Chapter 114

Chapter 114: An Unexpected Encounter In a room on the second floor of the villa. Men's and women's clothing were scattered all over the floor, a pair of black stockings torn and half-draped over the sofa. Fu Yuanzhou leaned against the headboard, lazily smoking a post-coital cigarette, his expression one of complete satisfaction. Beside him, the girl's eyes were seductive as silk, still savoring the moment. His phone vibrated. Fu Yuanzhou took a drag of his cigarette and answered calmly. Zhou Yu spoke with utmost respect, "Brother Zhou, the Ruan family just held a press conference announcing the dissolution of the engagement with the Jiang family. Additionally, there are rumors online that Jiang Shixu was seen entering a hotel with a popular actress, suspected of cheating." "Ha." Fu Yuanzhou let out a contemptuous laugh. "And here I thought he was some great romantic, turns out he's just another womanizer, exactly like his old man." Zhou Yu asked, "Then what about the Ruan family..." Fu Yuanzhou lowered his gaze, pondering for a moment. "Keep watching them. They might be faking the dissolution to deceive me." "Yes, Brother Zhou." "Pay special attention to Ruan Chutang's whereabouts. Report to me immediately if anything happens." "Yes." ... Chu Tang rested at home for a day, pulled herself together, and returned to the law firm to work as usual. These past two days had been calm, with no inexplicable incidents. She and her family were all safe and sound. Chu Tang curled the corner of her mouth, a bitter taste in her heart. It seemed calling off the engagement had its benefits—at least that madman Fu Yuanzhou wouldn't hurt her and her family anymore. As she walked into the firm, her colleagues greeted her one after another. Chu Tang responded with a faint smile and polite nods, stepping into her office in black mid-heel leather shoes. The firm had a dress code—professional attire and black leather shoes were mandatory. Today, Chu Tang wore a black suit, her long hair pinned up at the back of her head, concealer covering her dark circles, and vintage red lipstick brightening her complexion. She looked completely different from how she'd been the past two days. No one could tell she had just gone through a breakup. Her supervisor assigned three new cases, and Chu Tang quickly immersed herself in work, analyzing the case files. After the previous supervisor Yang Xiaojing resigned, the new supervisor Chen Lili had taken over. Chen Lili wasn't being manipulated by anyone to target Ruan Chutang, nor did she have any personal grudge against her. Chu Tang's work life had become much smoother. That day after work, Chu Tang stayed late on her own initiative, finishing up her tasks. She turned off the lights and was about to leave when she suddenly heard faint sobbing from outside. She furrowed her brows slightly, closed her office door, and went out to investigate. The crying came from the assistant work area. Paralegals didn't have private offices—all assistants worked in a shared space, separated by partitions between desks. Chu Tang approached and found that the person crying was none other than Yu Jiaojiao. "Jiaojiao, what's wrong?" Chu Tang asked in a concerned, gentle tone. "What happened?" Yu Jiaojiao grabbed two tissues and roughly wiped her tears. "Lawyer Ruan, I... I'm fine..." Chu Tang pulled over a chair from the neighboring desk and sat down. "Don't put on a brave face with me. Tell me what's going on—let me see if I can help." The girl's eyes were red. She was silent for a moment before speaking in a choked voice, "It's nothing major, I..." Just then, two colleagues walked past them. Afraid of being overheard, Yu Jiaojiao quickly stopped talking. Chu Tang understood immediately. "Is it something you can't talk about here? Do you have plans tonight? If not, how about we grab dinner together?" "I don't have plans." "Alright then, pack up your things—let's go eat." ... Chu Tang chose a barbecue restaurant based on Yu Jiaojiao's preferences. The restaurant had an elegant, stylish interior with dim lighting that created a wonderfully atmospheric vibe. Yu Jiaojiao had heard of this place—it was a high-end barbecue restaurant, rumored to cost several thousand per person. A hint of embarrassment crept onto the girl's face. "Lawyer Ruan, isn't this place too expensive?" Chu Tang smiled. "I'm treating you. We're close—don't stand on ceremony with me." After everything that had happened with the Liu Ming and Liu Yue siblings, Chu Tang and Yu Jiaojiao's relationship had grown closer. They were no longer just ordinary colleagues—they were friends. Yu Jiaojiao still felt a little