Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Shixu, the Ultimate Wife Guy Chen Yangyang spent the entire day on tenterhooks, planted in Ruan Chutang's office. She had exhausted every soft word and plea, but Ruan Chutang refused to budge on dropping the case. Chen Yangyang was one step away from getting on her knees and begging. "Lawyer Ruan, please, a gentleman doesn't hold grudges against the little people. Just treat me like a fart and let me go, I'm begging you! If I get convicted and my lawyer's license is revoked, my life is over!" "Lawyer Ruan, please drop the charges! I'm willing to work like a dog for you!" Chu Tang looked at her coldly. "Not needed." "Miss Chen, there are three hundred and sixty trades, and every one has its master. What's losing a lawyer's license? If you can't make it in this line of work, switch to another." Chu Tang patted Chen Yangyang's shoulder. "Keep at it! I believe in you!" ... End of the workday. Chu Tang followed her colleagues out of the law firm. Suddenly, the female colleague beside her tugged at her sleeve. "Whoa! Look, there's an insanely handsome guy over there!" A few other colleagues were also whispering while looking in that direction. Chu Tang followed their gaze and froze. It was Jiang Shixu. He was naturally tall and handsome, broad-shouldered and long-legged—a walking clothes hanger. The simple black Armani coat looked better on him than on any model. Jiang Shixu leaned against the car, on the phone. It was late autumn, and it got dark early. The streetlights had all flickered on. From this angle, Chu Tang could clearly see his sharp profile and high-bridged nose. The warm yellow light fell on his face, softening the cold severity of his brows and eyes. As if connected by some unspoken bond, the moment Chu Tang looked over, Jiang Shixu turned to look back. Their gazes met in the air. Jiang Shixu hung up the phone and walked toward her. The female colleague beside her instantly got excited. "Ahhh, he's walking over!" "What do I do, I'm so nervous! I should've put on makeup today. Seeing a handsome guy bare-faced and not being able to go up and talk to him—what a waste." "It's fine, it's fine. Even with makeup, you probably couldn't have. Guys like that are way out of our league." In the span of a few words, Jiang Shixu had already reached Chu Tang. Chu Tang clearly heard the sharp intake of breath from her colleagues around her. "Qin Yan put together a gathering. Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan are there too. I came to pick you up." Jiang Shixu's voice was naturally deep and sexy, and when it softened, it was lethally pleasant to the ears. Her colleagues shot over astonished looks. Chu Tang pressed her lips together, then looked up with a smile and introduced him to her colleagues: "This is my fiancé." The few colleagues instantly widened their eyes, all wearing expressions of disbelief. According to rumors, Ruan Chutang's "sugar daddy" who drove a Rolls-Royce Cullinan was a greasy, ugly old man. But the man before them was nearly six-foot-three, with looks and bearing that were absolutely top-tier—even more handsome than the male celebrities on TV. At that moment, everyone silently reached the same conclusion: rumors were just rumors, not to be taken seriously. The colleagues showered Jiang Shixu with compliments and offered their blessings to him and Chu Tang. ... Inside the private room. Chu Tang told Jiang Shixu about what had happened at the law firm. "Do you know why they were so shocked when they saw you?" Chu Tang said. "Earlier, a colleague saw me getting out of your car and spread rumors that I was a kept woman with a sugar daddy, saying my sponsor was an old, ugly, greasy man." Jiang Shixu's murderous gaze swept over. "Rumors?" "Yeah." Chu Tang's reaction was flat. "But I already handled it. No need to worry." "What the hell? Someone actually dared to spread rumors that you're being kept by an old man?" Qin Yan was all worked up. "Little sister, why didn't you tell your big brothers when you were being bullied?" Jiang Shixu gave him a cold glance. "Why would she need to tell you?" Chen Yuanyuan pinched Qin Yan. "Tangtang is Shixu's fiancée. They're getting engaged soon. What are you all riled up for? Trying to show off?" "Ow, ow, ow—grandma, stop pinching me!" Qin Yan grinned. "I just can't stand seeing little sister Chutang get bullied, alright? We're all friends in the same circle, aren't we?" Jiang Shixu looked at Chu Tang, a flicker of heartache passing through his eyes. "Tangtang, you got harassed when you went out to handle cases, and then you were slandered at the firm. I feel like I've failed as your fiancé—I haven't protected you well enough..." Chu Tang shook her head. "That's not how you should think about it, Shixu. You can't follow me around twenty-four hours a day." "Little sister, let me tell you—you're his precious heart and soul. He can't stand to see you get bullied." Qin Yan spoke up again. "You have no idea how he nearly beat that guy to death back then for you..." Before he could finish, Jiang Shixu suddenly cut him off: "Qin Yan!" Seeing his displeased expression, Qin Yan paused and immediately changed the subject: "As long as you're fine, that's what matters." Chu Tang looked like she was determined to get to the bottom of it. "Who did you beat half to death back then?" Jiang Shixu took a sip of his drink, his tone indifferent. "No one. He's talking nonsense." Chu Tang's clear, sparkling eyes fixed on him as she put on a fierce expression. "Shixu-ge, don't speak for now. I want to hear what Qin Yan-ge has to say." Jiang Shixu fell silent. Qin Yan glanced between Ruan Chutang and Jiang Shixu, then teased with a grin, "Oho, A-Xu's a henpecked husband, is he?" Zhou Zheng'an chuckled, "What do you know? A henpecked husband just loves his wife too much—it's not about being afraid of her." Zhou Xueluo took a small sip of her wine, her voice soft and gentle, carrying a hint of laughter as well. "That's right, Shixu-ge is a total wife-doting maniac." Qin Yan continued, "Chutang-meimei, did you know those two old bastards who harassed you before—their company got investigated? They actually found something on them. Now those two old bastards are locked up on suspicion of economic crimes, and their company was brought down by A-Xu too. How about that? Satisfying, right?" Chu Tang turned her head to look at the man beside her. Jiang Shixu's face was expressionless, his whole demeanor cold and sharp. "I told you—I'd make them pay." Chu Tang picked up a piece of cantaloupe from the fruit platter in front of her with a toothpick and took a bite. "They deserved it. It serves them right." Qin Yan chimed in, "Exactly." After finishing the piece of cantaloupe, Chu Tang only then realized she'd been unknowingly led off track by them. She straightened her expression. "Qin Yan-ge, you still haven't told me—who did Shixu-ge beat half to death back then?" Qin Yan glanced at Jiang Shixu again, and only when he saw that the latter wasn't speaking did he open his mouth. "I think his name was... Liang Yuda?" Chu Tang remembered that person—the impression was actually quite deep. In her first year of high school, she'd had a deskmate named He Wenwen. Chu Tang had been especially close with her. In the second semester of that year, He Wenwen's family went through some changes, and she transferred from their elite private school to a regular public high school. Chu Tang had been terribly reluctant to see her good friend transfer away. The regular high school let out later than Chu Tang's school. During the period right after He Wenwen transferred, Chu Tang would go wait outside He Wenwen's school every few days to go shopping together. Liang Yuda was the school bully at He Wenwen's school. Relying on his family's money, he'd gathered a gang of lackeys at school, spending his days doing nothing good—either chasing after romance or bullying classmates. Liang Yuda's original target had been He Wenwen. He wanted her to date him. That day, he chased her all the way to the school gate, and happened to run right into Chu Tang.