Chapter 59

Chapter 59: They Were Completely a Couple Deep in Love Chu Tang had just sat down in the restaurant when Gu Zechuan followed her in and went to the table next to hers. A couple was sitting at that table—they had just arrived as well and were about to order. Gu Zechuan walked over and said to the man, "Could you give up your table number to me? I can pay you." The couple exchanged a glance. The girl asked, "How much are you willing to pay?" Gu Zechuan: "Is five thousand enough?" The girl's eyes widened slightly. "Are you serious?" "Of course." Gu Zechuan pulled out his phone. "Open your payment code, and I'll transfer it right now." The girl's eyes lit up, and she immediately opened her payment code. After seeing the money arrive in her account, she happily dragged her boyfriend away. Gu Zechuan smiled at Ruan Chutang at the next table, pulled out a chair, sat down, and leisurely poured himself a cup of tea. Jiang Yuzhou, watching from the side, was dumbfounded. That actually worked? He looked at Chu Tang, then at Gu Zechuan. In the end, he moved over to Gu Zechuan's table and sat down across from him. Chu Tang really liked several of the signature dishes at this restaurant. Gu Zechuan had deliberately sat next to them to get under her skin. In the past, when she still cared about him in her heart, she wouldn't have been able to eat a single bite of this meal. But times had changed. She no longer cared about him. She could completely treat Gu Zechuan as if he were air. Chu Tang ordered her dishes, then also ordered an iced drink. When the drink was brought over, Gu Zechuan suddenly said, "Your period is coming up soon. Don't drink anything iced." Chu Tang rolled her eyes inwardly, took two sips from the cup, curved her eyes, and wore a satisfied expression. She said to Jiang Shixu beside her, "I haven't had this in so long. It still tastes the same as before. Brother Shi Xu, do you want to try it?" When the girl looked at Jiang Shixu, there was a faint shimmer in her eyes, and a sweet smile lingered on her face. Even the air around them seemed sweet. Jiang Shixu took the cup and drank from the same straw Chu Tang had used. Their expressions and movements were completely natural, without the slightest hint of awkwardness. Seeing this scene, Jiang Yuzhou understood everything. This was how Chu Tang and Jiang Shixu normally interacted. Their relationship was close—it didn't look like an act. Then Gu Zechuan... He quietly stole a glance at the man sitting across from him. Gu Zechuan's jaw was tight, his eyes fixed intensely on Chu Tang. In that gaze, anger was mixed with a trace of hurt. Yet Chu Tang didn't even spare him a sidelong glance. Gu Zechuan's fingers around the teacup were turning white at the knuckles. Jiang Yuzhou was worried the cup would be crushed in his grip at any moment. Jiang Yuzhou sighed inwardly. Bro, why are you doing this to yourself? "Should we order?" Jiang Yuzhou tried to divert Gu Zechuan's attention. But Gu Zechuan seemed not to hear him, still staring at Chu Tang without responding. Jiang Yuzhou shook his head helplessly, took out his phone, and scanned the code to order. Over at Chu Tang's table, all the dishes had arrived. Gu Zechuan looked at the seafood on that table and frowned. "Aren't you allergic to seafood? Why did you order seafood?" Ruan Chutang turned a deaf ear, picking up a shrimp that Jiang Shixu had peeled for her, dipping it in sauce, and eating it with great relish. Jiang Yuzhou coughed awkwardly and spoke cautiously, "Zechuan, is it possible... I mean... Chu Tang isn't actually allergic to seafood. The reason she never ordered seafood when eating with you before was because you're the one with the seafood allergy." Hearing this, Gu Zechuan abruptly turned his head. "What did you say?" Jiang Yuzhou repeated himself. "Chu Tang isn't allergic to seafood. When she was with you before, she didn't order seafood because you're allergic to it." "How do you know?" "I ran into her having a meal with her colleagues once, and she ordered a whole table of seafood..." Gu Zechuan pressed his lips into a thin line, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "Really?" Jiang Yuzhou shrugged. "Why would I lie to you?" Gu Zechuan's heart ached with bitterness. He had never known this! He looked at Ruan Chutang again. She ate a piece of sea cucumber, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. "I'm telling you, I received another winning verdict yesterday. That case was so complicated—just the evidence alone took over five hundred pages to organize." Jiang Shixu listened patiently, peeling shrimp for her as he spoke, his expression gentle. "What type of case was it?" "It was a