Chapter 123

Chapter 123: The Bet Chu Tang walked over with a cold expression, ignoring them. After they left, Li Lanxi nudged Jiang Shixu's arm. "Hey, what a coincidence, isn't it? Sister-in-law is on the same flight as us." Jiang Shixu lowered his gaze without speaking. "Tsk tsk, look at that bitter, resentful look on your face. Sigh, tough situation." ... Early the next morning, Chu Tang arrived at the golf course with her director. Chu Tang was dressed in a white athletic outfit today, her hair tied up in a high ponytail, youthful and radiant with vitality. Li Yungui's eyes lit up the moment he saw her. The director introduced her: "This is Mr. Li of Tenghua Group. Hello, Mr. Li. This is our firm's lawyer, Ruan Chutang." Chu Tang smiled and greeted him: "Hello, Mr. Li." That faint smile made Li Yungui's heart flutter even more. Li Yungui chuckled. "I didn't expect your law firm to have such a young and beautiful female lawyer." Chu Tang smiled without saying anything, while the director chimed in agreement on the side. "Does Lawyer Ruan usually enjoy playing golf too?" Li Yungui asked. Chu Tang shook her head. "I only know a little. I wouldn't say I enjoy it much." Hearing this, Li Yungui sensed an opportunity and his smile grew even wider. "No problem, I can teach you." "What are you all chatting about so happily?" Just as he was speaking, a male voice rang out. Chu Tang's body stiffened. Jiang Shixu walked over, a companion following behind him. Li Yungui became deferential, all traces of his earlier flamboyance gone from his tone. "President Jiang, you're here to play golf as well. I was just chatting with Lawyer Ruan here about hobbies and interests, and got a bit carried away with a few laughs. I hope I'm not disturbing you?" Chu Tang's hand hanging at her side tightened. She raised her eyes to meet Jiang Shixu's gaze and called out a polite but distant "President Jiang." The director didn't usually spend much time at the firm and didn't follow entertainment news. Although Li Lanxi's face looked familiar to him, he didn't know that Li Lanxi had recently been caught up in rumors with Jiang Shixu, nor did he know that the president of Jiang Group standing before him was Ruan Chutang's ex-boyfriend. The director normally had no access to someone of Jiang Shixu's status, but he was very good at reading people. Seeing the president of Tenghua Group treat this young man with such deference, he immediately understood that this elegant, noble-looking young man must be someone extraordinary. He too greeted him respectfully: "Hello, President Jiang." Jiang Shixu's gaze landed on Chu Tang. She had put on makeup today, and with her high ponytail and athletic outfit, she looked like a female college student—beautiful and full of vitality, impossible to look away from. No wonder that old lecher had been staring at her. His gaze traveled downward, and Jiang Shixu saw the long, fair legs beneath her short skirt. He frowned slightly. Dressed so nicely, staying with two old men—a surge of irritation suddenly rose in Jiang Shixu's chest. He almost couldn't stop himself from taking off his jacket to tie it around Chu Tang's waist and driving away the two old men beside her. Suppressing the irritation and displeasure in his heart with great effort, Jiang Shixu's eyes were indifferent, his expression blank as he uttered an "Mm." "Quite disturbing, actually." Li Yungui bowed and scraped. "My apologies, President Jiang. I'll be more mindful." "You all carry on." Jiang Shixu dropped those three words and left. He had come to the course today to accompany a friend who had just returned from Country A. The friend's name was Shen Yan. It was thanks to his help that the Fu Yuanzhou project in Country A had been secured so quickly. After they had walked a good distance away, Shen Yan, who had been silent beside Jiang Shixu the whole time, immediately put on an expression like he'd discovered a new continent. "Shixu, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't that your fiancée just now? Why do the two of you seem like you don't know each other?" Shen Yan had emigrated to Country A over a decade ago. He didn't know Ruan Chutang, but a few years ago he had seen photos of her in Jiang Shixu's villa in Country A. Back then, Jiang Shixu had said the person in the photos was the girl he had a crush on. Later, Shen Yan had made a special trip back to China to attend Jiang Shixu and Ruan Chutang's engagement ceremony. Seeing that Jiang Shixu's fiancée was the girl he'd been pining for all those years, he'd congratulated him on finally getting what he'd been waiting for. "We broke up." "Huh?" Shen Yan was shocked. "Why did you suddenly break up when things were going so well? Didn't you wait over a decade before finally seeing the clouds part and the moon shine through?" A caddie nearby handed over a golf club. Jiang Shixu took it, swung the club, and sent a ball flying. "I don't want her caught in the crossfire. She nearly lost her life because of me." Shen Yan