Chapter 222 — Now Genuinely Afraid
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
He had returned to the glittering sprawl of the city. His old squadmates were gone, but in their place he had found friends. These friends, like the comrades who had come before them, were equally sacred — equally his reversed scale.
Tang Zhi had long since clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. Even a hard-edged woman like Liu Xinlan stood frozen, eyes wide with astonishment. Song Huiping went further, covering Xiaofen's eyes with both hands.
Because what Wei Zhao had done was simply too brutal. True, he had dealt with a pack of villains — but the sheer ruthlessness of his methods chilled every onlooker to the bone. Only in Kang **'s eyes burned an unmistakable excitement.
He had already brawled with Wei Zhao up on the rooftop, and when it came to fighting, most men could muster nothing but hot-blooded enthusiasm — terror and fear had no place in the equation.
"Men like that only understand one thing — a lesson they won't forget. Otherwise they'll just keep coming back for more." Wei Zhao caught the expressions on every face around him and shrugged with a trace of sheepish embarrassment.
"Boss, you were incredible just now. That move — could you teach me? Crack, and the other guy's hand is done for..." Kang ** looked on with undisguised envy.
"I could teach you, but who would you use for a demonstration?" Wei Zhao said, grinning at Kang **.
"Uh... then never mind..." Kang ** weakly withdrew his hand and shook his head.
The tense atmosphere in the ward was instantly lightened by this humorous exchange between Wei Zhao and Kang **. Even Song Huiping smiled along with them. Xiaofen had likely seen too much of life and death to be much frightened by what had happened earlier; hearing Kang **'s words now, she smiled too.
In the afternoon, Tang's mother was going to set up her stall at the snack street, and Tang Zhi would naturally help her mother. Since Xiaofen was out of danger, Tang Zhi prepared to leave. With Tang Zhi gone, there was little point in Wei Zhao staying, so he left with her.
Kang ** and Liu Xinlan were left behind to look after Xiaofen. Kang ** had by now surely made up his mind; at eighteen he was *** and passionate. Though Xiaofen had all sorts of flaws, the stubborn Kang ** had already overlooked them...
Wei Zhao was a little more rational than Kang **, though not by much. The fine days of campus life were sweet as honey to him, while those days of *** and bloodshed were drifting ever further away...
Watching Tang Zhi sit silently in the passenger seat, head lowered, Wei Zhao smiled. She still wore that put-upon look, as though he bullied her every hour of every day.
The car drove into the shantytown, and Wei Zhao parked where he had the day before.
The shantytown had recovered its usual bustle and ease. Old folks sat leisurely at their doorsteps chatting with neighbors, children ran about everywhere, and at the sight of Wei Zhao's car they crowded around curiously to see what was going on.
The shadow of yesterday's leap had dispersed, and the three-story building had returned to its former calm.
"Shall I walk you back?" Wei Zhao frowned, because he had spotted that Li Erlan strolling over this way, unhurried and at his ease.
Tang Zhi hesitated, then gave a murmured "Mm" and nodded. Compared with brutes like Li Erlan and Zou Ruoming, who had no notion of reason, she would rather deal with a well-mannered villain like Wei Zhao.
In truth, when Tang Zhi called Wei Zhao well-mannered, she meant chiefly the way he treated her: though he pursued her, he never forced himself on her, and now and then he could even tolerate her little moods and temper. This steadily weakened the defenses she had built against him, for she had come to believe that so long as she did not give her consent, Wei Zhao would never do anything untoward.