Chapter 83 Deliberate Humiliation
Lu Rang left just like that.
She had just returned because of her situation and then left again.
Shang Wu had no idea where he was going or how he would resolve the matter.
She felt a vague unease.
As she was deep in thought, Ah Ying knocked on the door and came in.
She looked at Shang Wu and hesitated before asking, "Are you alright, Mr. Shang?"
Shang Wu snapped out of her daze: "No, what's wrong?"
"I think I just saw some flashes of light from the building across the street. Could it be reporters taking pictures?" Aying asked warily.
Shang Wu paused for a moment, then said, "Probably not, that office building across the street is empty..."
She paused before she could finish speaking, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
Yes, how could there be flashing lights in an empty office building?
She immediately said, "Go check if anyone has entered over there. There's security downstairs; they should be able to get information."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Ah Ying immediately turned around and went to do it.
After she left, Shang Wu slowly exhaled and calmed down.
She sat at the table, her thoughts racing.
She couldn't just wait around; she had to try to solve the problem in her own way.
No matter what Lu Rang is going to do now, there is no way to guarantee 100% success.
She didn't want to be powerless and rely entirely on others.
Shang Wu took out her phone, hesitated for a moment, and then sent a message to Zhou Yanci, asking him to go out to a bar today.
If you can't get anything out of them under normal circumstances, and Zhou Yanci becomes suspicious, then you have to try getting them drunk to see if that's possible.
As Shang Wu was thinking, A Ying soon returned.
She shook her head, puzzled, and said, "Mr. Shang, maybe I'm seeing things. I called the security personnel in the office building across the street, and they said no one went in today."
Shang Wu frowned and said calmly:
"We still can't take this lightly. Keep an eye out and see if any reporters have been taking pictures of me lately."
At this critical juncture, she didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Ah Ying understood what she meant and turned to leave.
Shang Wu sat at the table and continued working.
That evening, as soon as she went downstairs, she saw Zhou Yanci waiting by the car.
Things were going smoothly at first, and she thought Zhou Yanci would soon fall from power, so she could endure contact with him no matter how difficult it was.
But now that things have progressed to the final stage, they have encountered the most difficult problem to solve.
Shang Wu was in a bad mood and couldn't muster a pleasant expression for Zhou Yanci.
But forced by circumstances, she had no choice but to pull herself together and act with Zhou Yanci.
Shang Wu walked over, handed the bag to Zhou Yanci, and then turned and got into the passenger seat.
Zhou Yanci asked, "What brings you to a bar today? Haven't you been quite busy lately?"
Shang Wu smiled and said, "I was just thinking of going to a bar to relax because I've been so busy."
“Okay, I’ve also invited a few friends. It wouldn’t be fun if it were just the two of us. You shouldn’t mind, right?” Zhou Yanci asked.
Shang Wu paused slightly, looking at him with a half-smile.
"Who did you hire? It wasn't Gu Ziqian, was it? We're sworn enemies, and you've forgotten how he helped Chen Mian deal with me?"
Zhou Yanci was slightly taken aback, and felt somewhat annoyed.
"I thought you didn't care about him anymore. How about this, once we get there, I'll make him apologize to you right away, okay?"
Shang Wu glanced at him.
"You said it yourself. If he doesn't apologize to me honestly and until I'm satisfied, I'll turn my back on him."
"Of course, he wronged you before, so I'll definitely teach him a lesson and make him sincerely apologize to you. I won't make you unhappy, don't worry," Zhou Yanci coaxed, and started sending messages to Gu Ziqian.
He was in a great mood the whole way, feeling as if he and Shang Wu had returned to their old relationship.
Shang Wu ignored him.
When she arrived at the bar, she indeed saw Gu Ziqian and several of Zhou Yanci's other good friends sitting and drinking.
Upon seeing Shang Wu arrive, Gu Ziqian's expression changed slightly. In the instant their eyes met, Shang Wu saw the suppressed hatred in his eyes.
However, the next second, Gu Ziqian stood up aggrievedly and forced a smile at Shang Wu.
"sister in law."
Shang Wu didn't give her a friendly look.
"Isn't this Young Master Gu? He's been reflecting on his mistakes at home lately, but his parents are finally satisfied, so he's been released again?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly.
Everyone knows that Gu Ziqian caused his uncle to lose his job and be confined to his home for a few days because of his targeting of Shang Wu.
Shang Wu is now deliberately poking at his sore spots and rubbing salt into his wounds.
Gu Ziqian's expression began to betray his growing unease.
Zhou Yanci immediately coughed lightly and stared at him coldly.
"Gu Ziqian, don't you know perfectly well what's going on with your self-reflection? Awu gave you face by coming to drink with you today, so you know what to do, right?"
His words carried a subtle implication, implying that Gu Ziqian had to apologize today and give him face.
Gu Ziqian gritted his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do.
