Chapter 268 — Deserting at the Last Moment

"Just looking around. What's there to be so nervous about?" Wei Zhao smiled faintly and put the rope in his hand back where it had been. Since Qing Bo had told him not to stir the grass and startle the snake, Wei Zhao would naturally not clash with Xiao Ma at a moment like this.

And yet, the longer Gu Mengyao stalled, the more time it bought for Qing Bo's arrival — so in fact Wei Zhao rather hoped she would rest a while longer.

"Had enough rest?" Xiao Ma was getting anxious. "Ma'am, this bungee jump runs on a schedule. If you don't jump here, the customers behind you can't go either, can they? There are plenty of cables, sure, but what if a crowd turns up in a bit?"

"Then... then let me try again..." Like everyone bungee jumping for the first time, Gu Mengyao had been nervous before the leap; urged on by Xiao Ma, she rose to her feet, a little fretful.

"It's really nothing — you close your eyes, you open them, and it's over..." Xiao Ma chuckled inwardly: close your eyes and never open them, and you're dead.

"Oh..." Gu Mengyao nodded, and as though she had summoned up great resolve, walked to the edge of the cliff. She looked down once more, felt a wave of dizziness, and could not help closing her eyes. When she opened them again, her heart was even more timid, and she dared not look any further. "No, I'm still scared... I... I want to prepare a little more..."

"This..." Xiao Ma was at a loss. He would have loved nothing more than to kick Gu Mengyao off the cliff and save the time. But with so many eyes upon them, he dared not. A snapped rope was an accident; pushing Gu Mengyao down would be murder.

Xiao Ma was no fool. There were plenty of tourists nearby, and Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu were watching him closely. How could he possibly do anything so stupid?

"Ma'am, aren't you just wasting time?" Xiao Ma said, displeased.

"Xiaoshu, why don't you go first? I... I really don't quite dare. Let me prepare a bit more!" Gu Mengyao went back to the bench nearby where she had rested before and sat down again.

"Oh? Me first? Yao Yao, you're giving me your first time?" Shen Yushu blinked, excited.

"Don't read too much into it... I meant the bungee jump." Gu Mengyao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Bungee jump counts too!" Shen Yushu nodded. "Then I'll go first. Hey, you, Lumpy Face, put the rope on me! I'm going first!"

Lumpy Face? Xiao Ma nearly wept at the name. What Lumpy Face? And whose fault was it but hers — she had dragged him so hard she had nearly torn the skin off his face, and she still called him Lumpy Face? Was there no limit to how she bullied a man?

"Well, that's a bit of trouble... it's already all tied on..." Xiao Ma had no wish to transfer the rope to Shen Yushu, for his target was Gu Mengyao. If Shen Yushu died, it would not produce the intended effect at all — it might even backfire...

"Oh, come on, why are you so long-winded? If it's too much trouble, I'll do it myself!" Shen Yushu waved a hand. "Do it yourself, and you'll have plenty to eat."

"How about you go to another cable?" Seeing Shen Yushu about to do it herself, Xiao Ma tried to stop her.

"Go where? The others are all taken, can't you see? I'd have to wait ages. Switching the rope is simpler!" Shen Yushu paid no attention to him at all.

"Then... then let me ask my supervisor... You know, I'm just a worker here. What you're doing isn't by the rules — if the boss sees, he'll chew me out!" Out of options, Xiao Ma fell back on his lowly position.

"Fine, fine, then go ask, quick!" Shen Yushu was impatient, but she still did not make things hard for Xiao Ma. To her mind, there was no need to bully these low-level employees; since he had put it that way, she naturally would not insist.

"All right, I'll go ask right now..." Xiao Ma took out his phone and was about to step aside to make the call when he heard Shen Yushu speak again.

"Arrow Brand, I'm a little scared too — how about the two of us jump together?" Shen Yushu ran over and looked down the cliff. It really was frightening. She was not sure she would not desert at the last moment, just like Gu Mengyao.

"Jump together?" Wei Zhao was slightly startled, and then rather tempted. Not tempted by the chance to be close to Shen Yushu, of course, but because he did not feel safe letting her jump down alone.

When Shen Yushu had wanted to switch with Gu Mengyao earlier, Wei Zhao had been thinking about how to make her stall a while longer, or give up the jump altogether. The jade pendant had already warned him several times; the signal was faint, meaning the danger was not great, but one thing was certain — there was definitely something wrong with this bungee jump.

Not much danger — but that was only true for him. With Shen Yushu, it was another matter. So Wei Zhao was uneasy about letting her jump alone, and just as he was worrying, Shen Yushu proposed that he jump with her.

"Yes, tied to the same rope, jumping down together — then I won't be scared. Okay, Arrow Brand?" Shen Yushu was frightened too, in truth. She might be a bit bolder than Gu Mengyao, but any girl standing on a cliff this high would be afraid. Especially on a first jump — who wouldn't be? Would anyone call that normal?

Probably only that wild girl Qiu Lingshan had not been scared on her first jump, Shen Yushu thought... so she did not feel the least bit ashamed.

"No!" Gu Mengyao frowned at the suggestion. "Xiaoshu, if you're tied to him, aren't you just letting him take advantage of you?"

"Ah, take advantage?" Shen Yushu had never really thought that far. But hearing Gu Mengyao's words, she did not take it seriously. "Back at the house, he's taken advantage before, hasn't he? One more time won't hurt... Yao Yao, I really don't dare jump alone. Then how about you jump with Arrow Brand?"

"No, you go ahead!" Gu Mengyao snorted, thinking her best friend a real idiot. One more time won't hurt? Would she get used to it after enough times?

But having said it, Gu Mengyao felt a pang of regret — and in her heart, a flicker of longing to jump with Wei Zhao. With him beside her, surely she would not be afraid?

Thinking of the bank robbery, with Wei Zhao at her side, Gu Mengyao had truly felt safe and secure...

"Arrow Brand, you're not allowed to take advantage of me!" Shen Yushu did not stand on ceremony either, and said to Wei Zhao with a grin.

Wei Zhao was speechless. The way she said it, it almost sounded like a coy invitation — refusing to let him take advantage, yet seeming to offer it. Wei Zhao thought of a certain joke about being worse than a beast...

Fastest updates; for pop-up-free reading, please.