Chapter 9 — The Mighty General

"Miss, if anything comes up, call me anytime. I'll still come at seven tonight to bring your dinner." With that, Uncle Qing hurried off.

Gu Mengyao looked at the man before her, unsure what to say. But she could hardly let him sleep out on the street, could she? Her father was a philanthropist of some renown; if word got out that she mistreated the help, it would look bad no matter how you sliced it.

After stewing in fury for a good long while, Gu Mengyao finally thought of the one to blame for all this. She took out her phone and dialed Shen Yushu's number. "Hey, Xiaoshu, my dad's making this migrant worker live in my villa. What am I supposed to do?"

"Yaoyao, you mean Shield Bro? That's great! Tomorrow I'll go to school and tell everyone the two of you are living together, and then no one will pester you anymore." Shen Yushu was lounging comfortably on her chaise longue watching TV, and answered offhandedly.

"Shen Yushu!" Gu Mengyao was about to explode. She yelled into the phone, "You little brat, some friend you are! You're the one who told me to keep him, and now you're making snide remarks? You—right now, this instant—get over to my house!"

"Oh, sure. In a bit I'll take a shower, have a nap, and then come find you in the morning on my way to school." Shen Yushu said lazily.

"If I don't see you within one minute, we're through." Gu Mengyao said, cutting off all argument.

"Oh, come on, I'm already stripped down for my shower, and now I have to get dressed again." Shen Yushu grumbled as she sat up from the sofa and admired her figure in the mirror. Hmm, seemed she'd put on a little belly? She'd better eat less from now on.

"Fifty seconds." Gu Mengyao said, watching the call timer on her phone.

"Ugh, I still have to lock the door, don't I?" Shen Yushu said, hurriedly pulling her clothes on.

"Forty seconds." Gu Mengyao went on.

"All right, all right, I'm coming!" Shen Yushu put on her shoes and ran out the door.

Shen Yushu's villa stood only a few dozen meters from Gu Mengyao's, a narrow path between them, the two houses set diagonally, gazing at each other from afar.

Only when she caught sight of Shen Yushu in the distance did Gu Mengyao breathe a sigh of relief and hang up.

"Yaoyao, what is it? I'd just taken my clothes off, I was about to shower, and you call me out here." Shen Yushu complained.

"Ahem, ahem." Gu Mengyao cleared her throat twice, gestured at Wei Zhao, and said, "Xiaoshu, we have a guest. Watch what you say."

"Oh, it's fine." Shen Yushu said carelessly. "It's Shield Bro. He's one of us."

"Since he's one of us to you, then have him stay at your place. It's settled!" Gu Mengyao, seeing that gloating look on Shen Yushu's face, was thoroughly annoyed.

"Uh..." Shen Yushu stuck out her tongue and smiled innocently. "Yaoyao, you know me. The moment I get home I like to strip down. It'd be a bit inconvenient having him stay..."

"And it's convenient having him stay at my place?" Gu Mengyao cursed Shen Yushu inwardly for her disloyalty.

"Hey, what's so hard about this?" Shen Yushu tilted her little head and said, "Yaoyao, you let him stay at your place, and you come stay at mine. Problem solved, isn't it?"

"Hmm, that's true." Gu Mengyao thought Shen Yushu had finally come up with something constructive.

But a moment later, Gu Mengyao found herself none too pleased. Her villa, handed over to a migrant worker? Who did he think he was? And besides, what if things went missing?

"No. He absolutely cannot stay in my villa alone." Gu Mengyao said through gritted teeth.

Shen Yushu was in a bind too. She'd only told Gu Mengyao to keep Wei Zhao around for fun, but now a problem had cropped up. Have Wei Zhao move into Shen Yushu's villa? Shen Yushu would never agree to that.

After hesitating for a long time, Shen Yushu finally came up with a compromise: "How about this—I'll stay here with you, and he can sleep downstairs. Your room is upstairs anyway, so we just won't let him come up to the second floor."

Gu Mengyao listened to Shen Yushu's suggestion and felt it was the only way out, so she reluctantly nodded: "Fine, let's do it that way."

Shen Yushu had stayed with Gu Mengyao so often that she walked in as if it were her own home. Wei Zhao, by contrast, trailed behind with his luggage in hand, dragging his feet.

Gu Mengyao's hostility toward him was plain enough for Wei Zhao to see, but remembering the solemn instructions the old man had given him before he left home, and the trusting look in Uncle Chu's eyes, he didn't take it to heart. After all, Gu Mengyao was a girl, and it was only natural she wouldn't want to share a house with him.

"Hey, what's your name?" Gu Mengyao sat on the sofa, draping her long slender legs over the chaise lounge, and looked at Wei Zhao as she asked.

"My name is Lin—" Wei Zhao said as he moved to sit down on the sofa; he'd been standing by the door for quite a while and was tired enough. But before his backside could even touch the cushions, a sharp scolding cry startled him half out of his wits.

"Stop—don't sit!" Gu Mengyao shouted, her eyes wide open, pointing straight at Wei Zhao.

"What's the matter?" Wei Zhao froze, his rear suspended mid-air, and asked in bewilderment.

"Your pants are filthy. Don't get my sofa dirty—Xiaoshu often lies on it with her bare skin, you know." Gu Mengyao said with a frown.

Shen Yushu was so annoyed she rolled her eyes, thinking to herself: Yaoyao, what are you doing? Just a moment ago you were telling me to watch what I said in front of strangers, and now here you are, running your own mouth.

Wei Zhao, for his part, wasn't angry at all. His clothes really weren't all that clean—he'd sat on the train half the day and then trekked around in the dust for most of the afternoon. Getting the sofa dirty would be a small matter, but giving this delicate young lady a skin rash would be a disaster.

"Alright, you can keep talking now." Gu Mengyao let out a sigh of relief when she saw Wei Zhao get back on his feet.

"My name is Wei Zhao," he said.

"Fine, Wei Zhao. You'll sleep in the guest room over there tonight. But mind you: upstairs is mine and Xiaoshu's room, and you're not allowed up there. If you dare, I'll have Daddy fire you right away." Even as Gu Mengyao said this, she didn't feel all that confident in her threat. For some reason, she had the nagging feeling that his father had fallen under Wei Zhao's spell, so she added on: "And if you do go up there, I'll have Major Mighty bite you to death."

"Oh." Wei Zhao nodded indifferently, but her last words puzzled him, so he asked: "Major Mighty? What on earth is that?"

Pleased with his question, Gu Mengyao called triumphantly toward the upstairs: "Major Mighty, come down!"

"Woof woof—" A burst of barking rang out, and a fierce Rottweiler came bolting down the stairs, planting itself protectively beside Gu Mengyao and glaring at Wei Zhao with unblinking vigilance.

......

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