Chapter 10 — A Rotten Idea

"See that? This is Mighty General. Let me tell you, he is really fierce. If you dare come upstairs, I'll have him bite you to death," Gu Mengyao threatened.

"Got it," Wei Zhao nodded.

Seeing Wei Zhao's cautious look, Gu Mengyao took it for fear of Mighty General. Feeling even more smug, she dragged Shen Yushu upstairs, leaving Mighty General to stand guard at the stairway.

Wei Zhao picked up his luggage from the floor and shot Mighty General a glare. Mighty General shuddered all over and shrank back, as if sensing that the man before him was no ordinary fellow, but a dangerous character.

Wei Zhao had no idle interest in playing with a dog. After that one glare, he ignored it and carried his luggage into the room Gu Mengyao had mentioned.

The room was decorated very simply, with only a bed, a desk, and a small wardrobe. Still, all that was more than enough for Wei Zhao. His luggage held only a few ragged clothes and nothing else. What surprised him most was that the room even had its own bathroom, just like a grand hotel.

Wei Zhao put his luggage away, then took his towel into the bathroom. The long journey had left him covered in dust.

He glanced at his watch. It was not yet six. Before Uncle Qing came with dinner, Wei Zhao planned to take a shower.

So far, Wei Zhao was quite satisfied with his job and his working conditions. Hotel-like lodging every day, plus thirty thousand yuan. Where else could he find such work? It was far more comfortable than helping the old man weave straw sandals back home.

......

"Xiaoshu, I'm starting to regret this. No matter how I look at him, Wei Zhao doesn't look like someone who can be my shield," Gu Mengyao said, having changed into loungewear as she complained to Shen Yushu.

"I think he's pretty good," Shen Yushu said, lying on the bed with her legs propped upside down against the wall. She had read somewhere that this could slim the legs and even help development.

"What's good about him? I was thinking of finding someone handsome to pose as my boyfriend, and now look what we got, a country bumpkin. If I take him out, people will laugh me to death," Gu Mengyao said through gritted teeth. "If you think he's so great, you be his girlfriend."

"I don't have any trouble, so I don't need a shield. Otherwise, I might actually consider it," Shen Yushu said, shaking her head.

"You have a brother who is an officer. Who would dare mess with you? If I had a brother who could snap a big tree with one kick, I wouldn't need any shield either," Gu Mengyao said. She knew Shen Yushu was teasing her on purpose, but what could she do when her friend had a brother and she did not?

"Yaoyao, how about I ask my brother to find you a sworn brother in the army?" Shen Yushu blinked. "Or a lover would do too... Then that Zhong Yongliang would just obediently step aside, wouldn't he?"

"Xiaoshu!" Gu Mengyao heard Shen Yushu talking wilder and wilder and glared with wide eyes. "What rotten ideas are you always coming up with? Last time you told me to have my father find me a shield, and look... look what kind of man he found? Can he be a shield? And now you give me another awful idea, talking about some lover. It sounds horrible!"

"All right, all right, I just won't say any more," Shen Yushu said. Seeing Gu Mengyao was truly angry, she quickly shut her mouth and dared not go on. After all, the idea of finding a shield had been hers to begin with, and now that the man was not to Gu Mengyao's liking, she bore some of the blame...

When Uncle Qing came to deliver dinner, Wei Zhao had just finished his shower. Rummaging through his luggage, he found not a single decent piece of clothing. He could not help complaining that the old man was really stingy. Could he not have bought him one new outfit?

He figured if he wore these clothes out, Gu Mengyao would still take them for dirty rags and would not even let him sit on the sofa. With no choice, Wei Zhao opened the bag Uncle Qing had given him, took out the City No.1 High School uniform, and put it on.

Wei Zhao's new look startled both Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu. Before, he had been disheveled in a torn vest and baggy shorts. Now, washed clean, he looked refined and scholarly, and with the school uniform on, he seemed a completely different man from the migrant worker of before.

Still, her first impression of Wei Zhao had been far too bad, so Gu Mengyao would never admit he was a handsome talent. At most she could say he looked a bit better and a bit more pleasing to the eye than before.

Uncle Qing had brought four dishes and a soup: fish-flavored shredded pork, boiled fish in chili broth, stir-fried baby bok choy, and spinach with wood ear fungus. The soup was mushroom broth.

Meat and vegetables matched, perfect in color, aroma, and flavor. Wei Zhao had not tasted such delicious food in a long time. Seeing that Uncle Qing had also prepared his boxed rice, he took it happily and sat down at the table.

Just as Wei Zhao was about to lift his chopsticks, Gu Mengyao objected. "What are you doing? Xiaoshu and I haven't eaten yet, and you want to eat first? From now on, Xiaoshu and I eat first, and you eat what we leave!"

With that, she turned and went to the kitchen. She had a habit at meals, liking to use silver tableware, a habit formed from living with her grandfather as a child. So in the sterilizer cabinet in the kitchen, there was a set of silver utensils reserved for Gu Mengyao.

At Gu Mengyao's bossiness, Wei Zhao could only smile bitterly and pull back his chopsticks, left to drool over the fine dishes on the table. Luckily the white rice was his own, so he shoveled a few mouthfuls in quickly. Perhaps because he ate too fast, he choked and mumbled, "Is there anything to drink?"

Shen Yushu found the man who looked as if he had not eaten in eight lifetimes rather funny, and pointed to the cooler beside them. "Whatever you want to drink, get it yourself."

"Oh." Wei Zhao turned and saw a large cooler stocked with all kinds of drinks. He grabbed a bottle of orange juice at random, twisted off the cap, and took a big gulp, which made him feel much better.

Gu Mengyao fetched her utensils and began passing judgment on the dishes with Shen Yushu.

"Wow, boiled fish! That's my favorite!"

"This fish-flavored pork is a bit too sweet. Damn chef, doesn't he know eating too much sugar makes you fat? Someday I'll have Daddy fire him!"

"Hmm, this baby bok choy is really tasty. Xiaoshu, you try some too."

Gu Mengyao chattered as she ate. All these dishes were made by the master chefs of the hotel under Gu Pengzhan's Gu Group, and Uncle Qing delivered them on time every evening.

Gu Pengzhan had many social engagements, while Gu Mengyao's mother had left home when she was very young. Gu Mengyao never knew the exact reason, because whenever she mentioned it to her father, he always refused to tell her.

So Gu Mengyao's daily life was basically looked after by Uncle Qing.

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