BMT Chapter 1

TL: Hua

It was a nice day, and the sunlight pouring down from the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the floor made the interior look like it had a lazy layer of warmth, brightness, and coziness.

A man stepped on the wool carpet, looking at the not-so-obvious fine lines at the end of his eyes in the mirror, and raised his eyebrows with some regret, but fortunately his whole face is still calm, handsome, and gentle. He has a good temperament and a slender and upright figure. The years are just icing on the cake for him, like a glass of fine wine that becomes more mellow after precipitation.

He pulled the bow tie in front of the mirror and finally sprayed some perfume on his cuffs.

Xie Chengyun just celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday and chatted with a group of friends late into the night. The topic was nothing more than work, memories of his past abroad, and the development of their respective careers. When their glass clinked, under the dazzling light of the lamp, he looked at his face reflected on the glasses and couldn’t help but sigh. Time really flies, and in the blink of an eye, he was on the road into his thirties.

He will be thirty soon, but he’s still single.

Xie Chengyun used to not care much about having someone to accompany him; after all, good love is hard to come by, but now at this golden age, his career and interpersonal relationships have developed well enough, and the future promotion space is clear, so he began to have other extravagant hopes.

He felt that the saying “when you are well fed and warm, lustful thought emerged” wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Although he had dated some people in recent years, he ultimately chose to break up peacefully due to various reasons. The last time he met someone he liked at first sight was at a bar last year when he was welcoming his friend back to China. He was a stylist named An Di, who looked bright and beautiful, confident and flashy. He liked this temperament very much. This is something very unique among his rule-abiding circle, so he was immediately attracted.

It’s a pity that the other party has someone he likes, a straight man who’s, in his opinion, was a very jealous young brat. But now they have been together for more than a year. He had guessed that they wouldn’t last long, but their relationship was unexpectedly stable. Thankfully, he’s someone who can take on and also let go, so he and An Di are currently considered to be pretty good friends.

Xie Chengyun collected his thoughts, picked up the briefcase at the entrance, went down the elevator to the underground first floor, and drove to the law firm.

Hengli is one of the well-known top law firms in China, and it is also the place where he currently works. It is located in the city center of City A, close to the most prosperous business district. Xie Chengyun graduated from a school in the UK. After completing his LLB and LLM at LSE¹Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws at London School of Economics., he smoothly got a job at the Magic Circle²Magic Circle refers to the five largest and best commercial law firms in the UK.. However, because his family and most of his friends were in China, he chose to transfer to the office of this foreign-funded company in HK after a year. It wasn’t until a few years ago that he got an offer from Hengli, so he resigned and came back to his hometown in City A.

He parked the car in a fixed parking space while reminiscing and then swiped the card to go upstairs.

“Lawyer Xie, belated happy birthday.” The girl at the front desk stood up and said as soon as she saw Xie Chengyun coming in, “I didn’t get to say it to you in person over the weekend.”

“Thank you.” Xie Chengyun smiled and nodded his head, complimenting in passing, “Your dress looks amazing today.”

“Really?” The girl blushed a little. Xie Chengyun never put on airs. He was gentle and handsome, and most people would swoon after being complimented by him. Unfortunately, his sexual orientation wasn’t a secret in the circle, which made many young girls feel regretful just thinking about it.

“Yes.”

Xie Chengyun had a smile in his eyes. There were not too many people in the office today; many of them were on business trips. Those who saw him come in greeted him.

“Good morning, Xie-par³“Par” is the abbreviation of “partner.” In law firms, these partners play an important role and are usually the core members of the law firm, with rich legal practice experience and professional knowledge, responsible for managing and guiding the business development of the law firm..”

“Good morning, Xiao Zhao.”

His office is separate, next to the pantry. It looks like fully transparent glass, but you can’t see the inside from the outside; you can only see the outside from the inside. The table is very tidy, and there are a few small succulents on it, all of which were given by female colleagues in the company during the holidays. However, it gives his cold interior a little human touch.

