Chapter 262 — Gu Mengyao's Suitor

"Brother An, is that your Sister Chu over there?" asked one of the men in a white casual shirt, speaking to the leader of the group.

An Jianwen's eyes narrowed. He had only just returned to Songshan City, and today he was merely meeting a few old friends for a small reunion, planning to pay a formal visit to Gu Mengyao's family in a couple of days. He had never expected to see Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and a strange man together at the amusement park, and the sight sent a sharp pain through his heart.

"I'll go over and say hello," An Jianwen said to the two men beside him.

"Do you want us to come and back you up?" the man in white asked. "Look at that kid, poor and shabby, even letting Gu Mengyao pay for the food. What a loser!"

"Exactly. Is a man like that even fit to be Brother An's rival?" put in another man with a rather effeminate face.

"No need. I'll go by myself," An Jianwen said lightly with a wave of his hand. He stood up and walked toward Gu Mengyao.

"Yaoyao, long time no see. In the blink of an eye, you have grown into a young lady!" An Jianwen greeted Gu Mengyao with a smile, his face full of warmth, every inch the friendly boy next door.

"You are... Are you Brother Jianwen?" Gu Mengyao froze for a moment, then exclaimed in delight. "You are back in the country?"

"Yes, I just got back yesterday. I am getting together with some old brothers today, and I never thought I would run into you here. I was planning to pay a formal visit to Uncle Chu and my Sister Yaoyao this weekend!" An Jianwen gracefully took the seat beside Gu Mengyao that had belonged to Wei Zhao, then turned to Shen Yushu. "Little Shu, you are still so cute. Do you still remember Brother Jianwen?"

"Of course I remember, the man my brother defeated. How could I forget? Hee hee!" Shen Yushu said with a smile, waving at An Jianwen.

A shadow flickered through An Jianwen's eyes and vanished in an instant, and a smile returned to his face. "Yes, Brother Yutian is serving on the frontier now and we can hardly meet. If he came back, our Four Young Masters of Songshan would be complete..."

A nostalgic look came over An Jianwen's face as he spoke. "Back then, under Brother Yutian's lead, how glorious were the Four Young Masters of Songshan! But heh, we have all grown up now!"

"Is Brother Jianwen staying in Songshan this time?" Gu Mengyao asked, sounding casual.

"Yes, I plan to stay for good this time, because my Sister Yaoyao is here!" An Jianwen said, smiling gently at Gu Mengyao.

For some reason, a trace of gloom rose in Gu Mengyao's heart. Listening to An Jianwen, she no longer felt the closeness of childhood between brother and sister, and his manner only made her uncomfortable.

"Heh, really? Then welcome..." Gu Mengyao said with a forced smile.

As they were talking, Wei Zhao came back carrying a tray. This fast food place sold only set meals, and he had casually picked three kinds to bring back, so everyone could eat whatever they liked.

Wei Zhao's gaze stayed fixed on An Jianwen. Although this man knew Gu Mengyao, Wei Zhao could not be sure he meant her no harm.

"Sir, you are sitting in my seat. If you want to keep sitting here, you can ask the server to add a chair," Wei Zhao said to An Jianwen after setting the tray on the table. It was a round table for three, and though a chair could be added, it would surely be crowded.

"Hehe, Sister Yaoyao, who is this? Will you not introduce us?" An Jianwen asked, polite enough on the surface, though a dark cloud crossed his eyes. He was clearly annoyed by Wei Zhao's blunt demand that he give up his seat.

As he spoke, An Jianwen did not move at all, showing not the slightest intention of yielding to Wei Zhao. It was plain that in his eyes, Wei Zhao was not worthy to be called a rival!

A shirt worth a few dozen yuan and a pair of shabby black casual pants, the whole outfit worth at most two hundred yuan even at a stretch. How could such a man ever be a match for one of the former Four Young Masters of Songshan?

"Oh, his name is Wei Zhao, and he is Sister Yaoyao's bodyguard and shield!" Shen Yushu blurted out quickly, speaking before anyone else.

"Bodyguard and shield?" An Jianwen was slightly taken aback, unsure what bodyguard and shield meant... If it were only bodyguard, that would be easy to understand, for a rich young lady would naturally have bodyguards by her side, but the word shield could not help but suggest something more... Shield, that was a rather suggestive profession...

"It means boyfriend!" Shen Yushu explained with a giggle.

"Little Shu!" Gu Mengyao shot Shen Yushu a helpless glare, yet for reasons she herself could not name, she neither denied it nor explained...

To An Jianwen, however, Gu Mengyao's glare looked like a coy reproach. To his mind, her relationship with Wei Zhao must still be kept secret, because Gu Pengzhan would never let his daughter marry a man whose clothes cost less than two hundred yuan and who made a woman pay for his meal, so their relationship must be unannounced!

But since Shen Yushu had let it slip, Gu Mengyao could only glare at her in feigned anger, and that left a sour taste in An Jianwen's heart. Damn it, did a poor boy like that dream of climbing to a high branch? Was he dreaming?

"Oh, so you are Sister Yaoyao's boyfriend!" An Jianwen finally stood up. Whatever else might be said, since this boy was already Gu Mengyao's boyfriend, he could barely count as a rival, though of a rather low level. Still, since he had managed to win Gu Mengyao's favor, he must have something to him, so An Jianwen would not underestimate him. He held out his hand to Wei Zhao. "Hello, I am An Jianwen, Sister Yaoyao's elder brother. You could say we are childhood sweethearts."

An Jianwen had expected Wei Zhao to look surprised and flustered upon hearing his name, but to his disappointment, Wei Zhao seemed not to know him at all, and calmly held out his hand. "My hands got vegetable soup on them from carrying the fast food just now. You do not mind, Mr. An?"

"This..." An Jianwen froze, staring at Wei Zhao's greasy right hand, left speechless and caught in a dilemma. If he shook it, his own hand would get dirty, but if he refused, when he himself had offered first, would it not look graceless to back out now?

With no way out, An Jianwen could only shake hands with Wei Zhao with a pained face.

"Wei Zhao, Gu Mengyao's follower," Wei Zhao introduced himself flatly.

Follower? Damn it, yet another new term? Was this a provocation? Bodyguard, shield, and now follower! Was follower not much the same as boyfriend?

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