Chapter 345 — A Happiness of Her Own — "The money... I received it..." Tang Yun said in a low voice. "Thank you..."

"Heh... and how are you going to thank me?" Wei Zhao could picture her at this moment: a beautiful girl standing in her own yard, carefully cradling her phone, lowering her voice to speak with him...

As for how Wei Zhao knew she was calling from the yard — he could hear crickets chirping through the receiver.

"I..." Wei Zhao's words left Tang Yun at a loss; her breathing quickened, her face flushed crimson, and a fine sweat beaded on the tip of her nose. "You... you tell me how..."

"You're the one thanking me. Why should I be the one to say it?" Wei Zhao had caught the tension in her voice, and teased her with a laugh.

"Then... then how about I kiss you?" Tang Yun hesitated a moment before venturing, rather timidly.

"Sure." Wei Zhao had no intention of demanding anything from Tang Yun. He was not the sort to seize another's moment of weakness and hold it over them — though when it came to someone he did not like, that was another matter entirely.

"Mm..." Tang Yun's heart pounded violently; she was embarrassed even by her own boldness.

"When?" Wei Zhao asked.

"You... you say..." Tang Yun answered nervously.

"How about now?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Huh? Now?" Tang Yun was struck dumb. How was she supposed to kiss him now? Over the phone? Wasn't that just pretending to kiss? Surely Wei Zhao, of all people, would not set his sights so low?

"Mm, go ahead and kiss me..." Of course Wei Zhao hoped Tang Yun would kiss him for real — but he did not want to win it merely because he had lent her money.

"You're awful... I haven't even prepared myself..." Amid her delight, Tang Yun turned bashful.

"When will you be prepared?" Wei Zhao laughed. "Your kisses are costly — one of them runs two hundred thousand."

"Hmph, then if I kiss you a few more times, won't you be ruined?" Tang Yun was amused by his words.

"True enough. I'd better do the accounts — how many more kisses my present funds can afford." Wei Zhao said this with perfect solemnity.

"Then reckon away!" Tang Yun gave a little huff. "Oh, right — why did you transfer two hundred thousand?"

"Didn't your mother say your father still needs surgery?" Wei Zhao said. "I heard it, so I sent fifty thousand extra."

"Thank you..." Tears burst from Tang Yun's eyes in that instant. In all her life, for the first time, she felt a happiness that made her want to cry — she had not said a word, and he had already thought of it for her. Was he truly a gift the heavens had sent her?

Suddenly, Tang Yun felt an urge to spend her whole life with him. On the eve of her eighteenth — soon her nineteenth — birthday, she felt she had found a happiness that belonged to her alone.

It was the feeling of being cared for, cherished, held in the palm of someone's hand. Such moments of happiness were unforgettable for a lifetime.

The hand holding her phone was trembling. She mustered all her courage, made a "mwah" into the receiver, then said quickly, "There. That's today's. I still owe you one — I'll pay it back some time when I'm free..."

With that, Tang Yun hurriedly hung up. Her whole body was burning; her clothes were already soaked through with sweat.

"Phew..." Tang Yun let out a long breath. Abashed by her own boldness just now, she dared not go straight back inside, afraid her mother would notice something amiss; she could only stand in the yard, cooling her feelings.

A mosquito flew past, and at the sight of the fair, tender Tang Yun it longed to take a bite. Furious, Tang Yun swung her palm to slap it dead, muttering all the while: "Wei Zhao, you're the worst! Why are you so good to me! I'll slap you dead!"

When Tang Yun had still not returned from the yard after a long while, Mother Tang sent Xiaowei to look in on his sister. But the moment Xiaowei stepped out of the house he heard Tang Yun grinding her teeth and clawing at the air, saying she meant to slap Wei Zhao dead. Xiaowei got a fright and stared at his sister in bewilderment: "Is my brother-in-law a masochist? He's good to you, and you want to slap him dead?"

"What would a little brat like you know!" Tang Yun had not expected Xiaowei to come running out and hear her — she was mortified. "Get back inside, quick!"

"Oh... I get it. Hitting is love, scolding is affection... Xiaodan says that all the time too." Xiaowei nodded as though he had just seen the light, which only made Tang Yun so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Xiaowei went back happily together with Xiaodan, because Mother Tang had promised to go withdraw the money for them first thing the next morning.

And Xiaowei, naturally, called off the business of selling his kidney.

In a villa on the outskirts of Songshan City, a man covered in tattoos took a phone call and then, cursing under his breath, stormed over to a young man: "Brother Wen, that kid who'd agreed to sell his kidney has gone back on his word!"

"What? Backed out?" The young man called Brother Wen frowned at once. "How do you do your job? You can't even handle a trifle like this? If the Fire Wolf Gang hears of it and gets angry, never mind you and me — even my father can't bear the consequences! Kidney sources have fallen off badly lately. At this rate, my big brother will leave us far behind!"

"Brother Wen, I don't want it either, but nobody's selling kidneys these days. People have gotten smart. Unless they're desperate for money, they won't sell no matter what you say..." the tattooed man explained warily.

"Are you pig-brained? How much can you scrape up hunting kidney sources one by one? When I was studying abroad, I saw proper large-scale kidney-harvesting outfits over there! If nobody will sell, can't you people find someone to cut?" Brother Wen railed.

"Brother Wen, isn't that a bit too ruthless? If the police catch wind of it, we'll be in serious trouble!" The tattooed man was startled by the suggestion. "Even back when Brother De was around, he never dared be that brazen..."

"Brother De, my ass! It's Brother Wen who runs things now! Stop trotting out my big brother every chance you get!" Brother Wen gave a cold laugh. "If it weren't for him swindling people into selling kidneys on such a scale around here, would kidney sources in Songshan City be this tight right now?"

"Yes... yes..." The tattooed man realized he had let his tongue slip, and remembered that though Brother De and Brother Wen were blood brothers, they were rivals.

"Worried about the police? Can't you go grab the beggars and vagrants, cut out their kidneys, and as long as you don't kill them, no one will care!" Brother Wen said scornfully. "Who's the underworld boss of Songshan City? Get in touch with him — I'll pay him a visit!"

"The underworld boss of Songshan City is Li Cihua, but he's not the one who really calls the shots. His backer is in the provincial capital. Who exactly, I don't know either, but I've heard he's a man of considerable power..." the tattooed man explained. "Brother Wen, are we paying him a visit tonight?"

"Not tonight. I have more important matters. Tomorrow — tomorrow I'll pay this Li Cihua a visit!" Brother Wen nodded. "As for who stands behind him, we needn't concern ourselves with that, and there's no need to. Just as the Fire Wolf Gang stands behind us, and no one else need know it."

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