defamation case, and we were the plaintiff." Chu Tang took a sip of her drink. "Brother Shi Xu, you have no idea how hard it was to gather the evidence for this case. The client's initial evidence was very incomplete, so I had to take him through another month of collecting before we finally had everything." "A month? Wasn't that around the time before our engagement?" Jiang Shixu placed the peeled shrimp into Chu Tang's bowl. "That must have been exhausting." "Yeah, it was right before the engagement." Chu Tang dipped it in sauce. "It was a bit tiring, but after receiving the winning verdict, all the hard work was worth it." At that, Chu Tang smiled and pulled out her phone. "Oh, right, my client even sent me a banner of appreciation. Take a look." Chu Tang excitedly opened her phone's photo album, scrolling through the photos she'd taken of the pennant banner, her eyes sparkling with brilliance. "This is the first time I've ever received a pennant from a client." Chu Tang was as delighted as a kindergartener who'd just earned a little red flower, her clear, beautiful eyes shining brightly as she awaited praise from an elder. Jiang Shixu's eyes were full of tender affection, his deep voice wrapped in indulgence. "Our Lawyer Ruan is truly amazing." "Hehe." Chu Tang blinked her eyes, looking mischievous and clever. "I'm just average, really." Gu Zechuan watched with a suffocating feeling in his chest, his back stiffening slightly. He'd previously assumed theirs was just a business marriage with no real feelings between them—that if he mended his ways, he'd still have a strong chance of winning Chu Tang back. But now, he realized he'd been wrong. They were completely like a young couple in the throes of passionate love! Back in Haicheng, Chu Tang had sometimes shared things about her work with him too. At the time, he'd found it laughable. He'd told her that working so hard every day for a month just to earn that little bit of money wasn't even enough to cover one meal and one round of drinks with his friends. Little did he know, her family was enormously wealthy—she'd gone to work simply to experience life and realize her own value! When Chu Tang talked to Jiang Shixu about her work, her eyes sparkled brilliantly, as if she radiated a captivating glow from head to toe, like a crystal-clear, dazzling gem. She was a completely different person. Unfortunately, this gem no longer belonged to him. Watching Chu Tang and Jiang Shixu being so intimately close, chatting and laughing together, Gu Zechuan was driven mad with jealousy. These everyday moments—she should have been sharing them with him! Her joys, her angers, her sorrows, her happiness—they should have been his alone. He suddenly regretted following them here. He'd originally just wanted to barge in, disrupt Jiang Shixu's state of mind, and sabotage their relationship. But he never expected that the one whose state of mind would end up disrupted was him! Watching the woman he loved show affection with someone else right before his eyes, his heart felt sour and bitter, even throbbing with pain with every beat. The waiter finished serving the dishes. Jiang Yuzhou picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat. The man sitting across from him suddenly shot up from his chair with a scrape. The chair screeched harshly against the floor tiles. The other patrons in the restaurant all turned to look. Gu Zechuan got up and walked away without looking back. His fury was evident even from his retreating figure. In the end, it was Gu Zechuan who couldn't take it anymore. Jiang Yuzhou let out a sigh, picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks, and muttered to himself, "If he's not eating, I will. I've been hungry all afternoon..." Back in his car, Gu Zechuan lit a cigarette. The city lights were just coming on, and the neon glow outside the window flickered, dazzling to the eyes. Inside the car, white smoke swirled. Gu Zechuan drifted into a daze, remembering how Chu Tang used to always sit across from him when they had meals together. Back then, he'd never thought anything of it. But today, he saw her sitting on the same side as that man. The table wasn't big. Two people sitting on the same side was a bit cramped. Even so, she still chose to sit on the same side as him. He'd also noticed Chu Tang resting one leg across Jiang Shixu's thigh. Such an intimate posture—something she'd never done with him before. Gu Zechuan masochistically replayed the scene over and over again, until the cigarette between his fingers burned down to the filter and scorched his hand, snapping him out of his reverie. He took out his phone and sent a message. [I agree to cooperate with you]