Chapter 2557 — Yu Xiaoke's Worry

It was true that Wei Zhao had no shortage of information channels, but why would he pay attention to what she was doing unless something was up? Could it be that...

Yu Xiaoke had once suspected that Wei Zhao was interested in her, that he had taken a fancy to her, but later Wei Zhao denied it, which put her mind somewhat at ease. Still, she could not quite shake her unease. After all, Wei Zhao was someone with whom she had little real connection, and he did not seem the type to meddle in others' affairs. So why was he helping her?

What reason could he possibly have to help the orphanage—and with such tireless devotion? Giving both effort and money—his pharmaceutical company must have already sunk a great deal into it. And he asked nothing in return. What on earth was it for?

Yu Xiaoke simply could not think of any reason that would move Wei Zhao to do all this. What value could an orphanage possibly have? Plenty of people did charitable deeds; even if Wei Zhao was doing good, there was no need for it to go this far. This was no longer mere charity—it was throwing himself into it body and soul.

And then Wei Zhao had suddenly appeared, saying he was here to solve her problem—which only made Yu Xiaoke more anxious. If Wei Zhao was not watching her, how would he know she needed to exchange Swiss francs? It seemed Wei Zhao had been keeping an eye on her all along!

Unless Wei Zhao had people tailing her the whole time, and knew that for days now she had been running between banks and the black-market currency exchanges, asking around about how to convert foreign currency.

But since Wei Zhao had come, Yu Xiaoke had no reason to turn him away at the door. He had come to help her, after all; whatever his motives, she would set them aside for now. If Wei Zhao really could help exchange this foreign currency, it would solve a considerable headache for her.

"I don't know either, Sister Xiaoke. Why do you look so pale?" Xiao Ken smiled bitterly inside. If only you knew that Brother Wei Zhao is the Gentleman Thief, he thought, you would have flown out the door by now.

Still, this was not something Xiao Ken could get mixed up in.

"It's nothing. Come on, let's go out and take a look together." Yu Xiaoke sighed and left the room with Xiao Ken.

Downstairs in the reception room, Yu Xiaoke saw Wei Zhao sitting on the sofa, sipping tea and chatting idly with the orphanage's old director. The director wore a smile all over her face and kept nodding—she clearly thought very highly of Wei Zhao.

"Wei Zhao, you're here..." Yu Xiaoke's manner could hardly be called cold, but it was certainly not friendly either.

"Xiaoke, exchanging all that foreign currency must be a lot of trouble for you. Let me handle it." Wei Zhao came straight to the point. After the orphanage, he still had to visit Ying Ziyu and Chen Xi at school, so his time was tight.

"Mm. How did you know I had foreign currency to exchange?" Yu Xiaoke asked, as though casually.

"I..." Wei Zhao was about to say that Xiao Ken had told him, but then he caught Xiao Ken standing behind Yu Xiaoke, shooting him a look. Wei Zhao froze for a moment, and could only force a bitter smile and mumble vaguely, "I... I heard it from someone else."

"Someone else?" Yu Xiaoke frowned. Just as I thought, she said to herself. If you weren't watching me constantly, how would you know I had foreign currency to exchange?

"All right, let's not talk about that. I'll make a phone call first!" Wei Zhao did not want to give Xiao Ken away, so he changed the subject, took out his phone, and dialed Gu Pengzhan's number.

To Yu Xiaoke, though, Wei Zhao's behavior was precisely the picture of a guilty conscience—dodging the question, refusing to answer. He must have been watching her all along and simply would not admit it! Yu Xiaoke felt rather helpless. What was she to do? If she rebuked Wei Zhao righteously, what if he stopped funding the orphanage? What if he even demanded back everything he had already put in?

Yu Xiaoke was suddenly caught in a dilemma. She knew perfectly well that Wei Zhao might harbor improper designs on her, but by now there was no turning back! Once she tore things apart with Wei Zhao, it would no longer be her problem alone—it would concern every child in the orphanage!

Was she supposed to let all the children end up on the streets? The very thought of it terrified Yu Xiaoke...

So Yu Xiaoke had no choice. She could only nod dejectedly and say, "All right. Thank you..."

Wei Zhao, for his part, paid no mind to the shifts in Yu Xiaoke's expression. He assumed she was simply fretting over not being able to exchange the foreign currency, and did not think too much of it. When the call connected, he said to Gu Pengzhan, "Uncle Chu, do you have a moment now?"

"Now? I do. What is it, Xiaoyi?" Gu Pengzhan asked.

"It's like this—a friend of mine has a sum of Swiss francs on hand and wants to exchange them, but the amount is rather large. Is there any way you could help on your end?" Wei Zhao asked.

"That's easy. Just have your friend come to me directly. But I'm in Songshan City at the moment—can your friend get here?" Gu Pengzhan asked.

"Uncle Chu, I'm in Songshan City myself. I'm at the orphanage. Would you..." Wei Zhao said.

"That works. How about this: I'll send Uncle Qing over to find you, and he can take you both to make the exchange," Gu Pengzhan said.

"All right. Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Chu." Wei Zhao hung up and said to Yu Xiaoke with a smile, "There. An elder of mine will be over in a bit. He can help sort out the foreign-exchange problem."

"Oh..." Yu Xiaoke nodded. The problem was solved, yet she could not bring herself to be glad. She simply could not work out why Wei Zhao would help her so much. If it was not that he had designs on her, then what was it?

But if Wei Zhao did have designs on her, what was she supposed to do? She did not want to do anything that would betray the Gentleman Thief, and she did not want the orphanage destroyed either. All that remained in Yu Xiaoke's heart was turmoil, and naturally none of the joy of a problem solved.

"Xiaoke, what's wrong? Why the long face? Is there more trouble? Tell me and I'll take care of it all at once." Wei Zhao had not given it that much thought. Yu Xiaoke had mentioned the matter once before, but at the time Wei Zhao had taken it as a joke and not given it a second thought. Besides, his other identity was the Gentleman Thief, so it was only natural that he would show Yu Xiaoke more concern.

Yu Xiaoke, however, did not see it that way. The kinder Wei Zhao was to her, the more he tried to solve her troubles, the more she felt that his unsolicited attentions meant he was either up to no good or had designs on her. So she said coldly, "Nothing. Thank you."

"Xiaoke, how can you talk to Wei Zhao like that?" The old director's brow furrowed at once! (To be continued)