Chapter 205

Chapter 205: Her Being Miserable Is Exactly What I Want In the days following her discharge from the hospital, Chu Tang had been organizing the case files for Jiangshi Group. All of Jiangshi's cases were major ones—large claim amounts, extensive evidence. Although the evidence had already been sorted once before, Chu Tang went through everything again one by one. Chu Tang was highly career-driven. After leaving the hospital, she threw herself into work, staying late at the law firm almost every night to put in overtime. One evening, Chu Tang received a phone call. "Miss, Gu Minghua refused to sign the divorce agreement and tore it up instead. This afternoon, Meng Yaqin had another big fight with him. Meng Yaqin has now retained Attorney Gao Qichen to file for divorce litigation." Chu Tang stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of her twenty-second-floor office, overlooking the bustling city nightscape. Neon lights flickered, and the glass reflection captured her delicate features. "Alright, I understand." Chu Tang hung up and immediately printed out a civil engagement contract and power-of-attorney authorization documents from the firm. She grabbed her car keys, locked up the office, and stepped into the elevator, with A Wen following behind her. Ruan Chutang took out her phone and made a call. "Hello?" The call connected, and Gu Minghua's voice came through. "President Gu, hello. This is Ruan Chutang." "What are you calling me for?" Gu Minghua's voice sounded highly displeased. "Haven't you already ruined our Zechuan enough?" Previously, Gu Zechuan had attempted suicide over Ruan Chutang, and Gu Minghua had a very poor impression of her because of it. On top of that, Meng Yaqin had been constantly muttering these past few days that Ruan Chutang was the one who drove Gu Group into bankruptcy. Gu Minghua's attitude toward Ruan Chutang had escalated directly from dislike to hatred and disgust. Gu Minghua was seething with anger. "Was it your scheme that bankrupted our Gu Group? What, are you calling to kick a man while he's down?" Chu Tang let out a low chuckle, her tone unhurried. "President Gu, you've misunderstood. I'm calling to help you. I heard Ms. Meng has been trying to divorce you lately. I can represent you in the divorce proceedings." Gu Minghua snorted coldly. "You expect me to believe you're that kind-hearted? You bankrupted our family—why should I trust you?" "President Gu." Chu Tang called out to him very calmly. "There's something I need to make clear." In a steady tone, Chu Tang said, "Gu Group wasn't bankrupted by me. Gu Zechuan made a decision-making error in a major investment project, causing severe losses. The company's capital chain broke, the project couldn't continue, and not only did they fail to make money, but they also had to pay astronomical penalty fees to the partners. Originally, those debts were the company's debts—after the company went bankrupt and dissolved, Gu Zechuan himself wouldn't have had to bear personal liability. The mistake was that Gu Zechuan abused his shareholder status to harm creditors' interests and commingled his personal assets with company property. Under the Company Law, the court would apply the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil and rule that Gu Zechuan bears joint and several liability with the company." "President Gu, you run a company. I'm sure you're not legally illiterate when it comes to corporate law. You know exactly what I mean, don't you?" At these words, Gu Minghua fell silent. "Ding—" The elevator reached the basement level. Chu Tang stepped out of the elevator and walked toward her car. Arriving at the white Rolls-Royce, she tossed the car keys to A Wen. "President Gu, I hope you can set aside personal grudges for the moment. My professional competence is beyond question. I have three years of practice experience, and I've won countless cases—I've almost never lost. Entrusting me with your divorce case won't be a mistake." Gu Minghua's tone softened slightly. "Why do you want to represent my divorce case?" A Wen opened the rear door for Chu Tang. "Because I don't want Meng Yaqin to get this divorce." Ruan Chutang got into the car, a smile in her voice. "Her being miserable is exactly what I want." Gu Minghua fell silent. In the past, Meng Yaqin had lived the lavish life of a wealthy wife with him—jewelry, limited-edition handbags, whatever she wanted, he gave her. Now that the company had gone bankrupt, she wanted a divorce, to abandon her husband and child and find a new prospect to continue living the good life. How could such a good deal exist in this world? Sharing in prosperity but not in hardship—Gu Minghua couldn't accept that. So this divorce, he absolutely refused to agree to! Gu Minghua believed what Ruan Chutang said, because he knew that Meng Yaqin had always looked down on Ruan Chutang and had humiliated her on multiple occasions. A Wen started the engine, and the white Rolls-Royce slowly pulled out of the underground parking garage. "President Gu, I'm heading to the hospital now to meet with you. Is that convenient?" Gu Minghua hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Come on over." Chu Tang added, "Please make sure to have any irrelevant people sent away, President Gu." The "irrelevant people" she meant were Meng Yaqin and Gu Zechuan. She didn't want to be disturbed while discussing the case. Gu Minghua said in a deep voice, "I understand." Twenty minutes later. At the hospital. Chu Tang walked into Gu Minghua's hospital room with A Wen following behind her. "President Gu." Chu Tang greeted him with a bright smile. Gu Minghua couldn't muster a smile at all. Now the company had gone bankrupt, the family was in shambles, his own health had deteriorated, and Meng Yaqin came to the hospital every day to argue with him. He was overwhelmed with problems, and his white hairs and wrinkles had multiplied. Gu Minghua spoke coldly and firmly, "There are so many lawyers in Jiangcheng, why should I choose you?" Chu Tang smiled. "There are indeed many lawyers in Jiangcheng, but not everyone has the status of being the daughter of the Ruan family." "The Gu family has already gone bankrupt. As far as I know, Ms. Meng hired Gao Qichen from Shengke to handle the divorce case, and the legal fee was only eight thousand yuan. She can't afford to pay more, and you're in a similar situation, President Gu. Am I right?" Gu Minghua kept a cold face and said nothing. Legal fees are calculated based on the amount in dispute in the case. Now that they had gone bankrupt, all the valuable assets at home were being held by the court, and those assets no longer belonged to them. The marital property to be divided in the divorce was pitifully small, so the legal fee naturally wasn't high either. But for them now, eight thousand was still quite a lot—equivalent to their family's rent and living expenses for a whole month. He was now practically penniless. Where would he find that much money to hire a lawyer? Ruan Chutang said with a smile, "President Gu, cases as small as yours—many lawyers wouldn't even want to take them. Even if you don't come to me and go to another lawyer instead, as long as I put in a word beforehand, just see which law firm in Jiangcheng would dare to take your case." Gu Minghua believed that. After all, Ruan Chutang wasn't just a lawyer—she also had another identity as the daughter of Ruan Shaodong, the richest man in Jiangcheng. If those law firms did her this favor, the benefits they could reap from the Ruan family in the future would be far more than what they'd get from taking his divorce case. Even a fool would know how to choose. After a moment of deliberation, Gu Minghua spoke. "Fine, I'll entrust you with this case. Do everything you can to make the court rule against the divorce." Chu Tang curled her lips. "Don't worry." ...... After Chen Wan had the abortion surgery, she recuperated at home for a while. The case in which she had slandered Ruan Chutang and incited her followers to cyberbully her was now in the second-instance trial proceedings. The Jiangcheng Intermediate Court hadn't yet set a hearing date. The Gu Group now had no possibility of turning things around. Chen Wan had made her plans. She found a playboy from her former social circle who had once admired her and asked him to help send her abroad.