Chapter 140 — The Student Guan Xuemin

It seemed that Wei Zhao's answers were more like a mutual exchange of views — he did not state his conclusions outright, but mostly probed from the side, touching on related topics.

Yet Guan Xuemin knew perfectly well that Wei Zhao was guiding him, like a devoted teacher patiently enlightening and instructing his student, granting him the independence to think for himself and, in the same breath, encouraging his confidence.

With Wei Zhao's hints, Guan Xuemin quickly worked through his earlier perplexities; what he had reasoned out and summed up himself was by its very nature utterly different from the answers Wei Zhao might have simply handed him.

So although nothing was said aloud, Guan Xuemin had already taken on the bearing of a student, sitting there with great deference, his every word to Wei Zhao full of respect.

In time he even straightened his back, the very picture of a schoolboy. For how many years had Guan Xuemin forgotten what it felt like to sit in a classroom? He had always been the one standing at the front teaching. And yet now he had naturally slipped back into his student days — reverence for the master, hunger for knowledge — and it left him dazed, as though a lifetime had passed between.

"Knock, knock, knock." The rapping at the door pulled the oblivious Guan Xuemin back to reality. Even so, toward Wei Zhao he now conducted himself entirely as a disciple before his master.

"Mr. Lin, let me see who it is." Like a schoolboy, Guan Xuemin asked Wei Zhao's leave before opening the door.

Wei Zhao smiled wryly. They were back to that again. But he knew too that if he asked Guan Xuemin to call him Xiao Yi once more, the old man would never get past it in his heart.

The one knocking was Yang Huaijun. He had been waiting outside, and the lunch hour had come and gone with no sign of Wei Zhao or Guan Xuemin emerging. He waited a while longer, then, fearing something had gone wrong, knocked to inquire.

"Grandpa Guan, it's past lunchtime. You and Wei Zhao..." Seeing Guan Xuemin open the door and that nothing seemed amiss, Yang Huaijun let out a breath of relief.

"Oh? Is it past the meal hour already?" Guan Xuemin glanced at his watch; it was indeed nearly one in the afternoon. He sighed inwardly at how fast time flew. He would gladly have gone on consulting Wei Zhao, but he had been neglecting food and sleep, and Wei Zhao still had to eat; besides, he had already taken up the entire morning, and whether the young man had other business in the afternoon was impossible to say. Guan Xuemin was naturally too embarrassed to press on any further. "Then shall we go out and get something to eat?"

"Grandpa Guan, don't you have patients this afternoon?" Yang Huaijun found it rather strange to hear him say that. Guan Xuemin saw patients every day; today, though, he had deliberately put off the whole morning's appointments to wait for Wei Zhao. But now it was nearly afternoon, and if they went out to eat, he would very likely be late.

"Even so, we can't skip eating." Guan Xuemin had already taken up Wei Zhao's whole morning; if he did not treat him to a meal, he would not feel right. Yet he did have patients coming that afternoon — Old Liu, from yesterday, had already arranged to come by.

"Ha, since you still have patients, Grandpa Guan, then let's skip it for now. Brother Jun and I will just grab something somewhere." Wei Zhao had seen Guan Xuemin's dilemma and discomfort, and so offered it himself. "Another day I'll come freeload a meal at your door again — you wouldn't turn me away, would you, Grandpa Guan?"

"Welcome, of course you're welcome!" Guan Xuemin was overjoyed to hear that Wei Zhao would come again, and he knew the boy had said it deliberately. "Next time you come, I'll have my granddaughter cook a few of her specialties. Xiao Yang has tried them — they're no worse than a big restaurant's."

"Ha, definitely! I'll be looking forward to it, then!" Wei Zhao nodded and went downstairs with Yang Huaijun.

Guan Xuemin wanted to see him off downstairs, but Wei Zhao stopped him. "Grandpa Guan, if you're this polite again, I won't dare come next time."

"All right, then I won't see you off..." Though Guan Xuemin knew Wei Zhao was joking, he was still startled and hastily halted his steps.

As they got into the car, a black Audi happened to drive up and stopped before the villa's gate.

From the rearview mirror, Wei Zhao caught sight of several familiar faces. Weren't these the old man and his son and daughter-in-law from the commercial street that day? Had they come to Guan Xuemin for treatment too?

Still, Wei Zhao had no intention of greeting them. The old man was decent enough in character, but his daughter-in-law was dreadful and his son a worthless thing, meek and cowed before his wife. If the man hadn't at least been able to flare up in the end, Wei Zhao would have written him off completely.

"You know them?" Yang Huaijun asked, seeing Wei Zhao studying the people behind them in the rearview mirror.

"No, I've only seen them once. You know them?" Wei Zhao did not mention the business on the commercial street; there was nothing worth telling.

"I've only seen them once myself. They're the Liu family of Yanjing — a very large clan. The old man is Liu Zhenhu, and the middle-aged man with him is Liu Tianyi, a big figure in Yanjing. The woman is his wife, and her family is very formidable too." Yang Huaijun hid nothing from Wei Zhao and told him everything he knew. "The Liu family has strong connections in both business and politics, with deep reserves of power." "Is that so?" Wei Zhao smiled faintly at that. No wonder the woman had spoken so arrogantly on the commercial street that day, demanding to see the mayor one moment and threatening to have the health bureau chief fired the next. "And your Yang family?"

"Our family is a notch below the Lius. After all, theirs is a Yanjing family, and Liu Tianyi holds a high post with real power..." Yang Huaijun said. "My old man retired years ago, and there's no one to carry it forward — we only have some influence in the military. Originally they wanted me to spend a few years in the special forces, accumulate some merit, and then rise smoothly. Who'd have thought..."

Wei Zhao nodded. Despite what Yang Huaijun said, his family was still far stronger than ordinary families — though naturally a step or two below the top-tier ones.

"Drop me off at school. Find yourself somewhere to eat." Wei Zhao checked the time. If they hurried, he could still make the first afternoon class at school.

"You're not eating?" Yang Huaijun was a little puzzled.

"I wasn't really hungry anyway. I ate a lot this morning. I'll just grab a bite at school." Wei Zhao said.

"All right then." Yang Huaijun always took his lead from Wei Zhao; since Wei Zhao had said so, he naturally did not insist. He turned the car around and headed for No. 1 High School.

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