Chapter 42

Chapter 42

◎The Truth Behind the Slander◎

The moment Shen Ruzhen returned to the modern world, her paralegal called.

Her newly hired paralegal was a twenty-five-year-old woman, fresh out of a top-tier law program, her nature still brimming with an innocence and vivacity untouched by the world’s grime.

"Sister Shen, I'm drafting the complaint you assigned me earlier, but there's a crucial point of contention I can't quite untangle. Do you have time to come to the office?"

Shen Ruzhen agreed, "I'll be there shortly."

The law firm she had recently joined was mid-sized—not particularly renowned in the industry, but holding its own. Having accumulated considerable connections and resources from her past practice, she had joined as an independent attorney.

She quickly clarified the young paralegal's confusion, explaining the core legal issue and the drafting strategy in just a few words.

The recent graduate's eyes sparkled as she lavished praise upon Shen Ruzhen: "Sister Shen, your professional skills are truly exceptional. I've interned at 'Red Circle' firms and international practices before, and even those highly acclaimed supervising attorneys didn't explain things as clearly as you do."

Shen Ruzhen simply smiled.

The young woman blinked. "I heard you were previously part of Attorney Chen Lun’s team at J Law Firm—no wonder your practical skills are so strong!" She didn't notice the faintness that had crept into Shen Ruzhen’s smile.

"You were in such an impressive team before—why did you switch to this firm? The starting salary, client base, and reputation here can't compare, can they?"

The young woman waited several seconds but received no reply. Only then did she notice Shen Ruzhen’s expression had soured, her smile completely vanished.

In her memory, this mentor had always greeted people with a smile and possessed a good temper; she had never seen her face completely cold.

Seeing this, she grew a little fearful, her voice unsteady: "Teacher Shen, did I say something wrong?"

Shen Ruzhen averted her gaze and said softly, "No."

Her tone was incredibly slow, "It's simply a difference in principles, nothing else." As if slowing her words could forcibly suppress the anger and resentment threatening to erupt.

"Oh, I see." The paralegal accepted the explanation, though she thought to herself: when choosing a job, the most rational approach is to consider salary, career progression, growth potential, and company reputation. While principles are a factor, can something so purely subjective really hold such weight in a rational decision? It's like how some bosses believe 996 is a blessing for young people; even if most employees disagree, they won't refuse to work themselves to the bone for a substantial salary until they're 35, then achieve financial freedom and retire. Just how *significant* must a difference in principles be to warrant discarding salary, company prestige, growth, and career mobility?

The paralegal wanted to ask more, but Shen Ruzhen had already left.

Just then, a mocking voice drifted from a nearby desk: "You really know how to hit a nerve."

The paralegal located the source of the voice.

Frowning slightly, she asked, "Attorney Zhuo, what do you mean by that?"

The woman addressed as "Attorney Zhuo" was also an independent attorney, having worked there for four or five years. She was a beautiful woman with exquisite makeup. With one hand, she gathered her floral-scented curly hair, combing it as she spoke: "You don't know this?" The next second, her eyes flashed with realization. "Ah, right—you're new. So you wouldn't know about Shen Ruzhen's past before she came here."

The paralegal asked, "What past?" Her expression remained unchanged, but her stomach churned. She had a feeling this wouldn't be good news.

Sure enough, Attorney Zhuo’s tone dripped with obvious scorn: "‘Difference in principles’? Please. It's because she slept with a senior partner decades older than her to climb the ladder, then got used and tossed aside."

The paralegal's eyes widened. "That can't be true, can it?" Her instincts told her Shen Ruzhen wasn't that kind of person.

Attorney Zhuo raised an eyebrow, the mockery in her smile deepening. "Why not?"

"How long have you known her? Kid, you can know a person's face but not their heart. In this circle, the sordid things you'll encounter are far beyond your imagination."

The paralegal opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

...

Shen Ruzhen walked out of the law firm, only to receive an unexpected call.

The moment she saw the caller's name, her expression became incredibly complex. Her finger hovered over the red "Decline" button for a long time before, at the last second, moving to the green "Accept" button. She took a deep breath and answered.

"Attorney Chen Lun."

The man's voice on the other end was mature, tinged with a casual indifference, like someone accustomed to toying with his prey. He sighed softly, "Ruzhen."

Shen Ruzhen's voice tightened: "I've already left your legal team. You should call me Attorney Shen."

Chen Lun's voice held a hint of amusement: "Is that so?"

He continued unhurriedly, "Then what about our relationship?"

Shen Ruzhen's grip on her phone tightened, her back chilling with cold sweat within a minute. Yet her voice remained cold and composed, showing no hint of weakness to her adversary: "You know perfectly well there was never any relationship between us."

"Ah." The older man's tone grew more intrigued: "But everyone believes there was something ambiguous between us. You must understand the power of rumors—a lie repeated often enough becomes truth."

Shen Ruzhen's voice was strained but firm: "The truth is always the truth, and a lie will always be a lie."

She hung up.

In front of the office building where the law firm was located, there was a park. Shen Ruzhen sat on a bench, lowering her head and hugging herself tightly.

She hadn't actually lied to the paralegal; the main reason she left Attorney Chen Lun's team truly was a difference in principles.

As an attorney, her original aspiration was to uphold justice and eliminate injustice. But Chen Lun merely used the legal profession as a tool to curry favor with the powerful and seize influence.

Principles might not always be paramount, but when their conflict formed the very basis of a collaboration, they became critically important.

But how could Chen Lun allow her to leave his team so easily?

To prevent her from revealing his secrets and dark dealings, he preemptively spread baseless rumors, claiming Shen Ruzhen insisted on leaving the team due to emotional issues with him. It was utterly ridiculous.

Shen Ruzhen felt a wave of frustration.

The system had originally given her a seven-day vacation in the modern world, but suddenly, it all felt utterly meaningless.

Wearily, she called out to the system.

It took a moment for the system to respond: "What's up, sweetheart? Did you miss me?"

Shen Ruzhen nearly gagged at its tone.

The system chuckled twice: "I just finished reading a CEO romance novel, and the male lead kept calling the female lead 'baby' and 'darling' in a jumbled mess. It rubbed off on me."

Shen Ruzhen: "Enough nonsense. I want to enter a new world."

System: "Huh? Host, don't you want your vacation anymore?"

Shen Ruzhen thought to herself: a real vacation would be sleeping for three days straight. This wasn't a vacation; it was juggling jobs in two different worlds. And the modern world's grind was far tougher than the CEO world's.

"Why are you always thinking about breaks? If everyone wanted a break, would businesses still run? Would society still progress? Would workers still strive? Stop babbling and just send me to the new world."

The system felt deeply wronged by this outburst. It reluctantly put down the new novel it had just started reading.

The next second, Shen Ruzhen's vision went white, followed by a wave of dizziness—then, she completely lost consciousness.

[Author's Note]

Next chapter: New arc begins.

Case 3: Beautiful Beginning, Bitter End → Left with Nothing.