Chapter 136 The CEO’s Divorced Wife’s Gentle Knife (35)

Chapter 136 The CEO's Divorced Wife's Gentle Knife (35)

Haitang Bistro had recently become noticeably livelier. Tang Qing frequently sensed curious gazes and hushed whispers around her:

"Mr. Li dropped by again yesterday!"

"Lawyer Zhong came right after him! Hehehe, I put a whole BBQ dinner on Du Wenxing. How much did you guys put down?"

"Five hundred bucks says Lawyer Zhong wins!"

"Yeah right. With our President Li’s personality, there’s no way he’s getting his ex back..."

Du Wenxing: "..."

Seems like I’m the only one who bet on the CEO. I’m gonna lose money!

Shoveling food into his mouth in a corner where no one could see him, Du Wenxing frantically blew up President Li’s phone:

"President Li, here’s a book my junior recommended—*100 Ways to Win Her Back*! I strongly suggest you check it out."

"President Li, insider info—Lawyer Zhong can’t make it today. This is your golden opportunity! Get your butt over here!"

"President Li..."

President Li frowned at Du Wenxing’s weirdly eager messages. After a moment of thought, he called his assistant in:

"Di Shi, has Du Wenxing been slacking off lately?"

Caught by surprise, Di Shi glanced at Du Wenxing’s flood of texts and replied awkwardly, "Uh..."

"Maybe it’s because of the betting pool?"

"President Li, it seems Du Wenxing set up a betting pool..." Di Shi explained cautiously, having learned about it from lurking in Haitang Kitchen’s food-ordering group chat. Du Wenxing, bold as ever, had set up a wager: Who’d win Tang Qing over—President Li or Lawyer Zhong?

Sure enough, as soon as Di Shi finished speaking, the CEO’s face fell.

"Did you bet too?"

Di Shi shook her head vigorously. "No... President Li, you know they never let me join these things."

With her position as President Li’s assistant, Du Wenxing always acted like a mouse spotting a cat whenever he saw her.

"But... I heard... well..." Under President Li’s death stare, Di Shi stammered out the rest, "Almost everyone in the company is betting on Lawyer Zhong..."

The moment the words left her mouth, Di Shi clearly heard the CEO snort.

"So Du Wenxing is the only one who bet on me?"

Di Shi nodded. "Seems that way."

"Apparently, he bet big..."

President Li: "At least he’s loyal."

Du Wenxing’s messages were a total mess, and President Li instinctively wanted to delete them. But when he reached the first link—*100 Ways to Win Her Back*—he hesitated. After a brief pause, he clicked on it.

Meanwhile, Du Wenxing remained clueless that his betting scheme had been exposed. After finishing his meal, he was dying to get the scoop.

He jumped in to help Tang Qing bus tables, even running dishes back and forth—all just to hear a ‘thanks’ from her: "Hey... thanks for today. We’ve been swamped—I couldn’t handle it alone."

"You work... at the place across the street?"

Du Wenxing looked somewhat familiar—he had been a regular customer since the first day of business.

Being praised out of the blue by his boss's crush, Du Wenxing felt a little embarrassed, especially when he saw Tang Qing's smile...

How should I say it?

It was the kind of smile that made people feel particularly at ease—no wonder President Li and Lawyer Zhong were both into Boss Tang.

"No problem, I was just helping out." Scratching his head awkwardly, Du Wenxing glanced around. The lunch crowd had thinned out, and many seats in the Haitang Kitchen were now empty.

After checking no one was around, he leaned closer to Tang Qing. "Um... Boss Tang..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Du Wenxing's good-natured face turned an unnatural shade of red as he fidgeted. "I just wanted to ask..."

"Just a tiny bit of gossip..."

Tang Qing: "What news?"

"Well... about our President Li's situation." Choosing his words carefully, Du Wenxing's eyes kept shifting around. "That is..."

"Is there still hope?"

Tang Qing was stunned—she hadn't expected him to come fishing for gossip.

After several seconds of stunned silence, she managed to ask, "Did Li Zhou send you to ask?"

Du Wenxing quickly shook his head. "No, no, it's just me being nosy..."

"Boss Tang, please don’t misunderstand! I really just wanted to ask for myself!"

"Oh? Really? I heard there was some kind of bet involved?" Before Du Wenxing could explain further, a dangerously calm voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Du Wenxing, running a betting pool under my nose—your doing?"

Shit!

That voice...

Turning his head slowly, Du Wenxing indeed saw the familiar face of his boss!

How did this get exposed?

Does President Li have ears everywhere or what? Why does he always catch me red-handed!

"President Li... let me explain."

"I’m still on your side."

Quaking as he tried to explain himself, Du Wenxing immediately shut up when President Li gave him a single glance.

"Seems like the workload I assigned you last time wasn’t enough." With just one sentence from the authoritative boss, Du Wenxing looked utterly defeated. "Go find Di Shi when you get back to the company. She’ll tell you what to do."

"Yes..." Head hanging low, Du Wenxing could already foresee nothing but misery in his future for the rest of the month.

In even lower spirits now, his footsteps were heavy as he turned to leave. But before he could take two steps, Li Zhou called him back again. "Du Wenxing..."

"Send me the list of everyone else in on that bet."

"Including who they bet on and how much they wagered. Spell it out."

Du Wenxing: "Wait, what?"

"You don’t get it?"

He nodded quickly. "On it! I’ll put it together ASAP!"

"Boss Li, seriously, check the list—I’m the only one here who’s got your back..."

Still trying to suck up to Li Zhou, Du Wenxing’s remaining words were choked back by Li Zhou’s glare.

Edging away, Du Wenxing waited until Li Zhou was out of sight—then booked it!

Better them than me! Finally, I’m not the only one screwed!

"Li Zhou, what was that bet you two were talking about?" Tang Qing asked, puzzled after listening for a while.

Li Zhou coughed awkwardly and deflected, "Nothing, just some jokes among the team."

"Don’t take what they say seriously." The boss sat down, silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "So... did anything special happen to you today?"

*"100 Ways to Get the Girl"*

[Method 1: Sharing sparks attraction. Don’t always begin conversations with ‘I XX,’ but with ‘You XX.’ Get her talking about fun stuff. The desire to share is the beginning of her liking you.]

Li Zhou gripped his phone, tense as he waited for Tang Qing’s response.

No clue if Du Wenxing’s tips would help...

"Something special?"

Tang Qing paused. "Well, just now... your employee straight-up asked if Boss Li had a shot..."

Li Zhou: *deadpan stare*

"Li Zhou, if your whole team jokes like that, wow, *real* special."

"Wanted to update two chapters today, but seems like there’s no time... Posting one to prove I’m trying~"