“Lawyer Xie, what coffee do you want?” The office door was suddenly knocked, and a male voice sounded after the knock.

“It’s okay; I can just make myself a cup of tea.” Xie Chengyun looked at Chen Xinyu, a timid-looking young man standing at the door, “You go and do your thing.”

“Okay.” Chen Xinyu took two steps and suddenly came back to give him a gift box. “This is a birthday present for you, Lawyer Xie. The courier didn’t arrive yesterday, so I left at my parent’s house.”

Xie Chengyun looked at the exquisitely packaged gift box and raised his eyebrows: “How can I let young people give me gifts?”

“Hey, it’s not much money; you may not think highly of it, but it’s still a gesture of goodwill.” Chen Xinyu scratched the back of his head. “Then I’ll go out first.”

As soon as Chen Xinyu left, Xie Chengyun opened the gift box. Inside was a peace amulet, and underneath was a letter. The content of the letter was simple but written very sincerely.

He said that he asked for this when he and his girlfriend went to Japan for a trip. Because their job often required them to travel on business and fly everywhere, the other party specially asked one for him as a gift. At the end of the letter, he expressed his gratitude for his care all this time and said that he had learned a lot.

Chen Xinyu has been working for a long time since graduation. Before being promoted to a partner, he had been involved in some IPO business with him, and now he has gradually grown into a lawyer who can handle things independently. Xie Chengyun has watched him grow from immature to mature. For example, his emotional intelligence is much higher now than when he first joined the company.

He put away the gift box with a smile, put the amulet in the drawer, and sent him a thank you on WeChat. This thoughtful gesture soon earned him an emoticon in response.

After finishing the work at hand, Xie Chengyun stood up and was about to go to the tea room to get water, but his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Wang Zhihe who called him. Wang Zhihe was a senior associate of Hengli, with more experience and much older than him. They met each other at a banquet. Although the two had a big age gap, they hit it off and soon became familiar with each other. Wang Zhihe admired him as a young talent and invited him to Hengli.

“Xiao Xie, how was your birthday? I had to fly all over the place on a business trip and couldn’t come to your birthday.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lawyer Wang. We can get together next time.” Xie Chengyun rubbed his cervical vertebrae and said, “How’s the progress on your end lately?”

“Well, it’s so-so. By the way, I want to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Didn’t I interview an intern through video call before? He was very good, and the written test was also OK. But my supervisor during my PhD recommended me to one of his current students, whose qualifications were also good. Although the first one was obviously better, he was my supervisor after all, and I had to give him some face. There are also many things on your end, so I wanted to ask, Do you still need extra hands?”

“I’m not very busy with any projects recently, and my team isn’t short of people for the time being.”

“No, Xiao Xie, this is something I need to talk to you about.” Wang Zhihe heard his implicit refusal, then lowered his voice on the phone, “The first intern was recommended by my old classmate, who’s the MD of Hai Shen, and he has a wide network of contacts. He now recommends his nephew to me. The young man is quite outstanding. If my supervisor hadn’t sent me several emails…”

Xie Chengyun knew that Hai Shen was a well-known brokerage firm in City B, but due to business reasons, he had not had much contact before. He was silent for a moment after hearing this. In fact, when he heard that Wang Zhihe was meeting someone in person, he could guess that they had some connection. After all, senior partners generally don’t meet interns.

“Take care of his nephew, and he will be a resource in the future.” Wang Zhihe reasoned with him.

“The law firm also has other non-litigation teams, and this is such a generous resource. I’m curious why Lawyer Wang only considered me.” Xie Chengyun was really quite curious about this point.

“I admire you the most among the young talents we have, Xiao Xie. This is my old classmate’s nephew. I don’t feel safe letting someone else take care of him.” Wang Zhihe lowered his voice even more, “What’s more, this young man is very capable. During the interview, he even mentioned that he has heard a lot about you. Doesn’t this basically mean he wants to join your team? Anyway, interns are all dirty work. You can teach him something. He’s only here to learn during this gap period.”

