Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Our Cooperation Ends Here In the Western restaurant. Lu Shuci elegantly cut into his steak. Chu Tang ordered a bottle of Romanée-Conti Grand Cru red wine. A waiter in uniform decanted the wine for them. Lu Shuci smiled. "Even if the judge rules entirely in our favor on the Hengyang case, the attorney's fee is only two hundred thousand. You spent one hundred and eighty thousand on this single bottle of wine. Lawyer Ruan, this is a losing deal for you." Ruan Chutang gently swirled her wine glass, a faint smile in her starlike beautiful eyes. "No, I never make losing deals." Lu Shuci smiled as he looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "The revenue Lawyer Lu can bring to Huayue in a year is more than ten times the price of this bottle of wine," Chu Tang said with a smile. Lu Shuci let out a low chuckle. "I thought Lawyer Ruan was rich but foolish. I didn't expect you to be so good at business." "Of course. After all, look whose daughter I am." When it came to business, who could compare to Ruan Shaodong, the number one entrepreneur in Jiangcheng? The meal was very pleasant. Lu Shuci offered many practical suggestions and argument strategies. Chu Tang noted them all down one by one. After finishing the meal, Chu Tang called over the waiter to settle the bill. The waiter smiled politely and said, "Hello ma'am, this gentleman has already paid." Chu Tang's hand holding her card paused mid-motion. She looked up at Lu Shuci sitting across from her. "Didn't we agree I was treating this time?" Lu Shuci curved his lips. "Letting a lady pay isn't my style." "..." Chu Tang puffed out her cheeks. "An one hundred and eighty thousand yuan bottle of wine, twenty thousand yuan worth of dishes—Lawyer Lu hasn't even earned much from Huayue yet, but you've already spent two hundred thousand. Isn't this a losing deal for you?" "Same as you, I never make losing deals." Lu Shuci's eyes held a smile. "Lawyer Ruan has such excellent connections and resources. Following you, I'm not afraid of running out of cases. I'm waiting for you to bring me the big ones." "Fine." Chu Tang put her card back into her bag. "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you either." Chu Tang had just put her card away and was about to stand up and leave. Just then, a woman walked toward them. The woman's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief. "Shuci?" The woman had already reached the table. "It really is you!" Lu Shuci was slightly taken aback. "Aunt?" The woman's name was Lin Man. She had neat chestnut-colored short hair and wore delicate makeup. Although she was already past forty, she was very well-preserved, looking as if she had just turned thirty. "And this is?" Lin Man looked at Ruan Chutang with a beaming smile. "This is my partner I mentioned to you before, Ruan Chutang." After introducing her, Lu Shuci then introduced Lin Man to Chu Tang. "Lawyer Ruan, this is my aunt." "Hello." Chu Tang smiled in greeting. "Hello there." Lin Man couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth. "Shuci has mentioned you to me." Chu Tang smiled faintly. "You kid." Lin Man nudged Lu Shuci with her elbow. "You only said Lawyer Ruan is an exceptionally professional lawyer. You didn't say she's a great beauty." A trace of embarrassment flashed across Lu Shuci's face. "Aunt..." "Lawyer Ruan, do you have a boyfriend?" Lin Man asked with the familiarity of an old friend. Chu Tang was stunned. This was way too forward. "Aunt!" Lu Shuci quickly cut Lin Man off. The man's ears were suspiciously red... "I'm sorry about that, Lawyer Ruan. My aunt is a social terrorist. Please don't mind her." Lu Shuci explained in a hurry. Chu Tang smiled and shook her head. "It's fine." Lin Man winked at Lu Shuci and said in a low voice, "I think this girl suits you very well. This is the first time I've seen you on a date with a girl. You better put in some effort, kid!" Although she had deliberately lowered her voice, she was close enough that Chu Tang still heard it. Chu Tang awkwardly averted her gaze, pretending she hadn't heard. Lu Shuci helplessly rubbed his temples. "Aunt, just stop worrying about me." "How can I not worry? Do you know that in the past few years when you showed no interest in women, your mother and I