, sometimes even having to visit the detention center to find people.

I don’t want to be a lawyer at all!”

“That’s right, our Feifei is the law firm’s little princess.

With so many people under her mother’s command, why would she need to be a lawyer!”

A girl who was clearly Li Feifei’s suck-up quickly supported her statement.

The others nodded in agreement, finding it to make sense.

“Heh, I remember Silly saying her cousin wasn’t good at academics.

She apparently didn’t get into law school and ended up at a second-tier arts college, studying fine arts, right…”

Zhang Wei scoffed inwardly as he observed Li Feifei talking with such “confidence.”

To those who didn’t know any better, it would seem as if she disdained the profession of a lawyer, but the fact was, she simply wasn’t qualified!

Soon, the elevator reached the 25th floor.

Qingmu Law Firm, with a sign in golden letters, stood at the entrance.

Li Feifei and her group walked out first, the chattering of the young girls filling the air.

Zhang Wei silently followed behind, not uttering a word the entire time, to the extent that no one even noticed he stepped out of the elevator as well.

Passing through the corridor of the elevator lobby and around a corner, they arrived at the reception desk of Qingmu Law Firm.

At the end of the corridor, a few men in suits were smoking by a window, clearly indicating a communal smoking area.

Zhang Wei glanced at those lawyers, shaking his head inwardly.

Smoking at the entrance early in the morning, they didn’t look sharp at all, a bunch of second-rate lawyers!

“Princess Feifei has arrived!”

The receptionist quickly recognized Li Feifei and even addressed her as ‘princess.’

This flattered Li Feifei immensely, her presence commanding admiration amidst the young crowd, and the way her peers looked at her was filled with intense envy.

“Where’s my mom?”

“Lawyer Li is in a meeting in the conference room.

Today is Monday, and the firm has a morning meeting.”

“Boring, then I’ll go to the office and wait for her!”

Li Feifei flicked her hand and headed straight to the upstairs office with her entourage in tow.

Both the 25th and 26th floors housed Qingmu Law Firm, with a staircase at the entrance leading directly to the upper level, where the partners had their offices, while the lower level was designated for general lawyer offices and client reception.

After Li Feifei and her friends left, Zhang Wei approached the reception desk.

The receptionist at first mistook Zhang Wei as one of Li Feifei’s lackeys but realizing he didn’t leave with them, she asked, “Hello, may I know who you are?”

“I’m Zhang Wei, my aunt is Li Qinghe.

She told me to wait for her here at the reception.”

Zhang Wei stated his name and his purpose.

“Oh, oh, right, Lawyer Li had instructed earlier to have you wait for her in the small conference room; she’ll bring a lawyer to interview you!”

The receptionist quickly flipped through a notebook and promptly directed Zhang Wei to the location.

The small conference room was just by the entrance on the first floor, not very spacious, with a small table that could barely sit five or six people.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

This place was clearly designed for receiving ordinary clients, with seating for about five or six people, just enough to accommodate a family.

Zhang Wei waited and waited, and after 30 minutes, he finally heard a round of applause coming from the large conference room not far away.

“Hehe, they’re holding a meeting and still doing this kind of stuff?”

He chuckled, as this was exactly what those junior lawyers did during the meetings he held in his previous life.

Anyway, it didn’t matter what the leader said, whether it was right or wrong; clapping was always the right response!

Out of the conference room came a line of lawyers in suits, some young and some looking more seasoned, but Zhang Wei could see through their abilities at a glance.

“Incompetent lawyer, incompetent lawyer, average lawyer, incompetent lawyer…

this one’s barely competent…

incompetent lawyer, average lawyer, incompetent lawyer…”

After more than twenty lawyers passed by, very few caught Zhang Wei’s discerning eye.

In the crowd, Li Qinghe was surrounded by a few lawyers, giving commands and arranging the following tasks.

The receptionist who made Zhang Wei wait approached Li Qinghe, whispered something to her, and pointed towards the conference room where Zhang Wei was.