He glanced at Shang Wu and walked straight over.
"I'm sorry, sister-in-law. I was wrong before. Please forgive me, I'm so magnanimous."
Shang Wu said with a half-smile, "I also want to apologize to you."
Upon hearing this, everyone assumed that the two were now happily reconciled.
But Shang Wu changed the subject: "Sorry, I am a very shallow and petty person. I hate it when someone betrays me and then just says sorry and that's it. I am not satisfied with your attitude of admitting your mistake now. Admit your mistake properly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Ziqian's expression changed completely.
He immediately looked at Zhou Yanci beside him and gestured with his eyes for him to keep an eye on Shang Wu.
Zhou Yanci pretended not to see his meaningful glance and raised an eyebrow at him in return.
"Didn't you hear what A-Wu said? If you do something wrong, you should apologize. What are you standing there for!"
Gu Ziqian clenched his fists, exasperated, and said, "Then what else do you want me to apologize for?"
Shang Wu narrowed her eyes, thinking of his repeated provocations in the past.
She curled her lips into a smile.
"I'll give you two choices."
For some reason, Gu Ziqian felt a tightness in his heart after hearing these words, and had a bad feeling that neither of the two options she was about to mention was good.
Shang Wu glanced at the wine on the table and pointed to the three bottles of strong liquor in the corner.
Wang Qizheng's method of making things difficult for her was something she copied exactly.
"Either you drink these three bottles of wine in one go and we'll call it even, or you kneel down and apologize to me in public."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Shang Wu with complex and indescribable expressions.
Someone cautiously began to offer advice.
“Sister-in-law, isn’t this punishment a bit too harsh? Although he did something wrong before, his uncle has already stepped down, and he was punished by his family for so long before being released. Isn’t that already making amends?”
"Yes, sister-in-law, we're all good friends, how can you be so aggressive?"
"Sister-in-law, that's not very generous of you."
Shang Wu turned around casually and sat down on the sofa.
Like Gu Ziqian, these people always felt that Zhou Yanci chose her only because he saw her as a tool to be used and would eventually get rid of her. They never took her seriously.
Once they returned from their slumber, these people became even more formidable.
Everyone was eager to curry favor with the future president's wife, leaving her out in the cold.
Now she's standing up for Gu Ziqian.
They weren't genuinely speaking up for Gu Ziqian.
They were simply indignant to see someone on their side being bullied like this, as if they were seeing their own fate.
Shang Wu looked cold and casually checked her neatly trimmed nails.
"How about this, whoever apologizes for him will drink the three bottles of wine. If you feel sorry for him, then drink them yourselves. I have no objection. It's not a bad thing to take the blame for him."
As soon as she finished speaking, the few people who had been vying to speak up for Gu Ziqian all fell silent.
Gu Ziqian could no longer bear it and looked up at Zhou Yanci beside him.
"Are you sure you want me to choose between these two ways of apologizing? I'm a respectable young master of the Gu family, which of these methods would allow me to maintain my dignity and save face?"
Zhou Yanci also realized that Shang Wu was deliberately trying to make Gu Ziqian lose face and be unable to hold his head up in front of everyone.
He couldn't help but glance at Shang Wu.
At this moment, he had no choice but to help Shang Wu.
He is now eager to repair his relationship with Shang Wu, and he absolutely cannot let his efforts go to waste tonight.
Zhou Yanci lowered his eyes for a moment before finally speaking.
"You should finish these three bottles. I think you can hold your liquor pretty well, so you should be able to handle them."
Gu Ziqian's eyes widened.
Is this even human language?
He grew anxious: "Zhou Yanci!"
Zhou Yanci suppressed him with an even colder gaze: "What, you're so picky about apologizing? If you apologize today, we'll call it even, and we can still hang out politely together in the future. Don't ruin our relationship for the sake of your own pride!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Ziqian finally understood.
Zhou Yanci has completely changed; he plans to marry Shang Wu.
Zhou Yanci's words were meant to remind him that the person he needed to cultivate a good relationship with was Shang Wu, because after their marriage, they would inevitably have to spend a long time together.
If he doesn't please Shang Wu now, he'll inevitably face a lot of trouble later.
Thinking of this, Gu Ziqian could no longer bear it and could only turn his head to look at Shang Wu.
"Fine, I'll drink, I'll drink, okay?"
Make him kneel? Dream on.
He would never kneel down to Shang Wu in front of so many people!
Gu Ziqian walked to the table, picked up the wine, took a deep breath, and then tilted his head back to gulp it down.
As Shang Wu watched him pour alcohol down her throat, she inexplicably thought of how Lu Rang drank for her.
What is Lu Rang doing now? He keeps saying he'll help her solve these problems, but which of these inspectors is easy to approach?
Will he get into some trouble...?
As Shang Wu was deep in thought, Gu Ziqian suddenly choked on his wine.
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