Chapter 106 — Who Said I Was Giving It to You?

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Wei Zhao's sudden little performance just now had left Tang Zhi somewhat dazed. Wei Zhao had once worked a street stall? But when she had first spotted him, he had seemed to arrive in a sports car, hadn't he? How could a man like that possibly have run a street stall?

And besides, he was plainly a high school student just like her, a student still in school—how could he have a wife? And a pregnant one at that? Tang Zhi rubbed her eyes. Had she been too tired these past two days, and this Wei Zhao too infuriating, so that she had started hallucinating? Otherwise, how could she possibly have run into Wei Zhao in a place like this?

Still, no matter what, whether that person just now had been Wei Zhao or not, Tang Zhi felt in her heart that he was rather detestable. She had been the one to spot that dress first, yet before she could even settle on a price, he had swooped in and bought it out from under her. How hateful!

Head bowed in resentment, Tang Zhi made her way toward the snack street. It had taken her such an effort to make up her mind to come and buy two new outfits, and now...

"Ah—" After a few steps, Tang Zhi nearly collided with someone ahead of her. Startled, she instinctively shrank back and looked up, only to find Wei Zhao standing before her with a beaming smile. "You... what are you standing there for? Trying to scare people to death?"

"Giving you your dress," Wei Zhao said, holding the dress out to her.

"Didn't you buy it for your wife?" Tang Zhi frowned, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Heh, that was just a bargaining tactic. What wife do I have? It was only to trick him into revealing his wholesale price." Wei Zhao shrugged. "I stepped in because I saw you didn't know how to haggle—I was afraid you'd get fleeced like a fat sheep."

"Oh..." Tang Zhi finally understood why Wei Zhao had said what he said. So it had all been for the sake of bargaining. Then his purpose in buying this dress was to give it to her? The thought of that possibility made Tang Zhi all the more annoyed. Of course she would not accept a dress from Wei Zhao. If she wanted one, all she had to do was say the word at school and plenty of boys would have rushed to give her one—but she did not like that sort of thing.

"Here, take it," Wei Zhao said, thrusting the dress at Tang Zhi.

"I don't want your things. Take it back," Tang Zhi said coldly, sidestepping out of his reach.

"Who said I was giving it to you? Pay me." Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears. "Forty-five."

"Huh?" Tang Zhi was stunned. She had not expected Wei Zhao to suddenly ask her for money. Hadn't he bought it to curry favor with her, to give it to her? Why was he asking her to pay?

Could it be that he only meant to toy with her? At that thought, Tang Zhi's heart sank. She wanted to turn and walk away without another word to Wei Zhao, yet she hesitated. This dress was one she truly liked. Back when that vendor had refused to knock a single cent off the two-hundred-yuan price, she had still felt an urge to buy it...

She reflected that although it was Wei Zhao who had brought her the dress now, if she paid for it herself, then it should have nothing to do with him. Right—she was buying it with her own money. What did it have to do with him?

With that thought, Tang Zhi fished her purse out of her pocket. All the money in it added up to barely more than two hundred yuan—her living expenses for a month. She drew out a fifty-yuan note and handed it to Wei Zhao. "Here."

Without a word, Wei Zhao took the money, then rummaged through his pocket for a long while before producing four one-yuan coins. "I don't have any change left. Mind if I owe you one yuan?"

"Hmph." Tang Zhi snatched the coins from his hand, grabbed the dress in a huff, and turned to stride quickly away, paying Wei Zhao no further heed.

"What did I do to deserve this? Good intentions repaid with ill will?" Wei Zhao flicked the fifty-yuan note in his hand, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and likewise headed toward the snack street.

After a few steps, Tang Zhi's head cooled. Thinking back on Wei Zhao's attitude toward her all along, he did not seem to pester her shamelessly like those other rich young masters. Rather, he seemed to employ a different approach—neither warm nor cold toward her, occasionally stepping forward to help her out, thereby displaying his gentlemanly grace... Hmph, so that was it. At the thought of Wei Zhao's behavior today, Tang Zhi stamped her foot. She had fallen for his trick again. His asking her for money must have been deliberate—to put her off her guard and thus achieve his aim.

Tang Zhi wanted to fling the dress to the ground and trample it a couple of times, yet she could not bear to. With a sigh, she headed, sulking, toward her family's barbecue stall.

"Yun'er, did you get the dress?" Mother Tang asked with a smile, looking at the dress in Tang Zhi's hands. Tang Zhi had been fond of this dress for more than a day or two; she had looked at it before but balked at the price and not bought it. Today Mother Tang had encouraged her, told her to go and buy it, and only then had Tang Zhi made up her mind.

"Mm..." Tang Zhi stuffed the dress into her schoolbag and answered absently.

"How much did it cost? Did you manage to bargain?" Mother Tang was busy with the barbecue stall and naturally did not notice her daughter's expression.

"Forty-five," Tang Zhi said flatly.

"Forty-five? Really? Didn't that vendor want two hundred? How did you get it so cheap?" Mother Tang was surprised.

"Some annoying guy haggled for me." Tang Zhi got angry just thinking about it. "Anyway, Mom, forget it. Let me help you."

Mother Tang shook her head, baffled. She had no idea who this annoying person Tang Zhi meant was. He had helped her bargain—shouldn't she be thanking him? How could she find him annoying?

Wei Zhao turned the corner and came back to where Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were eating fried mushrooms. The two had just finished and were getting up to pay. Gu Mengyao looked up and saw Wei Zhao walking toward her carrying a pair of big baggy shorts, and immediately blurted out, "Huh?"

Hearing Gu Mengyao's puzzled exclamation, Shen Yushu looked up too and saw Wei Zhao.

"Arrow Brand Bro, where did you get those big shorts?" Shen Yushu asked, staring curiously at the baggy shorts in Wei Zhao's hand.

"Bought them over there. Do they look good?" Wei Zhao said, holding them up against himself a couple of times.

"..." Gu Mengyao pursed her lips. "They'd make you look like a bad guy."

"I remember a textbook passage in elementary school, a line that went 'the old French scoundrel,'" Shen Yushu nodded and chimed in.

"..." Wei Zhao was speechless. "Forget it, I'm not talking to you two. There's something wrong with your taste. I paid fifteen yuan for these."

"What?" This time it was Gu Mengyao's turn to be speechless. A fifteen-yuan item, and you're proud enough to show it off?

Shen Yushu covered her mouth and snickered. Only Wei Zhao could pull something like this. "All right, let's go home. Arrow Brand Bro, if you really like those big shorts, put them on at home and show us then—you can't exactly change here on the street, can you?"

"Xiaoshu, what's so good about him wearing baggy shorts? Have you lost your mind?" Gu Mengyao pinched Shen Yushu.

"I thought you wanted to see it," Shen Yushu blinked and looked at Gu Mengyao innocently. "You looked so surprised just now..."

"..." Gu Mengyao didn't want to argue. Shen Yushu was a bit wicked, and arguing with her about things like this would only dig the hole deeper...