Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Is It Really Okay for Us to Do This? Chu Tang frowned. "What was that gentleman's name?" "I'm sorry, but we don't know that information on our end either." "Alright, thank you." Chu Tang hung up the phone. She opened the package, revealing a beautifully crafted pink gift box, heart-shaped at that. Chu Tang furrowed her brows as she opened the box, and before her eyes appeared a stunning diamond necklace that was clearly worth a fortune. Inside the gift box was also a card that read "Happy Valentine's Day." It was only then that Chu Tang remembered—today was Valentine's Day. Who sent this? That familiar face suddenly flashed into Chu Tang's mind. She had just run into Jiang Shixu at the restaurant during the day—could it be him? The moment this thought surfaced, Chu Tang's mind went blank for an instant, and her fingertips began to tingle. Soon, however, she dismissed the idea. When she'd encountered him at the restaurant today, his gaze had seemed cold and indifferent, his face devoid of expression—he didn't look like he cared at all. Could it be Gu Zechuan? Just as she was thinking about it— Chu Tang's phone rang again. She set down the necklace box and answered. "Hello, delivery here." "Delivery?" Chu Tang was baffled once more. "I didn't order anything." The delivery rider's tone carried a hint of a smile. "It's probably from your boyfriend—it's a bouquet of flowers." "..." Is this never going to end? Chu Tang opened the door helplessly and took the flowers from the delivery rider. It was a large bouquet of pink roses. Tucked in the middle was a card. It read: "Tangtang, if you have no Valentine on Valentine's Day, you still have your besties—your sisters will always love you! —Chen Yuanyuan." Soon after, Chu Tang received another bouquet. A bunch of pink ranunculus, with a card that read: "May our friendship last forever. —Zhou Xueluo." A warm current flowed through Chu Tang's heart. She took a photo of the flowers and sent it to her besties' group chat. [Thank you, my darlings. I received the flowers, and I love them.] Chen Yuanyuan: [Which bouquet do you like more?] Chu Tang: [A trick question—I refuse to answer.] Zhou Xueluo: [I want to know too.] Chu Tang: [Xueluo, don't join in on her teasing.] Chen Yuanyuan: [Alright, alright, I'll let you off the hook. Hmph, I'll only accept being ranked first in your heart, or tied for first with Xueluo.] Chu Tang: [Well, you two are definitely tied for first.] Chu Tang: [I've been so busy today that I forgot—I'll make it up to you both with gifts another day.] Chen Yuanyuan: [Don't wait for another day. I've got my eye on that new bag Chanel just released.] Chu Tang replied with a rabbit emoji saying "OK." Chu Tang: [Xueluo, what about you?] Zhou Xueluo: [No rush, I haven't decided yet.] Chu Tang: [Then tell me whenever you've made up your mind.] After putting the flowers away, Chu Tang's peripheral vision caught the diamond necklace box again. She searched the brand's official website and found that this necklace was a special limited edition released for Valentine's Day, priced at 9.99 million yuan, symbolizing everlasting love between lovers. Who could have sent it? Gu Zechuan? No way—he didn't know her current address. This apartment had been bought and given to her by Ruan Shaodong not long ago. Apart from her family, only her two best friends knew the address. But the store clerk said it was a gentleman who sent it. Chu Tang was utterly perplexed. After a moment, she placed the necklace back in the box and called the store clerk again to ask if she could return it for a refund. She didn't want the necklace—the money should be refunded back to that gentleman's account. The clerk said a refund was possible, but the gentleman himself would need to come to the store in person to process it. Chu Tang felt a wave of helplessness. If she knew who bought it, would she even need to call the clerk to ask? But then again, the clerk was just an employee, and she didn't want to make things difficult for them. After a few more words, she hung up. The necklace box was casually tossed into her storage cabinet. ... At Zhou Xueluo's villa. Chen Yuanyuan was holding her newly acquired bag, unable to put it down. Zhou Xueluo looked somewhat guilty. "Yuanyuan, is it really okay for us to do this?" Chen Yuanyuan: "It's fine." "As Tangtang's best friends, aren't we basically betraying her by doing this?" "Oh, come on, we just gave him an address, didn't we? Shixu has a sense of propriety—he won't do anything out of line. Don't worry." Zhou Xueluo's face was clouded with worry. "If Tangtang finds out we bought flowers because we felt guilty, I wonder if she'll be angry." "Cough, cough." Chen Yuanyuan coughed awkwardly. "What are you talking about? It's not because we feel guilty—the flowers are... a symbol of friendship!" "Right!" Chen Yuanyuan nodded with exaggerated seriousness, trying to convince herself. "A symbol of friendship!" Zhou Xueluo: "..." "Yuanyuan, I recall you said just a couple of days ago that Tangtang and Lu Shuci made a good match? How come you're siding with Shixu now on Valentine's Day?" "Who told him to pay so generously? Anyway, Qin Yan said Shixu had his reasons for breaking up with Tangtang, and once he resolves things on his end, he'll be begging to get back together soon. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Besides, we've known him for so long—it's only reasonable to help him out. Don't you think?" Zhou Xueluo: "When you put it that way, it does make some sense." ... At Jiang Shixu's office. His subordinate Lu Ze came to report. "Young Master, do you still remember the case of Liu Ming that the young mistress took on before?" Jiang Shixu asked, "I remember. What about it?" Lu Ze said, "The boss above Liu Yuanlei, the owner of Liu Ming's factory, is a man named Sun Licheng. I sent you his information before." "I know." Sun Licheng operates on both sides of the law, controlling dozens of companies. He finds unrelated scapegoats to serve as legal representatives, and while the companies appear to conduct legitimate business on the surface, behind the scenes they are engaged in illegal and criminal activities. Jiang Shixu's expression turned stern. "Get straight to the point." Lu Ze said, "Sun Licheng is one of Fu Yuanzhou's men. We recently discovered that Sun Licheng has been laundering money for Fu Yuanzhou." A layer of frost settled over Jiang Shixu's eyes. "Have you gathered evidence?" Lu Ze lowered his head and replied, "We only have evidence of some of Sun Licheng's crimes. After laundering the money, Sun Licheng transfers the funds to an overseas account, and the nominal account holder is a scapegoat Fu Yuanzhou found. With the current evidence, we can only take down Sun Licheng. Fu Yuanzhou has little influence in China—he relies entirely on Sun Licheng and his men. Although we haven't yet gathered evidence of Fu Yuanzhou's crimes in China, if we can put Sun Licheng away, Fu Yuanzhou will lose his strongest support in China." "Move immediately." Jiang Shixu ordered coldly. "Submit the evidence to the police and cooperate with them in arresting Sun Licheng." "Yes." ... In early March, Chu Tang's law firm finished its renovations. Professionals were brought in to remove formaldehyde from the premises. After testing passed, Chu Tang and Lu Shuci purchased a large batch of office supplies together, including desks, office chairs, computers, stationery, document folders, and more. In addition to Lu Shuci, the firm gained another partner—Lu Shuci's classmate, Zhang Yang, a lawyer specializing in criminal defense. After bringing in the partner, Lu Shuci also took charge of recruiting several lawyers, including newly licensed junior attorneys as well as experienced senior ones.