both thought you liked men? We were both worried sick but didn't dare ask you..." Before Lin Man could finish, Lu Shuci clamped his hand over her mouth. "You're getting more and more ridiculous." Chu Tang couldn't help but laugh out loud. Lin Man quickly stopped herself. "Anyway, Lawyer Ruan, our Shuci's sexual orientation is perfectly normal. I still have some things to do. You two take your time eating." Chu Tang responded politely, "Alright, goodbye." "Goodbye, nephew's wife!" Lin Man smiled with her eyes curved like crescents. Chu Tang: "..." After Lin Man left, Lu Shuci said with an apologetic expression, "I'm really sorry about that, Lawyer Ruan. My aunt just likes to talk nonsense. Don't take it to heart." "It's fine." Chu Tang smiled. "I didn't expect Lawyer Lu to be pressured about marriage too. I thought someone as outstanding as you would have already had a girlfriend or fiancée." Hearing this, Lu Shuci suddenly gave Ruan Chutang a meaningful look, then quickly averted his gaze. "I'm waiting for someone." "What?" Chu Tang didn't understand at first. After asking reflexively, she quickly caught on. "I see." "It's getting late. Let me drive you home." Lu Shuci stood up and picked up his coat. "No need." Chu Tang also stood up. "I drove here." "But you just had a drink." Lu Shuci reminded her kindly. "Oh, right." Chu Tang said, "No need to go to the trouble. I'll call the driver to pick me up." She had planned to return to the Ruan family villa tonight anyway to check on her younger sister. "That works too." Lu Shuci didn't insist further. ...... At a remote villa somewhere on the outskirts. Gu Zechuan shouted furiously, "You want to use my hands to get rid of Chu Tang? You knew full well that Fu Yuanzhou said he'd kill the hostage if we called the police, yet you still told me to call them immediately!" Xu Jingxuan gave a cold smile. "So what? I've been wishing for Ruan Chutang's death all along!" "Xu Jingxuan!" Gu Zechuan roared, veins bulging on his forehead. "You only said at the beginning that you wanted to break up Chu Tang and Jiang Shixu—you never said you wanted her dead!" "That was then." Xu Jingxuan's eyes were full of mockery as she curled her lips. "Now I just want her dead. Only when she's gone will my brother's eyes finally have room for me." "You lunatic!" Gu Zechuan was so furious his chest heaved violently. He lunged forward to strike her but was held back by Xu Jingxuan's bodyguards. "Gu Zechuan, look at yourself—what a useless, pathetic sight. What good are you? No wonder Ruan Chutang didn't want you." Xu Jingxuan said with utter contempt. "Even after Ruan Chutang broke up, she never gave you a second glance. You're useless to me now. Our partnership ends here." Gu Zechuan said viciously, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell Jiang Shixu everything you've done?" "Hahahaha..." Xu Jingxuan burst into laughter as if she'd just heard a hilarious joke. "Did I hear that right?" Xu Jingxuan looked at Gu Zechuan with amusement. "Are you threatening me?" "Don't forget who's behind me." Xu Jingxuan said, relying on her backer's power. "To Fu Yuanzhou, I'm far more useful than you. Guess what—if you spill everything I've done and the Jiang family casts me out, and I lose my value, do you think Fu Yuanzhou will let you off?" At the mention of Fu Yuanzhou, a flicker of fear passed through Gu Zechuan's eyes. That man was a madman who dared to chase down Jiang Shixu with a heavy rifle in broad daylight! Jiang Shixu could survive Fu Yuanzhou's attacks, but Gu Zechuan definitely wouldn't. He was just an ordinary rich second-generation heir, a playboy who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun. Although he had recently been seriously managing the company, no longer wasting his days and squandering money like before, he was still just an ordinary person—no personal power base, no professionally trained mercenaries under his command. The bodyguards he hired would be taken out in seconds against Fu Yuanzhou's men. If Fu Yuanzhou really came after him, he wouldn't stand a chance of survival. With that thought, Gu Zechuan gritted his teeth and could only swallow his anger. Xu Jingxuan's partnership with Gu Zechuan was terminated. Neither of them noticed the camera hidden behind the tree branches outside the villa.