Chapter 40

Chapter 40 (New) Chu Tang's Identity Exposed! Ruan Chutang smiled as she picked up her handbag and handed it to Chen Wan. "Here, if you want to search it, go ahead." Seeing how forthcoming Ruan Chutang was, Chen Wan froze for a moment. Could it be that Ruan Chutang had noticed and already taken the bracelet out? She looked up suspiciously, and Ruan Chutang had a faint smile on her lips. That smile was indescribably strange. The bag was handed over. But Chen Wan hesitated. She felt like Ruan Chutang had dug a trap for her to fall into. She was still thinking it over. Meng Yaqin snatched Ruan Chutang's bag, unzipped it, and dumped everything inside out onto the floor. The Van Cleef & Arpels blue agate bracelet fell out of the bag and landed on the ground. Meng Yaqin picked up the bracelet and demanded harshly, "Still saying you didn't steal it? What's this? I bet this Chanel bag of yours is stolen too!" A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd. Seeing the bracelet fall out of Ruan Chutang's bag, Chen Wan breathed a sigh of relief. There were gaps on both sides of the zipper on this handbag—she had slipped the bracelet through the gap just now. Luckily, Ruan Chutang hadn't noticed. Chen Wan was about to press her advantage when the crowd forming a circle suddenly parted to make way for someone. "Stealing what?" Su Yu walked over from outside the crowd, his brows slightly furrowed. Someone actually dared to steal at the Su residence? Did they think they'd lived too long? "President Su, it's her!" Chen Wan pointed at Ruan Chutang angrily. "She stole my bracelet! You have to get justice for me!" Su Yu followed Chen Wan's finger and locked eyes with Ruan Chutang. Chu Tang's eyes curved into crescents as she waved at Su Yu in greeting. "Hi, cousin." The whispers in the crowd instantly died out. Dead silence. A long, drawn-out dead silence. Ruan Chutang was the first to break the eerie stillness. She pointed at the blue agate bracelet in Meng Yaqin's hand, feigning a troubled expression. "Cousin, they say I stole that bracelet and even searched my bag in public. You be the judge—would I ever take a liking to such a worthless piece of junk?" Chen Wan's face turned pale, her whole body stiff. She stumbled back two steps, staring at Ruan Chutang in disbelief. "You... you're President Su's cousin?" Behind Su Yu, Gu Zechuan's mind went blank for a moment. The gift box in his hand dropped to the floor, and the pink diamond necklace tumbled out, landing on the ground. Hearing Ruan Chutang call Su Yu "cousin" with his own ears, Gu Zechuan lost all ability to think in an instant. The blood in his veins seemed to freeze. His vision went dark, and he nearly lost his footing. Ruan Chutang said something else to Su Yu, but Gu Zechuan could no longer hear it. In that moment, it was as if all sound had vanished—his ears went temporarily deaf. Meng Yaqin also looked as if she'd seen a ghost. "Impossible! This is impossible! How could you be President Su's cousin? You're clearly the nanny's daughter!" Ruan Chutang sat on the sofa, crossing her legs with one hand propping up her chin, smiling at Meng Yaqin. "Sorry to disappoint you." It was only then that Su Yu registered what they'd said—the person they accused of stealing was Tangtang! His face darkened, his voice carrying a biting chill. "Who are you? You dare come to my house and slander my sister for stealing? Tired of living?" "No... President Su... you... let me explain... I just..." Chen Wan stammered. Before she could finish, Su Yu cut her off impatiently. "Get out!" He'd only stepped away for a moment, and his sister had already been bullied. And in his own home, no less. Just then, Jiang Shixu arrived belatedly. "What's going on?" The man sensed the tense atmosphere and furrowed his brows. Su Yu made a gesture toward Chu Tang in front of everyone and announced in a clear voice, "This is my cousin, the heiress of the Ruan Group—Ruan Chutang. My sister just returned to Jiangcheng a few days ago. I'm hosting this banquet today to welcome her home." With that, Su Yu swept a cold, piercing gaze over Meng Yaqin and Chen Wan. "Some filth that snuck in from who knows where, daring to accuse my sister of stealing." Su Yu signaled to the bodyguards with a glance. They immediately understood, strode over, and roughly grabbed Meng Yaqin and Chen Wan, dragging them to the door and tossing them out. It wasn't until Meng Yaqin and Chen Wan were thrown out that Gu Zechuan snapped back to reality. He stammered at Ruan Chutang, "I... you... you're President Su's cousin?" "Otherwise?" Chu Tang looked at him with amusement. Gu Zechuan's Adam's apple bobbed. His eyes reddened, and bitterness welled up in his chest. His lips trembled. "Why? Why didn't you ever tell me who you were in all these three years?" "I wanted to tell you long ago. That time I said I'd take you back to my hometown, I was planning to introduce you to my family. You were the one who didn't want to go." Her voice was calm and flat, without a trace of emotion, as if she no longer cared at all. Hearing this, Gu Zechuan closed his eyes in pain. "If you'd told me earlier that you were the heiress of the Ruan family in Jiangcheng, how could I possibly have refused to come back with you?" Now Su Yu understood everything—the Gu Zechuan standing before him was Chu Tang's ex-boyfriend. Judging by the situation, Chu Tang had hidden her identity while dating him, and Gu Zechuan had looked down on her as an ordinary girl without family background, which was why he had done so many things to hurt her. Su Yu instinctively glanced at Jiang Shixu. The man's face bore an oppressive, storm-about-to-break expression, and the air around him seemed to drop several degrees. When Gu Zechuan heard Chu Tang say this, his heart clenched painfully, nearly suffocating him. "Chu Tang, if you had told me your identity earlier, we might already be married by now. We would have been happy." Chu Tang simply stood there, quietly watching Gu Zechuan, her eyes devoid of any emotion, as calm as an outsider looking in. "Have you forgotten, Gu Zechuan? You once said you could never marry me. Your mother, Meng Yaqin, once humiliated me—she said a girl like me wasn't worthy of marrying into the Gu family." Hurtful words are like a boomerang, and at this moment, they struck Gu Zechuan squarely between the eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice nearly choked with sobs. "Chu Tang, what used to stand between us was the gap in family background. Now that gap has disappeared—there's nothing left to stop us from being together." As he spoke, he stepped forward excitedly, reaching out to take Ruan Chutang's hand. But Jiang Shixu kicked him hard to the ground, his black leather shoe pressing down on Gu Zechuan's face, grinding back and forth. The crowd erupted in shock. Jiang Shixu was shrouded in darkness, cold light flashing from his deep, pitch-black eyes, his words dripping with brutality. "I told you—if you ever touch her again, I'll cripple you." Gu Zechuan gave up struggling. At that moment, he lay on the ground like a dead fish, motionless, letting Jiang Shixu's shoe grind against his face. He tilted his head, gazing at Ruan Chutang in despair, pain spreading through every limb and bone, tormenting him beyond endurance. In that moment, he finally realized how ridiculous he had been. Suddenly, countless images played through his mind like a slideshow on repeat. Certain moments from their passionate romance now felt like blades with every frame, stabbing into his heart until it was a bloody mess. He had been so terribly wrong before. Refusing to go home with her, letting his mother humiliate her without restraint, flaunting himself with Chen Wan in public, declaring in front of Chen Wan that he would never marry her, carousing and indulging with Chen Wan without regard for her feelings... Every single thing he did pushed his Chu Tang further and further away. He and Chu Tang could have had a good ending.