Chapter 459 — The Seat Was Taken
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
By now Zou Tiandi no longer cared about offending Li Cihua. At worst, relations between them would sour a little; nothing serious would come of it. He rose abruptly to his feet. "Brother Cihua, I can't do this job. You had better find someone else. My apologies!"
With that, Zou Tiandi wasted no more words and pulled Zou Ruoming away with him. What he feared now was this: if Wei Zhao ever learned that he had meant to conspire with Li Cihua to tear down Tang Zhi's home, and Wei Zhao came looking to settle the score, what then?
Zou Tiandi cursed his luck inwardly. If only he had never come. What a mess this had turned into!
Watching the backs of Zou Tiandi and his son vanish without rhyme or reason, Li Cihua knitted his brows. "What the hell was that? Is he sick in the head? Asking you was a favor—if he doesn't want the money, fine!"
"Brother Cihua, I heard them mention a name just now. Probably someone they know?" said Su Jiaonang.
"Forget them. Go fetch Zhong Fabai. There's no time to lose—Bing Shao will be here any moment, and we need to get the real estate company up and running before he arrives!" Li Cihua said. "By the way, how are things on Jin Gubang's end?"
"He put up his own money to register a real estate company, and he's prepared to hand over every last share to Bing Shao!" said Su Jiaonang.
"At least he's got his wits about him. Leave him ten percent of the shares, and keep him on as president of the company." Li Cihua thought it over. "Bing Shao's only playing around, after all—someone has to run the company for him. It just so happens he's kin to Zhong Fabai, which makes him convenient to use."
"All right, I'll go have a word with Jin Gubang in a bit." Su Jiaonang nodded and went off to call Zhong Fabai first.
Zhong Fabai had none of Zou Tiandi's misgivings. With Jin Gubang fallen, he had been looking for a new patron anyway. The moment he heard that Li Cihua meant to take him and Jin Gubang in and put them to work running this real estate company—and on behalf of the backstage boss's nephew, no less—Zhong Fabai agreed without a moment's thought.
Because of its size, the private seaplane had no cargo hold, so no baggage could be checked, and hazardous items of any kind were barred from boarding. After passing through security, the class boarded the plane under Teacher Liu's direction.
Many of the students were flying for the first time, their eyes brimming with wonder and excitement. Even those who had flown before had never been aboard an amphibious aircraft, and so everyone, without exception, was thrilled.
In a small plane like this, the front was tolerable enough, but the seats near the tail bounced something fierce. Fortunately, once the class was aboard, they filled only the first few rows, leaving the rear rows for luggage.
Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu were just about to take the deluxe seats at the very front. The first row was spacious, with four seats in all: two left for Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, and the other two for Zhong Yongliang himself.
Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu had stowed their bags and were about to sit down when someone shoved them from behind, nearly sending them sprawling to the floor. "Move aside. Don't block the way."
It was Wei Zhao. He had already settled into the frontmost seat that had been meant for Zhong Yongliang, while Feng Xiaoxiao followed along behind him and took Gao Xiaofu's place.
Zhong Yongliang's face turned green on the spot. He wanted to drive Wei Zhao off but dared not; he wanted to drive Feng Xiaoxiao off but dared not either. As he stood there, his expression shifting through every shade of uncertainty, at a loss for what to do, Shen Yushu spoke up. "Little Liangzi, Sister Yaoyao says she likes brave boys—and only the ones who can sit at the tail of the plane without turning a hair are the bravest of all!"