Chapter 169 — The Bashful Shen Yushu

"Arrow Brand Bro, what were you two talking about just now?" Shen Yushu was a curious little thing. She and Gu Mengyao had been eavesdropping from upstairs earlier, but they had not dared get too close for fear Gu Pengzhan would notice, so they had not caught much.

"Nothing much. Just some company matters," Wei Zhao said. "Uncle Chu's competitors."

"Oh..." Gu Mengyao was not interested in that at all. She was still too young and had never brushed against the schemes and intrigues of the business world; in the way she dealt with people she was still very innocent. What she cared about was the true purpose behind her daddy sending Wei Zhao to her side. Since it had nothing to do with this, her interest naturally withered.

"Arrow Brand Bro, be honest with me. Did Uncle Chu send you here to court Yaoyao?" Shen Yushu did not quite believe that Gu Pengzhan and Wei Zhao had only discussed company matters.

"Huh!?" Wei Zhao stared at Shen Yushu, dumbstruck by her words.

"Oh, never mind..." Shen Yushu had only been bluffing him. Seeing that expression, she naturally knew her guess had been somewhat off the mark — or at least that Wei Zhao, like Gu Mengyao, was also being kept in the dark.

Wei Zhao rubbed his nose with a bitter smile. Shen Yushu's question was simply absurd. Was something wrong with Gu Pengzhan's head? Sending him to court his daughter? Was Gu Mengyao so unspeakably ugly, or did she suffer from some hidden ailment, that it had come to the point of sending someone to court her?

It had to be said — Shen Yushu truly had a wild imagination. Who knew what her little head was usually stuffed with.

"Xiaoshu, what nonsense are you spouting?" Gu Mengyao's face flushed crimson in an instant. "Why don't you ask whether my daddy sent him to court you?"

"Why would Uncle Chu send him to court me?" Shen Yushu blinked. "He isn't that much of a gossip, is he..."

Gu Mengyao rolled her eyes, furious. "Say one more word and I'll tear your mouth apart."

"Oh... a torn mouth can still talk, you know? Unless you sew it shut. Yaoyao, your logic is flawed." Shen Yushu retorted.

"..." Gu Mengyao turned and headed upstairs. This best friend of hers was too formidable; if she could not afford to provoke her, surely she could afford to hide from her...

"Yaoyao, wait for me!" Shen Yushu turned and dashed after her.

Wei Zhao watched the two figures retreat and shook his head. To this day he had never been upstairs to look around, and had no idea what the second floor was like. Then it suddenly occurred to him that the key to Shen Yushu's villa was still in his hand, so he hastily called out, "Xiaoshu."

"Hm? Arrow Brand Bro, you called me?" Shen Yushu turned back, looking at Wei Zhao with some puzzlement, then her mouth fell open. "Uncle Chu didn't really send you to court me, did he?"

"..." Wei Zhao nearly keeled over. "I'm returning the key to your villa."

"Oh, the key." Shen Yushu felt somewhat at a loss, a little embarrassed. "Ha, I was only joking..." "I know." Wei Zhao nodded with great certainty. Shen Yushu — when had she ever told the truth? Of everything she said, nine and a half sentences out of ten were jokes.

"Hee hee, that's good then..." Shen Yushu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her face burn. She did not know what had possessed her to blurt out such a thing just now. Fortunately, she had always cultivated the image of a crazy, mischievous oddball; otherwise, on the rare occasion she spoke a sincere word, being found out would have been mortifying. "By the way, can I borrow the car for a few days? Otherwise it would be inconvenient to go out with you two." Wei Zhao asked.

"Drive it, I don't drive it anyway." Shen Yushu waved her hand. "Leave the villa key with you for now too. Don't you want the computer? Go move it over when you have time! I'm sleepy — I'm going to sleep first! Bye-bye..."

Shen Yushu felt her face must be bright red by now, like a feverish crab — just like that TV commercial from ages ago: What happened, bro? Somebody boil you?

In fact, under the dim light on the villa's second floor, Shen Yushu's complexion was not so obvious, and Wei Zhao had not paid it much attention either. "All right, then I'll come by tomorrow and move the computer back."

Tang Zhi and Liu Xinsou walked out of the school under the pointing and whispering of others. Tang Zhi felt rather gloomy, sensing countless pairs of eyes on her back.

Wei Zhao, you're driving me insane! Tang Zhi thought.

"Yunyun, I'll head back first then?" Although Liu Xinsou and Tang Zhi lived very close to each other, Tang Zhi had to go help out at her mother's damned barbecue stall every evening, so the two of them did not walk home together.

"Mm, then — then be careful on the road." Then, after a pause: "When you have time, go see Xiaofen. Her moods have been unstable these past few days. I went to her house over the weekend, and she barely said a word." Tang Zhi gave him these instructions.

"Fine, I'll go have a look in a bit." Liu Xinsou nodded.

Tang Zhi walked alone toward the snack street behind the school, where her mother was already lighting the fire and getting ready to grill. Tang Zhi pouted and set the barbecue recipe Wei Zhao had given her in front of her mother. "Here. The recipe."

"Oh? You've already got the recipe?" Mother Tang's face lit up at once, and she took it happily. Truth be told, when Wei Zhao had mentioned it the day before, she had not been sure he would really give her a recipe — after all, it might have been nothing but idle talk, not to be taken seriously.

But she had never expected Tang Zhi to actually bring it home today, which meant that business at her little barbecue stall was about to pick up. Naturally, Mother Tang was delighted. "Did you thank him?"

"I thanked him." Tang Zhi pursed her lips. Thank him? Thank him for giving her a love letter and letting the whole school know about it?

"You child — did you thank him or not?" No one knew a daughter like her mother. One look at Tang Zhi's expression, and Mother Tang knew that most likely she had not thanked Wei Zhao at all. She shook her head helplessly.

Her daughter was good in every way, only a little proud and a little aloof. If she had been born into a wealthy family, such a temperament would have served her well — but in a household like theirs... Mother Tang sighed inwardly. By the time Tang Zhi reached her present age, she would understand the hardships of life.

Had she not once been as proud as her daughter? But the bitterness of life had worn away her sharp edges and made her worldly.

"I told you I thanked him, so I thanked him!" Tang Zhi twisted her body uncomfortably. "Mom, let me help you..."

"No need. We'll close up early today and go home to try out this recipe. If we leave it any later, I'm afraid the spice shop will have closed, and we won't be able to buy the ingredients listed here." As she spoke, Mother Tang began packing up the stall, ready to head home.

Tang Zhi helped her mother rather helplessly. Why did her mother trust Wei Zhao so much? What if the thing was just some recipe he had scribbled down carelessly? Then they would mix it up, it would taste awful, and the ingredients would be wasted.

But seeing how utterly her mother believed in Wei Zhao's recipe, Tang Zhi could only go along with her.