Chapter 270

Chapter 270: Today Is a Special Day Not long after August began, Chu Tang received one piece of good news after another. Gu Qiuhui was suspected of the crime of forcible indecency, and with sufficient and solid evidence, the police had already transferred the case to the procuratorate. In mid-August, the procuratorate filed a public prosecution with the court. At the same time, Jiangshi Group's acquisition of the subsidiary companies under Zhonghui Group was proceeding in full swing. Compared to Gu Qiuhui, Tan Bin's fate was even worse. He had lain in the hospital for over a month, and after finally recovering from his injuries, he was taken away by the police the moment he completed his discharge procedures. All the illegal and criminal activities he had committed in Sucheng were exposed. Jiang Shixu even sent people to assist the police in investigation and evidence collection, and it wasn't long before the police had completed their investigation into all his crimes. Tan Bin was suspected of rape, negligent homicide, picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and multiple other charges. Although Tan Bin's father, Tan Changsheng, had long since issued a public statement severing the father-son relationship with Tan Bin, Jiang Shixu did not let the Tan family off the hook because of it. The reason Tan Bin had been able to run rampant in Sucheng for so many years was entirely due to the backing of his family's power and Tan Changsheng's influence. On the day Tan Bin was taken away by the police, Tan Changsheng was also taken away by the supervisory commission. Jiangshi Group had also begun cooperating with the Ruan Group again, and Jiang Shixu had become a frequent visitor to the Ruan household. Ruan Shaodong and Jiang Shixu had more and more contact in both daily life and work. The more Ruan Shaodong interacted with Jiang Shixu, the more he liked him. He had finally completely abandoned his prejudice against Jiang Shixu and against the Jiang family. Now, when Ruan Shaodong looked at Jiang Shixu, his eyes were filled with nothing but admiration. Jiangcheng in August was as hot as a furnace. Jiang Shixu had a knack for winning people over. He instructed Lin Sen to send cooling treats to the employees of Chu Tang's law firm. Every weekday at three in the afternoon, all employees of Huayue Law Firm received an afternoon snack. Sometimes it was sweet soup, sometimes it was a cooling herbal dessert, sometimes it was milk tea or coffee, paired with desserts and fruit—delivered with variety, all things everyone enjoyed. It had to be said that Lin Sen did an excellent job with these trivial tasks. Within just one week, every time the Huayue employees mentioned President Jiang, they were full of praise. Lu Shuci overheard the young women at the law firm gossiping every day at work, saying how well-matched Jiang Shixu and Ruan Chutang were, saying they were a match made in heaven, and hoping they could attend their wedding when they got married. Zhang Yang had overheard a few times as well. Aside from advising Lu Shuci to give up sooner, there was nothing else he could do. The days passed in Jiangcheng's heat for a few more days. Soon, August 20th arrived. It was Jiang Shixu's birthday. He was going to host a birthday party at one of his villas. Chu Tang took Jiang Shixu's birthday very seriously. She got up early that day and invited a stylist to the house to do her hair and makeup. She tried on over a dozen outfits and wasn't quite satisfied with any of them, so Chu Tang called over her two best girlfriends to help her pick out a dress. "This one." Zhou Xueluo held up a hanger with a white short cocktail dress on it. The surface was made of puffed-up lightweight tulle, studded with countless tiny diamonds—luxurious yet sweet. Chu Tang shook her head. "This one looks like a wedding dress. Today we're going to Shixu's birthday party, not an engagement. Wouldn't this be inappropriate?" Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan exchanged a knowing glance, silently communicating with each other. Chen Yuanyuan snatched the dress from Zhou Xueluo's hand and held it up against Chu Tang. "Oh, just wear this one! This is a princess dress. Today is Brother Shixu's birthday—he's the prince, and you're his princess. If you ask me, wear this one. This one is the most fitting." Zhou Xueluo chimed in, "That's right, that's right. This one is absolutely perfect." "Really?" Chu Tang was a bit doubtful. "How come you two are so unanimous?" Zhou Xueluo smiled sweetly. "I've always liked this sweet style." Chen Yuanyuan immediately said, "I got word from Qin Yan that Brother Shixu will be wearing a formal suit today. If you wear this dress to match Brother Shixu in his suit, you two will look absolutely perfect together!" Chu Tang looked at the dress again. It really was beautiful. Since Jiang Shixu was going to wear a formal suit, she might as well wear this dress. The moment Chu Tang came out after changing into the dress, Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan's eyes both lit up. "This dress suits you so well, Tangtang!" Chen Yuanyuan covered her mouth with an exaggerated gasp. "Babe, you're so gorgeous you're killing me!" "Wow, what a sight for sore eyes—this dress was the right choice!" Zhou Xueluo was equally stunned. At that moment, both Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan sighed inwardly: As expected of a dress designed and custom-made by a world-class designer that Brother Shixu commissioned! Chu Tang looked at herself in the mirror. She was beautiful, no doubt, but it was just too formal and too grand. She turned around and asked, "Shixu's birthday party is just a gathering of a few close friends. Would I be overdressed wearing this?" Chen Yuanyuan immediately shook her head. "No, no, no, this one is perfect. So what if it's a bit formal? Isn't this the first time you're celebrating Shi Xu's birthday as his girlfriend? It should be formal—it shows you really care about him. Don't you think so, Xueluo?" Chen Yuanyuan shot Zhou Xueluo a look. Zhou Xueluo nodded eagerly like a pecking chick. "Right, right, right. Today is a special day. You should dress up formally." Chu Tang thought about it and figured that made sense. This was still her first birthday spent with Jiang Shixu as his girlfriend. Chu Tang looked at herself in the mirror, a smile curling at the corners of her lips, and said softly, "Alright then, this one it is." The makeup artist gave Chu Tang a sweet, light makeup look, and her hair was styled simply—long, straight, and black. The simpler the hairstyle, the higher the demands on one's looks. With this kind of long, straight black hair, anyone else might easily end up looking plain or frumpy, but Chu Tang could pull it off effortlessly. Around seven in the evening, Chu Tang, Chen Yuanyuan, and Zhou Xueluo arrived at the villa where Jiang Shixu was hosting his party. There were a lot of people today—besides their mutual friends like Zhou Xueluo, Chen Yuanyuan, Qin Yan, and Zhou Zheng'an, there were also a few close colleagues from Chu Tang's law firm and friends from Jiang Shixu's side. Chu Tang was quite surprised. Jiang Shixu had never been one to enjoy lively gatherings. Why did he invite so many people today? Shu Mingyue didn't come. She was still trying hard to let go of Jiang Shixu. Not to mention Jiang Shixu hadn't invited her to this occasion—even if he had, she wouldn't have come. She didn't even need to think about it to know Jiang Shixu would be showing off his affection again. Chen Yuanyuan, Chu Tang, and a few friends chatted for a while. Night fell. Chen Yuanyuan led Chu Tang toward the back garden. "Tangtang, come with me." Chu Tang asked, "Where are we going?" "Just follow me and you'll find out." Chen Yuanyuan kept it a mystery. Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan flanked Chu Tang on either side. Chu Tang was completely confused. "What's going on, Yuanyuan? Where are you taking me? Shixu is still waiting for me in the main hall." "You'll know in a second." Chen Yuanyuan pulled Chu Tang forward. This villa was very large, and Chu Tang had never been here before. She didn't know the way, nor did she know where Chen Yuanyuan was leading her.