Xu Ping subconsciously glanced at Zhou Yushen before answering Shen Nanyue.
“I’ve reviewed the information Mr. Zhou sent me. Chen Ting has taken all the blame onto herself, including how she captured and imprisoned your sister. She insists she acted alone.”
“If there’s no new evidence proving the Chen family was involved in imprisoning your sister, it’ll be difficult to pin the charges on them.”
Shen Nanyue understood the logic, but the troublesome part was precisely the lack of evidence.
Just as she was about to speak, Xu Ping smiled and said, “If Miss Shen trusts me, you can leave this matter entirely to me. I guarantee I’ll give you a perfect solution.”
Shen Nanyue’s eyes lit up. “You really have a way?”
“If Miss Shen doesn’t trust me, then why invite me here?”
Shen Nanyue quickly waved her hands. “That’s not what I meant.”
She poured a glass of wine for both herself and Xu Ping, smiling as she spoke.
“It’s just that the hope came so suddenly. Of course I trust you, Lawyer Xu. Please don’t take offense.”
She raised her glass in a toast.
The moment Xu Ping took a sip, he sensed an icy gaze coming from beside Shen Nanyue.
He smiled awkwardly at Zhou Yushen, only to receive a warning look in return.
Xu Ping inwardly complained about how domineering Zhou Yushen was.
Wasn’t it just one mildly sharp remark toward his future wife?
Why was he already giving him attitude over it?
For the rest of the meal, only Shen Nanyue and Xu Ping discussed matters related to the case.
Zhou Yushen simply sat beside Shen Nanyue with a dark expression, remaining silent the entire time.
Shen Nanyue found Zhou Yushen a little strange.
In her eyes, although he was cold-hearted deep down, he usually maintained a gentle and polite demeanor on the surface.
Sometimes, when conversations got deeper, he would even joke around a little.
But today, he sat there with a gloomy face and barely spoke.
Lawyer Xu, sitting opposite them, seemed completely used to it and didn’t treat Zhou Yushen’s rudeness as anything unusual.
“Miss Shen, you and Mr. Zhou… when are you getting married?”
Suddenly, Xu Ping asked Shen Nanyue in a gossiping tone.
“Huh?”
“We’re already married,” Zhou Yushen finally spoke.
“What?!”
Xu Ping stared at Zhou Yushen in shock, eyes widened dramatically.
His hand holding the wine glass trembled, causing wine to spill over the rim onto his newly tailored suit.
He didn’t even have time to feel bad for the suit.
Recovering from the shock, he glared furiously at Zhou Yushen.
“Something this huge, and you didn’t tell me?!”
“What does my marriage have to do with you?”
“How does it not? At the very least, I should’ve prepared a prenuptial agreement for you. After all, the assets under your name—”
“Xu Ping.”
Zhou Yushen suddenly interrupted him sharply.
Only then did Xu Ping belatedly shut his mouth.
He pressed his lips together and sat there silently, his body becoming slightly stiff.
“You think I need that?”
Zhou Yushen’s indifferent voice rang out, and Xu Ping instantly felt cold sweat forming down his back.
“N-no… probably not…”
Shen Nanyue’s suspicious gaze moved back and forth between the two before she finally asked,
“You two… know each other?”
Zhou Yushen turned to look at Shen Nanyue, and his expression softened immediately.
“We were university classmates. There was a dormitory assignment mistake, so we ended up living in the same room for four years.”
Shen Nanyue was surprised.
So Xu Ping wasn’t a connection borrowed from Young Master Zhou.
He was Zhou Yushen’s own connection!
She really had misunderstood him.
A trace of guilt toward Zhou Yushen rose in her heart.
Xu Ping finally recovered from his shock.
“That’s right. Otherwise, why would a busy person like me come running just because of one phone call from him?”
Xu Ping’s tone sounded normal enough.
But Shen Nanyue vaguely sensed that Xu Ping didn’t seem particularly friendly toward her.
