Chapter 248 — Docking Your Salary: Gu Mengyao Was Furious! Absolutely Furious! Was Wei Zhao Not Trouble Enough for One Lifetime? Holding Tang Yun's Hand and Openly Declaring in School That Tang Yun Was His Woman? Had He Forgotten She Was the Young Miss? Did He Not Know He Was Her Sidekick and Her Shield?

Tang Yun was his woman — then what did that make her? How was she supposed to keep using him as a shield? Was she really going to tell people she was his concubine?

"Yao Yao, are you jealous? Otherwise, why are you so angry?" Shen Yushu reached out and waved a hand in front of Gu Mengyao's eyes...

"Jealous? I'm angry! That sidekick of mine is useless! He's supposed to be my shield, and instead he's off chasing girls. How is he supposed to shield me?" Gu Mengyao would never admit to being jealous. Jealous over Wei Zhao? As if.

"Oh, that's no problem at all — you can always say you're his concubine!" Shen Yushu said.

"Concubine? Xiaoshu, you'd have me be his concubine?" Gu Mengyao's eyes went wide with fury. Was that meant to comfort her, or to provoke her?

"What's so bad about being a concubine? I've always figured that someday I'd be somebody's concubine. You'd be the senior wife, I'd be the concubine — and now it's just that you've become concubine number one and I'm concubine number two. There isn't much difference, really!" Shen Yushu said, utterly unconcerned. "You... Xiaoshu, I truly have no words for you. What goes on in that head of yours? You think playing concubine to someone is fun?" Gu Mengyao was speechless. Her best friend's way of thinking was simply abnormal. In the future, when she was angry, she must never talk to this girl — the more they talked, the angrier she would get, until she was literally furious to death.

"Oh, it's lots of fun!" But Shen Yushu was already idly flipping through the English textbook in front of her. "Yao Yao, we have a test this afternoon — I'm going to review first."

"..." Shen Yushu's reminder made Gu Mengyao remember that there was an English quiz coming up shortly, and she had no choice but to pull out her book. Still, she had already made up her mind: she was going to have a proper talk with Wei Zhao. If he kept on like this, she would... she would dock his salary!

Gu Mengyao discovered, to her despair, that the only thing she could threaten Wei Zhao with was his salary. There seemed to be nothing else in the world that could hold him in check.

That evening when school let out, Gu Mengyao received a text message that made her even angrier: Wei Zhao had actually sent word that he had something to do that night and would be home a little late!

It sent her temper straight through the roof. "Xiaoshu, look at this — Wei Zhao says he's coming home late tonight? Do you think he's out on a date with Tang Yun?"

"That's probably it, Yao Yao!" Shen Yushu said, never happier than when the world was in chaos.

Gu Mengyao gritted her teeth and sent Wei Zhao a reply: "If you dare come home late, I'm docking a month of your salary!"

Wei Zhao stared at the message in his hand and felt a headache coming on. One night out, and a whole month's pay? That was beyond unreasonable. He smiled a wry smile and dialed Gu Mengyao's number.

"What is it?" Gu Mengyao picked up the phone, her voice ice-cold.

"Young Miss, I really do have something to do tonight." Wei Zhao was rather baffled, with no idea what had gotten into Gu Mengyao. "What is it? A date with Tang Yun?" Gu Mengyao shot back. "Wei Zhao, could you at least show a little consideration for appearances? You're my shield. Even if you want to chase girls, can't you do it discreetly? You've made a spectacle of the whole thing — everyone knows about you and Tang Yun now. How am I supposed to use you as a shield?"

Wei Zhao was startled, and then he understood: the young miss was angry over that business. No wonder she was throwing such a tantrum!

"Yao Yao, I'm not going on a date tonight. I'm doing a friend a favor," Wei Zhao explained.

"What friend? What favor?" Gu Mengyao demanded.

"That Sun Jingyan — the one I met at the bar that day. She asked me to take care of something for her, and she's paying me." Wei Zhao deliberately threw in that last part about payment, to keep Gu Mengyao from thinking he was out womanizing.

"I don't care whether she pays you or not, so long as you don't let these women come knocking at my door!" In her heart, Gu Mengyao was reluctant to let Wei Zhao go to Sun Jingyan, yet she could find no reason to stop him, and she could not say what she was angry about. On reflection, perhaps it was because she feared those women would turn up and ruin her plans? Yes, that had to be it. As long as he didn't bring them onto campus, he could do whatever he pleased!

With that, Gu Mengyao hung up, leaving Wei Zhao shaking his head at the phone. Was that permission or a refusal? Was his salary still being docked or not?

Wei Zhao headed to the snack street behind the school, where he unexpectedly ran into Tang Yun. After class she had come to help her mother out; with Kang XX and Liu Xinwen over at the hospital, Tang Yun's help wasn't needed there anymore.

Seeing Wei Zhao come up after her, Tang Yun jumped in fright, so flustered with shyness that she scarcely knew what to do — yet deep in her heart there was a flicker of delight.

Today's business had spread through practically the whole school, and yet for some reason, this time Tang Yun was not nearly as angry as she had been when the "love letter incident" broke out.

That last time it had only been a rumor; this time there was truth behind it. That was probably why, Tang Yun thought... but was that really it?

Tang Yun shook her head. There was no longer any rejection of Wei Zhao in her heart; on the contrary, when she was with him there was always an inexplicable excitement and flutter. Had she really fallen in love this early?

"You... what are you doing here..." Tang Yun lowered her head, not daring to look at Wei Zhao.

"I'm here waiting for a friend. She wants my help with something." Wei Zhao paused there. "I came by on the way to see you."

At the first half of Wei Zhao's sentence, Tang Yun had felt a faint pang of disappointment — so he hadn't come specially to see her after all. But the second half made her heart feel as though it had tasted honey, sweetness spreading through it thread by thread...

"Oh..." Tang Yun blushed, her heart a muddle. Had she really fallen this easily? No, she mustn't...

"Your family's business is doing well — if it's too much, you should hire another pair of hands," Wei Zhao said, glancing at Mother Tang's barbecue stall, already ringed in by students.

"Yes... Mama said the same thing today. If it stays this busy, we'll have to hire someone." Tang Yun was grateful to Wei Zhao; without him, their business would never have caught on like this. And yet, thinking of her relationship with him, was this some roundabout way of repaying him? She did not dare follow the thought further, and her heart grew more and more tangled. "I... I'd better go help my mother first..."

With that, Tang Yun turned and ran off without another word to Wei Zhao.

Watching her retreating figure, Wei Zhao lost himself for a fleeting instant... This kind of life truly was good.

Only, the moment he closed his eyes, that pair of resentful, reproachful eyes stabbed fiercely into his heart once more...

Back then, was it the recklessness of youth? Or... a lack of confidence in his own origins? Or... those days of flying bullets, with no telling which day would be the last?

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