Chapter 170

Chapter 170: What a Perfect Match Chu Tang frowned, her gaze coolly sweeping over Xu Jingxuan, who was forced to kowtow. She turned to Jiang Shixu, whose face was cold, and asked, "What do you mean by 'treating human lives like grass'?" Jiang Shixu didn't want to tell Chu Tang that Xu Jingxuan had been helping Fu Yuanzhou with his work and had participated in silencing people by killing them. Chu Tang had already worried herself sick over Liu Ming and Liu Yue, siblings who had nothing to do with her—she couldn't eat or sleep well. If she found out that those innocent people had died tragically at Fu Yuanzhou's hands, she would surely be upset for a long time again. He replied flatly, "It's about Chen Jingsu." "Oh." Chu Tang lowered her eyelashes, feeling that things weren't quite that simple. That day, Xu Jingxuan was expelled from the Jiang Family. Jiang Shixu handed her over to the police. Xu Jingxuan was formally arrested. ... Country A. Fu Yuanzhou's subordinate Zhou Yu hung up the phone with a grave expression. "Brother Zhou, Xu Jingxuan has already been handed over to the police by Jiang Shixu. She sent someone to pass a message asking if you could save her." Fu Yuanzhou smiled nonchalantly and asked Zhou Yu in return, "Would you waste your energy saving something useless?" Zhou Yu lowered his head and replied, "I understand, Brother Zhou." Fu Yuanzhou asked again, "How's Gu Tingchen doing on his end?" "He's already been given what Xu Jingxuan provided." "Mm." Fu Yuanzhou gently swirled his red wine glass, a smile curling at the corner of his lips. "The show is about to begin." ... Saturday morning. Lin Man specifically called to remind Ruan Chutang. "Lawyer Ruan, I asked Shuci for your phone number. Do you still remember that you agreed to have dinner together tonight?" Lin Man asked in a gentle tone. Chu Tang replied, "Of course." Lin Man let out a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I've booked a private room at Xiangyuan Grand Restaurant for seven o'clock tonight. I'll have Shuci come pick you up." "No need, I'll drive over myself." "That works too. See you tonight then. Bye, Lawyer Ruan." "Bye." At six in the evening, Chu Tang changed her clothes and got ready to head out. She didn't dress up deliberately, just put on a light touch of makeup. Underneath her coat, she wore an off-white long dress, paired with a beige overcoat. Her wavy hair hung loosely over her shoulders, giving her a gentle and elegant appearance. Arriving at the agreed restaurant, Chu Tang parked her car in the open-air parking lot downstairs. Just as she reached the entrance, she ran into Lin Man, who was walking out of the restaurant. Lin Man was holding Gu Tian's hand. When she saw Ruan Chutang, her face immediately broke into a warm smile, and she said enthusiastically, "Lawyer Ruan, I was just thinking you'd be arriving soon, so I came down to check. What a coincidence—perfect timing." "Tiantian, say hello to your sister." Lin Man said to her daughter. Little Gu Tian looked up and gave Ruan Chutang a sweet smile, her eyes curving into crescents as she greeted, "Good evening, Sister Chutang." Chu Tang smiled gently and handed Gu Tian a pink bag tied with a bow. "Good evening, Tiantian. This is a gift from your sister." Lin Man was slightly surprised and quickly waved her hand, saying, "You shouldn't have, you really shouldn't have. Tonight's dinner is my way of thanking you. It's enough that you came—why did you bring a gift?" Chu Tang smiled. "It's for the little one. Tiantian is so adorable. My younger sister is about her age, so I see Tiantian like my own sister. A small gift is no trouble at all." Lin Man's gaze swept over the bag in Gu Tian's hand. The logo printed on the bag was PRADA. Children are curious by nature, and the little girl immediately took out what was inside. It was a pair of very pretty hair clips—pink, with a ring of sparkling pink rhinestones around the edges. The little girl's eyes lit up the moment she saw the hair clips. She smiled and said in a crisp voice, "Wow, thank you, Sister Chutang! The hair clips are so pretty. I love them." Lin Man curved her lips into a smile and said, "You've spent so much on her, Lawyer Ruan. I feel so embarrassed." "It's fine as long as the little one likes them." Although Lin Man had invited her to dinner as a thank-you, Chu Tang didn't feel right showing up empty-handed, so she bought a pair of hair clips. Little kids love those pink, shiny, sparkly little hair clips. "Lawyer Ruan, let me take you upstairs," Lin Man said with a smile. "Alright." The private room was on the third floor. Chu Tang followed Lin Man into the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, Gu Tian held up the hair clips and looked up at Lin Man, saying, "Mommy, help me put them on." "You silly child." Lin Man smiled helplessly, took the pair of hair clips, and clipped them on either side of the little girl's head. "So pretty," Chu Tang praised. Lin Man said, "Thank you so much, Lawyer Ruan." "You're welcome." In the span of a couple of sentences, the elevator reached the third floor. Lin Man led Ruan Chutang to the private room. When the door opened, Chu Tang's expression froze for a moment at the sight of the people inside. There were four people seated inside. Lu Shuci stood up and greeted her with a smile. "Good evening, partner." Lin Man teased with a smile, "Why so formal? You're all so familiar with each other now—'Tangtang' sounds so much nicer." With that, Lin Man turned to Chu Tang and said, "Shuci happened to be running errands nearby and hadn't had dinner yet, so I invited him to join us. You don't mind, do you, Lawyer Ruan?" Chu Tang shook her head. "I don't mind." In the private room, besides Lu Shuci, there was also a kindly elderly couple and a middle-aged man in a suit with an elegant, refined demeanor. "Miss Ruan, hello. My name is Gu Tingyao, Tian Tian's father. Thank you so much for helping us find our lost Tian Tian." The middle-aged man stood up and came over to greet her. Ruan Chutang understood now. So this was Lin Man's husband, Tian Tian's father—which also made him Lu Shuci's aunt's husband. Chu Tang replied politely, "Hello, Mr. Gu." After Gu Tingyao spoke, the elderly woman also said with a face full of gratitude, "Lawyer Ruan, we're truly grateful for what you did this time. If it weren't for you, our Tian Tian might have been taken away by traffickers." Judging by her age, this elderly woman should be Lu Shuci's grandmother. Chu Tang said, "You're too kind, ma'am. It was just a small effort on my part." "Lawyer Ruan, don't just stand there—please, have a seat." Lu Shuci's grandfather said with a hearty chuckle. "Alright." Chu Tang pulled out a chair and sat down. The table in the private room was large—a ten-seater. Counting little Gu Tian, there were seven people in the room. That left three empty seats. The seats on either side of Chu Tang were both vacant. Lin Man shot Lu Shuci a look, signaling him to move over and sit next to Chu Tang. Lu Shuci shook his head with a hint of helplessness. Ruan Chutang noticed the strange atmosphere between them and tilted her head slightly, asking, "What's the matter, Lawyer Lu?" It was customary among lawyers to address each other this way. Lu Shuci pushed up his glasses and said in a composed tone, "Nothing. My aunt just meant that it'd be more convenient for us to discuss work if we sat together. I think so too. I hope you don't mind, Lawyer Ruan?" Chu Tang smiled and said, "With such a responsible partner as Lawyer Lu, I'd be more than happy. Why would I mind? Actually, there are a few things about the Hengyang case I'd like to discuss with you." Lu Shuci stood up, walked over, and sat down beside Chu Tang. "Alright, let's talk slowly." Lin Man watched from the side with a knowing, auntie-like smile, her eyes full of delight as she looked at Lu Shuci and Ruan Chutang sitting together. She murmured softly to herself, "What a perfect match."