Chapter 244 — What Did You Come Out Here For? "Half a Lover?" Wei Zhao Was Somewhat Speechless — Was There Even Such a Thing as Half a Lover?

"That's right. It's just for show — we tell people we're a couple, but in reality I won't be fulfilling any of the duties of a girlfriend!" Sun Jingyan nodded. "From now on, you'll appear before my friends as my boyfriend!"

Wei Zhao had finally figured out just where he'd been conned... and what a con it was! Not only did he have to steal the files for Sun Jingyan, from now on he also had to play her boyfriend!

What a rotten deal this was. But he had set the terms and the payment himself — so who was there to blame?

No wonder he'd felt something was off earlier. It really had been off — badly off!

"You're ruthless..." Wei Zhao had no intention of going back on his word; he wasn't that much of a scoundrel. A promise was a promise. "But that boss of yours went to all this trouble just to make you his lover?"

"If you don't believe me, go ask him yourself. Everyone in the industry knows he's got designs on me," Sun Jingyan said.

"Isn't that Wu Chengtian courting you? Why not get him to handle it?" Wei Zhao asked. Wu Chengtian was known as Wu the Iron Hand, and his skills were formidable — stealing a few files ought to be no trouble for him.

"I don't want to get too tangled up with him. I feel nothing for him." Sun Jingyan shook her head. "Are you trying to back out?"

"No. Just tell me where the files are and I'll get them for you." Seeing that Sun Jingyan didn't want to talk about Wu Chengtian, Wei Zhao didn't press her.

"The files are at his residence. We move tonight," Sun Jingyan said.

"Fine, tonight then." Wei Zhao didn't much care. "And I won't be taking that half-a-lover fee."

"Absolutely not!" Sun Jingyan refused flatly, shaking her head again and again. "I've told you many times already — you agreed to take half of the other party's terms as your fee. You confirmed it, you were absolutely certain. And now you want to renege?"

"Not even if I don't want it?" Wei Zhao smiled bitterly.

"No! Absolutely not!" Sun Jingyan said. "You do the work for me, I pay you for it. That's only right!"

"All right..." Wei Zhao was a little helpless, but with Sun Jingyan so adamant there was nothing he could do. After all, he really had agreed to it.

They were still talking when a gang of thugs came running toward them. Scarface was among them, and as he ran he said to one of the men, "Brother Guang, that's him, that's the punk! He's been blocking me from collecting protection money here, and he hit me!"

You had to hand it to Scarface — the man had quite an imagination. He'd turned his own ugly business of harassing Sun Jingyan into Wei Zhao obstructing his collection of protection money, and fooled his boss into coming down here to settle the score.

When the stall owner got a clear look at who was coming, his expression changed at once, and he hurriedly warned Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan: "Little brother, you'd better run. Brother Scarface has called his boss over — they're sure to be here to teach you a lesson!"

"Heh. I haven't finished eating yet. If they want to come, let them come." Wei Zhao paid it no mind at all, still unhurriedly eating his spicy skewers.

"Ah!" The skewer-stall owner sighed. He'd done all he could, after all. If the man wouldn't listen, there was nothing he could do. He only hoped that when Brother Guang arrived, he wouldn't get dragged into it.

"Hey, there are a lot of them. Are you sure you can handle it?" Sun Jingyan thought Wei Zhao's skills were impressive, but two fists were no match for four hands. With so many people coming to make trouble, could he really deal with them all?

"A lot of them?" Wei Zhao tossed down the bamboo skewer in his hand and looked up — and then he grinned. It was someone he knew! And this acquaintance was right now shouting and blustering!

"Who dares to make trouble on the North District's turf? You think you can ignore Brother Guang's face?" Scarface's boss came swaggering over, bellowing into the skewer stall.

"Heh. So we meet again?" Wei Zhao smiled faintly, looking at Brother Guang. "They say a broken bone takes a hundred days to heal. Shouldn't you be lying at home? Did you come out here hoping to end up crippled?"

The moment Brother Guang saw Wei Zhao, his expression changed at once! This Brother Guang was none other than Zou Ruoguang, the head thug of the North District. He had never imagined that the man he'd run into at the hospital a few days ago would turn up here again!

Zou Ruoguang remembered Wei Zhao's savagery at the hospital all too vividly! The kid was a flat-out maniac, and when he was tormenting someone he didn't even blink. He'd treated Zou Ruoguang's wrist like a toy, yanking and twisting until it broke — several times over!

At this moment Zou Ruoguang's face was a picture of misery. He had plenty of men under him, but he didn't dare move against Wei Zhao lightly. He was, in truth, a timid man, and he feared that if his men proved no match for Wei Zhao, his own fate today would be even worse than it had been a couple of days ago.

Last time it had been a broken wrist. This time it might well be a broken leg!

"Ha... it's you, brother..." Zou Ruoguang gave a hollow laugh. He didn't dare provoke Wei Zhao for the moment, but he didn't want to lose face either, so he could only pretend to be on familiar terms with him. "Talk about a flood washing over the Dragon King's temple — family not recognizing family! Scarface, this brother here wouldn't just go and block you from collecting protection money for no reason. Tell me the truth — what actually happened?"

In truth, how could Zou Ruoguang not know that Scarface was making a mountain out of a molehill? Scarface's underlings couldn't possibly be that loyal to him either, and Zou Ruoguang had long since heard what had happened before.

As for why he'd still stand up for Scarface despite knowing the situation — for one thing, Scarface was his underling no matter how you looked at it, and when an underling got bullied, the boss naturally had to step in!

For another, he'd been taught a lesson by Wei Zhao over the weekend and hadn't dared hit back, and the frustration had been eating at him. So he'd figured on teaching somebody else a lesson to blow off steam — and then he'd run into Wei Zhao here. Zou Ruoguang cursed his rotten luck!

Scarface was stunned. He hadn't expected his boss to change his tune the moment he arrived, and he immediately realized something was off. He hadn't risen to be the boss around the market by being a fool!

Brother Guang had come to stand up for him, yet here he was being perfectly friendly to Wei Zhao — and that gave Scarface a bad feeling! Could this guy really be that dangerous? Even the boss had to treat him with respect?

"Sorry, Brother Guang... it was me who caused trouble. I just said a couple of words to this... this brother's woman..." Scarface didn't try to argue. He knew that at a time like this, Brother Guang was going to make an example of him.

"Smack!" Zou Ruoguang swung a slap across his face. "That'll teach you to show off! Apologize, now!"

"Sorry!" Scarface apologized to Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan without a moment's hesitation.

"Enough. Cut the act. I haven't got time to watch you two put on a show." Wei Zhao waved his hand impatiently. "Boss, the bill!"

"This..." The skewer-stall owner was not a man who couldn't read a room. Seeing that even Zou Ruoguang didn't dare cross Wei Zhao, how would he dare take Wei Zhao's money? "No need, brother. This meal's on me. No charge..."

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