"Wow, this smells amazing - it's so good!" Shen Yushu remarked between bites.

What's the big deal? I already had a bowl yesterday, so one more today won't make any difference. Gu Mengyao gritted her teeth and headed toward the dining room.

Wei Zhao took in Gu Mengyao's behavior completely, and smiled faintly - this Gu Mengyao was rather interesting.

"Mengyao, come and eat your noodles!" Wei Zhao called out encouragingly, hoping to give Gu Mengyao a bit more motivation.

"Thank you..." Gu Mengyao's voice was as faint as a mosquito's, startling both Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu. Was this really Gu Mengyao?

Seated at the table, chopsticks in hand, gazing at the steaming bowl of noodles before her, Gu Mengyao felt like crying. Had she been too harsh on Wei Zhao? Actually... he really wasn't so bad... Yes, at the very least, he was a competent nanny.

At seven sharp in the morning, Uncle Qing's car pulled up punctually at the villa's gate. Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Wei Zhao emerged from the villa. Gu Mengyao still said little, but the hostility in her eyes when she looked at Wei Zhao had diminished somewhat.

"Mr. Lin, according to the doctor's instructions from yesterday, you need to go to the hospital first to have your dressing changed," Uncle Qing said. "I'll drop Miss Gu and Miss Chen off at school first, then take you to the hospital, and after that to school."

"All right." Wei Zhao thought it over and nodded. The wound on his leg was actually nothing serious, but he didn't want people treating him like some kind of freak.

"Miss Gu, could you help Mr. Lin apply for a leave of absence?" Uncle Qing asked in a consulting tone.

"I..." Gu Mengyao was instantly put in a difficult position. To be honest, she didn't dislike Wei Zhao much anymore, but asking for leave on his behalf... how could she? By then, wouldn't all her classmates know that she and Wei Zhao were living together?

Uncle Qing assumed there was still friction between Gu Mengyao and Wei Zhao, so he turned to Shen Yushu: "Miss Chen, how about you help Mr. Lin ask for leave instead?"

"Oh, I don't mind, but Yaoyao-jie doesn't want anyone to know she's living with Wei Zhao," Shen Yushu said, her expression perfectly innocent, though she placed heavy emphasis on the words "living with."

"Ah..." Uncle Qing slapped his forehead as it finally dawned on him that this was Gu Mengyao's concern. Fair enough - how could a girl bring herself to say such a thing?

Gu Mengyao shot Shen Yushu a glare. Thinking about it was one thing, but having it said out loud was still deeply embarrassing.

Shen Yushu stuck out her tongue and shut her mouth. The important things had already been said, after all.

"It's fine. I'm well acquainted with the school's dean of academic affairs, Wang Zhifeng. I have his number here. I'll give him a call in a bit and have him put in a word with my homeroom teacher," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were baffled. Wei Zhao had only been at school one day - how had he already gotten so familiar with the dean? That seemed impossible. But if he didn't know the dean, he wouldn't dare make such a boast, would he? Otherwise, his lie would be exposed in no time.

Not just Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu - even Uncle Qing was astonished. How had Wei Zhao come to know the dean?

Wei Zhao noticed their puzzlement and said to Uncle Qing: "Uncle Qing, may I borrow your phone for a moment?"

"Oh, of course." Uncle Qing handed over his phone.

Wei Zhao fished a slip of paper out of his trouser pocket, stained here and there with blood from an accidental spill the day before. He dialed the number written on it, and the call connected shortly after.

"Hello, Director Wang?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Speaking. Who is this?" Wang Zhifeng was at that moment hard at work on top of his mistress, and the sudden ring of the phone gave him quite a fright. Glancing at the screen, he saw an unfamiliar number, so his tone came out rather sharp.

"It's Wei Zhao, Director Wang. I hope I haven't interrupted anything... pleasant?" Wei Zhao said with a chuckle.

"Ah... no, no," Director Wang's heart gave a sudden lurch, and his tone turned exceedingly amiable. "So it's you, Student Wei Zhao. Look here, what good news could I possibly have? Class is about to start any moment now."

"Heh heh, it's like this. I have a small matter I'd like to trouble Director Wang with," Wei Zhao said with a smile, without calling out Director Wang's lie. The man's voice had been plainly tense a moment ago; anyone could tell he was up to something crooked.

"What matter? Let's hear it." Wang Zhifeng sighed inwardly. Ah, so his weakness had finally been seized by someone, and here it was, the very next day, that trouble came knocking at his door.

"It's like this. I have a few things to take care of this morning and may be a little late to school. I'd trouble you to tell my homeroom teacher and ask for leave on my behalf. I should be able to arrive a bit after ten," Wei Zhao said.

"So that's what it is. Fine, no problem at all." The moment Wang Zhifeng heard it was such a trivial matter, he relaxed at once. What was so hard about that? It was a single phone call.

"Then I'll thank Director Wang. I won't disturb you any longer. Please continue..." Wei Zhao said, a meaning lurking behind his words.

This brat... Wang Zhifeng was somewhat helpless. He set down the phone and went back to his plowing...

"Wei Zhao, do you really know Director Wang? And it looked like you two were quite close?" Shen Yushu gaped, staring at Wei Zhao in disbelief.

"We only met yesterday. We just happen to get along rather well." Naturally, Wei Zhao would not breathe a word of Wang Zhifeng's business, so he gave a vague explanation.

"Oh!" Shen Yushu cheered. "That's wonderful. From now on, if we need to ask for leave, we'll come to you."

Wei Zhao smiled bitterly and glanced at Uncle Qing, whose face showed no expression whatsoever. Uncle Qing, it seemed, had already run out of ways to deal with these two young ladies and turned a deaf ear to their truancy plans. So Wei Zhao had no choice but to say, "All right."

In his heart, however, Uncle Qing was once again reassessing Wei Zhao. This young man looked utterly ordinary, yet his quick wits and courage were beyond reproach, and now it seemed his social skills were formidable as well... hmm, and his skill at wooing girls too - even Qiu Lingshan, the police beauty...

At this thought, Uncle Qing felt a headache coming on. These two little princesses - surely they wouldn't fall into his clutches too? It seemed he ought to find some time to have a proper talk with Mr. Gu about the matter of Wei Zhao.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu got out at the gate of No. 1 High School. Uncle Qing drove on, carrying Wei Zhao toward Songshan City First People's Hospital.

Along the way they passed a China Mobile business hall. Uncle Qing pulled the car up in front of it and then said to Wei Zhao, "Mr. Lin, it's about time you had a phone of your own. Otherwise it's inconvenient to get in touch."

Wei Zhao nodded. True enough; otherwise he couldn't keep borrowing Uncle Qing's phone to make calls.

After locking the car, Uncle Qing accompanied Wei Zhao into the business hall.

The hall was running a promotional event for "CMREAD," a mobile novel-reading service. A web writer who called himself "Yunhai Shuku" was there promoting the complete classic edition of his work, Prelude to Faint Light of Old Dreams. Wei Zhao sometimes read web novels too, but seeing the event area packed so tightly that not a drop could squeeze through, he decided not to join the crush.

It seemed this fellow called "Yunhai Shuku" had quite a few fans. Wei Zhao resolved that once he had bought his phone, he would look up this book and give it a read.