Chapter 916 — Gu Pengzhan's Terms of Retention
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"All right." Gu Pengzhan nodded, and he and Wei Zhao went into the room together. He closed the door, then gestured for Wei Zhao to sit. "Xiao Yi, sit wherever you like. There's no need for ceremony among family."
"Thank you, Uncle Gu." Wei Zhao had grown used to Gu Pengzhan's warmth by now, and he took the seat facing him.
"Xiao Yi, Yaoyao tells me your strength is entirely gone, and that you mean to resign. Is that so?" Gu Pengzhan asked.
"Yes, Uncle Gu. To be honest with you, my strength now is hardly above an ordinary man's. I'm afraid I can no longer even protect myself, let alone Yaoyao and Xiaoshu." Wei Zhao nodded without a trace of evasion. "So I have no choice but to tender my resignation."
"I see..." Gu Pengzhan nodded. "Your strength being gone is no great matter. There's nothing wrong with being an ordinary man... Hmm. Do you like business?"
"Business?" Wei Zhao blinked, at a loss as to what he meant. "It's all right, I suppose..."
"All roads lead to Rome. A man can make something of himself in business as well," Gu Pengzhan said. "Xiao Yi, you're already the second-largest shareholder in the Gu Group, aren't you? Learning the trade would suit you. The day will come when I retire, but the Gu Group must be passed on..."
Wei Zhao was struck dumb. Gu Pengzhan had not said it outright, but his meaning was plain enough, and Wei Zhao was no fool. Gu Pengzhan was hinting that he might be groomed as his successor.
"Uncle Gu, the Gu Group will go to Yaoyao in the end. How could it be handed to an outsider?" Wei Zhao shrugged with a smile, politely declining the offer.
"Heh." Gu Pengzhan smiled faintly, then changed tack. "Xiao Yi, what do you think of Yaoyao?"
"Yaoyao? She's wonderful..." Wei Zhao studied him warily, thrown off by the abrupt turn and unsure how he ought to answer.
Seeing that his earlier hints about the group had gotten him nowhere, Gu Pengzhan decided to cut straight to the heart of it. "Then do you like Yaoyao?"
"Huh?" Wei Zhao froze, eyes wide. The question was far too blunt; he had no idea how to answer it.
Like her... of course he liked her. But until he understood what Gu Pengzhan was driving at, there were things he could not say carelessly.
"Yaoyao is lovely and beautiful... she's the school beauty, the goddess in a great many boys' hearts..." Wei Zhao said, putting it another way, though he hinted that he counted himself among them.
Outside Wei Zhao's room, two little spies had long since taken up their posts, eavesdropping on the conversation within.
The instant Gu Pengzhan asked that question, Gu Mengyao's heart clenched and her breathing turned quick and shallow.
"Hey, Sister Yaoyao, what do you think Brother Arrow will say?" Shen Yushu asked.
"Quiet!" Gu Mengyao was afraid Shen Yushu's interruption would make her miss what Wei Zhao said.
But when Wei Zhao's answer fell upon her ears word for word, Gu Mengyao felt happy, and a little disappointed too. Why did that man always talk around the point? Do you like her or not? What's the use of going on about other people?
"Heh. And you?" Gu Pengzhan looked at Wei Zhao.
"I think... any man who spent much time with her would like her..." Wei Zhao shrugged. Gu Pengzhan would not let it drop, so this was all he could say.
"Very well, let me put it another way." Gu Pengzhan had seen through him. "I want to leave the Gu Group of the future in your hands, for you to carry it to greater heights."
By now Wei Zhao understood. No wonder he had brought up the group before; now that he raised it again, everything was clear.
"Uncle Gu, I have a girlfriend..." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. "I'm sure you know I just went to see her. I gave her an engagement ring..."
"Oh?" Gu Pengzhan was taken aback. He had not expected Wei Zhao to be serious about Tang Zhi, and that made things difficult. His daughter could accept Xiaoshu, but could she accept Tang Zhi?