Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Ruan Chutang, I've Come to Jiangcheng—Shall We Meet? Xiangmanlou, an upscale Chinese restaurant near Shengke Law Firm. Every private room except the top-tier VIP suite was occupied by Shengke Law Firm staff. Inside the room where Ruan Chutang was seated: "Lawyer Ruan, you're so generous—your first treat is Xiangmanlou," a young female lawyer said with a laugh. "Last time I was here was at last year's firm annual dinner when the big boss treated us." Yang Xiaojing chuckled and teased, "Lawyer Ruan is young and accomplished—looks like you've made a fortune over these years of practice. With over a hundred people across our firm's departments, Lawyer Ruan is going to bleed tonight." Zhang Tianxin chimed in with a grin, "Lawyer Ruan's got some serious financial muscle." A young woman spoke up with a sarcastic edge: "Oh, Lawyer Ruan, can you really afford this? Xiangmanlou averages two to three hundred per person—with the drinks and alcohol, this meal tonight is going to eat up three months of your salary. If you can't swing it, let's just switch places. Don't puff yourself up just to look impressive." The woman was a lawyer from the litigation department. Chutang remembered her name—Chen Yangyang. The first time Chutang saw Chen Yangyang on her first day at work, she'd thought the woman had a mean look about her. Her first impression had been right—Chen Yangyang was indeed hard to get along with. Chutang smiled. "No worries, I can afford it." Chen Yangyang pressed on with her sarcasm: "Oh, looks like Supervisor Yang was right—Lawyer Ruan has made a fortune these years. Got any money-making tricks you'd like to share with the rest of us?" Chutang replied unhurriedly, "What tricks could there be? We're all lawyers—don't we all know? Big cases mean bigger pay, small cases mean less. Besides, how could I possibly earn as much as you, Lawyer Chen? I've been working for three years and still can't afford a car. I heard you've already bought an apartment in Jiangcheng." She was telling the truth. The money she'd earned from working really wasn't enough to buy a decent-looking car. But she didn't need to save up for one anyway. The Porsche 911 and Rolls-Royce Phantom that Ruan Shaodong had bought her were still gathering dust in the garage at the Ruan family estate, and the Maserati her cousin Su Yu had given her—she hadn't driven it in a long time either. Lately, she'd been driving the glacier-blue Bentley Continental that Jiang Shixu had gifted her. Chen Yangyang, of course, knew nothing about Chutang's family background. She only took the surface meaning, assuming Ruan Chutang really couldn't afford a car or an apartment. Chutang's words seemed to please Chen Yangyang. She looked at Ruan Chutang with a contemptuous expression. No money but still puffing herself up to curry favor with her colleagues—how vain. And with that, the little episode passed. Ruan Chutang smiled and said, "Let's order. Everyone, get whatever you'd like." "Well then, I won't stand on ceremony." Chen Yangyang picked up the menu, paused, then handed it to the supervisor. "Supervisor Yang, you order first." When it came to office politics, she was sharp as a tack. Everyone in this room was from the litigation department. Following the principle of "one mountain can't hold two tigers," there was only one leader per room—and the highest-ranking person here was Supervisor Yang Xiaojing. Yang Xiaojing took the menu. Remembering what Xu Jingxuan had said about giving this Ruan Chutang proper "special attention," she didn't hold back. She pointed at several items on the menu. "This one, this one, and this one." The waiter stood nearby, jotting down the dishes. Yang Xiaojing had ordered the three most expensive signature dishes. Those three alone cost over a thousand. After ordering, Yang Xiaojing handed the menu back to Chen Yangyang. Chen Yangyang also picked out two pricey dishes. Yu Jiaojiao, the new intern lawyer, sat beside Ruan Chutang, her face full of embarrassment. Blushing, she gently tugged at Ruan Chutang's sleeve and whispered, "Lawyer Ruan, I... the prices here are too high. I can't split the bill." She'd assumed tonight's meal was something she and Ruan Chutang were hosting together. When she'd walked in and seen the menu, her heart had sunk. If she had to split this bill, she'd be working for free for the entire year. The poor girl was on the verge of tears. Ruan Chutang gently patted Yu Jiaojiao's hand and said softly, "Don't worry. I'm treating tonight—you don't have to chip in." "Really?" Yu Jiaojiao's face was still red. "Then... thank you, Lawyer Ruan." Once the ordering was done, their room of ten people had racked up over five thousand in dishes and over three