Chapter 272 — Before Death

That was why Gu Pengzhan had told Wei Zhao to watch and wait, not to stir the grass and startle the snake, but to feign ignorance of Jin Gubang's schemes.

Wei Zhao, however, had turned the scheme back on its makers and blown the whole thing wide open.

The amusement park happened to be one of the businesses under Jin Gubang's charge. By rights, an accident at the park could be made much of or brushed aside as nothing. But what Gu Pengzhan had been waiting for all along was exactly this sort of mishap, neither too great nor too small.

The one who had come to harm was Shen Yushu, and she was the Chen family's treasure. With an accident at a park under Jin Gubang's charge, if Gu Pengzhan were to seize on the matter at the board meeting and use it to whittle away the power in Jin Gubang's hands, he doubted anyone would object.

In itself the affair was a small one, but once the Chen family was involved, it was no small affair at all. Every one of those shareholders knew the reach of the Chen family. If the Chens were to learn that something had happened to Shen Yushu and that the board had still not dealt with the one responsible, then the matter would plainly become very grave indeed.

So no one would step forward to shield Jin Gubang in this. Who had told him to be in charge of the amusement park, of all things? Responsible or not, he was the man directly accountable.

Once his power was pared down, Jin Gubang could only swallow the loss in silence. Wei Zhao had played this hand beautifully, leaving Jin Gubang to the very end without any notion that Wei Zhao had already seen through their plot.

Given that gambler's hope still burning in him, Jin Gubang would surely not tear off all pretense, for he was still dreaming of making another move against Gu Mengyao.

This time, the affair could be used to claw back every entertainment business under Jin Gubang's control. The company's hotels, nightclubs, KTVs, and the amusement park carnival were all veritable money trees. Over the years, heaven knew how much Jin Gubang had embezzled through them.

Once the first step was taken and control of these businesses reclaimed, auditing the accounts in the next step would be far easier. Gu Pengzhan meant to boil the frog in tepid water, to strip Jin Gubang of power little by little. Every blow he struck must leave the man a sliver of room, must feed his illusion that he could still turn the tables. Only thus could this vermin be cleared away without damaging the company's interests.

Qing Bo relayed Gu Pengzhan's meaning to Gu Mengyao. Though she understood little of company politics, Qing Bo explained it plainly enough: Wei Zhao had done her daddy an enormous favor this time.

And the man himself, Wei Zhao, had no idea of Gu Pengzhan's elation. He had only idly thought, in passing, that an accident at the amusement park might do Gu Pengzhan some good. Little had he expected that Gu Pengzhan would have the entire follow-up plan mapped out already.

When the cord fell the second time, it snapped cleanly, and Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu plunged straight into the surging seawater.

Shen Yushu had finally dared to open her eyes, wanting to savor the feel of the bungee jump, only to watch the cord break before her eyes, her head drawing closer and closer to the sea below...

"Ah, Brother Arrow!" Shen Yushu had never imagined the cord would snap. If they fell from here, wasn't it all over? As she watched herself plunge headfirst toward the water, the bits and pieces of her eighteen years of life flashed through her mind like a film reel.

Was she going to die? Feeling death's threat closing in, Shen Yushu instinctively clung tight to Wei Zhao. "Brother Arrow, I don't want to die. I haven't lived enough yet. I've never been in love, I've never had a boyfriend, I've never even kissed..."

Wei Zhao was somewhat speechless. With him here, could she possibly die?

With a splash, the two of them hit the water. Shen Yushu had still been yelling at the top of her lungs, and for a moment she did not register that seawater was already pouring into her mouth.

"Glub, glub..." Bubbles began to rise from Shen Yushu's mouth.

Wei Zhao wanted to reach out and cover her mouth, to make her stop shouting. If she kept it up, she really would drown. But his arms were pinned fast by Shen Yushu's embrace, wrapped around him like an octopus, leaving him unable to move.

In desperation, Wei Zhao could only press his mouth to Shen Yushu's, sealing her lips and keeping more seawater from pouring in.

Shen Yushu had already been dazed, so when the seawater flooded her mouth she had not even felt it. Now, though, kissed by Wei Zhao, she felt it. She stared wide-eyed, wanting to see him, but in the seawater she could not open her eyes. Ai...

Oh... Was this Brother Arrow granting her wish before she died? Just now she had said she had never been in love, never had a boyfriend, never kissed anyone, and now she was going to die... And now, Brother Arrow had kissed her.

Shen Yushu felt her face burning. Mm, so did that make Brother Arrow her boyfriend? It should count, right? They had already confessed to each other... Shen Yushu consoled herself. If that was so, then dying was dying. To die together with Brother Arrow in love, no matter how you looked at it, her life had not been lived in vain... Wei Zhao wanted to break free of the arms Shen Yushu had wrapped around him. The current was already somewhat swift, their waists and feet were bound together by the cord, and he had Shen Yushu hanging off him besides. There was simply no way for him to swim.

In that brief moment, the seawater swept the two of them far away.

It took no small effort for Wei Zhao to surface with Shen Yushu in his arms, and by then there was nothing but open water in every direction.

"Phew..." Wei Zhao lifted his mouth from Shen Yushu's and drew a deep breath. Thank goodness he could hold his breath underwater for a long time, or he would already be dead.

And Shen Yushu, in his arms, had already fainted.

Wei Zhao reached down to his shoe and drew out a razor blade, cutting the cord that bound their ankles together. As for the cord around their waists, he left it alone, lashing Shen Yushu to his own body so that he could carry her with a bit more safety.

The blade in his shoe was Wei Zhao's trump card. He had used it once before to blow out the tires on two yellow-rank experts of Li Cihua's, and little had he expected to use it again so soon.

He slipped the blade back into his shoe, narrowed his eyes, and studied the sun in the sky to judge his position. After a moment, Wei Zhao drew a deep breath and swam off toward his front left, carrying Shen Yushu with him.

Swimming while carrying another person is an exhausting business, but ever since Wei Zhao had cultivated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Resting Art, he no longer felt fatigue. One silent recitation of the mental formula and his spirit was at once brimming again.

The pressing matter now was to find some place to make landfall and drain the water from Shen Yushu's stomach. If too much time passed, her life would be in danger.

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