awkward. "This... isn't this too much?" "You're feeling down, and as your friend, I want to treat you to a nice meal to cheer you up. What's wrong with that?" The young woman bit her lip softly, touched by Chu Tang's kindness. "Then thank you, Lawyer Ruan." "Don't call me Lawyer Ruan after work hours—that's so formal. Just call me Tangtang, or Sister Chutang if you prefer." Yu Jiaojiao smiled. "Alright, Sister Chutang." Chu Tang found a seat by the window. "The view here is great—you can see the night scenery." "Mhm." Yu Jiaojiao sat down across from Chu Tang, looking a bit reserved. "Order whatever you like." Chu Tang handed the menu to Yu Jiaojiao. Yu Jiaojiao waved her hands. "Sister Chutang, you order. I'm fine with anything." Understanding the girl's shyness, Chu Tang nodded, took back the menu, and ordered several signature barbecue dishes along with some vegetables. The raw meat arrived quickly, and they didn't have to cook it themselves—the server grilled everything for them. After the waiter finished grilling the meat and placed it on the plate, Chu Tang politely said thank you and dismissed the waiter. "So, tell me, what happened?" Chu Tang asked. With no outsiders around and the mood set, Yu Jiaojiao opened up. "It's nothing major, I just got scolded by Lawyer Gao today." "Gao Qichen?" "Yeah." Gao Qichen was Yu Jiaojiao's supervising lawyer. Chu Tang hadn't had much contact with her, but she'd heard colleagues mention in private that Gao Qichen had a polarizing personality—unpredictable. When she was in a good mood, she was especially gentle; when she was in a bad mood, she liked to take it out on her assistants. There was a guy who had joined the firm on the same day as Yu Jiaojiao. After being scolded by Gao Qichen twice, he just walked out and quit on the spot. That guy hadn't passed the bar exam yet—he'd applied for a paralegal position and didn't need to register for internship at the firm, so he could leave whenever he wanted. But Yu Jiaojiao was different. She'd passed the bar exam and had registered in April this year. She had to complete a full year of internship before she could leave. In other words, she couldn't leave until April next year. Chu Tang asked, "What did she scold you for?" "There's a client in a divorce case who's really difficult to deal with. Communicating with her is especially hard." Yu Jiaojiao sighed, her face full of worry. "When I asked her to provide evidence, she ignored me. When I called her, she was uncooperative. Lawyer Gao blamed me for not knowing how to communicate with people. The client wasn't satisfied with the complaint I drafted and kept demanding I add emotional distress damages to the claims—she asked for 300,000 right off the bat." "The thing is, her situation doesn't even qualify for emotional distress damages. Not only can't we claim it, but a 300,000 claim amount would also increase her litigation fees. I explained this to her, but she wouldn't listen and insisted I write it in. I'd never encountered this situation before, so I asked Lawyer Gao about it, and she ended up scolding me for having no brains, being long-winded, and not knowing how to communicate." "Later, Lawyer Gao called the client herself to communicate. She explained exactly the same thing I had explained to the client earlier. Then Lawyer Gao wrote her own complaint, but the client was still unsatisfied and made a bunch of unreasonable demands." "I told Lawyer Gao from the start that the client was difficult to deal with, but she wouldn't believe me and kept blaming me for not knowing how to communicate. In the end, she got annoyed by the client herself and took it out on me—she called me into her office and threw a huge tantrum at me. I was upset, so I defended myself with a few words, and she said I was talking back and scolded me again." As she spoke, Yu Jiaojiao got upset and started crying again. Chu Tang pulled out a few tissues and handed them over. "Alright, alright, don't cry. How about you come be my assistant instead? I'll talk to the supervisor." Yu Jiaojiao suddenly looked up. "Can you do that?" "Of course. You're registered at the firm, not under Lawyer Gao personally. It's the same with any supervising lawyer." Hearing Chu Tang say this, Yu Jiaojiao smiled sincerely. "Thank you, Sister Chu Tang." "Alright, no more crying now. Cheer up." "Mm." After the two finished eating, Chu Tang got up to pay the bill. She'd only taken a couple of steps when a man and a woman approached from the opposite direction. "Ruan Chutang?" The man greeted her with a smile in his peach-blossom eyes. Chu Tang looked over, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "You are...?"