thousand in drinks and beverages. Chutang glanced at the receipt and gave a faint smile. This wasn't ordering by per-person average—they were clearly treating her like a cash cow, ordering whatever was most expensive. But now that Ruan Shaodong had restored her bank card, this amount meant nothing to her. Consider it money spent on building goodwill. Halfway through the meal, Ruan Chutang stood up to go to the restroom. Chen Yangyang started up again with her joking-but-sarcastic tone: "Lawyer Ruan, where are you off to? Not sneaking out because you can't pay, are you? Hahaha." Ruan Chutang's expression was blank as she said flatly, "I'm going to the restroom. What, Lawyer Chen doesn't trust me? Want to come along?" "How could I? I was just joking—if you take it seriously, that's on you." Chen Yangyang drawled. Chutang ignored her and opened the door to leave. As she passed the elevator lobby on her way to the restroom, Chutang turned her head and met a pair of familiar eyes. Jiang Shixu exclaimed in surprise, "Chu Tang? What are you doing here?" Around him were several sharply dressed elite men in suits. The private room where Chu Tang was dining was on the first floor, and judging by Jiang Shixu's appearance, he had just finished his meal and come downstairs. As he spoke, Jiang Shixu stepped forward. Chu Tang smiled. "Shixu-ge, what a coincidence. I'm treating my colleagues to a meal here today." Jiang Shixu knew that Ruan Chutang had already joined Shengke Law Firm. He nodded slightly, his expression softening, and asked her, "Is your first day at work going well?" "Yeah, everything's going fine." Chu Tang didn't mention how Chen Yangyang and a few colleagues had taken advantage of her. Jiang Shixu asked again, "Is the gathering almost over? I can give you a ride home." Chu Tang shook her head. "It's still early. You go on ahead." "Alright then." Jiang Shixu thought of something and added, "It's quite far from here to your place. Have you contacted the family driver to pick you up?" "Not yet. I'll head back to the apartment nearby in a bit." "Okay, stay safe." "Mm-hmm." Chu Tang said goodbye to Jiang Shixu and returned to the private room. After the meal, Ruan Chutang went to the front desk to settle the bill. The staff told her that someone had already paid. Who else could it be but Jiang Shixu? She took out her phone and sent him a message. [Shixu-ge, thank you.] Jiang Shixu replied quickly. [No need to thank me.] [Chu Tang, are you done over there? I'm waiting for you in the open-air parking lot to the left of the entrance. I still can't feel at ease letting you go home alone this late.] Seeing this message, Chu Tang felt warmth in her heart. [Almost done. I'll come find you in a bit.] After sending the message, her colleagues all filed out of the private room one by one. A few of the male colleagues were completely drunk, and Chu Tang helped hail cabs for them. Chen Yangyang had driven herself and hadn't been drinking. She got into her Honda Civic, rolled down the window, and smiled at Ruan Chutang with a rather smug expression. "Lawyer Ruan, I'll be heading off then. You can take a cab back yourself. Bye." Chu Tang smiled good-naturedly. "Bye." Almost everyone had left, leaving only Yu Jiaojiao. Chu Tang asked her, "Where do you live? I'll call a cab for you." The young woman quickly waved her hands. "No need, no need. I rented a place nearby. I can just walk back." Chu Tang was a little worried, after all, Jiaojiao was a young woman. "Are you sure you'll be okay alone?" "I'll be fine. The streets are full of street vendors at this hour, so it's very safe. And it's not far—just seven or eight hundred meters. Don't worry." Chu Tang said, "Alright then, see you tomorrow." Yu Jiaojiao walked a short distance, then suddenly turned around and jogged back to Chu Tang. "Lawyer Ruan, thank you so much for today." The young woman seemed a bit shy. "You're really kind. I heard you don't have an assistant right now. If you ever need help with anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I can help with drafting documents, organizing materials, and things like that." Chu Tang smiled warmly. "Sure." After Yu Jiaojiao left, Ruan Chutang finally went to the parking lot to find Jiang Shixu. Getting into the car, Chu Tang gave him an address. It was very close—just a few minutes' drive. Jiang Shixu dropped her off at the entrance of the residential complex. Chu Tang said, "I plan to live here from now on. It's convenient for work." Jiang Shixu nodded. "Alright. I'll come visit you often." "Okay, I'll head up now. Bye." Chu Tang was about to get out of the car. Her phone rang. She took it out and glanced at it, her brows furrowing. [Ruan Chutang, I've come to Jiangcheng. Want to meet up?]