Flying Gulls Never LandCh31 - This was his kingdom

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I ate some of the porridge in the bowl, taking glances at Sheng Min Ou in between spoonfuls.

He was dressed in full business attire, a watch nicely adorned on his wrist, a tie neatly wrapped around his neck, looking as if he was about to head out in the next moment. Perhaps I had underestimated him as I originally thought that he would wait for the swelling to go down first before returning to work, but who knew that the thought of resting simply had never crossed his mind. Gsw8Vp

It made sense, otherwise how could he be the epitome of success. To get there, he really was able to be heartless and callous to himself.

After following this train of thought, I even came to the conclusion that in comparison, the way he treated me was rather nice.

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“Don’t just eat porridge, try some dishes as well.” I took a slice of fried egg, tender and slippery and held it in my chopsticks, passing it into his bowl.

Sheng Min Ou’s fridge encapsulated his way of living, for it was spotless to the extent that it looked like it was never used. When I opened the fridge I almost thought I was hallucinating and at the same time, I was perplexed. If this fridge wasn’t being used, then why on earth did he buy it? For decoration? qk8eRu

As the saying goes, even the most talented housewife wouldn’t be able to get rice on the table when the ingredient itself was missing. With no other choice, I could only use my phone to order rice, bacon, eggs and other ingredients that wouldn’t go bad easily, and ask for the delivery to be made as soon as possible.

The nearby markets started deliveries at 7 a.m., and it only took about half an hour for it to arrive in my hands. However, it was when I got handed over the bags in all their various sizes and had closed the door that I suddenly had an epiphany – if I was going to get it all delivered in the first place, then why didn’t I call for a ready made breakfast from the get go?

However, all the ingredients had arrived already, and just like how the age old phrase went, ‘It is what it is’. What else could I have possibly done? I could only grit my teeth and get on with it.

It appeared that after Sheng Min Ou had confirmed that I would not be leaving after all, he seemed to have given up on resisting me. He changed up his approach, completely ignoring my existence once more. If he could avoid communication then he would do so, and if he could stand up himself then he would never reach out to have me help him.

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We seemed to have fallen into a strange kind of cycle – a malicious argument, followed by mutual silent treatment; I’d proactively reach out to make things up, he’d decisively reject my advances, I shamelessly persevere, and he’d choose to be indifferent.

The stage where he dismissed my presence and had no solution for me could be counted as the most harmonious and peaceful stage in the cycle.

I saw that he didn’t talk to me, so I finished the porridge and the egg I placed in his bowl then decided to leave him alone.

After finishing breakfast, I proactively moved to wash the dishes. I left the kitchen and found that Sheng Min Ou had already worn his suit and was at the front door changing his shoes. RGBCfZ

He had already changed into his shoes on his left foot, however because his right foot had been bandaged, he was struggling to slip it in.

I sighed, then walked towards him.

“Don’t do it so forcefully. Didn’t you hear the doctor saying that if you don’t take proper care during the healing process, you’re more susceptible to repeat injuries from twisted ankles in the future?” I admonished, getting down on one knee in front of him and patted his right calf, signalling for him to lift his feet. “Your majesty, please raise your foot.”

After making no move for a while, I raised my face and met his darkened pupils. ryIoKu

I laughed, then traced a finger starting from the inside of his calf as it trailed upwards, past his knee and towards his inner thigh.

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The next words came out from my mouth without shame, “If you don’t lift your feet, I’ll be continuing with this motion.”

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With one hand on his feet, I used my other hand to carefully slip on his shoe. Fortunately, this pair of shoes were made from lambskin so it was especially soft, and I didn’t have to exert any particular force to slip his feet in. VaU468

“Is it tight?” I let go of his feet, and had him place his foot down.

He stepped down on it twice and adjusted to the sensation of it for a second, before finally speaking to me, “It’s fine.”

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I stood up and dusted my hands, then moved to hold onto his elbow.

“Let’s go, I’ll accompany you on the way to work.” YE9L6n

With the pawn shop, I had already taken a week off to take care of a temporarily crippled Sheng Min Ou. Wei Shi had generously given me half a month off, and said that he could give me even more leave, so I should feel free to ask anytime.

He was really thinking too much trying to be considerate. Sheng Min Ou went to fetch him in the dead of the night, and injured his ankle as a result, so there was no way I would let Wei Shi off that easily.

“You know how to drive?” Sheng Min Ou saw that I went to fetch the keys from the vestibule as if I was very familiar with it and unwittingly furrowed his eyebrows, verbally expressing his first query of the day.

“Yeah, I know how to drive.” After being released from prison, Wei Shi had me get a certification for the appraisal course, then also said that if I was going to learn things anyways, I should also get my license at the same time. X2OF0g

Learning how to drive wasn’t difficult for me, but I haven’t driven ever since I had gotten my license as I didn’t own a car.

However, they were all cars in the end. How big of a difference could there be between Sheng Min Ou’s sports car and the driving instructor’s antique Hyundai Sonata?