After thinking for a moment, Xie Chengyun agreed that the high turnover of interns isn’t a big deal. Seniors can just be responsible for teaching them at ordinary times: “Well, since Lawyer Wang already said this much and the other party seems very capable as well, it would be a bit unreasonable for me to refuse again.”

“You have to take this person with you personally. My old classmate said that it’s okay to use him as an assistant.” Wang Zhihe seemed to see through what Xie Chengyun was thinking.

“Okay, then he can help me pour water and carry my bag.” Xie Chengyun made a joke.

Wang Zhihe laughed on the other end of the phone when he heard Xie Chengyun’s tone: “Then I’ll send you his resume. He’s coming to report today, but he informed me that he would be late due to traffic congestion, and I only remembered about it. Otherwise, when he arrived, he wouldn’t know who to look for.”

“Okay, thank you for all the trouble, Lawyer Wang.”

Xie Chengyun didn’t expect that Wang Zhihe had already calculated that he wouldn’t refuse and directly asked the person to come today. After ending the call, he rubbed his forehead, sighed, and opened the resume sent by Wang Zhihe. There was a Chinese and English version of the resume. He took a quick look. His name was Qi Yanze, with no photo attached. He went to school in the United States. He completed his undergraduate degree in Stern’s top-tier finance major. He graduated early after completing three years of credits and is currently pursuing his JD degree. He has a high GPA and LSAT, and most importantly, he’s only 22 years old.

This resume is indeed excellent in terms of education experience, grades, and school. The financial background plus law is perfect for IPO business. It’s a pity that there are too few internship projects related to law. There is only one pro bono, and it has nothing to do with non-litigation. Xie Chengyun doesn’t understand why this resume isn’t submitted to a foreign firm. At least the internship salary is higher.

However, Wang Zhihe had showered him with a lot of praise, so Xie Chengyun kind of expected this much qualification. After all, interns don’t do much in-depth work. This is a person with a background. As long as he’s not a young master, there shouldn’t be any problem.

After a while, Xie Chengyun locked the screen of his mobile phone and put it on the table and then went to the tea room.

…………

When he went in, two female colleagues were making coffee inside and chatting.

“I think he’s quite handsome. I almost couldn’t resist him when I saw him for the first time during the first interview. Young girls will definitely like him.”

“How handsome is he?”

“He managed to look as handsome as a celebrity despite the low-resolution image on the video call.”

“As handsome as Lawyer Xie?”

“Not the same type.”

“What are you two talking about?” Xie Chengyun coughed lightly and put the cup with the teabag under the water dispenser.

The one who looked a little older was the HR of Hengli. After hearing Xie Chengyun’s voice, she turned her back calmly: “Praise you for being handsome, Lawyer Xie.”

“Thank you.” Xie Chengyun smiled softly.

“You will be thirty soon. Are you planning to get married at 35 like me?” The HR lady looked at Xie Chengyun’s well-maintained appearance and felt a little jealous. “You don’t look thirty at all.”

“Sister Lin, I also can’t tell that you’re 38.” Xie Chengyun took a sip of water. “What’s the point of getting married if you haven’t met the right person?”

“Alas, it’s hard for the opposite sex to find a reliable person, and it’s even harder for the same sex.” Sister Lin sighed, “Just kidding, let things take their course.”

Xie Chengyun was about to speak when the glass door of the tea room was knocked. It was the lady at the front desk standing at the door.

“Lawyer Xie, your intern is here. I took him to his workstation.” She paused and explained again, “Lawyer Wang should have talked to you about it.”

Before Xie Chengyun could say anything, he saw Sister Lin take a sip of coffee, turn her head, and grab the hand of the girl next to her with great anticipation: “Xiao Feng, remember to take a closer look later.”

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• 1
  Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws at London School of Economics.
• 2
  Magic Circle refers to the five largest and best commercial law firms in the UK.
• 3
  “Par” is the abbreviation of “partner.” In law firms, these partners play an important role and are usually the core members of the law firm, with rich legal practice experience and professional knowledge, responsible for managing and guiding the business development of the law firm.