“Alright, you can go down now!”

Li Qinghe gave an order, dismissing the receptionist, and then scanned the lawyers around her.

“Lawyer Zhuo, come with me.

The potential son-in-law of my niece’s family is here for an interview.

He just graduated from law school.

See to it, will you?”

Lawyer Zhuo, in his thirties with a crew cut, looked quite capable and efficient.

“Whatever concerns Lawyer Li concerns me; I’ll make sure to interview the lad properly!”

Although Lawyer Zhuo said this, his mind was already figuring out which lawyer under his wing would be suitable to mentor the young man after the interview.

After all, this was a relative of a senior partner; there was no question of a failed interview.

Tap tap tap!

Li Qinghe knocked on the conference room door a few times before entering directly.

“Xiao Zhang, sorry to have kept you waiting, I was in a meeting just now.”

“Auntie, you’re joking; isn’t it the norm to have a morning meeting on Mondays?”

“Right,” Li Qinghe nodded, and introduced the person behind her, “This is Lawyer Zhuo, one of my team leaders.

He’ll be in charge of your interview.

You need to perform well and not disappoint your auntie!”

Zhang Wei naturally nodded repeatedly in agreement, and Li Qinghe did not linger, leaving with a few reminders and heading upstairs.

It seemed that the receptionist had also mentioned Li Feifei’s visit to her.

In the conference room, only Lawyer Zhuo and Zhang Wei remained.

Now that it was just the two of them, it was a good time to begin the interview.

After they sat down, Lawyer Zhuo took out a pen and a notepad, pretending to make notes.

Zhang Wei didn’t even need to look to know that the other party had no intention of recording anything; he was just doodling in his notebook.

“So, Xiao Zhang, have you handled any cases since you graduated from law school?”

“Yes, quite a few.”

“Where did you work on those cases?

Was it through a legal clinic internship, or…?”

“I was a court-appointed defense lawyer at the city court.”

“Oh, a court-appointed defense lawyer, from the city court, huh?

You must have dealt with many suspects.”

“Yes, quite a few.

I also helped several people obtain bail and fought in three lawsuits.”

“Fought in three lawsuits, like actually went to court?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Zhang Wei’s simple nod, Lawyer Zhuo was slightly taken aback.

It’s rare for newcomers to actually go to court and fight lawsuits while serving as a public defender; they either lack the time and energy or the ability.

Surprisingly, Zhang Wei had the courage to go to trial.

And public defenders are up against prosecutors; even if not from the daunting Procuratorate Headquarters, the district-level Procuratorate’s Office prosecutors are not to be underestimated.

Lawyer Zhuo opened his mouth but didn’t ask about the success rate of the three trials.

That’s because he wanted to “look after” Zhang Wei’s feelings, which also meant looking after the leader’s feelings.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask him how he fared in those three trials, and him responding that he lost them all would make Zhang Wei look bad.

If Li Qinghe were to inquire about it later, she might blame Lawyer Zhuo for asking low-level questions and setting up her relative for failure.

If you displease the boss, the boss might retaliate by giving you a hard time.

Seeing that Zhang Wei wasn’t volunteering any information, Lawyer Zhuo thought for a moment and decided not to waste any more time.

“Well then, Xiao Zhang, that will be all for the interview.

Please go to the reception area and fill out the employment form.”

“Huh?”

Zhang Wei was totally bewildered.

You’ve asked me so few questions, and now you’re telling me to fill in the employment form?

I never planned to join Qingmu, aren’t you just giving me a hard time?

“Lawyer Zhuo, how about we go over a few more questions?”

Zhang Wei had already tried his best to appear as incompetent as possible, but Lawyer Zhuo didn’t seem to take that into consideration at all.

All he knew was that Zhang Wei was a relative of the leadership, a backdoor entrant, whose performance was inconsequential, good or bad.

“No need, Lawyer Li asked me to take care of you.

I think you performed quite well.