Bam. 

There was a heavy thud from the left mirror of the silver sports car as it had been solidly slapped by the cement pillar next to it in the carpark. The impact was so great that the mirror swivelled to one side. Hs4 bL

Shit, it seems like the difference was quite sizable!

I didn’t even have to get out of the car to know that the paint had definitely been scratched off.

From beside me came Sheng Min Ou’s voice as he maintained a somewhat calm tone, “Do you really know how to drive?”

I lowered the window, and swung the left mirror back into place, giving him an awkward laugh, “I really know how to drive. Don’t worry, I have my license, it’s just that your car is quite opulent, I’ll need to get myself familiarised with it. MTVpCA

I spent the whole drive maintaining an average pace of forty kilometres an hour, disregarding any car honks aimed at me. It was only when I saw an electric scooter had also passed me by that I reluctantly sped up to hit forty five kilometres.

Sheng Min Ou picked up two calls in the car, both asking him when he would arrive. It appeared like there was an especially important meeting waiting for him.

He responded with an approximate time for when he would arrive, and only said that it was slightly congested on the roads as he never signalled for me to drive faster. I wasn’t completely sure as to why, but perhaps it was because he was scared that if I gassed the pedal too hard I’d send him straight to the ICU.

After a great amount of effort, we reached the bottom of his building and I spent probably more than double the amount of time required than usual. ScaLv9

The employees in the law firm seemed to pay tenfold more attention to the fact that their boss turned up to work with one foot crippled. Though, maybe Sheng Min Ou commanded too much respect from others as apart from Wu Yi no one had dared to come up to ask how he was.

“Laoshi, what happened to you?” He looked stunned at Sheng Min Ou who was being propped up by me, “Did you fracture something?”

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“I just accidentally twisted an ankle.” Sheng Min Ou replied without giving any extra explanation, “Tell everyone that I’ve arrived, let’s start the meeting.”

Wu Yi nodded and left. CyriNL

Sheng Min Ou allowed me to support him as I helped him get to the conference room. In the corner of the room were two chairs, so taking the opportunity I chose one and sat down in it. Under normal circumstances Sheng Min Ou would definitely have me kicked out. However, given his unforeseen state of affairs and the fact that we were currently in the stage where I shamelessly persevered, whilst he chose to be indifferent, he allowed me to act as I liked and did not make me leave.

The conference room steadily filled up with people, until the majority of the conference table was occupied. Before every person sat down, they looked towards me, their eyes full of curiosity.

Sometimes I would respond to their gazes with a smile, if I got tired I would lower my head and play games on my phone instead, acting as if I couldn’t feel the inquisitive glances being cast my way.

The meeting that Sheng Min Ou started lasted for three hours, and even our lunches were served in the room as the receptionist brought it in. Unexpectedly, there was also lunch for me. I6AGxT

After playing games for three hours straight, my phone was overheated to the point where it felt as if in the next second it would explode. Plus, my battery was also about to die.

I could only tuck my phone away and prop my chin in my hand as I started finding something to occupy my time with. I checked out the tables, then the chairs, then stared at the ceiling, with my gaze finally resting on Sheng Min Ou.

Once I looked at him, I could never tear my sights off him again.

He had one hand lifted, subconsciously making little movements with his fingers, whilst his other hand would circle and highlight any points that were crucial on the papers that were handed out. When there was something he needed more clarification on, he would slightly raise his fingers, and the other side would immediately stop in their remarks as they awaited his query. ydDKVH

His attitude may be regarded as more casual, however he could always strike accurately at the crucial points in the case. At times, he would even ask questions which made the other side dumbstruck and unable to reply.

This was his kingdom, and he ruled with absolute control here.

The various scents coming from the conference room were convoluted and hard to discern, yet I could somehow still pick up the scent coming from his body. An idiosyncratic and distinctive cologne scent, it was dark and gritty, but always poised to launch an attack.

It seemed to take form as a tangible image, becoming the personification of Sheng Min Ou’s untameable ambition. Exposed fangs and sharpened claws reached out from his body that wore the suit as it prowled along the ground, making its way up your legs, all the way until it assailed your head, until all you could do was kneel at his overwhelming prowess. B Fi9T

I was lost in my thoughts as I stared, thoroughly delighting in it as I didn’t even blink. If the intensity of my vision could be converted into a palpable state, I probably already would have burned two holes into him already.

He quickly sensed it, raising his head from his folder as his gaze swept past me.

I grinned at him, without any trace of a guilty conscience after having been caught red handed.