Though smiling faintly, she didn’t think too deeply about it.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Shen Nanyue left midway through the meal.
Once only Zhou Yushen and Xu Ping remained in the private room, Xu Ping finally looked at Zhou Yushen with a more serious expression.
“How are you moving this fast? A prenuptial property agreement is absolutely necessary. Don’t tell me you didn’t do one? Haven’t you heard what kind of parasite Shen Nanyue’s mother is? If she finds out your real identity, just wait until those mother and daughter pair suck you dry!”
Xu Ping had always thought Zhou Yushen was someone extremely careful and meticulous.
He never expected him to be so impulsive when it came to marriage.
Even if it was to fulfill some task assigned by his elders, there was no need to handle it this recklessly.
A trace of coldness hid within Zhou Yushen’s eyes as he looked at Xu Ping, his gaze carrying a faint warning.
“If you don’t know how to speak properly, then don’t speak.”
Look at how protective he was!
Xu Ping glanced at him, feeling like an old nanny worrying endlessly.
“Fine, I won’t meddle. Just don’t regret it later.”
Still, deep down, he couldn’t believe that a heaven-blessed man like Zhou Yushen would truly fall for a woman with such a terrible reputation like Shen Nanyue.
Then he remembered the real reason for coming to Fengcheng this time.
Xu Ping leaned closer toward Zhou Yushen.
“Tell me honestly. Are you using this opportunity to investigate whether your mother’s death had anything to do with the Chen family?”
The coldness on Zhou Yushen’s face only deepened.
“This is the only chance to investigate thoroughly.”
Xu Ping suddenly understood.
“I get it now. When you first arrived in Fengcheng, Shen Nanyue was still Chen Mu’s fiancée. You deliberately approached her in order to get close to the Chen family, didn’t you?”
Zhou Yushen remained silent, his brows slightly furrowed.
Xu Ping relaxed completely now, and his smile became far more genuine than before.
“So that’s how it is. I was wondering how someone like you could possibly truly fancy a woman like Shen Nanyue.”
“You seem to have quite a strong opinion of Shen Nanyue,” Zhou Yushen said indifferently.
“Not exactly. I’ve just heard her private life isn’t very respectable. Even before you came to Fengcheng, people already knew about her scandals and her explosive temper. I just think she’s not worthy of you.”
“As a lawyer, instead of relying on evidence, you’re trusting gossip and rumors?”
Sensing Zhou Yushen’s growing displeasure, Xu Ping wisely stopped talking.
The private room door had opened slightly.
Lin Siwan stood outside, having overheard every word inside.
It was as if she had discovered something extraordinary—her eyes practically gleamed with excitement.
“I heard Miss Gu also came to Fengcheng, and that her old illness relapsed. Aren’t you going to take care of her a little more? After all, you two used to…”
“Xu Ping, if you say one more word, get out!”
Zhou Yushen’s angry voice rang out from inside the room, followed by Xu Ping hurriedly apologizing.
Miss Gu?
A thought quietly formed in Lin Siwan’s mind.
She silently left the area and returned to the window-side table in the main hall.
Seeing the pleased expression on her face, Chen Mu asked curiously, “What’s got you so happy?”
Lin Siwan sat down obediently in her seat.
“Nothing. I just happened to run into Sister in the restroom.”
She carefully observed Chen Mu’s reaction.
Sure enough, the moment Chen Mu heard Shen Nanyue was here, his expression stiffened slightly.
Suppressing the dissatisfaction in her heart, she continued,
“Though it was strange. Someone as strong-willed as Sister was actually hiding in the restroom crying. I asked what was wrong, but she wouldn’t tell me. I’m really worried about her.”
Chen Mu’s eyes darkened, and the hand holding his wine glass paused slightly.
After a long moment, he finally set the glass down and stood up, leaving behind only one sentence:
“I’m going to the restroom.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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