Chapter 241 — Are You Sure You Want Half? "It's About Xiaofen..." Kang Xiaobo Said.

"What, you've thought it through?" Wei Zhao was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Kang Xiaobo to make up his mind so quickly.

"Not exactly..." Kang Xiaobo shook his head, a little embarrassed. "A thing like this has to be considered carefully. I want to spend some time with Xiaofen first... What I wanted to tell you is that I want to earn money to treat Xiaofen's illness!"

"Earn money to treat Xiaofen's illness?" Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback, staring at Kang Xiaobo in disbelief. He hadn't even settled his true feelings for Xiaofen, and already he wanted to cure her? Was this kid really that noble?

Wei Zhao's childhood surroundings and the way his two masters had trained him had forged in him a rather cold nature: what was not his concern he left well alone. If it had nothing to do with him or his friends, Wei Zhao could not be bothered.

"Mm..." Kang Xiaobo nodded. "Boss, do you know anywhere I could get a part-time job?"

"You're about to sit the college entrance exam, and you want to work?" Wei Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that.

"The exam... it doesn't really matter that much. If you have money, you can just pay your way in. Plenty of universities have affiliated colleges." Kang Xiaobo sighed. "Boss, with my grades, there's no way I'm getting into a decent university. And if I go to a third-rate one, I still won't find a job after graduating."

Wei Zhao nodded. What Kang Xiaobo said seemed to make some sense — though not entirely.

"But if you're counting on a part-time wage, that won't even cover Xiaofen's treatment, never mind an affiliated college." Wei Zhao wasn't trying to crush him; that was simply the going rate for labor these days — two or three thousand a month counted as a high salary.

Kang Xiaobo was deflated by Wei Zhao's words, and had to admit he was right — money from a part-time job was a drop in the bucket. "My grandfather is just so old-fashioned. If he'd opened a pharmaceutical factory too, I wouldn't be in this mess. My second grandfather's family patented the formula, so now we can't even sell it!"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao said nothing, but a plan was taking shape in his mind.

At the noon break, Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaobo were eating in the school cafeteria when Wei Zhao's phone rang again — Sun Jingyan.

"Wei Zhao, have you made up your mind? Will you help me?" Sun Jingyan's voice carried a note of urgency; she would not be pushing this hard unless it were truly urgent.

"Miss Sun, I think the question is whether you've made up your mind. Do you agree to my terms?" Wei Zhao countered.

"Your terms..." Sun Jingyan suddenly recalled that the terms Wei Zhao had named that morning were half of what the other party was offering. At the time she had assumed he was joking and hadn't taken it seriously. Now, hearing him say it again, she asked, a little oddly, "You... are you sure?"

"Sure. Fair to old and young alike." Wei Zhao said. "That's the rule when a great outlaw comes down from the mountain — it's my ancestral teaching. If you can't accept it, then there's nothing to discuss. I still have a meal to finish."

"Wait, Wei Zhao — where are you? Let me treat you to lunch, and we can talk it over!" Fearing he would hang up on her again, Sun Jingyan spoke quickly.

"Oh. Then wait for me at the snack street behind Songjiang First High School. I'm there now." Wei Zhao was hardly going to turn down money that walked up to his door.

"All right, I'll head over now. See you in ten minutes." With that, Sun Jingyan hung up briskly.

"Boss, something up?" Kang Xiaobo had heard the call too, though he hadn't caught what Wei Zhao was saying.

"Mm. You eat first — I've got something to take care of." With that, Wei Zhao rose and walked out of the cafeteria.

Ten minutes later, Wei Zhao spotted Sun Jingyan at the snack street. She was driving a red Audi A4L. Wei Zhao was mildly surprised — he hadn't expected Sun Jingyan to have a car; that day she seemed to have taken a taxi to the bar.

Then again, on reflection it made sense. Who drives to a bar? If you got drunk, how would you get the car home?

Wei Zhao wasn't wearing his school uniform today — it was with Tang Yun. So when Sun Jingyan saw him here, she simply assumed he was eating nearby; it would never have occurred to her that he was a student at First High.

"Get in!" Sun Jingyan waved him over. Wei Zhao opened the passenger door and climbed in.

Wei Zhao sized her up. Compared with the elegance she had shown at the bar that day, today's Sun Jingyan looked brisk and steady, dressed in a white-collar business suit that made her seem considerably more poised.

"Where to eat?" Sun Jingyan noticed his gaze but didn't mind; if anything, she was rather pleased with herself. "Little handsome boy, taken a fancy to your big sister? Then do your sister a favor?"

"You're barely twenty." Wei Zhao said flatly. "You think pinning your hair up makes you a big sister?"

"..." Sun Jingyan nearly exploded at that, and in a moment of carelessness almost caused a car crash. "You... how did you tell?"

"You deliberately dressed yourself older, to make business talks easier..." Wei Zhao didn't answer directly. He was well versed in traditional Chinese medicine; from details like a person's face and neck he could judge roughly how old they were — but he couldn't explain all that to Sun Jingyan.

"Fine, little handsome boy. But you have to admit I'm still older than you!" Sun Jingyan refused to keep wrangling over the earlier topic. Talking with this man, she always came off worse; she had to adjust her mindset.

"Two years older than me. That's not much. A wife three years older brings home gold bricks — and you're not even three years older." Wei Zhao shook his head. "Your age is awkward, you know. Not old, not young — exactly the range I'm not interested in..."

Sun Jingyan's eyes went wide. Was this guy's mouth ever infuriating! Not three years older, only two, and that put her out of the running?

"Just tell me — what will it take for you to help me?" Sun Jingyan gritted her teeth. If she didn't genuinely need him for something, she would have loved to kick him out of the car.

"Help you? Simple. I've already named my terms — it's just a question of whether you agree." Wei Zhao settled himself into a comfortable position. Few men probably rode in Sun Jingyan's car; the legroom in the front was stingy.

"Do you even know what terms the other party's boss proposed?" Sun Jingyan was caught between laughter and tears.

"What terms? They must be far harder for you to swallow than the so-called high price you're paying to bring me out of retirement. I don't know his price — so how do I know whether what you're offering me counts as high?" Wei Zhao countered.

"Then you're sure — you want half of the other party's terms as your fee?" A clever idea struck Sun Jingyan, and she blinked her sly eyes like a cunning little fox.

"Sure. That's the rule my martial uncle laid down." Wei Zhao nodded, perfectly serious.

"Your martial uncle was a great outlaw too?" Sun Jingyan was curious. "And your master?"

"My martial uncle is the greatest thief in the world. My master doesn't steal." Wei Zhao said flatly.

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