"So you're saying your family member drove in the wrong direction on the highway emergency lane at 150 miles an hour and hit someone who had just gotten out of their car due to a breakdown?"
"And this car was stolen by her while drunk because she wanted to familiarize herself with the controls for her driving test tomorrow?"
Xu Liang looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.
"Driving against traffic on the highway, driving without a license, speeding and hitting someone, drunk driving, stealing a car..."
"This is tough to handle, our law firm can't take this case. Not to mention the moral aspect, just trying to reduce your sentence is very..."
Xu Liang was interrupted by the man in front of him before he could finish his sentence.
The man said in surprise:
"Lessen the sentence? No, that's not my request."
Xu Liang was stunned, "Then what is it?"
The man said:
"Oh, my wife doesn't know where she hit the person to. After getting out of the car, she only saw a pile of meat on the ground and didn't see the person for a long time."
"I want to ask if it's possible to accuse the other side of hit-and-run and get some compensation?"
Xu Liang: ?
"..."
June 1, 2004.
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Eastern Country, Hanhai City.
In a narrow and dark law office on Hongfu Street.
After sending off today's only client, Xu Liang slumped in his chair.
He looked up at the street outside the door, his gaze passing through the dim light, took a drag of his cigarette, feeling the nicotine fill his lungs, the agitated emotions slowly calming as the smoke was exhaled.
"What the hell is this bullshit!? What kind of person..."
Xu Liang was now feeling a bit of a toothache.
He was a transmigrant, having crossed over to this parallel world in Eastern Country twenty-two years ago.
The laws and regulations of this world only partially coincide with the world he came from; everything else, including regions and territories, are not linked at all, a completely independent world!
His parents died when he was in high school, and his only blood relative is an uncle.
He went to college to fulfill his parents' wishes, studying the same law major his father did, and also got a psychology therapist certificate that his mother had.
He graduated this year, and instead of joining any established law firm, he decided to fulfill his father's aspiration.
Opened a law firm, now on the brink of closing down.
Thinking of this, Xu Liang looked up at the words mounted on the wall behind him.
[Conscience Law Firm]
The legal profession is very lucrative, especially when it comes to commercial cases; in his past life, some red-circle law firms had annual revenues in the billions.
But...
That's the income of red-circle and boutique law firms, not for a small firm with no partners.
His law firm was pitifully poor, not only poor but also troublesome.
The phone for free consultations kept ringing, each question making his blood pressure rise, from seventy-year-olds asking how to marry two wives to strangers who fell in love at first sight in a hotel...
There were even questions about whether forcibly kissing a deaf person counted as hand-holding!
Honestly, Xu Liang wouldn't be surprised if he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage someday.
So, he's not only busy but also not making much money, it's all in vain.
But fortunately, he's the only one in the firm, no need to pay employees.
"Xu Liang, let me tell you, just make it clear that consultations cost money!"
In a daze, a voice sounded outside, and Xu Liang looked up.
The speaker was from across the road at a noodle shop; the owner was lying in a chair in the doorway basking in the sun, fanning himself happily while watching him.
"Uncle Zhang."
Xu Liang greeted.
They had no blood relation, but Uncle Zhang had some connection to his uncle, and it just so happened that Xu Liang had set up his law practice across from Uncle Zhang's store.
So, naturally, they got to know each other over time.
Uncle Zhang shook his fan, and also shook his head, muttering, "So many phone calls every day, yet not a single client."
"Did you earn enough to pay for the electricity last month?"
Hearing this, Xu Liang felt a bit embarrassed.
The firm was just starting, big companies didn't come looking, and ordinary people didn't need his services.
The only free consultations were from people looking for amusement, so when it added up...
He really didn't make enough to cover the electricity and rent.
"No worries, as they say, you might not have a single client for three years, but when you do, you eat for three years," Xu Liang said.
But Uncle Zhang showed no mercy.
"At this rate, you might starve before you get to that client in three years."
After saying that, he didn't wait for Xu Liang to respond and continued:
"Have you got this month's rent ready?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Yang has already given you a two-month extension."
Hearing this, Xu Liang paused.
He's already two months behind on rent, if he doesn't get a client this month...
The firm would really have to close down.
However...
"You don't need to worry about that, I'm sure we'll get a client today!"
Xu Liang replied.
Seeing this, Uncle Zhang chuckled, fanning himself even faster.
"You're talking big, it's already four in the afternoon, wait a few more hours, my noodle shop will be closing."
"I say, why don't you take a break today, and after I close up, join me for a drink?"
Xu Liang shook his head.
"I'm certain we'll get a client today, you'd better go prepare the ingredients and get busy."
Uncle Zhang didn't say anything more; seeing customers enter his store, he began his busy afternoon rush.
Xu Liang withdrew his gaze and continued to wait in his law office.
The reason he was confident about getting a client today wasn't just blind confidence, but because...
Xu Liang paused for a moment, seeing no one around, he took a leather notebook from his briefcase.
[Name: Xu Liang]
[Plaintiff: None]
[Defendant: None]
[Case records: None]
He opened the notebook, with "Xu Liang" boldly written on the cover, and inside, beyond the format, it was entirely blank.
This leather notebook appeared when he was born into this world and couldn't be discarded.