Complete the procedures today and you can report to our law firm tomorrow.

Let’s not waste any more time!”

After speaking, Lawyer Zhuo reminded Zhang Wei to get an employment form and then went straight back to his office downstairs.

“Fuck!” Watching the other party leave without looking back, Zhang Wei couldn’t help but curse.

He really didn’t want to join Qingmu; had he known, he wouldn’t have come.

Zhang Wei thought about it.

Maybe he should just take off.

But as soon as he stepped out of the meeting room, the receptionist behind the door handed him an employment form and a pen.

“Mr.

Zhang, Lawyer Zhuo instructed earlier, here’s your application form; I’ll guide you on how to fill it out.”

Great, I can’t even leave if I wanted to, huh?

“Um…”

—Ding—

Just as Zhang Wei was about to explain, the sound of the elevator and rapid footsteps came from outside.

“Feifei, Feifei, Daddy’s here!”

A man rushed in flustered at the reception entrance.

“Hey, isn’t that Lawyer Li’s son-in-law?”

Upon seeing the visitor, the receptionist didn’t stop him but murmured in disdain.

“Lawyer Li’s son-in-law?

Doesn’t that mean he’s my future uncle-in-law?”

Zhang Wei also watched the man, about forty years old, with short hair, glasses, and a goatee, seemingly a refined person.

But right now his expression was all flustered, as if he had an urgent matter.

Footsteps sounded from upstairs; Li Feifei was actually coming down.

“Dad, what are you doing?

It’s embarrassing shouting and yelling in the law firm during the day.

Can’t you make less trouble for us?

Don’t I have any dignity?”

Even though Li Feifei was his daughter, she looked at the man with disdain.

The tone of her reprimand was as if she were the elder and he the junior.

“Feifei, is Qinghe in the office?” The man ignored Li Feifei’s attitude and hurriedly asked.

“She is, what do you want her for?” Li Feifei asked, hands on her hips and clearly annoyed.

The man didn’t address her question, but rushed up the stairs, his footsteps fading as he disappeared from view.

Li Feifei scoffed at the man’s behavior and followed him upstairs.

Zhang Wei noticed the man’s hurried departure and his panicked expression earlier, sensing that he must have had an emergency.

However, the man’s behavior also earned nothing but disdain from the receptionists.

“That must be Mr.

Wang again, probably some family trouble back home.

“How many times has it been?

How did Lawyer Li end up with such a wimp?”

“That’s because you don’t understand.

Lawyer Li is used to being dominant, and other men probably couldn’t handle it.

Mr.

Wang might not be much, but he’s got a good temperament.

He’s been a live-in son-in-law for years and hasn’t complained once.”

“If you ask me, to put up with what he does makes him a rare breed.

He probably has to cater to Lawyer Li’s moods every day at home.

When I find a husband, I don’t need him to be strikingly handsome or rich while young, but he has to be gentle and considerate and stand his ground when necessary; can’t be a doormat all the time!”

“Stand his ground when necessary, you might have to ‘help’ with that.

But once he’s done standing, won’t he go soft again?”

“Cough cough cough…”

Hearing the receptionists casually talking shop, Zhang Wei promptly coughed to remind them that there was still an outsider present.

It’s one thing for the receptionists to be idle and stick to their posts, but that’s no excuse for shamelessly shooting the breeze!

“I forgot to tell you, I’m Lawyer Li’s niece’s boyfriend.

Was that my uncle-in-law just now?”

“Wow, so you’re related to Lawyer Li too?” The receptionists perked up upon hearing Zhang Wei’s connection.

Then, lacking anyone else to chat with, they shared a lot of stories about that man and Lawyer Li with Zhang Wei.

The man was called Wang Dayang, a live-in son-in-law at the Li family, and he had visited the law firm several times, so the receptionists were familiar with him.

Zhang Wei just listened to their stories, nodding occasionally, prompting the receptionists to chatter non-stop.

After all, receptionists have to stand guard all day, plenty of time to kill!