Chapter 871 — Would You Like X-Ray Vision?

"All right, I'll say no more to you. I've already said too much—if Sister Yaoyao finds out, I'm dead meat. Bye-bye." Before Tang Zhi could get a word in, Shen Yushu hung up and doubled over with laughter.

"?" Tang Zhi had not even gotten to the bottom of things before Shen Yushu hung up, which left her feeling rather uncomfortable. Had Wei Zhao really gone to take a bath with Gu Mengyao? Tang Zhi had always felt that the relationship between Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu was not merely that of employer and employee—perhaps nothing was going on now, but at this rate, sooner or later something would happen.

But Tang Zhi did not want to dwell on it; she even took an optimistic view: if Wei Zhao really did have something going on with Gu Mengyao, then so long as she did not know, ignorance would do. She did not know what state of mind this was—was it self-doubt, or was she simply too afraid of losing Wei Zhao?

Feng Xiaoxiao's words had been a lie, but they had rung a warning bell for Tang Zhi all the same. Loving someone needs no reason, and there is no rich or poor, noble or base in it—yet ideals and reality will always differ. Frankly speaking, Tang Zhi herself felt that Gu Mengyao or Guan Xin might be Wei Zhao's proper match...

And she herself—was she not merely thrown together with Wei Zhao by some twist of fate? She could do nothing to help Wei Zhao. Whatever he did, she was forever a bystander, and she even dragged him down. Once such a feeling took hold, it put down roots and sprouted, and it made Tang Zhi ever more anxious over her gains and losses.

She did not want to question Wei Zhao about anything, nor did she dare to ask. Shen Yushu's words were most likely false, but sometimes, even knowing a thing to be false, it still leaves one fretful and vexed...

Tang Zhi picked up her phone, hesitated a long while, and dialed a number from her contacts.

"Beep—beep—beep—beep—" Once the call connected, it rang many times, but no one answered.

Silently, Tang Zhi pressed the end-call button, set the phone aside, and flung herself onto the bed. Clutching a pillow to her chest, she stared at the wall, lost in a daze...

After a while, Tang Zhi's phone suddenly rang—the chime of an incoming text message.

Tang Zhi had been sitting alone in a daze; the message startled her. She picked up the phone and glanced at it—it was actually a text from Gu Mengyao.

"I was in the bath just now. Was there something you needed?"

Tang Zhi's heart gave a sudden lurch. Gu Mengyao really had been in the bath just now? In that moment, Tang Zhi felt as though her heart had shattered, and it ached.

But soon Tang Zhi thought again: if Gu Mengyao really had been bathing together with Wei Zhao just now, then why would she tell her? Would it not be better to keep it hidden? Only, Tang Zhi could not see Gu Mengyao's expression, and could not tell whether this message was meant as a show of defiance toward her.

The tone of the message was flat; no emotion could be read in it. That was the eldest young lady's usual style.

Tang Zhi wanted to call back and confirm, but did not dare. A trace of hope and a trace of unease warred in her heart; she feared that if she called, her suspicions would become reality... yet if she did not call, she could not set her mind at ease.

After hesitating a long time, Tang Zhi gave a somewhat dejected sigh, switched off the phone and set it aside, then buried her head under the quilt. Without her knowing how, the tears came spilling down...

Gu Mengyao had sent Tang Zhi the message, but after quite a while there was still no reply, which struck her as odd, so she called Tang Zhi back—after all, the three of them were on fairly good terms at present.

Hearing the "phone is off" notice on the other end, Gu Mengyao shook her head. Perhaps Tang Zhi's phone had run out of battery, or perhaps she had dialed the wrong number. She thought no more of it, set the phone aside, and began drying her hair with a towel...

The night passed without a word. Only the next morning did Wei Zhao discover that he had left his phone in the living room the night before. Seeing no missed-call notice on it, he thought nothing of it and went off to make breakfast for the eldest young lady and Shen Yushu.

As always, it was Uncle Qing who came to take the eldest young lady and Shen Yushu to school, while Wei Zhao drove Shen Yushu's Beetle to the hospital to pick up Tang Zhi.

Tang Zhi stood at the hospital entrance, her heart uneasy. She did not know whether Wei Zhao would still come for her as he always did, nor whether she would be able to keep herself from asking him about yesterday's business in a moment. So all that morning, Tang Zhi had not even eaten breakfast; she had spent it entirely in anxiety.

Yet the instant Tang Zhi caught sight of Wei Zhao, all her unhappiness seemed to vanish. Seeing the smile on Wei Zhao's face, Tang Zhi smiled too.

He still loved her—so why should she still distrust him? Why must she keep fretting over things that might happen, that were bound to happen? Tang Zhi shook her head, hoisted her schoolbag, and ran quickly toward Wei Zhao.

"Why are your eyes all red? Didn't sleep well last night?" Wei Zhao opened the car door for Tang Zhi and looked at her with some puzzlement. Wei Zhao was a part-time doctor and rather good at reading people.

"Mm... I was up in the middle of the night swatting mosquitoes..." Tang Zhi told a lie. She could hardly tell Wei Zhao that she had cried until the small hours, could she? That would be far too embarrassing.

"Heh..." Wei Zhao did not quite believe her, but since Tang Zhi was unwilling to say more, he did not press the matter. "Want something to eat?"

"Huh?" Tang Zhi was caught off guard by the question. "Eat what?"

"Breakfast. You're not eating?" Wei Zhao asked with a smile.

"I already ate..." Tang Zhi meant to say she had, but under Wei Zhao's faint, knowing smile she lowered her eyes again and asked, puzzled, "How did you know I haven't had breakfast?"

Since Wei Zhao had said so, he must have had his reasons, so Tang Zhi did not bother denying it. Ordinarily he never asked her such a thing; after picking her up, he would simply drive straight to school.

"I'm a doctor. I can see right through your body," Wei Zhao said.

"Huh? You have X-ray vision?" At the look in Wei Zhao's eyes, Tang Zhi's face flushed and the question slipped out before she could stop herself.

"That, I can't do." Wei Zhao shook his head. "I was only making an analogy. You haven't eaten; it shows in your complexion. That is the 'observation' in observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking, the four diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine..."

"Oh..." Tang Zhi had thought for a moment that Wei Zhao really did have X-ray vision, and it gave her quite a start. Sooner or later she would let him see her, true enough, but actually being seen through like that would feel very strange.

"Come on, let's get something to eat first." Wei Zhao started the car and began scanning the streets for a breakfast stall.

"Maybe we shouldn't? We'll be late for school..." Tang Zhi said, a little worried.

"With Wang Zhifeng backing us up, what are you afraid of?" Wei Zhao said with a laugh.