“Laoshi, here are some pro bono cases that were referred to us yesterday by the Qing Wan City Foundation. There are two civil cases and one criminal case. Personally, I feel that we could pick up the criminal case. The accused has already admitted to his crime, but he wants a sentence of under three years. We can negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecution to quickly resolve this case.” Wu Yi twisted a ballpoint pen in his hand and leaned into his seat, his expression morphing into one of craftiness, “These pro bono cases are never ending, but since it comes referred by the foundation, being one of the two hundred law firms here we can only accept. However, there’s no rule that we can’t pick up an easy case, right?” 2Wlwmd

It was at this point that I got a sense of Wu Yi actually being a lawyer. To be honest based on his mannerisms before I thought he looked more like Sheng Min Ou’s chauffeur, and for a while I was suspicious that Sheng Min Ou only kept him around because he needed someone to do the odd jobs.

Sheng Min Ou opened a new folder and flipped through each page, “What were the other two cases?”

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Wu Yi thought about it, “I remember it being… a dispute regarding a medical treatment prescribed, and the other was a traffic accident.”

A female lawyer was reading the documents in front of her and added, “The hospital incident is quite confusing and complicated. The plaintiff believes that they’ve become depressed as a result of taking an antihistamine produced by Mei Teng Pharmaceuticals. They now have a strong inclination for suicide, which is why they’re accusing Mei Teng’s drugs of being faulty. En… the cost of this lawsuit isn’t really one that the foundation can afford.” Ydn TA

The other male lawyer spoke, “In addition, Mei Teng may become our client in the future, so we should be cautious that we don’t get on their bad side.”

Wu Yi continued, “In the traffic accident, there are two parties involved with the defendant in the case being the cargo truck driver, and the insurance company. Having three lawyers in the one trial is already complicated enough, but the insurance company’s lawyer is infamous for being hard to deal with, so it’s foreseen to be a tough lawsuit. In addition…” He looked at the document and read it’s contents aloud, “The cargo truck ran over a pedestrian who had the right of way. As the cargo truck overloaded on it’s contents, the insurance company cited this as the reason and rejected the claim for the insurance payout. Out of frustration, the pedestrian’s family took both parties, the truck driver and the insurance company to court. It feels like there’s probably not much chance of winning.”

Almost at the same time, both my line of vision and Sheng Min Ou’s gaze converged on him. There was no other person in the conference room who spoke as the whole room sank into a strange silence.

Wu Yi didn’t hear a response back from Sheng Min Ou for an extended amount of time, so raised his head belatedly as he realised. When he lifted his eyes, he was met with a silent Sheng Min Ou who only stared at him, and the questioning gazes of everyone else in the room, perplexed by Sheng MIn Ou’s odd behaviour. In an instant, he appeared to be like one of those makeshift movie projectors in the conference room, with everyone’s sights united on him. 8B bqF

Wu Yi’s expression froze and was terrified to the point where he started stuttering, “Lao, Laoshi, did I say something wrong?”

Sheng Min Ou’s gaze fell back on the folder as he tore off a page and slid it to the centre of the conference table.

“Decline the other two cases, we’re picking up the traffic accident one.”

“Okay…right,” Wu Yi responded as he nodded hesitatingly. 3itdmj

Once Sheng Min Ou had made a decision, no one else had a say in the matter.

 

 

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Translator's Note

So obviously the Chinese raws didn’t have this phrase, but it’s hard be faithful to the raws and still have the meaning carry across due to obvious contextual differences. The raws are ‘来都来了’, which is one of four famous Chinese phrases that are used in a lenient/tolerant manner when something unpleasant happens and should be overlooked. The literal phrase translates to ‘they’re already here’, but I thought the meaning carries across better with our cultural equivalent. Sometimes in translating you really can’t have the best of both worlds T_T

Leave a Comment

15 comments

  1. What’s the suspense all about?Did they both knew all parties involved?The driver, pedestrian victim, the insurance company or the lawyer of the insurance company?Or the nature of the incident,a traffic incident just like how their dad died..?

  2. THANK you for the chapter!! So…. he chose the trafic accident case because of what happened to his adoptive father, right?

  3. Given the nature of the accident, they’ll be working ‘together’, kinda, I guess…

    This seems like the beginning of more problems for both of them. Interesting.Thanks for the chapter♡

  4. Two questions Lu Feng, How? and Why? How do you still manage to treat SMO so well? Why do you do it? There is nothing good about SMO and that vicious cycle you talked about, I so wish you could break out of it.

    Thank you for your hard work <3

    • I’ve reached the conclusion that Lu Feng is just as batshit crazy as Shen Ming Ou, just in a different way. There’s no other explanation.

    • Are we reading the same book? Lol SMO always took care of his younger brother.. had a bedroom without windows ( I cannot imagine it) had a crap stepmother .. lost the only parent that didn’t reject him… he is just trying to suppress his feeling towards his brother. He is being indifferent because Lu Feng is too much 😂

  5. How come I feel healed when they are virtually indifferent to each other??? This novel has messed up my reactions to fluffiness, so now I feel such plain moments are wholesome and heartwarming….

    Thanks for the chapter!

  6. This was an unexpectedly calm and sweet (for them) chapter… I wonder why he picked the traffic accident case?

    Thanks for your hard work!