Chapter 345 — A Happiness of One's Own

"Oh... and how are you going to thank me, then?" Wei Zhao could picture Tang Zhi at that moment — a beautiful girl standing in her own yard, carefully cradling her phone, lowering her voice to speak with him...

As for how Wei Zhao knew Tang Zhi was calling from the yard: through the receiver he could hear the crickets chirping.

"I..." Wei Zhao's words left Tang Zhi flustered, at a loss. Her breathing quickened, her cheeks flushed red, and a fine sweat broke out on the tip of her nose. "You... you tell me how I should thank you..."

"You're the one thanking me. Why should I have to say it?" Wei Zhao had caught the nervousness in her voice and teased her, laughing.

"Then... then how about I kiss you?" Tang Zhi hesitated a moment before she said it, a little timidly.

"Sure." Wei Zhao had never meant to demand anything of Tang Zhi. He was not the sort to take advantage of another's difficulty and press a bargain — though that was a different matter entirely when it came to people he didn't like.

"Mm..." Tang Zhi's heart was pounding violently; she was embarrassed by her own boldness in taking the initiative.

"When?" Wei Zhao asked.

"You... you say..." Tang Zhi answered nervously.

"How about now?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Huh? Now?" Tang Zhi was stunned. How was she supposed to kiss him now? Over the phone? Wouldn't that just be pretending to kiss him? Was that Wei Zhao — the one with that thing of his — really so easily satisfied?

"Mm, go ahead and kiss me..." Of course Wei Zhao also hoped Tang Zhi would truly kiss him, but he did not want to achieve that end merely on account of his lending her the money.

"You're awful... I'm not even ready yet..." Even as she felt a secret delight, Tang Zhi grew bashful.

"And when will you be ready?" Wei Zhao laughed. "Your kisses are worth a fortune — twenty thousand apiece."

"Hmph, then if I kiss you a few more times, won't you be ruined?" Tang Zhi was tickled by his words.

"True. I'd better do some calculating — how many more kisses can I afford?" Wei Zhao said in all seriousness.

"Then go ahead and calculate!" Tang Zhi gave a little snort. "Oh, right — why did you transfer me two hundred thousand?"

"Didn't your mother say your father still needs surgery?" Wei Zhao said. "I heard it, so I sent fifty thousand extra."

"Thank you..." Tang Zhi's tears burst forth in an instant. In all her years, this was the first time she had ever been so happy she wanted to cry. She had not even said anything herself, yet he had thought of it for her. Was he truly a gift sent to her by heaven?

Suddenly Tang Zhi was overcome by the urge to spend the rest of her life with him. On the verge of her eighteenth birthday — no, with her nineteenth approaching — Tang Zhi felt she had found a happiness that belonged to her alone.

It was a feeling of being cared for, of being cherished, of being held in the palm of someone's hand. Such a moment of happiness was one to remember for a lifetime.

Tang Zhi's hand was trembling as she held the phone. Mustering all her courage, she went "mwah" into the receiver, then said quickly, "There. That's today's. I still owe you one — I'll pay it back some day when I have time..."

With that, Tang Zhi hurriedly hung up. Her whole body was burning, and she was drenched in sweat.

"Phew..." Tang Zhi let out a long breath. She was embarrassed by how bold she had just been, and she did not dare go back inside at once for fear her mother and the others would notice something strange. She could only stand there in the yard, cooling her emotions.

A mosquito flew past, and, catching sight of the fair, tender Tang Zhi, it wanted to come take a bite. Tang Zhi, furious, swung her hand to slap it dead, but what came out of her mouth was: "Wei Zhao, you're hateful! Why do you treat me so well! I'll slap you dead!"

Seeing that Tang Zhi had gone out to the courtyard and still had not come back after a long while, Tang's mother told Little Wei to go check on his sister. But no sooner had Little Wei stepped out of the house than he heard Tang Zhi gnashing her teeth and flourishing her claws out there, saying she was going to slap Wei Zhao to death. Little Wei gave a great start and stared at his sister in bewilderment: "Is my brother-in-law a masochist? He's good to you, and you want to slap him to death?"

"What does a little brat like you know!" Tang Zhi had not expected Little Wei to come running out and actually hear what she said, and she was thrown into utter embarrassment. "Get back inside!"

"Oh... I get it. Hitting is closeness, scolding is love... Little Dan says that all the time too." Little Wei nodded as though a great truth had just dawned on him, making Tang Zhi so ashamed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Little Wei went back happily together with Little Dan, because Tang's mother had already promised them that she would go and withdraw the money for them first thing the next morning.

And Little Wei, naturally, had called off the business of selling his kidney.

In a villa on the outskirts of Songshan City, a man covered in tattoos took a phone call, then went cursing and swearing to a young man: "Brother Wen, that kid who agreed to sell his kidney before has gone back on his word again!"

"What? Gone back on his word?" The young man addressed as Brother Wen immediately knit his brows. "How do you do things? You can't even handle a little matter like this? If the Fire Wolf Gang gets angry, never mind you and me -- even my father couldn't bear it! Kidney sources have clearly dropped off a lot lately. At this rate, my big brother's side is going to leave us far behind!"

"Brother Wen, I don't want this either, but nobody has been selling kidneys lately. People have gotten smart these days -- unless they're desperately short of money, no matter what you say, they won't sell..." the tattooed man explained cautiously.

"Do you have pig brains? How many kidney sources can you get hunting them one by one like this? When I was studying abroad, I saw organized kidney-harvesting syndicates over there! If nobody will sell, can't you find people to cut them out of?" Brother Wen cursed.

"Brother Wen, isn't that a bit too ruthless? If the police get wind of it, this could turn into something really big!" The tattooed man was startled the moment he heard Brother Wen's suggestion. "Back when Brother De was around, even he didn't dare be this brazen..."

"Brother De my ***! It's Brother Wen who runs things now! Stop dragging my big brother into everything!" Brother Wen gave a cold laugh. "If he hadn't gone around in a big way conning people here into selling their kidneys, would kidney sources in Songshan City be so tight now?"

"Yes... yes..." The tattooed man had let his tongue slip without meaning to, and only then remembered that although Brother De and Brother Wen were own brothers, they were locked in competition with each other!

"Afraid the police will catch on? Then can't you go grab those beggars and vagrants? Cut out their kidneys, and as long as you don't kill them, I daresay nobody will care!" Brother Wen said disdainfully. "Who's the underground boss of Songshan City? Get in touch with him -- I'll go pay him a visit!"

"The underground boss of Songshan City is Li Cihua, but he's not the one who really calls the shots. His backer is in the provincial capital. Who exactly it is I'm not clear on either, but I've heard he's a man of considerable power..." the tattooed man explained. "Brother Wen, are we going to pay him a visit tonight?"

"Tonight's no good. I have more important matters to attend to. Tomorrow -- tomorrow I'll go visit this Li Cihua!" Brother Wen nodded. "As for who's behind him, we don't need to bother with that, and there's no need to! Just as the Fire Wolf Gang is behind us, and there's no need to let anyone else know it!"