Chapter 143 — They All Came Knocking

At noon during the lunch break, Tang Zhi went to the door of Class Five's classroom again. This time she didn't dare approach Shen Yushu; instead she found a frail-looking girl with glasses and asked her about Wei Zhao...

The girl was clearly the type who heard nothing of the world outside and cared only for her studies. She had no idea whether Wei Zhao had come that morning, nor paid him any attention. Only after helping Tang Zhi look around the classroom did she confirm that Wei Zhao was not inside.

Tang Zhi was disappointed, and a little angry too. Was Wei Zhao deliberately playing her for a fool? They had clearly agreed with her mother that he would bring the formula today, yet the whole morning had passed without a single glimpse of him—what was that supposed to mean?

Wei Zhao, for his part, walked into the classroom right on the bell for the one-thirty afternoon class. Shen Yushu poked Gu Mengyao beside her. "Sister Yaoyao, Chewing Gum Guy is here."

"Oh..." Gu Mengyao looked up at Wei Zhao, and finding that he was looking her way too, she couldn't help lowering her head—while her mind kept turning over the same question: what exactly was the relationship between this guy and Tang Zhi?

"Sister Yaoyao, you don't seem very happy?" Shen Yushu could tell Gu Mengyao's spirits were low, that sullen, listless look about her.

"Nothing, just a little tired..." Gu Mengyao pressed a hand to her shoulder, then, as if offhandedly: "Xiaoshu, what do you think Wei Zhao was running off to do all morning?"

"How would I know? Want me to ask for you?" Shen Yushu thought to herself: Gu Mengyao really does seem a little different about Chewing Gum Guy.

"Is that so... then... go ahead and ask..." Gu Mengyao hesitated a moment, then agreed.

"All right, should I ask what Tang Zhi wanted with him too?" Shen Yushu took out her phone, ready to send a text. Before, when Wei Zhao had no phone, she could only pass him notes; but now that he had one, there was no need for such a primitive method.

"Ask that too..." Gu Mengyao was about to say what was the point of asking that, but some perverse impulse checked her tongue: "Suit yourself..."

"Hee hee..." Shen Yushu began composing the message on her phone, selected Wei Zhao's number, and pressed send.

"In the village there's a girl named Xiaofang... beautiful and kind..."

A pleasant ringtone chimed—only the song was... really a bit too old-fashioned...

Class was about to start and the classroom was dead quiet, so the ringtone sounded rather jarring... Everyone immediately turned to follow the direction of the sound.

Wei Zhao was somewhat embarrassed. He had set his phone to standard ringtone mode that morning for fear of missing Yang Huaijun's call, and after getting back to school had forgotten to switch it back to vibrate.

He hurriedly took out his phone and pressed a button—thankfully it was only a text message.

Most people only glanced over casually before turning back. Gu Mengyao knew it was Shen Yushu's doing and pressed her lips together in a smile. Shen Yushu, meanwhile, secretly stuck out her tongue—you can't blame me for this, who told you not to set your phone to vibrate?

Wei Zhao glanced at his phone and saw it was from Shen Yushu. He opened the message, which read: "Sister Yaoyao told me to ask what you were doing all morning?"

Wei Zhao shook his head with a smile. The young miss really was curious. And Shen Yushu, that girl—wasn't she just selling Gu Mengyao out? Wei Zhao could guess what was in Gu Mengyao's mind.

In Wei Zhao's view, the young miss belonged to the outwardly cold, inwardly fiery type... though she wore the expression of someone owed several million, sometimes she did show him a measure of concern... This employer wasn't half bad.

It must be that Gu Mengyao wanted to ask what he had done that morning but was too embarrassed to speak up herself, so she had Shen Yushu ask for her—and then Shen Yushu, that girl, had gone and exposed Gu Mengyao outright.

A mischievous urge came over Wei Zhao, and he composed a text: "Went to the police station this morning. About Xiaohei."

But this message was not sent to Shen Yushu—it was sent to Gu Mengyao.

After Shen Yushu sent her message and Wei Zhao received it, Gu Mengyao fixed her eyes eagerly on Shen Yushu's phone. But after waiting a long while, Shen Yushu's phone gave no sign of life at all—while her own phone buzzed twice.

Gu Mengyao opened her phone, puzzled, and found a text message. She had assumed it was the usual junk—one of those swindlers out to fleece people—but when she opened it, her face darkened at once.

The message was actually from Wei Zhao—and what was more, he was actually telling her his whereabouts...

Was Wei Zhao really so obedient as to report his movements to her of his own accord? Gu Mengyao certainly did not believe he was that sort of person, so there could be only one explanation... and that was... Shen Yushu's earlier message had been tampered with. Otherwise, why would Wei Zhao ignore her message and reply only to Shen Yushu's?

"Xiaoshu." Gu Mengyao held the phone up before Shen Yushu's eyes. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Uh... I haven't the faintest idea?" Shen Yushu blinked innocently, the very picture of a little loli who understood nothing at all.

"Let me see your phone." Gu Mengyao did not bother questioning Shen Yushu further. She had grown up playing with her and knew her temperament inside out—when Shen Yushu put on that innocent look, she could pass for an actress.

"My phone... what is there to see..." Shen Yushu pretended not to understand. "Didn't we buy them together... have you forgotten? Once when we went shopping, there was a promotion at one of the China Mobile outlets. The poster was advertising Yunhai Shuku's *A Prelude to Faint Light of Old Dreams*, and we thought it looked fun, so we went in, and then we signed up for a deal where you get a free phone for topping up your account..."

"Xiaoshu." Gu Mengyao had listened to her ramble off into the weeds, and glared at her in exasperation. "Don't change the subject. Give me the phone."

"Oh..." Shen Yushu was in fact rather afraid of Gu Mengyao. Once Gu Mengyao got angry, Shen Yushu did not dare carry on with her nonsense, and meekly handed over the phone.

Gu Mengyao snatched it and found, among the sent messages, the one Shen Yushu had just sent. She was so furious her nose twisted. "Xiaoshu, why did you send this to me?"

"Didn't you tell me to ask?" Shen Yushu was still all innocence.

"You..." Gu Mengyao was speechless. It was true that she had told her to ask, but who asks like that? No—wait, hadn't she said "whatever you like"?

"Xiaoshu, when did I tell you to ask? I said 'whatever you like,'" Gu Mengyao said angrily. "Aren't you taking a chicken feather and using it as a battle standard?"

"Oh, then I'll text Arrow-Brand Bro back and explain—say it was all my own doing and has nothing to do with you..." Shen Yushu said.

"Forget it, I'd sooner explain it myself..." Gu Mengyao rolled her eyes at Shen Yushu, picked up her phone, and replied: "You don't need to report to me where you go, but be careful when you go philandering—the girl has come knocking at the door."