Chapter 216: I’d Like to Ask Your Advice

Chapter 216: I’d Like to Ask Your Advice

As Gu Ruibo approached, Wu Chen politely stood and shook his hand.

Gu Ruibo was extraordinarily enthusiastic.

He laughed loudly as they shook hands, so exuberantly that the sound was almost awkward.

In truth, however, it was not entirely unnatural.

If a man around twenty laughed and spoke this way, with such hearty, bold energy, it would have felt a little out of place.

But Gu Ruibo was no longer a young man.

He was slightly older than Ding Ruilong.

At thirty-two, he was six years older than Li Ruotai.

Although he looked young for his age, almost as though he were not much older than Li Ruotai, he still possessed the bearing of a mature man.

Thus, the expression and manner he adopted did not seem particularly out of place.

“Mr. Wu, you came all the way to Modu without giving me any notice! I could’ve sent someone to pick you up, hahahaha…”

“You really do look young. A fine-looking young man—truly a fine-looking young man! Hahahahaha…”

Far too enthusiastic.

Gu Ruibo exchanged pleasantries with Wu Chen for several moments.

Had it been any other young man, that overwhelming warmth might have given him goose bumps.

Behind the desk, Mao Rusong was even more bewildered.

Gu Ruibo had already entered the office once.

He had stepped out again only because he received a phone call.

They had barely exchanged a word then, but Gu’s attitude upon his first entrance had been nothing like this.

“Old Mao!” Gu Ruibo turned toward Mao Rusong.

His tone was familiar, yet carried a trace of reproach.

“Look at you. Your men called me spouting nonsense about some assassin coming to cause trouble. Could Mr. Wu possibly be that sort of person? We’re all friends here!”

Mao Rusong stared blankly.

It took him a moment to respond.

“It was… it was a misunderstanding. Hahaha…”

Then Mao laughed as well.

The atmosphere instantly became incomparably harmonious.

“Mr. Wu, you haven’t had lunch yet, have you? When did you get here? How about…” Gu Ruibo glanced at his watch and immediately continued.

“I haven’t eaten yet,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

“Then let’s find somewhere to have lunch. My treat—a welcome meal for you. Old Mao, you come too!”

Gu Ruibo gestured to Mao Rusong, then asked Wu Chen, “Mr. Wu, do you visit Modu often? What kind of food do you like? I’ll arrange everything.”

“Anything is fine. You decide.” Wu Chen smiled naturally.

Seeing Wu Chen’s attitude, Gu Ruibo finally relaxed.

Whether Wu Chen was truly as formidable and uncanny as Li Ruotai made him sound did not matter.

As long as he had not come looking for trouble, everything was fine.

Gu Ruibo still had no idea why Wu Chen had come to Mao Rusong or why a gun had become involved.

But whatever the issue was, Wu Chen’s current attitude meant it could be discussed.

At the very least, Gu Ruibo was in a position to mediate between them.

Only a few minutes after Gu Ruibo reentered the office, the door opened once more.

The three men left together.

They went downstairs.

Neither Gu Ruibo’s bodyguards nor Mao Rusong’s bodyguards and subordinates knew what was happening now.

But when they saw the three men chatting and laughing together, naturally no one could do anything unusual.

They simply followed.

As they went downstairs, Gu Ruibo asked Wu Chen, “Mr. Wu, did you drive here, or…?”

“High-speed rail,” Wu Chen replied.

Gu Ruibo had a clear idea now.

When they reached the parking lot, Gu Ruibo first invited Wu Chen into the back seat of his own car.

It was a custom bulletproof Mercedes-Maybach.

After Wu Chen got in, however, Gu Ruibo remained outside with one hand resting on the door.

Leaning in, he said, “Mr. Wu… I’m going to have a few words with Old Mao. We can talk again when we get there.”

“Go ahead,” Wu Chen replied with a smile.

Gu Ruibo closed the door and went over to Mao Rusong’s car.

He naturally needed to speak with Mao privately and in detail.

He made no attempt to hide that from Wu Chen.

On the contrary, he deliberately let Wu Chen know.

It was partly a way of testing Wu Chen’s attitude.

And partly a gesture of deference, treating Wu Chen as a friend.

Soon, the convoy set off.

Behind the Mercedes-Maybach was Mao Rusong’s car—

A stretched Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Mao Rusong’s car was extraordinarily ostentatious.

He was, after all, a man who loved putting on a display.