understood. At the engagement ceremony before, Ruan Chutang's younger sister had been kidnapped, Jiang Shixu had been seriously injured, and the ceremony had to be called off. Later, he'd learned that it had all been orchestrated by the Jiang family's adopted daughter, with Fu Yuanzhou backing her from behind the scenes. From that point on, Fu Yuanzhou had been plotting his revenge against the Jiang family. Shen Yan asked, "So Fu Yuanzhou made a move against her again afterward?" Jiang Shixu's gaze turned cold as he told Shen Yan about Fu Yuanzhou sending people to hunt down him and Chu Tang, and about Ruan Shaodong being pushed off the building. Shen Yan's expression changed. "He actually used heavy weapons? This is China! How dare that madman Fu Yuanzhou—" "He's covered his tracks well. The police can't trace anything back to him." "Then you'd better be careful. Fu Yuanzhou is a mad dog—when cornered, he's capable of anything." "I know." "Tsk." Shen Yan sighed and reached out to pat Jiang Shixu on the shoulder. "Breaking up was the right call, but it's hard on you and her—loving each other yet unable to be together." Jiang Shixu lowered his lashes, ripples stirring in his heart. Loving each other yet unable to be together? No. This was only temporary. Once the Fu Yuanzhou matter was settled, he would definitely win Chu Tang back. ... Over on the other side, Li Yungui sidled up to Chu Tang. "Lawyer Ruan, do you usually enjoy playing golf too?" Chu Tang shifted aside, putting distance between herself and Li Yungui, and replied politely, "A little, but I don't play often." Li Yungui had no idea about Chu Tang's family background. He assumed she was just an ordinary junior lawyer, scraping by each month on a meager salary of a few tens of thousands. A few tens of thousands was nothing in his eyes—gone after a single meal. Li Yungui smiled with a rather smug expression. "That's true. A beginner's set of equipment alone would cost you a month's salary, not to mention the green fees and coaching costs. Take this course, for example—the annual membership fee is over three million. You lawyers work so hard for your money; there's really no need to throw it all away on something like this." Chu Tang pretended not to catch the condescension laced through Li Yungui's words, and gave a radiant smile. "You're absolutely right." That gentle, sparkling smile of Chu Tang's left Li Yungui utterly enchanted, barely able to contain himself. He had always been used to throwing his weight around with money. Women had never been in short supply for him—the flag at home never fell, and colorful banners flew outside. Over the years, he had kept no small number of young women. Li Yungui suddenly felt emboldened. "Lawyer Ruan, how about I get you a membership? You could keep me company on the course whenever you're free—what do you say?" Chu Tang sneered inwardly. She saw through Li Yungui's filthy intentions at a glance. He said "keep him company on the course," but if she actually agreed, it would be far more than just golf. Three million for a membership to sleep with a girl? At his age, he definitely had a wife at home. Shameless. Chu Tang didn't let her contempt and mockery show. She merely curved her lips into a faint smile. "I'm sorry, Mr. Li. I can make sure you have a great time today, but I really don't have much free time on a regular basis." The director beside her was frantically signaling her with his eyes. The message was: Why would you turn down such a great opportunity? Chu Tang pretended not to see it. Li Yungui, rejected, wasn't annoyed. He had seen every kind of situation there was. He simply took Chu Tang's refusal as a young woman's reserved aloofness. He thought he'd seen plenty of girls like this. They all started by putting on airs of purity, pretending they weren't interested in his money, playing their cards carefully, casting a long line to catch a big fish. Commonly known as "gold diggers." But in his eyes, whatever a gold digger managed to scrape together was nothing to him. The woman before him was a rare beauty—far more stunning than the internet celebrities and minor actresses he'd slept with before. If he could get her into bed, he'd pay any price. Li Yungui was determined to have her, a genial smile fixed on his face. "No problem. You lawyers are all very busy. We can arrange something another time. For today, let's just have a good time." Chu Tang replied with a beaming smile. "Sounds great, Mr. Li." Li Yungui was so bewitched by Chu Tang's smile that his head grew hot, and he blurted out, "How about this—I'll make a bet with Lawyer Ruan. If you can get a ball onto the green within ten strokes, I'll lose you a hundred thousand. For every stroke under that, I'll lose you another hundred thousand." Chu Tang asked with a smile, "And what if I lose? What if I can't get it onto the green in ten strokes?" Li Yungui's face glowed with excitement. "Then how about Lawyer Ruan does me the honor of joining me for dinner tonight? Just the two of us."