Chapter 189: Chapter 187: I Thought We Were at Least Friends

Zhou Rui’s voice was mellow and rich, with a tone that was all too familiar.

The man before her was clearly Mu Tianrui, but to Su Tang, he felt like a completely different person.

His tone was relaxed, as if he were inviting an old friend.

Su Tang stopped, her expression calm and unruffed, as if she were merely declining an ordinary invitation.

"Mr. Zhou, it’s been a while. Congratulations on your triumphant return. However, I’m afraid my child is still young and can’t be left alone. I have to hurry home to make him dinner. I’ll have to pass on the coffee, but I appreciate the thought."

Her tone was distant yet polite, and her reason was perfectly valid. After speaking, she gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

"Doctor Su."

Zhou Rui’s voice rose slightly. With a quick shift of his feet, he once again subtly blocked her path.

The smile on his face didn’t falter, even deepening a little, but his eyes behind the glasses held no trace of mirth.

"It’s just dinner; eating a little later won’t matter. If you’re worried about your child, I can find someone to watch him for you.

I’d think that with the humble contributions I’ve made to the military, I’d at least have enough standing to invite the wife of our great hero, Mr. Lu, for a cup of coffee to discuss... future donation plans. Surely I haven’t been denied that small courtesy?"

His words were still sugar-coated, but they revealed a hard-edged insistence.

First, he highlighted his own contributions and prestige, then he subtly dragged Lu Xiao into it.

Finally, he elevated a simple coffee invitation to the level of official business, framing it so that if Su Tang refused again, she would seem unreasonable, perhaps even jeopardizing the military’s interests.

He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping lower, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.

"It’s at the cafe just around the corner. It’s quiet and a good place to talk. I’ve already reserved a table. Doctor Su, if you please?"

He extended a hand in an inviting gesture. The posture was elegant, yet it carried an unyielding implication, as if her refusal had never even happened.

Su Tang’s heart tightened slightly. ’This coffee is unavoidable.’

Zhou Rui was making it clear that he would not take no for an answer.

If she continued to resist, she would appear guilty or rude, playing right into his hands.

She took a deep breath. Instead of the flustered expression Zhou Rui had expected, her face broke into a faint yet proper smile—a smile that was an even more impeccable mask than his own.

"Mr. Zhou, you’re too kind. Since it’s for official business, it would be improper of me to decline."

Her tone was composed, even tinged with resignation, as she deftly reframed his forceful invitation as an offer too gracious to refuse.

The cafe on the corner was new, considered something of a foreign novelty in this area.

A small bell hung on the door, JINGLING whenever it was pushed open.

The lighting inside was dim. The booths were upholstered in dark green patent leather, which had been worn white in some places.

A cloyingly sweet aroma filled the air.

A waiter eagerly led them to a relatively quiet booth in the back.

He acted the perfect gentleman, pulling out Su Tang’s chair for her and smiling. "Doctor Su, you have it tough, working and taking care of a child. With Mr. Lu in Beijing year-round, you’re holding down the fort all by yourself. It can’t be easy."

His words sounded sympathetic, but they were a precise jab at her husband’s absence, subtly implying her isolation.

Su Tang’s tone was flat and even. "Defending our home and country is a soldier’s duty. He serves the nation at the front, and I take care of our family at the rear so he has nothing to worry about. It’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s not a hardship."

She effortlessly deflected his attempt to stir up trouble, neutralizing its insinuation.

The waiter brought two cups of coffee in coarse white porcelain mugs. The liquid inside was black, with a thin layer of foam on top.

Zhou Rui stirred his coffee gently with a small spoon, the silver clinking softly against the side of the cup.

He began speaking, feigning casualness.

"You know, coming back this time and seeing how much my hometown has changed and how the military’s development has improved, I’m truly happy. That’s why I want to do my part. Especially when it comes to logistics. The soldiers can only train and carry out their missions effectively if they can eat and use supplies without worry. Don’t you agree, Doctor Su?"

He looked up, his smile gentle. In that moment, he really did resemble the Mu Tianrui of the past.

"I heard that you’ve developed some... unique opinions about imported food supplies recently, Doctor Su? And you even went out of your way to warn my grandfather and a few logistics leaders? How very meticulous of you."

He was finally showing his hand. Though phrased as a question, his words carried the weight of an unavoidable interrogation.

The air around them seemed to thicken.

Su Tang picked up the glass of plain water in front of her, her movements unhurried.

Only then did she look at Zhou Rui, her gaze clear and candid, tinged with confusion.

"Mr. Zhou, whatever are you referring to? I don’t have any ’unique opinions.’ I was just reading the newspaper a while ago and saw an article about some substandard imported canned goods being confiscated in a few places. People got sick from eating them."

"I suppose I can be a bit of a worrywart. I was thinking that when our military procures supplies and accepts donations, safety has to be the top priority. I just happened to mention it in passing while chatting with some of the elders."

"I just hope that such a wonderful initiative can be handled with the utmost care, so no mistakes are made. That would be a disservice to the kind intentions of enthusiastic people like you, Mr. Zhou."

She smiled faintly, her tone even taking on a sincere quality.

"Mr. Zhou, you’ve come back from a big city like Xiangjiang. You’re worldly and well-connected; I’m sure anything you provide is top-quality. I was just worrying for nothing. After all, we can’t compare to Xiangjiang here. We’re seeing a lot of these things for the first time, so it never hurts to be a little cautious." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Zhou?"

Her speech was airtight.

She even flattered Zhou Rui at the end, deftly tossing the question back to him and completely extricating herself from the situation.

Zhou Rui’s stirring faltered for an almost imperceptible moment.

He looked at the woman before him. She sat there, slender and delicate, looking as though she needed protection.

But her words were as slippery as an eel, and his forceful probes found no purchase.

The smile on his face slowly deepened, but a faint shadow of gloom passed through the depths of his eyes.

Zhou Rui let out a low chuckle, his voice still mellow. "You are very thoughtful, Doctor Su. It’s certainly never wrong to be cautious."

He raised his coffee cup and took a sip, his gaze passing through the rising steam to land once more on Su Tang’s impassive face.

In this first round of probing, he hadn’t gained an inch of ground.

"On the other hand, Doctor Su, I thought we were at least friends."

"If you were Mu Tianrui, perhaps we could have been. But you and I, Mr. Zhou, have never been on the same path, from beginning to end."

From the moment he appeared to the final reveal of his identity, he had been driven by ulterior motives and exploitation.

Su Tang had nothing to discuss with him.

Especially now that she knew the contents of the original book were different from what she’d once understood.

"A pity. I was rather hoping we could be friends."

Zhou Rui’s tone was full of regret. He took a light sip of coffee, and a complex mix of emotions flashed in his eyes behind his glasses.

’It seems that no matter what I say, she won’t believe me anymore.’

’In that case, I have no choice but to bring it all crashing down.’