Chapter 7 — A Single Kick Sent Him Flying
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 2
Afraid of worrying Gu Mengyao, Gu Pengzhan had kept certain things from her and had told Uncle Qing to keep silent as well. Inviting Wei Zhao was, on the surface, a way to look after Gu Mengyao's studies and daily life, but in truth there was a far deeper meaning involved—one tied to a pact made by the older generation of the family...
Obviously, if a study companion had suddenly materialized out of nowhere, Gu Mengyao would never have agreed. As it happened, she was exhausted by the effort of fending off her many pursuers, so she went to Gu Pengzhan and asked him to hire a shield for her, someone who could drive away all those flies. And so Gu Pengzhan, half coaxing and half deceiving, palmed Wei Zhao off on her as that shield.
But... Uncle Qing rather regretted not having taken Wei Zhao to a clothing store for a proper makeover. Judging from the photo Uncle Qing had seen, Wei Zhao was a handsome, spirited young man—it was just that his getup was a bit too peculiar to fit in with the surroundings...
"Him?" Gu Mengyao could not see anything special about the man before her. Surely her father hadn't just grabbed some freshly arrived migrant worker off the street-corner labor market?
The girl beside Gu Mengyao, though, covered her mouth and giggled. The way Wei Zhao was dressed, he was hardly someone who could serve as Gu Mengyao's shield.
"Xiaoshu, what are you laughing at?" Gu Mengyao was already furious at her father's perfunctory handling of the matter. To see her best friend snickering too only made her anger spike, and she shot her a hard glare.
Chastised by Gu Mengyao's rebuke, Shen Yushu quickly stuck out her tongue and closed her mouth, though her eyes kept staring at Wei Zhao with unconcealed curiosity.
"Uncle Qing, tell him to get out of the car. I want someone else." Gu Mengyao frowned, unwilling to argue any further over the matter.
"Miss, Mr. Gu said that Mr. Wei Zhao is certainly up to the task, and the contract has already been signed..." What Uncle Qing meant was: even if you don't agree, there's nothing to be done. Gu Pengzhan has already decided for you, and this can't be changed.
"Ah?" Gu Mengyao blinked her big, pretty eyes, almost on the verge of tears. She really didn't know what her father was thinking. If this was how it was going to be, she might as well have not bothered with a shield at all. If this man stayed by her side, everyone would laugh themselves silly at her!
Originally, if the shield had been at all decent-looking, Gu Mengyao might have gone so far as to announce that he was her boyfriend, since that was, after all, the best way to drive away those flies. But now, clearly, that was out of the question.
Even if she told people that this bumpkin was her boyfriend, who would believe her? Zhong Yongliang would probably laugh his head off.
Listening to the three of them talk, Wei Zhao felt a major headache coming on. A shield? Surely this girl wasn't actually looking for a boyfriend? No wonder Gu Pengzhan had spoken so strangely earlier—could he really be scouting for a son-in-law?
"Fine, then. That guy over there has been pestering me nonstop. Go deal with him for me. Handle it well, and I'll consider you qualified." Gu Mengyao's eyes rolled slyly as a scheme came to her. If this fellow couldn't manage it, she could use his incompetence as an excuse to have her father fire him.
"Him?" Wei Zhao nodded, got out of the car, and walked swiftly toward Zhong Yongliang.
"This Gu Mengyao—every time I ask her out, she turns me down. Any other woman would have rushed into my arms ages ago," Zhong Yongliang grumbled discontentedly to his hangers-on.
"Young Master Zhong, but Gu Mengyao isn't just any woman. She's the young mistress of the Gu Corporation. A little difficulty is only natural," said one of Zhong Yongliang's followers, a man named Gao Xiaofu.