In the back seat of the Rolls-Royce…

“Li Ruotai’s brother-in-law? Li Ruobing’s current boyfriend?” After Gu Ruibo explained, Mao Rusong looked as though he had finally remembered.

But his tone remained very strange.

Because Gu Ruibo’s attitude was far too strange.

“Brother Gu, does this Wu Chen have some other background?” Mao Rusong asked doubtfully.

“Brother Gu” was a nickname-like form of address for Gu Ruibo.

Among those who treated him as a peer, anyone close to him called him that, whether older or younger.

The name Brother Gu carried considerable weight in Modu.

Hearing Mao Rusong’s question, Gu Ruibo fell silent for a moment.

He knew how to keep his mouth shut.

There were many things Li Ruotai had told him that he could not and would not repeat to outsiders.

“He’s formidable. Even A-Tai is a little afraid of him,” Gu Ruibo said, glancing sideways at Mao.

That single sentence was enough.

Mao Rusong’s expression changed repeatedly.

Of course he knew exactly what kind of person Li Ruotai was.

Li Ruotai was notoriously flamboyant and had a bad temper.

Even Gu Ruibo often had to humor Li Ruotai, the foremost member of the Li family’s third generation.

And yet Li Ruotai was afraid of…

Wu Chen?

As Mao Rusong thought it over, his mind suddenly became active.

If Wu Chen truly was that formidable, then to Mao, he was someone worth befriending on his own initiative.

Perhaps even flattering.

“Don’t ask around about him either. He’s not someone you can afford to provoke,” Gu Ruibo said, glancing at Mao. “Old Mao, let’s talk about you instead. What happened? How did you end up crossing him?”

“I-I didn’t provoke him…” Mao Rusong defended himself first.

Then he began explaining what had happened.

There was nothing he could not say.

So he told Gu Ruibo everything.

There was no need to conceal any of it.

The most critical element of the entire affair—the time Mao Rusong had betrayed Ding Ruilong—had been done at Gu Ruibo’s direction in the first place.

Gu already knew.

Gu Ruibo listened, asking a question now and then.

Once Mao finished, Gu relaxed.

“Then there’s no problem…” Gu said first.

Then he asked, “Old Mao, what are you planning to do?”

In truth, Gu Ruibo could have advised Mao to listen to Wu Chen.

But he still needed to hear Mao’s own position first.

Mao Rusong was no minor figure.

His connections were formidable.

Even Gu Ruibo could not simply order him to do things.

They discussed matters.

“Obviously, I’m going to pretend I’m blind,” Mao Rusong said.

Then even he laughed.

More than twenty minutes later.

Taoyuan Private Kitchen, on the Bund in Modu.

It was one of the finest upscale Chinese restaurants in the city.

The convoy arrived.

Everyone went upstairs.

In the end, only Wu Chen, Gu Ruibo, and Mao Rusong entered the private room.

Everything had been arranged by phone while the convoy was on the road.

The restaurant was decorated with refined taste.

The private room was not especially large, but its atmosphere and privacy were excellent.

They ordered.

Then they chatted.

Gu Ruibo largely guided the conversation.

At his age and with his family background, he was naturally an excellent conversationalist.

He did not discuss Mao Rusong or Ding Ruilong with Wu Chen.

They simply chatted casually, ranging from one subject to another.

He frequently mentioned Li Ruotai.

He also brought up Li Ruobing.

Naturally, Gu Ruibo knew Li Ruobing.

They simply were not close and had no private contact.

The last time he had seen her was two years earlier, when he visited Donghai on business and shared a meal with Li Ruobing and Li Ruotai.

The meal went on for a long time.

A little after one in the afternoon, they were still eating.

Mao Rusong went to the restroom, leaving the private room for a moment.

Only Wu Chen and Gu Ruibo remained.

“Mr. Wu, A-Tai told me…” Gu Ruibo abruptly changed the subject.

He seemed about to say something, but stopped.

Then he asked instead, “Mr. Wu, do you know my elder brother?”

“I do,” Wu Chen replied with a smile.

“Then, Mr. Wu… I’d like to ask your advice.” Gu Ruibo looked at him. “What do you think I need to do to beat my elder brother?”

The question contained an enormous amount of information.

Anyone who did not understand Gu Ruibo would have no idea what he was truly asking.

Gu Ruibo was testing Wu Chen.

Li Ruotai had actually said something about “knowing things before they happened.”

That was far too exaggerated.

Gu Ruibo was not foolish enough to ask Wu Chen what would happen tomorrow.

But this question…

Was extraordinarily complicated.

And the problem behind it was brutally difficult to solve.