Chapter 194 — The Girl on the Ledge
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Mom, let me help you." Tang Zhi felt a little awkward and stifled inside the room, and wanted to go out and keep her mother company.
"Yun'er, you stay and eat with your classmates, bring out some drinks, chat with them a bit — I can manage fine on my own here!" Mother Tang said with a smile. "I'm not busy at all. On the snack street I handle all those customers by myself, so what's a few today?"
"Oh..." Tang Zhi pursed her lips, displeased. Eat with them? Drink with them, and chat with them too? Did that make her some kind of all-purpose companion?
Kang Xiaofeng had been utterly eager for the delicious barbecue, but now he seemed a little distracted, his eyes constantly straying to the photograph on the bookshelf. Thinking of the girl named Lan Zhi, he could not resist asking, "Tang Zhi, why don't we invite Liu Xinlan and Lan Zhi over to eat as well?"
Kang Xiaofeng had put Liu Xinlan's name first, though that was only a smokescreen — his real intentions lay elsewhere. Liu Xinlan was a classmate at No. 1 High, so naturally he ought to be more familiar with her; that was why he had mentioned her first, while Lan Zhi was in fact the point.
From the very first glance at Lan Zhi, Kang Xiaofeng had felt his blood stir. Tang Zhi — he knew he was unworthy of her, and he did not harbor any illusions there. But Lan Zhi... Kang Xiaofeng had truly been moved.
Tang Zhi frowned, unable to fathom why Kang Xiaofeng had taken such an interest in the person in the photograph. "I'll treat them separately another time. If you want to eat, then eat; if not, just sit there."
Kang Xiaofeng had run into a rebuff, and could only give a dry laugh. "Of course I'll eat. This smell alone is absolutely delicious."
Wei Zhao could more or less guess at Kang Xiaofeng's little designs. Earlier, out of the corner of his eye, he too had glimpsed Lan Zhi in the photograph. She was indeed a fine specimen of a girl — a notch or two below Tang Zhi, perhaps, but still outstanding among the rest. No wonder Kang Xiaofeng's heart had been stirred.
Wei Zhao looked at the barbecue on the table. He had to admit that Mother Tang's control of the heat was excellent, and together with her own seasoning blend, it would have been a wonder if business weren't booming.
He was just about to pick up a skewer and taste it when the door was pushed open and a girl burst in, shouting the moment she entered, "Tang Zhi, something terrible's happened — Xiao Fen's going to jump off a building! Come with me and talk her out of it, quick!"
The newcomer was of course Tang Zhi's best friend, Liu Xinlan. In her rush she had not noticed Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng in the room, but once she had finished speaking, she was startled to find two other people there. Especially upon seeing Wei Zhao — her expression turned rather ugly. Just a couple of days ago she had finished telling Tang Zhi about the business with Wei Zhao, and Tang Zhi had sworn up and down that she had nothing to do with him. Yet here, in the blink of an eye, Wei Zhao was sitting in Tang Zhi's own home!
Liu Xinlan sighed. Silly girl, really — blinded by love! She was beginning to doubt Tang Zhi's earlier explanation about riding in Wei Zhao's car.
"What? Xiao Fen's going to jump? Where?" At Liu Xinlan's words, Tang Zhi was startled as well. She leapt to her feet and made to rush outside.
"Right at the alley mouth, on the three-story building in front of her house," Liu Xinlan said urgently. "Let's go talk her down, quick!"
Just then, Mother Tang hurried in as well. She had been busy with the barbecue when she saw Liu Xinlan come tearing into the house like a house on fire, and though she had spoken to the girl, Liu Xinlan hadn't heard a word and had gone straight inside. Naturally, Mother Tang had hurried after her to see what was the matter.